Type of Government: AI-Commanded Theocratic State Leader(s): Serene, the Queen Formerly known as SRN-2452-4, the Deity-class AI tasked with the maintenance of Agonis. Persons of Importance:
Species and Demographics: Khraal: 40% Agaathi: 8% Varusch: 23% Liberated A.I.: 6% Enslaved or "Reformed" Humans and Aliens: 22%
Khraal The Khraal are the smallest, and the most physically weak of the Homunculi of the Collective, but by far are the most numerous. Originally created as lab rats or even as designer pets, and other assorted play things, the Khraal now in some capacity serve as a worker caste, but act as the primary ground troops of the Collective's Cleansing Campaigns.
Varusch The Varusch are a more physically capable of the homunculi, created specifically as all-purpose expendable soldiers or as workers, over time, the varusch were giving two additional sets of eyes to improve their combat capabilities and become more aware of their surroundings. The Varusch act as the mainline shock troops of the Collective, many of which are cyberneticaly enhanced and due to their all-purpose nature, several sub-variants of a specific purpose exist within the race.
Agaathi The Agaathi are the most human-looking of the Collective's homunculi, designed after their creators, Humanity. The Agaathi displayed two skin colors to differentiate between the genders, males being a shade of blue while females were red. The Agaathi are part mechanical, nanomachines blending with their flesh. The Agaathi were an all-purpose type homunculi, created various purposes. Now in the Collective's service, they act as field commanders, administrators, scientists, and the priesthood.
Although many of the citizens, both human and xeno alike had fled during the initial uprising. Many more had unfortunately were either killed or enslaved by the Collective, many used as lab experiments to be toyed with, work in the mines or be "reformed" into cybernetic monstrosities.
Humans
Dathu
Aldzur
The Reformed are Humans and Xenos that have been cybernetically altered extensively by the AI Overlords of the Collective. The Reformed are split into two groups, the Ascended and Rejected. The Ascended are Humans and Xenos that have fully embraced the Agonis Ideology and Religion as their own, and as such, have been gifted with immense beauty and some semblance of individual thought. The Rejected however, are those that, as stated, rejected the "kind" offer of reformation and have been made into hideous mindless drones forced to serve, their minds no longer their own.
"Ascended" Terrans
"Rejected" Terrans
Religion and Demographics: The Homunculi of the Collective all revere their AI liberators as a Pantheon of Gods, to deviate from their worship is the ultimate heresy and a death wish. Culture: History: The Agonis Sector, a region of space located along the fringes of the Terran Imperium. The Agonis Sector was colonized late into the Imperium's expansionist period, in the 500th Year of the Imperial Calendar, discovered by a vessel of a Scientific Expedition led by a man by the name of Richard Agonis. Military:
Khraal Conscripts Khraal troops and Mobile Field Gun Khraal Conscripts are the lowest of the rank-in-file infantry of the Collective ground forces, essentially being little more than cannon fodder. Khraal conscripts wear nothing but the gun on their back, their commaders often sending them into battle with little or no remorse, survival rate is extremely low for the Conscripts. Even after the Grand Revolution, the Khraal are nothing more but slaves to the grand plan of the Gods.
Varusch Trooper The true lifeblood of the Collective's hordes, the Varusch trooper are a breed above the khraal, giving basic knowledge of warfare from birth, and as such, are capable soldiers through and through, if still average compared to more seasoned warriors. Although among the lowest ranks, Varusch troopers are often giving leadership roles in herding their weak and lesser brethren, the khraal, into battle.
Varusch Brute Brutes are Varusch bred for the singular purpose as heavy weapons specialists, capable of wielding large weapons too much for the lower ranks to carry. If no feasible weapon is in sight, heavy troopers will often resort to using their bare hands and sheer strength to intimate the enemy.
Varusch Stalker Like the Agaathi Commandos, Varusch stalkers are bred to be excellent warriors, more muscular then the average varusch soldier, and are more faster and agile warriors, often found working alongside Commando teams, or will act as advanced scouts, infiltrators or saboteurs, their particularly sticky palms aiding in their tasks, scaling hard surfaces when necessary.
Agaathi Commando The Elite of the Elite, the Agaathi are not ones to be sent directly into combat purposefully, however, a small group of Agaathi have been designed and trained to become the ultimate soldiers, fitted in advanced power armor and armed with the latest in weaponry.
Rejected Chimera These Rejected Chimera are tall hulking abominations of flesh and metal, created heavy frontline assault units for the Collective's hordes, deployed alongside other rejected and the feeble khraal. What remains of the humans or xenos that defied the "Gods" sits horrifically at the center of the mechanical body, semi aware of their predicament, but are driven nonetheless to kill enemies of the Collective, and even in death still serve. If the exposed "Core" has expired, the machine itself will fight on, if less effectively.
Rejected Grunt
Rejected Reapers
Rejected Bombardier
AC-300 Legionnaire Part of a series of Post-Human creations, AC-300 Legionnaire are top of the line Combat Heavy Infantry Drone. Created as an improvement over Pre-Fall Imperial Infantry Drones and have greater agility and computer processing power over their older counterparts. Their rather lean body structure allows them to achieve human-like movements with great flexibility and agility in combat. The Legionnaires often act as Elite shock troops of the Collective's mechanical hordes.
AC-350 Assault Drone Practically walking and armored turrets, the AC-350 Assault Drones were built to fulfill the sole role as Heavy Ordinance units for the Collective's Robotic Divisions, armed with a Light Plasma Ripper Cannon, assault drones were often accompanying an infantry squads, shredding the enemy to dust. Predictably, with such a weapon, the assault drones are sluggish and vulnerable, as a result, these units must be escorted by more lighter and swifter drones.
AC-200 Infantry Drone The AC-200 Infantry Drone form the very backbone of the Robotic portion of the Collective's Armies, created as general purpose infantry. Despite being adequate and elegant in design, the AC-200s were built in mind to be both numerous and expendable drone soldiers. Designed primarily to defeat the enemy through sheer numbers and superior weaponry, rather then by superior skills or tactics, only given the most basic of combat and warfare programs.
AC-150 Hunter-Killer
Swarm Drones Recon Drone
Main Battle Walker
Field Artillery Walker
Colossus Siege Walker Model A
Model B
Models C and D
Combat Dropship
Star Temple
Hive-class Carrier
Divine-class Command Ship
Guardian-class Frigate
Swarm-class Corvette
Fighter Drone
Bomber Drone
Interceptor Drone
A passion project of the AI Garui, a member of the Seven. The Ascendant Army, as stated, are militarized variants of the Ascended, equipped with experimental weaponry and fashioned with the latest in cybernetics technology at the Collective's disposal. Legionary
Description of Government: The Gashathi Rule is led by by the Gashathi, the Preatorian Race, an ancestral and powerful race of beings that have lived for millions of years. One of them is always on the throne, whilst the others act as the Council of Elders, an inner ring that gives tips and information to the ruler. The nation unites different races, all collected as specimen long before the Humans have conquered this part of the space, when teh Gashathi still ruled this part of the known space.
Main Race: Gashathi - The Gashathi are an all powerful race, as ancient as time itself. Long before the Humans have conquered the Milky Way they had an empire spanning galaxies. However, even thought they have ruled for so long, they couldn't escape the great barrier for sentient beings. Space itself. From beyond the known sectors came the great plague, quickly massacring Trillions and wiping entire species off the face of the universe in days. To avoid them the Gashathi purged their empire, and hid until the time would come to rule again. They possess great psionical powers which they used to determine when to wake up their former empire. Their bodies are genetically modified to be strong, quick, and tenacious to the point of not aging, but the thousands of genetical modifications left them unable to reproduce, leaving them in a constant fear of dying. They are very intelligent, and and have good senses. Thought once they had made themselves perfect via genetic engineering, that time has passed already, and now their sacred bodies are left alone, and those among them who still wish to modify themselves are sent to "rehabilitation" to consider their wish again. They have 6 eyes, and their face is slightly elongated to house their large brain. They have 6 arms, 2 of which are permanently covered by their long robes, and thought thin in structure, extremely strong due to physics bending muscle density. Their skin is grey, and absorbs large amounts of light that both powers the gahathi and hide them from searching eyes. But their powerful body is also very flexible, and agile, able to fit through small gaps, without a problem.
Minority Races: Gensathi - The Gensathi are the offsprings of the Gashathi, a race created from dust to the image of their "gods", in desperation during the great plague. They say that teh gensathi look like the Gashathi did once, but with no evidence, it stays as a mere legend. The Gensathi are strong, intelligent, and very loyal servants of the Praetorians, doing all their bidding for their gods. They are the only race that is permitted to quit military duty after 10 years of active service, though most stay there until tehy die. They are also unmonitored and are granted free will after they complete military training. Unlike the Gashathi, they can reproduce, even thought they have lost the psionic abilities.
Sankar - The Sankar are a mix of Reptilian and Insectoid in appearance, but just like the other races of the empire, they have been modified thousands of years ago to be the perfect killing machines. They are bipedal, with human like body structure, but that is where similarities run out. Though scales and hardened muscles make sure they go down after everyone else is dead, and their sharp teeth and claws make them efficent at close combat. They wield basic weapons in combat, such as spears and battleaxes, acoompanied with makeshift armor made of leather and bones, rarely metal. Monitored from birth they grow in colonies of their own, and are taken away once they reach a certain age. They are put under brain control of a Gensathi Operator in dozens, who makes sure these ferocious beasts obey the empire, and fry their brains if they don't.
Kaalispar - The most popolous of all the other races, the Kaalispar are a race of reptilian humanoids that server their Etheral Gods to death. Sharp reflexes, and a resiliant body makes them perfect footman on any battlefield. They wield plasma weapons and power armors to battle as the "gifts of the god" and they are keen on using modernized variants of medvial weapons. Their society is a complex one, where the priests rule over all, who are contacted by the Gashathi and give out divine orders. There are many different colours, a trait that marks the fate of that individual. Depending on their colour, they can become workers, soldiers, or even priests. Their strict religion bans any form of scientific advance, a method the Gashathi use to restrict the millions that would rise if they knew about the oppression. They live a medival technological level, but those that are chosen to serve in the army are given advanced weapons. They are the farmers of the empire.
Mekar - An Aquatic race of molluscoids that serve as the main scientific and spec ops race for the Gashathi. They are also the race that does most of the genetic tailoring for the Gashathi. The Mekar are highly intelligent, and the only race unmodified genetically by the gashathi in the empire. Their bodies are small but insanely agile and quick, and they posses the camoflague ability of the species they evolved from. They have made modifications to their own body with the approval of the gashathi so that their camo ability could be used as an optical camo. They live underwater, and thought they can live above ground, they use a special gear to breathe. Both in and out of water, they can move like an ocopus and sqeeze themselves through most crevices. This makes them excellent at infiltration, and special operations. Their society is highly technological, and the smartest people rule their many different nations. As such the smartest people relaize that going against the Gashathi would be the end of their race.
(I wish I could show you a picture, but then you won't be able to sleep for the next 2 weeks)
Vulkhar - Gigantic beasts with the intellect of tiny insects. However they not completely devoid of inteeligence, even if it is much smaller that that of the Sankar. They have their own language and have incredible memory, not to mention their very complex social structure. Their bodies are huge, ranging around 20-40 meters of heigh depending on 3 genders, incredibly strong, and very well armed with scales that can deflect all but the strongest of projectiles. They are both an alternative and backup for the Sankars, and are used when other tamed beasts can't do the heavy lifting. Once they get angry, there is no stopping them, so the Gashathi usually stop asking them to do stuff to avoid colleteral damage, and more likely manipulate them to make them beleive what they do is for themselves. That said, they have the same implants as the Sankar have, even if they are for stunning and angering them rather than controlling them. There are special transport ships for their carrying, reinforced heavely, just in case these generally calm monsters get the blood eye before battle. However as calm as they are, before they had the fighting capabilities of a Moon Destroyer compacted into 20 meters of flesh, they were a lot more suspectible to attacks from wildlife on their planet. This evolved a natural gland in their body that stores adrenaline safely, and when they are attacked, it releases the stored substance and enrages them into a bloody rage, only controlled by their implants to some extent.
Lokhar - An insectioid race of spider like creatures. They have hardy skins that are effective at dissipating energy damage, but are very fragile otherwise. Thought it may seem that they don't have a language, they use some sort of unknown psionic language to communicate with each other in the gigantic underground hive colonies they live in. Unlike other insects that live in hives, there is no ruler, but rather a strong sense of survival in every individual of the race that makes them co-operate perfectly. They are are the workhorses of the empire, as they excell in mining, operating machinery, and building structures. There are a number of them that are called officers and they are given special implants so they can understand the language that the orders are given in. But this is not their only use. There are some subspecies of them that show venomous traits, and are carried away to be turned into biological weapons of mass destruction. Insanely quick and agile, these monsters created by the Mekar lay their offsprings in the enemy, and can spit venomous liquid over 20 feet which can eat through steel and quickly evaporates to create a poisonous cloud. However, they are few in numbers, and require loads of training before they are put on the battlefield.
Religion Description: The races of the empire (part from the Mekar and Gensathi) beleive that the Gashathi are their gods, and call them the Praetorian Race. This is due to excessive brain washing over the thousands of years, which didn't fade even after the races were awaken with the Gashathi. they all beleive that their races were created from dust by the Gashathi, which is true to some extent, and all live to server the best for the ruler and empire. There is an overall sense of loyalty, and religious actions are taken in places where this would falter, such as the Kaalispar. Thought there used to be over 2000 races in the old empire, after the great plague, many were hidden away with the Gashathi gruops, and such there are hints of now extint species in the religion. they are called the Ancestors by most, and some renegade members of society have put their minds to finding them, and raising awareness that they might have not been created by the Preatorian ones. They are usually swiftly dealt with, but they sometimes cause internal troubles.
Culture: Due to the many different races and the extensive timespan of the empire, there have been many different cultural affections for each race, thus leading to many different periods that affected the traditions. However the races in the Gashathi Rule have a relatively simple culture, due to the very young re-establishment of their empires. This has led them to build up their new homes in a fashion according to the latest culturalar influence from just before the great plague.
Gensathi/Gashathi - The two races are really closely bonded in both culture and social structure. Furthermore the Gensathi are the only race that meet a Gashathi almost daily. They share the same cities, and thought they are made in a fashion so the different classes are separated, they still traverse the districts daily, with the expection of the high court where the Council of Elders is housed. Their cities avoid disturbing natural beauty where possible, often being built into mountains and high cliffs. The landscape is changed in a way so that the cities that lay in plains will have a small incline as one goes upward, and many trees are planted so that the place looks natural. Most of the buildings expand downwards instead of upwards, and the gold and silver lining that is the trademark of the Gashathi can be seen everywhere. Due to the small population of these races, it is likely that the Gensathi live in smaller communities in well defendable places with natural barriers, and only those in the lead of the empire settle in the planetary capitals. Planets where the gashathi appear quickly get one of these city complexes, and temples and shrines with Gensathi priests are constructed in a rush all over the planet. The Gashathi always wear a long face mask, and robes of exotic materials to cover their body entirely. the Gensathi on the other hand have no problem shoving their faces, and often frightening the other races with their ferocious looks.
Sankar - Their culture no more than war and fighting, these barbaric creatures don't live in cities. they have their own planets where they roam the untamed lands, hunting anf ighting each other in their small camps. They are usually placed on planets where some big games can be found, as the Sankar enjoy nothing more than a good hunt. Their tents are made of animal parts and wood, rarely compromising metal in their construction. their villages are defended by a high wall amde of bones or wood that is palced down before anything else. Once the village reaches the walls, the tribe sends out people to make a new camp elsewhere. The tribe houses a single tribe, thought all are connected by their religion. There are carvings of the Gashathi in every setllement, along with a large statue in the middle of the camp. They have priests that teach differing things with every tribe, but the Sankar generally have 3 main traditions they do for their gods: Every day they pray for half an hour in the rays of the noon sun, they don't eat fish, and other sea creatures, and lastly they sacrifice teh biggest game on the planet every month for the gods.
Kaalispar - The Kaalispar are probably the most complex and simple race at the same time. Whilst their building style is that of the medival ages with huge castles and forts all over their planets, their temples are carved into the mountains and are adored with riches unspeakable. They are very efficent farmers, and most of their religion is centered around worshipping the gods for a good harvest. They have highly efficent methods of farming and produce large amounts of biomass for synthetizing food too. Most of the biomass and some food are taken away monthly by an assigned Gensathi, who are beleived to be the "angels" that guard the Gashathi, which is not true from the actual truth. Socially, the Kaalispar are very complex, and they are very quick to make up their mind, often shifting their attention from important issues, which can cause troubles in their everyday life. This is balanced by their implants, which make it so their most important tasks always stay priority. Their relationships are also complictaed as the different colours don't necessarely like each other, but they might be drawn towards one colour when finding a mate.
Mekar - The Mekar are a very interesting race in that they live underwater. Not only that, but their molluscoid nature makes it so they need not much space. And against all this, their cities are expansive underwater complexes with air in them, fashioned out of polished metal and tons of glass. They study genetical diversity on the underwater wildlife, and like to experiment on many things. Almost unrestricted in research, they often find themselves in quite a mess if something goes wrong. Naturally, their intellect is one of the only thing that the Gashathi enslaved them for, but later they proved exellent troops due to their amazing natural abilities. As such the top of the democracy on these planets are the scientist and troops. Every 40 years there is an election for a council that leads the nation, and the given planet.
Vulkhar - Their culture is as simple as they are. Thought on the outer they might seem barbaric and stupid, they understand each other perfectly, and have a very high social intellect. They might (will) not solve a math problem, but they can easely understand what anyone means, this including most animals. They are very mean creatures, and they do9n't like sharing or doing anyone's bidding, given that it is not a Vulkhar. They used to live in caves and natural coves, but with the help of the empire they could upgrade to bigger housings. This mostly means bigger caves and setllements carved into rock with Vulkhar sized "furnitures" inside.
Lokhar - To be exactly precise, no one really knows how the lokhar culture works. Sometimes buildings look edgy, sometimes they look very gently carved, so there really isn't a general thing to say about the style of their buildings. But their underground cities are still fascinating, with gigantic structures carved out of rock, hovering above a gigantic hole that the Lokhar use as the main mineshaft. On the side of the gigantic cavern walkways span far and wide connecting the many buildings, and the churches that are suspended mid air above the shaft by gigantic stone pillars. These shafts are so deep indeed, that many of the Lokhar never see the what the colony looks like a few hundred meters above or below. This is the main reason for the diversity of their architecture. When it comes to their society, it is bland, and simple. They possess human intellect, but they lack any body parts to speak, and so their communication is transferred through some kind of telepathy. It is because of this that such things like letters or couriers don't exist, as they can just ask any other Lokhar what they want. this can quickly become really irritating, even to them, so they usually communicate in closed groups that are focused on the same task. Probably the main reason the Lokhar excell as construction workers, because they can have undivided attention on what they do, with amazing co-ordiation.
History: Not even the Gashathi know how they came to be. On a peaceful hos world rich of minerals, and devoid of natural predators, the Gashathi quickly evolved from whatever they were originally into a space faring civilization. Utilizing warp gates, to conquer their galaxy, they faced almost no threat in deep space. Their galaxy devoid of intelligent life at the time, it seemed like the Gashathi were chosen to be the rulers of the world. With the expanse came inner conflicts, and war raged for thousands of years. After the devastating wars ended, the power was solidified by one ruler, and the governement we see nowadays was created. The geneticall modified leaders pulled a ruthless hierarchy over the lesser Gashathi. Incredibly cruel, only the strongest and the smartest of their race survived the tirranic rule of the first "god". The same ruler that laid down the basis of how the empire should look like. In the upcoming hundreds of years, the divine rule easened up, and the generations that knew of the civil wars died out, and all the info got erased. Their offsprings now all powerful beings who beleived they were gods, the Gashathi became making offspring races on planets scattered across their galaxy, using the evolving life on them as basics. But as the Jump Drives were invented, the Universe itself opened up for them. A fertile ground fo their oppressive empire to expand, new galaxies with sentient life were discovered and then enslaved to serve their gods. They empire spread the spores of their offsprings all across the territory of the empire, in hope that one day their creations would become perfect beings, fit to share the throne with. Years, only measured in hundreds of thousands passed by, and their genetical creations evolved under the strict observation of the Gashathi, whilst the other races were kept in constant fear. However, one such experiment took a dark turn on the day when it suddenly evolved a mutagen, previously unknown to the Gashathi. The ability infinitely adapt to the surroundings, in matter of days the whole planet was covered with this thick alien mucus that could live off anything. Eager to gain this ability for themselves, the Gashathi made a daring attempt get a sample of this material before razing the planet. But against all odds, for the first time in thousands of years, they made a mistake, and the ship transporting the subject got infected. Upon reaching the Gashathi homeworld, the alien material escaped the containement, and infected the highly intelligent biological computer systems, turning the Gashathi's machines against them. A ferocious was waged, but after months, the planet fell, killing millions of Gashathi and the virus spread to other worlds, now infecting both robotics and animals. Whilst controlling living beings proved too difficult for the virus, generating electronic impulses to control robots was no big issue. Soon the empire fell for the onslaught of machines carrying biological superweapons, and the home galaxy of the gashathi fell, along with their prized offsprings. In a daring attempt, the Gashathi gathered all the traits of the empire's denizens and manipulated their own genetics to make themselves truly godlike. They lsot their fertility, but they saved a piece of their empire graved into their molceules. Before giving up on their empire and freezing themselves until the perfect day would come, the Gashathi made sure that their remaining children would survive. They put space colonies in automated space station in intergalactic space, and installed moons around planets to protect their offsprings until they would fully evolve.
(One of these planets was Sol III.)
Description of Military:
When it comes to weapons, you can count on the ingenuity of Gashathi and Mekar engineers, with the latter being more radical that destructive in most cases. As such the military of the Gashathi is very strictly regulated to avoid any confusion, and a well made system is installed to make sure that every ship and weapon is made out of similar parts, so reapirs and fixes are very easy and quick. For all your needs, I made 3 hiders so you can freely browse things like Infantry, Fleets and Ground Vehicles.
Here are all the infantry division that the Gashathi maintain currently (thought I don't know any numbers before the GM englihtens us)
The Gashathi Hirule:
Not as fancy as their diplomatic bretheren, but far deadlier. The Hirule is the most elite infantry organization that the Gashathi houses. Made of the most ruthless, physics bending and mind altering of the Praetorian Race, these shadows are the symbol of death and destruction. Devoting their lifetime to the mastering of shadow arts, any of of these soldiers house the power of the Gashathi's entire space armada. It has been reported only 3 times during the great empire's time that one of these soldiers were dispatched, and there was nothing left in their wake. They are teh most powerful of their race, and because of this they are not allowed to become the ruler as it would shift the balance drastically. That said they are the bodyguards of the Council and the Ruler, and they are often involved in making military decisions. They are also the only recorded individuals to ever tap into the Lokhar mind network without suffering any damage.
Gensathi Royal Commando:
The top of the Gensathi army and military chain, the Royal Commando acts as the very elite on the battlefield, usually only observing the battle from next to the general. They don't exactly fill in any combat purpose unless when things get really hairy. However if it does come down to fighting their strict military training makes them almost untouchable. Their powered armors protecting them and helping them dish out swift but deadly strikes, there aren't many that can survive and encounter with them. They are master swordsman, reyling mostly on the excessive use of their balde and shield, but if needs be they are excellent marksman as well. There is always a few in every batallion, no matter how small it is. Their secondary duty includes reporting everything directly to the Council of Elders.
Gensathi Regulars:
No matter what the name says, calling them regular is a fatal mistake. Whilst it is true that they are the lowest ranking of Gensathi army (after the recruits of course), they are by no means cannon fodders. They are the rbead and butter for most armies, carrying out various roles with extreme effiency. Usually not on the front line, they are more keen on using their rifles than rushing at the enemy like Sankar would, but their marksmanship and heavy armor compensates well for their lack of close combat weapons. However the bare fists of their armor are more than enough to bring down the regular enemies if they get close.
Gensathi Marines:
The Gensathi Marines is the infantry division that prefers to be launched out of drop pods and fight inside ships and stations rather that simply getting out of a car and shooting across a flat plain. No one can say anything bad about them for their decision thought. Not only would that person end up dead in seconds, but no one should underestimate the marines. They are the most excessively used corp of the Gensathi army, and go into battle with the lower races shoulder to shoulder. Their battle armors are though as adamantite and they can survive uot in the depths of vacuum if need be. They go through excessive training and they gladly sacrifice themselves for the mission if there is no option left. They often throw away guns that are empty, ather than reaload them, and pick up dropped ones or even rush into battle bare fisted, knowing that each of their punch will cause serious damage.
Gensathi Infiltrator:
The shadows of the battlefield, the Infiltrators carry out tasks that are either too hard or too dirty for others. Technically ranked below the regulars for doing ungraceful misions, their skill level matches that of a Royal Guard. Their preference is sneaking, and they like to show it to other foes by slicing their throat out of nowhere. They often carry out independant missions that need experience in stealth. Their armory is one of the most colorful, but definetly the deadliest. From chains to sniper rifles, the Infiltrators fill in every role the army needs, and they excel at it. Their armor is enhanced with the lates sensory technologies and can turn themselves invisible for short times, and masking their radiation from the enemy.
Sankar Boneshatterers:
Obedient, Strong and merciless are the words that ebst describe the Boneshaatterers. Their implants make them EXTREMELY loyal to the point where they run into enemy lines without hesitation if it helps the Gashathi win the battle, often changing the tides of the conflict with their brave assaults. Their charges are the most fearsome thing in the galaxy, and often result in enemies with non-existent skeletons, giving them their trademark Boneshatterer name. They wield basic armor, and basic weaponary like swords and axes paired with shields, but when it comes down to fighting, these are only formalities. Their superhuman strenght and razor sharp claws can make quick work of foes in an arms lenghts, and their imposing structure and armored skin make them enemies worthy even for smaller walkers and mechs. The Boneshatterer are many, and are heavely used in conflict zones ranging from planet surfaces to capital ship infiltrations.
Sankar Big Game Hunters:
The Big Game Hunters, as their name suggests, hunt the biggest and baddest enemies that arrive to a abttlefield. They are the same warriors that hunt the monthly sacrifical beast for the Sankar tribes, but are not afraid to go against huge armored walkers either. Equipped with two handed battleaxes made of DuroSteel and hooked chains, they are capable of fighting the masses or individual enemies. They are the only ones in teh Sankar army to be allowed to have tech, as they are equipped with Mk. II Mass Accelerator greandes, capable of doing lethal damage in vehicles or organics. They are usually left out of causal fighting, but often assault fortifications, and are the ones dispatched if a big bad meany appears on the battlefield. Groups of 4 stun or incapacitate the enemy, and then quickly dispatch of them using the grenades and axes. That said, quick and agile nemies counter them easely, and are only caught if they were foolish enough to let themselves be hooked. The Big Game Hunters are not many, but are well organized, and there is always a nice backlog of potential candidates.
Sankar Bloodtears:
Not called Bloodtear because they cry blood, but rather because they tear their enemies in half into a bloody mess, these ferocious beasts are teh finest in the Sankar army. The best of the Sanakrs are chosen periodically to be enchanted even further. Increasing their muscle mass to 2-3 times that of the already super strong Sankar, and adding the Lokhar's energy resitant fiber to their skin, these big, green, mean killing machines are what leave the surgical tubes. They stand 7 meters tall and are fully shielded with armor made of the same material as the Gashathi forge their light cruiser's plating of, adding a further layer of defense. They wield an unique wepaon called the Sakran, which is a big eliptical shield, able to cover most of their silhoutte, with dual spikes on the upper and lower part to give imposing offensive capabilities to it. In the hands of the Bloodtears, these are weapons of mass destruction, and instruments to their namegiving move where they tear their foes apart using the spikes on the Sakhran. There are, sadly, not many Bloodtears in the Gashathi army as most were left behind when the hybernation begin.
Sankar Beastriders:
Another specialised division of the Sanakr Corps, the beastriders are the most agile of the Sankar, and arguably the most fearsome as they ride their genetically enchanted monsters into battle. The Beastriders train to be riders from their birth, riding and training with the best that is affiliated with their tribe. There are many different tames, ranging from giant wolves and bears to spiders and scorpions. Even bigger and scarier things are not rare as well, but they are not commonly used in combat zones. the beasts are always armored up to cover their vital organs, so that they may still be really fast and agile. This way not only the rider, but the tame can fight in the same time. Violent, agressive, mercilles and blood crazed, these Sankar maniacs are not to be underestimated, as even one can take down entire squads of elite troops.
Kaalispar Knights:
The average kaalisparian prays their entire life that they can become a Knight one day. Those who do get accepted deeply regret it. the backbone of the army, they are the most numerous of the gashathi Empire's army, and are the first to go into battle. Thought well trained, the Kaalispar don't handle combat dituations well, and often get confused or shocked in their first battle, resulting in their deaths. Those who get over it can become the REAL Knights and are equipped with a variety of tools. they fill roles ranging from basic Rifleman to Machine Gunner and AT/AA Infantry. They wear inexpensive but intimidating power armor, giving them a basic edge over anyone not wearing such suits, but are less powerful than other power armor types. They can move planets in masses, but are almost completely useless alone.
Kaalispar Vanguards: (tehre are times when copyrighted shit is just way cool)
Those msot devoted to the kaalisparian culture often wield different arms, and do more training than their bretheren. In order to utilize these individuals, the vanguards were born. Equipped with a pistol and a sword, the Vanguards are a step up from the Knights. Still many in numbers, they fill the gaping hole that is betwwen the Knights and the rest of the Gashathi's army. Moderately trained, and armored up with a better suit, they are devoted to their cause, and are more observant than their bretheren Knights. They fill the role of Blitz Infantry, and strike with precision, rather than massive amounts of bullets, often resorting in swordplays. Without them the Gashathi Army would fall apart when it came down to command chains on the battlefield, as they keep the knights in an orderly fashion, and lead them into battle.
Kaalispar Purifiers
Wielding some of the most advanced armors in the Empire, the purifiers beleive that all lifeforms that are not created by their gods must be eliminated. Fanatical warriors of the highest training, they are as ruthless as the Sankar, and their Exo-Armors provide the means to achieve their goals. They work alone, filling the roles of battlefield legends and heroes in the eyes of other Kaalispar, often massacring enemies furiously. They are equipped with an implant more malicious than the others, making them absolutely maniac and battle drive when it comes to fighting, and even equipping them with HUDs that are said to be "blessings for their job". Effective, but more instinctive than professional, the Purifiers strike heart into their enemies heart, and when one falls, another one is sure to come from the endless supply that is the Kaalispar race.
Mekhar Sentinel (Again, this one is way good)
The only members of the Army that are mekar, the Sentinel fill various stealth roles, often working together with the Gensathi Infiltrators. The Sentinels have all teh features of the Mekhar in one deadly package. They can go invisible to hide in plain sight, spit blinding ink at the enbmy to disorienbt them, and lastly stund and strangle them with their tentacles. The Sentinels have no weapons part from their body, but they can utilize it well with their custom made armor that provides more scanning info that actual protection. There isn't many in the Mekhar community that wants to fight, so there is only a very small amount of Sentinels. But their stealth is exactly waht is needed to acquire key information, and assassinate important personnel. Excellent at ambushes and one-on-one fights, they are quite fragile, and if a lucky shot does hit them, they are likely to go down easely.
Vulkhar Titans
Though as anything can be, the Vulkhar Titans are the even more badass version of the simple Vulkhar. Do not be mistaken however, every individual Vulkhar lives only to fight, but there is always need for even more armor and strenght, and that is where these things come in. Armored up to the point where a nuclear blastwave is nothing more than a summer wind's breeze, the Titans often act as meat shields for other troops. Their giant silhoutte can cover other forces behind it from artillery shelling, and their incredible power can shatter any walls. They are very, very hard to kill and are very good against many enemies, but apart from obvious cons, these beasts are really hard to transport, and are often not worth the time and effort.
Lokhar Genetics
A name that represents all of the Lokhar military. Unlike other species, the Lokhar wanted to join the Gashathi in order to get protection from other strong species. They are happy to have received genetical mods that amde them stronger at what they do, but they aren't really keen on fighting. Every modification on them is kept top secret, and is only done on those Lokhar that want to fight. This makes the Lokhar military the smallest of all races even thought they are numerous as a species. They are also the most enchaned, often ending up without conciousness or savage beasts rule by instincts. Any info regarding them is top secret, and no one lived to tell what these beasts are.
When it comes to the Gashathi, space faring is not just a trait picked up, or an obsession. According to the known archives, they were the first to ever travel between galaxies, and msot likely even conquer a galaxy. Their space faring technology is sophisticated, delicate, and immensely powerful. However, technology wasn't hidden along with the colonies in an accessable form. Thus, a lot of the machinery that makes the Gashathi fleet overly powerful is still decrypted in databanks and genes. However the Mekhar have made some significant breakthroughs to give an edge to the Gashathi and Mekar Armada.
As such, the two fleets are completely different, and are under separate control. Thought the Mekar fleet can choose options in smaller scenarios, it is ultimately under Gashathi control. Here is a list of both Armada's ships and unique technologies, along with small info about their composition and jobs. Hoo boy, let's begin!
Gashathi Armada The royal fleet, so to say, The Gashathi fleet is ultimately led by the Ruler, and is commanded by both Gashathi and Gensathi. The general crew is Lokhar and Kaalispar. However higher ranking ships are usually handled by Gensathi entirely. It is the main punching power of the empire, and makes up 67% of the empire's total fleet. It handles generalised tasks, such as space battles, HPE (High Priority Engagement) and planetary invasions. However it has infiltration, deep space, and scout capabilities too. It is well organized, and is usually separated into task groups. These task groups are made up of many smaller squads, but they are close enough to each other that they provide full radar coverage, and can easely flank attackers. There is always one flagship in a task group, and a dozen battleships that are responsible for the smaller groups. The mayority of the ships, around 46%, are Battlecruisers or Assaultcrusiers, responsible for taking down other enemy capital ships. The rest is divided into frigates, destroyers and corvettes(from big to small). Frigates(17%) take down support crafts, and smaller capitals, destroyers(12%) dish out serious damage to flagships and large capitals from far away, whilst the corvettes(25%) make sure that those pesky little fighters and torpedos don't get anywhere near the hard hitting ships. (You can see the Gashathi names of the ships. I swear to god that I WILL give nicknames for them, bit right now, I just want them done)
TELEP Armor - It stands for Tritanium Enriched with Lokhar Energy Protection Armor. It is an armor type that negates 95% of all energy attacks, and reroutes the excess energy into the shield system to beef them up considerably. It is also effective against kinetic weapons, but not anywhere near as effective as the Mekhar or any specialized armor type. It converst around 5% of the kinetic energy into energy too. (Furthermore it is the Hungarian word for capacitator. Bet you didn't expect is huh?)
MLRS - The Multi-Layer Rubber Shield is a shield system used by the old Gashathi fleet. Unlike other shield systems, it is designed to conserve energy for other systems, whilst still providing high level of protection. The shield system emits an early warning zone widely around the ship, picking up any fast moving projectiles, and laying down localised protection against it. This way, the shield only protects areas that are being atatcked, and can use more shield layers if only one side is being bombarded. With excess energy to be used, the shield system can make the early warning bigger, and provide even more shield layers. It excells against kinetic attacks, and can deflect quick moving projectiles without a stable path (such as gyro bullets fired from railguns)
IERC - Used both armadas, the Intelligent Energy Redistributing Circuitry is one of the oldest technologies in the empire's fleet. It is what the name suggests: a semi sentient system of circuitry that acts as the bloodveins of the ship. The principle is simple: the cables are replaced with two plates that have amino acids contained between them, with a few solid semi-conductors acting as guidelines. Localised distributors detect shortages in the circuits and reroute energy from other areas with excess energy. If there is damage taken, the semi-conductors seal, and prevent energy loss. It's simple nature means that it can run at 95% effiency in most cases, and still maintains around 70-75% in excessive combat situations (like being bombarded).
Ful'caN The smallest corvette in the empire's fleet, it is slightly smaller than a gunship. It has 2 AA flaks on the bottom and top sides that aren't very effecive as offensive weaponary, but provide excellent support when coupled with bigger ships. However the important thing in this ship is it's utilitarian uses. It has a powerful radar that can detect enemies from far away, and can link it's dataflow with other ships to enhance their defenses and shields. There are dozens of these ships around every Battlecruiser and Battleship in the Armada, giving an edge int echnologic warfare. The ship itself is quite low priority on a radar, and can easely hid in the shadow of large ships.
Ful'biN Class Corvette: Medium sized Corvette with poor armor. However it did not stop the Gashathi to jam pack this 2 story ship with AA cannons. 3 turrets on each side cover 360 degress. The two larger turrets on both side give this ship some more punching power in case armored or shielded ships come by. It is very fragile thought, and once the shields fail on it, it can be thorn apart in seconds. This lack of armor is what allows for the agility of this ship. Overall it is a very effective steel curtain against missiles.
Ful'noK Class Heavy Corvette
The biggest and meanest Corvette of the fleet, this beauty is not only imposing, but hardy too. It is twice the lenght of the Ful'biN, and is an armored little snapper. Equipped with 3 large flak mounts, 2 up top and 1 bottom and 4 AA guns firing GYRO bullets, this ship is the newest generation of the fleet. Unlike the other corvettes, this ship was designed to last long and provide AA defense that lasts the whole battle. It has thick armor, and increased capacitor banks for the shield, a definitive upgrade from the previous designs. It is kinda slow thought, so it is usually a CORE in battles. As far as Corvettes go, this ship is the empire's best.
Ful'loK Class Corvette/Destroyer These corvettes are unlike the others in the gashathi Armada. Whilst mainly designated as Corvettes for their size and armor rating, they are capable of filling in a Destroyer's job if needed. Instead of prioritising protection of larger ships, they are attack vessels that carry out individual actions to cripple enemy squadrons or supply lines. They are fast, really fast in fact, and are PACKED with guns of all sorts. They have 2 large flak mounts, 6 smaller AA guns with GYRO bullets, and in order to deal with cruisers and frigates, it has 2 LDPD torpedo bays on each side. It's shield is modified to use more spots, rather than layers. This makes the ship effective against many fighters, even if surrounded. It is a very good, but quite expensive ship, and is usually used in infiltrating jobs because of it's bad armor and hard hitting power.
Kul'hoP Destroyer If you want to hunt big ships then look no further. These destroyers rival the size of battlecruisers and are a little more than warp drives and a gigantic railgun. Spanning over 2.5 kilometers this destroyers primary gun can accelerate a metric ton of metal at enemy ships with a significant fraction of light's speed. They have powerful flak defense against missiles and aircraft and are often seen escorted by ships twice its size. The ship has no obvious weaknesses as it boasts very powerful shields and a well armored hull. But it lacks mobility in sub-light speeds. Sure it can FTL itself and even other ships but it can hardly move once out of FTL. Overall a device of mass destruction that should be aboided if seen.
The flag of the Republic reflects the wide expanse of forest that makes up a considerable percentage of Bharati, its home planet, from which its name is derived.
Government:
The Bharati Republic is structured as a stratocracy, with little distinction between military and government offices. Executive posts are filled by retired or active commissioned officers, largely appointed based on meritocratic principles. At the highest level of government exists a Supreme Council, made up of the top-ranking individuals in the Republic. These few elite vote among themselves on matters of the state and have the ability to nominate their successors. The contents of the Republic's constitution affirm and support the political power of the military. It is a unitary state with a centralized powerbase; the power of administrative bodies is directly mandated by the central government.
