[CHAR] [Advanced] The Fall of an Empire: Space Opera NRP

[TehAlphaGamer]

ACCEPTED

First time doing this in a while, but I figure I can give it a shot.

"There had to be a man that said 'let there be light.' So that may be. But before me was there a man that said 'let there be prosperity?' If nobody has, hell, I figure I can be the first."
-Harman Kuran, founder of KDE, Inc.

Faction Name: Kuran Defense Enterprises, Inc.

Faction Type: (Loyalist, Pretender, etc) Pretender/Reactionaries

Faction leader(s): Premier Harman Kuran VII: The seventh generation of the Kuran family that has run KDE as it began as a small business as it evolved into a sprawling materiel supply and trade group for the the Empire. While many would describe him as "despotic," he's been shown to offer a wide field of choice to those who work for him and live as citizens on the worlds and stations he's in control of. With military experience with the Arcturan Empire, he helped develop the business as his father and his father's father (and so on) had developed it. A mind for business and defense, he upholds the need for military might and organization, and thus establishes his business model in a similar way in order to turn a profit.

System(s)/Territory:

Kabo System: In the central rim of the empire. It's dotted with a few gas giants, two terran planets (Both occupied by KDE), and many stations and factories in orbit around a red giant star.

Planet(s)/Holdings:

Kabo Prime: A primarily Earth-like planet, Kabo Prime is the main commercial center for KDE. Dotted with spaceports and office buildings, it exists as the economic and administrative capital of the system. The primary capital district, including the offices for the Premier and his cabinet. It also exists as a central armory and arming facility. There are many cities on it, and there are testing facilities in a large desert in the lower hemisphere of the planet. The military is also established on this planet.

Kabo Minor: The single moon of Kabo Prime and used as a logistics center for KDE. Most major communications arrays and observation equipment are on the natural satellite, and is also established as a deployment center for KDE's military, freight, and merchant marine fleets.

Masmar: The second terran planet in the Kabo system. It is smaller and is majorly frozen over due to its farther distance from the sun. Used as a training camp for spacefaring men and women serving in the faction. It features many facilities dedicated to everything from security, to ship running, to in-space and on-ground combat. Masmar also contains massive mining facilities too, after the discovery that the planet was rich with deposits of fissile (uranium and naturally-occurring thorium) and fusible (underground pockets of liquid hydrogen and helium) material to use both in weapons and in energy production, this system of mines is known as KDE Mining Installation System 001.

Space Station Artemis: A large space station that operates as a mobile logistics and deployment center not dissimilar to Kabo Minor. It is also a major refueling point for capital ships and freighters that go to and fro, and are unable to land planetside on Kabo Prime.

KDE Mining Installation System 002: The asteroid belt between Masmar and Kabo Prime, and the two (uninhabitable, unclaimed) gas giants is dotted with mining facilities with the purpose of extracting iron, titanium, tungsten, and other metals through strip and pit mining. Both for construction and for trade.

Faction/Government Desc:
Kuran Defense Enterprises is led primarily by Harman VII but has a consistently changing cabinet under him that is in charge of everything from foreign and domestic affairs, to military strength, to, of course, trade and money management. His ruling is relatively fair but still institutes a code of law in order to properly govern people that exist as citizens and as employees. A heavily numbers-based government, the things that matter most are strength, influence, and turning a large profit.

History:

With an Arcturan-granted loan, Harman Kuran I founded Kuran Defense Solutions in 3150 as a way of trading around supplies, weapons, and mercenaries (Whom Kuran would flatter with the term "soldiers of fortune") around the empire for small factions to use and for the Empire. Although often embittered because of his practices, the Arcturan Empire saw economic development and bolstered military strength thanks to the amount of money the empire received through it through taxes and supply. By the time of his death, Harman Kuran I had turned a small business into a burgeoning trading corporation. By the time his grandson had taken over, it had become an economic empire in itself.

It was Harman III's son however, that threatened the integrity of the business. Regarded as a true despot, he attempted to use the company as a small private military force and attempted to spread to other systems in an effort to grow and conquer, in one day of hope to take over the Arcturan Empire. Ultimately, it failed before it could grow very large, mainly because Harman V had forcefully deposed his father in an attempt to save the company. However, learning from it after numerous raids, attacks, and sabotage by competitors, decided to develop a focus both as a military service provider and as a military itself. Under his direction, KDE moved to become more of a functioning nation, and not just a business.

While this continued to grow into under Harman Kuran VI, his son, and the current premier of the company, took it farther as he began to see the Empire begin to deteriorate. Afraid of losing money due to the destruction of the highest-paying customer, Harman Kuran VII has steadily been deciding on taking matters into his own hand. With a much more powerful military amassed since his great-grandfather's attempted coup d'etat, he has slowly been developing his business with the ideal goal of taking over the failing leadership's economy, and then the rest to drive a powerful capitalistic empire of his own.

Relations with the Empire and Other Factions:

As a major materiel supplier, KDE has been important in moving weapons, armor, vehicle, and resource shipments all across the empire. Alongside this, it has presence all over, recruiting mercenaries both into its ranks and as a resource to use. As a driving force behind the economy, KDE has important roles in supporting the economy of the empire, and with that in its grip easily has the power to manipulate its military and freight lines to influence other factions that it is aligned with, and severing trade with its enemies.

Military Capabilities:

The main warships for KDE are as follows:

Vigilance-Class Supercarrier:
2km long
500m wide
Complement of 3,200 sailors
Capable of deploying fighters, escorts, and small freight craft
Armed for defending itself and not much else.

Valiance-Class Battlecruiser:
1.3km long
200m wide
Complement of 1,000 sailors
Capable of deploying fighters
Heavily armored
Armed with magnetic accelerator cannons, Shaped Plasma Discharge (SPD) Array, point-defense network, and two antiparticle cannons

Venerable-Class Destroyer:
900m long
300m wide
Complement of 800 sailors
Capable of deploying fighters
Very heavily armored
Armed with magnetic accelerator cannons, missile launchers, point defense network, one antiparticle cannon, heavy laser cannons, and anti-ship countermeasures

Vision-Class Frigate:
600m long
200m wide
Complement of 600 sailors
Lightly armored
Armed with magnetic accelerator cannons, missile launchers, and a point defense network

Hunter-Class Electronic Warfare Ship:
250m long
100m wide
Complement of 220 sailors
Lightly armored
Armed with anti-ship missile launchers, ion disruption array (for disabling energy shields), four multi-directional ion beam cannons, anti-ship countermeasures, active camouflage system, and a high-strength computer system necessary

TOTAL NAVY COUNT: 200 SHIPS
TOTAL FIGHTER COUNT: 100 SHIPS

Merchant Marine: A variety of freighters that can be utilized as light warships if the need be. Often are heavily defended. Range from 100m to 1.1km in length.

TOTAL MERCHANT MARINE COUNT: 1300 SHIPS

GROUND FORCES:

KDE runs a defense initiative with a variety of ground forces. These range from primary infantry to support units. The primary infantry weapon is the K-1 bullpup light MAC rifle, an automatic rifle that uses a linear accelerator to fire slugs at a rate of 300 RPM. Other soldiers include rocket and flame troopers, as well as snipers and electronic warfare units.

Special vehicles include:

KT-3 Main Battle Tank
KA-1 Armored Personnel Carrier
KT-3D Tank Destroyer
Kuran D Heavy Load Truck
KV-1 Tilt-Engine Utility Aircraft
KI-1 Interceptor Aircraft

TOTAL MILITARY STRENGTH: 800,000 SOLDIERS

TOTAL POPULATION OF FACTION: 1.2 BILLION

[KremeSupreme]

ACCEPTED

Faction Name:
Alarethian Reunion

Faction Type:
Invader/Separatists/Reactionaries

Faction leader(s):
Rashaana Dus - Promethian Queen

Zackei Comer - Alar'im King

Zotua Rakaar - Promethian General

Rajinn Stor - Alar'im Monk

Ajan Tvar - Alar'im Admiral

System(s)/Territory:
The Alarethian have semi-full control over their Alasaiian system. They control 5 out of their original 8 worlds, with non-Alarethian populations lower than 20%. The other 3 worlds have been partly monopolized by the Arcturans, with Dehaka human populations over 65% and Daruk and Kali above 85%. The first objectives of the Alarethian is to retake these worlds, namely Kali, their original homeworld.

Planet(s)/Holdings:
Alasaiian System

Agni
Volcanic World
Pop: 1,000,000 Alarethian, 15,000 Human
Military Strength: 800,000
Notes: Major Weapons Production World; Many humans begin to face predjudice as the empire falls.

