Ozerath

Era of Strained Détente

Mine's coming along, though if Uruk decides to join I'll have to start over.

Era of Strained Détente

@Apollo26 eyup

Era of Strained Détente

Updated my NS a bit. Renamed and removed descriptions from all my ships to reflect the updating of the Fleet. Altered important characters to account for the timeskip. Added a little bit of history for the past hundred years. Added a new exciting type of weaponry that will see gradually increasing deployment (@Sigma they involve micro-singularities, let me know if that's a problem).

Working on a fairly generic opening post.

For the RP in general, I was sort of thinking the Commonwealth might make a nice villain this time around. Talk to me if you want them to start looking at your nation all hungry-like.

Era of Strained Détente

New chatzy siggy?

Also how many are we waiting for to get this bad boy started?

Era of Strained Détente

You're welcome to re-post it.

@Sigma

Done.

I'll be doing some editing in the coming days to reflect what has changed in the past hundred years. History and Important People will take the biggest changes.

I suppose technically I have to significantly alter my fleet section to reflect technological advances, new construction, etc. but that seems like a daunting task. Maybe I'll just rename all the classes and leave the pictures as is.

EDIT: We still gonna use Chatzy? New room or same one?

Era of Strained Détente

The Commonwealth

The Imperial Systems Commonwealth

A political amalgamation with grand pretenses of freedom and democracy, the Commonwealth is in truth a sprawling monarchical imperium dominated by a species of feline humanoids called the Vit'azny. The Commonwealth owes its existence to the fact that 500 years ago the then Vit'azny Empire realized assimilation was vastly easier than maintaining overlordship over their rebellious subjects. The resulting organization has since exploded into a major galactic power and an economic juggernaut.

Population and Demographics:

The Commonwealth is a sprawling domain covering dozens of solar systems, including colonies. The per species population breakdown is as follows.

Vit’azny 17%
Szitzu 15%
Yanissans 12%
Rhodesians 18%
Valerians 5%
Human 12%
Assorted: 21%

Species:

Vit'azny: The reigning elite of the Commonwealth and one of its founding members. The Vit'azny are long lived bipedal felines with prehensile tails, with a number of subspecies. Males tend to be larger than females, and the average lifespan can reach up to 300 years. The Vit’azny dominate the upper echelons of the Commonwealth’s government, military, and corporations. Indeed, their monarch is the Commonwealth’s head of state: a figurehead on paper, but something quite different in practice. As a whole, the Vit’azny are a proud people, but are pragmatic more than anything.


Szitzu: A race of large, sentient bearlike creatures that form the backbone of the Commonwealth’s military might. As a whole, Szitzu society is heavily patriarchal and heavily based on tradition and an intricate clan system. While this society has produced excellent warriors for generations, it has a tendency to relegate thinkers to the sidelines. The Szitzu were originally conquered by the Vit’azny empire almost a 700 years ago, after a long and bloody conflict which only ended when Vit’azny technology overcame Szitzu ferocity. Under the Empire, the Szitzu were rebellious and problematic, but as one of the original founding members of the Commonwealth, they have become it’s most loyal supporters.

Yanissans: Originally a small star nation of 3 systems, the reptillian humanoids known as the Yanissans were quick to surrender when the Vit’azny war machine came knocking. However, they proved to be more dangerous as subjects than they did as enemies. While Szitzu resentment against the old empire usually took the shape of riots and bar fights, a plot by Yanissan rebels managed to kill the entire Vit’azny Royal Advisory Council. The King was spared only by coincidence; his personal limousine suffered a breakdown on the way to the meeting. Yanissan society is dominated by plots, intrigue, secrets, and rampant hedonism. They are the third and final founding species of the Commonwealth, which from their point of view, keeps them a healthy distance from any fighting. Of the founding members, only the Yanissans have anything resembling a useful amount of psintegrae, most of which are swept up by Toolbox and trained to use their telepathic and telekinetic abilities to lethal effect.

Rhodesians: The dimunitive Rhodesians were one of the first species conquered by the old Vit’azny Empire. Small, furry hexapods, they are quick thinking, short lived, numerous, and obsessed with efficiency; they are the ones who attend to the business of actually getting things done. They are technically subjects of the Commonwealth, not full members, but this is more of an oversight than an act of malice. Long before the Commonwealth was ever founded, the Rhodesians thoroughly integrated themselves into Vit’azny society, eventually making themselves indispensable. This trend has carried on with the Commonwealth as a whole, to the point where the Commonwealth’s official capital is actually their homeworld, Corinthene, though all the real power is concentrated on Praetoria, the Vit’azny homeworld. The vast majority of bureaucrats are Rhodesians; most military staffers are Rhodesians; personal aides, diplomatic attaches, economic analysts, technicians, administrators: they are the people who keep the Commonwealth running. The general sentiment towards them is one of distant gratitude: they are underlings, but well appreciated underlings.


Valerians: Valerians are descended from an avian lineage, and retain vestigial wings in addition to a more conventional tetrapod limb configuration. The Valerian Republic is the newest member of the Commonwealth, and the conditions for their joining were highly unusual. Unlike most new members, the Valerian worlds were fully integrated as constituents of the Commonwealth, not colonial holdings. There are a number of factors that prompted this decision - notably the abundance of Valerian psintegrae - but it has caused a great deal of tension across older Commonwealth worlds that are still waiting to be granted constituency. It remains to be seen if the advantages the Valerians bring with them will offset the social unrest their integration has caused.

System of Government:

The governmental apparatus of the Commonwealth is an intricate one. Though an Empire in practice, the Commonwealth pretends to be something else entirely.