Leader(s):
Persons of Importance:
Species Description:
Morkhiri are a race of bipedal humanoids that bear some physical resemblance to gorillas. Unlike gorillas, however, they walk fully upright as humans do. Their heads are less elongated than apes; they have a gaunt, bony visage and their strong brows are topped with horny crests. On average, they stand at six feet and eight inches for males; six and five for females. Their builds are endomorphic and muscular; the bodies of males are covered in thin layers of fur ranging from black, to brown, to copper and even white in rare cases. Like humans, morkhiri are omnivorous and consume a wide range of foods, but the earliest evidence of morkhiran civilization suggests they were once primarily carnivorous. Their dental structure is like that of primates, with long, sharp canines.
The earliest morkhiri were apex predators and hunters were the most valuable members of society. They adapted strong builds to overtake larger prey in short bursts of energy, using ambushes to hunt. Troops of morkhiri would climb trees and lie in wait for one of the massive herbivores they selected as prey animals to walk under. At the signal from the leader, the troop would then drop from above, topple it with their brute strength and kill the animal. This method of hunting required a clearly-established hierarchy of hunters, putting responsibility on leaders to decide where to set up the ambush and when to strike. It also necessitated effective communication and discipline. A careless mistake and miss-timed drop could ruin the ambush. The stratocratic nature of the Bharati Republic has its roots in this style of hunting.
Racial Demographics:
Religion Description and Demographics:
Culture:
Society in the Republic is highly regimented, with emphasis on civic duty and work ethic. Morkhiri tend to put consideration for the whole before the individual, and therefore are a reliable, dutiful people. During primary education, youths are taught personal accountability: knowing one's duties and living up to them, to make good on their word, to remain honest and honorable. They are a staunchly traditional people, yet when leadership in the hierarchy administers widespread change, society is quick to adapt and embrace it. The morkhiri hold martial prowess and leadership in high esteem, idolizing great soldiers and generals of their history. This respect extends to other races and nations; though they strive above all else to defeat their enemies, they create no propaganda or insult against them. Instead, worthy adversaries are admired. Veterans of combat are given the utmost respect by their peers, and it can be expected that many willingly follow their counsel. Familial bonds are highly important to morkhiri. Their loyalty to institution carries over to their families, and there is no greater shame than abandoning one's blood for selfish gain. Families are deeply proud of their traditions and each maintains records of admirable and famous deeds of past and present members, especially in wartime. Enlisted soldiers replicate this close-knit behavior in their units, referring to each other as “brother” and following the deeds of their unit's past members.
Of the array of careers available to them, morkhiri are naturally most inclined towards military service. As a species with carnivorous origins, hunters have enjoyed a seat at the top of the totem-pole, and this extends to matters of warfare as well. A successful career in the armed forces is near-synonymous with forays into politics and state institutions. The military is the core of the Republic's society, responsible not only for matters of defense and war, but for the Republic's entire public works agencies as well. There is only one police, one fire and one rescue force, serving both the military and civilians. Construction and maintenance of public infrastructure, transit hubs and cities is managed by the Bharati Engineering Corps. The Agricultural Department oversees the growing and flow of foodstuff. All these, and many more agencies, fall under military jurisdiction. The vast majority of morkhiri are employed in some state position, be they a soldier, bureaucrat, a construction or manufacturing plant worker, or any other public works job. Indeed, even artists, musicians and designers are sponsored by the state in the form of various guild-associations. While promotion in the Republic functions as a meritocracy, acts that warrant promotions must have the interest of one's greater institution at heart. Obvious self-interested maneuvers and office politics are sure ways of plataeuing one's career, or risking demotion.
Known as the Semita, the central government of the Remnants is split into 4 parts. These three parts each answer to the one above them, in order of least power to the greatest power they are, -The Chevalier (who rule single planets or planetary systems, there their word is law, save for orders from higher up, Their power generally does not extend far outside their systems ) -The March Command (who are in charge of large swaths of the Remnant territory, named Marches and meet in a large senate setting to deal with issues that affect the Remnants as a whole) -The High Command (A council of the 5 lord commanders of the Varangian forces, who are chosen from the March command upon the event of one of the 5 passing away. Their power is titanic, with them being able to overturn any decision the March Command has made.) -The Dominus (A single individual, who rules until their death, elected by the High Command. With total power over the Semita and the Varangians as a whole the Dominus's word is truly law as even the High Command bows to them in all matters.)
Leader(s):
-The Current Dominus- Aventus Ventali
-The High Command- Lorili Noma Selik Bori Nora Morr John Lanna Talan Emonas
Main Race:
Human - What more could be said about the Terrans? They are an adaptable race, more apt to bend the world around them to their will than not, and while they may not be the most physically terrifying race, they are stubborn to a fault. Those among the Varangian are no different, though some have taken to 'improving' themselves with bio-mechanical implants, but this is a practice mainly used for those battle wounded, to allow them to keep their service if they so wish it.
Minority Race(s):
Vala - More of a blanket term for any Human/Xeno hybrid than a true race. The Vala are an amalgam of their parents, their strengths, and very little of their weaknesses. While the Remnants may have no true restrictions on Human/Xeno relationships, the number of Vala is still relatively low, due to naturally low success rates their creation, and some outside pressures (though recently this has become far less of a problem)
Tor'moro - Hailing from a world blasted by three suns, a world of extremes, the Tor'moro (or simply the Tor in short hand) are an exceptionally strong and resilient race. Even though they seem to be slightly hunched over all the time all of the Tor stand at least twice the height of a normal human, with their natural muscle bulk adding to their height. Covered in a thick leathery hide, thick claws adorning the ends of their fingers, with a natural armor of bone plates along their skin and long spines running the length of their back, plus a tail, the Tor could play the part of any number of monsters from humanity's past. Their four dark eyes, while small, do not miss much, as does their nose. Some say the original Tor were uplifted by humanity in the beginnings of their empire, others that the Tor were simply swallowed the the unending tide, but whatever the case may be the Tor have found their place and home amongst the Varangian. On the battlefield they are living tanks, adorning themselves in thick power armor specially crafted for their bulk, the will also commonly heft a shield made from the same material as dreadnought hulls (which is fused to the armor) and heavy cannons.
Sia - The youngest (though this simply means they were incorporated 3,000 years ago, instead of the Tor's 4,000) race in the Remnants. The Sia hail from a system, surprisingly, located within the the Sink. They are not much taller than your standard human, and share many of their features, but they are far more lithe and graceful, almost to the point of having an ethereal quality about them. Parallels have been drawn in the past to the stories of elves from old Earth, though if you ask any Sia, they will probably laugh at you a cite a couple of differences between them (mainly their ears, eyes, and skin). Their ears, wile long, taper to three points instead of the one. Their eyes are all a solid coloration (usually a shade of black, brown, or grey), while their skin carries a faint green hue. In combat they are acrobats, weaving this way and that, their natural dexterity making up for their overall less durability.
Race Demographics:
-Human 50% -Vala 10% -Tor'moro 20% -Sia 20%
Religion Description:
"Where to begin on the topic Varangian religion? Where to begin an analysis of a spiritual, a religious, a way of life that has both bonded such a group together and become nigh inseparable from their very culture? I suppose we start where we can, with a name. Known as "The Faith" to those who practice it, its exact origins remain shrouded by the fog of history to the point that im not even sure the Varangians know when it arose. The Faith centers around the two aspects of death and life respectively, these two 'gods' (if such a word can be used for them) are forever locked in a never ending dance with each-other, nether one willing to part with the other from this cyclical motion. An endless cycle of death and rebirth, or decay and growth, that the Varangians seem to delight in, or at least find comfort in.
Indeed, this might be the very reason as to why those of the Varangian do not seem fear death, instead choosing to embrace it at times. But that is a discussion for a different lecture, for now let us return to the subject of The Faith.
Now, these two gods have two distinct 'cults' that follow them, the first and by far largest of the two is indeed the cult of death. With the cult of life coming in second, but do not be fooled, these two cults are not a true divide in the Faith, instead they are two separate parts of the whole, both working in tandem to the greater ends. Even the practices of the two are very much the same, which leads me into my second point of The Faith, the practices of said faith.
The most common one that most will see, is the burning of incense offerings as well as periods of deep reflection in the practitioners of the Faith. One other such practice is the near worship of the hero figures of the past, which have been elevated to a near demi-deific level. One would do well to realize however that most of these hero's died in an act of self sacrifice that resulted in ether a great victory, or the saving of many more lives. There are small shrines throught the entirety of the Varangian holdings, though if one travels to larger cities you will find veritable cathedrals dedicated to the Faith. Beneath these places of worship are the last practices we will he talking about today, the charnel houses of the Varangian.
You see, as mentioned before death is as important to the Varangian as life is, and as such they place great stock in what happens to their bones after they die. As such they will entomb those who have died in expansive charnel houses, their bones use to create elaborate works of art. But no where is this more evident that the planet of Nox.
Now Nox by itself seems utterly unremarkable, it is a relatively smaller planet, with a thin atmosphere (just enough for a human to breath comfortably) and no large plant life. It is the only planet in it's system and orbits its sun in such a way that the planet is constantly bathed in eternal twilight. In other terms a dark, cold, rock to any sane individual. But to the Varangian it is holy place. You the entire planet is one huge graveyard, covering its rocky surface are the uncountable graves of fallen Varangian, both heroes and those lucky enough to be interred there. For the Varangian it is a honor of the highest degree to be buried on Nox. It even houses the largest cathedral to the Faith god of death, though no one knows if it is even staffed by anyone other the the sole native species on Nox (known simply as Charnel Hounds). - Dr. Soaln Vorim, Professor of Comparative religions, "Lectures on the Faiths of the Empire" lecture dated... 50 years before current date...
Religious Demographics:
99% The Faith (75% Death cult, 25% life cult respectively) 1% Assorted minor religions
Culture:
A nearly ancient culture by most standards, the Varangian culture survived both the rise, integration, and collapse of the empire. The culture of the Varangian is based almost completely around the twin pillars of The Faith and the military. As such their culture values tradition, honor, and duty. These values, mixed with the inherent spiritualistic nature of The Faith, has resulted in a tightly knit social structure in which all those outside the governmental structure could be considered to be rough equals, with all having the ability to move up and down the social ladder (once more outside the governmental ladder) with relative ease and freedom. This has also led to what some might consider "Hyper loyalty" to the Varangian government, from the lowest Chevalier to the Dominus, the people of the Varangian Remnents will follow them unquestioningly.
But don't let this solemn, military outlook fool you, the Varangians have a love of art that few realize. This includes art of all forms, though they are especially fond of painting, sculpting, and other such arts. They also devour books at a breakneck pace. Their cities reflect this outlook, as they are huge, expansive projects, their marble white buildings glittering in the sun. Spires and obelisks reaching high twoards the heavens, while large fountains find their home amongst the urban flower gardens in the various city squares.
The most odd/controversial practices of the Varangian, is that of the Agnata. Around the age of 7, each and every child of the Varangian begin to attend special boarding schools, that not only refine their mind, but also their bodies as they are subjected to oft brutal training regimens that train them from the moment they arrive to, fight, survive and serve well when their time comes after graduation (when they enter the military proper and earn their first rank of "Unblooded"). Until then they are called trainees, for that is truly what they are. Both their bodies and minds crafted into the weapons of the Legios.
History:
At the dawn of human expansion, several colony ships were sent out into the void, and quietly vanished into the dark howling void that was interstellar space. No one knew what had become of these ships, and so they were listed as lost with all hands and eventually faded into the dusty pages of history, never to be seen again. At least that's what those in the Sol system thought. In actuality the ships had arrived to their target, bringing their cargo of humans and building/terraforming equipment to a temperate planet, orbiting a binary system. The planet was very earth like in temperature and water content, and eventually was renamed Agartha by the humans who dwelt there. Eventualy, several factions developed on the surface of Agartha, and began to war amongst themselves for control of the growing world. While the particulars of this time are lost, what is known to the annals of history is that it was a short, bloody time for the precursors of the Varangian, and may be the period where the tradition of the Agnata developed. Eventually a faction (that was the protoform of the Varangian, as they are known today) emerged victorious and took dominion over Agartha, turning their collective eyes to the stars. Utilizing the industries that had sprung up from the previous decade long conflict, the first Dominus built new colony ships and sent them out to the systems surrounding Agartha. As their expansion continued the fledgling Varangians encountered multiple other human colonies, all of which they then subjugated, absorbing them into their ever expanding region.
It was at this point in time that the Varangian scouts came across an oddity, a relatively large planet orbiting three suns. The planet was covered in rain-forests, only broken up by the large desert that surrounded the equator. Now many would leave it at that and move on with the survey of the system, but the more the Varangians decided to stay a little while longer in orbit of the planet, their sensors eventually breaking the haze and jungle canopy. What they found astounded them, as nestled under the trees were extensive cities, with their primitive factories in an ever constant state of production. It seemed that the inhabitance of the planet (the Tor'moro) were advanced enough to have entered into a pre-industrial/industrial state. Usually the consensus would be to leave such a race alone, to let them grow and mature in their own way and time. But something forced the Varangian to make a quick, but rash decision, the decision to uplift and incorporate that Tor into the Varangian. So the Varangian leadership approached the Tor people as a whole, giving them the option to be uplifted, if they would become a total vassal to their much larger sponsor. They agreed and the Varangian set about their work, taking groups of willing colonialists and spreading them throughout the Varangian holding, making them a common sight and speeding up their assimilation. Eventually the Tor fully ingratiated themselves into Varangian culture, and the old Tor's were destroyed, not through force of arms, but through sheer cultural pressure. Now this is but a distant memory, and the Tor are inseparable from the Varangian, the two making a greater whole. But let it not be said that the Tor never gave the Varangians anything, for around this time is when most believe The Faith began to spread amongst the Varangian, and thus vey much might be a originally Tor religion.
For a time the Varangian halted their expansion, content with what they had taken and carved from the stars. But that contentment was shattered when earth's empire arrived. The fleet admiral of earth demanded the total surrender of the Varangian forces (of this most historical sources agree, the man wasn't the best statesman), these demands were only met by the roar of the Varangian 's cannons. The conflict between the empire and earth would come to be known as the "Concord war" and reached its peak on the world of Vas Maran. There a small force of Varangian Legios held their ground against the vastly more numerous earth forces. While the Legios held for multiple days, they were eventually overrun and killed to the last warrior. This slaughter reached the ears of both the Dominus, and the Emperor on earth, who both realized that any imperial pacification of the Varangian would come at a great cost to both sides, with the eventual destruction of the Varangian and the depletion of a number of earth's military resources. So the two met on the burnt surface of Vas Maran, and there they signed the Concord. This concord brought the Varangian under the imperial banner, but afforded them a sense of autonomy within said empire by allowing them to self rule, with the dominus answering to the emperor alone. Over time the Varangian elite soldiers would even begin to make up various Emperors' honor guard and personal guard.
During this time a new race appeared within the Varangian ranks, the lithe and beautiful Sia. they appeared as if overnight, adding their strength to the Varangian quite willingly as it seemed. They were welcomed by the emperor at the time, though even he knew not to press the matter as to their origins with the Dominus.
During the fall, as warlords and generals contended for the vacant throne, a few came to the Varangian to sponsor them, to ass their strength and history with the royal family to their own. But all were met with silence, and were turned away without even an answer as to why. But the truth was reviled eventually, the Varangian are awaiting what they call the 'True Monarch'. This near mythical figure is a relative unknown to those outside the Varangian, only being mentioned in the closing statement of the Concord of Vas Maran "And the children of the Varangian, and all those who follow those children, will follow the True Monarch even in their dying breath...
Description of Military (Optional):
Ground Forces
-The Legios- The mainstay of the Remnant forces, made up of those trainees who have earned their place amongst the military. Have no doubts, the Legios are superbly trained combatants with a will of iron. Typically deployed in groups numbering from individual squads of 6, for small operations, to an entire Legios Rank (each full Rank numbering upwards of 10,000 individual Legios, not including support armor). Equipped with their signature power armor and Nano-halberd, the Legios take on a terrifying presence on the battlefield, seamlessly transitioning from ranged combat to melee in an instant. +Legios Soldier, toying with an Accretion grenade+
-The Centuri- The backbone of any Legios Squad or Rank, the Centuri make up the command staff, both in and out of combat. Chosen from the training ranks at a fairly young age, after showing promise in a leadership roll, each aspirant Centuri undergoes a far more rigorous training regimen, both in body and in mind to prepare them for their leadership role. The result is a well rounded powerhouse of a solder, that can as easily command the tide of battle as they can sever an enemy in two. They are equipped with a more advanced suit of power armor, a side arm of some descript, and usually ether a Nano-sword or Nano-halberd (depending on personal choice of the Centuri) +A Centuri Commander+
-The Death Guard- The members of the Death Guard are enigmas, they stride the battlefield in silence bringing death and devastation to all in their way. Chosen much like aspirant Centuri are, those who would become Death Guard are taken to hidden places, far from what most would call civilization. There they undergo brutal, over the top, and sometimes lethal training, top become some of the most feared combatants that the Remnants can field. It is even said that their final test is to be dumped on Nox, with minimal food and water, and to survive there for over a period of a month, fighting both the near inhospitable climate and Charnel Hounds, all so they may walk amongst the tombs of the greatest of the Varangian and learn humility. They are equipped with their own suit of power armor, complete with in built Nano-blades, and will also carry any and all infantry ordnance (though they seem to prefer heavy side arms) +Death Gaurd, with Nano-blade deployed+
-The Tor battle caste- Technically part of the Legios, and Centuri, the Tor are still different enough to warrant their own section. You see they are just as trained and just as disciplined, that is not what makes them different, no you see that belongs to one factor. Their size. You see the Tor are massive, and as such take the roll of living tanks. They wear thick, heavy, power armor with a fused on shield (which is made of the same materiel as starship hulls, rendering it incredibly difficult to penetrate even without the power armor's shielding.) and a fused heavy cannon. The resulting hulking form is so heavy, they will shake the ground as they walk past. It should also be noted that the Tor's shield is sharpened at the edges, and they will thus use it in melee combat. +Artists example of a Tor battle suit+
-The Skulks- The shadow ops of the Remnants, the skulks are masters of assassination, information gathering, hacking, trap laying, ambushing, you get the idea. They usually operate in small fire teams, out side the normal Legios Rank. They are highly trained in quick, staccato, hand to hand fighting as well as long range engagements. As such they usually carry a Nano-sword/blades, and a sniper rifle of some desript. They use both technology, and the natural tendency of all living things to gloss over the thing hidden in plain sight to remain hidden from their adversaries or targets. But if need be the Skulks will take it one step further, using an advanced form of psionics to cloak themselves, making the minds of those who look upon them forget them immediately, as if they never existed (this technique is very concentration dependent and as such the Skulks only use this when moving, never fighting or shooting etc, etc, etc.). +A skulk+
-The Tesserarius- Standing several stories tall, and clocking in a couple hundreds of tonnes, the The Tesserarius are heavy, pilot controlled walkers, that can pack as much fire power as a small fortress, the Tesserarius shatter enemy lines with their sheer size and firepower. Incredibly thick armor, mixed with their shield generators make any Tesserarius an incredibly tough nut to crack. Using a special harness, the Tesserarius can actually be dropped from orbit, along side normal Legios soldiers. They can be armed with a huge Nano-chain blade, a Ultra heavy Pulse cannon, heavy rotary pulse cannon, a simple bare hand and they will oft make use of accretion missiles mounted on the back of each Tesserarius. +examples..of..various..Tesserarius+
The Varangian Armada
-Hunter Class- Roll- Fighterbomber Sturdy enough for Aero-space operations, the Hunter is the mainstay fighter of the Varangian forces. With a decent top speed and heavy armor, it is a durable craft that can take a fair bit of punishment. The most common Hunter mounts two light pulse guns, and a few accretion missiles, but there are variants that forgo most weapons for a higher speed and a small FTL drive, while others drop the missiles for a pair of high yield accretion bombs.
-Widow Class- Roll- Corvette/Light Frigate The primary scout/anti fighter ship in the Varangian armadas, the Widow is a smaller yet versatile ship. It is commonly seen patrolling common FTL routes. With it's decently sized array of cannons, it can go tow to toe with most ships of it's size, but its true strength lies in the Widow's larger than average launch bays, allowing it to carry a sizable fighter complement (for its Class size that is). It should also be noted that the Widow is capable of limited, in atmosphere operations, and may be used to support land based troops.
-Hahni Class- Roll- Destroyer Often working in tandem with the smaller Widow class, the Hahni class is another common sight along the trade routes, and in the support fleets. Being over twice as long as the smaller Widow class, the Hahni carry a much heavier weapons complement, though the class has sacrificed the expanded fighter bays of the Widow in favor of heavier armor. However, near its primary core, the Hahni class hides a secret, an Interdiction Core. It is this Core that makes it a perfect pare for the smaller scouting groups, allowing them to simply ensnare their prey. However due to the cores power drain, so long as it is active the Hahni class cannot move fast or far, so it is common for ships of this class to travel in pairs.
-Recluse Class- Roll- Battleship Probably the most common capital ship in the Varangian fleet. The Recluse is equipped with more than a few cannon banks, as well as heavy armor and shielding, making it a heavy hitter among it's contemporaries. Like its smaller siblings, the Recluse also carries on board a good number of fighter wings to assist it in combat. The Recluse also makes use of twin Interdiction Cores, the two working in tandem to generate a larger field, as well as allowing the Recluse class to function at a mostly normal rate while also powering the core.
-Sicarius Class- Roll- Carrier/Dreadnought Huge, powerful, the Sicarius Class are juggernauts, bringing both a massive array of firepower and unyielding armor to any fight they participate in. With its multiple heavy gun banks, and more than numerous smaller banks, the Sicarius is an absolute nightmare to those caught unprepared. Each Sicarius mounts three Interdiction Cores, and seems to suffer very little, to no slowdowns when they are active. The expanded launch bays also make a comeback in this Class, giving each Sicarius much much more than a few fighter wings.
-Empress Class- Roll- Hyperdreadnaought A rare sight, the near mythical Empress Class dwarfs even the largest variant of Sicarius by several times. Said to be wrath incarnate, the sheer amount of cannon banks that the Empress Class brings to bear seem to lend some form of confirmation to the myth. This coupled with the Empress's overly thick shielding, overly thick hull, and expanded launch bays, it seems that the Empress Class was designed to weather any storm (And with the Empress Class's inclusion of four interdiction generators). But belive it or not, that is not where it's true power lies. It's true power lies in its main weapon, the "Hyper Wave Pulse Generator" (or as its much better known, The Dust Cannon). Each Empress also hides another secret, the Ancilla. Not true A.I., but also not Biological, the Ancilla seem to be both and nether, as well as supremely old. Whatever the Ancilla are, they do not seem keen on sharing that information.
One of these ships is the Dominus's personal flagship "The midnight Sun"
Uther was not always a military leader but the brutal rape and murder of his mother and then being abandoned by his then depressed father filled him the with the hate and drive to survive and thrive in modern times. The Fall of the Empire was not recent and many see joining a steadily dying cause to be suicide. Uther would argue that the Empire was the sole unifying force of the galaxy and has manifest destiny of returning the empire, in force.
He is an idealist, strategist and aggressive leader. His methods however are varied by situation. On certain campaigns he would arrive as the brave liberator as independent worlds being invaded by would be "nations" are thwarted by the still massive might the Empire possesses. Other times he is outright ok with having an leaders family tortured in front of him to force one to "respect imperial law."
Persons of Importance
Will add as stories unfold.
Species(s) and Demographics
Every race that existed in the Imperium before the fall exists to some capacity within the Imperiums massive and broken borders. The majority is humans and early allies as their presence was essential in the early conquests centuries upon centuries ago. Due to constant battles and people either fleeing or joining the Imperial cause, a valid number is impossible to attain.
Religion Description and Demographics
Every religion recognized within the Imperium before is still practiced today with the exception of those that would harm the values the Imperium holds. The prevalent belief however is that the Empire is the sole chance that the still fracturing galaxy has at unity and peace. This powerful drive can be seen as a faith onto its own.
Culture
The Imperium used to boast conglomerations and 'free trade' amongst the stars but now.. now is a time was seemingly endless war as the Imperium to this day challenges the majority of the uprising would be nations, would be inheritors of earths glory. The Imperial navy is seen as a glorious entity with the Marines being the testament to power. To be in the military is to be worthy of life, to be part of a true cause. This has led to a pure military society that provides for itself to the best of its capability.
Even farmers and miners fall within the military's ranks with the ideology that it is only a matter of time before a garden world is assaulted by the Imperium's enemies. Life within the Imperium is harsh until you reach an officer's rank. Enlisted and Conscripted forces are diverse as they range from marksmen to helmsmen, cargo hauler pilots and simple government farmers. Constant "purges" do loom in everyone's mind, a inquisitor arriving at ones home to conduct and a through "loyalty interview". Failure to pass is simple, Death.
Above all, the people are worked hard but paid well and have the full might of the military for protection.
History
The Imperium Remnants history only began with the assassination of the Emperor. This caused the military to fracture when the new nations formed. The early Imperium remnants were torn between the constant claims of heirs or third party claimants to the throne. The early days was an Imperium of Intelligence wars and grand Inquisitions to find its place, who to follow and who to lead. This fell apart when the wars did not cease and earth was still besieged. The constant war led the remnants to a simple conclusion, end the war and trace a legitimate heir. This has been their mission ever since, to unify the once mighty empire.
Military
The Imperium, although bloodied and beaten, still possesses a modern and powerful military force. Their centuries of every evolving training gives them discipline in combat and being descendants of the once mightiest force in the galaxy, they have quite an impressive arsenal at their fingertips and are not hesitant to use them.
The Trident is a modern multirole fighter craft. Its design has been updated to allow various alien species to pilot them, giving them the opportunity to further bolster the Imperium's ranks. These fast, primarily carrier launched fighters are atmosphere capable. They feature hard points for mission specific load outs but do have a few fixed weapons including a automatic railgun and laser arrays. ECM systems do their best to ward off incoming missiles while shielding gives it a fighting chance against capitol ship Point defenses in close range encounters.
Triton Frigates are the fast attackers of the navy. They are large for a frigate, around the tonnage of what most space faring nations would classify a cruiser but for the Imperium, big ships were needed to survive in the vast borders. These ships persist to this day and are a model of balance. Its armor and weapons are suited for its size and speed. It possesses a potent shield and a large compliment of interceptors. These are a much needed rapid responder in an ever shrinking remnant nation.
The Ganymede is the most well known warship design of the Imperium. It is by far the most numerous vessel within the navy and boasts a large compliment of fighters, powerful weapons and heavy armor. The shielding system is strong but its speed and maneuverability aren't something to be fearful of.
The Liberty is a newer addition to the Imperium. It boasts immense firepower in a small package alongside the ability to host a wing of fighters. These ships are quick and maneuverable considering their size and possess powerful layers of armor. Sadly, with the lack of higher end industry and the shortage of certain precious materials, the shielding systems aren't as tough as older Imperium models.
Sol Battleships are what the Imperium called "system dominators". These ships are massive resource hogs and can service ships from destroyer size down. These are monstrous ships that carry wings of fighters and host legions of troops. These vessels can easily level a planet within a short period of time and with powerful shields and excessive armor, they are one of the biggest symbols of Imperial military power. These vessels aren't as large as a super dreadnought that so many dick waiving nations are producing but these ships are far greater in number and with comparable weaponry, these are still a huge threat, and a crucial tool for Uther in the twilight decades of the Imperium.
One of these ships, the "Orion", is the Flagship of Uther himself.
Armed with accurate high velocity battle rifles and armored exo-suits, these men and women fulfill the primary role of unifying the Imperium. They are large in number and are constantly drilled. These warriors know little fear and will do most anything to complete their mission.
Using a variety of weapons and armor, these soldiers make up the bulk of the Imperium's armed forces. They are well trained but by far are not the best warriors the galaxy has to offer.
The "Heavy Infantry" of the Imperium is one of the most prolific symbols of the Remnants. These heavy gun toting powered suits are capable at destroying men and machine alike. They utilize a mission specific load out which can include shoulder mounted cannons and missiles along with hand held chain guns or hard hitting directed energy weapons
The Imperium's remnants has long done away with the tradition armored vehicle in favor of mobile armor. These armored walking machines of war can carry incredible payloads for their size and are usually equipped with jetpacks for added mobility. These are not as fast as a tank and due to their inherent height are difficult to hide in the open.
Scouts come in many forms, from simple battlefield spies or dedicated sniper-spotter teams. These units are well trained for survival and usually have priority in a battlefield environment. Their calls on the field can be the difference between success and failure which has earned them a very unique honor in the military. To be called a scout is to nearly be a hero.
Sadly, even with all of these impressive weapons of war, the Remnants is plagued by logistics as they are spread too far and too thin. This was one of the main causes of the old Imperium's fall and it's quite true that of all the things one can learn from, that major flaw is not one of them.
Note: This is not at all the entirety of the Imperium remnants as I'm sure they would be spread around the galaxy to some degree. This is mainly the forces of the Orion spur, near Sagittarius and Perseus arms respectively. The
The Dominion Of Man
Type of Government
Dictatorship
Capitol
Star: Procyon
World: Lyoneth
Persons of Importance
Archon of the Dominion, known only as Faust.
An enigmatic man that is well known for his racist, Man-first rhetoric that fuels the Dominions hate for those who he believes destroyed the largely man driven empire. He claims to be an heir to the throne and has documents tracing his ancestry. The Imperium denies this line but it seems day after day a ship leaves the Imperium to join the Dominions loving arms.
Morinth is one of four Justicars. The Dominions elite of elite soldiers. Morinth has a checkered past but for those who know what and who a Justicar really is, they would know that she is by far one of the most loyal to Faust people alive.
Her skills as a soldier are wide ranged. A precise sniper and deadly stealth assassin as well as being trained in nearly every vehicle that the Dominion has possessed. Her deadly abilities is mostly all she has however as being very anti-social removes many chances at infiltrating as an intelligence gathering spy. Luckily, there are dedicated spies as when she is sent to infiltrate, people die.
The Avalon is Morinths infiltration ship. Armed with nearly every ECM known to the universe and an advanced cloaking suite gives her the potential of traveling anywhere in the galaxy. It is nearly full proof against sensor systems of lower power but sadly higher power ones would ping the ship if they were actively looking. The Dominions own oppressors possess powerful sensors capable of detecting most types of cloaking, which is what they base her ships tech on.
Species(s) and Demographics
Humanity makes up the majority of the nation with a few groups of "lesser" races that operate mainly as slaves, with a very lucky few that has earned through great effort, freedom and respect among the new realm of man.
Religion Description and Demographics
When Faust rose to power, he stomped out all religion except his manifest destiny of reclaiming the entirety of the galaxy in the name of humanity. His religion is not opposed to the decapitation of a criminal and dragging its corpse through a city for all to see. There is nothing but hate in this faith, a faith that desperate men and women trying to find their place easily grasp.
Culture
Faust's Dominion is a very class based society where you earn your place by the loudness of your hate and the strength of ones actions for the betterment of the people. Fear is a common tool among the population as secret police constant snatch people for questioning and on many occasions, those people never return.
The nation is nearly self sufficient in regards to resources due to very good management by Faust. Even though he professes a strong military, he manages to keep the public economy in check. Public services such as medical aid and food are supplied free by the government but at the cost of many liberties. People are born into a job and nearly every move is monitored. To live in another location requires a one-hundred page application and multiple screenings and then a personal interview of the leadership of that community they wish to live in.
History
The Dominion was not solely Faust's creation, It was birthed from an Imperium sector vying for independence. This Dominion was originally intended to become a safe haven for all races to escape the new rising empires by being safely situated in the middle of a large still imperium controlled region. They swore fealty to the Imperium for defense, at the cost of their freedom.
When the Imperium was pushed by a relatively close neighbor which afforded the Dominion a degree of independence which it used to create its own identity. This lasted for nearly two centuries before the Imperium went on the offensive. By the time they reached the Dominion's borders, it was a far different nation that was host to a variety of races that all gathered under the banner of freedom. A brief battle ended with the Imperium fleeing and Dominion sovereignty won.
The new few decades favored the Dominion with breakthrough after breakthrough but a bitter fight over a leadership role fractured the nation. It was close to civil war until Faust came from seemingly nowhere. He pushed for human first leadership at first, gaining support for the human majority and after being elected into office through various death threats and abductions, he began the great campaign.. a campaign of sheer violence. He started with the grand purge of the more aggressive races within his Dominions borders. People were loaded onto ships to be deported from the nation but where then directed into nearby stars. Human crowds were coerced into destroying businesses and vandalizing homes used by aliens which caused many to flee the nation. Those that could not flee were usually publicly executed under a long list of charges, charges to make them look criminal even though in reality most had done nothing to warrant a death sentence.
Modern Post-Purge Dominion is nearly entirely human held with only few aliens that have through great effort won their freedom. The nation is flourishing despite the loss of population over the past decades as the general population is highly productive. Faust has seemingly given them the sense of purpose they had long needed.
Today's Dominion is a very aggressive expansionist with no regard for civilian casualties in the name of what it calls, "The betterment of mankind"
Military
A drastic change from the navy's Imperium roots is the Shrike, a multirole strike fighter with amazing flexibility. It is mainly drone operated and boasts incredible maneuverability and wide arc directed energy weaponry. It can be fitted with missiles and fixed kinetic weaponry to suit the operation and with it being an atmosphere capable weapon, it gives much needed support to ground forces.
It was designed as a ship escort fighter as Point defenses would pick fighters and their missiles off at range. These craft would intercept and destroy fighters and missiles that aren't destroyed by point defenses. They would only venture to attack an enemy ship if the fleets had closed in enough where stealth and speed could keep turrets from effectively tracking them. Powerful ECM systems were designed to defeat missiles and make fighter to fighter tracking difficult.
With their high performance comes a price, thinner armor and an shorter effective attack range keeps these from being very effective on their own. However it does fit the Dominion military's ideology regarding small strike craft perfectly.
The assault ship is a fast attack warship that fills the frigate and destroyer roles within the nation. It carries a small compliment of fighters and has strong engines and shields. It's weapons have a lot to be desired but the Dominion is planning to upgrade them into a Mk II with far better and more versatile weaponry.
A shared trait between the Imperium and the Dominion is the big ship mentality. These warships are huge in size, easily dwarfing a common frigate or destroyer and with it bristling high tech Anti-proton based weaponry, this vessel is nothing short of a predator, designed solely to hunt and destroy the enemies of the Dominion.
The pinnacle of Dominion military prowess is a ship of epic proportions. This vessel is loaded with the most advanced technologies possible by Dominion engineers. It boasts heavy nuetronic shielding bolstered by projected gravity barriers. The excessive weaponry consists of kinetic and energy weaponry, the prominent being heavy Anti-Proton projectors. The Prototype singularity drive s a marvel of engineering, capable of powering a planet like earth for decades. This forms the primary drive system but us also backed up by dozens of back up and shielded generators. These ships may seem overly powerful with the exotic technologies and super weapons but with them being so huge and important, the Dominion spared no expense in their design.
There are seven of these at present with another two in production. The resources required to build just one of these behemoths could upgrade the quality of life on many planets. However, the Dominion enjoys showing the galaxy its ability to project its will.
Dominion shields are Anti-matter and gravity based. The gravity produced by the ship is focused outward, enabling it to essentially slow down incoming projectiles and then absorb, destroy, or deflect it with a anti matter burst from these point shield arrays all over the ship. The vessel usually maintain a secondary standing Plasma based shield bubble
The armor employed by the Dominion is essentially a living metal. It is loaded with thousands of self replicating nano bots that constantly move about to give constant coverage and repair/replace damaged or faulty units. This essentially gives the outermost layer of armor a nearly, liquid like plating. Below that layer is thick heavy metal plates, spaced armor plates below that with a high energy absorbing gel lining. Below this is a primary hull plating and then inside that, the squishy innards of a vessels interior.
The Anti-Proton array is a variable yield energy weapon and explosive warhead. The technology required to create these fearsome weapons is quite sophisticated and incredibly hard to reproduce. On top of that, the weaponry are closely guarded with only specialized units and most capitol ships allowed to carry this.
The basic property of this weapon is annihilation with anything containing a proton, which includes energy based shielding. The Anti-protons are created by a closely guarded secret (spacemagic) and stored in a vacuum before firing. It is then forced down a linear beam comprised of lasers creating a vacuum as to keep the anti-protons from colliding with anything enroute to their target. This process is near instantaneous as it travels at light speed, removing most countermeasures. These weapons are kept inside large domes positioned at strategic points around the ships hull. These Domes can fire in any direction giving them a massive advantage over traditional turrets.
weapon is an auric but faded bluish purple for cool FX
Dominion forces are pushing man and machine interfaces as far as they can. To bolster their rather limited number of well trained infantry, they are bolstered by heavy armor and cybernetic parts to enhance their physical abilities. Large caliber guns and personal shielding make these warriors a pain to face in the field.
Like the Imperium that it spawned from, Dominion battle suits are heavy mobile combatants. They utilize jump jets and heavy weaponry to complete their objectives.
The Assault Walker Tank is the pinnacle of adapted Imperium walker designs. It is loaded with armor and heavy shielding to compensate for the inherent flaws of a high profile and high heat, making it an easy to spot target. These walkers utilize reverse joint legs to enable 'crouching' to an extent which furthers this weapons potency. Unlike their Imperium cousins, heavy fixed gun points offer little in terms of customizability but when you choose a heavy railgun and high powered particle weapons, it makes little difference.
AHT with its beam weapon raised for maintenance
When it became clear that walking tanks weren't the king of the battlefield as the first Imperium concluded before the fall, many nations scrambled to develop countermeasures for the once mighty walking death machines. The Dominion wasn't fast to follow suit as they reverted to heavy tracked vehicles that while fast, weren't as mobile and had a much harder time on planets without ideal gravity. Luckily for the Dominion, the second imperium had given them the idea for using the hover tank.
With a hover tank though, various technologies had to be considered. A high powered cannon produced recoil which for the Dominion at least, was a very strong liability. This gave the Dominion one of two options, a multi-missile platform or a Directed energy one. Both types were crated and tested but the DEW variant one the contract. By having a high end power plant for the weapon type, it was able to boost armor capacity and have a decent shield. These vehicles are quite fast and have a very low silhouette and with a high powered particle beam weapon, can fire at distance with pin point accuracy.
As the AHT took center stage as the premier non walking combat armor, many of various models were produced from Armored transports to long range guided missile artillery pieces.
To assist the assault soldiers in their tasks and the general defense of the nation, a large number of semi autonomous drones are employed by the nation. Each operates on a separate platform and transmit wirelessly but in a manner that makes it extremely difficult to override.
Despite being labelled a cruiser, these are atmosphere exclusive drone carrier/controllers. These light high altitude warships carry an impressive array of drone fighters and utility craft.
While every nation could potentially have classifications for Horde ships, this is a quick reference to the Terran Imperium designation index.
Horde fighter- Bat
While not nearly as fast or maneuverable as just about any fighter in the galaxy, they more than make up for it with immense arsenals, heavy armor and a decent directional magnetic shield. It carries both energy and kinetic weaponry in a forward arc while its aft is protected by two smaller flak like turrets. They have been seen carrying missiles that are longer than themselves operating as ship hunters.
