The Tallarn Confederacy

Pretorians, later Tallarnians At first glance one might easily mistake a Pretorian with a Human. They share alot of similar traits. But if one pays close attention he might spot the differences. Pretorians are on average 7 feet tall, with no difference between man and woman. They are also slightly stronger then a human, yet not on levels which seem like supernatural to a human. A Pretorian’s stamina is also slightly above that of a human. The Pretorians also have white ireses and white hair. But what is really distinct is that yes, Pretorians might appear mere human, but their bonestructure is much tougher then that of a human and their pain barrier is above a level which would kill a human. Pretorians are naturally mistrusting to anyone who isnt a fellow Pretorian and are prone to aggressive outbursts.

The Confederacy is lead by the Autarch. (S)he rules with an iron fist over the people of Tallarn. The absolute leader of the Confederacy, the Autarch has the last say about any decision made by the House of Lords and the System Council. He is also the System Council representative of Tallarn. He is protrayed as a living god while infact he is just a mere man. There are only 2 ways to become an Autarch: Heiraditary or deposing through civil war. The House of Lords is the Confederacy’s parlement. The Lords are the leaders of Confederacy wide government institutions (Navy, Army, Intelligence, Treasury, etc.) The System Council consists of the leaders of the individual planets. These are called the Dukes. Under the Dukes are the Barons, they are basically the same as the Lords of the House of Lords, only then meant for their own planet. It is not rare for infighting to occur in the Confederacy. Because of the vastly different origins of the colonies, the people on these colonies often have conflicting morals, costums or traditions. Confederate civil war is rare but can result in a change in Autarch. It is much more common however that Barons want to take land from eachother and wage wars for it. Only Tallarnians are allowed to work in the government, the Condeferacy is overal rather xenophobic.

