Jorin studied the display. The moon Tarin was getting closer. The time to give up was not now he knew. Still, the prospect made him nervous. War is profit, that's what they told him. Sell to both sides and it doesn't matter who wins. Even so, Trading in a war zone? The Guild and the Unions were both powerful. His ship didn't even have any serious weapons, just personal rifles his men carried to scare off pirates. He saw why his orders were the way they were and renthulium was extremely valuable. It was simple- go in get your hands on as much of the stuff as you could and don't make anyone mad. He could see the city of Pavliu getting closer and he deftly handled the controls to bring his ship down. The radio buzzed with life. "Who's there? State your intent, and any cargo you have that's dead or alive. And make it quick." Not expecting this, but figuring the truth was safest, "Uh just here on a neutral trading mission, bringing iron, gold, dried fish, and alcohol. Also 20 crew members, all of them Vesi. We just want to sell it all and take some Renthulium back home with us" "Renthulium? You might find a harder time getting it than you like, but you're allowed in. We're sure you won't mind a search of your ship." He saw the roof of a building open up as a landing pad and was directed in. The landing gears were out and he was docked, so he opened up the doors and immediately a hoard of Ishkaans poured in. They shoved him and the crew to the side, "Out of our way" and overturned the ship looking for "Conk spies, they could be anywhere". Not expecting this rough treatment, but determined anyway Jorin tried to pick up a conversation with them. "Do you guys know where I could sell any of this?" They ignored him and worked on finishing their search, satisfied with the overturned ship they filed out except for one who asked for payment. Jorin sighed and handed over a few credits. At least we're not in trouble. "The Trade guild welcomes you to our capital." I suppose I shouldn't have expected less on a war torn moon. He gathered the crew and told them to enjoy the rest of the night but meet back here tommorow. For himself however he had a greater mission- what to do with his cargo- he wondered as he strolled off into the night looking for a bar.
3..2..1... Liftoff The seat jerked back as the engines roared and the ship launched out of the water. Smith clutched the sides if they chair and closed his eyes. "Have you never flown?" A voice chuckled from across the aisle. "I've done simulators- and gone above the surface we've done plenty of out of water training" "Nothing prepares you for the jerk. This ain't fancy trade lord technology, no sir, the military uses what works" The young officer liked being called sir. "But there are civilians on this ship too" "Expendables- these are all Vesi no one cares about who would send a friend to colonize the stars when it's a 75% rate of death" "That's only because of the Quxikotl wars, besides," he pulled out his pistol, " we're prepared this time". "As if you know anything if the Quxikotl," the old Vesum chuckled again. No longer afraid, Smith turned to peer out the window. He could see the 12 seas (well at least he thought, 7 of them) and specks of brown and green land. The sight was beautiful. "Wow," he murmured softly, the water had stopped in his gills. Vesia is a beautiful place, and am I glad to live here. It showed no signs of poluttion or humongous factories, no smog or robots clotting things up. Blue as the day Boer swam the seas. "Sir, we've docked with the colony ship," a solider had swam into the passage and saluted. "Tell the captain" The trip up into the atmosphere and been quicker than he expected. They were traveling to a moon of Jalaryias to set up an outpost and possible colony for Vesia. Rumor had it something was already living there, but no evidence was shown with a far range scan so the king stamped the charter and assigned a squadron of ships along with 100 vesi-under my command. You'll be fine, he told himself, nothing to worry about. He had done well at the academy. He could shoot an entire clip accurately and have it reloaded in under 30 seconds and he could trust his life to any one of his men- they were all skilled. The Lieutenant stood up, strapped on his bag, and propelled himself to the entrance his body gliding through the water. Then he remembered, there would be no swimming for a while. The colony ship needed to be lighter and besides there might not be water on a small moon anyway (what's the point if even landing there if there's no water, no just follow orders). He'd get used to it. He was the best at out of water combat in his class-that's why he'd got this mission-still it gave him the chills to think of such a long time without being submerged under the waves. Hssss the airlock whistled and the door shut behind him draining water from the room. Several colonists gasps were audible, but everyone had the masks securely tightened around their gills. Here goes nothing...as the doors opened and he stepped into the vessel headed far away from his birth land.
@BilboTheGreat Do you mind if Vesia has a small split of sorts broken away from the Union, but in other respects religiously following Dracrekhi? Or is Political and Religious 100% linked?
@Sigma@Ozerath@KlomsterThere is plenty of trade to go round and sounds good. Natural and Manufactored resources of Vesia include: metals, common along with rare earth metals, minerals, and alloys; solar panels; seafoods ranging from delicacies of tender fish to the humble seaweed; textiles (not cloth, but other fabrics made from sea animals); and crude oil and other fuels. As for downtrodden masses leaving Vesia, not many now although that could change and some Vesi wanting a life outside water may respiratory to becoming cyborgs.
