Terra is the home of humankind and the seat of the central body that governs all humanity, the Terran Parliament. Over 99% of human culture and history evolved on this world, third-closest to its parent star, Sol. Terra orbits its parent star at a distance of 150 million km; the world has a radius of 12900 km.

Seventy percent of Terra's surface is covered with water. Over 90% of this surface water is brine; most of the remaining 5% is frozen in the planet's icecaps. The 1% that remains is drinkable without prior desalination and treatment. Both the brine and the fresh-water have served not only to nourish life on the world, but more recently this water has also helped to lift humanity into the stars--the hydrogen in the water serving as fuel for fusion reactors that power interplanetary and interstellar travel.

Human population of Sol system has exploded since the mid-20th century, though diseases and conflicts throughout the 21st century saw a slowing down of that explosion. Terra is now home to ten billion humans; nearby Mars holds two hundred million inhabitants, and Luna, Terra's moon, supports about ten million. Some fifteen million people had colonized New Earth before its destruction on 15 January 2146.

Earth

Terran culture is diverse, rich in history and in its sub-cultures. It is also washed in the tears and blood of its people--Terran history is violent and self-destructive compared to Kentauran and Ceti history. Terran government was and is awash in turmoil; and though that turmoil may be better concealed than it was twenty years ago, it is there nonetheless. This internal conflict has taken a back seat to the war with Tau Ceti; however it still plays a part behind the scenes, as the recent Sekhmet incident proved.

While Terran history has seen its share of tragedy, so too has it seen triumph. Highlights in recent Terran history have included the creation of the Altered--now known as the Al'Tari--as well as the system-wide unification of government and the Alliance of Kentaurus. These, combined with continued research and development over the last fifty years, have given much of Terra's population an improved standard of living.

If the Terran Parliament is Sol system's ruling body, the Terran Defense Force is the hand of that body. For twenty years the Terran Defense Force has been under the command of Admiral Akira Hohiro Tenaka. Under his leadership, it has evolved from a corrupt and inefficient bureaucracy into a fearsome fighting force--one that has inflicted three casualties on the Ceti fleet for every casualty taken.

The Terran Defense Force has also been a catalyst for much of the past two decades' research and development. Project Russian Winter, created in 2144 as skirmishes with Ceti forces in New Earth system escalated into small-scale fleet battles, is the current headquarters for TDF research and development--new technology now emerges from Winter Base on a near-daily basis.

Our collective hope is that the efforts of Project Russian Winter are not too little, too late. While we have inflicted heavy casualties on the Ceti in the past, we have nonetheless been driven both from New Earth and from Kentaurus Prime. A Ceti armada now moves into the Sol system with a slow inexorability; the estimates on the size of this armada place it at between 100% and 250% the size of the Terran Defense Force fleet. Providence Station is under similar threat, as it is stationed less than an hour from now-occupied territory. Admiral Tenaka was quoted in an interview last week as saying, "The next few months will determine the ultimate outcome of this war."