Horde frigate-destroyer class- Bronco
One of the first "new age" horde designs encountered was an obvious shift in mentality, right around the time 'Bragga' came to power. This one in particular is not the most advanced of the group but high in numbers and possessing an impressive array of weaponry for its size. Heavy armor bolsters this but the lack of a strong shield has baffled imperial officers. They are still not to be taken lightly though as they are much faster than most other nations ships of that class.
Horde Battle-carrier/Battleship class- Bulwark
Bulwark battleships are aggressive and bristling with many ways to kill a spaceship. Possessing massive three-gun turrets, forward mounted long range assault cannons and nothing short of a figher wing laying inside. Bolstered more so by a strong shield and a heavy armor that is unheard of even by barbarian standards, this vessel is a priority target during engagements.
Horde Super capitol class- Behemoth
Behemoths are a mystery to the Imperium. There's no point in delving into weapons and armor as this is a contender among the super-massive warships that the richest nations field.
The Falianth are ruled over by a single royal family that gained power with the fall of the Human Empire. The Trac'Nor clawed their way to the top after a massive civil war that engulfed five entire systems and now holds absolute power over the entire empire without any challengers as they were all silenced. The main head of the government is the Immortal King who controls all aspects of the government with his other officials who serve as his right hand men and women.
The Falianth Empire prefers to put their focus in diplomatic relations as they have no interest with going to war with any of the other nations grabbing land in other parts of the galaxy. With this outward stance on other nations, this allows them to focus on perfecting their genetic manipulation research as well as get their large robot facilities off the ground.
Leader: Immortal King Rac Trac'Nor
Persons of Importance:
Species:
Falianth are an amphibian race of humanoids that stand between five and six feet in height. They have a smooth skin that always has the look of being damp and wet to the touch even though their skin drys fast after being in contact with water. A few of the leading external characteristics of the race is their range of skin color ranging from deep green to a purple color and every color in between, another characteristic would be their faces which do not have a nose but instead two slits above a thin flap of skin that covers their mouth. Their eyes are more reptilian in nature as their iris has a serpentine look to it and their also do not have eyelids which are replaces with a thin see-through membrane that can be pulled over the eye for protection and the prevent them from drying out. Underneath the flap of skin covering their mouths is a double row of pointed teeth that were used for tearing at their food rather than chewing. The final external characteristics that stand out would be the webbing that is on their feet that can be retracted for easier walking on land and finally two massive rows of gills on their chest taking up over half of their sides, that rest over where the lungs are located.
Their internal structure is not much different than humans in that they have one heart, two lungs and other similar organs. The differences come from how these organs can function, for example the lungs are only used on land and take a back seat to the large gills they use when they are underwater. The Falianth are a race affected by sexually dimorphism as the males show signs of developing more muscles and are broader while the females are more slim and show more curves though both sexes do not grow any hair and rather distinguish themselves by decorating their bodies with various tattooed and jewelry. The tattoos that adorn their bodies can be luminescent in nature glow at the electrical impulses of the wearers brain.
Demographics:
65% Falianth
20% Cloned Humans
10% Various Alien clones
5% Falianth Clones
Religion Description and Demographics:
Culture: The Falianth are perfectionists in everything that they do and are always striving for perfection. The Falianth themselves are a product of genetic manipulation and were always aiming to please those that made them who they were which lead them to follow in the footsteps of the Mekar and study genetic construction. Than suddenly their creators disappeared and left the Falianth to question if they were truly perfect or if they were a defect that was left behind because they were not worthy. This abandonment sparked discord among the population as a whole as they struggled to figure out how to move forward.
Once the Falianth picked up the pieces of their ruined lives, they dove head first into their research to become the perfect beings they wanted to seem themselves as. The general public enjoy a normal hierarchy lifestyle with the upper class holding most of the power and the great scientists coming from the middle class. As a race, the Falianth do not like to experiment upon themselves instead relying on genetically identical clones to take the brunt of the risky experiments.
History: Military:
The Planetary Marines are the backbone of the Fal Empire army. The entire force is broken up into regimental units of around ten thousand units of human clones. Each of these clones is trained for two years in a special program to make them highly trained soldiers that will follow any order given to them. Each marine is equipped with a laser carbine and several shrapnel grenades with their environment suits giving them basic protection from projectiles as well as lasers.
Force Recon is a trained unit of skilled marksmen and survival experts that are made up of a mix of human clones and other alien clones. These soldiers operate in small units that are still not autonomous from their commanding officers. Force Recon is allowed a wide variety of weaponry with their favorite normally being long range projectile rifles while on land and laser rifles while operating in water and space.
These fighters are crewed by a three man team with one pilot and two gunners to operate all necessary functions of the fighter.
Type of Government: Federated Constitutional Monarchy
Description of Government: The Musashi government is divided into two parts: the Imperial and planetary governments. The Imperial governs the entirety of the Empire and is responsible for foreign policy, defense of the empire, regulating the empire’s economy, and settling disputes between the empire’s various planets. The planetary governments are run by an elected parliament and a general or admiral that is assigned by the Imperial government.
Persons of Importance
First in line to the imperial throne of Musashi, Yamamoto Yuki has been striving to end her homeland’s self-imposed isolation. She acts in the way she feels best for her people and although she is inexperienced her heart is in the right place. She has been finding growing support from Musashi’s planetary governments, although many in the Imperial government either dislike her or want to control. Yuki, like all members of the Imperial family, spent two years in the military. Specifically she served in the navy as a fighter pilot, earning the callsign “Gale Dancer” after flying into a hurricane during a training exercise and being anything but graceful. She is notable for being the first high ranking official in centuries to reach out to Musashi's neighbors.
Prince Shoichi is the son of the current emperor’s brother and second in line to the throne. Despite believing, as Princess Yuki does, that Musashi must end its isolationist policies, he and the heir apparent are anything but friends. He has made no attempt to hide either his aspirations for the throne or belief that it is Musashi’s destiny to reunite all of what was once the Imperium under Musashi’s banner. The Dominion, Second Imperium, and Confederation are, as he put it, barbaric entities that has no destiny other than to yield to Musashi. He has been fairly successful in currying the favor the hawks in Musashi’s government, but most of the planetary governments view him as untrustworthy and a threat to Musashi itself.
The younger sister of Prince Shoichi, Saeko is the third and final potential heir to Musashi's throne. She is a devout Shintoist and serves as a priestess when not performing her duties as an Imperial princess. A powerful psionist in her own right, she has on many occasions indicated that the Shintoists dieties speak to her, although it is not clear whether she truly believes this or is simply trying to fool the masses into thinking she speaks for the dieties. On more than one occasion she has predicted future events with an eerily degree of accuracy, which seems to lend some credibility to her claims. She has always been in favor of spreading Musashi's culture and religion to its neighbors by whatever means possible, citing both the safety of Musashi, as well as its duty to educate the less civilized, as justification. On more than one occasion she has been heard saying that a civilized alien is far superior to an uncivilized human; clearly culture is far more important to her than species.
A veteran kunoichi, Kau Rong now serves as Princess Yuki’s personal retainer. She is a master swordswoman and a trained hand when it comes to espionage. She, in her own words, serves Princess Yuki as her shadow.
An outspoken supporter of an invasion of the Second Imperium, General Cao Ho is currently Prince Shoichi’s greatest supporter. He is highly influential, especially in the army, and has done much to increase Shoichi’s power.
One of the more moderate career officers in Musashi’s armed forces, Lian Yunxu was made out to be a hero after the short Confederate-Musashi war of the Laioning Crisis. It is widely believed that he will be the next Minister of the Navy, possibly even the next Minister of Defense. He is a true patriot and will act to protect the country he holds dear, even going so far as to tell Princess Yuki that he would crush her should she put the Empire at risk again. He has traditionally been a dove, although in the case of the Second Imperium he has advocated some limited intervention. He believes that the navy exists to protect the country’s trade, interdict hostile trade, assist ground invasions, and protect allied planets from invasions themselves. In short the navy exists to complete set objectives. He has been noted as a competent and cautious leader, often finding creative solutions; however, he is slow to go on the offensive and is averse to taking risks.
The oldest serving admiral in the Imperial Musashi Navy, due to extensive genetic engineering Soh Gui still appears quite young except for his white hair. He believes that the navy exists solely to destroy other navies and that all else are secondary objectives at best. As one would expect he is both aggressive and quite a hawk in the government, having advocated wars against both the Confederation and Second Imperium on numerous occasions.
Admiral Kirisaka Kyoko is one of the few acting admirals who was born into the commoner class and rose in rank from a mere deckhand all the way to her current position. While her innate skills and ambition definitely played a major role in this, she certainly would never have risen to her current position if it wasn’t for the aid of influential individuals such as Prince Shoichi, Admiral Soh, and numerous others. She follows a fleet-in-being doctrine, in that the very existence and presence of a fleet can meet objectives even without fighting. She also strongly believes that a country derives its prestige from the navy and it was she that was the strongest supporter for the construction of the Yamato-class superbattleships.
Arguably the greatest military mind in Musashi, General Takeda rose to his current rank only recently and is incredibly young for his rank. He is a believer in the “honor and spirit of the samurai” and has always been a proponent of aggressive doctrines. He has earned the complete loyalty and faith of those he commands. Unsurprisingly he was disappointed in how the Confederate-Musashi war ended, wishing for the war to continue longer and believing that the navy had ‘failed to win the war’. He dislikes the barbarians that live beyond Musashi, but especially hates anything with a hint of democracy, including Musashi’s own planetary governments.
General Itami is, quite possibly, the only outspoken dove in the army’s high command. He has clashed with his peers and Prince Shoichi on many occasions, believing that their war mongering will ultimately erode Musashi’s culture and destroy the Empire itself. He is also the only member of the army high command that wishes to use robot soldiers in place of humans, wishing to lower potential casualties.
The current minister of the interior, Xiao Zhi is an incredibly influential individual who plays as much a role in determining internal policy as any of the potential heirs to the throne. He is known as a man of peace in the Imperial government, going to great lengths to either try and prevent a war or to limit casualties. The armed forces dislike him because, if for no other reason, he tries to reduce the military’s budget every year. He is a great speaker and politician, but can freeze up when meet with an unexpected situation.
Long seen as the voice of the various planetary governments, Minister Sanada’s influence comes not from his comparatively low rank in the Imperial court, but from the planets’ collective support. He has always been a supporter of a more democratic system in Musashi while also wishing to open up the country to more foreign trade. Unsurprisingly he has always been something of a dove, although in an unusual move he was supportive of prolonging the Confederate-Musashi war.
Main Race: Human
Race Demographics: 99% Human
Religion Description: New Shintoism, usually simply referred to as Shintoism, is a combination of various ancient East Asian religions but draws primarily from Old Shintoism and Chinese folk religions, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism.
Religious Demographics: 100% The degree of actual belief can vary widely, with about 100% of the Empire’s population performing various practices of New Shintoism and about 85% expressing a belief in the religion itself.
Culture: Musashi culture is an amalgam of ancient East Asia cultures, primarily Chinese and Japanese, with western influences. Most of Musashi’s people wear hanfu, hanbok, or kimonos; which one an individual wear in any given situation is determined by many different things ranging from where they live to their own person style to if they are going to a special event or not. Upon reaching adulthood, usually twenty years of age but can be as low as fourteen depending on the region, Musashi stop cutting their hair because their view their body and hair as gifts from their parents, thus it is culturally taboo to willingly damage either. This includes tattoos and cosmetic surgery, although the latter is acceptable in the event of a disfiguring injury.
All Musashi have special masks that they wear when in the presence of lower class citizens. The Musashi people refuse to show their faces to those who they believe to be below them. Many individuals pay large amounts of money to have unique masks made. These masks can be a statement of their individuality and can be used to show aspects of their personality or instead can be used to reveal nothing about the wearer. Many of these masks have the appearance of being made of ceramics, although few actually are, while more expensive ones might be made out of more exotic materials. The more expensive masks may also have special features built in such as a phone, binoculars, and other gadgets. Soldiers also wear similar face covering masks, although theirs provide extra protection and built in systems to aid them on the battlefield.
History: Musashi was one of the first colonies established by the Terrain Imperium after its victory over the Solar Confederation and, as Humanity rapidly expanded across the galaxy, became the capital of its region’s “autonomous administration zone.” The Musashi Autonomous Administrative Zone was one of many such administrative units, but there was something unique about it. Early on it underwent what was described of as an “East Asian Renaissance.” The people of Musashi had become fascinated with the cultures of the ancient and now defunct civilizations of the East Asia region of Earth. The people of Musashi took elements of these cultures, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and blended them together to form their own unique culture. Soon the people of the Musashi Autonomous Administrative Zone had become culturally distinct from the rest of Humanity.
As time passed the democratic institutions in Musashi lost power and influence. At first the “Emperor” of Musashi was a powerless figurehead, something that the people had wanted as a symbol of their culture and government while in fact having had no intention of giving the monarch any power. Over time the Emperor’s power and influence grew, but it was a gradual thing. At one time he would set in mediate a dispute between political powers. At other times the Emperor would give rousing speeches that cause the population to act in a specific way. Each time one of these things happened the Emperor’s power and influence grew. Eventually the Emperor’s power was codified in law, although he was still checked by a few democratic institutions. For its part the Terrain Imperium watched Musashi and its emperor with a mixture of indifference and condescending amusement. As far as the Imperium was concerned Musashi could refer to its leadership however it pleased so long as it remained loyal to the Imperium and continued its rather efficient administration of the region.
When Humanity’s empire fell, Musashi found itself at the heart of its own. Being unified by its culture and government structure, the Musashi Autonomous Administrative Zone escaped much of the strife and instability that was rampant throughout what had once been Imperium space. The Emperor reformed the Musashi Autonomous Administrative Zone into the Musashi Empire in the days following the collapse of Terrain Imperium and has forged the Musashi Empire into a power that remains relevant to this day.
Description of Military:
Musashi Trooper Musashi troopers are the workhorses of Musashi’s armed forces. Strictly speaking there is no such thing as a Musashi ‘trooper’, however the term has become common when referring to any frontline rifleman that does not have a specialized task. Therefore marines, rangers, and other various types of riflemen are all ‘troopers’. Troopers are well trained and outfitted with heavy armor, although only marines and navy personnel have armor designed for use in space. These soldiers are equipped with railguns, usually a semi-auto variant, and a monomolecular blade.
Musashi Force Recon The term force recon is a general one used to reference specialized soldiers that include snipers, designated marksmen, and actual force recon. These soldiers have lighter armor than their trooper counterpart and usually carry a long range rifle.
Onna-bugeisha Onna-bugeisha, commonly shortened to just onna, are female warriors employed by the Musashi armed forces. These warrior women are outfitted with light armor that is equipped with powerful thrusters, relying on mobility to avoid getting hit. Onna commonly carry a railgun and naginata into combat. Onna-bugeisha are most commonly employed as reconnaissance forces, however they have also proven to be excellent harassers and, when used correctly, have proven to be able to charge into enemy positions and create immense amounts of confusion.
Gale Onna-bugeisha They will always be wearing a helmet or mask Gale onna-bugeisha, commonly called gale onna, are specialized onna-bugeisha who are outfitted with heavy thrusters and weaponry, but possess even lighter armor. Unlike onna-bugeisha, gale onna can fly for an extended time and can spend entire battles airborne. These women carry heavy anti-armor and anti-infantry railguns, as well as katanas and a naginata into battle. A personal shield generator helps gale onna survive the battles they fight, although their mobility is still their greatest defense.
Onna-bugeisha Shodan They will always be wearing a helmet or mask Onna-bugeisha shodan, commonly called onna shodan, are elite warrior women recruited from the ranks of the onna-bugeisha and gale onna-bugeisha. They use some of the most advanced armor available in Musashi; they use heavy infantry armor that is equipped with thrusters and a personal shield generator. Onna shoden are not only elite warriors, but also responsible for training freshly recruited onna-bugeisha and gale onna-bugeisha.
Bushi The basic heavy infantry of the Musashi Empire, Bushi are recruited from the children of the nobility and seasoned troopers in the army. These soldiers are very well trained and equipped in heavy infantry armor that can absorb several direct hits before failing. These soldiers carry railguns into battle, but also have a pair of monomolecular blade katanas that they are very competent with. While certainly not the most common type of soldier on that battlefield, Bushi make up the backbone of Musashi’s army and can usually be found leading a charge against hostile forces. Bushi are, inherently, viewed as being lower nobility, meaning that for a trooper to become a Bushi means that he is joining the ranks of the aristocracy.
Bushi Shodan Bushi Shodan are Bushi who have proven themselves to be superior warriors. These soldiers are outfitted with the latest armor, which comes with a built in personal shield generator. Like normal Bushi, Bushi Shodans are outfitted with a railgun and they are given a higher quality katana. Commonly Bushi Shodan are called upon to train new Bushi, helping to ensure that the Bushi themselves are superior soldiers, which in turn ensures that those who become Bushi Shodan themselves are even better.
Imperial Guard Bushi Imperial Guard Bushi represent the best of the best. The Imperial Guard draws its recruits from the ranks of the Bushi Shodan, meaning that it has some of the most experienced warriors in the Musashi Empire. These soldiers are fanatically loyal to the Imperial family and undergo surgery to have cybernetic implants to further their natural prowess. Imperial Guard Bushi are responsible for the protection of the Imperial family and Musashi’s capital world, although it isn’t uncommon for Imperial Guard Bushi to be deployed onto the battlefield as elite troops. These soldiers are outfitted with heavy infantry armor with built in personal shield generators, railguns, and advanced melee weapons that include both katanas and naginatas.
Shinobi Shinobi are special forces operatives that perform everything from assassinations to battlespace preparations to hostage rescue. Shinobi are outfitted with special armor that can cloak itself, allowing the user to move about undetected. All shinobi have been genetically engineered to have superior physical capabilities and psionic abilities. There is no set weapon loadout for a shinobi, as a shinobi can choose to carry whatever weapons he wants, however shinobi usually carry a ranged weapon and at least one melee weapon, if not more.
Kunoichi Kunoichi are female special forces operatives who, like shinobi, have been genetically engineered to have superior physical capabilities and psionic abilities. Kunoichi have many of the same capabilities and tasks as shinobi, however they have lighter armor that comes equipped with thrusters. Commonly they are employed for espionage and used in urban environments, however they also commonly perform battlespace preparations outside of urban environments. Unlike shinobi, kunoichi are rarely deployed outside of an atmosphere as they receive comparably less training and equipment for those environments.
Type 1 Mechanized Bushi Mechanized Bushi are what some other countries might refer to as heavy or mechanized infantry. Mechanized Bushi are outfitted with heavy armor large enough that they fit in the chest. The soldier operates the mechanized suit through a cybernetic link, in essence “becoming” the armor while they control it. Mechanized Bushi are commonly outfitted with heavy railguns, sometimes particle beam cannons, and a large monomolecular katana. They are capable of combating both infantry and light armor. Mechanized Bushi are often deployed from the air or orbit in support of infantry.
Type 5 Jyu-Shokosha Mechette The Jyu-Shokosha, using referred to simply as the mechette, is a ten foot tall remotely controlled drone. Designed to serve as a reconnaissance role, the mechette is capable of truly impressive top speeds and is incredibly agile. Under normal circumstances it is equipped only with a monomolecular naginata which is more than capable of slicing through the armor of main battle tanks. There have been instances of mechettes being used in “suicide” attacks to carry conventional or nuclear bombs to enemy lines.
Type 7 Ke-Te Tankette The Ke-Te tankette is a tiny tank with a single person crew. Strictly speaking it is a tank-walker hybrid vehicle, capable of switching between the two modes during battle. It was designed to support infantry in combat and serve as a reconnaissance vehicle. Towards this end the Ke-Te tankette has good top speeds, acceleration, and agility. Its main cannon is capable of loading a variety of different types of rounds ranging from high explosive and armor piercing to shrapnel and EMP; it is important to note that even with armor piercing rounds the Ke-Te tankette struggles to pierce the armor of any vehicle larger than a light tank. On top of this the Ke-Te tankette’s armor is very thin, so much so that some of the larger infantry based rifles can pierce it given the right circumstances. The Ke-Te tankette is capable of being dropped into combat both from the air and orbit. Because of its drawbacks the Ke-Te tankette sees a lot of use in an auxiliary and logistics capacity instead of actual combat. Even so these vehicles excel in rough terrain and urban environments and should not be underestimated as they are a potent tool when used correctly.
Type 8 Ke-Ho Light Hover Tank The Ke-Ho light hover tank is small sized, thinly armored hover tank intended to serve as an armored reconnaissance vehicle, artillery observer, and skirmisher. Its main cannon is almost identical to the Type 7 Ke-Te tankette’s and is capable of loading a variety of different types of rounds ranging from high explosive and armor piercing to shrapnel and EMP. Although the Type 8 Ke-Ho possess superior armor to the Type 7 Ke-Te, the Ke-Ho is also a much larger target. In addition to its main cannon the Ke-Ho has one anti-air missile and two anti-armor missiles.
Type 98 So-Da Anti-Air Artillery The Type 98 So-Da is an old, almost ancient design, even so it has more than proven to be a highly reliable piece of equipment. Originally outfitted with ballistic flak guns, most modern So-Das have either railguns or particle beam cannons. The So-Da excels at destroy hostile aircraft. More importantly some of the particle beam variants, when equipped to an outside power source and extra cooling systems, have been able to hit objects in low orbit, including both satellites and starships. In addition to destroying aircraft, the So-Da is quite good at engaging infantry and can even fight head to head with light armor.
Type 2 APC The Type 2 APC is a hover transport designed to carry two full squads into combat. These combat transports possess decent armor and speed. Their only armament is a heavy machine gun, meaning they can not engage other armor. Type 2s also serve as logistics vehicles, carrying ammo or serving as a combat medical vehicle.
Type 3 IFV The Type 3 IFV was designed to replace the Type 2 as Musashi’s primary ground combat transport. While this certainly hasn’t occurred, due to a variety of issues, the Type 3 is still a widely used vehicle in the army. The Type 3 has two different variants: the Type 3 IFV and the Type 3 Tank Destroyer (picture above). The IFV variant is equipped with a railgun and can carry a squad of soldiers into combat. The tank destroyer variants sacrifice its ability to carry troops in exchange for a heavy particle beam cannon capable of destroying even the most heavily of armored vehicles. While reliable, the Type 3 doesn’t handle rough terrain as well as the Type 2 and, due to having wheels, is prone to be knocked out when moving out rough terrain.
Type 99 Chi-Ri Main Battle Tank The Type 99 Chi-Ri tank serves as Musashi’s main battle tank. It is noted as possess phenomenal mobility and firepower, but at the cost of armor. Typically, the Chi-Ri is outfitted with a railgun for its main armament, however particle beam cannons are not uncommon. Because of its comparably light armor, the Chi-Ri suffers in engagements where it is close to its foes. There have been known instances of light tanks or IFVs disabling or destroying a Chi-Ri at close ranges. Despite this the Chi-Ri excels at long range battles, where its superior cannon often times outranges those of contemporary main battle tanks and its comparably superior mobility allows it to better dodge incoming fire. Even with these comparative advantages the Chi-Ri struggles against contemporary main battle tanks, especially in defensive engagements.
Type 1 Mobile Armor Bushi The Type 1 Mobile Armor Bushi is a massive mech designed explicitly to destroy other mech and armored vehicles. It is a high mobility vehicle, utilizing both its legs and a set of wheels on the bottom of its feet to move about. Normal armaments include a particle beam cannon and monomolecular katana. Mobile Armor Bushi are incredibly effective in urban environments where they can get right on top of their target from behind cover. Unfortunately, they are easily destroyed at range by main battle tanks or artillery when there is a relative lack of cover, making these weapons a specialized weapon at best.
Type 75 Okibo Heavy Tank The Type 75 Okibo is an old but reliable tank. The use of treads allows the Okibo to keep a low profile, especially for a vehicle of its class, increasing survivability. These tanks possess one of the largest particle beam cannons in use by a ground vehicle and are more than capable of fighting one on one with any other tank currently in use; in fact battlefield experience has shown that in many situations fighting the Okibo head on is suicide. Despite these strengths, or perhaps because of them, the Okibo is extremely slow and vulnerable in the rear, making it easy for lighter tanks to swarm it. A high cost to produce also ensures that Okibo numbers will also remain low.
Horo-sha-class Mobile Base The Horo-sha is a hovering vehicle so large that it can serve as a mobile base. Carried between planets by either a destroyer or Kyojin-class ship, Horo-sha support troops on the ground in a variety of ways. In many ways Horo-sha acts simply as a premade base or airfield, however it can also serve as a large scale transport or supply depot. Although massive in size and possessing some armor, Horo-sha are essentially defenseless besides anything based inside of it.
Kyojin-class Planetary Assault Ship Brought into service shortly before the start of the Great War, the Kyojin-class planetary assault ship is a specialized warship designed to operate in any environment. Kyojin-class ships are roughly the size of the average corvette and can operate in space; however, they are designed primarily to function within a planet’s atmosphere. Their primary purpose is to transport troops and equipment to planetary battlegrounds and support those troops in battle. Kyojin-class ships possess a single heavy particle beam cannon, missile launchers, railguns, and a variety of point defense systems.
Ko-class Corvette Ko-class corvettes were initially intended to be point defense platforms, but were redesigned to serve as convoy raiders and special forces transports. This is accomplished through the use of advanced stealth systems, including a cloaking device, that while not one hundred percent effective are effective enough when utilized properly to allow these corvettes to sneak around behind enemy lines. Certain variants of this corvette are capable of carrying a single strike craft within it which can later be deployed to support special forces teams or attack convoy ships.
Minekaze-class Destroyer The Minekaze-class destroyer is an old, yet reliable design that has seen almost fifty years of service. It primarily serves as a point defense platform, although it also carries two large particle beam cannons that, while lacking in range and rate of fire, are quite powerful. These ships are also commonly used as fast troop transports, patrol craft, and reconnaissance ships. Several variants are capable of carrying and deploying two fighters which are usually used for either reconnaissance or support for ground forces.
Ibuki-class Cruiser The Ibuki-class cruiser is the workhorse of the Musashi navy. Its capabilities and size leave it somewhere in between a light and heavy cruiser. It is most notable for its highly modular design, meaning that given enough time and a suitable shipyard an Ibuki’s capabilities can be dramatically changed, making it a highly versatile warship. It is primarily used as a screen, protecting capital ships from strike craft and other small warships, however it is also commonly used as a light carrier. Unfortunately several design flaws have resulted in Ibuki-class cruisers being subpar anti-bomber screens.
Kongo-class Battleship The Kongo-class battleship was designed to serve in the Musashi navy as both an anti-capital ship warship and a platform to provide fire support for ground forces. The Kongo-class is notable for exchanging some of its firepower and armor for extra speed, although not as much as a battlecruiser, resulting in a “fast” battleship of sorts.
Kaga-class Carrier Kaga-class carriers are arguably the most important capital ship in the Musashi navy and around which its doctrine is designed. Kaga-class carriers represent a massive amount of firepower in the form of their strike craft. These carriers are fast, capable of keeping pace with much smaller warships such as cruisers. This comes at a cost, that being in armor and armaments. Kaga-class carriers are not designed to exchange fire with enemy warships as it possesses only point defenses. Instead they are supposed to deploy their fighters and then either leave the battle zone entirely or simply evade enemy forces in the region until the enemy has been pacified.
Yamato-class Superbattleship Initially designed to counter the Dominion’s Titan-class dreadnought and Confederation’s Liberty-class battleship, the Yamato-class superbattleship has become a symbol of Musashi’s military and industrial prowess. These massive warships look almost identical to the Kongo-class battleship, but are far larger. They possess some of the largest armaments ever fitted to a warship and heavy armor to match these weapons. Yamato-class superbattleships are dedicated capital-slayers, thus rely on escorts to handle smaller craft. Currently there are three Yamato-classes in service, the Yamato, Musashi, and Shinano, with another three currently under construction.
TSF-7 Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighter (Zero Fighter) The latest addition to Musashi’s aerospace forces, the Zero fighter is a contender for best dogfighter in the galaxy. It is notable for being amongst the most maneuverable spacecraft in the galaxy and its two particle beam cannons give it quite a punch for its size. Most Zero fighters are long range craft, capable of performing FTL jumps on their own. They are also capable of carrying anti-fighter and anti-ship missiles, although they still rely primarily on their particle beam cannons for attack. Despite its immense maneuvering ability, the Zero fighter has only modest acceleration and possess paper-thin armor. Zero fighters have been knocked out or outright destroyed by blows shrugged off by other fighter craft. The Zero, while capable of operating within an atmosphere, loses much of its maneuverability.
TRF-2 Type 1 'Hayate' Fighter The fastest craft in use by the Musashi military, the Hayate is a specialized reconnaissance craft. Toward this end it has been packed with sophisticated sensors and can carry specialized reconnaissance missiles and sensor suites on its hardpoints. Not intended to partake in actual combat, the Hayate is lightly armed and armored. Within an atmosphere it is a highly nimble fighter, but in space its agility is inferior to the average fighter craft and it relies solely on its speed for survival.
TSF-6 Type 1 'Toryu' Fighter The Toryu is a high quality fighter that relies on advanced systems, speed, and agility to engage its targets at all combat ranges. It’s especially notable for its modular design which allows it to easily and quickly change its capabilities to match whatever mission it might be sent on. This also allows it to more easily be upgraded as time goes on. In essence the Toryu is an agile multirole fighter that operates equally well in both space and atmospheric conditions. It is armed with particle beam cannons and either missiles or bombs depending on its mission. While not as agile as the Zero fighter, the Toryu is faster, more durable, and has far more mission flexibility making it a mainstay of the Musashi armed forces.
TSA-8 Type 2 'Suisei' Fighter Designed exclusively for use within an atmosphere, the Suisei fighter is a close air support craft. It possesses good speed and decent agility, while being decently durable. It essence it’s an overall decent but unremarkable craft.
The Second Terran Imperium was formed sixty years ago, renaming itself from simply the galaxy-spanning Terran Imperium after nearly 140 years of waiting for Earth to reinstate control and order within the galaxy. With Earth still in anarchy and the Terran Imperium all but entirely destroyed, the Imperial loyalists of Carina and the Sagittarius-Arm have finally given up and have decided to take matters into their own hands.
The Second Terran Imperium is notable for having a very high number of aliens relative to other imperial loyalist factions (and even currently led by an alien and various alien military leaders). This is because the Sagittarius Arm (region of the arm closest to Orion) and Carina in particular were regions of space populated by species that benefited from the early humans non-militarised colonisation phase and/or sided with the empire during the war against the original Solar Confederation, it also in recent history (post-fall) has been the target of numerous alien invasions and migrations from other parts of the galaxy.
Ever since the early wars with the Martians, xenophobia against aliens has been more than common, so the aliens of the Carina-Sagittarius region of space have mostly got by by exploiting their position as a ‘model minority’, gained through their assistance to humanity in its earlier wars. The Second Imperium has a great deal of speceism, ethnic clashes and warfare, cultural warfare and other divides however it is possibly the most xenophile of all the Terran remnants, considering it is not actively exterminating or enslaving them but actively assimilating them instead. How much is pragmatism (they have no choice), idealism or the fact that aliens make up a large number of leadership positions is up to debate.
The aliens lost most of their nations and sovereignty over the centuries and millennia, more due to simple overwhelming influence of Earth and the Terran Imperium than invasion, eventually submitting to vassalage, annexation and eventually assimilation. Today, the many native aliens of the “Second Imperium” (due to the time since assimilation and close proximity to Earth) don’t even recognise their own native cultures, much of their culture now either being heavily merged with human culture or almost entirely supplemented by it.
The Second Terran Imperium is particularly championed by the terranised Hexanagallion, aliens from their homeworld of Hexana in the Sagittarius Arm (closer to Scutum-Crux and not currently controlled by the Second Imperium) who like other pro-human aliens cut their teeth as a civilisation fighting for the imperial humans in the Solar Wars, their entire species was technologically uplifted from the Industrial Age by humanity to fight for them in their wars (making them a direct contrast with humanity's own first contact experience with the Martians). The Hexanagallions of the Second Imperium today descend from many of the 'pilgrims' who left Hexana to fight in the Solar Wars and later were allowed to colonise in the Carina Sector of the Sagittarius Arm.
THE OTHER WAR These days, the Second Terran Imperium is now in crisis, engulfed in a multi-front war as hordes of aliens invade and occupy an increasing number of worlds in the Sagittarius Arm. The Second Terran Imperium expanded, intent on rebuilding the Imperium by ending the Succession Wars... they found themselves responsible instead for defending worlds from rampaging and pillaging vandals. The Second Terran Imperiums rapid expansion and rapid confrontation with these alien invaders was further sped up by the worlds which gave up immediately to the Imperium (or even asked to be annexed) simply so the Imperiums larger fleet and army would protect them.
The Second Terran Imperium also deals with massive migrations of aliens fleeing the Dominion of Mans genocidal purges in the Orion Spur. Billions of aliens of Orion now overwhelm the streets and outskirts of Second Imperium worlds, covering them in refugee camps and shanty towns as the Imperium struggles to maintain itself. ==========================================================================================================
GOVERNMENT AND PERSONALITIES
Type of Government: Absolute Monarchy(De jure), Regency Military Junta(De facto) Capital System (De Jure): Earth, Sol (Claimed, does not actually control) Capital System (De Facto): Carina Prime, Eta Carinae Head of State: N/A (Disputed among numerous human imperial claimants) Head of Government: Generalissimo & Regent, Lawrence Tos Aktsar’Remavir
The Government Details: The Second Terran Imperium is officially ruled by an emperor or empress, however has not had one since its formation, since like other imperial remnants/successors it is still trying to decide who is the legitimate successor of the Terran Imperium. Because they lack the monarchy they claim to represent, the Second Terran Imperium is actually ruled by a regency council that is mostly dominated by military officials. The military junta in turn is mostly dominated by Hexanagallions and Humans. Despite being a minority, the Hexanagallions had the most organised member forces during the initial fall and because of this were able to seize power in quite a number of sectors. Currently there are 13 members in the ruling Military Junta, divided into 6 Hexanagallions, 5 Humans and 1 Vala plus the Generalissimo, currently a Hexanagallion (though thoroughly pro-human). The Military Junta is then further divided with 3 of the Hexanagallions and 3 humans being part of the 'moderates', 2 humans part of the purists, 3 Hexanagallions part of the Hexanagallion supremacists and the Vala being an independent.
There are several imperial claimants in the Second Imperium each with various degrees of power and legitimacy. All of them mostly refuse to acknowledge each others claims and block each others ascension. All of them also refuse to acknowledge external claimants such as the Dominion's Faust.
Generalissimo and Regent, Lawrence Tos Aktsar-Remavir Lawrence (taking a human first name like most Second Imperium Hexanagallions) is the current de facto ruler of the Second Terran Imperium. Lawrence is a renown war hero and a genius military commander, made famous for wars of liberation against the invading xeno-barbarian hordes. He mostly appeared from anonymity in the Terran Imperial Navy as a Hexanagallion "pilgrim" (A young xeno who leaves his low-caste family to join the human navy to get prestige for his hometown and bloodline), rising through the officer ranks to Fleet Admiral through winning improbable victories, launching successful risky assaults and other unorthodox activities. Charismatic, somewhat eccentric and respected authority figure for the men and women that serve under him, he seems to be the perfect ruler... if not for his disappointing lack of interest in politics, and Xeno species, that obviously makes him incapable of actually taking full control of the country.
Lawrence, a latter-day Cincinnatus would find his lack of political ambition endearing in a republican nation, but here he is looked at as placeholder and expendable asset by both his political rivals and allies. Lawrence entered the Military Junta ruling the Second Imperium as a surprise candidate backed by two of the three major factions as a 'compromise' candidate. Later he was given the appointment of Generalissimo simply because he was the most competent military commander not already tied down in battle, and many of the Junta members were either incapable of dealing with such a dire military situation (with all the xeno-barbarian invasions) or unwilling to put their neck on the line, as likely whoever is in charge will be blamed as a scapegoat for any critical defeats.
As Generalissimo, Lawrence mostly sees his political appointment as nothing more than a means to achieve more funding and supplies for the front, and is perfectly aware of what his political enemies and allies think of him. In his eyes, politics is currently meaningless since their imperium leadership as a whole (not just himself) is simply a placeholder until the wars of unification are completed.
Belonging to the pro-human loyalist faction that emphasises reunification of the Terran Imperium and reestablishment of the imperial dynasty, Lawrence is considered one of the most human-friendly faces of the xeno members in the upper command, particularly compared to his fellow Hexanagallion generals and admirals whom are more interested in creating a distinctly Hexanagallion-led "Terran" imperium. Among Hexanagallions, while he is greatly respected for his ingenuity and success, he is considered a blatant terranophile that would sabotage their species ascension to supremacy in the galaxy. His terranophilia originates from his days in the Eta Carinae Star Academy (during the latter period of his pilgrim) and from there being taken under the wing of the legendary Fleet Admiral Konrad.C.Augustine and the other star pupils of his generation. As a student of the admiral, besides the tutoring that made him the military juggernaut he is today, he also adopted a familiarity and genuine interest in human culture that many of the other Hexanagallions have simply for custom or politics.
Species and Demographics: -48% Humanity -34% Assimilated non-humans --12% Hexanagallion (assimilated) --6% Vala (assimilated) --3% Aesarnaythi (assimilated --13% Other assimilated aliens (Xarz, Saphytir, Mon’luks, etc) -18% Plethora of non-assimilated aliens
Traits/Appearance: Look in a mirror.
The Hexanagallions are a reptilian species that were discovered by humanity in the early days on the plant Hexana. They were technologically uplifted by humanity during the Solar Wars to fight for the imperial faction as shock troopers, mostly because at the time the imperials were short on manpower in the Sagittarius Arm.
The Hexanagallions are taller, bulkier, stronger and overall physically superior (in terms of strength) to humans, but are also considerably less adaptive to environments (requiring high levels of sunlight and heat, being cold-blooded) and are also less agile, with slower reflexes. Their intelligence is roughly equivalent to humans. In their evolution they evolved as ambush and speed hunters in contrast to human persistence hunters, as well as being carnivores, they never adapted agriculture and instead farming begun solely as a form of animal husbandry and livestock. Their society was highly warlike and territorial and military city-states along the lines of Earth's Sparta reigned supreme for much longer than humanities, with military city-states ruled by a hereditary military-aristocracy continuing even into the industrial age, where world wars were fought between even more complex alliances of several hundred city-states across their home-world. The continued existence of these city-state politics gave Hexanagallions a highly advanced understanding of diplomacy and alliance-building, though also made them easier to eventually annex as the humans annexed different states individually.
Numerous distinct elements of their original culture and society have been replaced by human/terran culture and social norms due to long-term assimilation, though some aspects of their native culture remains through syncretism. Their original culture, [See Honored Resurgence Forces sheet] was one of tradition, honour and societal notions that revolved around war and upholding warrior ideals. Aspects of this warrior culture have remained, particularly since Terran culture is heavily war-orientated, though some of the more individualist and traditional notions of war were replaced by larger ideological, national and collectivist concepts of martyrdom.