There are three main bodies to the Commonwealth’s government: The Parliament of the Sovereign Reich, the Imperial Directorate of the Commonwealth, and The Imperial Crown. The Parliament of the Sovereign Reich is the official government of the Commonwealth. It is composed of 1021 elected representatives who are affiliated with assorted political parties. The party with the most seats after an election composes Her Imperial Majesty’s Government, and the leader of that party becomes Lord Chancellor. He in turn appoints assorted ministers to compose the cabinet. The parliament functions as most parliaments do: bills are presented, voted on, debated, voted on again, and so forth. The Parliament of the Sovereign Reich is responsible for issues affecting the whole of the Commonwealth, with regional authority being granted to smaller legislative assemblies, or the existing governments of member species. The authority of parliament is absolute, and the Imperial Queen is not directly involved in its functioning, though she may appoint heads of committees and task forces. There is an exception, however: Royal Mandates. The Imperial Queen may issue a Royal Mandate at any time, on any subject she deems suitable. A Royal Mandate skips all the debate and voting; in this, the Imperial Queen’s word is law. However, Royal Mandates are a touchy subject: a ruler that uses them too freely to abuse their authority over parliament often finds that their Mandates take a very long time to be implemented, often poorly. On the flipside, Prime Ministers who steadfastly refuse to bow to the ruler’s authority often find themselves in front of parliamentary committees on charges of Contempt of Parliament.

The Imperial Directorate of the Commonwealth is the vast bureaucracy that keeps the trains running on time. From the wealthiest Core world to the most desolate colony, the Imperial Directorate’s deft touch can be seen at work. It consists of a large number of ministries, departments, bureau’s, agencies and crown corporations, all arranged into a maze of regulations and red tape. Cabinet ministries are the largest entities of the Directorate, and cover a variety of areas, everything from defense and procurement to citizen health and wellbeing. Some ministries only operate in certain areas of the Commonwealth; the Ministry of Environment, for example, has absolutely no use in the colonies, but is enormously important in the Core worlds. Similarly, the Ministry of Civil Order is unnecessary in the Core, but plays an important role in oppressing the rebellious colonies. There are also a vast number of agencies that do everything from maintain hyperspace beacons to collect taxes. The Directorate can also be used as something of a political scapegoat if necessary. Ministers, the Lord Chancellor, even the Imperial Queen have been known to redirect blame into the faceless mass of the Directorate on occasion.

This brings us to the final entity of the Commonwealth’s government: the Imperial Crown. The exact limits of the Crown’s authority are vaguely defined and poorly understood. The Crown is an old, old institution, dating back thousands of years to one of Praetoria’s great empires, long before the Vit’azny began venturing into space. The Imperial Crown began with the establishment of the Breshelin Empire, under Catherines distant ancestor, Petyr Dragunov. Originally, the King’s power was absolute, but this power was limited by the first constitution of the Breshelin Empire, which came about after the Wurtenstein Uprising when the first ever parliament was established. Some 900 odd years ago, the Breshelin Empire managed to unite the entire planet of Praetoria under a single government after evidence of intelligent alien life was discovered, and a new parliamentary system was formed and a new constitution was written. The Imperial Crown continued on, but it’s powers were defined under the new constitution as being “similar in nature and spirit to those established under the Wurtenstein Constitution” (due to the Vit’azny legal system being largely based on historical precedent rather than written law). 499 years ago, when the Commonwealth was formed, much of the Crown’s power was again defined as “similar in nature and spirit to those establised under the Planetary Constitution.” Considering all this, the problem becomes apparent: the exact limits of the Crowns’ power are based on a poorly written 2000 year old document. The accepted conventions are as follows: the Crown will ask the majority leader of Parliament to form the official government, and will agree to dissolve parliament and open elections at the request of the majority leader. The Crown is entitled to appoint appropriate individuals to chair parliamentary committees, in consultation with the Lord Chancellor. The Crown is entitled to use Royal Mandates to address matters of urgency for the benefit of the Commonwealth. As of the Colonization Act of 22 AU, the Crown has jurisdiction over Colonial Territories, while the State Ministry is responsible for their administration and answers to the Crown in this regard. Even these conventions are not ironclad, though ignoring them risks a Constitutional Crisis. For the Commonwealth to run smoothly, it is essential for the Crown and the Lord Chancellor to have a good working relationship. If they do, they can combine their efforts to make good use of both of their respective authorities.

History:

As the name implies, the ISC is a large aggregation of “independent” nations united under a single “democratic” government in a “free” and “egalitarian” society. While the name may imply such grandeur, the reality of the ISC is a far cry from independent, democratic, or free. In truth, the ISC is a vast monarchical imperium, dominated by a species of long lived feline humanoids called the Vit’azny, and ruled absolutely by Catherine, the Imperial Queen.

The Commonwealth is a younger nation, at least compared to some of the antiquated species clinging to the scraps of their former glory around the galaxy. The Vit’azny are also a young species full of pride and ambition. Other members of the Commonwealth vary in age; some species were pre-FTL when they joined, others were the remnants of once great empires. Regardless of age or stature, they now bend knee to Her Imperial Majesty, Catherine.

The Vit’azny have been a spacefaring civilization for a little less than 700 years. They set out from their homeworld of Praetoria and began rapidly expanding to accommodate their swelling population. Historically, they have never shied away from warfare, though they are pragmatic above all else and understand the usefulness of diplomacy. First contact with another alien race, the snake-like Yanissans, quickly devolved into war. Seeing how one sided the conflict would be the Yanissans promptly surrendered were annexed as subjects.This happened again with another race, the brutish Szitzu. Neither species were happy as subjects, and rebellions rapidly become a problem for the Vit’azny overlords. 499 years ago (1396 I.C.), they developed a solution: the Imperial Systems Commonwealth. The governments of the Szitzu and Yanissans were restored, and they agreed to the formation of the Parliament of the Sovereign Reich and the other institutions of the Commonwealth.

Distance kept the Vit’azny and later the Commonwealth safe from the overlordship of the Terran Imperium for many years; wracked by internal wars and insurrections, the mighty Imperium could scarcely be bothered to conquer the fledgling Commonwealth at the edge of its borders. However, knowing the Imperium wouldn’t always be distracted, the Commonwealth offered the Imperium its allegiance as a vassal nation in 1523 I.C. The Imperium was content with that the easy diplomatic solution, and the Commonwealth existed as a relatively loyal subject until the Emperor’s death in 1670 I.C. Mere days after the Imperial Yacht crashed in New Rome, the Commonwealth declared independance and dared anyone to say otherwise. As the Imperium crumbled, the Commonwealth flourished, snapping up pieces of old Imperial territory, annexing other imperial subjects, and generally taking advantage of the chaos to swell their own territory.

