The systems of the Banners Sector have had limited contacts with the Third Imperium and its predecessor states. Partially this is because of the sectors location which even at the height of the Third Imperium was more than a sector from the nearest Imperial Worlds in the Dark Nebula and Magyar sectors and partially because of the chaotic neture of the many small states which came and went in the intervening space. Later tensions between the Third Imperium and the Solomani Confederation, which controlled the Canopus sector and parts of the neighbouring Ustral Quadrant Sector greatly restricted the passage of Imperial vessels to Banners, which had to find alternate routes through Hierate space and the independent regions. This limited commercial traffic with the Third Imperium and the bulk of contact was therefore with vessels of the Imperial Interstellar Scout Service.
It is considered unlikely that there was any contact between occupied worlds in Banners and the First (or Vilani) Imperium given the great distances to their nearest systems. Settlement in the Banners Sector was almost non existant at this time. Neither Fteirle (Aslan) nor Humans had yet colonised any systems in the sector. This changed when Earth began sending sub-light colony ships in the middle to late twenty-first century, some of which entered the Banners Sector around fourteen hundred years later. Later with the invention of the jump drive by Terrans a few jump colony ships also entered the region.
The Second Imperium (The Rule of Man) largely passed unnoticed in Banners, it began and ended while the sub-light colonies were still in transit and the few colonies established by jump ships were so far out that they had not expected any regular contacts with the Imperium so the Long Night passed as a footnote in the history of Banners.
From around 5100 vessels of the Third Imperium began entering the sector, never in great numbers, mostly trade pioneer types and vessels of the Imperial Interstellar Scout Service, some of these vessels reaching the human colony world of Alston in 5108. In 5107 Earth joined the Third Imperium bringing with her a large number of colony worlds. This resulted in somewhat easier access to the Banners Sector which was now also home to Fteirle. This was the Third Imperiums period of greatest influence in the sector. In 5222 as a result of political currents within the court of the Third Imperium the Solomani Autonomous Zone was formed, from this period Imperial influence within Banners began to wane and was finally cut off all-together when the Solomani Confederation was formed in 5389. Since most human occupied worlds in Banners were mostly settled either from Earth or one of her earlier colonies the seperation from the Imperium was not great regretted.
When space was decimated by virus Banners was rudely reminded of the former existance of the Third Imperium when virus infected warships started arriving in the sector. The inhabitants had had some warning via the Solomani Confederation but the damage to many worlds was great and billions died. The damage was not as devestating as it could have been, many systems in Banners are relatively isolated and the overall technology which was somewhat lower than Imperial or Solomani helped moderate the effects of virus.
Now with no Imperium as far as anyone in Banners can tell and with the Solomani Confederation also gone the worlds of the sector may find themselves coming under pressure from the Aslan Hierate which survived the collapse, but so far this has not come to pass.