Lotus
Plains/Grove World
Pop: 35,000,000 Alarethian, 27,000 Human
Military Strength: 1,750,000
Notes: Military Strength is slowly growing, much to the distress of local monasteries that train thousands of monks each year.

Rama
Mountain World
Pop: 50,000,000 Alarethian, 35,000 Human
Military Strength: 8,000,000
Notes: New Capital of the Alarethian Reunion

Ambrosia
Gas Giant
Pop: 175,000 Alarethian; 250 Human
Military Strength: 20,000,000
Notes: The Population lives in a string of asteroid outposts meant as the first line of defense towards the outside

Faction/Government Desc:
The Alarethian Reunion is a bi-racial alien empire that was split in half by their differing opinions of the Arcturan Empire; The Peaceful Alar'im surrendered and were annexed while the warlike Promethians took up lives of raiders on the outskirts of their system. Once the Arcturan empire collapsed, the Promethians and Alar'im were reunited.

The Alarethian highly regard the spiritual belief that all Alarethian share a mental link, and that to strengthen it, one must grow closer to those they love and care for.

The Alar'im are normally the size of a human, with light blue skin, darker blue eyes, and pointed heads. Their hair, which is usually dark grey or black with a smooth glossy texture, only grows from a small circular spot on the back of their head, called the "Dahl". Many Alar'im take care in maintaining it and braid it in certain ways depending on their role in society. Their hands have two fingers and a thumb; Their index finger shorter than their middle finger, which is a bit shorter than their big, thick thumbs. Their feet are a stump with two long clawed toes that jet out straight from the sides, with a space between them. The Alar'im have a calm and carefully thinking mindset, though if needed, they can draw arms, and monks are trained in both mental constitution and agility.

The Promethian are much like the Alar'im, except they have dark red skin with glowing red eyes that have tall black pupils. Hair is always black, with a silvery glow compared to the Alar'ims glossy, glittered hair. Their frames are larger and more muscular than their Alar'im counterparts, and their two fingers are longer than their thumb, which is shorter. They are more aggressive and pump out more testosterone, even for females. Promethians themselves are powerful warriors, though can specially train Glaives, exceptionally strong warriors that command the respect and boost morale of soldiers. Glaives are much slower and less cunning than Monks, but are more physically powerful and can boost the morale of their allies.

Both Alar'im and Promethian share a connected mental link with themselves and each other that builds overtime. Their mental link allows them to think as a single organised force in combat. When a general boost the moral of his soldiers, the effects are multiplied tenfold, making his entire force a powerful bastion of valor.

Unfortunately, their mental link also shares their doubts and fears. While soldiers of other races can simply keep their own calm while their comrades panic, as soon as a single Alarethian begins doubting victory, a weakpoint opens. Fortunately or unfortunately, in massive numbers, where the mental link is at it's most powerful, the Alar'im no longer feel their own emotions, and become something much greater than themselves.

History:
The Alarethian were the dominant lifeform of the Alasaiian system, split between two subspecies. The blue Alar'im, who were calmer and wiser, and the red Promethian, who had much more physical power and passion. Despite their differences, the two races coexisted, with the Alar'im as the leaders and sages and the Promethian as the labor and military backbone.

When the Arcturan Empire spread their grasp, they were far too powerful for the Alarethian to fight. The Alar'im leaders voted to simply surrender and thrive under a powerful empire, yet the Promethian leaders refused to bow and fight the Arcturans. Violence and tensions rose between the species as the Arcturan Empire demanded a solid answer. The Alarethian eventually settled to split the two races, to make their own choices. The Alar'im quietly went down to the Arcturan with little incident, but the Promethians declared their blue siblings as cowards, traitors to the Alarethian, and fled deeper into their system. The Promethian spent the next many years living on the border of known space as raiders, pillaging Arcturan trader space and outright denying any relations with the Alar'im.

Unfortunately, while the Alar'im thought their lives and civilization would be widely undisturbed by the Arcturan Empire, they were wrong. The Arcturan Empire began taking interest in three of their worlds; Dehaka, Daruk, and Kali. While the Alar'im would relunctantly surrender Dehaka and Daruk as one was a barren desert world, and the other was a muggy swamp world, Kali, their thriving and beautiful homeworld, was the planet the Alar'im cared for most. The Alar'im tried desperately to negotiate with the Arcturans, but were told that with the Promethians constantly raiding their worlds, Humans began to grow suspicious of the Alar'im, and that the only way to show their absolute loyalty was to give over their home planet. The Alar'im woefully gave the three worlds to the Arcturan, Dehaka required as a mining planet and Daruk grew many exotic plants that took the interest of Arcturan merchants.

When the Arcturan empire fell, the Alar'im feared the thought of being swept down by numerous rising Human Factions, nameably because many still distrusted the Alar'im. Yet with the Arcturan Empire gone, the Promethians no longer had to hide in the shadows of the galaxy, and were free to reunite with their Alar'im counterparts. The Alarethian are now one, a firm bastion that will return what was so humiliatingly ripped from their hands, and refuse to be swept down by the sea of chaos; a shining light in the dark times ahead.

Relations with the Empire and Other Factions: The Alarethian have greatly disliked the Empire's rule, and now that it is shattered, they can retake the worlds they have lost. They generally despise loyalists but have respect for separatists that bring respect to nonhumans.

Despite the Alarethian's likes and dislikes, their big concern is keeping other factions away from their system and forcing out their human population.

Military Capabilities:
The original Alarethian empire had no knowledge of space warfare due to their isolation, so their main vessels are raided/abandoned warships left behind by the Arcturans. The Alarethian begin to develop their own ships from leftover schematics, though are unlikely to develop a strong navy until next year...

Their ground forces on the other hand are able to fight any nations on fair grounds. With the return of the Promethian, their military was whipped back into shape, and were able to train the peaceful Alar'im in the arts of war. Promethian populations have harshly declined since the Arcturan Empire annexed the Alar'im, yet the ones alive are much stronger than years ago. Commandership is almost guaranteed for any Promethians, for their bravery and strength, and Alar'im Monks are treated as special operatives.

Armor for ground forces is typically gold plates with face-concealing helmets that have a very weak version of the shields harnessed by vessels. Their guns fire bolts of energy that deal heavy damage, yet take a few seconds to reload and cool down. Some monks and generals use warblades and suits with stronger shields, charging straight into enemy positions with only a gun and a blade.

Alar'im possess remoddeled versions of Arcturan ground tanks that can hover higher, and use railguns as weapons, as well as other remodelled vehicles.
Yet a powerful vehicle the Alarethian possessed years before they were annexed was so deadly and complex that the Arcturans banned the Alar'im from producing them. Eight-Armed Annihilators. They were agile eight-armed mechs that could leap great distances and could be outfitted to use vast combinations of single-handed weapons. They also had long "tongues" that were electrically charged, and could be used to leap to a vehicle, lash the tongue at it, and leech it's power before destroying it. They were terrifying enough alone, but are even more frightening now, with shields that can make them virtually invulnerable to light weaponry meant to hit the agile devils. The unfortunate drawback is that with eight arms, quick movements, and now shields, only the most mentally attuned Alarethians are able to pilot it. Currently, only 2,500 are active, and only 1,200 have suitable pilots.

Because of their mentally atunned nature, the larger an Alarethian attack force, the stronger it is. Yet as more fall in a fight, their forces become progressively weaker.

[Arawak]

NOT ACCEPTED

((Hello. Have a barbaric, traitorous and xeno filled polity for the reactionaries to wage genocidal war on.))

Name: The Consortium (To those that read the app, give me some creative monikers your factions use for them)

Faction Type: LIBERATOR/INVADER

Faction leader(s): The Auditor and the Seven Composers.

System(s)/Territory: They have control over 3-4 star systems with over a billion individuals in terms of population counts with loose presence in a "buffer" series of star systems periodically patrolled, but lack any tangible control over.

Planet(s)/Holdings:

Tucanae System
The star system most notorious in imperial records for being the site of the Tucanae Massacre. It is also the system where the subjovian world of Azer, home world of the Voliff is located. Around 8.4 billion inhabit this star system as a whole, split between the billion living very oppressive and destitute lives in dug into the many moons of Baal or living among the Voliff on Azer.