King or Queen, elected council (by population of districts, some from each of the 12 seas). The council restricts the monarchs power and resolves despute over laws and rights. The Monarch has restricted power. The constitution among other thing guarantees certain rights to the citizens.
1.the right to freedom of religion, press, and speech 2. The freedom of trade 3. The freedom from all taxation except property tax 4. The right of protection from the government in civil cases and when dealing with foreign affairs 5. The right to life (no death penalty)
Leadership:
King Oliver III is the current ruler. He is in complete control of his country. The people have the illusion of elections, but the council is virtually useless under him. He is a large Vesum standing a few inches taller than the tallest of his guard. His skin is a dark blue and his eyes a sparkling green. He is an inspiration speechwriter and people who meet him generally will trust him, instead of feeling threatened. His mind is more political, however, and he finds himself an inadequate military and economic leader relying on his generals and advisors. His wife also plays a large part in ruling his kingdom.
Queen April sits beside her husband, the king. She deals with most of the finances of the kingdom, while her husband does diplomacy and propaganda. Together they always spend one month traveling to every district in the kingdom. She has a lighter tint of blue skin. She is not well known like the king, and few know she plays an equal part in ruling.
Sir Thomas Perses sits atop the council writing laws and signing bills into action. He served for years in the military, now retired was voted into office. He comes from the capital of Versia, Tyre.
General Lotus rules the military, generally giving his subordinate officers a lot of freedom as long as they meet the mission criteria. He has been in charge only a few years, but is trusted by the king. He is not known to be the nicest of individuals, but the king trusts him, so he stays in command. He is a short Vesum, physically strong and stocky. He spends most of his time in Tyre training new recruits.
Offworld holding:
few colonies in an asteroid belt farther from jalariyas, planning to expand more. The largest is a mining colony called Mat in a large lake on an asteroid. It ships many resources back to Vesia. The star ways were once abundand with Vesi colony, but then the Quxikotl attacked wiping nearly all of them out and landing on Vesia. Any planets with free markets are bound to have Vesi or half-Vesi living somewhere on their planet.
Persons of importance:
Leiutenant Smith is a younger Vesi second in command of the accompaniment to the colony being founded on another planet. He is fresh out of the academy and never combat tested.
Preaches for the Faith of Jalaryias, leading her people and worshiping the gas giant above them. She sits on a gold throne south of the capital in a grand catedral. She almost rules her own citadel, but sends taxes and recruits to the capital. Her church is big and growing with missionaries all over Vesia ordaining new priestesses.
Species and Demographics:
Vesi (singular Vesum) an aquatic species living under the waves, but able to survive short periods (up to 5 minutes) in an earth-like atmosphere. They are humanoid standing on two legs, but thinner and with longer necks covered in gills. Their toes and fingers are also much longer for ease in swimming. Their skin ranges from light greens to dark blues, along with their eyes. Most Vesi have a ridge along their spine with fins or fin sprouting out of their back. Most of their bones are actually cartilage, making them very flexible though able to stand up on planets with a few earths of gravity. Vesi are very good swimmers, but not all know who to walk outside of water and do so with moderate difficulty. This is due to their natural habitat, where 70% of the surface of the planet is covered in water and only the rich have enough time to explore the land when much of the deep ocean is still unknown. The Vesi live in large cities in relatively shallow waters with several outposts in the depths.
a small group of enlightened humans fleeing religious persecution landed in Vesia and after several generations experimented found out that it was possible to breed with the Vesi and created a new species. Now almost no original humans are left only semi-humans who can breathe in and out of water while their skin ranges from all human and Vesi colors. Most retain more physical characteristics of humans while gaining cultural views of the Vesi
the Twepaz inhabit the depths of The ocean using sonar to locate each other and communicate. They are all blind in the human sense, but any human in the dark of the ocean bottom would be blind compared to the twepaz. They are less humanoid than the Vesi being more fishlike, but also extremely intelligent. They are covered in scales.
