The game takes place in the waning years of the 30th century. Mankind is spread across thirteen different star systems and is loosely ruled by the Colonial Empire, based on Earth. The Empire ensures the will of the few powerful corporations that dominate the colonies, exploiting the distant worlds for their resources and the colonists for their labour.

The colonies are kept in line through the vast wealth of the corporations, able to hire the various mercenary companies to put down any uprisings. The Mercenary Federation, a union of mercenaries formed to represent their members and provide overall support, posts contracts, news, and logistical information to its members.

Resistance to the corporations and the Empire can be found throughout the colonies, struggling to turn the tide and liberate their respective worlds. Most are affiliated with the Colonial Republic, an organization since driven underground in the last Colonial War.

Currently overwhelming power is in the hands of the corporations.

After signing up, more on that later, players sign onto the OP of the IC thread, where they will find the home page of the Mercenary Federation. There they will find links to current contracts, news stories, and a general state of affairs for the Federation and the colonies as a whole. From there players post their bids on any current contracts, communicate freely with potential employers and comrades, then relay their orders to their officers.

To relay orders, post a PM to my inbox, where I will carry out your orders and post the outcomes in the IC thread in the form of news stories. Upon completion of a contract, you will be paid in credits. Spending credits to upgrade your company are all done on the IC thread via comms with the Federation AI, who will take all orders based on the catalog which will be posted in the IC thread.

Run afoul of the Corporations and the Empire then you risk being arrested and put on the front lines of the Imperial Navy - a massive prison fleet dedicated to fighting a perpetual war against the Insectoid aliens of the Helix System.

As commander of a mercenary company you will have access to a wide array of resources, armaments, and upgrades to employ against your enemies. What resources you launch against your enemy, your overall strategy, as well as other variables, are all determining factors in deciding victory or failure on a mission.

Troops - The backbone of your company, equipped with standard rifles, a sidearm, and frag grenades

Triage Suite - Medical drones and equipment necessary to staff medical professionals for establishing a battlefield triage to ensure medical care to your wounded.

Hacking Suite - Hacking drones and equipment necessary to staff technological professionals for hacking into computer systems.

Heavy Support Suite - Equipment for arming troopers with heavy armaments to maximize damage and enemy casualties.

Steath Suite - Tech and equipment for outfitting a squad of troops with the finest in clandestine gear for stealth operations.

Mech - A mechanized assault vehicle that provides light assault capabilities and support to infantry actions.

Tank - A heavy assault vehicle designed for heavy firepower, strong armour, and maneuverability.

Aerofighter - A light assault aircraft able to be deployed in air and space, but designed for short range capabilities.

Frigate - A light assault spacecraft designed for quick and surgical strikes. Capacity: Troop Company, 1 Mech Bay, 1 Tank Bay, 1 Fighter Bay

Destroyer - A medium assault spacecraft and the backbone of any given fleet. Capacity: 3 Troop Companies, 3 Mech Bays, 2 Tank Bays, 3 Fighter Bays

Cruiser - A heavy assault spacecraft and often the flagship to highly decorated mercenary officers. Capacity: 5 troop companies, 5 mech bays, 3 tank bays, 5 fighter bays

Carrier - A large support spacecraft, designed for support and heavy bombardment rather then frontline firefights. Capacity: 10 troop companies, 10 mech bays, 5 tank bays, and 20 fighter bays.

The Colonial Empire can best be described as a quasi-democratic federalist corporatocracy. While the name might conjure images of imperialism, in truth is is the major corporations that hold the power over the Empire and it's chief legislative body, the Colonial Senate. The colonies have their own sub-sovereign governments and elected representatives that serve in the lower legislature, known as the Colonial Consortium. Unlike the Senate, that votes and drafts legislation, the Consortium merely puts forward motions for the Senate to consider. The Consortium creates the illusion of democracy and fair representation from the colonies and is led by the Consul, an elected offical.

Unlike the Consortium, the Senate is appointed by the Emperor, and may serve indefinitely. Senators are typically incredibly wealthy, and head the various corporations that dominate the colonies. They're sole purpose is to maintain the status quo, keeping the corporations in power and pass laws that benefit them and their bottom line.

The Emperor oversees the Executive Branch of government, and is elected from among the Senate for a lifelong term. The Emperor is the figurehead of the Empire, and the face of government, but in truth is position is largely ceremonial and does little else but keep the Senate in line.

The Prime Judicator is a powerful position within the Empire, some might say more powerful then the Emperor himself. The Prime Judicator oversees the Judicial Branch, and carries out the letter of the law as determined by the Senate, but also interprets those laws and able to review and them strike down. The Prime Judicator also directs Imperial Security, or IMPSEC, the Empire's law enforcement agency, and the Imperial Navy.

To briefly sum up recent events so you guys can have some context for your bios, we are now thirty years from the Colonial War, a massive conflict that saw the emergence of the Colonial Republic and its attempt to overthrow the Empire. The Republic failed. While it was able to make headway within the colonies, it wasn't able to make any inroads in the Sol System, the Empire's base of power. After six years, the Empire was able to wear down the Republic and drive them underground.

The powers that be recognized the danger posed by ideologies and the Republic's quest for sovereign colonies. Over the years the Empire began to dismantle its burgeoning military, and passing laws to foster private military contractors. While PMCs always existed, they began to gain incredible power, and overshadow the Imperial Navy and colonial militias. The corporations believed that by building self sustaining armies and navies loyal to credits, they would destroy any capability for the Republic to emerge and wage an effective war against them.