Baal
A Jupiter sized Jovian planet that has managed to attain a system of 11 moons. These 11 moons are notoriously hard to crack and are the site of some truly horrendous scenes of violence, cruelness and untold savagery. The hate filled giant slowly consumes its moons, violent vulcanism is widespread across many of the moons with only one island of partial habitability further out, of which was extinguished in the Tucanae Massacre.

Azer
Azer is massive, terrifying and stormy world to approach. But those who have lived on it are used to the oppressive gravity and frequent, powerful lightning storms. Of which feed the massive life that dwells within the thick atmosphere which shrouds the surface from space. Some of the largest known organisms in the galaxy are claimed to come from Azer. Despite being one of the most populous worlds of the Consortium, due to being the home world of the Voliff and being habitable enough to other species, Azer acts more as a jumping point than as a proper part of the Consortium in no small part due to its role in the Tucanae Massacre.

Cancri System
"The cancerous star", the Cancri system is the home system of the Ccrypcp, with the major world of Suvyrs as one of its seven worlds. While Humans and Ccrypcp are the majority here, other species have seeped in over the centuries as per the One House edict.

Suvyrs
The home world of the Ccrypcp, a dense, tropical world that was conquered from orbit a thousand years ago by the lost fleet. So well in the past seven centuries have the great mega cities of Suvyrs been rebuilt that the annihilation of 40% of defiant Ccrypcp nearly a thousand years ago has only few traces. The world to this day is amazingly dense and habitable, with over five billion inhabitants (64% of which are Ccrypcp, 25% Human and the rest other species).

Valiance Majoris
Valiance Majoris is the star system that the Lost Fleet first settled down on a thousand years ago. Thousand years later, it is this star system with its two habitable worlds that remains the center of Consortium power. Containing both Telluria and Zenith, Valiance Majoris is the wealthiest of star systems thanks to it being the site of the Auditor and the Podium.

Zenith
The Capital of the Consortium. Seven Billion recognized individuals inhabit what was a large garden world now developed into the political center of Zenith. Zenith is where anyone who is deemed as having potential to be the next Auditor are directed, for it is Zenith where the Auditor's voice is heard. The mixture of populations on Zenith are astoundingly diverse, with species from many parts of the galaxy forced to live under one roof segregated communities as much as the authorities try, kept sprouting up. As the Book of Filth will note, "There is no order to be found. Even the so-called capital of the Consortium, everywhere you go violence is rampant and morality is absent. Xenophiles roam in public shamelessly, all the while garbage fills the streets. Not even I know how I managed to leave this world without dropping to ground in sheer repulsion of the stench that pervaded the streets."

Telluria
Telluria is the world where the Lost Fleet settled down after their conquest of Suvyrs and was for a time the personal property of Telluria, who led the Lost Fleet to their defection and commandeered the conquest of the Ccrypcp. The Ccrypcp briefly controlled this world as a "scientific" outpost, but said outpost was easily obliterated by the lost fleet (and whatever activities on said outpost thankfully lost to time). Telluria is a world with many continuities with Aucturial imperial flair. The world even to this day is majority human even after the Composers took over, but a significant minority of Ccrypcp remains regardless. This world has four billion inhabitants.

There is several other worlds with many less inhabitants where industrial and commercial activity takes place.

The seven composers tend to not to stick around in one star system, they always shift around the place and only convene when a new Auditor needs to be selected in secret star system known as Valiance Minoris. Valiance Minoris is hidden well in the blur of wash stars, no one all too certain where exactly Valiance Minoris is. No more than two composers are observed in the same star system. What Valiance Minoris contains is believed to be the place the Composers were initially created seven centuries ago.

Faction/Government Desc:
The Auditor has no name; only their title for the Auditor is more like a president than an emperor. Yet, the Composers insist the Auditor to be the true successors of the imperial line, completely perverting the whole system of secession the Empire had. They don’t even call their leader an Emperor. But they insist that the Auditor is the voice of the Emperor crying out in forms shattered across time and space, among countless species in the galaxy and that the empire crumbles now in their failure to find the true emperor.

Auditors are not Emperors. They are disposable autocrats who are chosen by the Composers due to having aspects of the TRUE Emperor. The Emperor here being a metaphysical concept more than any physical status, a sovereign of existence itself. All life bending to its will in absolute obedience. The Composers believe that the Aucturians once had the one true emperor, and through that Emperor they conquered far and wide. But that was so, so long ago. The Aucturians in their extreme humanism and favoritism of bloodlines picked illegitimate successors since none of those successors were truly Emperors, simply children picked to rule from nepotism who had no right to ever come to power.

Heredity is not how they define a true emperor, which means there is no actual legitimacy to their Auditors. The Composers in effect hold all the true power, with the Auditors being who they listen to and follow obediently and directly unless said Auditor acts in forms and ways unbecoming of the one and true emperor. Despite the immaterial outlook on legitimacy, the common Consortium human has been described as “materialistic and worthless in their character” by xenohistorian Valerius in Book of Treachery.

The ideals of the one and true emperor being that the one and true emperor rules with outmost effectiveness and outmost relentlessness. The One and True Emperor does not hold themselves to tribalism; for there is only one sovereign and all are within it. The One and True Emperor is all conquering, all consuming. And most importantly, unrelenting in their pursuit of harmony. In practice, despite the lofty trappings held to the One and True Emperor, the Consortium behaves far more like an oligarchy than an autocracy with the Composers holding all the actual power. The Composers are a very mysterious in nature, being powerful space craft of high end engineering whose pilots are never seen. Their origins are presumed to be a produce of the lost fleet. What is known, is that the Composers are capable of single handedly bombing entire worlds into oblivion if they deem in a necessity and are direct leaders.

There is seven Composers, each of which having a personal sub-faction they have total control over. The Composers seem to be immortal, and may well have ruled for centuries. Those subordinate to the Composers have quite free reign in how they run things on a planetary basis, but only if they swear unwavering obedience to the Auditor’s word. Those who go against the Auditor, or indeed, the Composers tend to be replaced. So often people end up disappearing in the Consortium that there is a secret police force known as the “White Guard” that roams the Consortium made of specially chosen individuals whose sole task is to make unwanted individuals disappear. More often than not, ending up being the subject of weapon testing or synthesis tests. Those who turn out to have something useful about them, be in expertise in certain fields or psychic power are granted a reprieve into special units.

Multiple species are part of the Consortium and are treated all too egalitarian without any real caste system. Open discrimination is punishable by death in many parts of the Consortium, but this has not prevented grassroots hostilities between species from being a frequent trouble.

Of those part of the Consortium, the most notable the Ccrypcp. The Ccrypcp are unique in that while many species perceive themselves as one body with a single soul or many souls that represent different aspects of themselves, the Ccrypcp are a composite of multiple bodies that view themselves as a single individual/spirit/soul. Ccrypcp consist of three different species, the head of a Ccrypcp being a parasite for the body. Their prehensile limbs are not connected at all, being like snakes that wind around the highly vertical hump of the quadruped the head feeds from and manipulates. The Clattering of ccrypcp in the comms fills many with disgust, as they know it is a particularly deviant xeno they are about to communicate with. It was Ccrypcp as a whole who were conquered by the lost fleet, a upstart interstellar civilization whose infighting made them all too easy to take over. The Ccrypcp were a distant species from the Aucturian Empire, and were unknown to the Aucturians at the time of the lost fleet’s discovery and subsequent conquests. Ccrypcp are widespread as a species now, be it as citizens of the glorious consortium or as slaves in other anthropocentric empires. The Ccrypcp are a complicated kind, culturally diverse due to their diaspora and surprising adaptability. They likely may show up in other factions as well.

The Voliff are the other major species. Voliff are gas bags through and through, uplifted by the Consortium and experimented on until they achieved the status of citizen. The Voliff you see, are very adaptable. It is very common to find Voliff floating about around the corridors of zero gravity corridors or on space stations, usually modified heavily like organic machines. Despite that, the Voliff are viewed as not tools, but as citizens. Who make for great tools in every sense of the word.

History: (Since this is early world building, this is history subject to change)

The origins of the Harmony are nebulous, but what is certain is that the Harmony is a product of the Composers, of whom are unclear in nature (as it’s uncertain if they are spirits of selected individuals infused into powerful vessels or if they are simply machines) from a historical war of secession. They were lost in distant space, where the lost fleet conquered the Crrycpcp (xenos), who at the time were an upstart space faring society easily outmatched by the lost fleet. The lost fleet however, instead of trying to reestablish contact with the empire went rogue and destroyed any scouters from the Empire on sight. Such manuver carried out because at the time deserters were to be executed and those in power were corrupt and sitting on a goldmine of riches they wanted only for themselves. So instead of thinking for the greater good of the Empire or their fellow man they bribed their men into loyalty and held a false meeting to find and executed those opposed to their defection. As early as this point, the foundations of the White Guard were forming. For a time it seemed the lost fleet would just develop to be another pretender polity the Aucturian Empire would have to conquer as humans assumed their natural state as dominant over the Ccrypcp, who in a pragmatic maneuver were treated as second class citizens who could become full on citizens through their loyalty instead of as slaves.