Together with the Alorians, their staunch allies, the Commonwealth emerged from the Great War as one of the premier powers of the galaxy. With the threat of the Dominion gone, and treaties with Uther invalidated by the Grand Marshals’ death, the Commonwealth has entered a new era of Imperialism, expanding unchecked in all directions. The unaffiliated worlds of the old Southern Reaches now bend knee to the Queen, as do sections of the old Dominion, a few sectors of former Varangian space, and several dozen new colonies in the galactic south.

Their alliance with the Alorians has only grown stronger with time, much to the dismay of the galaxy’s other powers. The two nations represent a massive power block in the galactic southwest, and their shared appetite for conquest shows no signs of abating.

Culture:

Life in the Commonwealth is actually quite pleasant for Vit’azny and other species alike. The Imperial Government maintains a large number of social programs to foster growth and development. Citizens of member species enjoy access to free universal healthcare, free secondary education, heavily subsidized post-secondary education, a decent amount of personal rights and freedoms, unemployment insurance, fair taxation, a fair minimum wage, democratic representation in government, a degree of self governance and independence, and imperial funding for a number of industries. These benefits are something of a trap; they encourage many species to join the Commonwealth, not realizing they will be neither full members nor citizens immediately upon joining. In war, the ISC maintains a policy of always offering membership to their enemies. Many species over the years have decided to join rather than be exterminated. Even some species who could have won the conflict sought a quicker diplomatic end to war and accepted the offer, a decision most have come to regret.

Citizenship is a very important part of Commonwealth society. Being a citizen grants an individual access to all the Commonwealth’s benefits, as well as all its rights and freedoms. Citizens can also move freely from world to world, vote in elections, and apply to present a petition in the Royal Court. Non-citizens have none of these privileges; for them, life can be very hard. There are two ways to gain citizenship: money, or service. An applicant for citizenship must take three different tests: a generalized aptitude test, a specialized IQ test, and finally a citizenship test. While citizenship itself is free and the tests are not particularly difficult, the fees for taking each of the three tests are enormous. This means only wealthy non-citizens can take this route. Children of citizens gain access to citizen privileges via their parents until the reach the age of majority for their species, at which point they must obtain citizenship for themselves. It is common for parents to pay the fees for their children; many banks in the Commonwealth offer services to help citizens with children save up for the admission process, much like a college fund.

The other way to gain citizenship is through service; either to the Royal Armed Forces of the Commonwealth, or to the Imperial Directorate. Both routes skip the usual testing procedures entirely; simply serve for the allotted time, and be granted citizenship. The RAFC will take almost anyone, but is notoriously willing to throw away the lives of non-commissioned soldiers, so the challenge there is living long enough to gain citizenship or get promoted. The Imperial Directorate, in its never-ending quest to find intelligent individuals to help run the Commonwealth, has its own application process, which involves difficult aptitude tests and a number of exams and interviews. However, the Imperial Directorate is not just a quick way to gain citizenship, but also an extremely prestigious career that an individual could happily remain in for life. A third option is sometimes available; the Commonwealth sometimes has colonization drives to settle new colonies or Verge worlds, and offer citizenship to anyone who volunteers after they have lived on the target planet for a set number of years.

Vit’azny culture is strongly embedded with honour and military tradition. While not precisely a militaristic people, the Vit’azny don’t have any particular qualms about getting involved in conflicts, when it is necessary. War, of course, brings honour and glory to those with enough guts to seize them. Anything other than steadfast and heartfelt support of the military during wartime is considered borderline sedition. The culture of the Commonwealth in a larger sense is fairly difficult to pin down. Each member species brings elements of their own culture with them, so where a given species if more concentrated, their culture is more prevalent.

The Commonwealth does have a state religion, which the Vit’azny are quite fervent about. The enthusiasm of the rest of the Commonwealth varies widely. Their faith revolves around a pantheon of 7 gods: chief among them is Llyena, Goddess of Victory and Justice, from whom the Imperial Queen takes her authority. The others are Ichael, God of Life and Death; Arctus, God of Chaos and Destruction; Nezia, Goddess of Thought and Reason; Lexus, God of Order and Industry; Cyris, Goddess of Sight and Time; and Shakras the Lost, God of Secrets, the Unknown, and the Void. While Llyena is chief among the deities, different species in the Commonwealth honour others above her. The sly, snakelike Yanissans, for example, tend to favor Shakras the Lost, while the brutish Szitzu favor Arctus. Different planets, or even individuals of specific occupations will favor some gods over others; doctors might prey for Ichael’s left hand to guide them; the mandates of the Imperial Directorate are stamped with Lexus’s seal; some soldiers might pray to Llyena for victory, while others might pray to Arctus to grant them his battle fury. It is a faith as diverse as the Commonwealth itself.

Important people, places, and organizations:

People
Full titles omitted for brevity

Catherine Romanov, the Imperial Queen: an aging vit’azny woman of the Romanov dynasty, head of state, Queen of the Vit’azny and Empress of the Commonwealth

Lord Gregory Ross, Lord Chancellor of the Commonwealth: Head of the Crown Loyalists party, head of government, political leader of the Commonwealth, a human and a peer of the realm

Lord Virgil Telemachus, Minister of Foreign Affairs: A Rhodesian who has done well for himself, a peer of the realm, part of the well regarded Telemachus family.

Lord Robert Castlereagh, Minister of the Interior: A vit’azny and peer of the realm, previously one of the Commonwealth’s foremost diplomats and Minister of Foreign Affairs. Now Minister of the Interior, he approaches retirement after a long, illustrious career.

Lord Adison Volkov, Minister of War: A vit’azny and peer of the realm with an illustrious military career.

Admiral Emden Konig, CO 5th Fleet: Commander of the Commonwealth’s primary offensive fleet.

General Kyarguin, Head of the Foreign Legions: A szitzu general commanding the majority of the Commonwealth’s ground forces.

Lord Captain Commander Martuf: A well connected and somewhat mysterious Yanissan, now well into old age, but if anything, more cunning than ever.