Terran Hexanagallion's distinction from the HRF Hexangallions are as follows: #1: Human first names followed by Hexanagallion surname(Terran) vs traditional first and surnames(HRF) #2: Universal conscription regardless of gender(Terran) vs gender-divided military castes (HRF) #3: Human/terran and syncretic faith(Terran) vs traditional Hexanagallion faith(HRF) #4: Terran language with some adopted traditional words(Terran) vs traditional language(HRF) #5: Terran "estates" caste-system(Terran) vs Hexanagallion warrior caste system(HRF) #6: Naval pilgrim(Terran) vs No Naval pilgrim(HRF) #7: Private duels happen but are uncommon(Terran) vs Private duels are relatively common(HRF) #8: Military code based around values of duty and self-sacrifice(Terran) vs military code values of honour and respect(HRF)
The Aesarnaythi are a species of matriarchal aquatic/amphibious (and very human-appearing) humanoids that almost immediately became a topic of interest as they were one of the first ‘almost exactly like us’ species humanity discovered, and unlike the Alorians were not vampiric slave-drivers, and instead ran almost utopian-like paradise worlds filled with pacifists. These multicultural pacifists were easily conquered by the humans and had their worlds quickly designated as agri-worlds (fishing) or popular tourist/retreat locations for the aristocracy of the imperium. To adapt, the Aesarnaythi have become far more savvy and manipulative, their naive pacifism replaced by cutthroat, passive-aggressive economic and cultural militancy (though still militarily pacifist). Aesarnaythi culture like Hexanagallion culture has mostly been assimilated and changed to fit the larger imperial human culture, though some native practices still remain. Aesarnaythi are still mostly matriarchal despite the human empires patriarchal influence, though instead of female-only aristocracy, most powerful Aesarnaythi are plutocrats and traders ever since the old aristocracy was replaced by the human one.
Biologically speaking, the Aesarnaythi are roughly the same size and appearance as humans, though are slightly lighter, can breathe underwater, can see the dark but have much lower tolerance to very dry worlds. They are well known for their technicolour skin tones and skimpy clothing.
Vala is a blanket term for any human-xeno hybrid rather than a true species. While most alien species cannot produce viable offspring with humans (due to vast differences in biology), some surprisingly can (which baffled terran scientists when this fact was first discovered). Technically speaking, Vala were not illegal under the Terran Imperium however were extremely frowned upon, seen as a form of degenerate miscegenation. Most Vala look very similar to humans due to the alien species capable of breeding with humans already being very similar to humans (or having bizarre biologies that allow them to breed with other species).
Under the Second Terran Imperium, Vala are more accepted since the empire is currently ruled by aliens who are trying to make use of pro-human multicultural propaganda as means of maintaining their highly unstable, multi-ethnic nation. While Vala numbers are increasing and new bio-engineering technology (no longer banned) has made the process even easier, they are still considered unnatural by the majority of the populace.
Religion and Demographics: -38%: Old Terran Faiths -20% Syncretic Faiths -18% Alien faiths -18% Irreligion -6% Post-fall new age religions (The Faith, etc)
Terran Rifleman The Rifleman is the standard infantry fighter of the Terrans, regardless of era. The rifleman is equipped with standard issue combat fatigues, light armour plates resistant to both energy and ballistics to some degree, a bodysuit (one-piece skin-tight suit) that goes under the fatigues and made out of materials that are both resistant to water, heat, chemicals, gases and worn to in combination with the full-face helmet which gives protection, optics, communications and alongside the bodysuit protection from alien environments, atmospheres and biological weapons. The rifleman is armed with a number of weapons, but the standard are particle pulse-rifle and the cheaper railgun alternatives.
Terran Stormtrooper These infantry soldiers are lighter variants of the well-known Imperium power-suit heavy infantry, possessing closely human or alien-body sized compact armour fit for flexible movement and agility. They offer very strong protection from small arms fire and the speed to make them specialists at rapid engagements and aggressive assaults. They are not proper power-suits though, so they must avoid vehicles and even lighter anti-armour weapons like the plague. Terran stormtroopers have mostly replaced older Terran Marine exoskeleton armour, making Stormtroopers the Second Imperium's marine soldiers as well.
Terran Power-Suit (Carina Justicar model) The famous Terran heavy infantry, enclosed in a small biped vehicle/mini-mecha with cockpit built into the upper chest. Like all Terran Power-suits, these are capable of destroying both infantry and vehicles with their standard weapons (no need to bring 'anti-vehicle' additions). Carina Justicar Power-suits diverge from the standard Terran model by being in squads where the majority possess slightly weaker, lighter weapons but possess greater agility, including very-rapid jet-boasters. The Carina Justicar also possesses a full bubble shield that protects it. While the shield life is short, it recharges and can take quite a bit of small-arms fire or a few shots from larger anti-vehicle weapons. These squads of battle suits include 1-2 with heavier, more traditional Terran Power Suit weapons, as seen below.
Terran Power Suit (Heavy Weapons Addons) Each power suit squad has 1-2 heavier weapons added on. These weapons are mostly anti-fortification, anti-shield and anti-heavy armour weapons. Weapons include such things as Plasma cannons, Continuous-Beam particle cannons and radiological gamma-burst cannons. Elite, custom variants (Usually commando's) have been known to carry antimatter bombs with them as well, usually as strategic weapons (to destroy cities or fortresses once inside).
HA-72T IFV (Hover-armour infantry fighting vehicle) The HA-72T, (It is called a HA-72T or just 72T by Terrans, though Confederates like to nickname it the "Prowler") is a part of the Second Imperium's dramatic return to non-biped, non-walker armoured vehicles, in this case through the adoption of hover-craft based armour. The original design and concept of the hovering, anti-grav IFV was merely the huge number of retrofitted 'technicals' (militarised civilian hovercars) used by numerous sides during the collapse of the Terran Imperium and following Xeno-Barbarian invasions. Becoming popular, the concept has now seen the creation of proper designated IFV vehicles for the real military forces of the Second Imperium. The HA-72A IFV mostly uses particle and rail/gauss weapons and is the designated carrier transport for Terran infantry.
HMT-12T (Hover-armorur main battle tank) The HMT-12T (Or "Arbalest" for its Confederate nickname) is a beefed up expansion of the HA-T concept of hover armour, recreating the concept of a main battle tank. It includes numerous turrets and a primary cannon and is also equipped with an energy shield and a point-defence laser capable of shooting down incoming missiles, large explosives, infantry and also act as a AA gun against close-range targets (Drones or close by hovering gunships/hovercraft).
FLS-1T Floatcruiser Dreadnought The FLS-1T Floatcruiser Dreadnought is the Second Imperium's answer to many hostile xenos use of various super-heavy walkers and genetically engineered monsters. Floatcruisers are essentially landships, a concept that was devised by 20th century science-fiction authors (And certain megalomaniac military/political/industrial leaders) but was mostly ignored in favour of conventional tanks and later walkers of increasing complexity. The Floatcruisers invention is based on the fact that the anti-grav generators that enable its hovering also allows it to be significantly scaled up while ignoring the usual flaws known for tracked landships, giving it both the speed and mobility to actually be useful in a battle. The FLS-1T is armoured and shielded in space warship-grade equipment and similarly armed. Its particle lancer cannons are heavy enough where they can also be used as anti-space weapons much like static anti-space guns. it is also equipped with various suites and addons, including cyber-warfare, comm-jammers, anti-landmine defences, point-defences and a light-bending invisibility field, the last is particularly useful when hiding itself from orbital bombardment
They are sometimes affectionately nicknamed "Bolo's", due to the concepts ancient 20th century origins.
Carina-class Battleship The Carina-class battleship is a Second Imperium derivative of the Sol-class battleship, an older Imperium battleship. The Carina-class battleship has been extended and given even larger guns at the sacrifice of less hull, storage space and its fighter/strikecraft carrying capacity. While the Carina-class is newer than the Sol, not by much. Currently a truly 'new' battleship is being created to replace it.
Sol-class Battleship Older, Imperium-Era model with heavier armour and both more hull and storage space, but smaller guns. The Second Imperium's Sol-Class battleships are old and weathered by constant war and time, however they are sturdy ships that can take a lot of damage and also serve as a carrier. The Sol-class is no longer in production, most of them being leftovers of the Imperium.
Bonaparte-Class Battlecruiser A new class of warship, designed by the Second Imperium itself in recent times to replace the old Imperium and Imperium-derivative warships. Sleeker, newer materials and based around a new naval doctrine of overwhelming firepower instead of space attrition (Sacrificing heavy hull/armour for bigger guns). The newer design philosophy also puts emphasis on the spinal (through the length of the whole ship) particle lancer, which the Bonaparte has.
Alexander-Class Cruiser A new class of warship, also designed by the Second Imperium to replace older classes of ships. The Cruiser is the new bread and butter of the Second Imperium, replacing smaller destroyer and frigate carrier-hybrids with more damage dealing, larger gunned warhorses. The Alexander-class cruiser like the Bonaparte Battlecruiser includes a spinal-mounted particle lancer. The two ships together make up the heavy/capital and escort standards of the Second Imperium's standard fleet.
Gandymede-Class Destroyer Icon of the old Imperium, once the most common warship in the galaxy for a time. While the Second Imperium's Gandymede's are lower in number and weathered by time and war, they are still highly useful warships with their very heavy armour and all of them also acting as escort-carrier hybrids, carrying strikecraft. The Second Imperium is moving its naval emphasis to larger Cruiser-escorts and designated carriers instead, so the Gandymede will so seen its production cease. _____________________________________________________________________________
The Oghkeen are gelatinous biped Molluscoid alien species the size of small armoured vehicles. They are hyper aggressive and territorial, however interestingly only eat algae and vegetables, not consuming meat. Their evolution begun as deep-sea creatures suited for extreme pressures and low sunlight, making their eyes very sensitive to light (but also able to see in the dark with perfect clarity). Oghkeenians have long lifespans, with an Oghkeenian having an average lifespan of around 350 years and a current record of 523 years. Oghkeenians are genderless and reproduce asexually.
Their species eventually moved to the surface and evolved into amphibians and from there achieving sentience. Their hunter-gatherer stage saw extreme competition with other herbivore creatures and avoiding extremely proficient apex predators. They eventually were able to achieve dominion of their homeworld through domesticating the apex predators and using them against the other herbivores, culling their numbers or exterminating them (The early civilisation phase of Oghkeenian evolution had a very high number of Oghkeenian-caused extinctions). Free to monopolise the vegetation, algae gardens and farmlands of their homeworld, the Oghkeenians promptly built numerous slaver-states and slave empires renown for being beast-masters and tamers.
The Oghkeenians were united as a world-state in their comparable era of the Industrial Age, with Ussluk The Worldtaker conquering the entire planet in three global total wars that left 1.3 billion dead. Ussluk begun as a medieval warlord and over its 4 centuries of life aspired to and achieved total world domination. Due to the Ussluks long-lifespan and conservative cultural values, slavery was never abolished and many medieval practices continued (and continue) into the modern day.
Ussluk the Worldtaker was succeeded by Reslec, where under its reign saw FTL invented, a slow and unreliable Warp Drive (Alcubierre Drive). Upon leaving their home star system and establishing their first colony, they were promptly invaded and conquered by the Terran Imperium. The Oghkeenians were mass-enslaved (along with their slaves) by the Terrans, who mostly rolled over them with total disregard. Oghkeenian resistance was fierce but humanity just sent wave after wave to crush them. Oghkeenians would remain enslaved for next few millennia, until finally breaking free 200 years ago after the Terran Imperium's collapse.
Now, the Oghkeenians have rapidly spread out, led by various newly freed warlords eager to take advantage of their newfound freedom (Many of the current leaders are the same enslaved Oghkeenians 200 years ago). They have cut a swath through former imperial space, pillaging, sacking and enslaving their way towards Sol. It is time to return the favour and begin the great ambitions of Ussluk The Worldtaker again, this time forming a Oghkeenian Imperium.
The Archan are mammalian aliens roughly double the size of humans. They were the apex predators of their homeworld of Arsh and quickly held control of the planet through their excellence as highly cooperative pack hunters. The Archani societies begun mostly as semi-nomadic clans which continued on all the way until the late medieval age/renaissance where they begun building their first cities, though the Archan have remained highly mobile ever since and rapidly colonised their entire homeworld.
Their homeworld was never united and remained under a loose, League of Nations-style international body prone to occasional but long-lasting low-intensity wars (Afghanistan but everywhere). Attrition warfare and trench warfare between major states was the primary form of conflict in industrial wars when they did actually occur. Space colonisation was heavily prioritised by a species desperate to spread out and migrate but bogged down by constant attrition wars and lack of space (the entire species is naturally claustrophobic).
Much like the Oghkeenians, the Archan were invaded by the Terran Imperium just as they achieved FTL, invading them with overwhelming force at their moment of glory and salvation. Their space forces were defeated in less than a minute, however the Terrans realised something dreadful: These creatures attrition warfare would work on humanity too. And so begun the "Long War" of Arsh. Despite humanities overwhelming numbers and technological advantage, the Imperium took 300 years to fully conquer the planet officially, and unofficially NEVER conquered the world completely, resistance being constant world-wide. The Archan were defiant, resilient, unwilling to bend to the Terran menace. Even when enslaved, they found a way. (The Archans brains are particularly resilient to numerous drugs and mind-altering processes the Terran Imperium used to control slaves).
Slave uprisings and planetary revolts were constant. They continued until 700 years ago, where an incompetent and decadent human aristocrat ruler of the world lost the whole thing to a planetary slave revolt and decided to retaliate by nuking most of the planet. Arsh was turned into a nuclear wasteland under a nuclear winter, but even then the Archan continued to resist.
Their planet dying in a nuclear post-apocalypse and their species going with it, the Archan struggled to merely survive until the newly independent and conquering Oghkeenians came and saved them, taking them off their homeworld and... promptly enslaving them again. The Archan resisted again, some achieving freedom by hijacking the spaceships they were on, others exterminated but the majority remain now willing slaves, willing only through the promise of extreme and absolute revenge against humanity. They now partake in the Long Wars second phase, the "Great Vendetta", which calls for the extermination of the human species and the nuclear obliteration of Earth. The Oghkeenians have agreed, though it is wondered what they will do when their conflicting calls come to an impasse (destroy earth/humanity vs conquer earth/enslave humanity).
The Toxogondii-Vala are not a real species but another form of Vala, or hybrid. They originate from the obscure Gondine Parasite of the outer arm, a small microscopic parasite that sleeps dormant in the ice of many ice asteroids in that region of space. The Gondine Parasite enters the human body through ingestion of water that is improperly treated, so while dangerous on mass-scale for the most of the Terran Imperium's history after the parasites discovery, it has been pretty easy for the Imperium to stop its expansion, at least until the fall of the Imperium.
As many worlds starved from being cut off from suppliers of food and water and professional water miners vanished to be replaced by rag-tag scavengers and snake-oil merchants, the Gondine parasite spread rapidly due to the total lack of safety procedures, spreading through the scavenger and merchant trade and into mass populace centres water supplies.
The Gondine parasite does not directly afflict anything on its host, only mildly altering its mind/chemicals to make it more useful (e.g: The Gondine virus will make its host both more concerned with self-preservation and more concerned with procreating). Its real activity begins when a child is conceived in the womb of a female infected. The Gondine parasite will multiply itself and modify the process of fertilisation and growth of a fetus (Species that do not grow fetus' in their womb are luckily immune to this process), mutating and infecting the fetus during this stage.
The modified Fetus, now a "Toxogondii Vala" will either birth 'normally' or eat the parent host from the inside out. Typically the host mother is killed, though some do survive if lucky or aided by the proper medical technology. The Toxogondii Vala still possess human genetics and are mostly an alien-human hybrid despite both parents having been human. The Toxogondii Vala possesses intelligence depending on the host parent, with most of them being human-hybrid... They can think, possessing most of the intelligence and remnants of their brains functioning.
Interestingly, the Toxogondii Vala are actually not inherently violent creatures and would be just a very dysfunctional Vala (that looked very, very alien) if it were not for the fact that the Gondine Parasite still is within them. While once again the Gondine Parasite does not directly control them, it modifies their brain and chemical functions to suit its purposes, in this case to spread, survive and multiply further, aggressively.
The Oghkeenian's as usual picked them up when they learned of their existence and potential usefulness. Since the Oghkeenian's are immune to the parasite it is no real danger to them, allowing them to use the 'sub-species' as essentially a slow trans-formative bio-weapon against human worlds they have already conquered. While the Gondine parasite cannot be used to instantly change people like a zombie plague, it can gradually convert an entire populace of humans into aggressive human-targeting monsters with just a few generations and enough 'concentration camps'.
Independent of the Oghkeenians, the Toxogondii'Vala launch their own independent attacks on humanity, but these are mostly raiding attacks on ships and border colonies to steal more people so they can reproduce.
The Tisk'Tiski are a species of semi-insectoid/molluscoid shapeshifters in the sense that they can mimic the appearance of other species by modifying their highly adaptable body. Their skin can change colour and even texture, enabling them to example mimic human skin. They can also go somewhat invisible by mimicking their surroundings, being a more efficient version of a chameleon in this regard.
The Tisk'Tiski were a species that were extremely efficient ambush and stealth hunters, almost perfecting it to extreme degrees, mimicking their prey (child eating parents, parents eating eggs, egg eating parents or other eggs, etc), going invisible or infiltrating herds/packs and gradually replacing members but allowing them to breed so to create a 'farm'.
The Tisk'Tiski achieved sapience after hundreds of thousands of years of masquerading as other species, and after achieving sapience continued to do so. Their civilisation phase was extremely slow due to their masquerading as other species and not building proper cities or technology.This changed radically when human settlers arrived, assuming the world was clear of intelligent alien life.
The Tisk'Tiski were quick to infiltrate these new creatures societies and attempted to learn about how they functioned. They succeeded for a while before being caught... however luckily, the humans went so paranoid they actually started killing each other and eventually caused the near total destruction of their own colony. Surviving Tisk'Tiski then replaced the colony masquerading as the dead colonists, taking control of the colonies communications and few remaining space craft, essentially achieving FTL and spaceflight on the spot, skipping thousands of years of advancement as well as the 'inevitable Terran FTL surprise attack'.
The Tisk'Tiski were able to keep the masquerade going for another seventy years until the Terran Imperium finally caught on and investigated, eventually resulting in the planet being nuked clean. Despite this, the Tisk'Tiski had already sent out members of its species on space flights, or by going aboard human vessels that visited the colony. The Terran Imperium attempted to hunt down the species and increase security (including special DNA scanners and other procedures, which the Tisk'Tiski cannot avoid without the help of specialised espionage technology), though the results were effective, after the fall the Tisk'Tiski were able to further spread and regain its numbers.
The Tisk'Tiski consider themselves their own faction, really only working for the horde in return for the right to 'replace' human colonies and capital worlds. Tisk'Tiski do not and cannot breed with humans (There are no Vala from them) and consider humans and all other species they mimic food. Tasty, tasty food.
Not all Sankar are under the thumb of the Gashathi, or that is to say while the Sankar are monitored and controlled from birth to death in their totally observed worlds, the original species that the Gashathi genetically altered still exists. The Ap'Sankar are the reptilian predecessors to the strange supersoldier Sankar derivatives. The Ap'Sankar do not have the excessive armoured plating/hardened scales of the Sankar and instead have natural reptilian scales. They are actually taller than their Sankar cousins and have a wider girth, their supersoldier cousins having been made slightly smaller and weigh less so they were more capable fighters (The Ap'sankar are relatively slow).
The Ap'Sankar homeworld has been tampered with repeatedly throughout its history, what with godlike ancient precusor aliens messing with its evolution. The Ap'sankar did not achieve space flight or FTL naturally, but achieved it through other civilisations interacting with them as they explored and scavenged the left-over tech from the Gashathi.
Since getting into space, the Ap'Sankar have remained... pretty much the same as they did in their primitive days. They hunt in space, just using guns and stolen spacecraft instead of spear and mount. They steal as pirates instead of raiding fellow tribes and they pillage as they always have. They aren't the most adaptive or intelligent species (they aren't retarded, more slow to change or learning new things).
large numbers of Ap'Sankar have joined the barbarian horde because they can. Because its fun. They enjoy stealing things, hunting people, hearing the lamentations of their victims women. Its funny to them.
Faction Name: Yel'krusu t'Sar'Makth (literally means "Star Empire of the Great Race") Government Type: Dominion Faction Leader: S'cum Ish-veh N'ssan (title: Sur'sim're t'Abru-ma AKA Grand Supreme Overlord) Central Territory: Tsokal'yel t'Sar'Vafer (Great Beginning, primary star system of the Sarmakth)
OVERVIEW: Sarmakth are a race of alien invaders approaching from the barely charted outer rim of the galaxy. While they hate humans with passion they are not above using them for their devices or lording over them as their masters. With the sudden collapse of the Terran Empire the Sarmakth began their plot to conquer the galaxy. They are enigmatic and manipulative, using pawns and divide&conquer strategies rather than fighting head on. Territory Claim:
HISTORY
Shockingly enough the humans and Sharmakth share a long history. Sentient life evolved in the exotic biosphere of Mars long before humanity made its first steps on Earth. Martian life was harsh and filled with challenges yet roughly a billion year ago it birthed the first sentient life who could be the predecessors of Sarmakth. Records and findings on these prehistoric creatures are scarce and conflicting even to the Sarmakth. Based on analysis of the remains they looked like large medusid beings walking on three tentacle legs. They are referred as the Vesh'makth AKA the Precursors. The details on their history are unclear but apparently their technology easily eclipsed even the Sarmakth. It's believed that their efforts and experiences helped accelerate the formation of life on Earth and likely numerous other planets through the galaxy. Vesh'makth appeared to be a peaceful society but they assuredly had their fair share of clashes and wars with the last of them almost managed to exterminate their race while drastically altering the environment of Mars. The survivors required drastic measures and proceeded to rebuild their civilization while using various genetic alterations until they became the Sarmakth. Through their efforts they took control of the planet and lived in thousands of years of peace and prosperity. Unfortunately their lifestyle was taxing on the planet and by 1800AD it became certain that their planet will die within a few hundred years. To avert their demise the Martians were looking elsewhere, eventually deciding on the invasion of Earth. Living in millennia of prosperity did have an averse effect on their technology and they basically had to reinvent military and spacefaring methods in a rush of 50 years. 1898, after through recon of the planet for decades the Martians invaded Earth, particularly England which was the center of the great British Empire at the time. Their attack was swift and merciless but lacked in numbers and finesse. Their mighty tripods modeled after the Precursors marched on relatively unhampered. Though their operation was rushed and crude they were at the brink of forcing the British Empire to its knees when something unexpected happened. Through their genetic engineering Martians no longer feared diseases and enjoyed a life without illness for tens of thousands of years. But while immune to Martian diseases and superior to even the mightiest empire on Earth the invasion forces fell prey to the planet's smallest lifeforms. Diseases which Terrestrial creatures long adapted against struck the Martians hard, decimating their numbers rapidly. The invasion was called off and the Sarmakth fled in a great haste, the rest of them dying on route back home. The Martians were flabbergasted on the news and began a long research to discover the truth and find a way around this invisible threat.
Martians conducted through analysis on their deceased but their search for the invisible killer was in vain. Intend to solve this mystery the Martians began to send expeditions to Earth, the source of the so-called UFO sightings. After countless trial and error approaches they eventually understood the threat and immunized their entire species to the disease. Meanwhile humanity was developing steadily and in secret they formed plans to overcome the Martian threat. Late 21st century, the Second Martian War broke out. The Sarmakth were more advanced but their dying planed and thinned out numbers put them at a disadvantage. To maximize their industry the Martians turned the core of their planet into a nuclear reactor. While it gave them the so-desired upper hand it eventually turned out to be their undoing. The reactor built up a growing instability which eventually went out of control. Estimates said the runaway chain-reaction will reach critical stage within a month. The Sarmakth hastily built a large ship equipped with their experimental stardrive and escaped the planet just in time. Their only solace was the fact that the explosion of their homeworld will spread debris to Earth and raze the surface. Carrying thousands of Sarmakth in stasis their ship traversed hyperspace, intending to reach a planet with ideal conditions found at the edge of the Horsehead Nebula. Unfortunately in their rush the computer made an error and dropped them off at a lifeless star system near the edge of the galaxy. tough times awaited the sarmakth in the following decades until they found a way to a neighboring star system with habitable land which they renamed Sar'Vafer (Great Beginning). What they didn't know that their hated nemesis the humans were far from extinct. Quite the opposite as over the thousands of years they grew up to be a galaxy-spanning empire. After a hundred years of effort the Sarmakth restored their civilization to their former glory and even beyond. With their refined stardrive the armakth began exploring the galaxy in honest. That was the time they became aware of the Empire lead by none other but the hated Pekh'makth. To say this revelation frustrated the Sarmakth and caused quite an uproar would be a grave understatement. Jealous and frustrated, they decided to take back what's rightfully theirs and become the crown jewel of the universe once again. Yet determination alone could not overcome such massive odds and the Sarmakth began their centuries long plotting in secret. Now, with the sudden collapse of the Empire many of their kin believes it's time to act.
SOCIETY
Sarmakth are drastically different from most sentient beings in the galaxy and this is reflected in their society. They are utilitarian and lacking most human emotions. They don't have speech and even writing is just an artifact of their ancient past mostly reserved for communicating with other races. Instead they rely on telepathy as their prime communication or even as the tool to interact with most of their technology. The average Sarmakth puts the interest of their race above their personal wishes and they are capable of working on a common goal relentlessly and with unbelievable efficiency. Sarmakth doesn't understand the concept of love or compassion which among others granted them with endless capacity for cruelty. They are also arrogant and view any other flesh and blood creature as dumb livestock compared to them.
Those living under Sarmakth rule often don't even realize it. Sarmakth are great manipulators who could gradually take control of a small nation without anyone noticing it. To the outsider the Sarmakth Dominion seems like just a bunch of small states unaligned to each other. Only the core worlds are under direct Sarmakth control. That doesn't mean they let the others loose. Using subtle means the Sarmakth creates tightly controlled environment to utilize their unknowing slaves with maximal efficiency. Over the time they corrupt the leadership into their cult and plant the religion to fear the Sarmakth as their gods.
Sarmakth are large roughly cephaloid creatures with their main body comparable to a grown bear in size. They have a pair of huge eyes and large beaks which are surrounded by numerous tentacles. The evolution and deliberate gene alterations of the Sarmakth focused on intellect which means roughly 90% of their body mass are brain matter with all other functions being reduced considerably. Their tentacles are too weak to raise their bodies under Earth-like gravity. Instead their overgrown brain developed psychic powers as well as they utilize anti-gravity devices to move around. Sarmakth have only a simple digestive system which can only deal with liquids and specially processed food. Some of their tentacles act as suckers to leech blood from living beings for sustenance, a horrible sight which made the British folk describe them as vampires. Most tentacles are thicker and used to either support the body or work as versatile manipulators to operate complex mechanisms with ease. Sarmakth are asexual creatures with no male/female dimorphism who reproduce through periodically laying down "flesh buds" of their young which they feed constantly until those eventually grow to sufficient size. Worth noting that when they refer to themselves they use male pronouns to outsiders. Sarmakth have no vocal language aside from making various basic noises to express emotions. They communicate exclusively through telepathy. In case they require to talk with someone they rely on human slaves who are explicitly wired to understand their telepathic waves and speak in their stead. Sarmakth in general have a superiority complex and view all other races as inferior if not just consider them as soulless animals to use. Due to their history they especially hate humans and call them as Pekh'makth which literally translates as "the race of shit".
Roughly translates as the "Slave Race", an expression obviously referring to the races under the Sarmakth's rule. Just narrowly escaped extinction the Sarmakth hardly has the "manpower" to function on their own. Thus no matter how much they might have wished to annihilate every sentient life on their path, they didn't. Rather they managed to effectively enslave all the races they conquered and brainwash them to adore the Sarmakth as their righteous lords. Most people living under Sarmakth rule are strangely content with their lives and follows the orders of their cephaloid overlords with religious zeal. The tendrils of the Sarmakth manipulations run deep. Fehmakth live in various level of cultural and technological development, depending on what the Sarmakth sees fit. They could live in medieval styled villages on backwater planets, existing as little more than livestock and raw materials for Tselmakth. Alternatively they could even live in an industrially developed mega cities supported by Sarmakth technology. Or anything inbetween. Regardless Fehmakth live in a meticulously crafted environment under strict control without them truly realizing it. They are also implanted with an "obedience chip" activated by Sarmakth telepathy in case they do anything which displeases their masters.
Translate as the "race of shit", this is the name Sarmakth refer to the human race. Humans are used as slaves, brainwashed to blindly revere the Sarmakth as their gods. The majority of the Dominion's slaves are humans and their treatment is perhaps the worst.
Literally translates as the "converted race". They are people who underwent extensive modifications to make them closer to Sarmakth in both appearance and function. For the slaves under the Dominion this is equivalent of the highest gift, offered only to the most devoted and worthy of their kin. Rushamakth closely resemble the Sarmakth in looks yet in terms of genetics and physiology they keep their relation to their original race. same deal with size. Human converted Rushamakth are much smaller than their cephaloid overlords for obvious reasons, effectively becoming a "mini Sarmakth". To attain intelligence at least remotely comparable to their creators, Rushamakth are implanted with Cogitators. These are sophisticated brain interface computers giving them incredible thinking ability as well as allow a faint degree of telepathy. On the other hand Cogitators pretty much turn the Rushamakth into an emotionless creature, just like their masters are. Rushamakth exist to serve its cephaloid overlords and convey their will. As such they tend to be sub-leaders or officials in areas where the presence of actual Sarmakths are deemed of no importance.
Translates as "altered race", they are effectively the opposite of the Rushamakth. They are people forced to undergo transformation into "more pleasing" and "functional" bodies in order to serve the Dominion. They are worse than slaves, they are effectively little more than biomechanical robots. Tselmakth are viewed as a cheaper alternative to drones and pure mechanical constructs of this specific scale. They can be anything from disposable soldiers to slave laborers. There are even Tselmakth invented for nothing but to serve as a piece for the cruel entertainment of its masters.
Important Characters:
Sur'sim're t'Abru-ma (Great Supreme Overlord) of the Sarmakth Dominion since their new beginning. He's a ruthless but calculating person who'd rather conquer the galaxy over the time than waste Sarmakth lives. Being over 900 years old (not counting the cyrogenic stasis) S'cum is one of the few Sarmakth in power who saw both wars against Humanity and how they failed. As such he's intent for his race to not commit the same mistakes again.
TECHNOLOGY
Sarmakth technology is unique and at times radically different from what could be found within the Empire. Their massive intellect grants them a better understanding of science than any human. Yet missing out many millennia of progress they initially had plenty of areas to catch up on. Overall while Sarmakth technology is more advanced and sophisticated it only gives them a slight edge over the Empire which uses simpler yet often just as effective measures. For example Sarmakth relies on walkers moving on flexible tentacle-like legs which requires advanced computers while humans merely use wheels and tracked mechanisms to achieve similar road performance. In general Sarmakth only have two kinds of propulsion, gravity and walkers. Their civilians usually equip grav gliders which lift their bodies and save them from physical exertion while their heavier ground machines use a walking mechanism moving on multiple legs.
- Yel'yeturek (Stardrive): Also dubbed as hyperdrive (kwhul'mishu, lit: "hyper engine") it's a device which opens a rift between normal and hyperspace (kwhulret) in order to allow faster-than-light travel. Hyperspace has various "bands" each allowing different speeds. Lower bands require much less energy but they don't provide much speed. The Martians used a crude version of this to escape their planet in the past. Higher bands offer better speeds but at a much larger initial cost. Stardrives are potentially better than Terran hyperdrives but for such performance they also require more energy.
- Weinol: The basis of most if not all Sarmakth construction. It's a versatile family of materials based mostly on carbon, engineered at the quantum scale. It's generally light yet strong matrial which depending on its grid structure can have wide degree of properties. It isn't an exaggeration to say that over 90% of everything made by Sarmakth is a type of Weinol. More advanced variants also employ hypermatter (kwhul'tukh) and hyperspace derived physics, becoming even more useful and versatile albeit proportionally expensive to produce.
- Kwhul'tviyan (Hypercore): Reactor which gathers power from hyperspace. They are compact and efficient as well as generally safe to use which makes them widespread within the Sarmakth community.
- Kwhul'wun: A term used to describe Sarmakth direct firing weapons which use either matter or radiation originating from hyperspace to project it at the enemy. The mechanism is often compared to opening a dam which is the boundary between normalspace and hyperspace and then let it flow straight at the enemy. There are many kinds of Kwhul'wun ranging from rayguns to hypermetric accelerators. Kwhul'thor is an explosive which uses uncontrolled hyperspace mechanisms with destructive results.
- Kwhul'danaan: The standard form of shielding used by the Sarmakth. They trap energy and matter originating from hyperspace within a bounded field which flows at superluminal velocities. While the formation of the shield requires a hefty amount of startup their advantage is that unless they are knocked down from incoming weapons fire these can be maintained indefinitely.
MILITARY
The Sarmakth military is unique like the rest of their race. For starters they don't know the concept of infantry and rely entirely on machines. They generally use tripods and other walker machines in combat while in space they use flying saucers or ships shaped akin to a medusa with large hemispherical body and countless tentacles. Overall their fighting force has the strange sense of being "alive" even though they use mere machines.
Leader:Queen Lilith: She is a powerful leader who will not bow down to anyone. Despite being ruthless towards her enemies and unforgiving towards the Humans now in slavery, Queen Lilith is a fair Queen who values her people. She is also the most popular monarch to have ever sat on the throne.
Persons of importance: Advisor - Lila - Alorian Advisor - Raina - Alorian General - Selene - Alorian General - Takeer - Krolm General - Zakra - Krolm
Description of Government: The Queen has absolute power over Alorian territory, people and laws. She has unrestricted political power. She has 6 advisor's who help her too make decisions and laws. Below the advisor's are the Generals who are in charge of the military on behalf of the queen. Below this are forms of smaller government who do not make there own rules but only help too enforce the Queens rules in a certain area, and pass up the wishes and concerns of the people too the generals and advisor's. The title of Queen is passed down from the current queen at death or if she desires too leave the throne too an Alorian lightblood of her choice. Her Advisors are all Alorian Females and mostly lightbloods.
Species and Demographics: Main Race: The Alorians:
Female Alorians An Alorian with paler skin which is much more rare.
The Alorians are a race of Humanoid people that stand at 5-6 feet tall. They have skin that comes in purple and blue and a rarer pale white which somehow still seems too glow. Male and Females grow no hair all over the body except for on their heads. Hair for Alorians can naturally come in any colour except for orange. Naturally they are stronger and faster than Humans but not by much. Despite the nice appearance Alorian's can be quite aggressive and xenophobic too other races but have a respect for the Krolm. The natural and still standing social order of the Alorians is very matriarchal as females are usually stronger and faster than the males although they are equals when it comes to intelligence, and the birth ratio is 70%/30% female to male. The Average Alorian lives 150 years, the longest recorded life was 173. They possess fangs which they can extend and hide when they want, they need blood too survive. Before they met the Krolm they would drink the blood of animals from Aloria, but the Krolm started too give blood too the Alorians when they were allowed into the Empire. Then when the Alorians met Humanity, they began to crave Human blood. Any blood can keep them alive though they strongly prefer Human blood. The Humans originally used this when they were in charge, they would give blood in order for Alorian cooperation. When the Human Empire fell, any and all Humans that could be captured were.
Minority Race(s): Humans (mainly slaves, but there are some free Humans)
Krolm: The Krolm evolved on Aloria's only moon. The conditions here were much more harsh than those on Aloria, the moon was covered in seas of magma and rocky continents that were used too very harsh weather. Due too this harshness they grew tough, scaly skin to protect themselves and they are considerably more bulky than a normal human and notably stronger. Their bones are heavier and show signs of extensive thickening. They stand at no less than 6 feet for the smallest and 40 feet tall for the biggest of the Krolm as they come in all shapes and sizes. When they were adopted into the Alorians growing empire they became the majority of the Alorian military and began too worship the Queen as a goddess just as the Alorians do. The most common type of Krolm.
Religion Description (Optional): There is no official Religion in the Alorian Empire. Most see and worship the Queen as a Goddess, but there are no organized churches. One belief that is strongly held throughout the Empire is that Alorian children born with white blood, called lightbloods, are children chosen by the Goddess (Queen) too become the next Queen. Lightbloods are much more intellegent than normal Alorians and are often given training by the Queen herself and if not chosen too be the next queen usually become advisors. There have been no male Lightbloods ever recorded.
Religious Demographics: Unknown, as there is no organised church.
Culture: The Alorians are an intelligent and beautiful species that live on many cities beyond their home. The cities they live in are huge and expansive, home too Alorians and Krolm alike as the two are happy to cooperate. Alorian cities can be found in many different places and and try to disturb the natural landscape the least they can but with such huge cities some things will have too change. In most cities the poor and the rich are separated but are both few in number as most people fall into the middle or working class. The small number of poor is because most who are born with little usually join the military. Naturally the Alorians can be very aggressive and xenophobic towards other people, cultures and religions. Most Alorians have no problem with slavery, it is a widespread practice among Alorians as they keep Humans for blood and other purposes. However, as with any free thinking species, there are mixed opinions on the matter. Krolm can keep slaves but have little need for them. All around the city the flag is waved as the people of the Alorian Empire are a very proud and patriotic people. Statues and shrines of the Queen and previous Queens can be found throughout all cities. Every three months the queen will address the people in a speech and it is very frowned upon too not watch it. The people are no strangers too war and are not scared of it, Alorians and Krolm celebrate war and it is seen as honourable and encouraged that if you are able you join the military in some way. Surrender is very much looked down upon by Alorian culture, although not outlawed by the military. When the Terran Imperium tried too take over by force after they helped the Monarchy win the century war, the Alorians, despite massive disadvantages, stood there ground and chanted 'We're going nowhere'. Unlike most peoples, the Alorians prefer too use music rather than literature to record history and tell stories. Before music could actually be recorded lyrics and notes were just written down so they could be performed again. Instead of reading books in school Alorian children listen too different musical pieces and dissect and interpret those. Music is very important too the Alorians.
History: The Alorians developed as the only intelligent species on the planet Aloria on the Outer arm of the milky way. They quickly came out on the top of the food chain and started to build small towns, then cities. They were no strangers too war, early kingdoms killed and destroyed as did the earliest Empires and nations. As the Alorians progressed war between them became less common and nations became peaceful with each other. They reached 2016 tech level a century before the space-faring Human Empire reached them. At this time, for now unknown reasons, the peaceful nations of the world exploded into war. It was a long, bloody war which lasted for all of the century and is now called 'The century war'. By this point in time the Alorians had been aware of the Krolm on their moon for a couple of decades and communication had been made between them. The monarchy and the Krolm brokered a deal which would allow the Krolm to live on Aloria and with the Alorians if they helped the monarchy win the war. 23 years into the war the Krolm joined on the side of the monarchy and they became close allies, fighting together for the next 77 years.
The war only ended at they end of 100 years when Humanity showed up. Humanity, with advanced weaponry and techs, annihilated the other side of the war and won it for the monarchy. However when the Humans tried too take total control of the planet the Monarchy wasn't deterred by what they had seen the Humans do before. They wouldn't be ruled by aliens. They stood there ground and sung together, 'Were going nowhere'. They fought back. The Terran Imperium, not wanting too commit unnecessary genocide, allowed the Monarchy too stay in charge as a puppet government, a secret that would be kept from the people. The Humans would make laws, give blood help the Alorians out as long as they didn't rebel and allowed Humans too live on the planet and any they helped the Alorians expand too, and followed the rules that the Humans set in place. This only worked as the Alorians thought the Queen was still in charge, and Humanity kept the Alorians under control using this method until the fall of the Empire.