The Confederacy is a military state. Everything else could be sacrifised aslong as the military remains strong. There are several military forces in the Confederate military. The largest organisation is the Confederate Army. This is the force used to protect the interests of the Autarch (and the Lord of the Army), aswell as fight the galactic ground wars. It’s units are highly drilled and have a zealous devotion to the Autarch and they are conscripted from all the worlds of the Confederacy. They would rather die then show cowardice in the face of the enemy. Their equipment is completely standardised. They all wear the same uniform and all use the same weaponry. The military doctrine is to use massive amounts of infantry and armour to overwhelm the enemy while all the while delivering a continuous artillery bombardment. The second largest organisation is the Confederate Navy. Favouring large starships with alot of heavy weaponry over nimble light ships, the Confederate Navy is a bastion of conservatism and is in a direct rivalry with the Army. The Navy controls ALL ships and military aviation, including the support ships for the Army. Sometimes when a rivalry needs to be setteled the Navy just does not provide airsupport to the Army, while the Army might destroy vital resources used to construct more vessels or destroy captured dockyards. The Navy also controls all merchant shipping. Finally, the Navy does not just use large dreadnoughts and battleships. They also posses carrier ships, carrying a large amount of fighters, bombers and dropships. The Navy is devided into several Armadas lead by High Lords of the Fleet (Not to be mistaken for Lord of the Navy). These Armadas are then seperated into Battlefleets, led by Lord Admirals, which are inturn split into Strikefleets, led by Fleet Admirals. There are also the individual planetary armies, split up in armies controlled by the Barons. These armies are the first line of defense for these planets and they vastly differ from eachother. Some might use laser weaponry while others use but mere sabers and lances. The Barons use their own personal armies to enforce their demands on the Duke, who is reliant on the Barons, aswell as to settle personal claims with eachother. The smallest organisation is the Tallarnian Guard. These are the personal bodyguards of the Autarch and number 6000. Lastly, but certainly not least, is the Intelligence Bureau of Tallarn (IBT). The IBT is there to keep the populace under control, working as the secret police. But they also have the task of espionage and, odly enough, diplomatic relations. The IBT on paper is a very small organisation. But it has agents in all other organisations, both military and civilian. It is rumoured that it is actually the IBT who controls the Confederacy because everytime an Autarch change occured the Lord of Intelligence was the only Lord who was allowed to remain seated, specualting that he actually orcestrated the coup. The Confederate Army uses the exact same loadout for each of their soldiers: -Flak armour, which is a special personal armour to protect the person against shrapnel and ordinary bullets. Usually covered up in the form of a trenchcoat but depending on the circumstances of the planet (like arctic or jungle) can be covered differently. -An assault helmet, Covering the entireface with a skull like rebreather, the assault helmet has 3 functions. The first is to protect the user against weaponry, the second is to make him able to operate in a hostile atmosphere (like gas attacks) and third, to intimidate their enemies. -A Mark 7 Lasrifle. The Mark 7 is the latest itteration of a long line of Confederate laser rifles. It is sturdy and reliable. It uses a battery pack which has a capacity of 200 shots but the intensity of the weapon’s beam can be intensified, increasing it’s drainage of the battery. It can fire 400 bolts a minute but that is not recommended to try, as the barrel will need rapid replacing due to overheating. The Mark 7 also has a fixed bayonet. -A plasteel ceremonial battleaxe. Coming from the old traditions of the tribes back on Pretoria, the ceremonial battleaxe is believed to carry the soul of a warrior. But dont let the name fool you. It might be ceremonial but when in close quaters a Confederate soldier will use his battleaxe just as happily as his bayonet. The Army also uses Commissars to keep the men in line and remind them of their precious duty to the Autarch and the Confederacy. The Army’s Main Battle Tank is the Ares. The Ares uses a special armour which can deflect laser strikes, but it is not 100% succesfull at that. The Ares can be fielded in many forms. It can be equiped with an anti-armour weapon, but also with a flak cannon or a anti-personel weapon, like a flamethrower. It also has smoke grenade launchers and the ability to be converted in an artillery vehichle or APC. The Army recently approved the Mars BattleMech. The Mars is a BattleMech which is just as fast as the Ares MBT. It has jumpjets so it can cross difficult terain and has been equiped with a new portable railgun and flamethrower, aswell as the ability to be equiped with a MRLS(Multiple Rocket Launcher System) for artillery practices. The Confederate Navy has alot of ships though the most prominent are: -Legate class Dreadnought: Named after the commander of a legion in ancient times, the Legate is a majestic ship to behold. It is richly decorated both internally and externally. It is the second most heavily armed class of ship in the Confederate Navy but it certainly is the biggest one. The Legate’s role is fleet command. Usually commanded by a Lord Admiral, the Legate can take a heavy beating and strike back just as hard. -Agrippa class Battleship: The Agrippa is the main ship of the line for the Confederate Navy. It has a large amount of broadside weaponry and is an intimidating opponent due to it’s shere size, only dwarfed by the Legate. The Agrippa is meant to take hits and keep the enemy occupied so the other ships of the fleet can finish them off. -Athena class Battlecruiser: Basically a smaller version of the Agrippa, the Athena has sacrificed some of the armour for missile bays, allowing it to deliver far more damage to an enemy at close to medium range. This also gives the Athena the ability to bombard planets from orbit. -Nova class Cruiser: The most common ship in the Confederate Navy, the Nova class is also the oldest class still in service. Having many turrets covering all possible attack angles, the Nova is always ready for a fight. It is not as well protected as the Athena but the Nova can still take quite some punishment, and it needs that resiliance. One tactic Nova commanders commonly use is a rather brute one: Ramming. The Nova is a rather slow ship but still faster then the Agrippa and the Legate. The Nova also houses a large fighterbay. -Fury class Destroyer: The newest addition to the Confederate Navy. Though only half the size of the Nova class, the Fury is the most deadly of all ships. It’s cyclone torpedos travel at near lightspead to their target and when they impact they create a force equal to a large meteor strike. Though this firepower comes at a price. The Fury only has 4 cyclone torpedos and they are rather unreliable. One recorded instance saw the torpedo explode in the launching tube and destory half a strike fleet. The Fury also has basic railgun weaponry mounted in turrets on it’s hull. It is also the fastest ship of the entire fleet. The Navy uses several fighter and bomber types but the most common are the Gorgon class Fighter and the Harpy class Bomber. Both are based on the same design yet one has anti- fighter weaponry and the other has anti-capitalship/ground weaponry. Lastly, the navy also builds large commercial and defence stations acros all the planets owned by the Confederacy. These usually shield the planet and are armed to the teeth with railguns and laser weaponry. They also have a large amount of fighterbays. They also have nuclear weaponry aimed at the planet. Officially to be able to destroy enemy bridgeheads on the planet, but actually they are there to make sure the populace doesnt get any funny ideas.

The Confederate tech is not really fancy. Yes they do have laser weaponry but that has suited their needs untill now, so they dont really need a new improvement. The Confederacy still uses alot of explosive weaponry on the ground using weaponry which has similarities with the weapons used on Earth in the 20st century. They do not attempt to biologically enhance their population but there have been rumours of secret cloning facilities which do experiment with “improving” Tallarnians. These facilites however can not produce an army out of nowhere, it takes atleast a day to create 10 clones in these facilities, resulting in 10.000 clones a month from all the facilities combined. (if allowed by the rules) The Confederacy has the ability to use AI and use them alot in civilian life. Deeming it too risky for AI to control weaponsystems. All weapons are manned by normal soldiers. Though guidance systems and such are AI driven.

