Commstar

Commstar (Arvorian: Коммстар, Hallisised: Kommstar) is an ongoing Arvorian science-fiction telescreen programme. Since its first episode aired in early 7676, the show has gone on thus far to produce fourteen seasons and 3 feature films, as well as books, games, and toys. It is widely considered one of the most popular and influential television series produced within the ADR of all time. Its popularity has even extended into other nations, as well, and the programme is currently available in XXX nations, translated into XXX languages.

Synopsis

The history of the series begins in 7963, when humanity built and successfully tested the first FTL-capable ship, the Aurora, by traveling to the Delta Bandum star system, approximately 4.3 light years away, and returning. The test’s success sparked a new era of wanderlust and curiosity in humankind, and the planet began to pool resources in an effort to further exploration of space. Within the next century, Gotha was united under a common government, and over seventy worlds in other star systems had been settled.

As humanity has explored space, they have encountered numerous alien races, some friendly, some less so, and some outright hostile. These include the deeply spiritual Allae, the vivacious Kirid, the militant Laagir, the mercantile Nezeans, and the logic and reason-driven Yali. Many episodes centre around the Commonwealth's interactions with these species, ranging from diplomacy and commerce to tense standoffs and even war. The Commonwealth of Stars was established in the year 8065, when the one hundredth star system is settled. By current date, nearly 300 systems have been settled by humanity, and over 5,000 had been surveyed. Technology has progressed to enable a vast new range of capabilities, in domestic life, industry, science, and medicine.

The show depicts the adventures of its characters, who are all citizens of the Commonwealth of Stars (Arvorian: Содружество Звезд, Hallisised: Sodruzhestvo Zvezd, colloquially referred to as "Commstar"), an interstellar nation state consisting of over just over 300 member worlds. Some of the characters are officers and crew of the military arm of Commstar, which is known as "Commforce" (Arvorian: Коммфорс, Hallisised: Kommfors). Throughout the series, the characters interact with their fellow citizens and with alien peoples encountered both during exploration of deep space and in the course of their regular duties.

Story

Each season consists of thirty-two weekly episodes that are one hour in length. The synopsis for every season details only the main storyline.

Season 1

Set in 8285.

Central story

When the show first aired, the story was set in the year 8185, and its first two seasons followed the state of interstellar affairs in the aftermath of the war between the Commonwealth and the militant Laagir Hegemony, which was opposed to "inferior Humans" expanding into territories they claim were theirs. After a three-year conflict in which the Commonwealth fought the Hegemony to a standstill, an uneasy peace has been achieved.

Throughout the season, the main characters comprise a special operations team of eight specialists known as Black-11, led by Subcommander Yuri Bazarov. Answering to Commodore Maji Nyakundi of Commonwealth Intelligence, they work against a backdrop of cold war tensions between the Commonwealth and the Hegemony, whose highly militaristic society is still recovering after failing to subdue the Human star nation. As Bazarov and his colleagues deal with other matters that arise while continuing the primary mission of Commforce - interstellar exploration - they simultaneously must diffuse various attempts by shadowy interests to rekindle the war between the two powers while working with various agencies and individuals to expand Human diplomacy and outreach. One key success in this period is the conclusion of treaty negotiations with the Yali Dominion, who join in an alliance of mutual defence and trade with the Commonwealth despite (and because of) Laagir interference.

The season ends on a tense note as news comes back to Commonwealth Central that the Laagir leader, Ro'nejal, has been assassinated. His eldest daughter, Arzhuen, has succeeded him as Primarch. Commonwealth Intelligence tells the team that the new leader is extremely close to the more conservative faction of the Laagir government.

Season 2

Set in 8286.

Central story

The second season opens on a recap of the last moments of Season 1. With a new leader on Laagir Prime, the Commonwealth is forced to shore up its border security as fears are high that the Hegemony will seek to launch a new campaign against Commstar. Subcommander Bazarov and his team are assigned the light cruiser Lorenzo Rambaldi, which will function as their main base of operations and enable them to move about more quickly and efficiently. Working in concert with the ship's chief officer, Commander Gabriel Hughes, Black-11 is tasked with monitoring the Commonwealth-Hegemony border and keeping a track on the Laagir military communications network, which has been successfully sliced into with Yali assistance. The team's analysts, Lieutenant Punhe Zediw and Doctor Victor Bergman, gradually gather a portfolio of information which points to increased mobilisation of the Hegemony's military strength.

