Name: The Morte Imperium, Das Mortereich, The Morte Empire Species: Morteans (near-humanoid race) Government: Totalitarian Elected Monarchy Official Language: Gothic Standard Homeworld: Mortis, Todestern System Holdings: Star Systems: 7, Habitable Planets: 4, Colony Clusters: 16 Total Population: 85,569,242,144 (according to last year's census) Military Power: 2,500,000,000 personnel (regulated by law, always replenished within a week) Fleet Power: 2,500 warships (as per "peacetime" law restrictions, not including escorts and lesser ships)
HISTORY OVERVIEW
TBA
SPECIES & SOCIETY
Morteans are bipedal creatures who closely resemble humans. Whether they are distant descendants of human colonists or an alien race who are just similar to humans due to the parallel evolution theory, it's unknown. Morteans live in their harsh death worlds which made them look pale and weak compared to an average human. They're at average 163cm tall but there are rare Morteans who grow over 2 meters. Due to the effect of radiation, birth defects and mutations are relatively common and according to statistics 27.4% of the children die at (or before) birth. For every Mortean death is a common experience which swayed their society into an unique direction. Morteans neither fear death nor welcome it. They accept death as a natural element of their lives and strive to serve their community during the short time they're given (average 40-50 years). Morteans are utilitarians to the extreme, acting together like clockwork. In the eyes of other races Morteans themselves may even appear almost machine-like, having little in the way of personal goals and instead striving to complete their duties to the community as a whole. This unique mindset also makes Morteans numb to the feeling of loss other species experience. Morteans are capable of boundless cruelty without the slightest emotion behind it. Compassion in its typical sense is almost completely foreign to them. On the other hand their higher orientation towards logic means Morteans always operate within reason. They have a clear view on risks and benefits which makes negotiations with Morteans surprisingly simple. The official language of the Mortereich is the Gothic Standard. It resembles German from the ancient human civilization albeit they are far from a perfect match to each other. There are also 7 major dialects and even more minor dialects within the population which can range from slight mutation to something that doesn't even sound like the same language.
GOVERNMENT & HOLDINGS
The Mortean government is imperial, formed in the ancient past under the necessity to fend off various invaders. Old databanks detail that until the fourth century IR the Kaiser's title was inherited by the descendants of Karl von Metzel. After the formation of the "Neue Reich" the Kaiser was elected for 4 years by a public vote. Thus the current government system is Elected Totalitarian Monarchy. Anyone can volunteer to be Kaiser candidate but they must pass a rigorous set of selection tests and only the most fit can participate in the actual elections. There are no established political parties albeit having the favor of certain groups can increase a candidate's chances to become the Kaiser. Right after election the Kaiser has absolute power but he must use this with care. After the end of their run the former Kaiser is examined and questioned for his actions and in case of misusing his power he may even face execution. Re-election is possible but only for the maximum number of 4 times in a row. Overall the Morte Empire has a strict system of hierarchy. Anyone is expected to follow the orders of their superior to the letter. Insubordination leads to punishment. Yet if there are questions raised in regards of the superior's competence, these can be submitted to a higher up who upon further evaluation could demote the said person for their apparent lack of ability deserving the post. Extraordinary promotions may be issued the same way, albeit the process is even more complicated. Generally the Mortean government and society works like a constantly running engine. This undoubtedly contributes to their reputation as "machine-like people".
Overall the Mortean Empire holds almost 40% of the Stormlosweg Sector which can be found in the uncharted regions of the galaxy. Stormlosweg Sector is devastated by the Kilonova Catastrophe over a millennia ago. This made life incredibly harsh for its inhabitants. Currently the Mortean Empire controls 7 star systems: Todderstern (their home system), Bekrieger, Heissessen, Brennenweg, Schmelzer, Grossernicht and Saltzricht. In spite of that they only possess 4 barely habitable planets. Their home system Mortis, Tannerbald the only planet with the potential for open terrain agriculture, the mineral-rich Stolzer and Krugern which was the former homeworld of the Luxans. To house their population elsewhere the Morteans built no less than 16 colony clusters in their territory and currently about 32% of Morte's population lives in these.
