**The year is 3463.** Despite the worries of twentieth century humanity, both the human race and planet earth continued to expand and prosper over the next one and a half thousand years. There were, of course, ups and downs. Medicine, combat, politics- Everything advanced in its own way over time. It took time, but Earth itself was cleaned up. Countries banded together over centuries, until planet Earth held only one, unified government, simply called "Humanity". Subcultures still exist, but live, in general, peacefully as one. All continents are ruled over by a democratic monarchy, a single King and his council ruling- Yet with every citizen holding the right to overrule said group's decisions for the best of the planet, and the human race as a whole. So far, it has proved to be an effective system of government. With the world unified, more important things than war were addressed. The planet was cleaned up. Science made leaps and bounds not seen since the peak of the many industrial revolutions over the countless years of human kind. Stations large enough to house millions were built in orbit of earth, and the Moon was terraformed and colonized, now existing as lush with life and atmosphere as Earth itself, housing a quarter of the human population- Another quarter spread out among the various space stations, and the remaining half remaining at home on a newly reformed Earth. Faster than Light travel has yet to be discovered, however, keeping humanity in the reasonable distance of it's home planet's orbit. For the most part, religious, cultural, and societal problems are under control, if not entirely resolved. -All- people have true equal rights, no matter the race, gender, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or what have you else. Issues do, of course, still exist, but no longer plague the planet as world-wide, massive disputes. Things are honestly peaceful. The military and police force are one and the same, but no need for a show of large military strength was needed for nearly four centuries. Until the rise of The Free Men. It was inevitable that even in a functioning, peaceful world wide government, people would see flaws and band together, revolting against them. It took much longer in this instance- But was all the more massive because of it. The Free Men formed in 3300, a simple, small group of men and women who decided they didn't like how things ran. Peaceful protests, news interviews, and simple boycotts were the extent of the noise they rose. And, as accepting as the government, by then, was, they let the people do as they would. But, behind the scenes, their numbers swelled, and over twenty years, nearly a third of the human race flocked behind their banners- Banners revealed to be anarchy. Too large to put down peacefully by then, Humanity decided that it was impossible to stop the break from their government. So, peace talks were arranged before things became nasty- The Free Men were granted portions of Earth, a space station, and several of the dozen or so lunar colonies. Despite the misgivings of those still under the Monarchy of Humanity, the Anarchy that reigned over the Free men -didn't- result in total chaos. No laws were there to break, credits flowed as they would. The crime rate was genuinely barely above that of Humanity's Monarchy. But of course.... War was impossible to avoid. People not under the same banner -find- reasons to hate one another. Find reasons to fight, to prove their cause is the greater of the two. So the fighting began. It started small. Border wars between the Free Men's mish-mash of military and the ordered ranks of the Royal Army. Nothing that shook the foundation of humanity. Weapons of Mass Destruction were never used by either side, for humanity remembered all too well how long it took to restore Earth from the earlier millennium's mistakes. But war was war. It was bloody, and tragic, and horrible. But, even after eighty years, it still waged on. Borders waned and waxed between the two groups of humans, people died. And somewhere along the line, each group formed a special tasks force, specifically meant to combat each other more viciously in the shadows. **The New Templars** The New Templars formed under Humanity, suggested by a man named Jamie Bellhan- A historian and soldier. All of the honor, the pride, and the tradition of the original knights of templar went into their creation and training, making them a brutally effective, if rigidly traditional group of the finest soldiers, with the finest weapons and supplies. However, they were not bound by religion as the original knights were- Merely strict codes of honor and conduct, genuine knights in the king's army. **The Beacons** The Beacons were the Free Men's response to the New Templars. Not steeped in honor or tradition, they were simply the best of the best available among the fighting men and women of the Free Men. The bravest, quickest, smartest soldiers they could find. They live by their own ways, and do the jobs they are given as they see fit, to the most effective degree imaginable- From stealing documents of importance to sabotaging military ships and stations. They are the left hand of the Free Men, working in the shadows. ## Weapons and Armor Among the many scientific leaps of humanity, despite the peaceful times, weapons and armor also made large jumps forward. I will focus here on the degree of material available to the Beacons and the New Templars. ### Fire Arms For the most part, firearms are no different than they are now. Ballistic weaponry. However, rather than large bullets, guns from small side arms to large rifles use systems more akin to those of Rail Guns, shearing a slim fragment of different metals off ammo blocks, magnetically charging and launching them at unbelievable temperatures and speeds, turning the small metal fragment into a superheated shard of destruction. The size of the shard varies from gun to gun, small-arms firing no more than a sliver the size of a sewing needle, large rifles or shotguns firing something more akin to a roofing nail. The heat build up caused by this reaction is stored in energy clips, which can be dumped into power reserves, recycling the heat for clean, renewable energy. Depending on the size of round, ammo blocks may need to be replaced every few dozen, hundred, or -thousand- shots, making the need to reload the blocks themselves very small in firefights. Energy clips, however, have a standard replacement need every twelve rounds- Give or take a few depending on the modifications made to the specific gun. They take only half a minute or so to drain and cool into energy reserved, however, making it unnecessary to carry more than two or three clips into battle. Exquisitely crafted guns made for all ranges are available to the Beacons and New Templars, though both groups tend towards mid-to-close range combat, due to often fighting in enclosed spaces. ### Blades Due to the traditional nature of the New Templars, and the Beacons' need to counter them, both groups receive extensive training not only with firearms and hand-to-hand combat, but also with swords, axes, maces, pole weapons, shields, and daggers of all varieties, making them as utterly deadly up close as they are from across the room. Of course, simple steel blades wouldn't be enough in modern times, so the blades forged for both groups are made up of the finest, strongest metals on Earth or the Moon, sharpened to edges that would cut a speck of dust, and strengthened to the point of being more than capable of cutting anything from a tree, a slab of steel, a boulder, or a human being in half without so much as a scratch showing on the metal. Depending on the individual's preferences, these blades can vary extensively in style and type. ### Armor Armor, like weaponry, has taken leaps and bounds. Full-body, space-worthy suits of nano-fiber material are supplied to both groups. The material is semi-organic in nature, allowing it to mend itself given a few minutes- Though, unfortunately, it isn't able to mend the person wearing it. So, even if one were to be shot in the arm, the suit would repair the hole with its own materials within five or six minutes, making it once again space-worthy, to minimize the chance of an operative being spaced and freezing to death. Or suffocating. Or generally just being crushed by the pressure. You get the point. The suit plating and under-weave are the same material, but the density varies, allowing for rigid plates or flexible sleeves, both equally air-tight and pressure proof. Each agent's suit will have an on-board computer and A.I. ### A.I On that note! A.I's are, in this universe, similar to what we see in the Halo universe. Complex, with genuine personalities of their own. They reside in each suit's on-board computer, but can be moved to personal devices such as phones or cranial-implants between missions, making them each agent's best friend. They can analyze a situation in fractions of a second, and give dozens of tactical options for each in only a few seconds. They monitor the agent's vital signs and physical condition, help with mental stress, and even offer a HUD showing armor condition, the state of weapons, thermal level in clips, and the suit's current energy level- Necessary to perform actions such as recycling air, venting to keep the agent from overheating, keeping the A.I active, (Though an A.I can function on the equivalent of a single watch battery, so the odds of the power draining below A.I use is next to zero) and generally just being useful as more than a hunk of protective nano-fiber. ### Food You will note in the image I use for Isaac, my Beacon Commander, that there are things that look like jelly beans spilling out of one of his pouches. Those would be food pills. In reality they will be clear, not colorful. They taste like shit, won't actually solve having an empty stomach, and are generally unpleasant to smell. However, they hold enough vitamins, minerals, nutrients, and calories to effectively keep the body alive and healthy with only one pill a day, as if living on a healthy meal schedule due to the timed-release segments in each capsule. While no replacement for a hot meal at home, they are more than enough to keep a soldier alive with no food source for months at a time... As long as they don't spill all over the floor and get lost. They do -not-, however, replace water. Hydration would still be an issue. As would the pain of an empty stomach, despite being healthy.