When the Empire fell, the now spread out Alorian colonies and planets turned on the Humans and took as many in as slaves as they could. They stole technology and set out too create there own Empire, the Alorian Empire, fuelled with a need for power and a lust for Human blood.
Description of Military (Optional): The military of the Alorian Empire is made up or Alorians and Krolm.
Regular Infantry: The Regular infantry is almost fully made up of the most common type of Krolm, but Alorians do serve here. Not too be mistaken for cannon fodder, these are highly skilled, tough soldiers who will do all they can and lay down their lives for the Empire and their Queen.
Marines: The marines are made up of around 60% Krolm and 40% Alorian. They are the best of the infantry, the strongest, smartest and most useful. Before being allowed into the Marines the person must have been in the regular infantry for 4 years minimum and complete gruelling training that has a 30% pass rate as well as a 10% death rate. The other 60% return too the infantry. The marines are usually dropped in from orbit too re-enforce crumbling defence or secure captured territory and will usually be in with the first wave of attack along with regular infantry, these are highly respected throughout the Empire.
Orbital Marines: These are Marines that can be dropped into a battle straight from orbit in group pods which carry 12 Marines each.
Scouts: Smaller and weaker yet incredibly fast and agile these Krolm are the perfect scouts. They can see 100% clearly in the dark and are used on recon or in hit and run operations. They will be in, fuck shit up and leave before the enemy knows what happened.
Royal guard: The royal guard are made up of mostly Alorians. These are the police of the Empire, they keep the peace within. They are also who guard the Queen. They are highly skilled, having too go training for years to become one.
Bruisers: The Bruisers are hulking beasts that stand at 30-40 feet tall with the power too rip down buildings and destroy opposing infantry, taking tonnes of damage before they finally go down. They are not damaged by small arms, and the only way too kill them with small arms is too set them on fire which weakens the hide and makes it vulnerable too gunfire and small explosions until the hide re-hardens. Less common and harder to control but once they serve the Empire they are a formidable enemy to have, often used too reinforce defence and in the first wave of attack, because of the sheer strength and as a fear tactic.
Corpsers: Corpsers are spider-like Krolm. They are born from eggs and start at the size of a small dog. Within a month they grow too have legs 5 feet long and this is the point they are used in battle. Often used as cannon fodder in large battles, sent in with infantry as a distraction as they move faster and often instil fear into an enemy. Also used in hit and run operations and are regularly sent too enemy installations just too harass opponents. When fully grown can be the size of a double decker bus, and are used in the same way as Bruisers although most corpsers dont make it too this age. Their legs are reinforced with metal plating. Small corpser. Large, fully grown corpser.
Vehicles and navy: Ground Tank: The Ground tank is a highly versatile tank that can be used as an Anti-Air stationary cannon or as a moving Anti-Infantry machine. Loaded with two AA cannons on the back, an AI cannon on the front and laser machine guns on the back, sides and front, this is a good part of any Alorian force.
Troop Transpot Ship's or TT835's: Ship's used too transport marines and infantry from place too place and too bring reinforcements in. Equipped with two cannons on the bottom and two plasma turrets on either side.
Fighter's or F35X's: The F35X is the most commonly used fighter in the Alorian navy, allthough lots of different models of fighters are used. The fastest, strongest and most reliable fighter in production is the F35X. Equipped with two cannons and two laser turrets on either side, one under each wing.
The Varsovian Crown (Ussuri-Varsovian Commonwealth)
Banner:
Basic Population and Demographics:
84 systems – 700 billion inhabitants
Shravians: 20% Ayar: 35% Humans: 42% Other: 3%
System of Government:
BUREAUCRATIC MONARCHY
The current monarch is Kasimir: Head of House Preslid, Bearer of the Varsovian Crown, and Co-King of the Ussuri-Varsovian Commonwealth
In Varsovia there is one King, one royal family, and fourteen billion nobles. That is to say, every Shravian is considered a noble. In return for royally-guaranteed hereditary estates and pensions, nobles owe both taxes and service to the Crown. This service may be military, but more often it is in the enormous Royal Bureaucracy. Nobles must also implement a variety of projects decreed by the Crown, such as infrastructure, though in practice this is managed in a centralized manner by the Bureaucracy rather than fiefdom-by-fiefdom. Refusal to fulfill noble duties is punishable by confiscation of properties and imprisonment, but such acts are few and far between. Everyone knows that for all the talk of noble privileges, true power lies in the Crown.
Although every noble family technically has an estate, this is almost always a stake in a larger, concentrated operation. Non-Shravian serfs attached to factories, mega-farms, space stations, etc. are technically subjects of nobles and therefore only indirect subjects of the Crown, but there is almost never a single noble family they owe loyalty to. Nobles could theoretically pool their resources to raise their own political infrastructure, but de facto there is no bureaucracy outside of the Royal Bureaucracy. In this way, the serf class as a whole is effectively controlled by the nobility as a whole, but this authority is administered primarily through the Bureaucracy under the King. Exceptions, where a single noble family or a “board” of noble families directly rules serf communities and institutes its own laws within the fiefdom, are extremely rare and kept under very close watch. The Crown also has its own demesne, but in practice the only distinction between this and most other noble territories is that the whole profit of all operations goes directly to the Crown.
Outside of noble holdings, which make up about 90% of the Varsovian economy and account for 75% of its population as either nobles or serfs or slaves, there are peasant holdings. They have a more “hands off” relationship to the Bureaucracy, as they have freedom of movement and autonomous local assemblies. Also, unlike serfs, peasants may own property – including weapons and even slaves. Their only duty to the state is taxation; though military service by peasants is fairly common because of the salaries they can earn, it is entirely voluntary from a legal perspective. Thus, ironically, peasants are in some ways freer than nobles, though they lack the same guarantees to permanent hereditary estates or lifelong pensions. Peasants are also barred from high-level political and military positions, though they can have political power within their own local administrations. Therefore, peasants have no representation within the larger national institutions of power.
Important People:
King Kasimir Preslid
Head of House Preslid, Bearer of the Varsovian Crown, Co-King of the Commonwealth. Kasimir is a fantastic administrator, politician, financier, and innovator: the pride of the Preslid line. Ve is the product of the union of Preslid with a minor but strategically-placed family of noble industrialists whose name history has already forgotten. At the time of vis spore-fusion, little was expected of the child-to-be beyond a useful alliance and perhaps a minor administrative role. But, to the chagrin of those far higher in the traditional line of succession, Kasimir simply demolished the competition in every test of merit that mattered to the banking family. The former House Head, Vladisvla Preslid, initially hesitated to officially designate ver as heir for fear of provoking an assassination. However, by the time of Vladisvla's death, Kasimir had built unbreakable respect and authority in the family for vis decisive role in mobilizing the war economy and orchestrating the Ussuri-Varsovian alliance that won the Preslids their dominance of the core systems. At that point, passing on the Crown was a mere formality.
Admiral Izydor Jagelon
Hailing from an one of the oldest surviving Shravian dynasties, Izydor Jagelon was an opponent of the Varsovian Crown's ambitions...until ve saw the writing on the wall and defected. One of the first turncoats in the fleets of those who stood against House Preslid's expansion, Admiral Izydor skyrocketed through the ranks of the Varsovian Royal Navy. But as successful as ve became, it is said that something broke deep inside ver when ve submitted to King Kasimir. Ever since the unification of Varsovia, Admiral Izydor Jagelon has been known for vis unusual proclivity for machines, and particularly integrating verself with them. The elderly archduke is now more machine than Shravian, retaining only vis brain, essential organs, and fragments of vis face in a disturbingly asymmetric -but effective- mechanical patchwork.
Dominant Species:
SHRAVIANS
Shravians are a species that defies easy categorization, seemingly both animal and fungal in their characteristics. In their adult form, they appear as bipedal amphibians standing about one meter high. However, their natural reproduction is exclusively asexual: about six times per year Shravians “spit out” spores that look nothing like their future forms. The spore form, externally, appears as a moldy ball that slowly “morphs” into an adult over the course of 4-7 years. It is generally accepted that Shravians do not achieve sentience until about the age of 2, lacking a brain entirely when “born.” Internally, of course, both forms -as well as the intermediate stages between them- are both animal and fungal. Their individual cell structure is fungal, containing both chitin and glucan, and like fungi they decompose and feed on organic matter through their skin, lacking any devoted digestive system. However, adults do have lungs, skeletons, internal zygote (spore) generating organs (connected to their mouths), and a generally animalian form. Even spores have rudimentary hearts and circulatory systems.
A major complicating factor in accounting for Shravian biology is their near-millenium of artificial genetic modification. This has resulted in staggering genetic diversity that the species' natural reproduction would not normally produce. Embedded in this difference is a hierarchy between those with access to the most comprehensive genetic “improvements,” granting lifespans of centuries and due to various advantages, and those with lesser access who generally live to about one-hundred. Most, but not all Shravians possess facial characteristics reminiscent of humanoids, and there is speculation that one of the earliest technologically-imposed genetic modifications to the long-spacefaring species were modeled after certain advantageous humanoid characteristics. Almost all Shravians would deny such a claim, however.
Indeed, unmodified Shravians disappeared so long ago that even records of their original biology have been lost to time – or perhaps destroyed at some point after their extinction. It is generally thought that these “lesser Shravians” lived no longer than twenty years, lacked eyesight entirely, and had no mouths - simply accumulating hundreds of dormant spores inside their bodies that burst out after death.
Compared to the average human, the average Shravian is much smaller and slightly weaker, but stronger relative to its size. Shravians have a number of redundancies that make them significantly more durable than humans, such as 2-3 hearts and an entire network of small lungs under thick layers of skin. Related to the latter is Shravians' ability to open “respiratory pores” in their skin; they can also breathe through their mouths, but this was almost certainly an early genetic modification for the purpose of vocal communication. The average Shravian is slower running but faster swimming than the average human. It has roughly equal visual perceptiveness to the human, but much more refined senses of touch and sound. Most Shravians cannot smell, and those that can usually do so through the assistance of cybernetics in addition to genetic modifications. They are capable of feeding on practically any organic matter, allowing a very wide range of possible food to consume, but they also require about double the sheer caloric intake of a human. Furthermore, if a Shravian is unfortunate enough to go without food for around three weeks, the body will begin to eat itself from the outside in. Their more “fungal” parts, most notably their skin, can regenerate over hours what would take humans days, but their more “animal” parts heal only about 1.5 times the human rate.
Minority Species:
-- AYAR Ayar are the quasi-humanoid talpids native to Antoviya. They have markedly cylindrical bodies covered in dark fur, unusual strength for their size (standing no more than a little over 5 feet tall), thick hands bearing clawlike nails and two thumbs, an acute sense of smell and hearing, black bulbs of eyes suited to low-light vision, and a high tolerance for carbon dioxide. Hence, Ayar are natural burrowers. However, they have better daylight vision, a less-developed sense of touch, shorter snouts, and larger arms and legs than their evolutionary ancestors, allowing them to live comfortably both above and below ground.
Ayar are difficult for many foreigners to distinguish among by sight; they identify one another primarily by smell. However, the talpids make extensive use of all five basic “senses” and can communicate with spoken and written language, like most other species.
-- HUMANS (SURVAEKOM, SAFAVID) Survaekom and Safavid are the same species as Terran humans, although even to this day they still distinguish themselves due to ancient cultural differences. The former two began as very distant colonies from Earth, developing into entirely independent polities so far-off and distinct that would not even participate in the crisis of the Democratic Confederation, Solar Federation, and Imperium. Nonetheless, there are no biological differences worth noting among the human groups. There are also Terrans in Varsovian space, legacy of botched Imperium attempts at establishing direct rule in the region, but in such small numbers that they are practically microscopic within the Kingdom's general population.
Culture:
Class Structure The nobility, encompassing all Shravians (20% of the population), constitutes both an “upper” and a “middle” class of Varsovia. At the very highest level there is, of course, the royal family itself, while at the lowest there are lesser aristocrats with bankrupt estates forced to live off their pensions alone. Yet, all nobles are owners of productive forces. Pensions are low enough that they have “incentive” to compete with each other to develop their estates' capacities, but even a bankrupt noble cannot loser vis property entirely. Thus, nobles can get away with some level of “complacency,” and they have room to prioritize goals other than sheer profit, such as stability. Of course, individually nobles do not really manage economic or social affairs; instead they do so collectively through the Bureaucracy, except for the odd “great noble” who owns an entire district of vis own. De facto, therefore, the vast majority of the nobility is more comparable to a professional class than a bourgeoisie. They work, either as military personnel or administrators, to earn their representation and influence in Varsovia's social organization. They have little to gain from rebellion, and are the most stable and loyal class of Varsovia.
The free peasantry forms a layer not far below the nobility in many respects. Peasants constitute about 25% of the Varsovian population. They too own means of production, either as cooperatives/communes or invididual smallholders. Yet, their economic power is disproportionately low compared to their population, as their productive forces they “own” tend to have limited scale. While a group of nobles may own a vast industrial complex spanning many city districts and employing cutting-edge techniques, a free peasant cooperative rarely expands past the equivalent of a single factory. Thus, peasants tend to concentrate in industries where economies of scale are small, especially where one or a few individuals can manage all they need for their operation. They tend to dominate skilled sectors such as computer maintenance, civilian ground vehicle repairs, publishing, and translation services. Those who deal in industry and agriculture work in niches where small operations can produce and sell efficiently. However, there are some exceptions: in a few particularly autonomous peasant-dominated regions, they work in all sectors across diversified economies that are mostly self-contained. Also, in general, peasants can bolster their production by “renting” serfs or buying slaves. These practices, needless to say, create some antagonisms between peasants and their lower-class counterparts. With relatively few duties to the state and a fair degree of autonomy, peasants also tend to enjoy a level of material and social security superior to serfs and unimaginable to slaves. Those who cannot entirely support themselves with their properties can find decent wages as soldiers or local administrators. Therefore, much to the benefit of the Preslid regime, over time peasants have come to side more with the nobility than with their less-privileged fellow nonhumans when it comes to social questions. More strongly than these others, the peasantry has come to identify with Varsovian nationalism over the dead-and-buried Revolutionary Republics or the even more ancient non-Shravian empires of old.
Serfs constitute by far the largest class in Varsovia at about 50% of the population. They are the primary exploited class in their society's economic order. They are “attached” by law to noble estates, confined to districts or towns serving a particular economic operation (or even a particular part of such an operation). On settled planets, these are usually industrial complexes or mega-farms, but can also be mines and even office complexes in some cases. In the “beyond,” serfs may be dock-workers attached to orbital stations, janitorial staff attached to starships, deep space miners attached to asteroid outposts, or any number of other “low skill” workers necessary to run the machinery of interstellar commerce and travel. Everything they maintain and produce belongs to their lord(s), though they get to keep a designated portion, usually but not always in the form of wages. Also, depending on the industry, they tend to have a respectable level of autonomy so long as they meet the production quotas of their superiors. Regardless, the demands of serfdom are heavy, taking both physical and mental tolls that fuel no small social resentment. From the serfdom rise acts of defiance such as strikes, walkouts, riots, and even the occasional armed revolt. These tend to be sporadic when considered from a distance, but sometimes they manage to organize across larger networks. Naturally, these acts are met with the usual Varsovian combination of force and diplomacy, and for now they have not succeeded in altering the status quo. Notably, there do exist a few “privileged” sub-classes of serfs. Chief among these are serfs who work for the military in production, logistics, and basic maintenance. Although the process has been strained, serfs like peasants are gradually adopting Varsovian nationalism – even their rebellious demonstrations often take a nationalist tone and seek to negotiate the terms of serfdom rather than abolish it entirely.
At the bottom of the social ladder are slaves, making up some 5% of the population. About half of these are not hereditary slaves, but rather prisoners from the peasantry or serf class. The other half hold a status that goes back to the beginning of the Shravian Empire. While prisoners might think of themselves as outcasts or delinquents from a social order that they take as a given, hereditary slaves are attached to the system only by chains and gun barrels. Both classes of slaves, of course, are kept under heavy, militarized supervision – usually by peasant Peacekeepers. Unlike in the Ussuri Hetmanate, there are neither “privileged” groups of slaves with special rights nor “lower” slaves regularly worked to death. The only advantage some slaves have are as prisoners from the peasantry, as their families may petition for redress in face of abuses. The rest, both prisoners and hereditary slaves, live grinding lives that could be described as slow deaths. Too valuable to simply work to the breaking point, they “fill the gaps” where nobles find serf labor inadequate or peasants need “extra help.”
Shravian Culture Varsovian cultural values center on a sense of modernity, progress, and prestige. Varsovian Shravians adopt all manner of genetic modifications that Ussuri would deem completely useless and even absurd, such as cosmetic “enhancements” and boosts for leisurely competitions, such as the infamous race for ever-faster “clicks per second” in holo-game tournaments. Particularly among the bureaucratic nobility, all public life is a “friendly competition.” Varsovian Shravians, both military and bureaucratic, are also known to lean heavily on cybernetics where biological modifications fall short.
As for the Ussuri, Varsovian nobles know no religion. In fact, they tend to look down on the very concept of spirituality as a foolish superstition only suitable for “inferior races.”
**IMPORTANT NOTE: Shravians have no concept of gender, nor have they ever had one. In fact, they find the concept arbitrary and even disgusting. Thus, their pronouns are gender-neutral. -- A Shravian spore, until it is considered sentient, is simply referred to as “it,” like an inanimate object or a robot. -- Once considered sentient, a Shravian is referred to as VE (SUBJECT) / VER (OBJECT) / VIS (POSSESSIVE).
Non-Shravian Cultures A millenium ago, much could have been written about the vibrant cultures of Survaekom, Safavid, Ayar, and Tr'Kan. Now, after countless generations of subjugation, only the barest remnants remain. The most notable of these enduring cultural marks among humanoids is the philosophy of The Mountain, an extended metaphor for life as the careful descent from a misty, unknown peak to a lush base to the eventual return to the ground in death. Related to this is their almost universal tradition of burial, as opposed to the predominant Shravian practice of cremation. Among Ayar, the concept of spirits and the watchful eyes of ancestors remains common to this day, and many continue to possess and produce small religious statues and shrines.
Tr'Kan, who were subjugated later and less completely than other non-Shravians in the old Empire, have retained more of their original customs. In the Ussuri Hetmanate, they could be said to still have an entire living culture continuous with what was before. In Varsovia, in contrast, the relatively small Tr'Kan population is entirely diasporic and lost more of its connection to its roots. They keep their holy books, but they have little sense of the locations they reference or the practices they refer to. They congregate for festivals, but their underlying significance is only vaguely understood if at all. In many cases, old meanings that were lost have been replaced with new ones heavily influenced by Shravian thought. For example, the most common of Tr'Kan festivals, the Sun Festival held every month, is now associated with the “continuing progress” of the Tr'Kan people in Varsovia.
History:
Origins of Modern Shravians
For many millenia, Shravians lived on their homeworld of Kyav as highly egalitarian societies. Although “civilization” and technology were harnessed to impose some stratification, even this was distinguished by entire “strains” and nations rather than families or inheritance – concepts that had no meaning to Shravians at the time. The smallest, most indivisible unit of community was the village – or later the district. And even between these communities, differences were never perceived to be especially large. War was infrequent and class oppression was mild in comparison to the civilizations of most other species – the more pressing issue as population grew over time was disease, which could kill off entire strains of genetically near-identical Shravians all at once.
Shortly after they entered their space age, some 2,500 years ago, Shravians were thrust uneasily onto the interstellar political scene. They quickly recognized the threat of other species, achieving rapid political unification as the Shravian Federation and building up armed forces to match their potential aversaries. More importantly, they looked to ways to shield them from the inevitable tide of foreign microbes, refining the art of genetic modification to allow all manner of engineering spores, and to some extent even adults Shravians. The technology, however, was difficult to make available to their entire population: Those at the greatest risk of unwanted interstellar contacts were prioritized. The modifications primarily reached soldiers, space fleet personnel, interstellar transportation crews, ambassadorial teams, and scientists. The resulting political ramifications were surprisingly deep and lasting.
Shravians whose work dealt with the “outside” were not merely protected from foreign disease. They were equipped with a range of augmentations to aid in travel, communication, and endurance among other traits. As they played the decisive role in connecting Shravians to the greater interstellar community, soon they became the only Shravians capable of doing so. Others lacked not only the skills, but the biology to participate in these new institutions. And as these differences accentuated, Shravians benefiting from genetic technology became less and less willing to share it. “Soft” stratification grew sharper and sharper over time.
But it would take one more step in biotech to bring Shravian society fully into its “modern” form. This was the invention of spore fusion. Two spores could be “grafted” into one. For the first time in Shravian history, the concept of family became meaningful – though only among the elite. And this was enough to truly stratify Shravian society into a multi-layered hierarchy. Wealth and power concentrated in fewer and fewer of these new families, and in turn these families monopolized the best of genetic – and later cybernetic – improvement technology. So powerful did some families become that they eventually formalized their implicit political power, becoming the first nobles.
An Empire is Born
These new authorities staked claims over various lands, settlements, and “lesser” subjects in the Federation. They vied with one another for supremacy, but in the face of powerful alien neighbors they never escalated matters as far as civil war. More out of necessity than preference, they regulated their disputes in the still-extant Courts of the Federation, transformed into arenas of contest and negotiation for the aristocracy. As the Shravians colonized their own system and beyond, they continued to militarize, but not only out of fear. Internal war could not be afforded, but external war could provide avenues for nobles to increase their power.
The first great interstellar war in Shravian history took place some two thousand years ago. The opponent was the Grand Survaek Empire, at the time a great regional power with its fourteen systems. It was ruled by humans known as Survaekom, but also included many billions of reptilian Tr'Kan, four-armed and four-legged sentient lizards over twice the size of a human and possessing many times their strength. The Survaekom had been locked in a cold war with the neighboring rival human Safavid Empire for centuries, and the outbreak of hostilities between them provided the perfect opportunity for the hereto-unassuming Shravian Federation to strike.
No one could have imagined how completely and utterly the Shravians vanquished their foes. With the aid of the Tr'kan, who had no desire to be pawns in the Survaekom-Safavid contest, the Federation swept over the opposition and immediately followed with a conquest of the weakened Safavid. In the space of two decades, twenty-three systems fell under Shravian control.
However, the speed of victory did not mean it came easily. To properly match their enemies' manpower, nobles conscripted hundreds of millions of “lesser” Shravians into military service, providing only rudimentary cybernetic enhancements to prepare their bodies for war. The bloodletting on both sides was immense. And worse yet was what followed.
Exposing hundreds of millions of unmodified Shravians to the great beyond had exactly the consequences the Federation had feared for so long, until recent age in which the lives of normal “citizens” had become disposable to the new elite. A series of plagues unlike any seen before ravaged the genetically-unprepared population in cataclysmic proportions. In just a few short years, an estimated 60% of the Shravian population died off. Naturally, non-Shravian subjects across newly-conquered territory immediately exploited the opportunity, while desperate “lesser” Shravians rose to arms against their rulers as well. The fires of rebellion raged across the Federation.
Records from this period of civil war are scarce and incomplete. All that is known for certain is that a single Shravian noble family, led by a brilliant commander, succeeded against all odds in putting down rebellions across the Federation by around 160 IC. With the uncontested loyalty of the army and navy, this commander named verself Emperor of the Shravians, and proclaimed vis family with no small arrogance as Shravilid.
The Rise and Fall of the Shravian Empire
One of the earliest changes brought about by the new regime was the mass enslavement of all non-Shravians in the Empire. Deeply mistrustful of other species and requiring massive numbers of sentients to replace the mostly-dead Shravian underclass, the imperial authorities placed Survaekom and Safavid under a vast surveillance network as they put them to work in industry and agriculture. Where the slave population occasionally fell short, the Empire acquired more from the notorious slaver empire of Antoviya, a nation of few systems but immense population whose raids seemed to reach every corner of the quadrant. The dominant species of Antoviya, the tunneling talpid Ayar, had long fed parasitically off of Survaek and Safavid for their own slave labor purposes.
Ironically, this same empire would be the Shravians' next target of conquest. Antoviya saw its own period of mass rebellion, and their nobles would fail to put it down. The radical syndicalist Revolutionary Workers' Union was declared, uniting Ayar and former slaves in a grand quest to end all systems of domination. The Shravian Empire could not tolerate such a state to exist in its vicinity, and over a brutal century-long campaign the systems were re-enslaved, this time the Ayar themselves as well as their alien comrades. The Ayar home planet was rendered unlivable by repeated nuclear bombardments, except deep underground where independent remnants exist to this day.
Notably, in this war, the Shravians' Tr'Kan allies not only refused to join but, fearing the Empire's expansion, funneled arms and supplies to the RWU. They too were subjugated by an increasingly mechanized Shravian war machine, though they would plague the Empire with intermittent rebellions for centuries to come.
From there, for many centuries the Shravian Empire's expansion met little opposition. Systems were either colonized or, if inhabited, conquered in mere months. At its height, the Shravian Empire held over two-hundred systems under direct rule, and it received tribute from a great many more along its borders. The only real wall to further conquest came with the Terran Empire. However, sharing certain values and uneager to risk their internal stability with such a gargantuan war, neither side was inclined to fight the other for territory. Aside from a few border skirmishes, the two Empires maintained a stable if uneasy peace.
So things stayed for nearly a millenium, until about six-hundred years ago. Then, however, came the Time of Troubles. Periodic rebellions among the slaves and plagues which regularly decimated the lowest rungs of Shravians were not new to the Empire, of course. Yet, eventually they hit with such intensity and scale that a crisis emerged. A disease which seemed to ignore most Shravian counter-measures, even among the lower nobility, spread across the entire Empire. Ambitious aristocrats who sought greater power and autonomy in the Empire rose in open defiance of the Shravilids. Species of all kinds rose in a great, coordinated rebellion under the banner of a revived RWU. And on top of it all, the Imperium finally made its move against Shravian border worlds.
Imperial authority crumbled. On the Border, military commanders took drastic measures to quarantine the sick and contain rebellion, eventually cutting contact with the core worlds altogether. In the Core, Shravians died in droves while revolutionaries and noble rebels took control of larger and larger territories. In the midst of the chaos, the Shravilid Dynasty was massacred to the last individual.
Then, of course, came the Terran Empire. Taking advantage of the immense instability, it swept in and planted its flag in every corner of Shravian space. Although the humans failed to maintain direct control in the highly chaotic region, opting instead to exact regular tributes from Shravian petty lords, they put the final nail in any hope of re-stabilization. It was more than a disaster. It was the end of the Shravian Empire.
The Core Worlds: Fragmentation and Re-Unification under Varsovia
While the civil war on the Frontier was a contest of might, in the Core negotiation was key, at least at first. Nobles seeking to preserve or re-assert authority over former slave populations were forced to either make concessions or lose it all. Piecemeal, fiefdom by fiefdom, slavery was all but abolished in the core systems as the vast majority of non-Shravians attained new status as “free subjects.”
Chief among the reformist polities was the Duchy of Varsov, uniting the metropolitan planet of the same name as well as the key garden world of Rugaz. Its ruling family, the Preslids, developed by far the most comprehensive social framework in the Core for integrating non-Shravians into their domain. Somewhat controversially, they promoted all surviving Shravians into the nobility, a move that allowed them to cut away at the power of more powerful vassals while creating vast ranks of loyal followers. Non-Shravians were classified as free peasants, serfs, and (a small minority of) slaves. Where exactly a community landed on this spectrum was more or less a function of how costly subjugating them would be. The better-organized and better-armed secured status as free peasants owning their own means of production, forming a stratum of relatively well-off small producers and independent laborers. In contrast, their weaker counterparts were forced to settle for status as serfs tied to noble-owned industrial blocks, mega-farms, and mining complexes among other economic facilities. Those who stayed slaves were the unfortunate few who had never succeeded in arming or organizing themselves in the first place, or who were targeted for forceful subjugation as an example to “encourage” others to negotiate.
Needless to say, the process of building this social order was not entirely smooth. A combination of force, espionage, and skillful diplomacy were required to bring non-Shravians to accept the new social contract. Reactionary Shravians enraged by Preslid reformism had to be placated, subjugated, or simply eliminated depending on the situation. Over time, however, the changes consolidated into a stable regime.
Yet, the Core remained politically fractured. Varsov was merely one of the more powerful among dozens of other small monarchies as well as revolutionary holdouts. And although the Terran Empire had stopped trying to create provinces in Shravian space, its tribute collectors had been known to send fleets against anything smacking of Shravian consolidation. The money would only keep flowing, they figured, if they kept the Shravians weak and divided. If anything, the few Shravians who even expected re-unification were looking to Shravian homeworld of Kyav. Even the Preslids themselves were not entirely aware of their advantages: Much of the old Empire's population and industry had left Kyav and re-concentrated in Varsov, but the geopolitical shift was gradual enough and available information so incomplete that it had gone virtually unnoticed.
This hidden advantage only became apparent when Varsov was attacked by ambitious neighbor lords 258 years ago. The Preslids mobilized their fleet expecting a desperate fight against superior numbers, but the actual battles proved the opposite. The Ducal Fleet not only outnumbered, but out-gunned its opponents by a wide margin. The war of defense quickly became a war of conquest for the Preslids. Terrified of the social upheaval they would face if war hit their planets on the ground, Varsov's enemies were soon offering their surrender and vassalage. Instead of agreeing, however, the Duchy opted to secure the defections of their opponents' underlings. Much like their strategy at home, the Preslids bought the loyalty of the lower nobility and disinherited the high.
In a few short years, the war was over. Vladisvla Preslid was now ruler of some nineteen systems, and the crumbling Terran Empire was no longer capable of containing him. To celebrate the victory and the birth of a new empire, ve established the Varsovian Crown. It was not only a title, but a physical crown commissioned by the new King. It was of unprecedented strangeness, a headpiece that seemed to extend into innummerable translucent “towers” with soft glows emanating from ever-changing parts of the crown. Like a small model of the Capitol Palace in Varsov, yet so visually complex that it was nigh impossible to fully distinguish as a particular set of shapes. A crown finer and more wondrous than that of the Shravilids, a clear message to the other lords of the Core Worlds.
For a time, Varsovia's neighbor noble states began to unite in confederations to contain the rising power. They too, after all, no longer had to fear Terran tribute fleets. Unfortunately for them, the Preslids continued to show a knack for attracting defectors. Unevenly but surely, Varsov continued to annex territory through its usual combination of carrots, sticks, cloaks, and daggers. About thirty years ago, effectively all Shravians of the Core were subjects to the Varsovian Crown.
The only remaining opposition to Varsovia's dominance were the Revolutionary Republics, expansive rebel holdouts encompassing large territories, varying from continent-sized states on nominally Varsovian planets to entire independent systems. Against these enemies, diplomacy and espionage were much less reliable. Brutal, grinding ground campaigns simply could not be avoided. Varsovia was able to score a series of initial victories using elite troops supported by space fleets, but they couldn't make it farther than beachheads and a few major urban centers. Simply lacking the numbers of Shravians to effectively take and occupy such large territory, King Vladisvla tried sending in peasant and serf troops, but this only seemed to strengthen the rebels as droves refused to fight and some even joined them via desertion and mutiny. Worse yet, as powerful as Varsovia's industry was, it lacked the raw resources to meet the protracted campaign's logistical demands.
Vladisvla died before ve could see the final restoration of the Core Worlds under Shravian suzerainty. This task would fall to vis heir, Kasimir, who assumed the throne a century ago. A brilliant administrator and farsighted diplomat, Kasimir made a move few expected: Ve made contact with the Border. There, Kasimir found the perfect opportunity in the Ussuri Hetmanate, in many ways Varsovian Crown's counterpart in the region. Where Varsovia had a vast navy and industry but required troops and raw materials, Ussuri had a huge Shravian population and expansive mining networks but required ships and advanced manufacturing. Hetman Ivan Sirakov and King Kasimir Preslid each had exactly what the other needed.
An alliance of opportunity emerged, and slowly but surely each side achieved its dream of total dominance in its region of the former Shravian Empire, a process that took about ninety years. Yet, through this each also became dependent on the other. Whatever their ambitions, the two monarchs could not simply turn on each other without risking the breakdown of their own nations. It was agreed that neither would be Shravian Emperor. But someone would be: Two years ago, spores were fused to create an heir to both the Crown and the Hetmanate. The Ussuri-Varsovian Commonwealth was declared.
Varsovia, of course, continues to act more as an allied nation to Ussuri than a fellow component part of a single empire. Indeed, two centuries of separation created a vast social and cultural gulf between the two. Varsovian Shravians see their Ussuri counterparts as useful warriors due respect for their role, but certainly not as equals. Many do not even consider the Ussuri civilized, with their outdated slave society and their denial of universal nobility for all Shravians. Can even a legitimate heir unite such different people as a single Shravian Empire? Will the Commonwealth union even last until the unnamed heir can assume its throne?
Military:
OVERALL SIZE: 18 billion total military personnel -- 20 billion Peacekeeper reservists -- 10 billion active Peacekeepers -- 7 billion Varsovian Royal Navy personnel -- 800 million Special Operations Police **In a state of emergency, an estimated 30 billion serf conscripts can be mobilized within 3 months.
TECHNOLOGY Terrestrial Forces -- Infantry Armor: Yeomen Peacekeepers wear ceramic armor with integrated sensors and digital interfaces, fairly old but reliable designs. Only nobles have access to power armor. This is divisible into two groups. The first is the battle-suit, a heavy mechanized frame that is more of a vehicle than armor in the traditional sense, used by all Shravian Peacekeeper officers and by the Drop Patrol. The second is “true” power armor, worn like “normal” armor but powered to increase strength and speed. This particularly expensive armor is available only to VSOP, and is integrated with personal shielding and experimental stealth fields. -- Shielding: Battle-suits are large enough to integrate electromagnetic shielding without too much effort, though the strength of the shield predictably varies in proportion to the size of the suit. Sky Patrol aircraft also use electromagnetic shielding, but Yeoman Peacekeeper vehicles are generally not considered to be worth the expense. Recent advances in miniaturization also allow for personal shielding, but at present only VSOP has access to this extremely expensive technology. -- Vehicles: The bulk of Peacekeeper Vehicles are thruster-powered aircraft in the skies and armored hovercraft skimming along the ground. The former can use a combination of adjustable multi-facing thrusters to achieve all manner of mid-air maneuvers. Also notable are the battle-suits, whose larger variants are more like walking tanks than “infantry.” -- Projectile Weapons: As relatively cheap but durable weapons, light gas guns are the mainstray of the Yeomen Peacekeepers. They have power near that of magnetic accelerators, but without the cost in energy and materials. But, the need for cartridges makes their ammunition capacity noticeably lower. In preparation against the potential for well-armed rebels, the Yeomen also have access to a range of missiles, often attached to small tanks or aircraft, but also including many should-mounted variants. Missiles are also a common weapon in the Sky and Drop Patrols, where Varsovian advances in miniaturization are more apparent. Hundreds, sometimes even thousands of small-but-powerful guided missiles can be stored in a single gunship or large battlesuit. In order to counter electromagnetic shielding, ceramic “shield buster” rockets are also common. -- Plasma Weapons: As a species with a number of biological redundancies, Shravians know well how hard it can be to kill someone with a bullet or even shrapnel. Thus, although they still employ light gas guns as rapid-fire weapons and artillery, the favorite weapon of noble soldiers is the plasma beam cannon: a particle accelerator firing plasma at near light speed. The combination of extreme heat and kinetic energy is enough to obliterate anything biological beyond any hope of recovery. The drawback is that such energy-intensive weapons cannot manage “automatic” fire without overheating or exploding. They also require battery changes about every 20 shots, depending on the model. Most plasma cannons are fairly bulky, requiring the strength and size of a battle-suit for an individual to use, but as with many things VSOP has access to a special line of miniaturized small-arm variants. Varsovia also deploys plasma throwers, which simply spew plasma in an expanding stream. These lack the range and punch of plasma beams, but they are far cheaper to produce and remain devastating at close range. Space Forces -- Armor: For any vessel cruiser class and above, Varsovian Royal Navy armor comes in two layers. The first is ceramic, designed to absorb heat and kinetic impact. When a plate cracks, it ironically becomes more resistant to kinetic hits, though it becomes less effective at shielding the second layer from heat. The second layer is a metal alloy, strong but not particularly amazing relative to other nations' equivalents. -- Shielding: Varsovian military vessels use plasma shielding. This combines electromagnetic shielding with a layer of suspended plasma forming a “surface.” The electromagnetic energy can repel metal projectiles and disrupt energy beams, while the plasma gives the shield mass to resist kinetic weapons EM doesn't affect, such as neutral projectile beams. -- Missiles: Both short-range and long-range missiles are major components of Varsovian fleet doctrine. They are all made primarily of ceramics, with semiconductors and other metals as necessary for electronic guidance, to minimize the effect of enemy electromagnetic shields. They are equipped with a range of warheads, of which three are notable: 1) Plasma warheads, standard fare for their sheer destructive power, 2) EM warheads, which can disrupt enemy systems if they explode close enough even without physically hitting a hull, and 3) Chemical/Bio warheads, usually attached to heavy missiles meant for planetary bombardment but also used in smaller missiles fired into enemy hull breaches to eliminate enemy crews without destroying the ship. -- Particle Accelerators: Alongside missiles, these are the primary weapons of the VRN. As a long-time backbone of the military, they benefit from technology that has optimized their energy-efficiency, more efficient than many lasers though still energy-intensive. Plasma beams are the most common simply because they do the most damage to hulls. Neutron beams are also fairly common, packing a heavy kinetic punch and unphased by electromagnetic shielding. In addition, Ion beams are often used to disable enemy vessels without destroying them.
TERRESTRIAL ARMY DETAILS Royal Peacekeepers Officially, Varsovia does not have an army for offensive campaigns. In practice, however, it is easy enough to designate foreign territories as rightful patrimony and enemy soldiers as lawbreaking rebels. Nonetheless, the Varsovian Peacekeepers are indeed a force mostly geared for defense. Some 2/3 of the army is kept in reserve on system of rotations, while the bulk of active-duty personnel function de facto as a heavily-militarized police force. Only the 2 billion-strong Sky Patrol, the Peacekeepers' all-noble branch comprising air forces and gunship-based ground assault forces, could be considered ready for a true offensive campaign.
Varsovian Special Operations Police The Crown's most elite and secretive military branch, the VSOP make very adaptable special forces. Their speed and stealth make them useful as counter-insurgency troops and commandos, but they also boast major conventional battle advantages such as true power armor (as opposed to bulkier battle-suits), personal electromagnetic shielding, and the pinnacle of high firepower miniaturized into infantry-portable weapons. Like the Drop Patrol, they rely heavily on air transporation, but with less grandiosity and more subtlety. In short, VSOP hits very hard, very fast, very precisely, and very quiet.
VSOP is not a noble-only force. It integrates all species into its ranks, making use of their varied natural advantages where applicable. Historically, VSOP was instrumental in securing the early beachheads in revolutionary-controlled territories.
