Starwhip

Galactic Conquest

Mmh, well, I suppose I may need to figure out the loadout of an Ekaitz dreadnought before consulting threat levels

Galactic Conquest

@6slyboy6 I wonder what 5% of 500 megatons of laser energy would do to your hull... :P

Galactic Conquest

SHADOW STAR -- OVERLOOK BRIDGE
Approximated coordinates of Transmission Alpha

0437 hours, the terminal read. Just three minutes shy of their estimated arrival time, they were going to be early. The Drive was almost prepped for a cold jump to the target, the computer reading showing thirty seconds remaining. There was dead silence on the bridge as they waited for the order, Arelya staring at her terminal with anticipation. She'd walked the length of the ship during the journey with Maverick and Tekrol, ensuring that their weapons and shields were at peak running conditions. Two jumps ago they test-fired the ensemble, ensuring that their targeting solutions were correct. Now the capacitors were at half charge, as was standard protocol for a potentially hostile jump in. It was enough to fire a powerful salvo and enough to tank a beating for them to make an escape.

"Confirm fuel reserves for slow fold."

"Fuel reads good, drive is locked on. Sensors confirm we are running cold," Bramwell sounded off like a machine. "Thermal readings on the drive are a minimum, ready on your mark."

The captain nodded, grabbing a sturdy rung over the command deck and facing the three-meter thick viewports of the forward bridge. "Comms, do we still have a lock with H-C?" A yes. "Systems are go for fold, charge drive capacitors."

The ship hummed as the reactor diverted power over the massive internal conduits, and the Drive's motors began to spool. It was a single lightyear jump, a cakewalk for the ship, which chirped over the in-ship comms as optimal conditions were met. Lyra activated the safety on her console and motioned forward with her hand. "Go for fold."
The view through the windows snapped inward suddenly, compressing to an intense point of violet light, before expanding out into a bright ring and blazing past the ship. Within seconds, they were face to face with a planet, a desert world prominent in the sky, a cool yellow star blazing to one side of the bridge.

"Check distortions, engage thermal cloak." Lyra pulled up the sensor map, giving the whole bridge a view of what their passives were seeing. "There are a lot of contacts here. Keep the drives cool, deploy radio antennas."

"Jump in disturbance was minimal, we are black."
"Lots of local radio chatter. Language... sounds similar, hard to judge." Raldyr, the kyrian communications officer, switched off the chatter that played from his console and seemed to listen. "I can hear them in my head, source must be very strong for a local broadcast. Distress signal?"
Arelya nodded next to him, her natural radio buzzing with voices. "Sounds like one." The chatter continued for several minutes, the ship relaying its data back to High Command, until an unexpected broadcast cut the background noise like a knife. Both kyrians on the bridge flinched at the strength before their implants offered protection.

"Engaging decryption protocols, phonetics detection is enabled and......" Raldyr stopped, obviously confused. "Translating. Captain, parts of this message are already in the banks."
"CCL-31, this is Command. Repeat?"
"Uh... Local radio broadcast is tripping the translation matrix, definitely positive partial translation. Large vessel in orbit around our target... Seems to be offering a spot for negotiations."
There was a muted shuffling on the other side of the line as somebody moved toward the console. "Stand by."

Lyra motioned to mute their side of the line, then turned to address the kyrians. "Arelya, Raldyr, you may wish to prepare yourselves to disembark. I suspect we'll be paying this craft a visit. No need for full armor, although mesh uniform wouldn't be a bad idea."

"CCL-31, we suggest continuing stealth, but if you are able to launch a comm beacon, you are to attempt to contact this vessel. Command standing by for further reports."
---------------------------------------------------------
A small probe was pushed by a burst of cold gas from the forward launch tube, a laser array orienting to lock on to the Shadow Star. Minutes passed, putting tens of kilometers between the mothership and its drone, before a returning broadcast was played, a directed radio transmission aimed at the alien craft.

"Unknown spacecraft, this is captain Lyra Bowyer of the Cindorian vessel Shadow Star. We are preparing to send a two-party away team to rendezvous with your vessel with the intent of peaceful diplomacy. Requesting confirmation of broadcast."

