The Echelon Calendar is based on the trajectory home to Earth imagined by early settlers in the Echelon System. The first generations of humans in the system built their timekeeping around bright navigational stars that formed a hypothetical route back. Over time, as returning to Earth became an abandoned dream, these stellar markers remained embedded in corporate cycles, military strategy, and cultural traditions.

The Echelon Cycle consists of:

400 days per year
10 months, each 40 days long
- Altairis, Fomalthis, Vegaen, Denebris, Arcturis, Antaress, Alpherian, Rigellian, Betelzaar, Solis
10-day weeks
- Prime, Forge, Mirn, Orryn, Code, Screen, Sorn, Tyrn, Umbrus, Luxor
25-hour days (1 hour = 100 minutes, 1 minute = 100 seconds)

The Ten Stellar Months

1. Altairis (The First Light)

Origin: Named after Altair, a key navigational star guiding early settlers.
Early Significance: The month of navigation recalibration, once marking the start of the return journey to Earth.
Modern Meaning: A time for strategic planning, new beginnings, and setting the tone for the year.
Corporate Influence: Astra announces new slipstream lanes, and major corporations unveil yearly objectives.

2. Fomalthis (The Guiding Eye)

Origin: Named after Fomalhaut, the “solitary one” in the sky, used for course correction.
Early Significance: A time for recalibrating interstellar coordinates and reinforcing the hope of return.
Modern Meaning: A month associated with exploration, expansion, and setting new trajectories.
Corporate Influence: Shipbuilding and slipstream engineering reach peak production.

3. Vegaen (The Endless Horizon)

Origin: Named after Vega, once Earth's pole star and a beacon of ambition.
Early Significance: A reminder of humanity’s peak technological achievements before the Exodus.
Modern Meaning: The cycle’s high-growth period, where businesses expand aggressively.
Corporate Influence: Major financial mergers and acquisitions take place in this month.

4. Denebris (The Deep Void)

Origin: Named after Deneb, marking the great unknown beyond the Solar System.
Early Significance: The hardest part of the imagined return journey, where nothing familiar remained.
Modern Meaning: A time of restructuring, testing limits, and survival.
Corporate Influence: Military operations, security reinforcements, and asset protection are emphasized.

5. Arcturis (The Burning Star)

Origin: Named after Arcturus, a guiding star in ancient human navigation.
Early Significance: A beacon of guardianship and protection.
Modern Meaning: The month of security, warfare, and corporate dominance.
Corporate Influence: Astra and Vanguard Armaments showcase new military technology during the Nexus Defense Expo, an annual military exhibition hosted on Nexus Station. The Prime Defense Corps initiates major training cycles alongside the event, demonstrating advancements in battlefield strategy and orbital defense systems.

6. Antaress (The Blood Cycle)

Origin: Named after Antares, the red war star of ancient civilizations.
Early Significance: Historically linked to war and destruction.
Modern Meaning: A month of purges, political shifts, and open conflicts.
Corporate Influence: Pirates, mercenaries, and rogue factions become most active.

7. Alpherian (The Long Night)

Origin: Named after Alpheratz, a star marking a transition between two great constellations.
Early Significance: The moment between despair and adaptation, when early settlers realized Earth was lost.
Modern Meaning: A time for reflection, recalibration, and political maneuvering.
Corporate Influence: Espionage, betrayals, and quiet power shifts dominate this month.

8. Rigellion (The Distant Dream)

Origin: Named after Rigel, a blue-white supergiant that seemed close yet was impossibly distant.
Early Significance: Symbolized false hope—the illusion of reaching home.
Modern Meaning: A month of innovation, high-risk ventures, and technological breakthroughs.
Corporate Influence: Axiom Corp and Metacortex unveil experimental biotech and neural augmentation advancements during the Neo Prospect Science Conclave, an annual convention showcasing the latest breakthroughs in genetic research, cybernetics, and neural technology.

9. Betelzaar (The Fading Embers)

Origin: Named after Betelgeuse, a red supergiant in the final stages of its life.
Early Significance: Represented the death of the dream of returning to Earth.
Modern Meaning: A period of decline, desperate final moves, and last-ditch efforts.
Corporate Influence: End-of-cycle economic collapses, last-minute corporate acquisitions, and internal restructuring dominate this month.

10. Solis (The Eternal Cycle)

Origin: Named after Sol, the sun of Earth, the unreachable past.
Early Significance: The end of the cycle, always bringing humanity back to the question of its origin.
Modern Meaning: A time of closure, renewal, and preparation for the next cycle.
Corporate Influence: The month when debts are settled, leadership changes, and system-wide fiscal reports are completed.

