Historic Timeline in the BETAverse (Part 02)

Divergence Point and Timeline (Continued)

• 1967
  - The Sacrobosco Incident. While surveying the interior of the Sacrobosco Crater, a geological exploration team from the international permanent lunar base Plato-1 encounters beings identical to the lifeforms discovered on Mars, making this the first time humanity has encountered an extraterrestrial species. Thereafter, contact with the team is lost, and they are never heard from again.
  - Immediately following the Sacrobosco Incident, the extraterrestrial species, in great numbers, attack numerous locations on the lunar surface. Due to that, these lifeforms are christened as the BETA: Beings of Extraterrestrial origin which is Adversary of human race. The subsequent battles on the lunar surface, lasting until 1973, would later be called the First Lunar War, the first contact with extraterrestrials, and also the first war against extraterrestrials, in human history.
  - Upon examining the data from the Sacrobosco Incident and the results of subsequent combat, the @The United States of America (USA) Department of Defense questions the combat effectiveness of pre-existing conventional arms. Government-sponsored fundamental research into anti-BETA space weaponry by the military-industrial complex results in many development projects in all fields, from advanced materials to electronic engineering. The four United States Armed Forces branches (Army, Navy, Air Force, and Space Corps) begin the joint development project, the NCAF-X Project as one of these developments.

• 1968
  - Once it was apparent that a state of war had emerged against the extra-terrestrials, the Alternative Plan shifts to the second stage, in order to directly study the full ecology of the BETA. Thereafter, the previous stage is referred to as Alternative I, and the current stage would thereafter be referred to as Alternative II.
  - The main objective of Alternative II was to find a means of communication with the BETA by studying their biology and interactions with the environment. However, completely alien forms of the BETA's organic structures and functions shocked the researchers; due to concerns for deviating from bio-ethical guidelines, Alternative II would eventually be shelved to make space for Alternative III.
  - While the results gained from the enormous financial expenditure and sacrifices made to capture and study BETA were mocked as "confirming the BETA to have been carbon-based life forms, and nothing more", the discovery of an enzyme affecting the metabolism decline was considered a significant contribution to humanity's cause. Nevertheless, the plan would later be widely considered a failure because of its abysmal main result.
  - As a solution to the stagnation of Alternative I in finding a method of communication with the BETA, the @The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) proposed a plan to probe the thoughts of the BETA directly with @Human ESPers. As a precaution against setbacks in Alternative II, the plan was ratified, and the Soviet Academy of Sciences begins UN-sponsored research. Research on man-made ESPers speeds up.

• 1970
  - The first mechanized infantry units, making use of the Hardiman Feedback Protector, are deployed on the Moon to fight the BETA. The FP would later be further developed into exoskeleton equipment, and deployed amongst armies around the world as mechanized infantry equipment.

• 1971
  - Based on combat results in the First Lunar War, the @Empire of Japan decides to begin basic research on the inclusion of the Feedback Protector as a possible domestically-produced effective anti-BETA weapon.

• 1972
  - The member nations of the European Community, which was previously formed along economic lines as a federation, further develop their regional organization framework into that of the @European Union, which establishes a cooperative framework in-between the governments and armed forces of the European region, so as to improve their capability to wage war against the BETA. At the same time, NATO forces undergo reorganization.
  - The @The United States of America (USA) officially discloses the existence of the prototype Tactical Surface Fighter; upon the US government's disclosure, McDaell, its developer, begins marketing the prototype to allied nations.
  - @Empire of Japan immediately decides to adopt the new @F-4 Phantom, and Japanese-required performance specifications for the manufacturer are examined. Orders are also placed for a Melee Halberd type for the exclusive use of Japanese machines.