TECHNOLOGY & INDUSTRY
Since the ancient Kilonova Catastrophe the Morteans came a long way and advanced their science tremendously. It was both by the force of necessity and by reverse-engineering the technology of other civilizations. Nowadays they are the most advanced nation in the entire Stormlosweg Sector, even if compared to civilizations from the galaxy as a whole they have ways to go. Their chief power source is antimatter. Boon of the bane is that the Kilonova Catastrophe turned all stars into irregulars which naturally expel solar winds of pure antimatter. Gathering this up the Morte Empire has an almost inexhaustible supply. Their industry is developed massively over the centuries and their star systems are practically filled with automated mines and factories. These were once fueling the Morte's immense war machine but with the lasting peace these facilities are switched over to civilian production. Just in this century they founded 8 new colony clustrs. Material engineering is similarly advanced in the Empire, with various batches of Durachrome can be found in all construction.
For long centuries Morte's only reliable form of interstellar travel was the Warp Drive. This technology went through dozens of generations yet its chief mechanism remained the same. It manipulates space-time to effectively shorten the distance and allow ships to travel at apparent speeds faster than light. It's a proven and tested device, albeit compared to what most civilizations use in the galaxy the're considered massively slower. Usually ships equipped with warp drives can only travel a few lightyears in a day. Morte also has advanced medicine, cybernetics and AI technology albeit sentient machines are kept under strict regulations and constant surveillance. They also know several terraformation methods yet none of these seems to solve the problem with their home planet. A scientist once proposed the idea to create a planet-wide barrier around Mortis but the results were rather discouraging.
MILITARY OVERVIEW
Mortean military doctrine reflects their society completely. They follow utility and precise organization. Laws explicitly determine the number of soldiers protecting the Empire and their count is reviewed every weekend. During "peacetime" (defined by the lack of major campaigns instead of the absence of any military action or hostilities) this quota was determined to be 2.5 billion, calculated to be just appropriate to keep the hostile neighbors at bay. During major military actions the Kaiser has full authority to raise this quota anywhere. All Morteans receive combat training before reaching adulthood and they're obliged to refresh it on every 4th year. In the Mortean Empire there are no civilians, just active soldiers and those who stay in reserve. The duty of the empire's protection is shared with everyone. The military branch of the Morteans is called Reichswehrmacht.
Name: Reichstruppe Role: Standard Foot Soldier Armor: Nanofiber mesh suit + durachrome/neutrozite plates Primary Weapon: PASER Rifle Misc: Environmental sealing, limited life support and temperature control, artificial muscles, gas mask/rebreather, helmet-incorporated virtual screen with data-link, sensory information and early warning, heat/electromagnetic detector and night-vision modes, medical injectors
Standard soldier of the Morte Empire. Beneath their uniform they wear nanofiber mesh giving slight increase in strength and cushion against common impacts. Against well-armed soldiers the arangement of durachrome/neutrozite layered plates offer moderate protection, only allowing the higher setting of energy weapons to penetrate. Neutrozite layers exist against antimatter particle weapons like PASER rifles to prevent pair annihilation chain reactions. PASERS use minute antimatter reactions to launch microscopic amount of anti-hydrogen at the target at cosmic velocity. Their main killing capability originates from the antimatter packet reacting with regular matter thus they're surprisingly energy-efficient although at the cost of having limited ammunition. Reichstruppe also carry around plasma grenades, impulse missiles and one per platoon has the responsibility to safeguard their antimatter demolition charges.
Name: Panzergrenadier Role: Assault, Raqid Strike, Mobile Fire Support Defenses: Duracomposite Armor, Integrity Field, Countermeasures, Active Protection Systems Standard Weapon Loadout:Assault PASER, Compact Pressed Particle Accelerator (usually PPA-25C), Impulse Missile Pods, Y-Rack, G-Blade
Heavy assault suits of about 2.5m height used both as heavy/elite infantry and as highly mobile strike vehicles. They have surprising amount of protection for their size albeit still not comparable to heavy combat vehicles. What they lack in armor they make up in mobility and sheer versatility. With the combination of micro impulse drives and inertial fields the suit can fly at high speeds like a gunship and it's loaded full with dangerous weapons. Its heaviest hitting armament is the PPA which contains microscopic amounts of neutronium suspended in stasis via a warp field, making it weightless and safely contained. When the trigger is pulled it unleashes a tiny portion of that neutronium towards the firing chamber at near the speed of light in a hyperdense matter stream. Without anything holding back neutronium decays within a split second but not until it travels up to many miles. The thin hyperdense stream penetrates the target and then if the weapon is adjusted well the neutronium violently explodes within. Neutronium is quite expensive to acquire thus PPA is only utilized against high value targets. For everything else it has rapid firing hi-powered Assault PASER, impulse missiles, G-Blade (uses a field of gravity to temporarily form a melee weapon) and lastly but not least the Y-Rack which uses the suit's own antimatter reserves to intelligently deploy plasma grenade charges at nearby targets, allowing to manage large group of targets better. Panzergrenadier suits are compact yet powerful which makes them popular for most ground combat theaters as they save transport space.