Galactic Conquest

COMMAND CENTER: SHADOW STAR
Hasrya System, shortly after Covenant Marking

System reboot complete. Sensors online. Shields online. Propulsion online. Drives online. Initializing sensor network. . .. .. ..... ... .. .
Configuration failed
ERR 23387: Bad Transmission
Initializing sensor network (Atmp 2) ... ... .. .. . . ..... .
Configuration failed
ERR 23387: Bad Transmission
Diagnosis started. ETC 24:44:20
-------------------------------------
Diagnosis complete (24:42:57)
Probable cause: external transmission, bad translation
Logged raw data to memloc 000C8A, bank 07

The holoscreen flickered in the air next to the sensor console, the blue text of the system log in one corner of the terminal. One eye watched the display, the other closed in a futile attempt to make up for the long shift. Artenan leaned back in his seat, frowning slightly at the last message as it popped into view. He opened both eyes, watching the terminal for any further updates, but the ship continued its reboot with no further errors. Curious, he sat up and accessed the memory location listed, inspecting the data it contained. It was approximately forty seconds long, containing a lot of white noise in quanta that the sensors were not generally rigged to detect. He shrugged, deciding to play it over the audio system. As he suspected, there was a loud crackling from the speakers, with periods of silence stretching out for several seconds mixed in.

Until the last 7 seconds, where the sensor operator could have sworn he had heard voices amongst the noise. Artenan paused the recording, playing it again from the last 10 seconds. It wasn't a fluke, there were definitely words in there, although they weren't in any language known by the Coalition. Deftly his hands worked the console, cleaning up the broadcast with over a decade's worth of audio training. Minutes later he had an undeniable sample of alien language, sounding quite distressed, along with a rough approximation of the coordinates of the broadcast. Nearly seven hundred lightyears away.... quite a journey, which explained the terrible receiving quality.

He pushed the processed and original transmission out on a channel to Archangel, hoping for an advisement. He knew it would be unlikely at this hour to receive an official order, but somebody would be at the station to take the call. He didn't expect the somebody who answered.

"CCL-31, transmission recieved. Commander Kel'ar requesting open channel at soonest discretion."

Artenan sat bolt upright, barely suppressing the urge to salute. He fumbled slightly with the comms, opening a channel to the flagship's captain, before responding. "SCR-1, channel open, Officer Nychols on duty."

"Ah, Nychols, excellent. I expected your handiwork. These coordinates, they are accurate? A broadcast from the Core?"

"Aye, as best I can make out. The ship caught them while the sensors were initializing, they would have slipped right past our noise gates otherwise."

"Lucky find, then. I've submitted a request to high command that this be investigated immediately." The commander chuckled, and Artenan could feel her shaking her head. "What are the odds, Nychols, of both you and your grandfather establishing our only recorded first contacts?"

"I would say very slim, ma'am. It may be a bogus reading from one of the surface bases. But it is extremely interesting, and may be worth an investigation."

"Precisely. Stay on the line, but no need to rouse your ship just yet. I will be receiving word shortly."

--------------------------------------------

Arelya felt a slight whine in her ears through the fog of sleep, her face's features drawing together in displeasure as she tried to bury her head beneath the cover of her wing. The tone was specifically engineered to interrupt sleep, however, so within a minute the kyrian was staring blearily at the speaker mounted by the door to her quarters. What in Lyveck's name... it's oh-fifteen?! She sent out a short blip with her radio, acknowledging that she was awake, and the awful sound ceased. With a sigh she pulled herself off of the bed and checked her insignia bands, before heading up to the command deck to answer the bridge call. Half the crew was already there, Lyra nodding to Rel as she entered the room. The weapon officer saluted back to the ship's captain and moved to her post.

The clock read 0021 hours when the full crew had arrived, and the briefing began. High Command had designated Shadow Star and her crew to investigate the potential transmission. The journey would take four hours, with the first leg being propelled by Gate One. They were to avoid contact unless explicitly ordered to, or engaged, and would act as a listening post for the Corps to take further action on.

Shadow Star peeled away from the dock, its engines beginning to glow softly as it began to accelerate to departure distance. A short cruise under Drive power, the ship entered the launch catapult of Gate One, the crew strapped down and gravity generators primed to lessen the impact. Minutes later, with a shudder, the ship was pushed into the warp fields and released, vanishing with a large distortion.

