Historic Timeline in the BETAverse (Part 09)

Divergence Point and Timeline (Continued)

  • 1996
    - The construction of the @Ulan Bator Hive, Objective 18, in Mongolian territory, begins.
    - Asian nations that have become part of the war zones appeal to @Australia, and other nations in Oceania for assistance, and the relocation of their state functions begin. However, @Malaysian Peninsula countries like Malaysia, Vietnam, and Singapore continued their defence to maintain their own territories. As of 2001, Malaysia and Singapore are still largely in control of their regions.
    - The Consolidation Of SouthEast Asian Nations (COSEAN), is established by the many South-East Asian countries that have lost their territories to facilitate indirect cooperation with the @United Nations. Their objection to being incorporated into direct UN control is due to distrust from being forced to participate in Operation Swaraj for the sake of Alternative III's goals.
    - @Allegiance, an armed right-wing Christian group, rapidly expands, especially through their popularity with disfranchised youths in refugee camps, increasing related protests and demonstration activities. Their religious doctrine is one that regards the BETA as a God-given test of humanity, and the possible destruction of humanity as merely the carrying out of God's will, going as far as to begin to oppose anti-BETA efforts.
    - As an insurance measure in response to unease over the @United Nations's forced status elevation of the Japanese-formulated Alternative IV, and its excessively absurd contents, @The United States of America (USA) proposes the call for a fifth, backup plan. With the backing of @South American and @African nations, it is approved.
    - The Eurasian nations, opposing @The United States of America (USA)'s attempt to reintroduce its G-Bomb-centric plan as a backup for Alternative V, and equally concerned with what they saw as a preposterous vision for Alternative IV, presented a counter-proposal to the @United Nations in the form of a development project for advanced TSF technology, Project PROMINENCE. The plan would be approved, and its HQ set up in the UN-administered @Yukon Base in @Alaska. Work begins on expanding Yukon Base for the project.
    - The Channel Archipelago Base Group established under the jurisdiction of the @United Kingdom is transferred to the @European Union Force, and renamed the Mont Saint-Michel Fortress. The actual fortress, implemented as an outpost for the recapture of the European continent, also contains European historical heritage left behind by the various cultures of @Europe. The fortress is designated by the UN and EUF as an important location equaling the UK-based Dover Base Group.
    - The Imperial Diet of the @Empire of Japan passes an amendment further lowering the male draft age. This results in a de facto full mobilization of students.
    - Starting with Kitakyushu, a type-2 evacuation advisory is announced throughout all of Kyushu, Japan.
    - The @Unified Front of China begins licensed-production of the @Su-27 Zhuravlik-based J-11.
    - Sweden deploys @Europe's first 3rd-generation @Tactical Surface Fighter (TSF), the JAS-39 Gripen.
    - A young @Michiru Isumi, following after her childhood friend and crush, Masaki Maejima, enlists into military service. Finding herself under the instruction of a still grieving and emotional @Marimo Jinguuji in the 207th Training School. Michiru's training experience is extreme and brutal, with Marimo even physically beating her among the other @Trainees.

  • 1997
    - The @Arabian Peninsula front that had withstood the BETA invasion for over ten years collapses. The @African Union and @Middle Eastern Coalition forces retreat to beyond the @Suez Canal to rebuild the frontline, and barely hold back the invasion of the African continent.
    - @European Union and the @The United States of America (USA) receive a signal from the Daedalus Project's Icarus I probe. Rough data analysis reveals a terrestrial exoplanet of AA-grade habitability in the Barnard's Star system in the constellation of Ophiuchus. As a detailed analysis would take several months, the USA, taking the Eurasian nations into account, proposes an amendment to the next Alternative Plan to include colonizing the planet. Pointing out the excessively good timing of this news, some call it a hoax for the USA to push their own Alternative proposal through.
    - The @United Nations accepts the American plan for Alternative V as a contingency plan.
    - The plan to construct large spaceships at a Lagrange point under Alternative V begins. The reality of two Alternative Plans existing side by side could be called an abnormal situation. This matter becomes the turning point that makes clear the difference in the anti-BETA strategy of the Oceanian and Eurasian nations and Canada, and the pro-American African and South American nations.
    - The special task force under the direct control of the Alternative Plans, Special Task Force A-01 is re-established. The unit, regiment-sized during its commissioning, draws its personnel from the 207th Training School under the coverage of @Alternative IV, and is completely independent of the @United Nations Force chain of command, being responsible only for the tasks required of Alternative IV.
    - The Communist Party of the People's Republic of China makes the decision to temporarily retreat from the Chinese mainland due to the BETA advance. The Taiwanese government announces that the PRC government's official functions would be housed in the Presidential Office Building of Taiwan.
    - The @Empire of Japan's @Type-97 Fubuki, initially put together during the development of the @Type-94 Shiranui as a testbed for 3rd-generation technology development, is manufactured and deployed as a high-performance training TSF. The unit would later be elevated to that of a replacement candidate for the ageing @Type-77 Gekishin.
    - @The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), exasperated at the unreliability of the @Su-27 Zhuravlik, sets their sights on the Su-27M2 variant, independently developed by the Sufoni Design Bureau. It is quickly reworked into the @Su-37 Terminator, and the unit is pressed into service soon after.
    - Brazil and @Australia begin to accept refugees from the People's Republic of China.

  • 1998
    - January: @Empire of Japan forces participate in the Gwangju Operation, in concert with the @Unified Front of China to support UN and COSEAN forces in their withdrawal from the Korean peninsula. The Lieutenant-General Ayamine Incident occurs, referred to as the "tragedy of the Gwangju Operation"; under Lieutenant-General Ayamine Shuukaku (father of @Kei Ayamine), Japanese forces were prioritized towards saving local citizens who had been denied refuge by COSEAN, and the redirection of combat forces resulted in the destruction of the @United Nations HQ for the operation area, as well as heavy losses for the UN Forces.
    - After the operation, the @United Nations demanded that Lieutenant-General Ayamine be handed over to them for an international military tribunal. Caught between opposition from @Empire of Japan forces defending the Lieutenant-General's actions, and the threat of UN support being withdrawn from @Alternative IV, Imperial Japanese Prime Minister Sakaki Kurechika (father of @Chizuru Sakaki) was forced to prioritize the nation's international standing over domestic support of Shuukaku's actions, who would, under international trial, be convicted of desertion under enemy fire during the Gwangju Operation. This chain of events would have long standing effects within the ranks of the Imperial Japanese military, with feelings of betrayal festering for years afterwards.