A short history of the United Imperial Directorate, commissioned by the Mountbatten Family c. 2350 B.C.
Chapter I: Beginnings and the Futexom Incident.
The Mountbattens came to power on Earth shortly after a Golden Age of science, leading Humanity in to the stars and forming the Terran Imperial Directorate. Needless to say, for many years the esteemed Imperator-Director led the Humans to Empire. After the discovery of Hyperspace and untold amounts of evidence of extra-terrestrial life that would come to define Galactic Geography it was apparent that Humanity was not only not alone in the stars, but closer to their sentient brothers than first thought.
It was soon discovered that Humanity was nestled in a large pocket of habitable space with very few large hyperlanes through which to enter or exit. This area of space would come to be what we now know as the Core Worlds. Though largely sheltered from external threats by their galactic position, the Imperial Directorate would fight very hard for many years to finally uproot the vast network of pirates which called Humanity's rightful home their domain.
During this era great strides were made in the naval and colonization technologies. Eventually, after a routine survey was stopped by previously unknown aliens it was discovered that the world of Futexom was home to a civilization not too unsimilar from Humanity's own... However, they came to be on what was then Humanity's back door. Great debates were had over the proposed fate of these Aliens, as they had resisted integration but severely underestimated the Imperial Directorate's naval supremacy.
Not much is known today about the conquest of Futexom, though legends say that the 1st Lord Mountbatten led the final charge at the head of his personal retinue--a much revered regiment still in active duty to this day. Futexom was integrated and after several years of unrest became the capital of what is today, the Expansion, New Expansion, and Tomb Worlds sectors. It is still one of the greatest jewels of the empire and capital of the modern Expansion Sector.
Chapter II: The First Great Revealing and the Petty Wars.
For the next hundred years, Imperial Explorers mapped the Galactic North, discovering many new species and empire, friend and foe, and untold scientific anomaly. It was around this time that contact with the F'luxotl Confederacy was first established. Though it may seem improbable to you now, the modern rump state of the F'luxotl Combine was once an empire greater than our own. Through shrewd colonization policy and careful management of Imperial Outposts, the Mountbatten Imperator-Directorate created a cordon from what is today the Militarized District to the New Worlds Sector, effectively sealing off most of Humanity's claimed--but then-unrecognized--space from would-be betrayers. Despite our timeliness, several F'luxotln outposts were established deep inside Imperial Space.
Over the course of a decade the Imperial-Directorate and her allies fought several wars to expel the slow-to-colonize, but resource-hungry nation from their lands. The warfare was of a low-energy and endemic nature. Finall,y hostilities were ceased and the two nations signed a defensive pact that would stay in effect over several centuries.
It was during this era that people began to seriously talk about the notion of a multi-species empire. The Fuxetomite's--who suffered greatly from racism and poverty--campaigned vigorously to be allowed positions in the government and military.
Chapter III: Unification and the Pax Galactica.
Over the next fifty years, the Imperial-Directorate prospered quietly and by the end of the Petty Wars, had begun to experiment with genetics. They colonized many planets and the Outer Core, New Expansion, Tomb Worlds, and New Worlds sectors came in to existence. Eventually, after the well-documented uplifting of the Roachoid species, the Mountbattens were forced to integrate alien species more fully in to the Empire. A decision that would strengthen them despite civil unrest. (See: The Meta-Human Incident, and: The Establishment of Meta-Earth.)
Gradually, the various territories of the Imperial-Directorate were connected and great infrastructure projects were commissioned to serve both needs of the the Government and the People. It was also around this time that the Imperial Battle Fleet, Imperial Expeditionary Force, and the Imperial Fleet Authority came into being, and with them the final extermination of piracy in the Empire.
The Battle of Yaral V marked the end of the thos troubled times and ushered in what was to be known as the Pax Galactica. Shortly after the Imperial victory, the Terran Imperial Directorate was reorganized as the United Imperial Directorate to show both the increasing prosperity of Core World colonies such as Nova Terra and to mark the official recognition of "Aliens" as citizens.
Chapter IV: The Second Great Revealing and the First True Hyperlane War.