Admiral Maria Anisimovna, CO Mercy Fleet: Commander of the Commonwealth's peacekeeper/intervention fleet in unaffiliated space.

Organizations

Royal Armed Forces of the Commonwealth: the collective term for the Royal Commonwealth Navy and the Commonwealth Army Corps.

Mercy Fleet: A conspicuously large fleet operating outside the Commonwealth's borders, Mercy fleet is ostensibly a peacekeeping unit. The fact that it has more or less the same composition as a Commonwealth Battlefleet is certainly a coincidence. The flagship, CSC Salvation, has extended medical facilities where the marine quarters would normally go, so it is technically a hospital ship. A heavily armed hospital ship. Yes, Mercy Fleet is certainly a peacekeeping force.

Office of Naval Intelligence: A notoriously inept branch of the RCN, tasked with intelligence relating to warfare.

Commonwealth Intelligence Directorate: A civilian intelligence organization reporting to the Minister of the Interior, supposed to concern itself with security threats internal and external. Ends up sharing ONI’s responsibilities and does a much better job of it.

Oresteia: The King is dead, the crowds despair, the heavy crown is ours to bear. A little known organization with vaguely defined responsibilities and sweeping powers.

Places

Corinthene: The Commonwealth’s capital, seat of the Parliament of the Sovereign Reich, ancestral homeworld of the Rhodesians.

Praetoria: Seat of the Imperial Crown, so called “Shadow Capital”, homeworld of the Vit’azny

Sthis Tor: Yanissan homeworld, a place of intrigue, hedonism, and debauchery.

Ursuli: Szitzu homeworld, a major military stronghold and training centre.

Military size:

8%. A combination of patriotism and the lure of citizenship has driven ellistment rates higher than they otherwise would be.

Military details:

Royal Armed Forces of the Commonwealth

The Commonwealth’s military, especially the navy, is very highly regarded amongst the populace. This pride, a healthy amount of pressganging, and the promise of citizenship results in a higher than average service rate. Military service is considered to be very honourable and prestigious; even the wealthiest of the nobility serve at some point in their lives, indeed some of them attained their lofty positions through that service. The RAFC prides itself on being a meritocracy where skill is what matters, not species or social status. This is mostly true, though some individual Vit’azny officers act otherwise. For the most part, however, the RAFC can bring one great fame and fortune; both the army and navy offer prize money for captured enemy equipment, as well as generous pensions for officers. The RAFC highly values even the most junior of its officers, including warrant officers. The enlisted men, however, may as well be cannon fodder, though this sentiment is not obvious. The official explanation for the high death rates among enlisted men is that they are over-eager to prove themselves, and so take unnecessary risks.

The Royal Commonwealth Navy

The RCN is an old institute that dates back to when ships sailed the seas instead of the stars. The Vit’azny saw no need to create a separate organization when space flight began, and the RCN simply assumed responsibility of military endeavours in space. The RCN remains convinced that the good old fashioned broadside is the best way to win any fight, though the range of these broadsides has increased significantly since the marine days of the RCN.
As a result, Commonwealth ships tend to be tall and thin, with positron beam turrets on their dorsal and ventral surfaces. The sides of the ships carry the majority of the broadside armament, which consists of multiple missile tubes and medium-calibre railgun batteries. Flak systems and point defence lasers are scattered across the ship. Shields are designed to be highly redundant, with even the smallest ships having multiple shield generators. Additionally, most Commonwealth ships are equipped with axial mounted weapons: older ships use supersized MAC guns, while many newer designs use massive superlasers. This configuration reflects the RCN’s current tactical doctrine. A given RCN ship is designed to be able to approach an enemy ship, firing with their positron turrets, axial weapons, and missile batteries at a target in front of them. Once the opening salvo has been fired, the ship turns to present its broadside, allowing all its positron turrets and broadside weapons to open fire. The relentless pounding of barrages of railgun rounds is meant to pummel away shields, while the positron cannons are meant to sear through armor. Missiles can be equipped with a variety of warheads, making them suitable for either purpose. For fleet engagements, the RCN’s most common tactic is to have ships form into a wall formation, each ship presenting their broadside to the enemy for devastating effect. Since space is a 3-dimensional place, the wall formation often ends up being adjusted to a sort of semi-spherical formation, which ships altering their broadside angles slightly to fire on targets approaching from any vector. This formation is often deployed to form a defensive screen for Commonwealth Star Carriers as they unleash their hordes of strike craft from the safety of the centre of the formation.

Weapons tech:

MCM: Multiple Configuration Missiles are another mainstay of Commonwealth military power. Commonwealth missiles are highly modulated, with a number of interchangeable components that allows ships to rapidly assemble whatever type of munition is needed. Warhead features range from standoff range ion beams to direct contact anti armor plasma charges. Fuselage features include additional drive sections for high speed missiles, extra fuel for extreme range engagements, and extra EW capability, among others. The drive section can be configured for long range bombardment or high speed evasive maneuvers. A kinetic warhead, enhanced targeting fuselage, and short range high speed drive combined make an excellent defensive missile, while an ion warhead with a stealth fuselage and long range drive can make a nasty surprise for enemy shields. The development of multi-stage drive systems for missiles has drastically increased their range over the last few decades.

Axial Weapons: Though Commonwealth ships are designed to engage with broadsides, their long narrow profiles presented an opportunity that was too good to pass on. As a result, all Commonwealth ships mount high calibre axial weapons that fire from the bow. Most vessels tend to have high intensity superlasers. Battleships and Dreadnoughts mount two axial weapons, while smaller ships mount only one. Powerful as they may be, these weapons are not the ship’s primary armament, so they are not as effective or mass intensive as a full sized spinal weapon would be.

Graviton railguns: The primary weapon of the RCN. The principle of magnetic rails accelerating a metallic slug is an old and quite simple one. The only modification the RCN has made is that, instead of magnetism, their railguns use artificial gravity systems to massively increase the size and speed of projectiles, and have multiple munitions types to accommodate different situations, such as armor piercing rounds, shield-breaker rounds, and flak rounds. Graviton railguns are configured in huge numbers of double mounts on the broadsides of Commonwealth ships.