Galactic Conquest

Faction sheet v1.1 complete, now with 100% less missing content. Two most common "main" characters added, as well as ship description and ship spec sheet.

Galactic Conquest

...As well a couple of additions to the technologies page when I add characters to the sheet, I accidentally omitted a few things I believe.

Galactic Conquest

Faction sheet posted. Characters incoming soon(TM)

Galactic Conquest

The Cinder Coalition

Type of Government: Republic

Warning: Reading Ahead

History

The Cinder Coalition was the end result of the first wave of the Aurerran Federation evacuation after the galaxy-scouring Ragnarok Device was activated. They came on the first Arkship, a titanic multilayer cylinder fifty kilometers in length, populated by 150 million humans and kyrians alike. Docked for the journey was an enormous fleet of battlecraft, civil and cargo transports, mining and construction vehicles. Via the recently constructed Gravity Lensed Acceleration Gate the Arkship was launched to the nearest galaxy. The journey was two years in length, the longest continuous phase ever conducted, and likely the longest to ever be. It arrived a few lightyears above the galactic disk, and began the process of hunting for a suitable solar system. After nearly two months such a system was found, which would come to be known as the Hasrya System. It contained three D6 planets; the Class A Beiraya, in addition to a Class C and a Class D, which in the present time are heavily exploited. Two D10 gas giants were also present. They are home to numerous fuel processing depot stations, feeding off the gaseous hydrogen below.

Faction Leaders

With only a fraction of its former power, this splinter faction needed a stronger government to dictate its restructuring. The federation system was disbanded, and replaced with a body of powerful individuals (namely those who had served important positions just before evacuation) whom the general population deemed capable. Every surface base and city is governed by ten individuals, every planet by an additional twenty, for a grand total in the hundreds. Elections occur every five years.

Technologies

Weaponry:
The Cinder Coalition focuses on powerful laser batteries and devastating fusion torpedoes, alongside weaker kinetic impactors and plasma warheads. Particle beams and plasma cannons are also a fleet commonplace.

The Star Corps' laser classification system ranges from 0-10, at which the value 1 is equivalent to 4.2x10^6 W, or 1kg TNT per second. The largest supercapital ship lasers can deliver pulses in the 50 megaton range, though the charge time is significant.

Fusion torpedoes are fitted with miniaturized fusion reactors, which act as their warhead. This powers a rudimentary phase shifter, a centuries-old FTL drive that protects the weapon in an unstable pocket of subspace. When the bubble interacts with a dense enough mass, it fails and deposits the torpedo into whatever it has impacted. Plasma torpedoes travel through normal space, generally delivering impacts less than 20 kilotons. Kinetic impactors are far weaker but are much harder to detect and render useless.

Particle beams and plasma cannons fire charged ions into a target, the former at relativistic velocities. They are more effective against many types of shields than conventional weaponry, and have lighter ammunition costs, though high power requirements and large signatures.

Defenses:
Focused on shielding, anti-boarding, medium armor and stealth, as well as quick relocation with the use of the ship's FTL drive.

The Cinder Star Corps' ships are, where possible, controlled by analog circuitry to eliminate the possibility of external tampering and increase system speed. As with any electronic system, however, they are vulnerable to physical manipulation and destruction, so ships are heavily fortified with anti-boarding systems.

Armoring varies per ship, but in general, they rely much more heavily on their shielding systems to mitigate damage. These shields transfer the kinetic and thermal energy of impacts or energy weapons into the ship's sizable capacitor banks, where it can be radiated away or used to power systems. The maximum rate of energy radiation depends on a ship's weapon and radiator systems. Sizable alpha strikes may partially break through the field, or sublimate the conduits and capacitors.

Select ships may be equipped with an Electro-Magnetic Spectrum Manipulator (EMSM). This can distort, manipulate, dim, displace, or eliminate a ship's visible and thermal signature. On smaller cruisers, these devices can run indefinitely, but a larger ship would require more power and thus generate far more heat, making the alteration less effective.