Over their centuries of isolation around multiple alien species they uplifted, they rapidly drifted from Imperial orthodoxy, to the point where eventually the military overlords of the lost fleet were culturally intertwined with the Ccrypcp elite. Eventually the Composers came to power, whatever they may be and revelations of the Emperor became all too clear to every citizen of the Consortium. The military dictators in their de facto imperium were overthrown in a silent coup by none other than the Composers who forced the military elite of humans into subordination. It remains unclear if the composers are human made or Xeno, what is known as that the Composers appear only a two centuries after the lost fleet made their glorious conquest of the Ccrypcp. Shame the lost fleet than decided to betray mankind.

Due to their distance and policy of destroying any outside scouts, knowledge of the Consortium was sparse for centuries. By 2700-3100 IE however, the Empire became all too aware of the Consortium's existence. The Consortium began raids on the Empire involving regular abductions of imperial citizens and implanting doppelgangers in various parts of the Empire. The Consortium was violently pushed back in a war that was notoriously taxing on the Imperial Treasury. However, Imperial conquest of the Consortium was halted by the Tucanae Massacre (Think Arminius type massacring here).

Since then, the Consortium has been engaged by Imperial forces in border conflicts and kept at bay. However, no major efforts since the Tucanae Massacre by any generals or emperors for that matter were put into crushing the Consortium for good due to a million other conflicts and troubles across Imperial Space, the Harmony believed to for all intents and purposes be kept at bay and something to systemically wipe out and perhaps erase from history in a later, ideally more stable time.
That time never came, for the civil wars and the twilight of the empire came sooner than ever thought.

(May need some more history here when I get a better idea what the last century was like since I figure the consortium may have been able to achieve military buildup and spread influence as the Empire wanes)

Now the Consortium finds an opportunity to expand their influence in a time of chaos, without any Empire to get in their way.

(The name Consortium is a product of how the human elite in the early years managed their faction, through the use of proxy organizations backed by blunt military force.)

Relations with the Empire and Other Factions:

-They’re seen as a barbaric force to the Empire, the more gruesome aspects of the Consortium being used in propaganda to great effect. There is quite a few black books on the atrocities the Consortium has committed. Their dehumanizing treatment of individual and the blatant xeno influences being all too easy pickings for those writers. The Empire is aware of the Consortium’s origins as “rogue fleet”, but the Consortium is treated as a foreign, alien menace regardless. The only reason the Empire didn’t crush the Consortium was because the Consortium was viewed as a lesser danger compared to the hordes of xenos they faced on other fronts that proved far more immediate threats. This is in no small part to being able to push them back centuries ago at a well-guarded border zone and not wanting to risk another Tucanae Massacre like event against the Consortium. Fear (of which is perhaps well justified) of Consortium infiltrators remained common regardless.

(I’ll need to speak with other players before figuring out Consortium relations with the other barbarians, no doubt that Pretenders will be disgusted by the Consortium)

Military Capabilities: TBA, a common theme of melding and fusing. Composers hit above the norm in tech level, I should note, but their other forces are much more balanced. There’s Seven Composers, which means there’s seven fleets/chapters which I will elaborate on later. Exact numbers I have no clue, whatever works best with the setting is what I give. Either way, their overall power/influence is at the level implied in their imperial relations; there is things out there more immediate a threat than the Consortium in terms of danger to the Empire's assumed future.

THE SEVEN COMPOSERS;
TBA

[Raptorman]

Not Accepted

Faction Name: The Great Horde

Faction Type: Astrogoth/Invader

Faction leader(s):

The Supreme Hordelord Ikt'Clir'Rikt: The current Supreme Hordelord of the Reclicica and the third to have reached prominence since the Imperial Culls began 2,978 years ago. It is debatable whether he is truly a competent leader or has merely been incredibly lucky, something that is often wondered about the Reclicica Hordelords and others of power in their strange and savage civilization.

Great Frist Ris'Nir'Rikt: Self proclaimed Great Frist Ris'Nir'Rikt is currently the second most influential and powerful being in the horde.

System(s)/Territory: The Great Horde does not technically control any territory aside from the worlds where it is currently residing, and those worlds are typically abandoned shortly after conquest as the horde moves on towards its next target. The Reclicica dwell and breed in their masses upon an unknown number of worlds beyond the empire's frontier in a savage region of space that was never conquered, mostly because the empire didn't want to deal with the headache.

Planet(s)/Holdings: N/A

Faction/Government Desc:

The Great Horde Summary

The Great Horde is a vast and mobile horde of the Reclicica which has following the rise of the Supreme Hordelord and its creation launched a great invasion of the Empire. It has only a vague government and is comprised of a shifting mass in which leaders are constantly changing and where one never knows what the future holds. It is seemingly aimlessly roaming through the outer worlds of the Empire sacking worlds and looting them, leaving death and destruction in its wake along with massively reduced populations as the Reclicica consume many inhabitants of the sacked worlds. The Great Horde functions as an amalgamation of a full 10 Reclicican hordes, the largest number to have been unified under one Supreme Hordelord according to the Empire's records. Still in many respects it functions similarly to a standard Reclicican horde writ very large.

Reclicican Hordes

Reclicican Hordes are the fundamental unit of Reclicican society. Almost all space faring Reclicica are associated in one way or another with one of the hordes. Each Horde is essentially the cult of personality that surrounds its Hordelord, a warrior and soldier of great renown who has slaughtered his way to his position at the top and so earned the loyalty of his followers. Should a Hordelord die one of several things will happen; the horde will splinter into many pieces as the Warlords beneath the Hordelord attempt to start hordes of their own, the horde will be dominated by the next most powerful individual if there is a clear successor with the power and prestige to command the horde, the horde will consume itself in infighting and be destroyed by another horde or outside intervention. In the age of the culls the Empire's forces would often launch surgical strikes against Hordelords with the aim of breaking apart the hordes that followed them should they become a threat.

Reclicican hordes do not normally control territory on actual planets for prolonged periods of time. The Reclicican worlds where the creatures breed in mass are in essence massive recruiting stations that the hordes will periodically visit to replenish their stocks of soldiers and supplies when necessary. As a result it is very hard to force a horde to fight on the defensive as there few targets that can be attacked that will draw a horde to defend them.

Governmental Ranks

The Supreme Hordelord: The office of Supreme Hordelord is not one that is often established and it specifically denotes a situation where a single Hordelord has successfully managed to subjugate other Hordelords and managed to maintain that position. A Supreme Hordelord is so rare that it is difficult to describe what traits a typical one has but most have been either extremely cunning or 'supernaturally' lucky depending on who is asked, and all are great warriors who have proven themselves over the course of their rise.

Hordelord: Hordelords are in most cases the highest ranking of the Reclicica and typically head the closest things to states that the Reclicica have. A Horde is formed when a single Warlord manages to subjugate other Warlords and prove his dominance over them. Hordelords are powerful beings who typically command undying loyalty from their followers, at least so long as their actions lead to feasting, plunder, and battle, should a Hordelord fail to maintain at least some of these things he is likely to be challenged by members of his horde for dominance. Hordelords are known to have notably longer lifespans than the typical Reclicica, the reason for this is unknown but they also appear to grow stronger and larger over time and while it is not proven it is possible that they can only die in battle, though given the life of a member of a horde it is rare for death to come any other way.

Warlords: Warlords are still powerful members of a horde who occupy the ranks beneath a Hordelord in the horde. Beneath the Warlord is the Packlord who rules over only groups of individuals.

Reclicican Technology

Reclicican technology is far from impressive to even the more primitive species in the galaxy. In fact it is poor enough that they would almost always be considered a joke were it not for the sheer numbers that they possess and the fact that for all its crudeness their technology does work, even if it is often questionable how and why. The Reclicica have never managed to master weapons beyond kinetic ones and other relatively simplistic weapons. Their ships tend to be poorly armored and poorly armed by the standard of almost any other faction in the galaxy, with the notable exception of the Hordelords' personal ships which tend to have been looted and converted by the Reclicica and so can possess truly bizarre arrays of weaponry and defense systems. It is notable that the longer a horde exists the more ships start to be the captured and converted works and the less laughable their fleets become.