During the Pax Galactica contact was made with every existing sovereignty in the galaxy, thus uniting it. The Propitious Alliance was formed then as way for many small nations to resist the influence of the leading galactic empires. During this time, the wealth of Imperial-Directorate knew no bounds and they traded with anyone who would listen for star maps as they continued their exploration of the galaxy. Despite their dramatic success in creating a cohesive map of the galaxy, several systems remain uncharted due to political concerns.
While there had always been conflict in the Galactic South-East, most of the Galaxy remained at peace. It was then that weencountered the Autocratic Illiaxian Republic. After our then-allies, the Imperial Tradoraan Authority, requested out aid in their war to stop the unchecked spread of the Illiaxians over the Stars we ignited the First True Hyperlane War. While the Southern front was almost a complete route as the Illiaxians swept the Tradoraans away, the Northern front would come to redefine the way wars were fought.
The Imperial fleets were mostly in dry dock at the beginning of the war, and indeed, very few people actually believed this would be more than a few complimentary slaps on the wrists between friendly rivals. That all changed after the Illiaxians decisively smashed the Southern Imperial Defense Network at the 1st Battle of Asmidas II, opening the door to the invasion of the Border Settlements Sector. Panicking, the Imperator-Director did not know what to do. The Imperial Expeditionary Force had not engaged in communications for a week and the Local Sector Capital had reported an invasion force landing before also losing communications. The Mountbattens considered surrender for the first and only time in the history of the Empire. It was then that Admiral Nalla Shaaden limped in to the dockyards of Sol with half of the badly-mauled Expeditionary Forces. It was apparent Shaaden was out for blood and, with the blessing of the Imperator-Director reformed the Navy into the modern-day Imperial Armada. After repairing and refitting the fleet, she made full-steam for Asmidas II intent on revenge.
The After Action Report for the 2nd Battle of Asmidas II is available under the code 121343L-L4 at most colonial libraries. The battle itself lasted 31 days and was, at the time, the largest naval battle in known galactic history with over 200 warships taking part in the slaughter. The combined losses of both sides would number over 150. Though a tactical defeat for the Imperial-Directorate, it was a strategic victory, destroying the majority of the Illiaxians' fleet and crippling the sprawling-but-undeveloped nations ability to invade either the Empire or the Trandoraans. The tactics and strategies of Shaaden are still taught the three Imperial Naval Academies as well as the naval academies of over fifty nations to this day.
Though the Imperial-Directorate would begin a sprawling redesign and rebuilding program for the Armada, the Trandoraans could no longer bare the hardships of war and surrendered after a few months, thus ending the first war fought on a truly galactic scale. It would be almost fifty years before either the Imperial-Directorate or the Illiaxian Republic would be able to field fleets the size of their pre-war counterparts. During this Era much of the Empire was reorganized, both militarily and administratively. Those reforms form the base of our modern government.
Chapter V: The Integration of the K'lantaar and the Greater Imperial Authority.
When the current Imperatrix-Director came to power it was apparent that we would eventually be outpaced by larger empires unless something was done. A solution was found in the Rump States of the F'luxotl Combine and the K'lantaar Confederacy. Today we are on the eve of war with the F'luxotl, yesterday the K'lantaar.
Again, the K'lantaar resisted peaceful integration despited their cultural and technological deficiencies. Needless to say their demise was swift. Though historically protected by a large network of interconnected defensive-pacts, the politically unstable confederacy was forced to withdraw both their ambassadors abroad and their federationship, leaving them exposed to invasion by the Imperial-Directorate and her long-time ally, the Kingdom of Oklarr.
The K'lantaar campaign was swift, over in just three months. In that span of time, the Capital of the confederacy was surrendered to the Empire and three new planets were settled in the Ultaarar region in the Greater Ultaararan and Ultaaran Financial sectors. The navies of the Empire were merciless and her robotic armies brutal. Even as I write, the F'luxotl attempt to politick their way out of a similar fate--to no avail.
After the forceful integration of the K'lantaar our friends, the Oklarr, proposed a mighty alliance. Like the Holy Roman Empire before us, we formed the Greater Imperial Authority, a collection of megacorporations, kingdoms, and the Imperial-Directorate with the purpose of Galactic Advancement.
EDIT: Of middling quality. Just felt like writing the exploits of the Imperator-Director down!