The discovery of the insectoids of the Helix Nova System furthered their goal, creating a perpetual enemy to focus the populace and give the support needed to finish converting the Imperial Navy into a prison fleet, a process that had been evolving slowly since the war ended.

With the Imperial Navy converted to a prison for dissidents, and legions of soldiers of fortune to maintain the defense of the corporations, it seemed the colonial order was ensured. However, the plan backfired. Corporations were now able to field their own private armies and exploited this new paradigm to eliminate their competitors. And so the Corporate Wars began. Corporations began employing mercenaries against their competitors, attempting to gain greater control of the colonies.

It began as a shadow war, covert operations of a small scale. Soon it became a proxy war, with terrorist and revolutionary front organizations used to mask the escalating violence. Before lone, the Empire was torn apart in a bloody civil war.

Admiral Mance Murdoch, a powerful mercenary was able to restore peace. He did this by forming the Mercenary Federation, a union of mercenaries with their own code. They became a powerful voice among the mercenaries, and grew stronger every day. The mercenaries laid down their arms as a collective after Bennet IV was decimated in nuclear fire. It had become clear to Murdoch, and most mercenaries, that they were being used as tools of mankind's destruction, and as the bloodshed escalated, so too did corporate control over the mercenaries. The corporations had no choice but to make a truce, and order in the empire was once again restored.

Today the Federation is the only collective of mercenaries in the colonies, and they represent the vast majority of private military firms. Revolutions, corporate sabotage, and general conflict is still prevalent in the colonies, but no longer in such a scale to put the fate of mankind in question, and merely just enough to ensure a cozy profit for the discerning mercenary.

Timeline
~ 2964 . The Colonial War Begins
~ 2970 . The Empire defeats the Republic at the Battle of Azure's Ridge, Victory is declared and the Republic goes underground.
~ 2980 . Insectoids are discovered on Helix Nova, and the Imperal Navy finishes its conversion to a prison fleet.
~ 2983 . The Corporate Wars begin.
~ 2985 . The Mercenary Federation is formed.
~ 2986 . The Corporate Wars end.
~ 2995 . Present year. Profitable conflict is maintained.

The Mercenary Code
~ Give quarter when quarter is asked for.
~ Merc captives are to be ransomed back to their respective company, allowed to work off the ransom, or set free.
~ Civilians are not to be harmed outside of contract parameters, unless they take up arms.
~ A flag of truce, in white, is a sacred agreement for both sides not to harm one another.
~ Failure to comply with any or all of the code will result in presidential review and possible expulsion from the Federation.

I think we're ready to take the next step and begin thinking about our characters and companies, and here's hoping more join us for the ride. As I said earlier, this game is going to be in a format to resemble a comm forum. So our IC's should have a uniform format in order to fit this theme, but before we get to that, let's get the Character Sheet out of the way.





When we get to the point of writing ICs, which I hope will be next week, try and have a thumbnail picked out for your forum avatar, most likely your commanders portrait or company logo, should be about 130x130 - 200x200.

Description:

Name: Captain Howell Carver
DoB: 2939 (56)
Gender: Male
Rank: Commander
Bio: Growing up in the colonies he was a talented mechanic from a long line of proud Navel men. Learning to fly at a young age he became an ace pilot during the colonial war, however Howie Carver was fighting on the wrong side. The losing side.
For six long years he fought fiercely for the colonial republic against the empire. He believed in what he fought for, thought it was the right thing. He learnt the hard way that there's no justice in this universe except only that which you make for yourself. The war was unsustainable, lives and resources became scarce for the republic while the empires wealth seemed endless and their reach near limitless.

Like many others he eventually gave up, salvaged what he could and slipped away into the darkness of the edge of space. Regrouping with friends, family and other survivors.
The next 10 years were hard, barely scraping by, living in hiding and on the run. Howie's natural skills as a mechanic, pilot and leader were put to good use as he helped move goods and people about. Smuggled them into or out of planets. Salvaged wrecks. Tracked down those lost at war and reunited families, or at least gave closure.

He built grateful contacts from both sides of the war and found a new focus and reason to fight upon the discovery of the insectoids.
But by the time he gathered a team, got the permission, acquired the resources and was given the OK, it was already over.

Now with one of the earliest incarnations of the modern mercenary factions, his specially acquired team was quickly snatched up into the chaotic corporate wars. Things got bloody and messy, money is a powerful motivator that led to backstabbing and betrayal.

Even though nearly dying and being out of the game for quite some time while recovering and adapting to his new cybernetics, flying was all he had and all he had known. He quickly put together a new team and eagerly joined in under the newly forming, much approved, Mercenary Federation.

He is an old man that has played a part throughout much of modern mercenary history. He is known by many and a strong believer and bastion of the republic. Despite his age he is still one hell of a pilot with an invaluable wealth of knowledge based on personal hardships and experience.

---

Company Name: Lantallian Mercenaries guild.
Specialty: Ship to ship / stealth.
Bio: Carver believed in quality over quantity and built his team from the best of the best that were available after the end of the colonial war. A special op's team. Their reputation only grew as their corporate achievements amassed. Their wealth became blatantly visible along side their companies 'unusual' success.
Having reached the top of their game it was no surprise that they had to fall. A large target was stained on Carvers back and he lost it all.

A humbler and wiser man, still addicted to the game, he started again from the ground up. With the support of the Mercenary Federation behind him he continued on vowing not to make the same mistakes again.