Reclicica Race Information

Physical Appearance To gain a rough picture one of the Reclicica one could start with an image of the velociraptors from the Jurassic Park movies, give it a more upright gait, hands that are more capable of proper grasping and a slightly more humanoid head. The Reclicica are scaled and warm blooded reptilian beings who have an odd resemblance to several species of ancient life forms from earth records. Their scales are typically found in shades of brown or green with mottled patterns being particularly common however there are cases of strange coloration. The current Supreme Hordelorde's scales for instance are a bleached white. Reclicica do not wear much in the way of clothing in most situations, however they do possess environmental suits, as well as armor that is often donned before a fight.

Special Abilities: The Reclicica to a small degree manipulate the universe around them through their beliefs and actions. The most obvious example of this effect can be found in the Hordelords and the rare Supreme Hordelords. Hordelords have been documented to survive nearly unbelievable punishment, in one notable example even surviving the vacuum of space without an environmental suit for an extended period of time. Further they have consistently exhibited bizarre bursts of 'genius' and expert tactics which is frequently believed by other races to be luck. In truth it is the impact of the beliefs of their followers. For example the common belief by lesser members of hordes that the Hordelords are nearly impossible to kill makes them harder to kill. This in no way makes the Hordelords or even a Supreme Hordelord unstoppable, but it is worth noting.

The only Reclicica that are aware of these abilities are the Frists, a rarely appearing version of the Reclicica who possess the power to actively shape reality to more obvious degrees. The Frists are most often used to will the initial union between Reclicican technology and the technology of other species, but they can also be used as crude casters who can seemingly conjure the elements.

History: The Reclicica do not keep much in the way of records themselves outside of the old tales of the great accomplishments of past hordelords and the bare minimum of knowledge required to both create their own rather crude technology and to interface their technology with others. Their history is rather patchy and it is in the records of the empire that a somewhat legible history can emerge.

The Reclicica were encountered far before the Empire was known by its current name. They were a scourge that occasionally showed up in their hordes of vessels, descending upon unprepared worlds and wreaking vast amounts of death and destruction. There were many hordes that failed, that shattered as they attacked more powerful targets than themselves or that were hunted down by vengeful factions, but they were always a nuisance and sometimes far more than a nuisance. There are no reports of encounters with Supreme Hordelords in those days and it is unknown if that means that the Supreme Hordelords are a new phenomenon or if there were simply none encountered in those days when humanity and the Empire had not yet achieved their dominance.

Following the rise of the first Emperor the first records of encounters with a Supreme Hordelord are found. Records state that during the early years of the Emperor's reign a horde beyond any that had been seen before boiled over into imperial space and that in the initial chaos of the incursion it did a great deal of damage. Ultimately the Supreme Hordelord's invasion of the Empire would fail miserably as the Empire united against the attack and the superior technology as well as numbers on the galactic scale, though almost never on a local scale, carried the day. In those days the Empire did not yet know where the Reclicican worlds were, and an expedition was launched into the outer reaches of the galaxy to search for them.

The expedition was successful but what it found was disheartening. There were many worlds where the creatures swarmed in their billions and subjugating such worlds would be incredibly difficult and bloody if it even could be done. However the Emperor was determined to conquer the filthy Xenos who had inflicted such an affront with an invasion of the empire. As a result the Empire launched an invasion of its own against one of the Reclicican worlds. The world was eventually conquered the local Hordes destroyed, and the Reclicica upon the world slain. But it was a vicious campaign of grueling attrition and massive loss of life, and notably one in which the other Reclicican worlds were aside from a few initial encounters with Horde Fleets likely coming to the world to recruit replacements not involved with the conflict.

The Emperor seeing this instead ordered that the Reclicica be culled and set up forces(Name Incoming) that would over the course of thousands of years work to destroy any Reclicican horde that seemed to be gaining sufficient power to mount unite others or to launch an invasion of the Empire. These forces would fail in their duty only twice before now when previously unknown hordes appeared from unknown worlds and quickly accumulated the power for the Hordelord who ruled them to name himself a Supreme Hordelord.

In the wake of the internal strife that has swept the Empire the forces that had so vigilantly watched the Reclicican frontier and launched their culls were depleted and in time a new Supreme Hordelord rose. And his first action as Supreme Hordelord was to set all of his forces against the world from which the culls were launched, the very world that had once been ripped from his people thousands of years ago. The remnants of the old culling forces staged a fighting defense of the world that had long been their base of operations but ultimately it was overrun providing the Great Horde with the remnants of an Imperial fortress world and all the resources that entailed.

Relations with the Empire and Other Factions:

Empire

The Great Horde is inimically hostile towards the Empire. Thousands of years of culls have served to create an extreme hatred and malice from even a species as used to violence and as forgetful as the Reclicica. As soon as the Supreme Hordelord had asserted his dominance over the other Hordelords he had called for a Great Hunt against the Empire, something that at least temporarily has won him the undying loyalty of his followers (at least until something happens to change that) which should give perspective into just how much ill will the constant Imperial interventions into Reclicican affairs have generated over time.

Please post ideas or get in touch with me if you have some thoughts for relations. I've lots of willingness to work with people here.

Military Capabilities: WIP but coming soon.

[Durandal]

ACCEPTED

Still a work a progress.

Faction Name: The Coldfyre Imperium

Faction Type: Loyalist/Pretender

Faction leader(s): Empress Kalzerian, First of Her Name, Conqueror of Woe, Protector of the Heartlands, Ruler of the Imperium: Felith Kalzerian, younger sister to Fashti XI, styles herself as the true ruler of the Imperium, establishing control over a section of Arcturae over which her influence held sway. Pragmatic, impassioned, and stubborn, she swears to bring the order of the true Imperium to all corners of the inhabited galaxy, exterminating or subduing all who would oppose her nation. Having once worked with the Expeditionary Assault Divisions, the name adopted by those who worked to hold back Horde incursions, she is skilled in the art of war and has former EAD assets at her disposal. Despite her apparent stance as a traitor, she desires to do her best to preserve what remains of the Imperium, binding together that which is falling apart.

System(s)/Territory: The Heartlands: A collection of four systems in the middle regions of the Arcturan Imperium territory, the Heartlands are the bastion of Kalzerian’s rule, territories which he controls entirely, surrounded by those who would support his ascension over that of a different member of the Imperial family. Well-populated and filled with various manufacturing and agricultural centers, the Heartlands are comparatively robust yet damaged from strife, especially when wresting control from Arcturan forces.

Planet(s)/Holdings:
The Crown System
Cronum: A densely-settled terran planet, Cronum is the seat of the Coldfyre Imperium, host to the bulk of Kalzerian’s military and diplomatic power. Home to almost ten billion people, this administrative planet was once a planet of great scientific development, although not the largest in the Arcturan Imperium.
Inval: Less peopled than Cronum, Inval is still home to near three billion people. A primarily agricultural planet, almost the entirety of the surface is devoted to producing food stuffs for the burgeoning Coldfyre Imperium, making it an important and thus well-defended location.

The Belemont System
Scinda: A world formerly known for its respectable military academies and named after the founder of the first such school, the role of the planet has evolved to that of central command for military operations of the Coldfyre Imperium. Temperate in nature, Scinda’s plateaus and vast mountain ranges make the location a center for those seeking respite from the ‘civilized’ world, although a healthy population of three-quarters billion leaves much developed. Permanently hosts a tenth of the Void Navy.
Belemont Prime: Volcanic in nature, Belemont Prime was the first settled world in the system, established by a now-defunct and forgotten noble house. Now, the House of Mirna controls the planet under Imperial grant, paying homage to the Coldfyre Imperium yet remaining relatively free. Prosperous from its production and exporting of raw materials, Belemont Prime’s two and a quarter billion people are loyal subjects to Empress Kalzerian.
Belemont Secundus: Rocky and small enough to almost be considered a dwarf planet, Secundus (as most call it) is populated mostly non-human species. Large artificial gravity complexes makes the world more livable in combination with habitation domes, yet these provisionary measures do not remove its status as a place of exile for xenos and impetuous but not rebellious subjects.

The Iron System
Collegiam: Foundries blaze endlessly, forging the tools of war and peace required by all who deal with it. Its natural surface almost stripped, Collegiam’s incredible manufacturing capabilities provide much of Coldfyre’s goods, as such making it an important strategic target. Heavily defended by both local and Crown forces, Collegiam is arguably the sturdiest redoubt available to the Coldfyre Imperium, no less because it’s one and a half billion population composed of mostly cyborgs can be repurposed into incredibly effective combat units.