Positron Beam Cannons: The pinnacle of Commonwealth energy weapons tech, positron cannons are devastatingly effective. They are mounted in massive turrets on the dorsal and ventral surfaces of Commonwealth ships and configured to deliver optimum firepower both forwards and to either side.

Hypometric Weaponry: Absolute cutting edge technology, hypometric weaponry has only been installed in a few of the newest classes of Commonwealth ships. Devastatingly effective against both shields and armour, hypometric weapons are a progression of Commonwealth gravity technology; they function by creating temporary micro-singularities with highly localized effects. Hypometric arrays are mounted on both broadsides, tapping directly into their own dedicated Wronski-Birks Graviton reactor.

General Technology:

Technological Overview:

The Commonwealth’s general tech level is comparable to that of other major galactic powers. The multi-national nature of the Commonwealth has brought together a myriad of technologies and ideas and combined them in innovative new ways. For example, the primitive brute force firepower of Szitzu mass drivers was combined with Vit’azny gravity expertise to develop a much more deadly weapon, while Yanissan missile systems and Rhodesian miniaturization have given the Commonwealth incredible versatility in their long range firepower. Each species brings something to the table. Yanissan expertise in biotechnology is unmatched, while the Vit’azny are experts fusion reactions. One of the main reasons for inviting the Valerian Republic to join the Commonwealth was the expertise in nanotechnology and information systems, though this technology has yet to reach widespread distribution in the Commonwealth

GDC: The most remarkable Commonwealth technology is without a doubt their engine systems. The Graviton Drive Chain is a massive engine system that takes up a good portion of a ship’s mass. In the main reactor core, a self perpetuating Wronski-Birks reaction creates huge amounts of energy, gravitons, and anti-gravitons. The particles are directed around the ship to form a gravitational envelope around the ship, which simultaneously pulls the ship from the front and pushes at the rear. When reinforced by generators along the surface of the ship, this envelope doubles as a very effective shielding system. Having the ship enclosed in its own gravitational field grants a number advantages, most notably extremely good acceleration and maneuverability. The GDC also serves as a ship’s FTL engine. Emitting intense bursts of gravity allows the ship to slip into subspace to rapidly move from one point to another, a process referred to as surging. Surging is affected by other gravitational forces, making it more difficult to surge near planets or stars, or even other ships using GDC technology. A coordinated surge by a Commonwealth fleet is an extremely complex maneuver, requiring extensive calculations to avoid disaster. The range of an individual surge is fairly limited, so long range travel is done by a chain of shorter surges. In battle, surges are extremely useful, allowing Commonwealth ships to periodically relocate themselves into more favorable firing positions. The main limitations on combat surges are the processing power required to perform surge calculations, the time it takes the GDC to cooldown for another surge, and the fact that a surge severely depletes the strength of a ship’s gravitational envelope and thus its shields. A poorly executed combat surge will usually end in disaster, but a successful one can cause a decisive victory.

Economy

The Commonwealth is an industrial juggernaut, with massive production capabilities. This industry is driven by an extensive trade network and a skilled workforce, but the real power of the Commonwealth comes from an immensely wealthy tax base and an abundance of cheap manual labour and raw materials. The disparity between the wealthy and the poor is truly astonishing, and a direct result of how the Commonwealth is organized. The worlds of the Commonwealth are classified into one of four categories: Core worlds, Constituent worlds, Colonial worlds, and Verge worlds.

There are many worlds in the Commonwealth, but not all are equal. Some are outrageously wealthy, some are desperately poor; different species dominate different worlds; some praise the Imperial Queen with every breath, some curse her name in the streets. The disparity is astonishing. The worlds of the Commonwealth are classified into one of four categories: Core worlds, Constituent worlds, Colonial worlds, and Verge worlds.

The Core worlds are the original Vit’azny colonies and a small number of worlds of some of the ISC’s oldest “members”. The vast majority of the Commonwealth’s wealth is concentrated on these worlds. In fact, money is the only real industry of the Core worlds. Almost all food and manufactured goods are imported from the Constituents and the Colonies, with the exception of some ultra-high end luxury goods. Any respectable company maintains its corporate headquarters on one of the Core worlds, with some exceptions. Money is the biggest industry of the Core worlds, with countless financial service providers and stock exchanges dominating the economy. Core worlds tend to be heavily populated; on average, about 70% of a Core world’s landmass is covered by gleaming cities. The majority of the population is inevitably Vit’azny, and poverty is virtually nonexistent on these worlds. While one would expect a society as lopsided as the Commonwealth’s would pass off the burden of taxation to its helpless colonies and let the Core Worlds amass their fortunes, this is not the case.The Commonwealth in fact maintains a sophisticated taxation system with multiple income brackets where the highest bracket pays the most taxes. Through this system, the Core worlds actually provide the majority of the Commonwealth’s tax income. Aspects of the Commonwealth such as the taxation system and the Parliament of the Sovereign Reich have convinced many species to join the Commonwealth over the years. By the time they discover some of the ‘conditions’ attached to membership, it is too late.

The Constituent worlds are the backbone of the Commonwealth. They include newer Vit’azny colonies, a large number of Commonwealth colonies, and the worlds of moderately respected member nations. The Constituent worlds are much less homogeneous than the Core worlds: some are richer, some less so, and even on a given planet there is a wide margin between the wealthy and the poor. A given planet, or even a given city on that planet, will have affluent communities and slums alike. Like the Commonwealth as a whole, the Vit’azny and a number of the older member species form the elite, with a healthy spattering of individuals from all kinds of species who happened to do very well for themselves. Constituent worlds are ruled by either Imperial Legislatures of the Commonwealth (in the case of colonies founded by the Commonwealth as a whole) or by existing governments (in the case of colonies established by individual members). Constituent worlds have full member status in the Commonwealth; citizens may vote in imperial and regional elections; while the world itself has high degree of self governance, can apply for subsidies from the Imperial Treasury, and has a number of other advantages. Constituent status is essentially citizenship for a planet, though individuals on the planet still have to adhere to normal citizenship procedures. The Constituent worlds are the primary manufacturing and processing centres of the Commonwealth. While the Core worlds’ only industry is money and the Colonies tend to only provide raw materials and cheap labour, Constituent industry does a bit of everything; large scale mining, agriculture, the production of consumer goods, starship construction, and all the financial and legal services that such industries need. It is all jumbled together in a free market economy that powers the massive industrial capabilities of the Commonwealth.