Events come to a head when word comes in that the Laagir have attacked the Yali shipyards at Vinyke, which was the facility from which the technology that enabled the Commonwealth to slice into the Laagir mlitary network was developed. While the attack was successfully fended off, with consderable losses, Commonwealth Intelligence is concerned that there were ulterior motives for the strike. A Commforce battle squadron is dispatched to provide assistance during the attack and remains after the battle is over, granting the system additional defence. The Dominion puts its military forces on high alert, and ships from its fleet join Commforce to jointly patrol their borders.

Over the following episodes, Black-11 finds itself in several tense encounters with both Laagir forces and with agents of the Hegemony, after learning that a powerful crosslink comms transmitter, of the kind the Yali gave the Commonwealth to monitor Laagir communications, was stolen in the raid on the Vinkye shipyards. The team eventually successfully retrieves the transmitter after confronting two Laagir spies on Lliea E6T, but Bazarov is injured while retrieving a data card that he believes contains valuable information that may help shed more light on recent events. The season concludes with Black-11 being informed that the decrypted data card indicates the Hegemony, while still highly distrustful of Humans, is more suspicious of an "unknown third power" it has reason to believe is manipulating events to some as yet unknown purpose.

Season 3

Set in 8287.

Central story

The third season begins with a secret meeting back on New Telepon, capital world of the Commnwealth, between top Commgov officials and senior Commforce officers. They discuss the bombshell report sent in by Black-11 regarding the data recovered from the Laagir spies on Lliea E6T. Commonwealth Intelligence confesses rumors have been swirling in the back rooms of the political sphere in several governments for weeks, but no substantive evidence was to be had before the data tape recovered was decrypted and analysed. Coded inquiries to the embassies on Laagir Prime and other capitals have received mixed replies until the ambassador on Dichalea, capital of the Kirid Alliance, reports that the prime minister has fallen mysteriously ill in spite of recently having paid a state visit to New Telepon and showing signs of nothing but robust health. Rumors picked up on by the embassy suggest the Kirid physicians can find no rational cause for the illness. Sent to Dichaela under the guise of being there on assignment to the Commonwealth embassy, they quietly sound out various information sources they are directed to by the embassy.

The investigation takes the team on a twisted path through the complicated politics of the Kirid people, who despite having a relatively orderly political system, maintain traditions which date back (in some cases) centuries and add a layer of challenge as Bazarov and his colleagues navigating the multitudinous proprieties required for interacting with the various officials they meet. Part way through the season the team learns of a Laagir spy planted within the Kirid foreign ministry that was keeping the Hegemony up to date on sensitive diplomatic information. After a terse confrontation, thanks to some delicate wordplay, the Laagir begrudgingly admits he is devoting time trying to identify a recent unexplained interference in his messages back to his homeworld. He suspects his mission is somehow compromised, but not by the Kirid. Despite his distrust of Humans, the spy, known as Dinaler, agrees to work with Black-11 to identify where the interference is coming from. Bazarov neglects to report this co-operation to Commonwealth Central in his next report.

The hunt is on from there, as the team is forced to successively thwart sabotage of the power grid in the Kirid capital city, a theft of military data from the planetary network, and finally an attempt to assassinate the deputy prime minister. It is during their intervention in the attempted assassination that Black-11, in the process of defending the Kirid official, finds that one of the would be assassins was a Mephri, a reclusive species that lived on the fringes of Known Space that maintained no diplomatic contact with any of the other peoples, being known for their xenophobic views on other species. Trailing the sole survivor of the trio of assassins back to their hideout, they discover communications equipment capable of producing the interference thr Laagir had mentioned while still listening in on any signals it focuses on. They learn shortly afterward that the Kirid leader was deliberately infected, and information recovered from the Mephri’s hideout enables a treatment to be devised. Returning to the embassy, the team reports their findings back to Commforce, and Bazarov admits he received help from a Laagir operative on Dichaela. Commodore Nyakundi is surprised, and disappointed that the commander did not trust her enough to tell her sooner, but reassures him that she will do her best to blunt any scrutiny this information may bring.