IC World News, Characters and Players, Rules, and OOC information. ### A.I Information Network **Urgent Report** The Jackson Communication Station in Lunar Orbit has recently been overtaken by the Free Men. All standing Humanity crew on board was executed and spaced. A death roster has yet to be compiled, but the estimate of deaths is approximately three dozen. Families will be informed when the soldiers are recovered and identified. **News** Last month's breast cancer march was an outstanding success, raising millions to further research into the total prevention of the cancer, in the hopes of saving countless people from having to undergo the painful procedure of curing their ailment. In more recent news, the Annual Fall Harvest Festival kicked off with a bang yesterday afternoon, farmers from all over Earth and Luna flocking to their respective hosting grounds to celebrate another year of fine harvest and trade their goods. This makes year seventeen without any wide-spread death of crops or livestock, encouraging farmers to continue their dutiful tending of fields. **Most recent broadcasts from Channel 3 News. For other broadcasts or further information, request your A.I to do a search. Thank you for accessing the A.I Information network, and have a pleasant day!** ### Current Players and Characters **Daglobster** Klaus Helbrect: New Templar Knight **Avanhelsing** Ben Shepard: New Templar Knight **Warbozz** Mcdougal, "Shadow of Luna": Agent of the Beacons **SilverDawn** Julis Alexander: Agent of the Beacons **Scrub Mage** Cesare Alexander: Agent of the Beacons ### Rules/OOC Information **Rules** Have fun, you crazed companions of mine! The only rules I have here are use your bloody common sense, be generally polite in the OOC- take any issues that may arise directly to me- and HAVE FUN. Seriously. If you aren't having fun I will ram Rainbows down your throat until you shit happiness and sparkles. Also, the whole godmodding thing is odd here. See, we're a bunch of badasses ICly. Literally the best of the best of the best. So, in combat situations involving average NPC's, go nuts. You -are- the badasses of the world, after all. Average soldiers don't stand a bloody chance. BUT. Leave some fodder for the rest of us to slaughter, too. Be somewhat realistic. And make things attempts, I beg of you. It leaves room for me to come in and throw surprises around if an average NPC turns out to secretly be a badass miniboss. In fights between two player characters, coordinate OOCly. Make as little OOC conflict as possible out of the matter. Be realistic about it- If a small, agile fighter is caught up close with a massive brute of a man using a shotgun, logic tells us he -is- going to get his ass kicked unless he has clever tactics and such. So, if you take buckshot to the chest, fucking fall over bro. You're a nimble little guy. Not a brick shit house. And if the big guy gets kicked in the back of the head, daze him a little. It's how it would work. **OOC Info** Nothing to put here, at this moment.