Travel:
All spacefaring craft utilize high-efficiency torch drives as their main normalspace propulsion. Those that land on planetary bodies have either airbreathing engines and lifting bodies or powerful chemical thrusters to keep them from crashing into the terrain. The Coalition is FTL capable, utilizing a drive that manipulates the fabric of spacetime in a variety of ways. The Quanta-Manipulator Drive can gently bend space to propel the craft through normal space at speeds no greater than 100c.

To go faster, the ship is enveloped in a pocket of spacetime and pushed out of the universe, losing all forms of sensor contact. Trajectories can be approximated by entrance angle, time spent in subspace, power supplied to the drive, and known gravity wells, but unknowns can severely disrupt travel. The maximum speed attainable by this method, known as phasing, is not known, due to the risks involved with traveling blind.

If more precise long-distance travel is in order, the drive can be supplied with a large spike in power, compressing spacetime between two points in and sending the ship through the shortcut for nearly-instant transportation. The fuel requirements of this method are high, and ships are required to scoop hydrogen often if multiple jumps are required. The highest recorded jump was executed by C.S.C. Archangel, a supercapital class carrier, at nearly 20 lightyears.

The Hasrya system houses a pair of acceleration gates, gargantuan constructs used to propel ships at enormous speeds, or to use the fold technique to transport them in jumps of up to 300 lightyears. This kind of transportation is one-way.

Races

Humans

The humans who live within the Hasrya system have not changed much since their first successful flights into space on their homeworld. They stand at an average height of 175cm for males, and 167cm for females, due to the slightly higher gravity on Beiraya than of Earth.

Kyrians (Full Species Sheet)

--Aliases
Kyrian (Mehratta Lacerta)
Informally referred to as “Drakes”

--General Life-Span:
On their native planet of Aurerra, members of this species reach maturity at 10 solar cycles, and generally live approximately 50 Earth years, before they are killed by competing predatory species, or by disease or injury. Very rarely does any member die from simple old age, and there are no human records of this happening. Taken out of this environment, it is not certain how long kyrians can live. Estimates range from the low of near 100 years, to highs of 200 or more.

--General Information (Appearance and Attributes):
The first human settlers of Aurerra called these creatures drakes for good reasons. They are, for most intents, reminiscent of Western dragons in human mythology. Four legs built strong for fighting and running. The paws on the end of these limbs each have four fingers, with sharp talons on all. On the front pair, the innermost digit is opposable. All four digits extend forward, much like a hominid hand, though they are significantly less dexterous. It allows the species to craft rudimentary tools, and structures. The rear paws have three large forward-extending digits, and one rearward of similar size, used for grasping landing spots, prey, and keeping balance while striking with the forepaws.

Kyrians have a pair of large wings for flight, and a second pair of flaps, a quarter of the size of the wings on average and less articulate, extend from the base of a strong tail that makes up around 45% of the length of the entire body, which is around six meters in length at maturity. These flight membranes are quite sturdy, able to take a good beating. However, sharp objects can easily slice through them, rendering them useless in many cases. The neck and head make up a good portion of the body’s entire length as well, around 25%. Each of the larger wings has four fingers; three are flight fingers, the fourth a strong thumb-like digit useful for additional support in unsteady footing. Their wingspan is approximately 225% of their body length. The tail flaps have only a single finger, the leading edge, to adjust their spread. To attain flight, kyrians are deceptively light for their size, averaging 130 kg (287 lbs).

A row of hard, plate-like spikes, a few inches tall and about twice as long, run down the spine of many members of the species, present on both males and females, though usually smaller or not present on females. The same goes for an assortment of spines emerging from the back of the skull. Most commonly, this consists of two sturdy spines extending nearly directly backwards towards the neck, one on each side of the head. Sets of two and three spikes per side are seen sometimes. Rarely will a male lack these distinct features, and like before, they are sometimes found on females. These two features work well to defend against attackers, making it dangerous to attack the creature from above, lest the attacker wishes to be stabbed.

Like many of the species of Aurerra, a kyrians’ hide is thick, and protected by strong scales, the smallest being present on the head and tip of the tail, the largest on the back and neck being nearly twice the size of a quarter. These scales, especially the larger ones, have been observed to deflect and even completely stop conventional handgun fire, and are resistant to larger calibers. High-kinetic firearms have even been deflected in glancing shots. The underbelly is protected by flexible (but sturdy) plates, which are significantly less resistant to impact.

