Towards the end of World War I, Emperor Karl I of Austria attempted to negotiate a separate peace with the Triple Entente to preserve the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
In our timeline, this initiative failed. In the world of Project Dreadnought, it succeeded.
The Early Space Race
Without the limitations of the Treaty of Versailles, the Kaiser leads Germany in the development of orbital travel. The other Great Powers involve themselves, each achieving milestones much earlier than they did in our timeline. The Germans launch the first satellite, the Americans the first manned mission to low Earth orbit, and the British plant the Union Jack on the surface of the Moon.
Colonizing the Solar System
Slowly, the political blocs of Earth make their way into the rest of the solar system. A rush of colonization takes place. The British establish a permanent presence on the Moon, the Americans christen the State of Rubicund on Mars, the Austrians monopolize mining and trade in the Asteroid Belt. Thanks to advancements in propulsion, exploratory vessels are capable of even further trips, brining the gas giants and the outer solar system into reach. But what they uncover beyond the Belt will change the course of history forever...
Triangulum and the Precursors
Simultaneously, at opposite ends of the solar system, two discoveries are made that revolutionize mankind's place in the stars. An American survey of Venus reveals an ancient facility, suspended above the clouds through some unknown means, while a joint Austro-French mission to Jupiter discovers a derelict ship of similar design in a decaying orbit. Years of secretive research would reveal both to be the work of a mysterious Precursor empire that once held great sway but is now nowhere to be found. But among the ashes of their once-great civilization, a new element is found that will unlock the boundaries of our normal universe and open the door to interstellar space...
Interlinked Dimensions
Triangulum exhibited curious properties, due to its apparent simultaneous existence in three separate universes, as was eventually discovered. The first of these universes to be found was labeled subspace, an ancient, lifeless dimension older than normal space by such a factor that the stars had long since burned out. Space itself had expanded, so that one could travel for an hour in subspace and end up only a stride's length from where they started in normal space. But it was the second universe, dubbed hyperspace, that was of far more immediate value, chiefly because this property was reversed. Hyperspace was an incredibly young universe, full of nebulae and stellar nurseries that made navigation hazardous, but a day's travel in hyperspace could take you all the way from Earth to Alpha Centauri.
First Contact
Using the remarkable properties of triangulum, the Great Powers developed ships capable of interstellar voyages, and the race to colonize the local stellar neighborhood began. The expansion proved far too fast for anyone's good. Due to a misunderstanding, a lost colony ship from Earth instigated a war with the mysterious Valandaux Empire, a race of aristocratic aliens with a complex internal political structure. Although the details of how the war started were not fully uncovered until years later, the indisputable fact remains that the Valandaux carried out a brutal campaign against human colony worlds that force the Great Powers to form the largest coalition in history to oppose them...
The United Earth Defense Pact
The threat of the Valandaux and the mounting casualties of the war convinced the nations of Earth to sign the United Earth Defense Pact, allowing greater cooperation and coordination between individual national fleets. The signing of the UEDP was the turning point in the war, giving Earth some much-needed breathing room and securing several strategic victories against the aggressive Valandaux. But once the aliens were brought to the negotiating table, the sinister true nature of many of the UEDP's proponents was revealed...
The War of Colonial Independence
The present day setting of the Project Dreadnought universe takes place during the War of Colonial Independence. On one side, the United Earth Dominion, the totalitarian government that was brought about by the United Earth Defense Pact, seeks to assert complete control over humanity's colonies across the stars. On the other, the Great Powers of America, Germany, Britain, Austria, France, and many others fight to retain their territories and peoples from the oppressive dictatorship of the United Earth Dominion.