Name: Panzerschwebswagen (Armored Hover Vehicle), Pzswgn. IX Ausf. D (Panzer IX, latest mainline variant) Role: Fire Support,Hover Tank, Artillery, Troop Transport (only the turretless Umf. T variant) Defense: Layered Duracomposite with micro reactive layers, integrity fields, countermeasures, active protection systems Weapon: PASSEO-100 (Plasma Accelerated Solid Shell Effect Ordinance) launching 100mm plasma-charge shells, Assault PASER, X-Rack, Optional Impulse Missile Pods
Hover tanks are heavy vehicles mostly limited to fire support and showing up for large open battlefields. They are powerful but most of their roles are steadily taken over b the Panzergrenadiers. In the past there used to be a "destroyer tank" variant equipped with PPA but that duty is long practiced by Panzergrenadiers. Since then the Panzers switched for the role of "economical" fire support and prefer firing solid shells at times even over high angles to act as artillery. PASSEO doesn't match the sheer penetrating power of the PPA but their antimatter initiated plasma charge is not to be underestimated. If necessary the shell can even have the cumulative plasma effect which is basically an advanced shaped charge for anti-armor duty. It's also a popular decision to get rid of the turret and the ammo reserves to make room for troop compartment in the so-called "T" modification. This way the tank effectively transforms into an APC.
The protector of planets and king of battles on the surface the BOLO (Battlefield Operations Logic Object) is a giant landship owning a sentient AI and roughly starship grade equipment.They have extremely durable armor even by ship standards and since the atmospheric close to ground operations don't support typical Force Shields the BOLO has an unique variant dubbed Klein Field. All this is usually powered by an unique Neutron Reactor, utilizing the pair annihilations of neutronium to generate much more energy than its size would suggest. Aside from the command bridge and access tunnels for repairs the BOLO has no place for human crew nor it really requires them. BOLOs are unique and have no standard on them, each of them is different. Usually they're 40-60m long and as said they're heavily protected for their size. Their main weapon is a single or twin-linked starship weapon and overall equipped with many dozens of other arms that are more frequently relied in combat. Yet its most dangerous weapon is the brain of the machine which is capable of processing battlefield information at breakneck speeds. BOLOs obviously have directives to not harm the Morteans. Ironically this makes the BOLO more compassionate thus more "human" in a sense.
Mortean Space Navy (Mortenkriegsflotte) doctrines concentrate on numbers and heavy long range firepower. Their primary propulsion systems are large antimatter impulse engines which provide reasonable acceleration at high efficiency and minuscule reaction mass spent. For interstellar travel or when speed is necessary they utilize warp drives which folds and stretches space-time around the ship to raise its apparent velocity beyond the speed of light. Warp drive is economical and unlike other methods the ship travels through realspace. On the other hand warp drives are much slower (usually a few lightyears per day) and the ship must perform maneuvers and avoid obstacles during transit. Farcasters are a new kind of FTL method reverse engineered from Luxan drives. Their mechanism resembles hyperdrives although not completely and roughly comparable in speed. Unfortunatelly it's still a new technology thus Mortean scientists struggle with power efficiency, accuracy of the jumps and generally have issues to make anything but relatively short jumps at the time. Hyperdrives and their derivatives also have reliability issues within the Stormlosweg Sector due to the presence of exotic radiation. How the Luxans managed to compensate for this if ever remains a mystery. Like on the ground the most common starship weapon is a PASER, albeit with some differences. Unlike the small variations that operate by a distinct mechanism the starship PASERs can be adjusted or modified to various purposes ranging from particle beams to firing physical shells. Another difference is that starship weapons in general use warp effects to accelerate their shots, projectiles and missiles to superluminal velocities. This allows ships to fight enemies from extreme distances and better dictate the flow of battle.