Behind the lower jaw, underneath the base of the throat and windpipe, there is a saclike organ containing a powerful acid used for defensive purposes. It is mixed with an enzyme when it is ejected from the base of the tongue to prime the substance for corrosion. It is strong enough to dissolve keratin, and thus potentially dangerous to the species itself, were it to touch any outer surface. The bacteria of Aurerra, so rich is the planet in minerals, have a significant concentration of silicates in their cell membranes and capsules, making them resistant to this acid. The lining in a kyrians’ digestional tract prevents the acid from acting inside of them, enabling the species to use this substance inside their own mouths; for instance, when biting, the acid can be released and used to corrode whatever the kyrian holds between its jaws. The substance is limited in supply; on average, at maturity, the maximum volume of the sac is 250 mL.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the species is their communication technique. The high metal concentration of Aurerra led very interesting adaptations in many organisms; in the case of the kyrian species, it was a natural AM radio. Running along their spinal column is a cord of high metal content, which acts as the antenna of the system. An organ near the back of the head is the modulator, signals from the brain being transferred through this organ, which uses a dentin structure in the same way modern radios use quartz, to produce the waves by sending current through the spinal antenna. (Dentin and quartz are both piezoelectric) Throughout the spinal antenna are a series of organs which can be electrically charged to limit the directions the signal can be sent, enabling members of the species to converse only to one other. (Or at least to other kyrians in the general direction they send the signal.)

Kyrians are quite intelligent, with IQs just slightly below par with those of humankind. Before integration with human society, the species had a well-established language, and a rudimentary mathematical system for simple records and predictions. Having four fingers on each paw and four on their wings, their native system is base sixteen. The species naturally lived in colonies of forty individuals on average.

Philosophies and Goals

Survive. The Coalition has only just arrived from a mass galactic exodus, the passengers of one of several massive ships transporting the citizens of the old Aurerran Federation to a safe haven. Sixty years has elapsed since the Exodus, where the faction was forced to leave by threat of total annihilation by a powerful alien race. Most, if not all of the Cindorians are xenophobic to some degree, but research programs are underway to observe nearby space for signs of alien civilizations, and establish tentative contact.

Miscellaneous

Coalition Planetary Classification System

[Planetary Classification System]
D1 – Asteroid to small moons less than 100km in diameter
D2 – Generally restricted to moons, bodies 100 – 1000km in diameter
D3 – Bodies 1000 – 2000km in diameter
D4 – Bodies 2000 – 4000km in diameter, entering range of normal habitability
D5 – Bodies 4000 – 8000km in diameter
D6 – Bodies 8000 – 16,000km in diameter (Earth size range)
D7 – Bodies 16,000 – 32,000km in diameter
D8 – Bodies 32,000 – 64,000km in diameter
D9 – Bodies 64,000 – 128,000km in diameter, entering gas giant range
D10 – Bodies 128,000 – 256,000km in diameter (Larger bodies generally show signs of self fusion, and are classified as stars)
Class A – Habitable, and currently supporting a diverse population of both plants and animals
Class B – Habitable, but supporting little life, or only vegetation
Class C – Habitable with minor atmospheric control
Class D - Not innately habitable, but conditions are manageable enough to promote surface bases
Class E – Not habitable, mining permitted
Class F – Not exploitable

Character Sheets

Cinder Star Corps CCL-31 Shadow Star

The Shadow Star is a Starship Type Azkar, Base Model S, produced in CSC Shipyard #7 five months prior to the present day. 250 meters long, she is one of several ships tasked with retrieving advanced sensor data on promising targets scout probes have singled out, equipped with a top-of-the line Quanta Manipulator Drive (QMD) used in FTL travel, as well as advanced focus-point shielding. She is equipped with an Electro-Magnetic Spectrum Manipulator (EMSM), able to completely conceal or otherwise modify her EMS signature for as long as the fuel reserves last. One Type A fusion reactor powers the ship’s systems, rated at 0.6 terawatts. Shadow Star has been specially modified with enhanced management circuits. Thus, the bridge crew are the only necessary personnel, by Coalition regulation.