The Ten-Day Week

Each week consists of 10 days, optimized for corporate efficiency, military operations, and industrial production cycles:

Prime – The start of the cycle; a day of renewal, strategy, and corporate recalibration.
Forge – The industrial heart of the week, dedicated to production, shipbuilding, and hard labor.
Mirn – A steady, routine day, named after the soft glow of a distant, unblinking star.
Orryn – A day associated with travel, navigation, and cosmic alignment.
Code – A dedication to the technological focus of the surviving civilization.
Screen – A day associated with study and deep-space observation, named after a faint nebula.
Sorn – A quiet, strategic day, often used for planning or subterfuge; named after a rogue planet.
Tyrn – A day of martial focus, military drills, and personal discipline.
Umbrus – The deep shadow before the end of the cycle, used for reflection or clandestine dealings.
Luxor – The final day, often used for festivities, commerce, and personal affairs before the cycle resets.

Cultural Significance

While the dream of returning to Earth is long dead, the calendar remains:

Corporations use it for economic cycles, industrial planning, and propaganda.
The Prime Defense Corps times campaigns and training cycles around it.
Renegades whisper that it still charts a lost route home.
Forsaken Tide pirates refer to specific months for their raiding seasons and fleet movements.

The stars may no longer guide them home, but in the Echelon System, they still define time itself.

Timeline of Major Events

40 Solis 399 PA — Current Day — New Year’s Eve

10-year anniversary of the end of the Dissonance War (384-389 PA)

Tomorrow begins the 4th Century of the Pact

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399 PA, Rigellion – The Promise of Immortality

At the Neo Prospect Science Conclave, Ascensys unveils its greatest breakthrough—a specialized chamber within their Palisade that grants true immortality. The demonstration shakes the foundations of corporate power, raising existential and ethical questions across the system.

398 PA, Antaress – The Fall of House Adonis

During a large-scale uprising in Olympus, the ancestral seat of Axiom Corp’s founding family, the Adonis dynasty was massacred. The attack occurred amidst growing unrest over corporate overreach and Drone labor exploitation. Rioters breached multiple security layers, and despite private guards and PDC support, the estate fell. The only known survivor was Michael Adonis Jr., heir to the Axiom legacy, who disappeared shortly after the incident. In the wake of the tragedy, Axiom’s internal leadership shifted dramatically. Under pressure from both the Board and the Prime Defense Corps, Dr. Icarus Vale—then the Director of Science—was appointed acting CEO to stabilize operations and prevent collapse.

398 PA, Arcturis – Of Flame and Metal

The Forsaken Tide launches a daring raid on Scora, capturing vital manufacturing complexes and forcing the Prime Defense Corps into full-scale war. The conflict rapidly escalates, drawing in Vanguard Armaments and Metacortex, who have vested interests in Scora’s industry.

397 PA, Fomalthis – The Mirror’s Edge Disaster

A catastrophic slipstream accident originates from Deep Station Mirror’s Edge, a classified research facility at the system’s edge. Without warning, the station vanishes from all known navigational records, leaving behind only distorted distress signals. Whatever happened to Mirror’s Edge destabilizes the Deep System Slipstream from Gateway to Zeta-4 through Zeta-12, plunging the Null Expanse into chaos. The wreckage of several stranded ships drifts near the outer Void, but none of the recovered flight logs match known records. Some claim it was sabotage—others whisper of a ship that shouldn't exist, caught in the edges of reality.

395 PA, Betalzaar – The Battle of Leviathan

A major battle erupts near Leviathan between the Prime Defense Corps and the Renegades. The skirmish ends in a costly stalemate, but Renegade forces gain new footholds in the system, signaling their growing strength.

395 PA, Arcturis – The Rise of ForgeWorks

ForgeWorks is officially certified as a megacorporation, marking its emergence as a dominant force in industrial and weapons manufacturing.

392 PA, Rigellion – The White Queen Awakens

A rogue Mnemoscape construct calling itself The White Queen achieves full sentience—and escapes into the Hollow. Despite massive corporate efforts to track and contain it, the entity moves freely through the Mnemoscape, rewriting sectors of data as it sees fit. But the most bizarre revelation? The White Queen originated from Prism Entertainment, of all places—from what should have been an experimental, interactive celebrity AI model.

The “80s Decade” (380–389 PA)

387–393 PA – The Drone Resurgence
384–389 PA – The Dissonance War
381 PA – The Specter Accord
380 PA – The Mnemoscape Harmonization Act

The “70s Decade” (370–379 PA)

370–377 PA – The Surge

The “60s Decade” (360-369 PA)

The 360s are remembered as a decade of awakening and upheaval. As old doctrines frayed, cracks formed in the Founders' polished control—some were patched, others widened. The people began to question. New voices rose. And in the distance, Specter screamed.