Albeit slow compared to many other civilizations but its reliable economic nature allows ships to use them for constant travel with only moderate impact on the ship's power budget. Using similar theories the ship's main weaponry are superluminal PASER (Positron Accretion by Spatio-antimatter Explosive Reactions) and Grav Lance/QuASAR (Quark Acceleration by Spatio-stimulated Antimatter Reactions), the latter attacks with raw mass particles at FTL velocities, thus penetrating shields and armored hulls more efficiently than regular beams. They also have torpedoes that can be launched from warp catapult to temporarily gain FTL speed until reaching close to the target. Overall these weapons extend the Morte Fleet's range greatly and it isn't rare for them to target enemies from a few astronomical units away. Said weapons are assisted by hypercomms, hyper-radar and hypercameras which are all based on the Warp mechanism thus free of light-lag. For protection the Morte ships use thickly armored Durachrome composite hulls combined with their Force Shields, the latter generating a bubble of rapidly circling gluons and quarks, essentially covering themselves with multiple layers of pseudo-mass. While potent on its own the Force Shield's true purpose is to intercept attacks and attenuate them from afar (as they're usually projected 10-100km away depending on ship size and power), effectively rendering them harmless to the ship's armor thereafter.
The Mortenkriegsflotte is currently restricted by the "peacetime" law which limits them to 2500 warships, at least 70% of these must be the fast attack and individual patrol ships AKA frigates in order to secure the borders. The Morte Empire currently occupies the space of 46 cubic lightyears with their borders spreading for the area of 47 lightyears squared. With their warp drives usually only capable of crossing 1-3 lightyears a day they require at least this many patrols to keep their empire safe.
Name: Mittelschnauzer-class Attack Frigate Clasification: Long-Range Fast Attack & Patrol Space Combat Vessel, Frigate Dimensions:
Length: 428,40cm (prow length: 321,55cm)
Height: 120,25cm (prow height: 54,00cm)
Width: 160,00cm (prow width: 44,20-68,15cm)
Armor: 50-4,00 cm Durachrome composite Standard Mass: 855,725 metric tons (prior to mass-lightening) Crew: 2725 (standard) Propulsion: Impulse Engine Nacelles x 3 (can be ejected for emergencies) Powerplant: Warp Core (w/ 3 rows of antimatter/vacuum reactors) Interstellar Travel: Warp Drive Sensors: 2 x Sensor Domes (armored domes containing various hypersensors), primary hypertelescopes x 4, backup sensors Defense Systems: Force Shield, structural integrity fields Weapons:
50cm Grav Lances x 6 (front-mounted, can be angled to target to any direction to 60 degrees)
30cm PASER Cannons x 16 (8 on each side, 130 degree firing angle)
288cm Torpedo Tubes x 2 (mounted on the front)
40cm 13-tube HVM Pods x 2 (located on the supports connecting the dorsal nacelles)
9cm Interceptor Batteries x 6 (6-tube small missile systems)
2.2cm PASER Point Defenses x 36 (each fit on a flexible ball mount)
Hangar:
5 x Shuttles (capable of carrying maximum 500 people or 1000 cubic meters of cargo)
4 x KSR-271 Spitzer Fighters
1000 cubic meters worth of mines (stored in parts and put together in automatic assembly prior deployment)
Escape Pods
This relatively small class of warship forms the backbone of the Mortean peace defense fleet. Nearly half of its space is taken up by propulsion systems to ensure both speed and long range. Its armaments include slightly scaled down Grav Lances, PASER Cannons and Torpedo Launchers. It also mounts high-velocity missile pods that use their sheer momentum to defeat lighter warships or intercept fighters/missiles from afar. Aside from that it also has the standard interceptor battery and PASER point-defenses to give it full protection. In spite of its size the Mittelschnauzer has respectable firepower and combat utility, military slang dubbing them as "pocket battleships".