History:
the legend says that the mighty Boer the Great swam all over the 12 seas to find the place to live. He tried the depths and said, "there are already being inhabiting this space, fierce things that can see where I cannot". He swam to the surface, but the sun burned his skin and he turned back. Boer beheld the great underwater volcanoes in the creation of island. He came to the land and crawled on the beach but like any Vesi, spluttered out of breath and slid back to the waves. They say he went south and it his fins froze and his hands stopped working. Then, he came to the shallows and found it well. He stuck his spear in the sand and smiled, "This is my home". Since then, Vesia was formed with the capital spanning well over 100 square miles The Vesi and twepaz have fought many wars over resources where the technology of the Vesi is evenly matched with the physical toughness and cunning of the twepaz. When humans crashed into Vesia a few hundred years back, they were almost immediately assimilated into Vesi culture due to their great underwater breathing apparatuses. At this time, The Vesi had flown around all three of their moons, but had almost given up on other space travel if not for the inspiration the human colonial ship gave them. A devastating time for the Vesi was the Great War with the Quxikotl attacking with very little warning. The lizard men destroyed nearly all of the asteroid colonies and landed on Vesia. Due to the robust system of government, the king seized control and raised an army to fight back. Fighting underwater against the Vesi is a folly few would undertake, but yet the lizards still managed to be defeating them at their own game. Only when the Twepaz realized they were endangered did they rise up and form an uneasy alliance with the Vesi. Together they created bigger and more deadly weapons than before and with the help of some luck were able to drive the Quxikotl back. By this time they were retreating all over the system and Vesi joined in the bombing of Tenohexotl. Honorarily they claimed an ocean to make their base, but saw that it was worthless and haven't colonized it. The monarch is never allowed to impose tariffs or sales tax, so trade has bloomed in Vesia sending its ships (and its military) to every habitable planet in the system. Profit is the mantra of many Vesi traders and riches have flowed into Vesia. The Tak'a'dis were trading partners of the Vesi, before their subjugation turned on them. (Nation here) is also a trade partner of the Vesi.
Military:
the state sponsors all colonization attempts to other planets and as trading is a huge part of the economy, ships have long had to be protected from pirates and bandits. The military is entirely composed of volunteers and working for the navy is one of the most respected jobs. Their weapons and training are maybe not the flashiest and newest but reliable under the water and above it. The characteristics looked for in soldiers include resourcefulness, intelligence, and a steady hand. They are trained in survival skills as well as physical fitness in and out of water. Even the lowest ranking vesum would act on his/her initiative, as most orders are flexible and assume that anyone can and will die. Vesi soldiers are trained in a variety of weapons. Elite units will use high-power sniper rifles and pistols. Regular units will have a rocket launcher (firing in and out of water), a light machine gun team, and standard issue assault rifles for most soldiers. More rugged units may even carry TN-3s and any solider may bring his own weapon to the front. All their guns fire high power flechettes made of a steel alloy, which will penetrate most armor. Spears (with or without barbed hooks) are the "traditional" weapon of the Vesi and are used in many ceremonies, and may be carried into battle. All soldiers carry flash grenades as well which don't affect them much with their masks. Out of water, soldiers will wear masks to get oxygen from the atmosphere. These masks also protect from chemical warfare. Other than this they are very mobile. They wear light armor if any at all relying on skirmishing tactics and accuracy of fire to win battles. Most Vesi can be accurate up to 1,000 yards. Vesi armies are not huge, but also not to be underestimated. The main strategy of the Vesi is to negotiate. "Friends are profitable, war is expensive" but if they have to fight they want to strike quickly and first. Their ships reflect this and are built to be fast and maneuverable with holds full of missiles. The mentally holds that if you always shoot first, you don't really need armor, besides then it would be hard to keep up with the merchant ships. Vesi warfighters carry laser weapons as well as guided rockets, high explosives, and proton torpedoes. The Vesi also do not have many capital ships. The largest is the Kings Frigate, known as The Valiant. It boasts the ability to hold 1000 fighters and 1,000,000 Vesi. All military vehicles are painted with a small blue triangle instead of the entire flag.
Religion:
The monotheistic priestesses of Jalaryias allow only females into their ranks and the men's Job is to serve and protect. Notable prophets are Samantha the wise, who founded the great cathedral of Vesia. They believe Jalaryias brings life to all and instilled a divine right to the kingship.
A more widespread religion is the worship of the 12 gods of the ocean. They believe in hard work and that "he who fishes, survives" this has extended to trade and commerce is a big source of income. The 12 are each said to rule a part of the known world bringing life and sustenance. All worshippers of the 12 despise AI, but will use tools.
Vesia:
The Vesi assume they know all there is to know about Vesia. They have mapped 3/4 of the oceans and the land, while that doesn't really matter anyway. The world is split into 12 seas. They know the north is rich in metals for making ships and weapons. The south has precious metals. The shallows are great breeding grounds of fish, which are the main source of food. Also many plants and plankton are harvested in the great fields. Most of their power comes from solar arrays floating on the surface of the water.