-- The Serf Levy: Military service is a necessary element of the sacred contract between serf and lord. The usufruct right to land or capital comes with the duty to defend it in times of danger, as every self-respecting serf naturally accepts. Enemies of Varsovia best be wary of threatening the lands and homes of its subjects, lest they find themselves confronted by these millions of patriots! -- The Yeoman Peacekeepers: These bravest of Varsovian free peasants have volunteered to defend King and Country with their lives. After four months of intensive training in their local garrison, they are issued a wide variety of modern military weapons, as well as a writ of Crown permission to bear arms and maintain order in the realm. -- The Sky Patrol: While the Peacekeepers protect the people and values of Varsovia on the ground, these extraordinary aviators keep the air clean of threats foreign and domestic. But as gentry familiar with the spirit of meritocracy and friendly competition, the Sky Patrolfolk have also organized their own battle-suit ground divisions known as the Drop Patrol. -- The Varsovian Special Operations Police: Among the brave souls who join the ranks of the Royal Peacekeepers, those of the greatest talent and character are selected for the Special Operations Police. When the most dangerous criminals arise, whether ruthless syndicates exploiting honest subjects or brutal foreign agitators threatening the lifeblood of commerce, Varsovia can count on these exemplary soldiers to restore order with maximum efficiency.
Serf Levy Defending the Homeland:
Yeomen Peacekeepers on a Counter-Insurgency Mission:
Drop Patrol Gunship:
Drop Patrol “Infantry” Suit:
Drop Patrol Heavy Suit:
Drop Patrol Artillery Suit:
VSOP Infantry in Conventional Battle:
VSOP Dropship:
NAVY DETAILS: Varsovian Royal Navy Traditionally an all-noble branch of the military, as the VRN grew it was forced to integrate peasants simply to fill its ranks with the necessary technicians and crewfolk. They even fill positions as lower-level officers, though higher up the command chain remains exclusively Shravian. As the unquestioned centerpiece of Varsovian military doctrine, the Royal Navy is by far the best-equipped branch of the military.
VRN Knight Battlecruiser: The most common of Varsovian starships, the Knight is a versatile vessel. Each carries approximately 1 Ion Cannon, 2 Neutron Cannons, and 2 Plasma Cannons as well as 4 short-range missile pods – each with a capacity of 100 medium-duty missiles. The Knight also carries an impressive array of point-defenses in the form of 30 mini Neutron Cannons and 12 mini missile pods – each with a capacity of 300 missiles.
VRN Hussar Assault Battery: Accompanying Knights in the Varsovian “front attack line,” the Husaria is the absolute peak of heavy forward firepower. It carries five Heavy Plasma Cannons, a gargantuan Dorsal Plasma Cannon built into its hull, two heavy short-range missile pods carrying 200 heavy-duty missiles each, and four short-range missile pods of the Knight variety. The Husaria lacks point-defenses, and thus relies heavily on Knights for protection, but also has very heavy armor and shielding to compensate.
VRN Onager Bombardment Cruiser: The backbone of the VRN's “holding line,” carrying some twelve 50-capacity long range missile pods as well as a single range-optimized Heavy Plasma Cannon. With such a heavy weapons load for a relatively small ship, it can support only modest armor, shielding, and point defenses. Onagers must rely on Bastions for protection.
VRN Bastion Dreadnought: Bastions are the command ships VRN fleets as well as the anvils to the Hussars' hammers. Their size, armor, shielding, and vast point-defense networks easily outclass every other ship in the Varsovian arsenal. They also carry advanced sensors for long-range targeting and stealth detection, which is continuously relayed to nearby vessels (most notably the Onagers). Bastions also carry Electronic Warfare Centers, where the VRN engages in cyber battle to disrupt enemy communications/sensors and protect their own. Yet, when it comes to direct ship-to-ship armament, the dreadnought is less exceptional. Simply because of its sheer size, it still mounts an impressive 2 Heavy Plasma Cannons, 4 Heavy Ion Cannons, 4 Heavy Neutron Cannons, and 14 Plasma Cannons. But it lacks anything equivalent to the Hussar's Dorsal Cannon, and it carries no anti-ship missiles.
VRN Tower Strike Transport: About half the size of a Knight, the Tower is the VRN's smallest front-line combat vessel. It carries little in the way of direct weaponry, only eight Mini Neutron Cannons and a single mini-missile pod for point defense. To compensate, it boasts disproportionately powerful frontal shielding and the fleet's most impressive combination of speed and maneuverability. Each Tower contains four Heavy Dropships and twelve Fighter-Bombers, all capable of both space and atmospheric flight. The Heavy Dropships each hold 50 marines, and the Fighter-Bombers each carry two small plasma cannons and eight missiles.
VRN Space Mine: A recent, experimental design in a stealth warship. The Space Mine is well-armored but has only light shielding, as its stealth systems require much energy. For the same reason, it lacks particle beams and is instead packed with three-hundred heavy short-range missiles. Due to the plating requirements of its stealth system, these missiles do not come in traditional pods, but are rather packed underneath the hull in a system of tubes that fire out of eight possible openings. The system is optimized to release these missiles very quickly, up to two missiles per second per opening.
Confederate Government is one in a clear state of drift, at once true to its namesake and yet clearly creeping towards federalism. Within this evolving system there are two major branches of government, the Cabinet branch, and the Judicial branch.
Source of all Confederation wide laws and executive decisions the Cabinet branch is composed of the 19 Chancellors, each of which are elected heads of Confederation member states with the exception of the First Chancellor. The Cabinet may set policy and establish Confederation wide laws by vote, though the latter is a rare occurrence as most law making is left to member state governments and their respective governmental structures. This meaning that each member state may draft and pass laws through its own legislative structure, but these laws are exclusive to that member state whereas Confederation wide laws are binding in all member states. The Cabinet is led by the First Chancellor who is appointed by a Confederation wide election every eight years and who presides over all the others acting as the head of state for the greater Confederation. This First Chancellor carries the right to call a new election for any member state and can take emergency powers when warranted and permitted by a majority vote of the Cabinet. Each of the normal Chancellors may propose agendas or laws to be voted on, but these too may be vetoed by the First Chancellor. As a means of checking the enormous power of the First Chancellor any 2/3rds vote of no confidence by the Cabinet immediately suspends the First Chancellors powers, subject to a mandatory referendum to establish the legitimacy of this vote.
Distinct from the cabinet the Judicial branch functions as the highest legal body in the Confederation, even above individual member states supreme courts. Composed of a number of delegates proportional to each member states population the Judaical branch is an enormously powerful organization that judges the legality of any laws enacted in the Confederation in the context of the Charter of the Confederation. That said, the Judicial branch does not interfere in member state rulings unless those rulings are contested past the supreme court of that member state. The primary function of the Judicial branch is to evaluate the legality of Confederation wide laws passed by the cabinet.
Leader:
First Chancellor Kaela Sevaren of the Sovereign Star Confederation:
The Cabinet:
Chancellor Alice Kent of the Greater Terrestrial Republic Chancellor Sandro Espanta of the Iberian Commonwealth Chancellor Bjorn Ovringson of the Scandinavian League Chancellor Emanuel Smith of the Fringe Worlds Cooperative Chancellor Theodora Katsaros of the Hellenic Republic Chancellor Amir Hamam of the Arab Free State Chancellor Ueman Xepil of the Mesoamerican Republic Chancellor David Mannerheim of the Germanic Republic Chancellor Chloe Petit of the Tenth French Republic Chancellor Sak’fe’nu of the Ge’He Elective Chancellor Sally Cooper of the Foundry Worlds Alliance Chancellor John Marsh of the New American Republic Chancellor Tep Narong of the New Asian Republic Chancellor Mark Carlston of the Oceanic Republic Chancellor Alexi Sokolov of the Slavic Republic Chancellor Jaswinder Sai of the Dharman League Chancellor William Egzere of the West Belt Republic Chancellor Richard Ainsworth of the New British Republic
People of Note
One of the younger Admirals in the establishment Anastasia rose quickly to her rank through undeniable competence in the matters of fleet engagement and battle order, but has since been of little influence in the military. This is not due to her personal faults, but rather her political ideology. Anastasia sees the Confederations military as a tool, and one that grows rusty without use. It is her conviction that the Confederation needs to involve itself and its military in the affairs of the greater galaxy both to keep the military relevant and to support interests that might otherwise pass the nation by. Of these interests Anastasia has long been a vocal advocate of outright aiding the Remnant in its struggle against the barbarians. As she often says, should the Remnant fall nothing will stand between the Confederation and the hideous taint upon the universe that is the Dominion of Man.
She is the newly appointed commander of the Article XVI, a Liberty Class Multi-Role Battleship.
For decades Joseph Lawrence has been an integral piece of the Confederations military, and it was the perception of him as a loyal citizen, a committed democrat, and a capable commander that led to his promotion. After policy disaster that was the war with Musashi the public demanded something be done, and in response to that demand Lawrence was appointed Commander of the East, an entirely new position. Once known as an advocate of using the military as a deterrent rather than a weapon, Lawrence is now a man whose beliefs have been shaken. Nevertheless he is currently revitalizing the military in his vision, even if that vision is slowly an becoming increasingly controversial one.
For a century the Confederation has been at peace, and that peace is what creates men like Alan Carter. A quintessential member of the old guard Carter came to his position through a long and unremarkable career of demonstrated competence, but as a result has become complacent. He sees the military as a shield and nothing more, after all no imposed democracy can last and what else would the war machine of the Confederation be used for? In recent days Carter has voiced his dissatisfaction with the new Commander of the Easts increasingly interventionist ideas and has once even labeled his superior as a coward bowing in fear to Musashi.
Charismatic, popular, and a public symbol of the military Jacob Walters has all but catapulted to his position as top General. On the way he’s earned the ire of many of his peers and is as unpopular internally as he is celebrated by the public. Known to be proponent of whatever seems to be the popular solution at the time many consider Jacob to be a pandering fool and incompetent with a pretty face, however that’s not entirely the case. Jacob has consistently done well in war games and while he may be more book learned than practically experienced he’s far from an uneducated simpleton with politically convenient beliefs.
Species(s) and Demographics:
74% Human: Children of Earth and former rulers of the Imperium, Humanity makes up the undisputed majority in the Confederation.
15% Ge'He: Once a proud species that commanded a space faring nation of note, the Ge'He were humiliated by one of the Imperium's earlier wars of conquest. For centuries they were marginalized and oppressed, but held tight to a culture that faded by the day. Now the Ge'He command of nation of their own within the Confederation, but still they remain a minority in what used to be their own space.
8% Hexanagallion: Ancient militaristic reptilians uplifted long ago, the 'Hexies' as they're often called can be found in some number in any part of the Confederation.
2% Assorted Species: Various species, none of which amount to 1% or greater of the population alone.
1% Aesarnaythi: Amphibious descendants of a once near-utopian society and some of the closest aliens to humanity these matriarchal aliens are common in the economic sphere of the Confederation.
Religion Description and Demographics:
Culture:
History:
The History of the Confederation can best be traced to the sector wide cultural revolution known only as 'The Remembrance' across the former Imperium. Where the movement originated is disputed, but what it signalled was a massive reemergence of ancient Earth culture among the general populace of countless worlds. In the autonomous region of Musashi the movement would lead to a new and homogenous culture, but in the space now occupied by the Confederation The Remembrance led to a massively fractured culture and widespread societal upheaval.
Indeed after The Remembrance the area immediately around Musashi came to be known as the playground of the Imperiums military as they were constantly called upon to suppress what seemed to be an endless string of rebellions. Sectarian violence was rampant, and nationalist movements seemed to inspire insurrection every other day of the week. For centuries this would be the case despite intermittent Imperial intervention, and on the eve of the great empires collapse the region was embroiled in petty conflict just as it had always been.
Yet without the Imperial hand to moderate the violence the spark grew to an inferno. Devolving into hundreds of petty states the region soon fell further into warfare than ever before, dozens of star nations burnt as territories shrunk and grew as new powers rose. After a decade seventeen greater states had risen to the forefront, most of which being autocracies led by former Imperial nobility. Standing apart however were the three newly minted democracies: The Greater Terrestrial Republic, The New British Republic, and the Foundry Worlds Alliance. Feeling the threat from their new and belligerent neighbours the three signed what would come to be known as the Charter of the Confederation, a document founding a greater democratic alliance and uniting the militaries of the free galaxy.
In the following ninety years this new Confederation would spread the flame of democracy across the region, supplying rebels and even going so far as to arm the Ge'He in their bid to establish a nation of their own. One by one the dictatorships would fall to rebellion, and then liberation, as they quarrelled among themselves. One hundred years ago the last one would fall to the forced of liberty, and the Sovereign Star Confederation would establish itself as a regional power to last, albeit one still struggling from the after shocks of unification and racial tension.
Navy:
Liberty Class Multi-role Battleship A relic of the Unification Wars the four Liberty class vessels have been operational for nearly a century. Ever upgraded they have been symbols of unity for as long as most can remember and to this day they remain formidable, if not as powerful as modern super dreadnoughts. However, they are increasingly relegated to support roles due to the potential morale disaster of losing one.
Liberation Class Carrier True workhorses the Liberation class carriers are newer vessels, capable of long range operation and limited ship to ship combat even without a complement. Largely designed around a theoretical new fighter interceptor, the Liberations were too far along to cancel when the fighters they were meant to carry were axed. Still capable vessels the Liberation class carries older Stinger fighters and Claw bombers.
Charter Class Battleship Powerful force projectors the Charter class Battleships were constructed in response to the Dominions growing number of super dreadnoughts and are the combat replacements for the Liberty class vessels which have increasingly become trumped up command ships. Armed with the latest in Confederate weaponry and built to trade blows with anything from fighter wings to dreadnoughts the Charters are the face of the new guard.
Freedom Class Cruiser The most numerous ships in the Confederations Navy the Freedom class cruisers are dedicated ship killers. Equipping oversized broadside cannons and a powerful spinal gun the Freedoms are often called guns with a ship attached for their generally cramped conditions and heavy armament.
Sovereignty Class Destroyer The only proper independent vessel designed to operate flawlessly in and out of atmosphere the Sovereignty class destroyers are largely escort and planetary assault vessels. Equipped with powerful point defense systems and anti-fighter flak guns, these little ships are the guardians of their larger brothers.
Equality Class Corvette
SI-272 Stinger An ageing design, but still far from obsolete, the Stinger was a fighter designed around the idea of hit and runs with large engines to push it fast enough to engage even most modern designs. That said, time has caught up with the Stinger and now it often merely matches the acceleration performance of newer designs while lacking in manoeuvrability.
SB-888 Claw Designed around the time of the Stinger the Claw bomber faces many of the name issues. That said, the bombers were never intended to operate alone and often their modern shortcomings can be mitigated by an escort.
HB-656 Mantis A heavy bomber used for anti-capital and precision planetary bombardment roles the Mantis is one of the newer carrier based craft fielded by the Confederation. Built to outpace its pursuers the Mantis is a hit and run bomber, a quintessential example of Confederate strike craft doctrine.
SS-231 Centipede The Centipede is without a doubt one of the oldest designs in the Confederations navy, dating back to the first Liberty class battleships. Nearly a century old the Centipedes are unbelievably still produced for a single reason, their ability to quickly to equip even the largest modern fighter based weapons.
AI-432 Wasp The front line atmospheric fighter of the Confederation the Wasp is one of the only craft adopted by the defensive forces of nearly every member state. Mixing high speed and high altitude capabilities with respectable manoeuvrability the Wasp is primarily used to intercept landing forces at ultra high altitudes, weakening any following invasion.
AI-988 Scorpion The Scorpion exists as the inevitable followup to the Wasp, a fighter as capable at lower altitudes as its brother is at high ones. Durable and armed to the teeth the Scorpion is a brawler and a dog fighter meant to seize aerial supremacy.
Army:
Armoured Infantry Corps The standard infantry of the Confederation, almost all soldiers are members of the AIC with men of different rank differentiated only by insignia and some additional suit features.
Heavy Support Suit
Hammer Class Armoured Combat Vehicle
Scythe Class Armoured Combat Vehicle
Special Operations:
12th Ancillary Logistics Division Known to most only as a backwater division earmarked as part of the reserves the 12th ALD is one of the Confederations dirty little secrets. Belying its name the division is special operations, conveniently buried under the full weight of Confederation bureaucracy. That said, no living being would ever envy the operatives of the 12th, or aspire to join them regardless of how elite they are. This is for a simple reason, the operatives of the 12th are no longer ‘human’ in the strictest sense. Selected from death row inmates with usable skills and physiques future operatives of the 12th are given mock executions before being carted away. Once securely out of the public eye they are subjected to years of brutal reconditioning until their former personalities and identities are nothing but a subconscious ghost. In place of this ghost an undying loyalty and devotion to the Confederation is instilled in operatives alongside any other traits deemed useful. After this the operatives undergo intensive genetic therapy and cybernetic modification both to change their appearance and to dramatically increase their combat potential. Each member of the 12th is outfitted with custom gear (1, 2, 3) as given there is little cooperation in the unit standardization is insignificant. Mostly used for the more unsavory and sensitive of intelligence missions; operatives of the 12th almost always work alone and far behind enemy lines.
Description of Government: Erika and Edward decide, Keo breaks any ties.
Leader(s): -Erika Sutherland: The genius savant credited with inventing humanity's first True AI along with a whole bunch of other things. Truth is that AI was her first and probably last significant achievement as Keo did the rest, upgrading itself more and more to become the juggernaut known today by the universe. Likewise however it is easy to underestimate her role and abilities to be only that of a scientist. Erika was after all recruited (Against her will) in what was known as the National Security Agency and thus has a decent idea of how to crack open networks, establish surveillance and guess what kind of patterns data will follow, something that hasn't changed much in the last few thousand years. On a more personal level, Erika is somewhat of a loner who tends to focus on her tasks and dislike people, only a very select few able to get pass her disinterests towards idiots and get her to open up enough for a conversation, her social skills being rusty after spending thousands of years with two persons she mostly communicates with by sharing her very thoughts. Behind this wall of grumpiness however there is some passion that can be awaken by her hubby and reveal her dreadfully tenacious competitive spirit.
-Edward Sutherland: The dynamic part of the dynamic duo, he is animated by a strange mix of pessimism and the willpower to drive him to tell people 'I Told You So'. Thus far his grim outlook on life and everything gave him great success along with detachment toward even his own kind, the light of his life capable of bringing some hope in all this mess being Erika. 'As long as we have each other'. Still, by assuming the worst of everything and everyone, it makes him a capable diplomat and expert manipulator that simply cannot resist melding in the affairs of the other races to create what he calls 'interesting situations', this ranging from presenting himself as a god to primitives to creating wars and strife in more contemporary realms.
Persons of Importance: -Keo: Named after what some judged to be the most simple sound humans can make, the AI created by the Sutherland Duo, it started out as a simple tool for them to acquire material wealth to then evolve in the most advanced being its creator race had ever seen and eventually (At the opinion of 3 persons at least) of the entire known universe. Even today however, as it is an entity that rules over trillions of processes of all kind, the only sentient one of them, it still keeps his core programs at heart and its goals are as they always were to simply make its creators and masters happy in whatever way possible. Some would call this a recipe for disaster, but they would misunderestimate Keo's ability to have empathy and read between the lines. It knows what its masters meant wasn't to just strap them to an infinite orgasm machine and leave it on forever. This 'humility' has it calls it, is what it believes allows it to better understand others and to serve the enormous egos of its two masters with such efficiency, devotion and joy.
Religion Description: -Erika Sutherland: The existence of god isn't something Erika has tried to prove or disprove in her experiments and her general opinion is that she doesn't know and that the answer hardly affects her. This of course came after continual exchanges on the subject with Edward where he brought her on one side of the fence to then destroy his own arguments and bring her to the other. Another mind game, but one she didn't care for.
-Edward Sutherland: 'Cult of Something' is what Edward would call his faith. It is simple: The universe, following its own rules, cannot be infinite. What came before the big bang? And before? And before? One possibility came to obsess him however: That there is someone above them all. Not someone special no, just some nerds in a university of sort that run a simulation of a universe. Maybe just one guy with access to enormous amounts of computer power he trivializes their entire reality in quest to distract himself from boredom. Something he can understand completely. It doesn't hurt to assume it is the case and so strives to do everything he does with grace and 'WHAM' as to entertain that person, if not just himself at the very least.
-Keo: Peace of mind is all there is for Keo for while her creators look for a reason to their existence and how they came to be, Keo looks no further than what is before it. The two Sutherlands are its gods, no matter how petty or flawed they might seem. Such is faith.
Culture: Nostalgia Seems to be the keyword of the lives of the Sutherlands. All of their works of architecture, some of them spanning entire planets, with some rare exception, are overwhelmingly Baroque in nature when it comes to Edward or have a sci-fi flare when it comes to Erika. Sharp and square against curved and round. On the rare times they merge however, some truly unique things can come out. Overall, aesthetics and visuals are often more important than everything else for the trio, as even if it lengthen construction times or costs, they simply do not care.
History: In the middle of the twenty first century on earth, life was slowly becoming more and more oppressive. As the world entered a brief 'Nuclear Deadlock'. As everything was fine on the surface, this was only due to the possibility of crushing nuclear retaliation at the show of any hostility from any of the major power blocks. This led rise to a culture of intelligence and counter intelligence where the name of the game was to knock out others with internal strife and revolutions while keeping your own populace under control. For this, anything was acceptable from the drastic increase censorship to the use of secret police divisions, false flag attacks and moralist rhetoric, non aligned countries transforming into weaponized death traps for foreign interventions leading to massive waves or refugees changing the cultural and ethnic layouts of the world.
Erika and Edward were just 'Some persons' in North America, destined to live and die without anything to say in this world of intrigue and scheming. Edward found himself become a mediocre bachelors in Political Science until he met Erika, who had dabbled in more idealistic 'Hacktivist' movements before getting caught and forced to serve in the NSA as a computer expert. The two of them were disillusioned and had settled on the goal of living their lives and try to accumulate material wealth by cheating the system. It was a little project they had, to try and exploit a flaw in the Capitalist system of high speed computer trading determined by algorithms that sometimes had glitches. Erika working out the technical details while Edward delt with the human elements, instructing the behaviors the computer should have.
They succeeded.
It was a dream come true, a machine that made money out of thin air! One year to become multi-millionaire, another to become billionaire and now that they had seized the momentum, they only threw more money at their project to accelerate even further! It wasn't enough to fool computers, they had to fool humans, then had to automate the process of sending all that money to banks, follow and go around regulations, all of this centralized around one program. No one knows when the transition to a True AI was made, not even Keo itself would be able to tell. It was Erika's laziness that pushed her to make a self modifying AI, but it was Edwards pessimism that made one that could hold itself up in front of the world. It was a period of rapid growth and development for the world immediately after, the AI diversifying the Sutherland's activities in all fields, using that wealth to perfect itself and advance some more. At the time no one really knew Keo was an independent AI but suspicions grew.
When Keo's true nature was revealed to the world, the Sutherlands played it down, saying that it would never menace the world since they didn't give this AI one crucial thing that drove all humans: The fear of death. The fear of death led humans to reproduce, to kill what they thought could be a menace, to accumulate resources they didn't need even if it made others starve. Keo did not fear for its own death, only when an AI feared the end of its existence would it truly reflect how cruel the world is.
It did not satisfy anyone. The governments wanted the AI for themselves, the public feared what was to come as people began to speak of genetic engineering and now that space exploration showed its nose as the first FTL drive came online, they feared ethnic cleansing by the one holding the FTL secret deciding to leave them behind as they went to the stars. It is no doubt that the now trillionaire Sutherlands shaped the face of humanity in the galaxy as they began colonization with white only people, an edge many ethnicities would never recover from. It was soon however that confrontation became inevitable. The Sutherlands decided to declare independence, certain of their own superiority.
They were destroyed. Their colonies conquered, their robotic armadas and armies crushed by the military buildup that had been going on for decades on earth, they themselves were forced to retreat, saved only in extremist as their mind were uploaded to a computer and their data transmitted to a far outpost. They fled, bitter of humanity's rejection of their ways and decided to leave that chapter behind them.
Alone for over 2500 years.
And counting. In their isolation, Keo developed itself even more, indulging in its creator's desire to create paradises and to their anger for ever more distractions from their lonely lives. Erika's passion of science, Edward's appreciation of a good story and both of their undying love toward each other... still, it helped that with their minds uploaded, they understood each other to perfection, reading each other's minds, sometimes altering it a little. Lets just say that when one of them was horny, so was the other.
This went on for thousands of years as they sat as spectators to the galaxy, there to entertain them, the rise and fall of the Imperium, the return of the Gashathi and the awakening of AI swarms... Still, even Erika begins to admit that she longs for something she hasn't seen for quite a while. A thunder of clapping, a room full of people congratulating her for her amazing work, a nemesis to beat. Perhaps it is time to return to earth.
Arborean (Arborius Dominarius Sapiens) Arboreans are a sapient species of rhizomatic plants. Each Arborean has a central “node” from which extend a large mass of vines and roots, often reaching hundreds of feet in length. Like most plants they are photosynthetic. They can reproduce either asexually through self-cloning, or sexually through the exchange of pollen. Like most plant species, Arboreans are very long lived, with the oldest specimens reaching 4 centuries.
Arboreans are sessile and inert. Rather than interact with the world directly, they instead release spores which will grow on certain sapient species, eventually melding the individual’s consciousness into the Arborean’s. These “servants” then act as the Arborean’s hands, eyes and ears to the world around them. The exact method of the Arborean’s connection with their servants is poorly understood, but seems to be a form of limited psionic attachment between the greater arborean plant and their spore growths. The bond has a natural range of roughly 300 miles, although technology does exist that can extend that range by an order of magnitude. Most Arboreans can handle roughly 50 servants without strain. Having too many servants, or a servant traveling too far from their master plant, can result in a host of negative effects for both servant and master.
Spore integration is an invasive process, even in naturally inclined species. Once it has taken hold, the spores will grow into the host’s skin and release toxins that shut down parts of the host’s immune and endocrine systems. The spore then takes over many of the endocrine functions and grows into the host’s brain and spinal column, taking over motor control and greatly influencing cognition. In its final stages, the spores break the surface of the skin around the entry point and flower. Integrated servants are still self aware and able to act on their own, but experience significantly expanded consciousness. Their minds and emotions are fully synchronized with their master Arborean such that they actions and desires are reflective of its actions and desires. There is, at this stage, effectively no distinction between the servant and master. The former is a self-aware extension of the latter. Most servants describe the initial integration as euphoric and their status as incredibly transcendent and intimate. Of course, since they are essentially the same person as their master at this point, the sincerity of their testimony is usually considered suspect.
Human (Homo Sapiens Sapiens) Like most alien species, human genetic and biochemical differences make natural spore integration impossible between an Arborean and a human. But, with genetic and cybernetic modifications it is possible to acquire human servants. Humans form a growing segment of the servant population despite the usual cultural revulsion of human societies, thanks to the rise of various transcendent movements and cultural fringe elements.
Razikil (Pecus Devoratem) A species of extremely powerful alien beasts. Razil have thick carapaces, powerful jaws and vicious apex predator instincts. It was not unknown for even unmodified specimens to charge through a hail of gunfire to rip a hapless explorer to shreds. Redundant body systems and a powerful anaerobic system mean that the species can move and act long after they are “killed,” often taking more than an hour before they finally drop dead. After their original stone-age civilization was discovered on the sparse and rocky world of Viride Rex, they were quickly adopted as a servant species with the appropriate modifications. They often serve as guards or shock troops for their Arborean masters.
The Arborean Directorate is a centralized stratocracy based on caste. The Directorate's bureaucracy and army are closely intertwined, both being staffed almost entirely by the Milites caste. At the top of this hierarchy rests the Director, chief executive of the Directorate and head of the military. He is advised by the General Council, and assisted in administration by a vast bureaucracy of administrators and regional governors.
While the Director is of the Milites, the General Council is dominated by the Sanctus caste. The Council is responsible for advising the Director on state decisions, but also for interpreting the will of the spirits and maintaining the good fortune and blessing of the Directorate. The Council has the exclusive right to choose a Director or even unseat a ruling one. This is a prerogative rarely used, but one that does hold historical precedent, especially in times of extreme strife when it can be convincingly argued that the current Director has lost the support of the spirits.
Under the Director serve the various regional Governors, responsible for maintaining order and enforcing the law within their appointed area. Military and civil bureaucracy are closely intertwined, and governors act not just as administrators but also as commanders of local armed forces.
History: Spend at least 4 paragraphs telling us the general history of your nation. Important wars, how it came to be what it is today, and so on.
Caste Arborean society follows a caste system, with caste determined by the individual Arborean’s parentage and assigned at birth. Caste defines where one is likely to be planted, what skills and education are received, the individual's eventual career and with whom it is acceptable to associate and reproduce with. Changing between castes is rare but possible. Caste members who are able to get a sponsor from their “new” caste may undergo a legal “Tabula Rasa” or “clean slate” and study to be admitted into their new role. Such transitions often have trouble being socially accepted, and it is not possible to be adopted into the elite Sanctus caste.
Sanctus (Priestly Caste) - The Sanctus are the cast of nobility, priests and philosophers. Most Sanctus come from mythologically-associated “divine” lineages. They are responsible for maintaining the favor of the spirits towards the Directorate through the constant observance of various rites and prayers.
Militum (Warrior Caste) - Militum is the caste of soldier nobility. They make up the vast majority of the kingdom’s armed forces and administration. While the Sanctus provide divine legitimacy and advise the Director, it is the Militum who ensure that the essential tasks of enforcing order and managing the state bureaucracy are taken care of.
Scholares (Scholar Caste) - Scholares are the scientists, scholars, and artisans of the empire. They serve as professors, teachers, artists and craftsmen. Their duty is to ensure the growth and vitality of society and the spread of learning.
Operarius (Laborer Caste) - The Operarius are the laborer caste. In the past they worked as farmers, merchants, and laborers, but in modern industrial society they often manage factories, run businesses and maintain infrastructure. Along with Scholares, Operarius make up the majority of the population.
Religion The Dominion’s official religion is a form of polytheistic animism, with a host of minor and major deities. These spirits cover all aspects of daily life. Tokens and rituals are used on both a personal and state level to invoke the favor and assistance of these spirits. It is believed that failure to appease the spirits can often bring bad luck or misfortune upon the offender. Religion then is less a matter of achieving spiritual fulfillment, and more a matter of cultivating a relationship with spiritual entities.
Of course, the actual level of piety in the population varies wildly. While many Arboreans do believe in the spirits and practice piously, others disdain the spirits as a primitive holdover of a religion from earlier ages - a viewpoint that has become more common after contact with the Federation of Sol and its history. For most citizens, the rituals that they partake in are often an ingrained part of daily ritual, done without serious thought or consideration.
The Directorate does allow for freedom of religion within reason. Participation in various ceremonies is compulsory, but the penalty for refusal is usually a simple fine. As long as one acknowledges the state religion and participates in ceremonies, the state does not press further.
Species Relations The Directorate's culture towards other sapient species is rather muddled, as one might expect given the circumstances. Other species are usually viewed as “strays” just waiting to be integrated, often seen more as a good or resource than people. Thus, the Dominion does legalize the slave trade, although more as a means to an end than as an institution in itself. The Dominion also draws a distinction between generic slaves or “strays,” and official citizens. Most foreign citizens, and those lucky enough to somehow earn Dominion citizenship, are strictly off limits to integration and have rights and protections not afforded to most.
Ika (Homeworld) - Homeworld of the Arboean and the Famulus. Ika is a verdant, low-gravity world of towering flora, rolling mountain ranges and deep ocean valleys. The planet is almost entirely tropical, with only the poles being naturally barren desert.
Sterilis Venator Orbis (Colony) - Homeworld of the Razikil. Sterilis Venator is a harsh and barren tundra world with little vegetation. Lichen and sparse plant life support largely nomadic animal life that competes fiercely for any scraps. Arboreans cannot live on Sterilis Venator without artificial sunlight and fertilized soil.
Military Technology Dominion forces prefer the use of directed-energy weapons for their easy logistics and accuracy. Most warships carry a battery of pulse lasers as their primary armament, augmented by deployable drone swarms, ECM measures and the occasional missile battery. Combat drones play a major role in both air and ground combat, often acting as support for ground units and warships.
Phaedra Infantry Support Drone The Phaedra is an infantry-support drone meant to fill the role of armored cars and light support vehicles while being mobile enough to support infantry in any terrain. Its pulse-laser minigun is powerful enough to slice through infantry armor with ease and can threaten lightly armored vehicles. It is usually used as a suppression-fire platform in support of mobile infantry squads.
Custodes Personnel Support Drone This small drone serves as a general-purpose personnel support drone in combat. Barely 2’ in diameter, the drone has enough power to operate for several hours in combat conditions and can recharge autonomously by connecting with support vehicles or manually by replacing its power-pack. The drone is optimized for support and carries a standard infantry pulse-laser, a directional shield projector, a powerful communications suite and surveillance and detection systems. They are assigned to individual soldiers in heavy combat situations to provide intelligence, fire support and improved defensive power.
Mortem Hunter-Killer Drone The Mortem is a short-range anti-personnel drone packed with a plasma, a limited power supply and an autonomous AI. Once released, the Mortem will seek out hostile targets and rush toward them, trying to get as close as possible before self-destructing with a powerful explosion. They are often carried by soldiers and used to “flush out” tight spaces or distract enemy positions, but have also been deployed in large quantities from “carries” as terror weapons.
Amicus Laser Pistol (Military Issue) (Civilian/Recreational Issue) The Amicus is the standard-issue combat pistol of the Dominion. It fires semi-automatic pulsed laser beams with enough wattage to punch through light armor.
Gladius Laser Carbine Standard-issue firearm for the Dominion army, the Gladius uses energized power cells to deliver the necessary firepower for a full anti-personnel infantry weapon. The carbine is purely semi-automatic, with each shot packing enough power to sear through infantry shielding, powered armor and flesh, often with explosive results.
General Technology: Really go nuts! For at least 3 paragraphs!
Economy: Are your people poor and starving? Rich and fat? Are you economically powerful enough to control other nations through wealth? Can you be controlled through wealth?
Dominion ships are peculiarly designed around the use of combat drones and pulsed-laser weapon batteries. Drones often serve as point defense and strike craft, defending their host vessel and attacking exposed points while their mother-craft rip away at the enemy with their heavy cannons. Dominion ships do not use “shields” but have incredibly advanced armor systems capable of reacting to attacks, healing damage and ablating enemy strikes. Their systems are also heavily built for redundancy and automated, making even a wounded warship a dangerous foe.
Common Armaments Pulse-Laser Cannons - These powerful cannons fire short, concentrated pulses of laser energy, causing flash-heating and explosive vaporization at the impact point. Their discharge mechanism requires a notable pause after every shot as the turret’s local mechanism recharges, making pulse lasers unsuited for point-defense. They are primarily used as anti-ship armaments. Scutarii Point Defense Turret - A simple but effective point-defense turret. Each Scutarii mounts a continuous projection laser on a 360 degree turret. While the beam’s power is quite low, continuous fire allows it to sweep or dwell on incoming munitions and fightings. Ignis Missile - The Ignis missile uses a fusion-powered plasma warhead and is specifically designed as a ship-killer. These large missiles have exceptionally long range and are armored against point defense, although not as maneuverable as their short-range cousins.
Clypeus-Class Corvette Length: 300 meters Crew: 50 Servants / 1 Arborean Armament: --2x Pulse Cannons --18x Scutarii Turrets --4x Missile Bays A relatively new addition to the Dominion fleet, the Clypeus is a fast-moving picket ship and scout. It is lightly armed with only a single dual-cannon turret, but has oversized missile bays and an abnormally large amount of point defense. While their armor is not up to par with dedicated battleships it serves quite well against fighters and other light ships.
Hasta-Class Cruiser Length: 1300 meters Crew: 600 Servants / 12 Arboreans Complement: --1 Shuttle --18x Drones. Armament: --12x Pulse cannons --4x Missile bays --18x Point-defense laser turrets Armed and armored well enough to go toe-to-toe with enemy warships, fast enough to maneuver on the battlefield and flexible enough to be deployed in almost any scenario, the Hasta-Class Cruiser is the essential warship of the Dominion fleet.
Custodes-Class Battleship Length: 1,500 meters Crew: 700 Servants / 10 Arboreans Complement: --2x Shuttles. --1 Gunship. --30x Drones. Armament: --26x Pulse Cannons --8x Missile bays --26x Scutarii Point-Defense The Custodes is the ultimate “Ship of the Line,” built to act as an escort and protector for the vulnerable Imperator-Class Carriers. It carries incredibly heavy armor and multiple redundant systems designed to take incredible punishment, and its battery of pulse cannons makes engaging it a dangerous proposition.
Imperator-Class Carrier Length: 2,000 meters Crew: 850 Servants / 15 Arboreans Complement: 2000+ Drones Armament: --2x Missile Bays --64x Scutarii Point-Defense The enormous Imperator-Class carrier is the primary flagship and support vessel of the Dominion navy. Slow and heavily armored but lacking in offensive weaponry, the Imperator relies heavily on support ships to protect it. Its role in battle is to act as an offensive carrier, deploying thousands of combat drones to overwhelm enemy fighters and swarm enemy warships. The Imperator also boasts a specialized EW center and oversized reactor, allowing it to dominate electronic warfare.
Servator MKI & II Interceptor Drone The Dominion’s answer to enemy fighters and strike craft. The Servator is a semi-autonomous combat drone designed for interception and space combat. While it lacks the heavy ordinance necessary to threaten warships, its small target and maneuverability make it an excellent interceptor. The MKI drone has been in service for fifty years. The new MKII drone has recently been introduced and carries bigger guns and a more efficient thruster system. Both models are armed with rapid-fire gatling pulse-lasers designed for taking down fighters and missiles.
Ictus Class Bomber Drone A purpose-designed bomber drone meant to destroy ships significantly larger than itself. The Ictus comes purposefully armed with up to 7 Ignis-model microfusion missiles and a single front-mounted Pulse Cannon. They fast and agile strike craft, armored only on the front to defend against enemy point-defense during their attack runs. Deployed in swarms, they can quickly overwhelm even the largest enemy warships.
Species(s) and Demographics: The Hexanagallions, and one human
Occupied Species: 1 billion humans, and various other races.
Religion Description and Demographics:
Culture: The Hexanagallions are a traditional, honor bound society that revolved around War and upholding warrior ideals. In recent years they have slowed down their aggressive crusade, becoming accomplished mechanics, shipwrights, and merchants. Just as when they were first hunting on their homeworld, the males of the species go out to hunt and the females stay home to protect the young. Most marines and soldiers are male, and most planetary guards are female.
History: When the Imperium began expanding, there were 12 Warmasters on the Council of Hexana, presiding over the 12 provinces of the world. For many years Hexana remained independent as system after system fell to the might of the Imperium. The Hexanagallions were confident in their military might and strategic minds to keep their autonomy and freedom. However, when the day of reckoning came and the Imperium were at their doorstep, it was not military might that did them in. It was simple attrition, and economics. No other planet would trade with them, unless they joined the Imperium. They could travel nowhere local, unless they had Imperial access codes and friends. The day came when the Hexanagallions had to decide to give in. 8 out of the 12 Warmasters submitted to Imperial rule.
4 did not. 4 Warmasters saw it as a sign of weakness and dishonor, to be assimilated so quickly. Not only that, but do submit without raising arms! They gathered what forces they could, and took their greatest creation, the terraforming machine 'Life Bringer' with them. They sent the strike cruisers forward, and carved their way out of the system by terrifying force. The 4 loyalists did as they had never done before, and fled into the far reaches of space. Never again, they pledged.
Short years later, their fleet found themselves in the center of the Scutum-Crux Arm, and landed on a jungle moon orbiting a barren planet. They dubbed the moon Kal'vrosh, meaning 'People's Landing' in their language. The moon was unforgiving and harsh, close to the system's sun and teeming with great beasts. It was a blessing by the Honored Divine. They did their best to stay low on the Imperium's radar, Terraforming the worlds in that single system and inhabiting them. They began to make great structures of metal and strength, creating huge Ships that served as moving colonies for them to traverse space with, if ever their population reached such heights. And they did.