Colonial worlds are tragic monuments to the lies, oppression, and broken promises of the Commonwealth. They are the worlds of new or reluctant member species, and by the strictures of the Colonization act, these worlds are not technically members of the Commonwealth, but are instead subjects. Most Colonial worlds are desperately poor and underdeveloped, even if they were originally quite advanced. Many species join the Commonwealth with the understanding that they will enjoy all its benefits; citizenship, representation in Parliament, a degree of self-government, fair taxation, security, universal healthcare, subsidization, free education etc. Unfortunately, the Colonization act decrees that all newly added worlds are considered colonial holdings, and are under the direct authority of her Imperial Majesty, not the Parliament of the Sovereign Reich. This means they are not eligible for any of the Commonwealth’s social programs, nor do they have any representation in Parliament. They are not ruled by legislative assemblies, but instead by Colonial Governors, who are appointed by the Imperial Queen at the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor. Few people are citizens on Colonial Worlds; only the Vit’azn dominated elite, who take ownership of any industry or natural resources on the planet and employ the locals as ultra-cheap labour. Slavery is illegal throughout the Commonwealth, but with no minimum wage or labour rights for non-citizens, colonial labourers can be paid almost nothing. Some landowners elect to provide food, clothing, and shelter for their employees and then pay them nothing at all, reasoning that room and board are taken from their pay, and the rest goes to taxes. Colonial Worlds are subject to the same fair taxation system as the rest of the Commonwealth, but it is not taxes that leave them in poverty. A clause of the Colonization act permits the Commonwealth to seize any assets it deems necessary from Colonial worlds and their inhabitants. Money, goods, resources, land, businesses, even people; all can be seized and repossessed by the crown, or given to a favored citizen. The exploitation and lack of support causes technological regression on many worlds; it is not uncommon to see vehicles with internal combustion engines on Colonial worlds, and even horses in extreme cases. Colonial worlds are often quite rebellious during the early years of their integration, but the Commonwealth is always quick to brutally repress such uprisings. The brutality they employ deters further uprisings, but it is the hope of citizenship, or even becoming a Constituent world, that ultimately keeps the colonies in line. Unlike citizenship, there is no specific criteria for a Colonial world to gain Constituent status and full membership; it is simply granted at the discretion of the governor and the Imperial Queen, again with the advice of the Lord Chancellor. This means a world might easily wait 15 years or 50, or even 500. The Imperial Queen usually tries to grant Constituent status to at least one colony per decade, in order to keep other colonies hopeful and obedient. This process is always accompanied by a grand ceremony where the Imperial Queen herself visits the new Constituent world, relieves the planetary governor, and validates its new government, while the Commonwealth holds a colonization drive to boost the world’s population and showers it with money and resources. A three-day festival is held to celebrate the change in status, and the day of the ceremony becomes a statutory holiday for that world. Some Colonial worlds, however, are so remote, poor, or useless that they will likely never be granted Constituent status. A few of the extreme cases have even been largely forgotten by the Commonwealth and the crown, and the inhabitants have in turn forgotten the Commonwealth.

Verge worlds are planets on the very edge of Commonwealth space. Their categorization has more to do with their location than their membership status. They are not grossly exploited like colonial worlds, nor are they pampered like Core worlds. They are ruled by military governors, and all have a heavy military presence due to their location on the borders of Commonwealth space. Some few are actually quite wealthy and heavily populated, almost as much as a core world. Most others are significantly less so. They’re populated by a wide array of people: military personnel, hopeless colonials seeking citizenship, prospectors seeking riches, wealthy citizens with a taste for adventure, convicts in forced relocation programs, and so on. Their purpose is to guard the borders of the commonwealth, anything else is secondary. Verge worlds usually have extremely diverse populations and much more relaxed culture, and social status is not considered as important. The military often provides some of the benefits that the imperial government would elsewhere, so the populace is not as desperate for citizenship as on other worlds. This much freer society makes them places of opportunity. Historically, some of the Commonwealth’s most successful corporations were started on Verge worlds, though some say that’s only propaganda. Regardless, Verge worlds are better places to live than many Colonial worlds, and even the slums on poorer Constituent worlds.

Fleet

Queen Catherine-class Commonwealth Star Carrier


Victory-class Dreadnought


Triumph-class Battleship


Resplendent-class Battleship


Diligence-Class Battlecruiser


Imperial-class Heavy Cruiser


Resolve-class Heavy Cruiser


Defiant-class Cruiser


Phalanx-class Destroyer


Gladiator-class Frigate


Striker-class Corvette


Bomber


Fighter


Gunship

Army

Mixed regulars
The varied population of the Commonwealth mean that their regular infantry is composed of multiple species. Well trained, equipped with shielded combat armor and a variety of graviton-acceleration based projectile weapons, the Commonwealths infantry can hold their own on any battlefield in the Galaxy.

Szitzu Shock Troopers
The natural size and strength of the Szitzu makes them uniquely well suited to ground combat. Combined with power armor, personal shields, and man-portable positron cannons, the Szitzu are a devastating addition to any conflict.

Valerian Skyjacks
A new addition to the Commonwealth's armies, Valerian Skyjacks have cybernetically enhanced their otherwise useless wings into functional flight appendages. Their power armor is lighter than other models, sacrificing protection for speed and mobility with built in thrusters. Skyjacks are optimally suited for ambush tactics; flying at high altitude and dropping from the sky directly on top of unsuspecting enemy infantry.