Name: Sennenhund-class Cruiser Clasification: Intermediate Class Space Combat Vessel, Cruiser Dimensions:
Length: 400,00cm (prow length: 321,00cm)
Height: 80,00cm
Width: 80,00cm
Armor: 2,00-8,00 cm Durachrome composite Standard Mass: 1,200,000 metric tons (prior to mass-lightening) Crew: 2000 (standard) Propulsion: Impulse Engine Powerplant: Warp Core (w/ four rows of antimatter/vacuum reactors) Interstellar Travel: Warp Drive Sensors: 2 x Primary Sensor Domes, 4 x Secondary Sensor Domes Defense Systems: Force Shield, structural integrity fields Weapons:
50cm Grav Lances x 6 (front-mounted, fire arc: 60 degrees)
50cm PASER Cannons x 6 (Front-mounted at the port&starboard protrusions, fire arc: 50 degrees)
30cm PASER Cannons x 24 (12 on each side, 130 degree firing angle)
375cm Torpedo Tubes x 2 (mounted on the sides)
12cm Interceptor Batteries x 4 (5-tube small missile systems)
3.3cm PASER Point Defenses x 20 (each fit on a flexible ball mount)
Hangar:
10 x Shuttles (capable of carrying maximum 500 people or 1000 cubic meters of cargo)
12 x KSR-271 Spitzer Fighters
2000 cubic meters worth of mines (stored in parts and put together in automatic assembly prior deployment)
Escape Pods
Former mainline warship of the Morte Empire, created in great quantities in the past. It was geared for maximal combat utility within its relatively small size. Compared to the current frigates it has superior firepower, armor, defenses, cargo capacity, hangar capacity, much better survivability and a simple thus easy to maintain structure. Yet because of their inferior speed Cruisers fell out of favor in the recent peacetime and most of them got mothballed. Thousands of decommissioned cruisers orbit Morte shipyards, ready to be reactivated whenever the need arises.
Name: Schwertjager-class Rapid Destroyer Clasification: Fast Attack Light Space Combat Vessel, Destroyer Dimensions:
Length: 185,50cm (prow length: 91,45cm)
Height: 110,00cm (prow height: 30,00cm)
Width: 25,00-38,10cm (narrowest-widest)
Armor: 20-1,00 cm Durachrome composite Standard Mass: 69,500 metric tons (prior to mass-lightening) Crew: 258 (standard) Propulsion: Impulse Engines x 2, Antimatter Thursters x 2 Powerplant: Compact Warp Core (with a single antimatter/vacuum reactor) Interstellar Travel: Warp Drive, Warp Link, Warp Sustainers Sensors: 2 x Sensor Domes (armored domes containing various hypersensors), primary hypertelescope, backup sensors Defense Systems: Force Shield, structural integrity fields Weapons:
25cm Compact Grav Lances x 4 (front-mounted, 60 degrees coverage)
8cm PASER Cannons x 4 (mounted in flexible ball-mounts)
2.2cm PASER Point Defenses x 6 (each fit on a flexible ball mount)
122cm Torpedo Tubes x 2 (mounted on the edges of the front)
9cm Interceptor Batteries x 2 (8-tube small missile system in the ventral area)
Hangar:
Escape Capsules x 8 (can hold 50 people at maximum)
Fast and firepower packed small starship that commonly accompanies warships in combat. Being less than 100,000 tons in mass the Schwerenjager is considered escort instead of warship thus not subject to the limitations of the law. Designed with speed in mind the Schwerenjager is built around twin antimatter impulse engines almost too big for the rest. It also packs the newest compact grav lances to pose threat to enemy warships. Yet even with these the Schwerenjager would be too slow to keep up with the Frigates. To remedy that the ship has no less than two methods to shorten its interstellar travel. First, like many other escorts it can dock with a Warp Carrier which extends its stronger warp field to them for faster travel. Alternatively 3 Schwerenjager Destroyers can dock with each other to combine their own warp fields for a similar effect. For this latter reason Schwerenjagers almost always operate in groups of 3.