After one last meeting with their temporary Laagir ally, Black-11 returns to Commonwealth space, able to do so quietly after the embassy successfully keeps their presence out of all official reports and thus ensures no direct connection to the flurry of recent events on the Kirid capital. A fortnight later, having been debriefed, the team is enjoying some well-earned leave on Nova Prospekt Station when they receive word that a special envoy has arrived on New Telepon from the Laagir Hegemony, and has requested to meet the commander personally.

Season 4

Set in 8288.

Central story

The season opens to Subcommander Bazarov and the other members of Black-11 arriving on New Telepon to meet with the Laagir envoy who has requested to meet with them. The envoy is a stern and severe man by the name of Gallig, who reveals he has been sent secretly by the order of Primarch Arzhuen herself. He explains that the succession of the daughter of Ro’nejal to the leadership of the Hegemony was done in accordance with tradition, as Commonwealth Intelligence knew, but shared something they did not - that his assassin had been one of his inner circle, General Kolore, his military adviser. Arzhuen responded to this knowledge with a brief but violent purge of Kolore’s associates, replacing them with officers she knew and trusted. Gallig went on to explain that he had come to the Commonwealth at the leader’s behest after she read the report of Dinaler, the agent who had co-operated with Black-11 on Dichaela.

Gallig admitted that, while distrust for Humans remained strong and the wounded pride they suffered after the Human-Laagir War that ended in 8282 was still a fresh memory, the Primarch was willing to set this aside if it meant Mephri interference in regional affairs could be achieved. While they distrust Humans, they despise the Mephri, who the Hegemony fought several bloody wars against nearly a century before first encountering the Commonwealth. To that end, the envoy says, the Hegemony has withdrawn much of its naval strength along its border and will share all of its current intelligence on the Mephri with Commstar. In return, they ask that Commstar share anything they learn with the Laagir government. Representing the Premier, Minister of State Vo Thanh Dao agrees. The C-in-C of Commforce, Admiral Jeremiah Winton, also agrees and orders Bazarov and his team to go immediately to investigate reports of unusual activity in the uninhabited Habbiri system, located near the Mephri border. Recent reconnaissance of the area had come back with sensor records showing the detection of strange signals that were traced to that system, which at last report had never been settled, by the Mephri or anyone else.

The team is ferried to within a few light years of the Habbiri system by the Lorenzo Rambaldi, and from there they proceed aboard a special stealth-equipped assault shuttle, entering the system while surreptitiously scanning for anything unusual. The unexplained signal is easily detected, but it takes several attempts to triangulate its origin, found to be on the fourth planet in the system. Approaching the planet from behind cover of its moon, they find scant indications of habitation on the lifeless planet, heavily shielded to escape all but directed scans. Not wanting to draw too much attention, the team opts to land and find a way into the base. While coming in for a landing, the shuttle is struck by weapons fire from a concealed defence battery and has to make a hasty landing. The trek to the location of the hidden outpost is not without difficulty, as Specialist Ikande’s spacesuit has issues with its filtration pack due to damage sustained during the emergency landing. After two near-miss encounters with patrols, the team reaches the outpost and reconnoiters the area before finding an access point. While breaching the site, Lieutenant Matsuda Kazuko is injured. After being tended, he opts to return to the shuttle with engineer Petty Officer Emmanuel Stein to attempt repairs while the remainder continue on their assignment.

The season ends on a cliffhanger when Subcommander Bazarov and taken prisoner by the Mephri while attempting to sabotage the facility's power grid. They are brought before the Mephri leadership, learning that the facility hides more than a secret spy base, but the means to launch a full-scale invasion of Known Space.

Season 14

As of the current season, the series is set in the mid-84th century, in the year 8302.