Yanissan Su'urtugal
The end result of Yanissan efforts to weaponize psionics, the pinnacle of their genetic splicing programs, the most deadly and unquestioningly loyal soldiers in the Commonwealth: Su'urtugal. The enigmatic organization known as Toolbox tracks down and requisitions all Yanissan psintegrae shortly after birth, then spirits them away to locations unknown to begin a lifetime of training and genetic tampering. The resulting individuals are stronger, faster, smarter, brimming with psionic power, and machinelike in their efficiency. Deployed as spies, elite bodyguards, and elite special operatives in combat, Su'urtugal are constantly in high demand.

IH870 'Piper' Infantry Support Walker

MT330 'Instigator' Main Battle Tank

CA425 'Kestrel' Multi-role gunship

Era of Strained Détente

Still in game. Do you want to re-approve my NS or should I just copy paste it from the old thread?

Era of Succession(Closed)

Oh, a hundred years? That's quite a bit longer than I was expecting. Intredasting.

Era of Succession(Closed)

I'm still here, game for timeskip or not, either way.

Era of Succession(Closed)

With Uruk and Bilbo

Richter System, Fortress World of Richter Prime

Like most RCN officers, Adison Volkov rather liked GDC engines. They offered excellent acceleration, good maneuverability, and produced very little strain on intertial dampeners. Their FTL was also an excellent tactical asset; Volkov had siezed more than one victory through the clever use of tactical FTL jumps. However, now those same engines were making his life an unending headache. Jumps grew more complicated to calculate with distance and with increasing numbers of ships. Larger ships, and CSCs in particular, were designed with increased computer power to make those increasingly taxing calculations for entire fleets. But that didn't help in the slightest when half the of Coalition expeditionary force used a completely different form of FTL.

With the Alorians using conventional warp FTL, they travelled from point to point through subspace in a continuous trip, while the RCN did it in a series of FTL jumps that frequently emerged into realspace. In terms of absolute speed, the two forms of travel were fairly similar. But trying to coordinate it so that both forces emerged in realspace in the same place at the same time was a logistical nightmare, especially when factoring in the Varangian deep space detection arrays around the Richter system. Extensive scouting, pre-war intelligence, and some educated guesswork had given the Coalition forces a pretty solid idea of the capabilities of those arrays. The problem was, once the main fleet was in range, the Varangians, with continuously updated intelligence on their exact position, could choose to engage at any point, using their damned ship-mounted interdictors to isolate the two halves of the fleet from eachother as they made their way seperately in system. The Varangian picket of the system was fairly moderate so either element of the fleet could handle them individually, but Volkov knew they'd be encountering the same problem with heavier defences the farther they went into Varangian territory. Now was as good a time as any to work out an effective approach strategy. So it was that the combined fleets sat a good distance outside the estimated detection range, waiting.
"Comms," Volkov said, "put me through to HRMS Tyrant, let's get the Generals on the horn and see what we can come up with."

The control bridge of the HRMS Tyrant was buzzing with activity, the officers of the ship gathered around computers and tables trying to figure out the FTL jumps which were giving both parts of the Coalition a hard time. This is something that the two powers should have worked out long before the invasion started, and was now biting them in the ass. Takeer had just returned from some kind of training excersize with the infantry and Selene was sitting at her place, gazing out at all of the sourrounding ships in the invading fleet.

A male officers voice rung out from the far ends of the bridge, "Comms request from the CSC Praetoria". He shouted. Takeers gruff voice called back to him as he walked slowly towards Selene and infront of the holo-screen. "Accept it". In a couple of seconds an image of Volkov in his own ship was displayed infront of them, and they both nodded, smiling slightly.
"Hello Admiral, what can we do for you?"

"Good afternoon Generals." It was technically the afternoon, as both fleets had decided to synchronize their clocks to Earth's 24 hour GMT time for simplicity's sake. "I can't help but feel we should have drilled for this situation before we launched the invasion, but with all the battle excersises we were doing there was hardly time," the three of them shared a rueful smile.
"Still," Volkov continued, "better we work on it now than when we reach Agartha. I've consulted with my fleet officers and my command staff. We believe the safest way to proceed in system is in short FTL hops to assigned coordinates, with your ships proceeding first via warp, and then mine jumping to meet you. It will be slow, but it will reduce the danger posed by Varangian interception, and with those detection arrays telling the Varangians exactly where we are, interception is a very real risk."

Both Generals kept quiet for a few moments as they thought about what the Admiral had proposed. They could find far less flaws with this plan of action than anything either of the fleets had came up with before to solve the problem, so for now it would do them well. Selene nodded, "I see no problem with that. I'm sure we could use that method going foward". She then looked to Takeer and he spoke.
"Another thing we were thinking about were the Varangian detection arrays. We believe we have come up with an effective way of tackling that problem". He paused for a second, as Eva walked onto the scene, but she didn't say anything and instead observed them all.
"When our fleets meet at a rendevouz outside our target system, we thought that sending smaller groups of lesser ships to eliminate the detection arrays could only serve us well". He took a breath, "Two things could happen. Either the Varangians do not intercept these lesser ships, and we destory the detection arrays so our fleets can move through a blindspot in varangian intelligence, and therefore have the upper hand". He stopped, motioning for Eva to speak. She looked up at him, biting her lip softly before she took a step foward.
"If the Varangian's do decide to intercept and our ships end up in a firefight, our larger fleets could warp straight past them and too the target. They would know, but they would be distracted as they engage the ships at the detection arrays. We also further doubt that they would send a massive amount of ships, so the smaller groups who do attack shouldn't suffer major losses". This was only the third or fourth time Eva had spoken to the Admiral, but it seemed she was gaining confidence and coming across much better.

Volkov frowned to himself, and stroked his chin absently. He'd beens so busy workin the FTL problem over in his head, he hadn't considered striking the detection arrays themselves. But it made sense, and as Takeer and Eva had pointed out, it left the Varangians with few good options, especially when defending something as large and delicate as a deep space sensor array. The strike force wouldn't have to be very large or inflict that much damage to put a few arrays offline, even if only temporarily. He looked up at the projections of his fellow commanders, and his eyes rested on Eva for a second. Nobody had seen fit to tell him what such a young girl was doing heading up an invasion fleet, and Volkov was too polite to ask directly. A mystery for another day...
"That's a solid plan," he agreed. "Let's start working out the rendezvous points, and figuring out the composition of the strike force."