I have a pretty neat idea for starters if you guys dont mind me going first. Or shall we wait for new compatriots for a while?

We're waiting for the others to post up characters. At least, until some time tomorrow. Give them all time. So far we only have one beacon and two templars, not counting my toons. So, at least one more beacon is needed before we start anything. Preferably more for both teams.

Yeah, I agree, more the merrier.

Most definitely. I'm eager to see how everyone handles Klaus, since he's the only true specialist so far. I'm sure everyone else to this point is kitted with moderate armor and assault rifles... EDIT: Ben's a swordsman, actually. Pretty neat.

nice to see ooc is up, I'll be creating a cs tomorrow or the day after that (rl business aaaaaalll over the place suddenly xD )

> Most definitely. I'm eager to see how everyone handles Klaus, since he's the only true specialist so far. I'm sure everyone else to this point is kitted with moderate armor and assault rifles... > > EDIT: Ben's a swordsman, actually. Pretty neat. Ben cannot really use his rifle. It is mainly used to keep enemies back. He is a swordsman mainly. Might be fun to see the two of them train.

Definitely, since Klaus is a giant scary German man. Well, Germanic. According to the lore, there isn't really countries anymore, just ethnic groups.

And Ben is sort of dumb honestly. Running where angels dare not tread. Sort of dense.

*grin* All of them should take a turn against Jason or Isaac. Be like "ohshitwhy"

Ben could learn a lot by fighting Jason. Also he is not the brightest.

Scrub Mage's and my character are going to be part of the Free Men, if that is still capable.

It most certainly is! I look forward to seeing your characters. EDIT: Scratch the second character. If Qi makes a Templar, then the teams are even at 4-v-4 including Isaac and Jason. So Qi, if and only if you don't mind, please do make a Templar. XD Otherwise it's way uneven in the Beacon's favor.

I'm thinking I'm gonna change the pic for Ben's armor. Maybe...

I would suggest it, aye. The image makes it look fairly bulky, rather than the speed-type you described it as. XD

We posted them.

Tried to keep my character as accurate to the story as possible, but if you notice anything that I should change please let me know so I can change it as soon as possible.

*Jaw drop* You. You two. *flops onto couch* I wouldn't argue those characters even if they broke lore. Which they don't. So even better. I now put great stock into the story-making ability of the both of you. (Not saying I don't respect the others, but damn.) I may occasionally poke you two for a hand in story-building. Because those characters just gave me a whooooole lotta ideas on where to go beyond the war.' NOW THEN. My yammering about impressive CS's aside, we're now just waiting on Qi's CS. Once he puts it in, Templar or Beacon, we can start. If he doesn't have it by tomorrow I'll throw up the first IC post anyway, but we won't go further than introductions so that we don't leave him behind. *Assesses own character sheets* I'm also going to spend the next few hours fixing and detailing the sheets for Jason and Isaac.... Actually, scratch that. I want to keep them basic. Expect updates to the A.I network tomorrow, as well as IC post numero uno.

> I may occasionally poke you two for a hand in story-building. Well I'll be glad to help anyway I'm able. I'm sure SilverDawn will too. If you want help on something then feel free to message Silver and I. If we get any ideas in the meantime we'll shoot them your way.