Back on old Pretoria there used to be alot of tribes roaming around on the planet. The Tallarnians changed the tribal system, almost completely removing it. But to not lose the core of what it meant to be a Tallarnian they kept certain elements, like the warrior culture and the religious practices revolving around that. The Confederacy has several layers of society. Mostly this is caused by the split between the planets. The capital planet is Tallarn, the seat of the Autarch, the House of Lords and the System Council. Tallarn is a planet completely covered with large skyscrapers and huge factories. The people from Tallarn deem themselves superiour to all the other members of the Confederacy. They have hold the highest ranks in all Confederate governmental organisations including all the high ranking officers in the Army, Navy and the IBT. Secondly come the core worlders. These are the citizens of the other founding members of the Confederacy. These world are usually either a breeding ground for the Army and Navy or are completely transformed into planetsized factories. Then there are the outer colonies. These are considered the lower classes. The colonies provide the core worlds their raw resources. The Confederacy is a Xenophobic society. Believing themselves superiour to any “foul xenos” in the galaxy. Although they wont say that through offical channels ofcourse.

Back when Pretoria was still colonizing across the stars there was a small corperation called the Tallarn Trade Corp(TTC). The TTC then found a wormhole and went through it. To their disdain they found out that they were not the first ones to discover this wormhole, others had passed through it already and claimed several planets. After some random jumps the TTC found what they were looking for, a planet rich of raw materials. They named this planet: Tallarn. After several decades of building up their settlement on Tallarn all seemed to go well. Trade had been established with the other colonies and back home the TTC was making a huge profit. But then disaster struck. The wormhole, the only way to reach the outer colonies from Pretoria… Collapsed. Now not only Tallarn but all outer colonies were cut off from Pretoria. Fearing the worst. It was decided that a union had to be formed, because you’re stronger when you’re united, right? So the outer colonies formed the Confederacy of the Outer Colonies. After the collapse of the wormhole and the formation of the Confederacy everyone was doing their part to survive. And slowly the settlements grew into cities, which grew into states. It had been 250 years After the Wormhole Collape (AWC). Tallarn had grown into the most powerfull colony. All the other colonies were governing themselves. Tallarn had been leading in military production, because they were the biggest state they had to supply most forces. Then there was first contact. An alien race, now only known as “The Vorchan”, entered Confederate space. Immediatly a response force of the closest planet, Mordia, was deployed. The Mordian fleet tried to open communication but the Vorchan engaged their weaponsystems. Unknown to the Mordians this was a way of greating for the Vorchan, showing what power they held and thus exposing their weaknesses. The Mordians immediatly responded by opening fire, destroying the Vorchan ships. 2 months later another fleet appeared, again near Mordia. The Mordians again dispatched a fleet… And that was the last thing the Confederacy ever heard of Mordia. Following this event the Vorchans pushed deeper into Confederate space and the Confederacy had to fight with everything it had to not be destroyed. Not be exterminated. But it seemed in vain. One by one the colonies fell. The Vorchans now reached Aurelia. They were planning to invade Aurelia but unknown to them the Aurelians had a plan. They would await for the Vorchans to enter orbit, as they always did, and commence their planetary invasion. The Aurelians would all defend one central point, a special crystal mine. This mine ran to the core of Aurelia. The Aurelians would blow up their own planet and destroy the Vorchan invasion fleet. The invasion began, but to the Aurelian and the Confederacy’s shock not all of the Vorchan fleet moved into Aurelia’s orbit. There had to be a space engagment… Tallarn was up for the task. As the Aurelians were holding their position, awaiting for the Vorchans to deploy all their troops, the Tallarnians engaged in space combat. Thousands of lives were lost, hunderdeds of ships destroyed. But the Tallarnians had beaten the Vorchans… Just intime to see Aurelia sacrifice itself. It is unknown wether or not the Vorchans were completely destroyed by this act, or deemed expansion into the region too expensive. But they were never seen again. In response to this crisis the Confederacy met in the Systems Council. The war had been costly, none of the planets had any fighting force anymore except for Tallarn. And here the leader of Tallarn demanded that somthing like this, the loss of countless of systems by alien hands, was never to be allowed again. All councilers agreed. But what the Tallarnians then did was not as the councilers had expected. The other planets were invaded and their leaders were captured. The leader of Tallarn declared himself Autarch. He then ordered that all who would disagree with his rule would be killed. There were uprisings at first, but they were quickly crushed by the Tallarnian military. The Confederacy of the Outer Colonies was no more. From now on it was the Tallarn Confederacy. Now it is 350 AWC and the Confederacy has expanded it’s boundries significantly. A recent civil war has made everyone in the Confederacy uncertain of the future. The new Autarch promises to bring glory to the Confederacy. “This is the start of a new age, my brothers and sisters. We have suffered greatly in the past. But today comes an end to our suffering! No more shall we be devided! No more shall we fight for personal gain! The Confederacy was formed for the betterment of all. And we will be better. For we will rid the galaxy of any who opposes us! Today my brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of Tallarn, we shall cross our borders and expand into the unknown! We shall conquer the stars! We shall dominate all… For that is our destiny, the destiny of mankind, the destiny… of Tallarn.” - Autarch Radec Orlock of the Tallarn Confederacy.