Arelya

Age: 19
Species: Kyrian
Appearance: Sky-blue primary scales, and white underbelly plates. Wing membranes a paler shade of blue. Arelya is slightly smaller than average, standing 1.3m (4’ 3”) at the shoulder, head generally resting at 1.95m (6’ 5”), with a body length of 4.7m (15’ 5”). Her wingspan is 10.8m (35’ 5”). Around the top of her right foreleg is a black band of sturdy cloth that denotes her rank; two silver bars, a lieutenant.
Role: Weapons Targeting
Paraphernalia: Arelya carries a pair of plasma spike projectors, worn in use on the forward talon of her wings. They resemble a traditional kyrian weapon, kalbiir, in shape when deployed; a sort of elongated right triangle, a meter in length, with the flat side facing the ground if held straight forward. She wears no armor, but owns a conformal personal shield projector for use in drastic times. Her radiounit matches the color her underbelly, a somewhat unusual choice. Being a newer model, it fits nearly flush against her chest, protruding only a few centimeters from the scales, and requires no straps, instead having been fastened in place during the implant procedure.
History: Born on Arkship Section 12, orbiting Beiraya, Arelya was fascinated with life in space from the start. At age 8 she left the station to enter the Star Corps, and proceeded to display an incredible talent for creating targeting solutions. In simulations she astounded her superior officers, landing seventy percent of her unguided weapons fire at ranges beyond standard effectiveness. That is, with the simulator’s perfect sensor data. At age 13, as training progressed, and she was paired with up-and-coming sensor operators, her frustration with their inefficiency was evident. Only one proved able to keep up; Artenan, a young human. The two were trained as one unit for the remaining five years, becoming close friends. CCL-31 is her first assigned ship. She has served aboard it since its construction.

Artenan Nychols

Age: 26
Species: Human
Appearance: Artenan stands at 1.78m (5’ 10”) tall, with short dark brown hair. His skin is very lightly tanned, with several small scars on his legs and arms. He wears the standard Cinder Star Corps uniform, colored a medium green with grey shoulder pads and lines of this color around all openings. Two silver bars on his right shoulder pad mark him as a lieutenant.
Role: Sensor Operation
Paraphernalia: He carries a small tactical knife, made of high-strength composites. It has a power unit receptacle inside the hilt; when engaged, it delivers a powerful electric shock on contact.
History: Artenan entered the CSC early in his teenage years, influenced greatly by his family’s reputation in the organization. The Deep Space Surveyor program had just begun returning its initial data from extrasolar systems, and his interest was thus drawn to ship sensors. Halfway through training he was grouped with Arelya. If anything, she strengthened his skill in operation, letting him know exactly what was needed from the sensors at any given moment, letting him cut out the unnecessary data that would only slow things down. This efficiency carried over to his duties on CCL-31.

Fleet (Will be updated as more ships become apparent in the RP)

Type Azkar, Light Cruiser

Designation - CCL
Type Azkar, due to their relatively small size, are perfect for use as scouting vessels or as the backbone of low-profile surprise assaults.
Average Dimensions: Length 250m, Width 45m, Height 30m
Average Loadout: 75 CPTs (Compressed Plasma Torpedoes), 20 kiloton TNT yield, 100 tungsten heavy impactors, and an additional 25 PFTs (Phase Fusion Torpedoes). Fired through three autoloading tubes with ten torpedo capacity each. One tube is forward mounted, the other two are found on opposite lateral sides of the ship. All tubes have a range of freedom in aiming.
Fifteen MFL-4 (Modulated Frequency Laser) turrets on each lateral side, each slightly further out than the one before it to let all turrets fire directly ahead. Each turret has, mechanically, a full hemisphere of motion. Two additional turrets on dorsal and ventral sides.
MFL-7 spinal cannon, forward-facing, with an MCA (Magnetic Coil Adjuster) to give it a small range of freedom.

Galactic Conquest

@DragonofTheWest Does the faction sheet go here or is there a separate place for it?

Galactic Conquest

I have been summoned by the Dark Lord