OOC http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/75985/posts/ooc
Commodore Morning sat slouched in the Command Throne, eye closed, complex navigational calculations flitting back and forth between his mind and the ship's Semi-Sentience. High Command had wanted the Second Expeditionary Army in the Maalik System within the week, Valyrian Standard Time, and the taskforce was ahead of schedule. The sub-space lateral tide was with them, thankfully, and with the exception of a grav-pool around the Hannor Crescent that had needed careful bypassing, the journey had been free of any major obstacles. So far, so good. Morning concluded his calculations, finding the taskforce's speed, course setting, and projected arrival time to his satisfaction. He sent a terse data-blurt through his neuro-uplink to the other ships under his command and their captains, commending their efficiency. A chime dinged softly in his ear. The strategic briefing in five. The Commodore opened his flesh eye. It took a moment for it to adapt to the dim of the bridge, and his augmentic optic whirred and clicked as it adjusted its settings in sympathy with his biological sight. The Lord Ashfallow's long, arch-ceilinged bridge was busy but quiet. Commodore Morning ran a tight ship, and did not allow noise levels on his bridge to exceed an indecorous level unless there was an emergency. Even in combat command staff were expected control their volumes, like the professionals they were. War was no place for bloodthirsty braggadocio and showmanship, in the Commodore's opinion. Calm, orderly deliberation followed by decisive action, that was how to fight and win. Righteous fury may make the heart flutter, but it cost lives and more often than not, victory. The Ashfallow's Semi-Sentience signaled its agreement with Morning's musings with a pleasurable neuro-pulse. A delightful beast, this ship. The Commodore had commanded three different vessels over the course of his time in His Grace's navy, and worked as a staff officer on four more. Each ship's Semi-Sentience had acquired a different flavor over the long centuries of their service, each had an almost-personality formed by patchworks of impressions and echoes from the many minds that had entered them. Some ships were blustery and uncooperative, others irritatingly submissive, a few were quirky to the point of insanity...but the Lord Ashfallow was a professional. Cool, detached, terse, prompt. Very much like the Commodore himself. Morning severed his link to the Semi-Sentience, ignoring the usual aching twinge of disconnection, and stood up. He straightened his uniform- the deep royal blue of His Grace's Navy, heavily starched and embroidered with silver tracery- and walked briskly down the bridge towards the briefing station.Introduction.... It is Imperial Year 3,506, exactly one millennium after the Sacking of Almata by the Rival Claimants and the final destruction of the Arcturian Empire. The galaxy has known a millennium of chaos and darkness as astro-goths, pirate bands and slaver-kings have ravaged the systems of the dead Empire, carving out petty fiefdoms for themselves. Outposts of the old order have struggled to survive amid the general anarchy, fending off barbarian threats or bribing their would-be assailants in exchange for protection. Alien peoples, made vengeful by centuries of humano-centric oppression in the old Empire, have risen up against their former masters and founded space-faring nations of their own amid the general chaos. The Dark Ages, however, are coming to an end. The Kingdom of Far Valyrius, once a minor Arcturian client state spanning three systems in a backwater sector, weathered the collapse of the old order uniquely well, thanks in large part to the far sighted strategy of King Odyssius II, who welcomed the remnants of the Loyalist Imperial fleet into his system after the death of the final Emperor at the hands of the Rival Claimants. Well protected by its isolated location and powerful Imperial fleet, huge ships-of-the-line carefully husbanded over the centuries, the Kingdom managed to prosper even as the galaxy burned around it. One year ago, the Kingdom emerged victorious from a decades-long struggle against the barbarian-emperor Arius, whose fleet was crushed by King Odyssius XVII at the Battle of Archangel. Freed for the first time in centuries from impending external threats, His Grace the King declared a Reconquest of four neighboring systems, inaugurating the War of Seven Suns. You are a captain in His Majesty's Navy, the commander of a cruiser in the Second Royal Expeditionary Force tasked with securing the subspace lanes and orbits of the Maalik system so that the Royal Armies can take the planets in the name of the King. Your ship is millenia old. A veteran of hundreds of battles. Between 1-3 km in length, it is home to thousands of sailors, marines, soldiers and officers. It hosts to a powerful and ancient AI known as a Semi-Sentience, and is armed with an array of weaponry capable of leveling cities and turning entire armies to cinders. The RP.... Welcome! Above is a basic overview of the universe in which this RP will be set, along with a little IC flavor. This RP will be a bit of a mix btwn a sci-fi military RP and a game of political intrigue. The setting is inspired by Dune and 40K, the European dark ages, Napoleonic naval battles. Your primary character will be a captain or commodore of a huge naval ship taking part in King Odyssius' Reconquest. As hinted at above, each ship has its own unique AI and personality. You will basically be RPing as an entire ship, a society of thousands (or more) taking part in the larger drama of this sci-fi war. If this idea generates sufficient interest, I will provide more details about ship sizes, classes, and weaponry, but each ship would be highly customizable and would be created as part of your character creation. At the same time, a major objective of this RP will be worldbuilding. I've set the ground work of the society we'll be operating in, but fleshing it out with everyone's ideas and with much complexity will, I hope, be a great deal of fun. The Kingdom of Valyrius is a highly complex feudal society, and hopefully our characters, their loyalties and motivations will reflect and build the fictional world in which they are operating. I was tempted just to make this a regular 40K naval rp, but I hope using an original setting gives us a chance to collaboratively worldbuild. I will be RPing as the head of the Second Royal Expeditionary Taskforce to start, the Grand Duke Konrad von Ravenstein, as well as Commodore Morning, captain of the Lord Ashfallow. Additionally, I will take the role of the antagonists our captains will be facing. However, the head of the overall military Taskforce is not the Admiral in charge of the fleet- so there is room for a player to be the ranking naval officer and to command the flagship of our RP's fleet. As people join, perhaps there will be room for others to take on antagonistic roles as well. Just who the Royal Navy will be facing will be developed further in the OOC. I hope the above makes sense- please let me know if you have any questions!