Twelve hours after

The fleets carried on floating through the expanse of space for another twelve hours before any action was taken. The fleet commanders had to make sure both halves of the Coalition were debreifed and able to carry out the attack plans. The Alorian Generals set apart a small group of six corvettes, six cruisers and two more powerful destoryers. They were joined by ten corvettes, eight destroyers and two cruisers from the Commonwealth. Something that had caused confusion between the two navies had been the use of cruisers and destroyers, as with the Alorian navy the latter was more powerful, and with the commonwealths navy cruisers seemed to be more powerful. This small fleet was headed by the commanders from the HRMS Tyrant and the CSC Praetoria, who were linked on comms with eachother aboard their respective vessels, as well as the capitans of the attacking group, nicknamed "Strikeforce Rapier".

As the FTL drives of Strikeforce rapier warmed up, one of the Capitans patched through to both commanding ships. "Rapier is ready to go. Requesting permission to jump".
"Permission granted, Rapier".

Eight hours after

The smaller ships of Strikeforce Rapier were able to travel faster than their mother fleets. They were also employing sensor jammers to reduce their signatures, making the strikeforce seem even smaller. Nevertheless, Captain Dostyaki Matthews of the RCNS Pelym was nervous. As the senior-most captain of the Commonwealth ships, he was ultimately responsible for their safety, and even with his Vigilance-class cruiser, he was feeling a little vulnerable. They were just one FTL hop from weapons range on their target sensor array. The Alorian ships had already gone ahead, and they would be arriving at the attack coordinates in less than a minute, and the RCN ships would have to perfectly time their instantaneous FTL jump to arrive at the exact same instant. The multiple jumps before this one had given the Coalition forces time to practice the maneuvers, but it was still going to be a close thing.

"The Alorian Navy ships will be arriving in 30 seconds," the navigation officer reported.
"Spool FTL drive, prepare to jump on my mark," Matthews replied. He kept a close eye on the ship's chronometer. "Jump in 5...4...3...2...1...Mark!"

Light-minutes away, just at the edge of weapons range from the first target sensor array, the Alorian ships dropped back into realspace, and within an instant, the Commonwealth ships appeared beside them in a flash of light and gravitons. The instant their sensors cleared, missiles launched at the distant array.

The array was an ugly thing, obviously made for fuctionality over form. It hung alone in the dark, small lights along the outstreched sensor arms the only indication that the thing was even there. As the ships entered into the things proximity several encoded transmissions were sent, as they moved in and launched, several more transsmissions echoed out from the small station. Yet it did nothing else as the missiles neared their target, the lights blinked once... twice and then were dark as the thing exploded, the sensor arms to whitch the lights were attached being flung out into the inky black.

As the light and energy of the detonation cleared however it would be clear to the strike group that they were not alone, as silhouetted against the stars hung three Widow class ships. It would be obvious now the ships had been seemingly waiting there the entire time, probably in a low power state to avoid detection, only now coming to full operational power and thus onto the sensors. But yet the Widows did not move, nor did they launch fighters, they simply hung there, watching and waiting.

Or so it would seem as a message would suddenly be broadcast to the entire strike force, a simple and short message "The dance greets its new particapants."

With that the three would begin to manuver away, the motions of the ships syncronized to an almost inhuman level. But yet they did not jump yet, as a communication ping was sent to the largest ships in the strike force, one for each faction, the ping itself was an invitation to open up a channel, but its origens would be up for debate as the source seemed to be bouncing between the three ships.

"Incoming hail Captain" the comms officer aboard Pelym reported.
"Very well" Captain Matthews said. "Put it through"

The voice that would come over the com would be rather light and airy, carying less weight than a Tor or even a human voice "Ah so you actually picked up. I will not waste your time, im sure you have important things to be doing captian...?" The other captian seemed to wait for Matthews to fill in the blank.

Matthews' voice was cold, scarcely concealing fury. He didn't bother giving his name. "Your government has betrayed you. The Vala, the Tor, the Sia; all have been abandonned in the name of political expediency. Your Dominus has signed a deal with the devil. Rest assured Faust will purge every non human in Varangian space when he has his way. Why you stand in defence of such a regime, I can't fathom. Rest assured, if you surrender now, you will be treated with the utmost hospitality. Otherwise..." Matthews sighed.
"We can not and will not ignore the danger your allegiance to Faust poses. Tell your forces on Richter Prime to surrender, or we will undertake drastic orbital bombardment."

The Com sat silent for a moment until a sound came over it, a musical tone that one couldnt tell exactly what it was until the sound of breathing followed it. It was a laugh, "Oh sweet child. We know Faust and what he will try to do if allowed his way. As for the hospitality you offer, I can't say anything about yours, but I can speak volumes on your freinds. They are your freinds right? In any case, I have also been told to give you a message, for you to pass on to your higher ranks." The sound of the Sia clearing her throat is heard before she continues "Turn away, leave this place and return home to your wars and your homes. The defensive pacts made will not be called to action, and this incident will be forgotten if this is done. But if you wish it, come forward and dance with us on the ashes of your worlds." The Sia laughed once more before she spoke up again "So grim isnt it? in any case dear Captian, come to Richter Prime if you wish, we shall await your arrival or answer with bated breath." With that the Widow engaged their engiens to full as the form of a Recluse would jump into the system well outside of weapons range, flanked by four Hahni. When this happened it would become clear that the com was being relayed from the Recluse, using the Widows as relays or amplifiers. When the Widows reached the group all ships would power up their FTL, and just before jump one last message would come through "I can tell we will speak again before this is all done, so we might as well know at least one of our names so introductions will be somewhat easier next time. You may call me Valentina."

The bridge crew watched the main plot as the Varangian ships dissappeared. "Do you think they really mean it?" the XO said quietly. Matthews shifted in his seat. "In a way, yes. I think if we and the Alorians went home right now, the Varangians would not attack either of us. But our treaty with Uther obligates us to go to war with the Dominion, and I think the Varangians are too honorable to completely ignore their own treaty obligations. Either way, it's not our call. Relay the message to the flagships, and proceed to the next array."