Quor
Medipar Station: A massive spherical station measuring almost eighty kilometres in diameter, Medipar is built around multiple asteroids and is a more liberal place in the Coldfyre Imperium. Five hundred million people fill its corridors and gantries, with many crawling along the outer surface. A noteworthy starship manufacturing and research location, Medipar’s venerated yet old status keeps it in constant need of repair and adjustment, a testament to the skill of its caretakers.
Quor: The only inhabited planet in the Quor system, Quor is a terran planet, notable for almost no particular trait or product. A sizeable three billion people populate its surface, content to live their lives away. Quor only brings attention to itself with the production of stable super-heavy elements, enabled so by a resonant psionic field which the planet has imbued upon the people. Apart from this specific production, the psionic fields has no noticeable effect or influence.

Faction/Government Desc:

History: (Feel free to make up details about the setting and the major powers. I love collaborative worldbuilding, so feel free to work with me and your fellow RPers at building the setting)

Relations with the Empire and Other Factions: The underlying philosophy of the Coldfyre Imperium’s treatings with other factions is simple and effective: if they do not support Empress Kalzerian, than they oppose her. As such, almost all Arcturan and independent polities that yet exist within inhabited space are viewed as barriers to order and prosperity, barriers which will be broken with fire and steel if need be. Distinctions are only made by the threat which any particular group poses to the integrity of the Imperium, making aggressive groups such as the Great Horde and other expanding xenos states the primary focus of Imperium military, at least they would be. As the situation stands, Kalzerian’s authority rests on the loyalty of her subjects, some or many of which may yet harbor a predilection towards serving a different faction, prompting her to concentrate her power in the Heartlands and unify the disparate bastions of Arcturan holdings, crushing loyalist forces and guiding the reconstruction of the Imperium under her plan, making any Arcturan factions prime targets for absorption, negotiation, or eradication.

Military Capabilities: (ships in faction fleets must be under 3 kilometers, though I will allow exceptions. Please keep in mind that militaries are likely to be parts of the old imperial military, and so some commonality between factions is to be expected. As for ground forces, no hard limits here. The Rule of Cool and the Rule of No Effing Godmodding obtain)

[FacePunch]

ACCEPTED

Faction Name: Imperial Confederacy of Worlds (Usually referred to as the Confederacy or Imperial Confederacy)

Faction Type: Loyalist

Faction leader(s): Grand Magistrate Dominacus Luprec

System(s)/Territory:

Banu System: Located in the outer rim of the empire on the edge of the Hinterlands, the Banu system contains a trio of arctic worlds, two gas giants, two garden world and a volcanic planet. A gargantuan asteroid belt stretches between the two gas giants. Banu is known for its exporting of raw materials, such as grains, metals, actinides and wood.

Pictorus System: Located in the outer rim of the empire on the edge of the Hinterlands, the Pictorus system is home to four habitable garden worlds, a gas giant and a pair of arctic dwarf planets. Pictorus is the capital system of the Confederacy and holds the largest population and is famous for its extensive naval manufacturing industry, civilian luxury products and Gladion tournaments.

Veneras System: Located in the outer rim of the empire on the edge of the Hinterlands, the Veneras System is home to half a dozen Volcanic planets and a trio of desert worlds. Veneras is widely considered the industrial heart of the Imperial Confederacy, building and forging all of the finished products and shipping them off to wherever they're needed across the Empire.

Planet(s)/Holdings:

Banu Prime: A jungle world with a population of 4 billion, Banu Prime is the regional capital of the system of its namesake. It functions as the shipping center of the Banu System and seat of local government. It possesses a significant military garrison due to its status as regional capital. Banu Prime is also home to the Confederacy's greatest scientific minds and the critical Confederate Think-tank known as the Imperial War College. They are responsible for nearly all scientific advancement within the Confederacy, civilian and military alike.

Keltori-12: The other garden world in the Banu System, Keltori is home to nearly two billion citizens. Most of its surface is covered in rich farmlands and plains. Thanks to its proximity to the sun, Keltori's weather is perfect for growing crops all year round. Keltori is the main exporter of agriculture to the Confederacy's worlds that lack sufficient sustenance farming. Military presence on Keltori-12 is small and its citizens usually rely on Banu Prime's forces to protect them from space pirates and invaders.

D17 Asteroid Belt: The primary source of raw metals for the Confederacy. D17 is home to roughly 100 million individuals, most of whom are miners, pilots and their families. The Asteroid Belt is protected round the clock by a vigilant fleet of Arcturian ships.

Alpha Tauro: Capital planet of the Pictorus System, Alpha Tauro is a lush garden world populated by nearly ten billion humans. As the seat of the government, its home to the Grand Magistrate and the Senate of Minor Magistrates. Alpha Tauro is known across the Arcturian Empire for its bi-weekly Gladion tournaments, where slaves from across the Confederacy would fight to the death to gain glory, honor and freedom. Career Gladions were common on Alpha Tauro; the most successful of them going on to become celebrities, politicians and military leaders. Gladion tournaments are the only way for a Xeno to potentially gain a seat of significant power within either the government or the military. Xenos who manage this are treated with respect, although racist undertones still exist, even among the highest echelons of society. Alpha Tauro is home to one of the largest garrisons in the Confederacy.

Beta Tauro: Another garden world in the Pictorus System, Beta Tauro has a population of roughly six billion. Beta is known for producing the naval vehicles of the Confederacy. They pride themselves on being responsible for everything from a single seat recreation spaceship to the 3 kilometer long Stardust Keltor class Super-Battleship, the flagship of the Confederate Navy. Beta Tauro is defended by a sizable fleet of active duty military vessels and various marine battalions.

Veneria: Veneria is the regional capital of the Veneras System and home to half a billion citizens. Veneria is a Volcanic world that has been terriformed to allow for relatively comfortable living within bio-domes on the planet's surface. Veneria's surface is covered in factories, forges, motor plants, ship yards, warehouses and all manner of industrial infrastructure. Its military garrison prefers to stay on the space station orbiting Veneria's moon, Yven-2.

Faction/Government Desc: Constitutional Monarchy in practice, the Grand Magistrate holds most of the power compared to the much weaker Senate. Before the Sacking of Almata, the Grand Magistrate reported directly to the Emperor; although they served the Emperor's will, the Confederacy was granted semi-autonomy in most matters. It wasn't until the Emperor disappeared that the Grand Magistrate took full control of the Confederacy until such a time as the Emperor is to reappear. Until then, Dominacus Luprec reported to no one. The Senate had very little say in matters beforehand. Now they are merely a formality.

The Senate is made up of various lower Magistrates who represent the other systems and planets' interests. These Magistrates spend their time lobbying for various political and corporate interest groups, attempting to gain the Grand Magistrate's favor so that he might, in turn, sign their bills into law. It isn't uncommon for powerful corporations to buy out a Magistrate's loyalty and have them lobby in their place. Dominacus recognizes the corruption of the system and generally ignores the less honest requests of the Senate.

History: (Feel free to make up details about the setting and the major powers. I love collaborative worldbuilding, so feel free to work with me and your fellow RPers at building the setting) WIP

Relations with the Empire and Other Factions: The Confederacy of Worlds is loyal to the Empire, even in its apparent last days. The government does not support the Pretenders and goes out of its way to avoid them; disdain for defectors is common and verbal among the citizenry. While most alien races were treated poorly under the Emperor's regime, the Grand Magistrate has become more lenient toward the Xeno since the Sacking of Almata. Currently, the Confederacy is looking to stablize borders and establish trade relationships with friendly independent factions. At the same time, they are on the lookout for other loyalists who are true to the Empire and actively seek military alliances and constant communication with them. Rebuilding the Empire's control in imperial territories is one of the top priorities of the Confederate military.

Military Capabilities: The Confederacy mostly relies on Imperial technology and weapons for its military, although the Research and Development wing on Banu Prime is hard at work on improving the standard weapons and armor of the Empire.

