Earth
Earth, the third planet in the Sol system, is the name the Humans have given to their home planet. As such, it is the origin of the alternative name for Humans, Earthlings. It is also the original home of the Androsynth clone race, who fled the planet en masse in 2085. Earth is a Water World with a single moon (Luna).
Although other races were aware of Earth and its emerging human civilization as early as the twentieth century, the first official contact with another space-faring race occurred in 2115. By some accounts, the Hierarchy did not initially consider Earth much of a threat. However, this opinion apparently changed during the course of the Ur-Quan Slave War, and according to some records the Hierarchy planned a massive assault on Earth during the War.1
Earth fell to the Hierarchy sometime in 2134 or 2135, and the planet was soon slave-shielded by the Ur-Quan Kzer-Za. Prior to the erection of the slave shield, Ur-Quan Dreadnoughts laid waste to sections of the planet's surface including the city of Buenos Aires, human constructions older than five-hundred years, and other locations of unknown significance. As part of the subjugation process, the Ur-Quan established a Hierarchy Starbase in orbit around Earth and also left a battegroup of Ilwrath and Spathi forces, called the Earthguard, to keep watch on the new fallow species. Following the destruction of the Sa-Matra, the Chmmr successfully removed the slave shield that had briefly cut Earth off from the rest of the galaxy.
Notes and references
- 1The campaign scenario Target Earth from the Sega release of Star Control II.