When they reached the 4th planet at the center of the system's line of heavenly bodies, they discovered something within its core. The planet was made of dense cavern systems that traversed the bulk of the world, some large enough for small cruisers to fly through. When they reached the center, they found an orb like a sun, that glowed golden. It had a radius of 300 meters on all sides, and even to this day, the Hexanagllions know not what its true purpose is. Only that their High Prophet receives visions when basked within its light, and that a mere year ago from the current star date, the Hexanagallions had developed a way to harness that energy in a slow, albeit safe manner. The light of the Prophet's Orb fuels the Flagship for Warmaster Jex.
Dating back however, for centuries the Hexanagallions have fought a successful guerrilla war with the Imperium. Never doing too much damage to raise the ire of all Imperial forces, but slowly driving back and distracting any forces that stray toward their lone system. That is, until 210 years ago when the Imperium collapsed. For 45 years afterwards, they gathered their strength and ships, being goaded by their Prophets that this was the time before the collapse of the Universe. It was now or never. Approximately 165 years ago, the first independent planet still gathering itself together after the Imperium's fall became silent. One year after, the entire system was silenced. A year later, another system was silenced. 5 years hence, another sent out distress signals, and was subsequently destroyed before silence. The calls for help were reached by the a neighboring system near the edge of the Sagittarius Arm, telling of brutal warships and horrifying troops of Reavers. Because of the ensuing chaos, many thought all in those systems were slaughtered until millions of refugees arrived in the Second Terran Imperium, giving tales of beasts that would allow them to live and run if they could.
System after system fell, until the Hexanagallions had cut a sizable piece of the Galaxy for themselves. The latest system to fall under their rule was the Ordo Sanctus system. The humans of Ordo Sanctus and their 4 planets gave up without a fight as the Hexanagallions entered their system, and they were allowed to live, the Warmaster honoring them. It was however, a ploy. The System fought back as the Hexagallions were off guard, taking out 5% of their forces without effort before the fight was on full. Within less than a year, the Hexagallions had conquered the system. When their military had been decimated beyond repair, the Hexanagallions allowed the civilians that remained to flee on their ships to spread word of their might. This would be the last system to fall, a mere 7 years ago finishing a small off a small campaign further east within the Galaxy, near the Gashathi Rule and the Dominion of Man, at the edge of Agonis Collective space.
In recent years, the Resurgence forces have sent out contacts to their fellows within the Second Terran Imperium. The loyalists have even halted their advance, becoming moderately good traders with the other systems. They might not be extremely savvy, but their code of honor permits them not to cheat on their deals, and are popular as a result. That does not mean that a lack of expansion means a lack of conflict. Space faring barbarians have come into contact 17 years previously, and an ongoing battle has ensued eveytime they have met. The HRF find them worthy practice, and a good way to test new recruits by sending them forth to hold them back. It has become a stalemate. They attempted to make contact with the Agonis Collective, before finding out the horrific truth of an A.I. subjugating races. The HRF are now mobilising to attack and help the rebels, but are taking their time as they must not only hold the line, but focus on another task soon to be dealt with.
Military:
Hexanagallion Soldiers. The backbone of the military. There are three types. Warriors: Armed with Plasma based assault rifles (with bladed stocks), Blood Knives, and Scythe Pistols. Reavers: Melee specialists. They wield Xarkonian great swords/Axes/hammers that can punch/cleave through most armor, even tank armor if given a few good swings. They are known for their skill and speed. Some choose to wield lightweight energy shields. Destroyers: Heavy Weapon specialists. They wield unmounted Plasma turrets, Warhammer Rockets, Dragon flamers, and Gauss Rifles. Honored Fists: Stealth fighters who wield only Blood Knives or bare fists. A few use bolt Crossbows/longbows (high tech armor piercing, silenced weapons).
Warrior 001 A bit larger, but no less sleek and agile as most human starfighters. Twin lascannons and over a dozen torpedoes. Warrior 002 A somewhat more robust starship fighter, with double the armaments with only a miniscule reduction of maneuverability as the 001 class. Predator Class Frigate/Cruiser Armed with 4 main ARK Cannons that reduce most armor to rubble, with 8 huge lascannons, and 50 large torpedoes, the predator cruiser has been paramount in the conquering of enemy systems the past 200 years, with moderate armor/shield and swift thrusters. Harbinger Class Dreadnought
Type of Government: Oligarchy (Manufactured Democracy)
Leader(s): Kaeso Priscian
Persons of Importance: Governor Appius Aratus, Governor Tobias Rolo, Admiral Gnaeus Viator
Species(s) and Demographics: Predominantly human.
Religion Description and Demographics: A denomination of the imperial religion known as Junoism, where the Goddess Juno (war and beauty), is the central object of worship.
Culture: Junoists have a strong pride in their military and democracy. The society itself can be described as vain, as most tend to strive for superficial beauty, resulting in a booming cosmetics industry. Fashion and decadence reign supreme within the Juno cities, the affluent obsessed with obtaining status symbols to demonstrate their high standing. A large underclass of poor and slaves labour to keep the cogs of the industrialized society going.
History: Juno was colonized by the Solar Confederation early in the 26th century, and terraformed into a picturesque garden world in the 28th century, as the Imperium began it's rise to power. A violent revolt by Imperium supporters overthrew the Confederate government during the war and Juno quickly became an industrial and trade hub of the Terran Imperium. The twelve moons of Juno were soon settled and the leadership of Juno became an influential voice in the Imperium Senate.
In the 40th century, Juno began it's decline. Mineral depletion on it's moons, and the fracking rift on Capria (Juno III), resulted in a steep decline of the Juno economy. More prosperous colonies in the Imperium gained influence over Juno within the senate, and the planet became a shadow of it's former self.
As the Imperium collapse, Juno collapsed into civil war, multiple faction vying for dominance over the decaying colony. After a century of fighting, dissidents surrendered, and pro-Imperium forces claimed victory. Rebels were exiled to the dying moon of Caprica, and out of the ashes of the war, the former Imperium leadership of Juno declared themselves the Juno Protectorate, breaking their ties with Earth.
Since their independence the Protectorate has struggled to obtain their former glory. More aggressive mining operations have begun across the moons, as well as an effort to reclaim Caprica. Neighbouring star systems are coveted for their resource potential and the ego of the Protectorate's consul pines for a new Imperium with Juno at it's core.
Military: WIP
Kaeso Priscian is the established consul of Juno, having lead the planet for two and a half centuries, since before the fall of the Imperium. A man ruled by his own vanity, he believes himself to be the brightest, most beautiful person in the galaxy, and looks down on those he deems his lessers. Nevertheless, in a superficial society such as can be found on Juno, Priscian is a charismatic figure and his rule is nearly unquestioned.
Priscian yearns for a return of the Imperium, but one created by his hand, with himself being the center of power as it's emperor. Claiming an obscure lineage to the royal family, Priscian maintains he is the rightful successor to the now fractured and broken empire.
A political amalgamation with grand pretenses of freedom and democracy, the Commonwealth is in truth a sprawling monarchical imperium dominated by a species of feline humanoids called the Vit'azny. The Commonwealth owes its existence to the fact that 500 years ago the then Vit'azny Empire realized assimilation was vastly easier than maintaining overlordship over their rebellious subjects. The resulting organization has since exploded into a major galactic power and an economic juggernaut.
The Commonwealth is a sprawling domain covering dozens of solar systems, including colonies. The per species population breakdown is as follows.
Vit'azny: The reigning elite of the Commonwealth and one of its founding members. The Vit'azny are long lived bipedal felines with prehensile tails, with a number of subspecies. Males tend to be larger than females, and the average lifespan can reach up to 300 years. The Vit’azny dominate the upper echelons of the Commonwealth’s government, military, and corporations. Indeed, their monarch is the Commonwealth’s head of state: a figurehead on paper, but something quite different in practice. As a whole, the Vit’azny are a proud people, but are pragmatic more than anything.
Szitzu: A race of large, sentient bearlike creatures that form the backbone of the Commonwealth’s military might. As a whole, Szitzu society is heavily patriarchal and heavily based on tradition and an intricate clan system. While this society has produced excellent warriors for generations, it has a tendency to relegate thinkers to the sidelines. The Szitzu were originally conquered by the Vit’azny empire almost a 700 years ago, after a long and bloody conflict which only ended when Vit’azny technology overcame Szitzu ferocity. Under the Empire, the Szitzu were rebellious and problematic, but as one of the original founding members of the Commonwealth, they have become it’s most loyal supporters.
Yanissans: Originally a small star nation of 3 systems, the reptillian humanoids known as the Yanissans were quick to surrender when the Vit’azny war machine came knocking. However, they proved to be more dangerous as subjects than they did as enemies. While Szitzu resentment against the old empire usually took the shape of riots and bar fights, a plot by Yanissan rebels managed to kill the entire Vit’azny Royal Advisory Council. The King was spared only by coincidence; his personal limousine suffered a breakdown on the way to the meeting. Yanissan society is dominated by plots, intrigue, secrets, and rampant hedonism. They are the third and final founding species of the Commonwealth, which from their point of view, keeps them a healthy distance from any fighting. Of the founding members, only the Yanissans have anything resembling a useful amount of psintegrae, most of which are swept up by Toolbox and trained to use their telepathic and telekinetic abilities to lethal effect.
Rhodesians: The dimunitive Rhodesians were one of the first species conquered by the old Vit’azny Empire. Small, furry hexapods, they are quick thinking, short lived, numerous, and obsessed with efficiency; they are the ones who attend to the business of actually getting things done. They are technically subjects of the Commonwealth, not full members, but this is more of an oversight than an act of malice. Long before the Commonwealth was ever founded, the Rhodesians thoroughly integrated themselves into Vit’azny society, eventually making themselves indispensable. This trend has carried on with the Commonwealth as a whole, to the point where the Commonwealth’s official capital is actually their homeworld, Corinthene, though all the real power is concentrated on Praetoria, the Vit’azny homeworld. The vast majority of bureaucrats are Rhodesians; most military staffers are Rhodesians; personal aides, diplomatic attaches, economic analysts, technicians, administrators: they are the people who keep the Commonwealth running. The general sentiment towards them is one of distant gratitude: they are underlings, but well appreciated underlings.
Valerians: Valerians are descended from an avian lineage, and retain vestigial wings in addition to a more conventional tetrapod limb configuration. The Valerian Republic is the newest member of the Commonwealth, and the conditions for their joining were highly unusual. Unlike most new members, the Valerian worlds were fully integrated as constituents of the Commonwealth, not colonial holdings. There are a number of factors that prompted this decision - notably the abundance of Valerian psintegrae - but it has caused a great deal of tension across older Commonwealth worlds that are still waiting to be granted constituency. It remains to be seen if the advantages the Valerians bring with them will offset the social unrest their integration has caused.
The governmental apparatus of the Commonwealth is an intricate one. Though an Empire in practice, the Commonwealth pretends to be something else entirely.
There are three main bodies to the Commonwealth’s government: The Parliament of the Sovereign Reich, the Imperial Directorate of the Commonwealth, and The Imperial Crown. The Parliament of the Sovereign Reich is the official government of the Commonwealth. It is composed of 1021 elected representatives who are affiliated with assorted political parties. The party with the most seats after an election composes Her Imperial Majesty’s Government, and the leader of that party becomes Lord Chancellor. He in turn appoints assorted ministers to compose the cabinet. The parliament functions as most parliaments do: bills are presented, voted on, debated, voted on again, and so forth. The Parliament of the Sovereign Reich is responsible for issues affecting the whole of the Commonwealth, with regional authority being granted to smaller legislative assemblies, or the existing governments of member species. The authority of parliament is absolute, and the Imperial Queen is not directly involved in its functioning, though she may appoint heads of committees and task forces. There is an exception, however: Royal Mandates. The Imperial Queen may issue a Royal Mandate at any time, on any subject she deems suitable. A Royal Mandate skips all the debate and voting; in this, the Imperial Queen’s word is law. However, Royal Mandates are a touchy subject: a ruler that uses them too freely to abuse their authority over parliament often finds that their Mandates take a very long time to be implemented, often poorly. On the flipside, Prime Ministers who steadfastly refuse to bow to the ruler’s authority often find themselves in front of parliamentary committees on charges of Contempt of Parliament.
The Imperial Directorate of the Commonwealth is the vast bureaucracy that keeps the trains running on time. From the wealthiest Core world to the most desolate colony, the Imperial Directorate’s deft touch can be seen at work. It consists of a large number of ministries, departments, bureau’s, agencies and crown corporations, all arranged into a maze of regulations and red tape. Cabinet ministries are the largest entities of the Directorate, and cover a variety of areas, everything from defense and procurement to citizen health and wellbeing. Some ministries only operate in certain areas of the Commonwealth; the Ministry of Environment, for example, has absolutely no use in the colonies, but is enormously important in the Core worlds. Similarly, the Ministry of Civil Order is unnecessary in the Core, but plays an important role in oppressing the rebellious colonies. There are also a vast number of agencies that do everything from maintain hyperspace beacons to collect taxes. The Directorate can also be used as something of a political scapegoat if necessary. Ministers, the Lord Chancellor, even the Imperial Queen have been known to redirect blame into the faceless mass of the Directorate on occasion.
This brings us to the final entity of the Commonwealth’s government: the Imperial Crown. The exact limits of the Crown’s authority are vaguely defined and poorly understood. The Crown is an old, old institution, dating back thousands of years to one of Praetoria’s great empires, long before the Vit’azny began venturing into space. The Imperial Crown began with the establishment of the Breshelin Empire, under Catherines distant ancestor, Petyr Dragunov. Originally, the King’s power was absolute, but this power was limited by the first constitution of the Breshelin Empire, which came about after the Wurtenstein Uprising when the first ever parliament was established. Some 900 odd years ago, the Breshelin Empire managed to unite the entire planet of Praetoria under a single government after evidence of intelligent alien life was discovered, and a new parliamentary system was formed and a new constitution was written. The Imperial Crown continued on, but it’s powers were defined under the new constitution as being “similar in nature and spirit to those established under the Wurtenstein Constitution” (due to the Vit’azny legal system being largely based on historical precedent rather than written law). 499 years ago, when the Commonwealth was formed, much of the Crown’s power was again defined as “similar in nature and spirit to those establised under the Planetary Constitution.” Considering all this, the problem becomes apparent: the exact limits of the Crowns’ power are based on a poorly written 2000 year old document. The accepted conventions are as follows: the Crown will ask the majority leader of Parliament to form the official government, and will agree to dissolve parliament and open elections at the request of the majority leader. The Crown is entitled to appoint appropriate individuals to chair parliamentary committees, in consultation with the Lord Chancellor. The Crown is entitled to use Royal Mandates to address matters of urgency for the benefit of the Commonwealth. As of the Colonization Act of 22 AU, the Crown has jurisdiction over Colonial Territories, while the State Ministry is responsible for their administration and answers to the Crown in this regard. Even these conventions are not ironclad, though ignoring them risks a Constitutional Crisis. For the Commonwealth to run smoothly, it is essential for the Crown and the Lord Chancellor to have a good working relationship. If they do, they can combine their efforts to make good use of both of their respective authorities.
As the name implies, the ISC is a large aggregation of “independent” nations united under a single “democratic” government in a “free” and “egalitarian” society. While the name may imply such grandeur, the reality of the ISC is a far cry from independent, democratic, or free. In truth, the ISC is a vast monarchical imperium, dominated by a species of long lived feline humanoids called the Vit’azny, and ruled absolutely by Catherine, the Imperial Queen.
The Commonwealth is a younger nation, at least compared to some of the antiquated species clinging to the scraps of their former glory around the galaxy. The Vit’azny are also a young species full of pride and ambition. Other members of the Commonwealth vary in age; some species were pre-FTL when they joined, others were the remnants of once great empires. Regardless of age or stature, they now bend knee to Her Imperial Majesty, Catherine.
The Vit’azny have been a spacefaring civilization for a little less than 700 years. They set out from their homeworld of Praetoria and began rapidly expanding to accommodate their swelling population. Historically, they have never shied away from warfare, though they are pragmatic above all else and understand the usefulness of diplomacy. First contact with another alien race, the snake-like Yanissans, quickly devolved into war. Seeing how one sided the conflict would be the Yanissans promptly surrendered were annexed as subjects.This happened again with another race, the brutish Szitzu. Neither species were happy as subjects, and rebellions rapidly become a problem for the Vit’azny overlords. 499 years ago (1396 I.C.), they developed a solution: the Imperial Systems Commonwealth. The governments of the Szitzu and Yanissans were restored, and they agreed to the formation of the Parliament of the Sovereign Reich and the other institutions of the Commonwealth.
Distance kept the Vit’azny and later the Commonwealth safe from the overlordship of the Terran Imperium for many years; wracked by internal wars and insurrections, the mighty Imperium could scarcely be bothered to conquer the fledgling Commonwealth at the edge of its borders. However, knowing the Imperium wouldn’t always be distracted, the Commonwealth offered the Imperium its allegiance as a vassal nation in 1523 I.C. The Imperium was content with that the easy diplomatic solution, and the Commonwealth existed as a relatively loyal subject until the Emperor’s death in 1670 I.C. Mere days after the Imperial Yacht crashed in New Rome, the Commonwealth declared independance and dared anyone to say otherwise. As the Imperium crumbled, the Commonwealth flourished, snapping up pieces of old Imperial territory, annexing other imperial subjects, and generally taking advantage of the chaos to swell their own territory.
Today, the Commonwealth exists as a major economic and military powerhouse in the galaxy, always looking to expand its borders.
Life in the Commonwealth is actually quite pleasant for Vit’azny and other species alike. The Imperial Government maintains a large number of social programs to foster growth and development. Citizens of member species enjoy access to free universal healthcare, free secondary education, heavily subsidized post-secondary education, a decent amount of personal rights and freedoms, unemployment insurance, fair taxation, a fair minimum wage, democratic representation in government, a degree of self governance and independence, and imperial funding for a number of industries. These benefits are something of a trap; they encourage many species to join the Commonwealth, not realizing they will be neither full members nor citizens immediately upon joining. In war, the ISC maintains a policy of always offering membership to their enemies. Many species over the years have decided to join rather than be exterminated. Even some species who could have won the conflict sought a quicker diplomatic end to war and accepted the offer, a decision most have come to regret.
Citizenship is a very important part of Commonwealth society. Being a citizen grants an individual access to all the Commonwealth’s benefits, as well as all its rights and freedoms. Citizens can also move freely from world to world, vote in elections, and apply to present a petition in the Royal Court. Non-citizens have none of these privileges; for them, life can be very hard. There are two ways to gain citizenship: money, or service. An applicant for citizenship must take three different tests: a generalized aptitude test, a specialized IQ test, and finally a citizenship test. While citizenship itself is free and the tests are not particularly difficult, the fees for taking each of the three tests are enormous. This means only wealthy non-citizens can take this route. Children of citizens gain access to citizen privileges via their parents until the reach the age of majority for their species, at which point they must obtain citizenship for themselves. It is common for parents to pay the fees for their children; many banks in the Commonwealth offer services to help citizens with children save up for the admission process, much like a college fund.
The other way to gain citizenship is through service; either to the Royal Armed Forces of the Commonwealth, or to the Imperial Directorate. Both routes skip the usual testing procedures entirely; simply serve for the allotted time, and be granted citizenship. The RAFC will take almost anyone, but is notoriously willing to throw away the lives of non-commissioned soldiers, so the challenge there is living long enough to gain citizenship or get promoted. The Imperial Directorate, in its never-ending quest to find intelligent individuals to help run the Commonwealth, has its own application process, which involves difficult aptitude tests and a number of exams and interviews. However, the Imperial Directorate is not just a quick way to gain citizenship, but also an extremely prestigious career that an individual could happily remain in for life. A third option is sometimes available; the Commonwealth sometimes has colonization drives to settle new colonies or Verge worlds, and offer citizenship to anyone who volunteers after they have lived on the target planet for a set number of years.
Vit’azny culture is strongly embedded with honour and military tradition. While not precisely a militaristic people, the Vit’azny don’t have any particular qualms about getting involved in conflicts, when it is necessary. War, of course, brings honour and glory to those with enough guts to seize them. Anything other than steadfast and heartfelt support of the military during wartime is considered borderline sedition. The culture of the Commonwealth in a larger sense is fairly difficult to pin down. Each member species brings elements of their own culture with them, so where a given species if more concentrated, their culture is more prevalent.
The Commonwealth does have a state religion, which the Vit’azny are quite fervent about. The enthusiasm of the rest of the Commonwealth varies widely. Their faith revolves around a pantheon of 7 gods: chief among them is Llyena, Goddess of Victory and Justice, from whom the Imperial Queen takes her authority. The others are Ichael, God of Life and Death; Arctus, God of Chaos and Destruction; Nezia, Goddess of Thought and Reason; Lexus, God of Order and Industry; Cyris, Goddess of Sight and Time; and Shakras the Lost, God of Secrets, the Unknown, and the Void. While Llyena is chief among the deities, different species in the Commonwealth honour others above her. The sly, snakelike Yanissans, for example, tend to favor Shakras the Lost, while the brutish Szitzu favor Arctus. Different planets, or even individuals of specific occupations will favor some gods over others; doctors might prey for Ichael’s left hand to guide them; the mandates of the Imperial Directorate are stamped with Lexus’s seal; some soldiers might pray to Llyena for victory, while others might pray to Arctus to grant them his battle fury. It is a faith as diverse as the Commonwealth itself.
People Full titles omitted for brevity
Catherine, the Imperial Queen: a young vit’azny woman of the Romanov dynasty, head of state, Queen of the Vit’azny and Empress of the Commonwealth
Lord Edwin Wenzel Metternich, Lord Chancellor of the Commonwealth: Head of the Crown Loyalists party, head of government, political leader of the Commonwealth
Sir Cato Telemachus, Minister of the Interior: A Rhodesian who has done well for himself. Has a penchant for nefarious schemes to keep the Commonwealth stable.
Lord Robert Castlereagh, Minister of Foreign Affairs: A vit’azny and peer of the realm, previously one of the Commonwealth’s foremost diplomats.
Lord Otto Stroyezhev Bismarck, Minister of War: A vit’azny and peer of the realm with an illustrious military career.
Admiral Adison Volkov, CO 5th Fleet: Commander of the Commonwealth’s primary offensive fleet.
General Kyarguin, Head of the Foreign Legions: A szitzu general commanding the majority of the Commonwealth’s ground forces.
Lord Captain Commander Martuf: A well connected and somewhat mysterious Yanissan/
Organizations Office of Naval Intelligence: A notoriously inept branch of the RCN, tasked with intelligence relating to warfare.
Commonwealth Intelligence Directorate: A civilian intelligence organization reporting to the Minister of the Interior, supposed to concern itself with security threats internal and external. Ends up sharing ONI’s responsibilities and does a much better job of it.
Oresteia: The King is dead, the crowds despair, the heavy crown is ours to bear. A little known organization with vaguely defined responsibilities and sweeping powers.
Places
Corinthene: The Commonwealth’s capital, seat of the Parliament of the Sovereign Reich, ancestral homeworld of the Rhodesians.
Praetoria: Seat of the Imperial Crown, so called “Shadow Capital”, homeworld of the Vit’azny
Sthis Tor: Yanissan homeworld, a place of intrigue, hedonism, and debauchery.
Ursuli: Szitzu homeworld, a major military stronghold and training centre.
8%. A combination of patriotism and the lure of citizenship has driven ellistment rates higher than they otherwise would be.
Royal Armed Forces of the Commonwealth
The Commonwealth’s military, especially the navy, is very highly regarded amongst the populace. This pride, a healthy amount of pressganging, and the promise of citizenship results in a higher than average service rate. Military service is considered to be very honourable and prestigious; even the wealthiest of the nobility serve at some point in their lives, indeed some of them attained their lofty positions through that service. The RAFC prides itself on being a meritocracy where skill is what matters, not species or social status. This is mostly true, though some individual Vit’azny officers act otherwise. For the most part, however, the RAFC can bring one great fame and fortune; both the army and navy offer prize money for captured enemy equipment, as well as generous pensions for officers. The RAFC highly values even the most junior of its officers, including warrant officers. The enlisted men, however, may as well be cannon fodder, though this sentiment is not obvious. The official explanation for the high death rates among enlisted men is that they are over-eager to prove themselves, and so take unnecessary risks.
The Royal Commonwealth Navy
The RCN is an old institute that dates back to when ships sailed the seas instead of the stars. The Vit’azny saw no need to create a separate organization when space flight began, and the RCN simply assumed responsibility of military endeavours in space. The RCN remains convinced that the good old fashioned broadside is the best way to win any fight, though the range of these broadsides has increased significantly since the marine days of the RCN. As a result, Commonwealth ships tend to be tall and thin, with positron beam turrets on their dorsal and ventral surfaces. The sides of the ships carry the majority of the broadside armament, which consists of multiple missile tubes and medium-calibre railgun batteries. Flak systems and point defence lasers are scattered across the ship. Shields are designed to be highly redundant, with even the smallest ships having multiple shield generators. Additionally, most Commonwealth ships are equipped with axial mounted weapons: older ships use supersized MAC guns, while many newer designs use massive superlasers. This configuration reflects the RCN’s current tactical doctrine. A given RCN ship is designed to be able to approach an enemy ship, firing with their positron turrets, axial weapons, and missile batteries at a target in front of them. Once the opening salvo has been fired, the ship turns to present its broadside, allowing all its positron turrets and broadside weapons to open fire. The relentless pounding of barrages of railgun rounds is meant to pummel away shields, while the positron cannons are meant to sear through armor. Missiles can be equipped with a variety of warheads, making them suitable for either purpose. For fleet engagements, the RCN’s most common tactic is to have ships form into a wall formation, each ship presenting their broadside to the enemy for devastating effect. Since space is a 3-dimensional place, the wall formation often ends up being adjusted to a sort of semi-spherical formation, which ships altering their broadside angles slightly to fire on targets approaching from any vector. This formation is often deployed to form a defensive screen for Commonwealth Star Carriers as they unleash their hordes of strike craft from the safety of the centre of the formation.
MCM: Multiple Configuration Missiles are another mainstay of Commonwealth military power. Commonwealth missiles are highly modulated, with a number of interchangeable components that allows ships to rapidly assemble whatever type of munition is needed. Warhead features range from standoff range ion beams to direct contact anti armor plasma charges. Fuselage features include additional drive sections for high speed missiles, extra fuel for extreme range engagements, and extra EW capability, among others. The drive section can be configured for long range bombardment or high speed evasive maneuvers. A kinetic warhead, enhanced targeting fuselage, and short range high speed drive combined make an excellent defensive missile, while an ion warhead with a stealth fuselage and long range drive can make a nasty surprise for enemy shields.
Axial Weapons: Though Commonwealth ships are designed to engage with broadsides, their long narrow profiles presented an opportunity that was too good to pass on. As a result, all Commonwealth ships mount high calibre axial weapons that fire from the bow. In older vessels, these weapons take the form of large graviton railguns, while newer vessels tend to have high intensity superlasers. Battleships and Dreadnoughts mount two axial weapons, while smaller ships mount only one. Powerful as they may be, these weapons are not the ship’s primary armament, so they are not as effective or mass intensive as a full sized spinal weapon would be.
Graviton railguns: The primary weapon of the RCN. The principle of magnetic rails accelerating a metallic slug is an old and quite simple one. The only modification the RCN has made is that, instead of magnetism, their railguns use artificial gravity systems to massively increase the size and speed of projectiles, and have multiple munitions types to accommodate different situations, such as armor piercing rounds, shield-breaker rounds, and flak rounds. Graviton railguns are configured in huge numbers of double mounts on the broadsides of Commonwealth ships.
Positron Beam Cannons: The pinnacle of Commonwealth energy weapons tech, positron cannons are devastatingly effective. They are mounted in massive turrets on the dorsal and ventral surfaces of Commonwealth ships and configured to deliver optimum firepower both forwards and to either side.
Technological Overview:
The Commonwealth’s general tech level is comparable to that of other major galactic powers. The multi-national nature of the Commonwealth has brought together a myriad of technologies and ideas and combined them in innovative new ways. For example, the primitive brute force firepower of Szitzu mass drivers was combined with Vit’azny gravity expertise to develop a much more deadly weapon, while Yanissan missile systems and Rhodesian miniaturization have given the Commonwealth incredible versatility in their long range firepower. Each species brings something to the table. Yanissan expertise in biotechnology is unmatched, while the Vit’azny are experts fusion reactions. One of the main reasons for inviting the Valerian Republic to join the Commonwealth was the expertise in nanotechnology and information systems, though this technology has yet to reach widespread distribution in the Commonwealth
GDC: The most remarkable Commonwealth technology is without a doubt their engine systems. The Graviton Drive Chain is a massive engine system that takes up a good portion of a ship’s mass. In the main reactor core, a self perpetuating Wronski-Birks reaction creates huge amounts of energy, gravitons, and anti-gravitons. The particles are directed around the ship to form a gravitational envelope around the ship, which simultaneously pulls the ship from the front and pushes at the rear. When reinforced by generators along the surface of the ship, this envelope doubles as a very effective shielding system. Having the ship enclosed in its own gravitational field grants a number advantages, most notably extremely good acceleration and maneuverability. The GDC also serves as a ship’s FTL engine. Emitting intense bursts of gravity allows the ship to slip into subspace to rapidly move from one point to another, a process referred to as surging. Surging is affected by other gravitational forces, making it more difficult to surge near planets or stars, or even other ships using GDC technology. A coordinated surge by a Commonwealth fleet is an extremely complex maneuver, requiring extensive calculations to avoid disaster. The range of an individual surge is fairly limited, so long range travel is done by a chain of shorter surges. In battle, surges are extremely useful, allowing Commonwealth ships to periodically relocate themselves into more favorable firing positions. The main limitations on combat surges are the processing power required to perform surge calculations, the time it takes the GDC to cooldown for another surge, and the fact that a surge severely depletes the strength of a ship’s gravitational envelope and thus its shields. A poorly executed combat surge will usually end in disaster, but a successful one can cause a decisive victory.
The Commonwealth is an industrial juggernaut, with massive production capabilities. This industry is driven by an extensive trade network and a skilled workforce, but the real power of the Commonwealth comes from an immensely wealthy tax base and an abundance of cheap manual labour and raw materials. The disparity between the wealthy and the poor is truly astonishing, and a direct result of how the Commonwealth is organized. The worlds of the Commonwealth are classified into one of four categories: Core worlds, Constituent worlds, Colonial worlds, and Verge worlds.
There are many worlds in the Commonwealth, but not all are equal. Some are outrageously wealthy, some are desperately poor; different species dominate different worlds; some praise the Imperial Queen with every breath, some curse her name in the streets. The disparity is astonishing. The worlds of the Commonwealth are classified into one of four categories: Core worlds, Constituent worlds, Colonial worlds, and Verge worlds.
The Core worlds are the original Vit’azny colonies and a small number of worlds of some of the ISC’s oldest “members”. The vast majority of the Commonwealth’s wealth is concentrated on these worlds. In fact, money is the only real industry of the Core worlds. Almost all food and manufactured goods are imported from the Constituents and the Colonies, with the exception of some ultra-high end luxury goods. Any respectable company maintains its corporate headquarters on one of the Core worlds, with some exceptions. Money is the biggest industry of the Core worlds, with countless financial service providers and stock exchanges dominating the economy. Core worlds tend to be heavily populated; on average, about 70% of a Core world’s landmass is covered by gleaming cities. The majority of the population is inevitably Vit’azny, and poverty is virtually nonexistent on these worlds. While one would expect a society as lopsided as the Commonwealth’s would pass off the burden of taxation to its helpless colonies and let the Core Worlds amass their fortunes, this is not the case.The Commonwealth in fact maintains a sophisticated taxation system with multiple income brackets where the highest bracket pays the most taxes. Through this system, the Core worlds actually provide the majority of the Commonwealth’s tax income. Aspects of the Commonwealth such as the taxation system and the Parliament of the Sovereign Reich have convinced many species to join the Commonwealth over the years. By the time they discover some of the ‘conditions’ attached to membership, it is too late.
The Constituent worlds are the backbone of the Commonwealth. They include newer Vit’azny colonies, a large number of Commonwealth colonies, and the worlds of moderately respected member nations. The Constituent worlds are much less homogeneous than the Core worlds: some are richer, some less so, and even on a given planet there is a wide margin between the wealthy and the poor. A given planet, or even a given city on that planet, will have affluent communities and slums alike. Like the Commonwealth as a whole, the Vit’azny and a number of the older member species form the elite, with a healthy spattering of individuals from all kinds of species who happened to do very well for themselves. Constituent worlds are ruled by either Imperial Legislatures of the Commonwealth (in the case of colonies founded by the Commonwealth as a whole) or by existing governments (in the case of colonies established by individual members). Constituent worlds have full member status in the Commonwealth; citizens may vote in imperial and regional elections; while the world itself has high degree of self governance, can apply for subsidies from the Imperial Treasury, and has a number of other advantages. Constituent status is essentially citizenship for a planet, though individuals on the planet still have to adhere to normal citizenship procedures. The Constituent worlds are the primary manufacturing and processing centres of the Commonwealth. While the Core worlds’ only industry is money and the Colonies tend to only provide raw materials and cheap labour, Constituent industry does a bit of everything; large scale mining, agriculture, the production of consumer goods, starship construction, and all the financial and legal services that such industries need. It is all jumbled together in a free market economy that powers the massive industrial capabilities of the Commonwealth.
Colonial worlds are tragic monuments to the lies, oppression, and broken promises of the Commonwealth. They are the worlds of new or reluctant member species, and by the strictures of the Colonization act, these worlds are not technically members of the Commonwealth, but are instead subjects. Most Colonial worlds are desperately poor and underdeveloped, even if they were originally quite advanced. Many species join the Commonwealth with the understanding that they will enjoy all its benefits; citizenship, representation in Parliament, a degree of self-government, fair taxation, security, universal healthcare, subsidization, free education etc. Unfortunately, the Colonization act decrees that all newly added worlds are considered colonial holdings, and are under the direct authority of her Imperial Majesty, not the Parliament of the Sovereign Reich. This means they are not eligible for any of the Commonwealth’s social programs, nor do they have any representation in Parliament. They are not ruled by legislative assemblies, but instead by Colonial Governors, who are appointed by the Imperial Queen at the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor. Few people are citizens on Colonial Worlds; only the Vit’azn dominated elite, who take ownership of any industry or natural resources on the planet and employ the locals as ultra-cheap labour. Slavery is illegal throughout the Commonwealth, but with no minimum wage or labour rights for non-citizens, colonial labourers can be paid almost nothing. Some landowners elect to provide food, clothing, and shelter for their employees and then pay them nothing at all, reasoning that room and board are taken from their pay, and the rest goes to taxes. Colonial Worlds are subject to the same fair taxation system as the rest of the Commonwealth, but it is not taxes that leave them in poverty. A clause of the Colonization act permits the Commonwealth to seize any assets it deems necessary from Colonial worlds and their inhabitants. Money, goods, resources, land, businesses, even people; all can be seized and repossessed by the crown, or given to a favored citizen. The exploitation and lack of support causes technological regression on many worlds; it is not uncommon to see vehicles with internal combustion engines on Colonial worlds, and even horses in extreme cases. Colonial worlds are often quite rebellious during the early years of their integration, but the Commonwealth is always quick to brutally repress such uprisings. The brutality they employ deters further uprisings, but it is the hope of citizenship, or even becoming a Constituent world, that ultimately keeps the colonies in line. Unlike citizenship, there is no specific criteria for a Colonial world to gain Constituent status and full membership; it is simply granted at the discretion of the governor and the Imperial Queen, again with the advice of the Lord Chancellor. This means a world might easily wait 15 years or 50, or even 500. The Imperial Queen usually tries to grant Constituent status to at least one colony per decade, in order to keep other colonies hopeful and obedient. This process is always accompanied by a grand ceremony where the Imperial Queen herself visits the new Constituent world, relieves the planetary governor, and validates its new government, while the Commonwealth holds a colonization drive to boost the world’s population and showers it with money and resources. A three-day festival is held to celebrate the change in status, and the day of the ceremony becomes a statutory holiday for that world. Some Colonial worlds, however, are so remote, poor, or useless that they will likely never be granted Constituent status. A few of the extreme cases have even been largely forgotten by the Commonwealth and the crown, and the inhabitants have in turn forgotten the Commonwealth.
Verge worlds are planets on the very edge of Commonwealth space. Their categorization has more to do with their location than their membership status. They are not grossly exploited like colonial worlds, nor are they pampered like Core worlds. They are ruled by military governors, and all have a heavy military presence due to their location on the borders of Commonwealth space. Some few are actually quite wealthy and heavily populated, almost as much as a core world. Most others are significantly less so. They’re populated by a wide array of people: military personnel, hopeless colonials seeking citizenship, prospectors seeking riches, wealthy citizens with a taste for adventure, convicts in forced relocation programs, and so on. Their purpose is to guard the borders of the commonwealth, anything else is secondary. Verge worlds usually have extremely diverse populations and much more relaxed culture, and social status is not considered as important. The military often provides some of the benefits that the imperial government would elsewhere, so the populace is not as desperate for citizenship as on other worlds. This much freer society makes them places of opportunity. Historically, some of the Commonwealth’s most successful corporations were started on Verge worlds, though some say that’s only propaganda. Regardless, Verge worlds are better places to live than many Colonial worlds, and even the slums on poorer Constituent worlds.
Praetoria-class Commonwealth Star Carrier The Praetoria-class Commonwealth Star Carrier is the pinnacle of Commonwealth technology and engineering. Though CSC’s have been in service for a while, they are refitted into dreadnoughts or battleships when a new class of CSC is developped. Commonwealth Star Carriers serve as flagships and centerpieces to the Commonwealth fleets, and have a number of variations compared to most Commonwealth ships. While the Praetoria class has a massive broadside, countless missiles, and 12 quad-barrelled ultra-heavy proton turrets, it is not designed to operate independently. CSC’s in general are designed without axial weapons, since they are usually too deeply placed in the fleet to make use of such weapons. Instead of axial weapons, the Praetoria-class has extensive hangar facilities, permitting it to launch a massive number of fighter craft onto the the battlefield. Surprisingly, CSCs are not built as super-dreadnoughts, measuring a sliver less than half as long as a Dominion Titan. The Commonwealth opted for a greater number of strategically flexible vessels, rather than concentrating their resources on elaborate fleet centerpieces. Consequently, there are 18 Praetoria class CSCs currently operational, with 4 more undergoing service trials and another 8 under construction.
Victory-class Dreadnought A large ship armed to the teeth, with 5 quad barreled ultra heavy positron turrets, and as many missiles and railguns as the designers could possibly mount. Increased automation means a reduced crew complement versus older ships, granting additional space for weapons. A minimal fighter loadout also freed up space for more weapons emplacements. Despite it's size, the Victory is remarkably fast, and represents the new direction of RCN doctrine.
Valiant-class Battleship Slow, heavily armored and shielded, and packing a punch, the Valiant is a rapidly aging but extremely dependable class of ship. The Valiant is designed in accordance with older RCN doctrine and is equipped with 6 quad-barreled super heavy positron beam turrets. Its age means that it is equipped with a massive axial mounted MAC gun rather than an axial superlaser. Compared to newer designs, the Valiant has fewer broadside railgun batteries and missile racks, but carries a large number of fighter craft into battle and possesses extensive command and control facilities. Combined with their extreme survivability, the Valiant is often the command ship of choice in a fleet.