Confederate Navy

Confederate Marine Corps

Confederate Regional Guard

Confederate Mechanized Infantry

[gorgenmast]

Accepted

Faction name: Excoriator
Faction type: Loyalist
Faction leaders: Captain Lisandro Orelios, Commissar Vlatis Sarien
System: None
Holdings: None
Bio: The Excoriator is a Nestra-class heavy cruiser. Like other heavy cruisers in the Arcturian Armada, the Excoriator was built to bridge the gap between the massive dreadnoughts and carriers and nimble light cruisers and frigates. The result of this marriage of strength and speed is a vessel with sufficient firepower to take down mighty destroyer-class vessels, and the agility to escape these mightier vessels in the event that the battle goes sour. The Excoriator boasts such tremendous firepower and admirable thruster output on the part of two fusion powerhouses. As one of the smallest vessels in the Armada to carry multiple fusion cells, the Excoriator has the endurance to sustain battle, conduct energy-intensive maneuvers, or any combination of the two.

To be sure, a vessel as versatile as the Excoriator requires an exceptionally talented commander to take full advantage of its strengths. Even so, one can scarcely imagine a commander as well-suited for the Excoriator as the celebrated Captain Lisandro Orelios. Captain Orelios first cut his teeth during the Cerulae Insurrection, one of those initial brushfire conflicts that precipitated the current crisis. At the helm of the frigate Saint Dyann, Captain Orelios performed a daring entry into Cerulae's atmosphere through a barrage of anti-orbital fire to land his vessel deep behind the rebellion's borders. From a hidden landing site within the rugged jungles of that planet, Orelios and his crew launched a counter-insurgency against military outposts and manufacturing centers on the surface. His prowess and initiative at Cerulae earned Captain Orelios command of the Excoriator.

Since the onset of the Pretender Crisis, Captain Orelios and his stalwart crew aboard the Excoriator have performed admirably - but have not had the opportunity to distinguish themselves. That chance came unexpectedly, when Commissar Vlatis Sarien - one of the noblemen appointed with politically-oriented posts within the Armada - rendezvoused with the Excoriator during classified patrol maneuvers. Commissar Sarien brought with him dire news: Almata had come under a relentless siege. Captain Orelios knew he had to make haste for the imperial homeworld at once, but he would have never believed his assigned mission had a Commissar not personally delivered the order.

And so, Captain Orelios and his crew divert immediately from their patrol in the remote Hinterland Space with this mysterious Commissar aboard to carry out his daring mission at Almata.

[Zadubadabu]

ACCEPTED

The Cult of Long Night

Faction type: Cult (church)

Faction Leader: Elder Nox (title given to current leader, not a specific person)

Systems/Territories

No real major holdings, but members are present all across the falling Arcturan Empire, with higher concentrations in the far reaches of Arcturan space.

Planets/Holdings

Some planets with very high numbers of Long Night Cultists include:
Arcadia - The birthplace and life long home of the Prophet Elder Nox the First. This world has always been the official home of the current Elder Nox, and is regarded as the holy center of the cult where all major meetings are to take place. The vast majority of the planet's population follows the cult, especially with the decline and fall of the Arcturan Empire. The influx of new followers to the area has quickly turned the once relatively minor outer world into a rapidly growing bastion of the Long Night.
The Quade - A group of small planets on the very edge of Arcturan space that were originally colonized by the Arcturan Empire before being abandoned. Those left there spent generations fending for themselves in nearly unlivable conditions, but they survived. When the Empire began to fall, many here lost all hope of returning to the fold of the Empire and were easily turned to the Cult of Long Night. The area gave birth to a number of high ranking cultists as well as extremists who seek to quicken the setting of the sun on the Arcturan Empire and herald in the night that never ends. Even among the Long Night Cultists, the Quade is considered radical, yet its influence draws much support from a number of Seperatists and Invading factions who want to see the Empire in ruin.

Government Description

the Cult as a whole follows the ruling of Elder Nox in all things, but on a more local level there are lesser Elders who may draw in and govern the followers in a particular region. As a general rule though most cultists are never able to learn directly from these elders and form their own rulings based on what they hear passed on from other cultists. This leads to a wide range of beliefs with the common thread that the Long Night is upon us and we shall embrace it.

History

The Cult of Long Night originated from the prophetic teachings of Elder Nox the First. He taught of the coming Long Night and how it is the duty of the people to embrace it fully for to go against the inevitability of Long Night was to seek destruction. Only by becoming a follower of Long Night would one be gifted the strength to prevail against the horrors it would bring. This teaching at first grew very slowly, most passing it off as ridiculous paranoia, but as time went on and hordes of invaders as well as splinter groups contending for the throne grew in number, more and more people saw the Long Night no longer as the ramblings of the paranoid, and now as prophecy that they had been foolish not to listen to. With the wars that tore at the Arcturan Empire, those civilians whose lives were decimated by the fighting turned to those who knew their pain and promised a way through it. Now, with the final nail being hammered into the coffin of the Empire, more converts are popping up than ever. The Cult of Long Night is growing faster than ever before, and at this rate, not even the Elder Nox can maintain uniformity among his disciples. With the shattering of the throne and the numerous factions seeking control, even the Cultists, always ignored in the shadows before, are becoming a more prominent force, having converts from all reaches of the Empire in the form of numerous other factions.

Relations With Others

with people from all over, there are a number of cultists supporting most factions for control of the Empire's throne. The massive influx of new cultists has led to a lack of uniformity in the Cult's ideology. In truth, many cultists disagree on how best to embrace and support the Long Night and this leads to fighting between groups. While technically they are to band together, many cultists join the ranks of various pretender groups and fight with them. Others seek to bring forth Long Night through the continuation of the Empire, leading a number of older cultists especially to consider themselves loyalists. More extreme groups such as those in the Quade seek the complete destruction of the Old Empire or just revel in the Chaos of the war.
In summary, there are groups of cultists backing virtually every faction, however the Cult as a whole is unaligned in the wars.

Military

Practically nonexistent on its own, just the standard Arcturan planetary defenses of Arcadia and the Quade really. However, as cultists typically fight within other groups, they use the standard equipment of whoever they are backing.

[Dagoth]

ACCEPTED
Faction Name: Rubicon Technocracy

Faction Type: Loyalist

Faction leader(s):
Technocrat Drogan Asuul
V.I.C.E.R.O.I (Virtual Interface and Corporate Enterprise Regulatory Oversight Intelligence)

System(s)/Territory:
The Rubicon Fringe- The Rubicon Fringe is an isolated system located on the very edges of the Empire. Settlement and exploitation rights to the system were granted by charter to an Imperial subsidiary company, Rubicon Robotics., from which the system draws its name. The Rubicon Fringe has little in the way of planetary mass, and less of that habitable. The redeeming quality of the system is the abundance of minerals here, located in the Umber asteroid belt, which marks the border of what was once Imperial space.

Planet(s)/Holdings:
Rubicon Prime- Rubicon Prime is the only planet worth the effort of settling in The Fringe. It is actually the fourth of the four planets that orbit the Rubicon Star, and its location is ideal for launching mining operations into the Umber asteroid belt. The terrain here would be cold and relatively rocky, were it not for the terraforming efforts of the Rubicon Corporation and the subsequent pollution of the planet as the majority of the surface was converted into manufacturing and production facilities. The result is a toxic cityscape with barely breathable air and arable land that can only just support the population of workers and researchers that call the planet home. Still, the production facilities of Rubicon are impressive to say the least. The raw yield of manufactured products produced on Rubicon is the single highest of any system within the Empire (though several other systems do come close) which is all the more astounding as they are created on a single planet.

Umber Asteroid Belt- The Umber Asteroid belt denotes the edge of The Fringe, and the Empire as a whole. The Umber Belt is rich in minerals, which are locked up in the asteroids themselves. Numerous mining operations are ongoing here to supply the production facilities on Rubicon Prime. Due to the carrying capacity of Rubicon Prime, the vast majority of the miners here reside permanently in the mining operational bases.

Waystation A-14- Waystation A-14 is a space station and supply depot located in orbit around the first planet from the sun in the Rubicon System. It is the site of all provided jump coordinates into The Fringe and serves as a refueling and shipping station. In a very real sense, it is the gate leading back into Imperial Space.

Faction/Government Desc:
V.I.C.E.R.O.I handles all day to day affairs and micromanagement of the Rubicon Technocracy. Asuul performs executive actions on an as-needed basis, and treats with all political officials in affairs of state, as many prefer to deal with a man rather than a machine. The Technocracy is still focused on resource collection to fuel production, but the manufacturing facilities are now geared toward the production of automated war equipment to help restore peace and order for the greater Empire. Being on the fringes of imperial space, they tend to be very isolated unless otherwise engaged, or unless actively coordinating with other Imperial forces in the restoration of order.