Name: Sturmjager-class Rapid Destroyer Clasification:Light Space Combat Vessel, Destroyer Dimensions:
Length: 210,00cm (prow length: 130,40cm)
Height: 70,25cm
Width: 50,00cm
Armor: 10-1,20 cm Durachrome composite Standard Mass: 55,800 metric tons (prior to mass-lightening) Crew: 327 (standard) Propulsion: Impulse Engines x 2, Antimatter Thursters Powerplant: Compact Warp Core (with a single antimatter/vacuum reactor), auxilary compact M/A reactor Interstellar Travel: Warp Drive, Warp Sustainers Sensors: 2 x Sensor Domes (armored domes containing various hypersensors), primary hypertelescope, backup sensors Defense Systems: Force Shield, structural integrity fields Weapons:
9cm Interceptor Batteries x 2 (8-tube small missile system)
8cm PASER Cannons x 8 (in flexible ball-mounts)
2.2cm PASER Point Defenses x 6 (fit on a flexible ball mount)
Hangar:
Escape Capsules x 8 (can hold 50 people at maximum)
Escort ship focusing almost entirely on firepower. It mounts frightening arsenal of torpedoes and missiles that almost belies its size. Unfortunately this comes at the cost of maneuverability and endurance in battle. Even if it had more maneuvering thrusters, the use of 52 mini warp catapults for HVMs and 12 small scale torpedo tubes drain all power the vessel has and even portion of the reserves. As such the Morte fleet only uses them in limited numbers and rather it enjoys popularity with local defense units where abundant supplies make the Sturmjager's massive firepower makes it an effective force multiplier. The module at the front is the Sturmjager's command bridge which can also detach in emergency and act as a non warp-capable spaceship. Sturmjagers traditionally operate in groups of 4.
The Morte Empire also installed a network of space bases and warp jammer relays to prevent intruders to trespass their borders. While powerful enough to take on a few ships, these are still insufficient to prevent an actual fleet assault. The warp jammers also occasionally fail to sabotage the enemy's FTL methods and they penetrate deep into Morte territory. As such vigilance and constant fleet patrols are still a necessity. Aside from the borders the 3 planets, the 12 colony clusters and key industrial chokepoints are also outfit with various space defenses. Thanks to their concentrated nature these are slightly better at repelling attackers albeit without the fleet's assistance they still won't hold up against prolonged siege.
Decided to go wit the Morte regardless. This is still very much work in progress but you can see some of the changes.
@Willy Vereb That's alright with me :) You can move the sheet over to the Character tab and can post in the IC whenever. Also the pictures for your ships are broken :p
@Willy Vereb That's alright with me :) You can move the sheet over to the Character tab and can post in the IC whenever. Also the pictures for your ships are broken :p
I know. I'll fix them once I revisit my fleets a bit. And I think I'll work on this in a few hours before I decide to transplant it to the Character tab.
Due to insistence of Ekreture, human middle powers include
-Gaian Republic: Appalachian space-confederates -Humankind Empire of Ithica: Civil-war ridden ex-main/great power turned into a middle power. Space!Syria in terms of all the main powers wanting to jump into it and its numerous competing factions -Aries Republic: Treacherous banana republic that Bolshevik'd their pro-human royalty and then become neutral/isolationist, leaving the Terran bloc. -Mallise Trade Entente: @Skippy O Africa's Space!Venetian + East Indies Trading Company capitalists
UNSURE: -Elgoeran Federation: Not sure if middle or minor power (or even major): Friendly xenophile Naboo
Minor: -United Nations of Earth: Stark trek Earth built in the heart of the former Empire. Very small but has significant cultural and religious importance.
Why doesn't the Minotaur Armada get any flak? Are we better than you short-sighted bigots?
After 2 weeks of careful consideration and laziness, I think I am ready to introduce the Gashathi. And I'd like to know what I am messing with by joining.
The Dathu are in the process of invading Terran Space, a Gaian-controlled system among the taking systems. The Ithican Civil War has just begun. The Gaians will soon begin a counter-offensive against the Dathu with the help of the Terran Federation.
Most excellent. Do you suppose the Dathu would be seeking allies to combat the Terran counter-offensive? The Conglomerate would probably be glad to oblige.
@NecroKnight Ah, ok. Hmm, I could see that either the Minotaur leaders or whoever personally going to Dathon to secure an alliance, or perhaps both the Minotaur and Dathu delegations in the Peace Conference can arrange the alliance in the aftermath.
The Dathu are only attacking the Border Regions, a big swath of NPC/Neutral space wedged between the Dathu and the Terran Players. But they do plan on invading the terran players if they ever break through.