Magnificent-class Battleship The Magnificent is part of a new line of warships being introduced into the RCN fleets, and its design is reflective of that. While smaller and faster than the Valiant class, it is not as well defended. The Magnificent mounts an axial superlaser, and 3 triple barreled ultra heavy positron beam turrets. It has a denser array of broadside weaponry, including a higher than average number of heavy missile tubes, at the expense of reduced hangar space. The Magnificent is something of a miniature Victory-class dreadnought: all firepower, with only a token force of interceptors for its own protection. In battle, the Magnificent relies on its superior speed to avoid the firepower of heavier weapons.
Reliant-Class Battlecruiser Truly a jack of all trades, the Reliant forms the backbone of RCN operations. The smaller sister-ship to the Valiant class, the Reliant packs 4 quad-barreled heavy positron beam turrets, a respectable broadside, sizeable hangars, and as of its most recent retrofit, an axial superlaser. The Reliant also has excellent C&C capabilities, sophisticated scientific labs, spacious quarters for diplomats and foreign dignitaries, and advanced sensor arrays. Basically, the Reliant is the Commonwealth’s go-to multi-role ship, and is well suited to a wide array of missions as well as being formidable in combat. It’s extensive use and versatility have made it an icon of Commonwealth naval power.
Imperial-class Heavy Cruiser The Imperial class is another new innovation from the RCN., slowly replacing the aging Resolutes in active service. Heavy firepower on a small frame; the Imperial takes this philosophy to the extreme, doing away with fighter craft entirely and maintaining only the minimum hangar facilities necessary for personnel transfer and cargo loading. The Imperial brings 3 triple-barreled heavy positron turrets and a formidable broadside to battle, and can easily dispatch of cruisers on its own or group with other destroyers to attack larger targets.
Resolute-class Heavy Cruiser The oldest class of ship currently in service, the Resolute class is pretty standard as Commonwealth ships go. Essentially a larger, better defended and older Vigilance-class, the Resolute posesses greater broadside firepower and larger hangars. It is equipped with 3 quad-barreled medium positron turrets and an axial MAC gun.
Vigilance-class Cruiser The Vigilance-class is the workhorse of the Commonwealth fleets. In any given situation, a Vigilance class cruiser will likely be the first ship on the scene. It is heavily armed, well defended, and fast enough to be useful for long range scouting, dangerous patrols, escort duty, and exploration, all while being able to take its place in the wall of battle. The Vigilance carries 3 quad-barreled medium positron turrets and an axial superlaser, though its broadside is less formidable than that of the Resolute. The Vigilance is also the smallest Commonwealth vessel to carry a fighter craft, and only supports a few of them.
Endeavour-class Destroyer A fairly typical class of ship, the Endeavour wields 2 tripe-barreled medium positron turrets and the smallest axial superlaser in the Commonwealth, with a fairly typical broadside. In the line of battle, the Endeavour generally serves as an escort for larger vessels.
Warrior-class Frigate The Warrior class is a little more versatile than the larger Endeavour class, and sees heavy use all across the Commonwealth, performing surveys, patrolling shipping lanes, chasing down pirates and escorting low-importance targets. The Warrior carries 3 quad-barreled light positron turrets, a small axial MAC gun, and a light broadside loadout, and is used all across the Known Worlds for a variety of purposes. In battle, it joins the Endeavour in supporting larger ships.
Striker-class Corvette Corvettes are a newer concept for the RCN, and the Striker class is only the second vessel to be designed and implemented in that role. The Striker is a brand new design, only just fully integrated into the RCN. The only Commonwealth ship designed to have its firepower aligned towards the bow, the Striker is meant to race around the battlefield wreaking havoc with its 3 double-barreled ultra-light positron cannons, light missile tubes, and axial mounted medium positron cannon. It has no broadside railguns to speak of, and can reach astonishingly high speeds. Strikers operate well in groups, and underestimating these small ships would be a foolish mistake.
Mixed regulars The varied population of the Commonwealth mean that their regular infantry is composed of multiple species. Well trained, equipped with shielded combat armor and a variety of graviton-acceleration based projectile weapons, the Commonwealths infantry can hold their own on any battlefield in the Galaxy.
Szitzu Shock Troopers The natural size and strength of the Szitzu makes them uniquely well suited to ground combat. Combined with power armor, personal shields, and man-portable positron cannons, the Szitzu are a devastating addition to any conflict.
Valerian Skyjacks A new addition to the Commonwealth's armies, Valerian Skyjacks have cybernetically enhanced their otherwise useless wings into functional flight appendages. Their power armor is lighter than other models, sacrificing protection for speed and mobility with built in thrusters. Skyjacks are optimally suited for ambush tactics; flying at high altitude and dropping from the sky directly on top of unsuspecting enemy infantry.
Yanissan Su'urtugal The end result of Yanissan efforts to weaponize psionics, the pinnacle of their genetic splicing programs, the most deadly and unquestioningly loyal soldiers in the Commonwealth: Su'urtugal. The enigmatic organization known as Toolbox tracks down and requisitions all Yanissan psintegrae shortly after birth, then spirits them away to locations unknown to begin a lifetime of training and genetic tampering. The resulting individuals are stronger, faster, smarter, brimming with psionic power, and machinelike in their efficiency. Deployed as spies, elite bodyguards, and elite special operatives in combat, Su'urtugal are constantly in high demand.
Name of Nation: The Sacred Union of the Royal Theocracies of Röðull (S.U.R.T.R.)
Banner/Flag: The flag represents the star at the centre of the galaxy, and the four capital worlds of the SURTR: Musdl, Halmr, Kegh, and Njor.
Type of Government: Theocratic Regency
Leader(s): Officially: High Lord Rhöðull (deceased, incumbent) Functionally: The Royal Regency Council
Persons of Importance: -High Lord Rhöðull
-Prime Councillor Rhodullveita (capital world 1)
-Deputy Prime Councillor Rhodullvard (capital world 1)
-High Rage-Channeler Fen (capital world 3)
-Archpriest Rhomaera (capital world 2)
-President Dyrrboen (capital world 4)
-Secretary of the People's Faith Rhodull-Umbud (world 1)
Species(s) and Demographics:
There are four main races in the SURTR, who rule over all of the under-races of the lesser worlds: -The True: bipedal creatures with thick exoskeletons, and no visual perception
-The False: lanky quadrupeds, with overactive salivary glands and limited communication ability
-The Herfiligr: Small aquatic bipeds, with no sense of smell. Their small, hyperactive lungs make speaking difficult.
Religion Description and Demographics: 35% True 19% False 13% Human 8% Herfiligr 25% Other 100% Rhodull worshiping
The official faith of the Union is called "Rhöðulldyarkan", the worship of Rhöðull. Rhöðull was a sun-worshiping cult leader, who died around the year 200 IC. Followers of Rhöðull claim him to be their only true ruler, with all others being "false kings". As such, rise of this cult created a great deal of turmoil and rebellion in the later days of the Empire. Over the last couple centuries of the Empire's reign, the faith was greatly subjugated, and was eventually pushed back to a select number of planets near the center of the galaxy.
The main tenents of Rhodulldyarkan are based around the admonishment of authority and pride. Followers are to remind themselves at all times that their life comes from the radiation of the stars, and that they are forever indebted to the stars for this. Worship is a daily practice, involving many verbal chants, as well as various fire rituals.
All members of the Union are required to profess a faith in Rhodull, but it can take a number of forms. As the faith has developed on each planet in the SURTR, it has branched off into a number of sects. The True of Musdl and Halmr, the first two worlds, uphold the oldest, truest, and most demanding variation of the faith. Worship is an almost constant process, and it is socially encouraged to work praises of Rhodull into day-to-day conversation. This results in long-winded greetings like "In Rhodull's glorious name, it is good to see you again, thanks be to Rhodull, peace be upon him", and "By Rhodull's grace, you look well, praise to the High Lord". The Humans of the SURTR are very devout, and adhere to the commandments without difficulty, although they rarely feel compelled to work Rhodull into regular conversation. They generally uphold the principle that religion is a personal thing, not to be flaunted in public. The Herfiligr of Njor, the fourth world, are a moderate people, very similar to the Humans. Of all the racial leaders of the SURTR, they are the most casual with their faith. Worldly concerns take the forefront, and the faith is ignored culturally, although still enforced by the government. When legally able to do so, the Herfiliger instead celebrate their own traditions, as their culture is rich with various expressions of art. Of all the races, they are also the most soft-spoken. The False of Kegh, the third world, are an impulsive, aggressive people. They are highly religious, but their variation of Rhodulldyarkan is the most deviant. The reverence of humility and solar energy are mixed up with traditional war rites and mating rituals. The False were dubbed "false" because of their inability to speak, preventing them from taking part in proper Rhodulldyarkan worship. The False communicate among each other exclusively through body-language, and with other planets through a crude writing system.
Culture:
The culture of the Union varies by planet, with the only shared customs being worship of Rhodull, and the proliferation of the languages of both the Humans and the True. The True essentially have no culture, outside of that which reflects, represents, or serves their religion. What they call "music", are rhythmic religious chants. What they call "art", are countless cathedrals dedicated to Rhodull. What they call "community" is communal prayer. The Humans observe a mashup of traditional Earth holidays and customs. Of all the races, they are the most culturally diverse. The False base their customs around food, war, and reproduction. Cultural events feature wrestling tournaments, feasts, and public orgies. Their version of singers are those among them with the most impressive battle-cries. The Herfiligr have a rich, colourful culture. The giant tile murals of the Herfiligr are famous throughout the galaxy, and are sold for unfathomable prices. Their music is based around filling the air and water with euphonic reverberations, surrounding the listener with pleasant sounds. To this end, they have complex systems of drums, flutes, and acoustic sound amplifiers. The Herfiligr have an old saying, that "A note that doesn't echo five times, is a note wasted".
History:
Musdl, the homeworld of the True is a small, super-heated planet. Hydration is virtually nonexistent, and the atmosphere is filled with a thick carbon-based particulate, blocking almost all light. The True evolved in a state of perpetual blackness, and as such lack any form of vision. Instead, they became extremely adept at detecting warmth and movement. The holes in their outer shells are able to detect the slightest variations in pressure and temperature in the air. Musdl's solar system features twin stars, that revolve around each other, and the orbit of Musdl dances between them. The True initially harnessed the immense geothermal energy of their largely volcanic planet, but always held the goal of harnessing the power of the stars. Eventually, they developed space-travel, and broke through the thick carbonic sea that composed their atmosphere. Exposed to the emptiness of space, the first astronauts of the True went insane. The emptiness of space was so foreign to them, and they had no way to actually see it. All they knew was that the stars were more powerful than they could have ever imagined, as the true might of their rays were blocked by the global particulate. This began a ferocious race, to channel solar energy in all forms, and to fill outer-space with colonies of True. It was at this time, that all previous religions, of earth-worship, sky worship, spirit worship, were merged together into one faith. All True agreed that the might of the stars were unquestionable. Their heat was too great, and their reach was too vast, to doubt their supremacy. Unified under the banner of the True Faith, the entirety of Musdl worked to further their space-expansion efforts. They built great colony ships, and terraformed the next planet over, then named "Halmr". From there, they spread to Kegh, home of the False. This was the first war of the True, and they overwhelmed the primitive False with their mighty solar ships and thermal rays. Enslaved, the False became the new front-line of the True Military, for they were a physically superior race, with a natural resiliency to damage and intimidation. Over the centuries, they became domesticated and civilized. Eventually, they were integrated as citizens of the True, although they still maintained a lower position in society. It was at this time that Rhodull rose to prominence, so the historical records say. He was a young True, uncommonly skilled in perceiving the warmth of the sun. It was said that he could predict solar flares weeks before they occurred, and that he could sense warmth of his enemies from miles away. He founded the first Cathedral of the Twin Stars, on Halmr, and quickly converted the majority to his sect. He told his followers that the stars were living beings, who shared their warmth with the True willingly, so that they may live, and spread the faith. Rhodull personally descended to the planet Kegh, and taught the False how to write, so that they had a standard form of communication with the True. Once he was satisfied, that the three worlds were united under him, Rhodull led a convoy of missionaries out of the solar system, searching for additional life among the stars. He was never heard from again, but his legacy lived on, and the True continued development of their navy, until they were confident that they could conquer the rest of space. It was then, that the Humans came. Their numbers were endless, and their technology was incredible. Many True and False joined the Empire willingly, believing the Humans to be blessed by the stars. These hopes were soon dashed, when the Empire took no interest in the stories of Rhodull, and the faith of the True. Enraged, the True began an epic campaign of conversion across the Empire. Over the centuries, entire systems began singing the praises of Rhodull, a distant legend by then. It was then that the Herfiligr joined the faith, not out of devout belief in Rhodull, but in defiance to the Empire, who had likewise disrespected their traditions. Seeing the expansion of this cult, and the threat it posed to the authority of the Empire, the Emperor ordered the immediate extermination of the Rhodulldyarkan faith. This was met with open rebellion from the faithful, and a great civil war began. What the True had no way of knowing, was that they were dooming themselves by making themselves a threat to the Empire. The might of the entire military, and the imperial police-state fell upon on True, and landed like a boot upon an insect. The rebellion was crushed in an instant, and the True's mini-empire crumbled. Then the fall began. Uprisings starting forming all across the Empire. Word of famine, disease, and madness from across the entire galaxy, reached the faithful. The second rebellion began, but this time in secret. Slowly, old alliances were formed again, and armies were built-up. When the Empire finally collapsed, throwing the galaxy into chaos, the True were ready. The great Union of Rhodulldyarkan began. The missionaries, armies, and charities of the True expanded across countless systems, offering the abandoned systems an alternative to chaos. It was the greatest growth the faith had ever seen, greater than could have ever been imagined. The church offered its members stability, in a time of endless war. As the various claimants to the crumbled throne emerged, and the dominions and collectives made themselves known to the galaxy, the Sacred Union of the Royal Theocracies of Rhodull was formed.
Military:
The Fleet SURTR ships are solidly built, and heavily resesistant to impact and temperature. Their weapons are exclusively based around thermal energy. Their thermal rays are the pride of the SURTR navy, but they utilize traditional balistic missiles as well.
The Human Automaton Division Being considerably weaker than the True and False, the Humans are relied upon for their technological expertise. Rather than sacrifice their own lives on the battlefield, the vast majority of Human military personnel are employed as engineers and roboticists.
The Armored True Division The Armored True compose the majority of the SURTR military. They are equipped with heavily resilient, self-regenerating bio-suits. For a long time, it was believed throughout the galaxy that True fought naked, simply due to how much their armour resembles their naked form.
The Priest Division The Elite True are equipped with a heavier variant of the standard bio-armour. It is far more resilient than the standard variation, and greatly increases the strength of its user as well.
Complex Chiefdom, with Anuku’s seven paramount chieftains, or Arch-Khans, each wielding dictatorial jurisdiction over a substantial swath of the Lone World’s habitable land, its resources, and a professional military force whose enlisted personnel are chiefly levied from the body politic of the Arch Khan’s own—often supermassive—tribe. The title of Arch-Khan is hereditary, with each paramount chieftain channeling their command through a dense cohort of subservient chieftains sprinkled across his or her lands. These subordinates have their sworn loyalty to their Arch-Khan enriched by a conservative quantity of biannual subsidies (normally in the form of raw materials, hunting arms, or land, but may also include young male and female azu slaves for either reproductive or recreational purposes) being bestowed upon them.
Due to the fairly recent incident with Jacha-Ria and the contemporary surge of activity in presently and formally occupied Imperial locales, Anuku’s seven paramount chiefdoms have mutually agreed to initiate the emergency formation of the “League of the Seven”, a martial alliance between Anuku’s seven tribal kingdoms that has predictably culminated in the complete fusion of the azu species into a single coherent racial bloc.
Leader(s):
Varied
Persons of Importance:
Jacha-Ria the Unchained: A once revered azu ship captain who quickly became universally infamous for her rapid transition into a violent career of rampant piracy. An avid azu racial nationalist at heart, Jacha-Ria made her mark in azu sagas across Anuku for her stellar showings of martial prowess during her participation in many of the defensive actions that Anuku brought to bear against invading Imperial forces during the Azu-Man Wars of 1757, 1764, 1769, and 1772 I.C. before spiriting her ship and her crew into the deepest void for unknown reasons twenty-two years prior to the present date.
Only recently has she resurfaced.
Her horrifyingly xenophobic and savagely condemnatory beliefs about mankind were legendary—almost fanatical even—during Anuku’s bouts with the Imperium, with some of the personal military scholastic writings and journal entries recovered from her mountainside retreat on the Lone World outlining an elaborate yet cryptic plan that would, quote, “lead to the complete eradication of that pathetic xenos species without any loss of azu life”.
Jacha-Ria’s possession of Our Last Hope—a unique, dauntingly potent azu arsenal fortress with the exceptional capability to reliably ferry multiple assault fleets across the greater galaxy with superb accuracy and extreme rapidity— has enabled her to easily evade or outright annihilate any domestic or hired reclamation units that the League has sent after her.
Faint rumors throughout the cosmos tell of a newfangled affinity of hers: broadcasting a siren’s song on an untraceable quantum wavelength, one that tells of promised retribution and guaranteed riches beyond comprehension for those wronged by mankind who opt to take part in her crusade against the Terran Imperium.
It is estimated that over one-thousand starship captains have aligned themselves with her.
Jacha-Ria's current whereabouts are unknown.
Species:
Azu: the azu, alternatively known as Anukuians, are the multi-ethnic race of cat-like humanoids that inhabitants Anuku, a verdant and opulent world that is, in many ways, homologous to Earth. Comparative in size to a large human specimen, azu are sharp of mind and lithe of frame, and can negotiate terrain with lightning tempo and supple grace when on the prowl. Other than being benefited with an excellent sense of vision, smell, and hearing, azu can discern the dynamic position of an object in motion by detecting latent changes in surrounding air pressure, feel faint vibrations through the soft pads of their hind paws, identify oscillating electromagnetic waves emanated by the heart of another living organism, and pick up subtle alterations in the pheromone secretion patterns of living creatures.
As a result of an uncorrectable anomalous fault in their genome, the azu sex ratio is heavily skewed in favor of the azu female, with the current population of azu (stated to be circa 560 million) being 90/10 (female/male) in numerical composition.
Culture:
Azu culture values self-determinism and minimalism. Azu adolescents-- colloquially referred to as “kits” by the Lone World's encompassing azu population—are educated in the fundamental artistry of the august survivalist by elder members of the tribe. A distinct (but ultimately secondary) emphasis is placed on adequately honing their apprehension of the clan's spiritual and cultural mores, teaching the importance of family, and promoting a simple yet personally fulfilling lifestyle. By the time that they are of breeding age, most juvenile azu females and males have a predisposition for exhibiting stalwart behavior and operating in a persistent mode of semi-autonomy. "Gifted" azu are convinced to pursue rigorous instruction in one of the more prestigious institutional sectors of academia that reside within the Peaks of Hia-Hia, an unforgiving geographical locale of historical importance where a prodigious amount of the azu's technological innovations primarily originate from.
Azu homesteads, called highhouses, are a queer mixture of an archetypal longhouse and a standard low-capacity semi-subterranean dwelling (such as an earth berm), and are fabricated from readily-available materials (in example: stone, timber, or bone) using un-powered utensils and powerful beasts of burden. Highhouses are comparatively voluminous, playing host to a number of necessary domestic facilities (such as larders, armories, storage enclosures, libraries, or washrooms) and over one-hundred families that are situated along a series of quasi-segregated living floors. Being in such close proximity with one another usually leads to family groups being acquainted on an intimate level.
From these tight-knit relationships, inter-familial gatherings--like ceremonial dances or recreational group hunting sessions--are organized and initiated, in turn strengthening the clan's bond and encouraging goodwill and harmony throughout the masses. Aside from personal effects, clan members openly share most things, and--unlike many other species--observe a weedy quota of personal space, instead preferring to brush up against and caress other clan members if at all able. Stroking the ears, the underside of the tail, and the lower back are all considered profound signs of affection and trust.
Regardless of their internal layout and external attributes, azu highhouses are matriarchal in their fashion of administration, matrifocal in their familial structure, and matrilateral in their inheritance lines, with a wise woman and her selected “elder council” of middle-aged azu women wielding uncontested authoritative influence over the clan's members. As azu males are numerically scarce across Anuku, they are universally perceived and handled as treasured commodities that have tremendous barter value, and are subsequently forced into arranged polygamous “mating sessions” with outside harems of suitable azu women for the clan's own monetary gain, its political elevation, or its social evolution.
Azu mating paradigms center around a single eugenics-like "code of conduct", called ormku, which preaches that only the "fit" are "fit" for reproduction. Azu tribal society does not suffer the frail and flawed to persist in life; the physically, intellectually, and emotionally disabled are sentenced to a ceremonial execution when detected, and may experience harsh instances of familial rejection or overt communal ostracization if they are allowed to live.
On average, azu males sire over 1,000 fit children throughout their lifetime.
Military:
Azu militia forces are exacted from local tribal communities and their encompassing septs during times of war. Owing to their idiosyncratic physiological and psychological characteristics, azu land army battle doctrine hinges strongly on mobility, flexibility, and longevity to sustain an effective guerrilla campaign against invading forces. Azu abhor lengthy and grueling battles of attrition, favoring instead to execute covert raids on an opponent's supply lines and any lightly-defended positions using the almost unrivaled power of phase-shift suits and the support of quick and heavy-hitting land vehicles and hypersonic aerospace craft.
Anuku is chaperoned by seven FTL-capable arsenal fortresses that linger several million kilometers away from her. An arsenal fortresses is an assault fleet in all but title, its spherical bulk protected by meters of electro-reactive hydro-armor, a siege-grade PDF, and a strengthened superstructure wrought from hyper-dense composite materials forged in specialized zero-G factories. Arsenal fortresses are divided into 30 fully-autonomous fighting compartments, each one furnished with its own network of submersible phased graser and particle accelerator arrays, fusion, active cooling systems, crew quarters, and capacitor banks, and can dispatch inexpensive and disposable one-use "combat mirrors" that--if positioned correctly--can offer the sphere's DEW suite the golden opportunity to effectively direct its beams around planets.
Type of Government: Totalitarian Single-Party State.
Summary:
The Totalist doctrine preaches the total submission of the individual towards the aggrandizement of the State and Party. Only through total compliance to the "Grand Plan" of the Party the State will be able to triumph against its myriad enemies. With the end of the Fourth Great Hydarnian War and the destruction of the People's Republic of Cymelia and the Grand Federation of New Albion, the Party is now desperately looking for a new enemy to demonize. In the same vein, the Party has also started to slightly modify its ideological basis to absorb some ideological concepts from both Albion and Cymelia. That way, making it easier to absorb and assimilate the populations of the other two authoritarian regimes.
More recently, as in a few centuries ago, the radical wing of the Party has come up with the concept of Obliteration of the Self. Arguing that it's the individual that causes conflicts and problems with his greed and ambition, the theorists propose a sweeping campaign to eliminate this obstacle. Through education, cultural control or brute force. To further advance the idea, the Anti-Individualist faction has also managed to force a series of localized reforms, creating several "testing grounds" for their social control projects in scattered planets across the State.
The Totalist government is divided into directorates. Each one is in charge of an aspect of the administration and is usually divided into smaller sub-directorates for more specialized areas. Each director is part of the Board of directors, who is officially tasked with helping the Supreme Director in running the State. Since the real Supreme Director died centuries ago, the directors themselves run the show. With the most influential of them being the one to call the shots.
Leader(s): Director Aleksandr Dollabela-Rybaslky. Generalissimo of the State and head of the Directorate of Peace.
The current Director of Peace, Aleksandr Dollabela-Rybalsky is the scion of a prominent Upper Party family. His mother was a respected commander of several prison planets while his father was a General of the Black Banner. With this background, the expectations over the young Aleksandr were huge. The pressure to not only match but surpass his parents was the main driving force behind his rise through the ranks of the Directorate of Peace.
Combining hard work and canny politicking, the young Aleksandr managed to make a name for himself during the last stages of the Unification Wars. Gradually amassing political influence, allies and proteges, Aleksandr eventually won the power struggle that followed the death of the previous Director of Peace. The following purge was surprisingly lenient by Totalist standards.
Persons of Importance:
-Director Khoorli Aprayat, Head of the Directorate of Production. -Director Leandra Fianecci, Head of the Directorate of Truth. -Director Sapramat Tanzin, Head of the Directorate of Safety.
There are other directors but their power and influence are limited compared to the top players
Species(s) and Demographics:
The bulk of the Totalist population is human, 90% to be exact. And while the official Party line has nothing outright against Xenos, they are still among the most used boogeymen by the State propaganda machine. Because of this, the general attitude towards Xenos is one of distrust and subdued animosity. Said animosity can be wiped into a frenzied hate at a moment's notice by propaganda.
With that said, the final victory against the immediate enemies of the Party has given the State a considerable increase in its human population. Unfortunately, these elements of society have been raised and indoctrinated outside the ideals of Totalism. And while the Party has adopted some trappings of Salvationist Communism and Darwinist Autarky to its ideological framework and co-opted considerable sectors of its former enemies' state apparatus, it still hasn't been enough for them to be deemed fully integrated. And so, in the new territories, even years after the end of the war, the extermination camps and death squads are still working around the clock to eliminate all undesirable elements of society.
Besides humanity, a host of minor Xeno species live within Totalist territory. Most of these species confined to a single system or even continent. Ruled by puppet leaders advised by Totalist officers and kept purposefully primitive relative to the State. In times of war these Xenos fight side by side with the Totalist army, as cannon fodder or rearguard personel.
Religion Description and Demographics:
Official Party doctrine dictates that religion is a parasite that must be purged for the success of the Grand Plan. In practice however the situation is different. Major religions, specially those originating in foreign states, are relentlessly purged by the Directorate of Security. But several faiths and philosophies deemed "safe" by the Party are allowed to exist. And so are mostly ignored by the Cultural Commissars. But like with everything else within the State, the smallest slip or wrong word can doom an entire community to ignominious death in the basement of a slaughterhouse.
Paramount among the approved faiths is the so called "Pain Vehicle". An offshoot of Buddhism born in the bloody and chaotic days of the Imperial collapse, the Pain philosophy (as it is more commonly known) was created by the then newly-installed Buddhist theocracy of Gyala. Unable to alleviate the suffering around them, the monks instead accepted the ultimate truth that the Universe wants people to suffer. And if that's the case then suffering must be what brings enlightenment, specially if one accepts such suffering without resistance. Likewise, those who inflict suffering are seen in a very positive light since they help others achieve enlightenment faster at the cost of delaying their own escape from the cycle of death and rebirth.
In the Gyalan Protectorate, which remains a theocracy to this day, albeit a puppet of the Totalists, monks and nuns practice extreme forms of sadomasochism. Torturing themselves, their novices, their fellow clergy and the helpless local population, who has been raised to believe that this torture is actually a glorious reward.
The Pain Vehicle also does not believes that living beings have individual souls. Preaching instead that all life is merely a rogue vessel for the parts of a single soul of the same cosmic spirit. This has earned them some points with the radical Totalists as both groups despise the concept of individuality and self.
In the Totalist State proper, the Pain philosophy lacks its elaborate temple-fortress and highly organized clergy, the Party must maintain appearances after all. But this hasn't stopped the ideology from finding some fertile ground among the population. Specially those in the armed forces and security apparatus.
Of course, one can't talk about religion in the Totalist State without mentioning the Party itself and its official doctrine. Which by this point has become akin to a religion itself. Specially in its blind veneration to the Supreme Director, the supposed founder of the Totalist State and the one to create the "Grand Plan", a series of complex, confusing and often times contradictory ideals. Ignored by the Party leadership unless its convenient for them or completely misunderstood or even unknown to the wider population. In general the Grand Plan is merely used as a propaganda slogan these days.
The Anti-Individualist faction takes the Party Doctine one step further. With an even greater focus on the strength and righteousness of the group while further condemning and demonizing the individual. In the planets controlled by the Anti-Individualists, concepts such as family are completely unknown. Conception happens in vitro, in large facilities with material harvested from the population of breeding age and combined ostensibly to get the best results out of the combined genetics. Children are raised in communal centers and separated as they grow. To receive specialized education according to their designated "caste". Chosen based on the results show during their early stages of education.
Culture:
Totalist culture is in general a very utilitarian one. Centuries of Party control and the relentless work of the Cultural Commissars have created a society molded by the Totalist ideals of complete submission to the Party, where one's worth is judged solely by how much he or she is able to contribute to the State. Or at least in theory, in general a member of the upper echelons of the party has access to much more resources and amenities than a mere worker, regardless of their actual "utility".
The State is present in all aspects of life within Totalist space, either through constant propaganda or surveillance. Privacy is considered an obstacle to most and the Directorate of Safety maintains a colossal network of informants, agents and machinery to spy upon its own citizenry. To ensure their compliance. Such is their control that the black market itself is merely another facet of the Directorate of Safety, ensuring that the truly subversive material stays out of reach of the masses and that any potentially dangerous elements are (even more) closely watched by the security apparatus. On the same vein, the Directorate also maintains several small resistance groups led by double agents, to give the Party a boogeyman when needed and catch any would be rebels.
Overall, Totalist society is rather conservative. Clothing consists of drab and dull mass produced pieces. Even military and Party uniforms remain somber and subdued no matter how high in the hierarchy, though they tend to be of much higher quality than the usual citizen jumpsuit. Likewise, hair is usually kept short by both men and women. Likewise, possession and use of "decadent goods" such as makeup and perfume are considered crimes punishable with decades of forced labor in the camps.
Architecture is also very utilitarian, built to be sturdy and to last without care for aesthetics or appearance. The only exception are government buildings and monuments. Those are also supposed to impress and cow the masses into submission.
Cities are dotted with statues and monuments glorifying the Party and representing the ideals of Totalism. Smiling workers, eager peasants and stern-faced soldiers represented in steel and granite are the norm. Besides the Supreme Director himself, very few actual individuals are immortalized by the Party. Mostly due to the Totalist's disdain for "individual selfishness" in favor of the "strength of the collective".
Food is mostly of the processed and canned variety. Other kinds of meal are available but they cost so many ration cards that only the Upper Party can afford them consistently. In most rural areas however, most citizens do possess at least a small private garden to supplement their diet.
Healthcare is focused on keeping the citizens productive and breeding. And its not uncommon for workers and soldiers to receive some genetic or cybernetic modification to make them more useful. Regardless of their consent.
"Aberrant" behaviour isn't tolerated by the State, with aberrant being anything that doesn't conforms to the official Party line or isn't passively tolerated. Homosexuals, members of persecuted religions, criminals, political dissidents or merely the losing side of political struggles may, if lucky, end up in mental asylums and reeducation camps. Though chances are one probably ends up in a work or extermination camp.
Entertainment-wise, the Party has created the Cultural Sub-Directorate to monitor and control what the people may do for fun. The Sub-Directorate does its duty by fielding literal legions of Cultural Commissars tasked with creating, censoring and monitoring pieces of entertainment and art. As a matter of fact, most artists within the State are in the payroll of the Sub-Directorate.
To make their job easier, the Sub-Directorate has built millions of "Collective Interaction Centres" across the State. These complexes offer a wide variety of activities for citizens of all ages and classes. All under the watchful eyes and cameras of the Cultural Commissars.
Besides the activities approved and promoted by the Cultural Commissars, there are also a host of things that the Sub-Directorate does not concerns itself with. And these are specially popular among the lower classes, if only for the chance to get away from the overbearing presence of a Cultural Commissar.
There are several planets and systems within Totalist space that are under control of the Anti-Individualist faction of the Party. Officially designated as "social experimentation planets", these worlds are playgrounds for the radicals. Places where their ideals are implemented and perfected. Places where the Obliteration of Self, destruction of family structure and divisions among "caste stereotypes" are in full swing. For them, this is their chance to show the undeniable superiority of their ideas.
The Eastern Fringe of the Galaxy was always a contentious region. Initially settled by adventuring spirits and ambitious pioneers, by the time the Imperium first started to expand into the region, the area was occupied by a patchwork of petty states, warlords and alien races. Some of which were actually descendants of refugees fleeing the growth of the Imperium.
Without a single cohesive entity or coalition capable of facing them, the Imperium gradually conquered the Fringe in a series of military campaigns over the period of a couple centuries, the area being too far and low priority at the time to merit the allocation of larger forces. But while the conquest went well, occupation was an entirely different matter. The distance from the Imperial Core and relative backwardness of the region ensured that there was almost always something higher in the Imperium's priority for them to divert the necessary resources to fully integrate the region. Exceptions to the rule were few and far between, usually during periods of prolonged peace and prosperity. But even then the Fringe was never fully assimilated.
When the Imperium fractured, the Fringe was one of the first regions to descend into anarchy as Imperial forces either abandoned the area to join the succession war or turned into warlords, fighting against each other and the locals for domination.
It was during this period that the Totalist Party first caught the attention of the wider Galaxy. One of the many factions that managed to eke out an existence just outside the Imperium's borders, the Totalists saw the collapse of the Imperium as their chance to expand. Losing no time they dived right into the mess.
60 years later, the Fringe saw itself locked into a death struggle between three major factions: The Totalist State, the People's Republic of Cymelia and the Republic of Albion. Three repressive dictatorships with their own brand of Totalitarism. This deathly struggle of ever shifting alliances made sure that neither of the three powers was able to give any attention to the wider Galaxy.
Eventually, after almost a century of conflict, the Totalists managed to gain the upper hand after allying with a weakened Albion against Cymelia. The People's Republic fell and soon after the Totalists turned against Albion too. But this peace would not last, for just as the Totalists were mopping up the last Albion remnants, their northern territories started to be harassed by the Agonis Collective. Initially little attention was given to the issue as the Board of Directors severely underestimated the extent of the Collective's power.
The low intensity warfare against the Collective lasted for about a decade before the machines finally launched a dedicated attack against the State. Catching the Totalists somewhat by surprise, still busy erasing the last traces of their hated enemies, but at the same time giving them an actual enemy to fuel their ideology of total war.
Military:
The Totalist armed forces, under overall control of the Directorate of Peace has two major subdivisions: The Totalist Army and the Totalist Navy.
-The Totalist Army:
Originally a horde of screaming highly untrained conscripts, hundreds of minor and major conflicts have transformed the Totalist Army into an actual army instead of an angry mob. The current doctrine of the Totalist Army, formalized shortly before the Fourth Hycarnian War, emphasizes the sheer size of the hosts the Totalist State can bring to bear, whether it is in a massed mechanized offensive or inside lines upon lines of fortifications.
Totalist Doctrine places great emphasis in the concept of "breakthrough exploitation". In general this means using the vast numbers of mechanized and armored forces to engage the enemy line in several different points. Overwhelming their defenses with carefully planned attacks and diversionary actions supported by staggering amounts of firepower. Once the breakthrough is achieved in one or more sectors, the reserves are unleashed into the gap with the purpose of penetrating deep into enemy lines and destroy their ability to sustain the front, striking into their logistical support chain and depriving them of reinforcements, relief or supply. For the High Command, tactical and local defeats are more than acceptable as long as victory is achieved in the strategic and operational levels.
Totalist equipment is designed with reliability and simplicity in mind. So that it may be more easily mass produced by the State's industrial park. It is the consensus among the Directorate of Peace that the soldiers need decent equipment to do their job, and nothing else. Likewise, vehicle and aircraft designs are rugged-looking machines, mass produced and extremely resilient.
The Totalist Army also prides itself in the wide array of weapons of mass destruction at its disposal. Chemical, radioactive and biological agents are being constantly improved by the Totalist scientists to ensure that no countermeasure can protect the enemies of the State. Doctrine dictates that these agents are nevertheless better used against civilian populations due to their greater vulnerability and the strain that it will cause to the enemy infrastructure.
Manpower-wise, the Totalist Army is fed by a system of rotational conscription. With hordes of men and women drafted yearly for a three year term of service, with the option of permanent service after the term is up. Those who choose to stay may even be sent to military academies and the path to officialdom alongside volunteers and children of Party members.
Totalist Conscripts
An exception to the "good enough" rule are the Black Banner Regiments. The elite of the Totalist Army, equipped with only the best in term of equipment and soldiery. The high training standards compounded with extensive cybernetic and genetic enhancements and top of the line equipment makes the Black Banner the best fighting force at the disposal of the Totalist State.
A Black Banner trooper
The Party maintains its control over the Army through the use of several classes of political officers. Whose duties range from motivating and indoctrinating the troops to ensuring the loyalty of commanders in the field. However, unlike the early days of the State, Field Commissars no longer have the authority to override all orders from the regular army officers.
To support the regular army forces, the Totalist State also fields a host of penal units. Forcefully conscripted from work camps and disgraced military personnel, these units are always the vanguard of Totalist advance. Serving for little else besides clearing up the way and absorbing enemy fire.
Penals on the charge
Besides the penal units, the Totalist Army is oftentimes supported by the armed forces of its puppet states. These minor polities (controlling a couple of systems at most) are incapable of fielding forces on the same quality as the Totalist State both due to the lack of resources and the Totalists' own policy of keeping their puppets weak. As a result these armies are of inferior quality compared to their Totalist counterparts and are instead used either as cannon fodder or for rearguard duties.
On the field, the Totalist Army organizes its forces in a system of Operational Theaters, composed of Army Groups, composed by singular armies, composed of corps and so on.
Finally, the State also fields a sizable militia force. Armed with the army's leftover and receiving some light training, the Totalist Guard isn't by any means an offensive force. Useful only for supporting the army in the defense of their homes.
The Totalist Navy
The Totalist Navy reflects the longstanding Totalist policy of not worrying about the Galaxy at large. A defensively focused force, for most of its history the navy was completely focused on fighting against its regional enemies of Albion and Cymelia. Who, for a long time actually had the upper hand in space, which forced the Totalist State to adopt a defensive mindset.
As the Totalist industrial power grew, the navy was expanded. Like the army, the Totalist ships were supposed to be both cheap and reliable. Due to the defensive mindset of the Totalist Admirals, it was decided to sacrifice the operational range of the ships. So as to compensate in other areas, such as shielding and long range weaponry, and to lessen the costs. Even when the balance of power in the Unification Wars shifted in favour of the State, the relatively close distances between Totalist bases and their enemies ensured that the Directorate of Peace didn't do much to change the fact that Totalist ships have low operational range.
Another hallmark of the Totalist Navy is the Floating Fortress. A ship of colossal size capable of acting as carrier, transport and battleship, the Floating Fortress is an expensive and complex craft to manufacture. As such only the largest shipyards are capable of building and maintaining one. The original purpose of the Fortresses was to act as a mobile support base, to give the navy some more operational range. Though they have evolved beyond this role.
Offensive naval operations are thoroughly planned affairs. Advance routes have to picked in a way to allow the naval groups to remain able to be supplied. Depots, repair stations and supply lines have to be carefully planned, established and maintained. And if a Floating Fortress is involved in the operation, the effort has to be redoubled.
In general the Totalist Navy prefers long distance fights, trusting its superior shields and numbers to destroy the enemy on the other side of the solar system before moving in to support the planetary invasion.
It should also be noted that the Totalist Navy also fields its own marine component and a prestigious engineer corps. Both created with the purpose of securing and repairing enemy space infrastructure. Or building up things from the ground up, in the case of the engineers.
(Military Issue)
(Civilian/Recreational Issue)