History:
Rubicon Robotics began as an Imperial subsidiary company to produce and develop machines for a variety of tasks. Financed by an Imperial noble by the name of Bactrius Narset, and a sizeable imperial stipend, the Rubicon Corporation settled and developed The Fringe. In a short time, Narset was able to build a mercantile empire of his own, cornering the market on robotics. As production increased, so too did the greed of Bactrius. He began cutting corners in the manufacturing process, leading to cheaper products of lower quality. Still, profits grew as the corporation was able to put out a sheer volume of product that was unmatched elsewhere. Narset, aware of customer complaints, invested a small portion of this money into funding an elite research and development team, while lining his pockets with the rest to maintain his decadent lifestyle. The best and brightest were found to make up this new research team. At their head was Drogan Asuul, a lowborn prodigy with a savant-level of affinity for all things mechanical. In a short time, he began to make improvements to the designs of nearly every model of robot that would both reduce cost and increase reliability. Singlehandedly, this man was beginning to repair the reputation of the Rubicon Corporation. That is until recently. As plots of war began to brew, Bactrius Narset was contacted in secret by the pretenders, and was contracted to produce war machines for the pretender war effort. Seeing an opportunity to turn a hefty profit, Narset began to support the pretenders in their bid against Fashti XI. Foolishly, Bactrius tasked Drogan Asuul with creating new and innovative technologies of war. But the curious mind began to question the origin for the need for these war machines. After accessing restricted databanks, Asuul learned of Lord Narset’s treachery. Having been all his life indoctrinated by Imperial dogma, Asuul was zealously loyal to the Empire. Taking it upon himself to put a stop to Lord Narset’s plot, Asuul set to work in his workshop. There, he spent days on end perfecting an emerging frontier of technology: artificial intelligence. And thus was created V.I.C.E.R.O.I (Virtual Interface and Corporate Enterprise Regulatory Oversight Intelligence). Asuul’s plan was simple, upload the AI into the corporate databanks, and from there download it into all their machines via a software patch. This would give V.I.C.E.R.O.I control of all of the machines, allowing Assul to easily overthrow Narset and put a stop to his plans. But another invention was necessary to ensure that Assul retained control of the situation. And so Drogan fabricated a device called the Uplink, a cybernetic implant that would allow him to interface with V.I.C.E.R.O.I at all times and perform executive override of the AI’s functions if need be. Fitting himself with the Uplink and uploading V.I.C.E.R.O.I into the databanks as planned, Asuul began his coup. It is no exaggeration to say that the struggle lasted minutes. Narset was seized in his chambers and executed on the spot for treason. Asuul found himself in charge of Rubicon that same day, and declared the change in management to the rest of the company. And business resumed as usual. Production shifted towards war machines, as Narset had wanted, but now they would be used to further the Loyalist cause. Asuul sent a statement out to Imperial authorities with enclosed evidence of Narset’s treason and informing them of what had transpired on Rubicon. He declared that he would hold the charter of the Rubicon Corporation until such time as Fashti XI returned to grant the charter anew, or until a new heir was selected with the power to do so.

Relations with the Empire and Other Factions: Asuul is strongly loyal to the Empire. As Fashti XI is the emperor, he would be most pleased to see a return to the rule of Fashti XI. Barring that, his preferred heir to the throne is Kalzerian, as she is a continuation of the Imperial line and a strong ruler who will restore order to the Empire. Despite his preferences, he would find it acceptable so long as any legitimate Imperial ruler should ascend. He houses a fervent hatred for any pretenders to the throne, and will actively oppose them whenever possible. He holds no qualms with reform movements or entities outside of the empire, so long as they pose no threat to the stability of the Empire as a whole. As such he strongly dislikes any separatist movements. He holds no special love for the church, or in fact religion as a whole, and sees no real need to deal with them on a practical basis. Loyalists will typically view his support as a relief, though he may be mistrusted for his lowborn lineage. Many of the Aristocracy view him much the same as they would a lower administrator, seeing him as a “meddlesome Technocrat”, a title which Asuul himself embraces. V.I.C.E.R.O.I is programmed to be loyal to the empire, and treats all imperials equally as allies. Anyone denouncing Imperial rule or existing outside of it is a threat, to be ignored at best and exterminated at worst. V.I.C.E.R.O.I ultimately takes orders only from Asuul. Though the AI forms its own opinions and ideas, Asuul has the power to alter them should he so desire.

Military Capabilities:
The Regulatory-The Fringe houses a relatively small (but growing) fleet of automated warships, controlled V.I.C.E.R.O.I.’s subroutines, which have been uploaded into all of them. Though they may carry passengers, manual controls were deemed unnecessary in light automation, and thus are not present. These ships are collectively referred to as the regulatory, and singularly as regulators.

Mining Ships- Though not designed for combat, the mining equipment present on the extraction vessels in the Umber Belt can serve an improvised use in battle should the need arise. That said, the miners are not soldiers, and are unlikely to take up arms unless in defense of themselves, and only then if no other recourse is present.

Rubicon Robots- Rubicon Robotics produced a staggering number of military and security droids. Under the Technocracy, the manufacture of these machines has become the primary focus of the production facilities. Though mostly producing bipedal soldiers of a human shape, other forms of robots exist for specialized tasks. Likewise, automated tanks and war machines are also produced. However, it is worth noting that quantity is emphasized over quality. Robots are created quickly and cheaply, but by no means are they durable. In years past, the phrase “reliable as a Rubicon” has entered common usage throughout the Empire as a sarcastic euphemism to refer to anything of dubious quality.

[Willy Vereb]

STATUS: APPROVED

THE SARMAKTH DOMINION

Faction Name: Yel'krusu t'Sar'Makth (literally means "Star Empire of the Great Race")
Faction Type: INVADERS
Faction Leader: S'cum Ish-veh N'ssan (title: Sur'sim're t'Abru-ma AKA Grand Supreme Overlord)
Territory: Tsokal'yel t'Sar'Vafer (Great Beginning, their new home system), few star systems at the outer edges of the Arcturus Empire
Planet(s)/Holdings: 4 star systems

FACTION 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 slavemasters. With the sudden collapse of the Arcturus Empire the Sarmakth plans to use the divide and conquer strategy to dominate humanity one by one using less obvious means. As such the Sarmakth are mysterious manipulators who prefer to use humans to fight at the forefront, only showing up when it's absolutely necessary.

Sarmakth Physiology

Drawing of Martians during the invasion of 1898

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. Worths noting that when they refer to themselves in 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".

FACTION 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 is 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 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. though 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 Arcturus 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 Arcturus Empire many of their kin believes it's time to act.

EXTERNAL RELATIONS
The Sarmakth despise humans more than anything. Yet the majority of the galaxy is dominated by these Pekh'makth everywhere. Thus their immediate aims are to enslave humanity by playing them against each other. They secretly infiltrated and enslaved a slight portion of the Empire and they intend to use the chaos to accelerate the process and retake their place on the pinnacle of creation. While their operations are still secretive the Sarmakth determined it's time to also take a more direct approach.

[detailed faction relations will be posted up as they occur during the RP]

TECHNOLOGY
Sarmakth technology is unique and at times radically different from what could be found within the Arcturus Empire. Their massive intellect grants them a better understanding of science than any human. Yet missing out millenia 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 to properly operate while humans merely use wheels and tracked mechanisms to achieve similar road performance. In general Sarmakth only has 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.

Notable Techs

- 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 and slipspace has numerous similarities and they slightly interact. The main difference is that while slipspace is a void the hyperspace is filled with exotic matter and energy which obeys to a different laws of physics. Hyperspace has various "bands" each allowing different speeds. Lower bands require much less energy but they don't provide much speed. The Martians used this to escape their planets. Higher bands offer better speeds but at a much larger initial cost. Stardrives are potentially better than Slipspace drives used by the Empire but breaking into higher bands of hyperspace also consumes considerably more energy (at the extreme ends even draining the ship's systems for hours).

- Weinol: The basis of most if not all Sarmakth construction. It's a versatile family of carbon allotropes akin to fullerenes and carbon-nanotubes. It's generally light yet strong matrial which depending on its grid structure can have various other properties. It isn't an exaggeration to say that over 90% of everything made by Sarmakth is a type of Weinol.

- 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 their smallest military unit are their fighting 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.

[unit profiles may come later]

NOTABLE CHARACTERS

S'cum Ish-veh N'ssan

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. Unfortunately the collapse of the Arcturus Empire also strengthened the position of the radicals who promote outright military invasion and a swift sweeping crusade over the humans. 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 mistake again.