The Second Industrial Revolution

Technological advances were now expanding exponentially, and major scientific breakthroughs were made within the next decade in the development of fusion drives, plasma converters, remote power transference, and other forms of power and energy harnessing. These could be used for spacecraft, weaponry, and most importantly in 2722, the MIND Link - a groundbreaking new technology that enhanced human brainpower and thought processing with microchips. By synchronizing biological electrical synapses with implanted circuitry, man could merge with machine. Early versions of this were rudimentary and mostly ineffective, but still a massive technological leap that would eventually prove indispensable.
Bastion and Luna flourished under their joint efforts. Both were prospering and building robust societies of business and industry, calling their newly united nations New Terra. They established a governmental entity called the Sol Council, always looking for opportunities to expand and proliferate their unified New Terra. Further space exploration had always been a massive limitation and mostly impossible, until 2735.
During the transport of several fusion drives, two cores accidentally collided resulting in a massive release of energy. Because of the immense expulsion in opposing directions however, the explosion effectively collapsed in on itself, tearing a rift in spacetime. What should have been a catastrophic event became an unfathomable boon. One of the largest scientific discoveries of all time was made - the ability to create point to point connections between the very fabric of reality, allowing vast distances to be traveled near instantaneously. Transportation and transportation was utterly revolutionized.
Further experimentation would eventually manifest into Jump Drive technology for starships, but it wouldn’t happen before a series of failures, only finally being harnessed until nearly a century later.
By 2750, transportation between Earth and Luna was steady, mining and refinery operations were smooth, gathering of food, water, and other vital resources consistent, and for the first time in a long time, humanity felt like it wasn’t just surviving but actually thriving.
But history tends to repeat itself, and trouble was brewing. Communication with the Martian colonies had degraded over time as resentment had grown over the centuries of neglect and exploitation. Neither Earth nor Luna had ever provided much in the way of support to the Red Planet. The Martian’s value was in their resources, not their existence. Hostility was building as tempers flared.