• 1973
  - April 19th: The BETA invasion of Earth begins. A BETA landing unit launched from the Moon lands on Earth, in the Kashgar Autonomous Area, western China. Construction of @Kashgar Hive, Objective 01 begins in the Kashgar region of western China.
  - With the arrival of BETA on Earth, the @United Nations Space Command treats the situation as an emergency, and declares the abandonment of the permanent lunar base Plato-1 and the complete withdrawal from all personnel from the Moon, bringing to an end 6 years of fighting on the lunar surface. With the Moon left under the complete control of the BETA, the famous phrase of "The Moon was hell", spoken by UN General Campbell during his command of the lunar surface forces, would be remembered in history as the defining words of the First Lunar War.
  - Operation Hongqi, the Kashgar campaign against the BETA by the armed forces of the People's Republic of China, begins. Aiming to monopolize alien technology, and with the military situation in their favor, China refuses to accept the deployment of @United Nations military forces into their nation.
  - Approximately nineteen days after the initial fighting starts, the @BETA - Laser Class appear on the battlefield. They turn the battles into slaughters as the PLA are denied the important advantage of aerial power through use of highly accurate and long-ranged high-energy lasers, forming the most powerful and efficient air defense system ever encountered. Backed into a corner, and unable to resist the sheer number of BETA while deprived of air superiority, the Chinese appealed to the @The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) for reinforcements after repeated retreats; however, it was already too late. Both nations employ tactical nuclear devices in their scorched earth tactics in an attempt to halt the BETA advance, to almost no effect. The BETA begin their westward push.
  - Communist Party of the @The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) officially declares a state of emergency. All state functions are placed under military control, and the entire civilian population is mobilized. Under these measures, most non-Russians are called to military service, their sons also being raised as soldiers in military educational institutions.
  - The BETA invasion of Earth is used as an excuse to discontinue Alternative II, which had failed to produce decisive results. The @United Nations brings a reserve plan, prepared by the @The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) leadership, into the forefront of matters as Alternative III. The plan involves the usage of man-made @Human ESPer; mass-production is made possible by implementing gene manipulation into the process; however, most of the Espers would later be sacrificed in Hive raids for the purposes of the plan.

• 1974
  - The @United Nations Statistics Division announces that the world population had fallen by approximately 30% as a result of the BETA invasion of Earth.
  - July 6th: A second BETA landing unit impacts at Athabasca, Saskatchewan, Canada. Making use of the lessons learned from the ongoing conflict in Eurasia, the Athabasca landing unit is destroyed by the @The United States of America (USA) military through concentrated use of strategic nuclear weapons. This has the side-effect of turning half of @Canada into an irradiated, uninhabitable wasteland. This is later referred to as the Athabasca Incident.
  - The US-designed-and-manufactured @F-4 Phantom, the first @Tactical Surface Fighter (TSF) and genuine anti-BETA weapon, enters service. The @Close Combat Dagger (which would later be re-designated as the CIWS-1A) and the WS-16A (105mm smoothbore, 20mm chaingun) @Assault Cannon all enter service alongside it. American forces, however, rely on the WS-16A as a primary weapon, with a pair of CIWS-1A as secondary weapons; the CIWS-2A developed at the same time, and which would later be better known as the Japanese @Type-74 PB Blade, is not included in any standard load-out for US military personnel.
  - In response to the Athabasca Incident, @The United States of America (USA) Congress passes a bill to prioritize improving the anti-BETA defenses of North America. Because the supply quota of the European front was left unchanged, the priority of the Japanese supply order is lowered instead. This results in the @Type-74 PB Blade ordered by the @Empire of Japan being delivered to them for licensed production, but their @F-4 Phantom TSFs are not, leaving many Japanese military personnel fuming at the situation.
  - The Sine Project begins. The remains of the BETA landing unit at Athabasca are brought to the Ros Alamos National Laboratory. Research into BETA technology begins under the direction of Dr. William Gray, for which the G-Elements would later be named after.
  - The Strategic Defense Initiative is announced. Alarmed by the BETA landings in Kashgar and Canada, the @The United States of America (USA) declares their intention to enhance the orbital defense system to intercept BETA landing units in outer space. From the fact that man-made satellites, orbiting space stations, and spacecraft are not targeted by @BETA - Laser Class, the establishment of an orbital satellite surveillance line, and the integration of the formerly standalone strategies of space interception, orbital interception, high-altitude interception, and ground interception, into a practical, reliable defence network, is proposed. The following year, the @United Nations would adopt the concept as the international defense program SHADOW, and elevate its status to a global project.