Spectrum
Tell me a secret~
- Location
- Behind you~
Freelancer: Terminus (Freelancer/MassEffect)
- Thread starter Erandil
- Start date
- Crossover Sci-Fi
Interlude: First Contact - Intermission III
Terminus Sector Factions:
Terminus Governments:
Lystheni Confederacy:
Lystheni is an archaic Salarian term and originally meant exiled or clanless and was used to describe those banished from their clan/family, a fate far worse than death in the eyes of the ancient Salarians. The term experienced a revival shortly after the Salarian Union met the Asari and joined the Citadel Council where it was used to describe the emerging political movement demanding a more democratic system modelled after the Asari and an end to the oppressive and outdated matriarchal dictature by the Dalatrasses.
Originally little more than a political fringe group its popularity exploded in the aftermath of the League of One scandal, viewed by many at the time as a betrayal of loyal (male) Salarians by a corrupt and power hungry elite, with several minor Dalatrasses joining the movement. Still paralysed by the assassination of the majority of its leadership the Union was unable to effectively oppress the movement and acts of civil unrest and even sabotage started to appear all over the Salarian Union. The Salarians were in the midst of mobilizing their military when the Asari intervened and mediated a compromise between the two factions which resulted in the majority of the Lystheni leaving the Union and settling in the, then barely explored, Terminus systems, far away from the Union and its meddling Dalatrasses.
Nowadays the Lystheni Confederacy is one of the major powers in the eastern Terminus sector and posses its own vibrant and distinct culture. Theoretically it is a representative democracy with two chambers, one directly elected and one made up of representatives from the major colonies, which in fact also enjoy a high degree of autonomy and often compete with each other. Every free citizen has the right to vote and elections are scheduled every two years. However its political system also includes strong meritocratic and oligarchic elements, higher positions are for example reserved for those who made significant contributions to the well being of the state and the sale and buying of votes is permitted. In reality this leads to a political system that is dominated by the corporate and intellectual elite though the population seems generally quite satisfied with the situation and wins by outsiders/populists candidates are not unknown.
Culturally the Lystheni resemble the Salarian Union, favouring the gathering of knowledge over more mundane activities, though they also put a high value on personal freedoms and political transparency, which coupled with their pragmatism often leads to political decisions that outsiders have difficulty to follow/understand. Viewing the clan based breeding policies of the Salarian Union as one of the key reasons for its, in the eyes of the Lystheni, outdated political system the Lystheni breeding is organised directly by the state which is also responsibility for the education and upbringing of the new children, though couples or interested individuals can apply for partial adoptions. Unlike the original Salarians the Lystheni have also no problem with the permanent genetic modification of their genome which over time has resulted in far higher percentage of females, who enjoy the same legal standing as males, and a slightly longer lifespan. The Confederacy also has significant alien minority populations which for the most part are totally assimilated.
While maybe not as advanced as the Citadel Council races the Confederacy is netherless famous for it's highly competitive and advanced economy which maintains extensive ties to Citadel Space. Due to its extremely relaxed laws, which in many cases are practically non-existent, it's is the favoured destination of those finding Citadel regulation to constricting but outsiders should be aware that patent law is generally viewed as a suggestion at best and that corporate espionage is nothing unusual. The same laws also make it the favorite destination for mercenaries, and other organisations operating in the legal grey zone, looking for something more advanced than what Batarian State Arms can provide. There is however also a darker side to those laws since practices like indentured labor, though outright slavery is officially forbidden, and the sale of highly addictive drugs are also permitted (and often exploited by criminal organizations)
The Lystheni military is one of the more powerful in the Terminus sector and the Lystheni shipbuilders, like their Salarian counterparts, favour a modular approach though with no powerful allies like the Turians to fall back on the Lystheni ships tend to be of a more generalist nature than the specialised tools of war the Union fields. Its land based army is fairly small, consisting mostly of non Lystheni troops, and where possible the Confederacy prefers to use mercenaries instead. In cases of emergency the Confederacy has however shown its ability and willingness to field what basically amounts to clone troops, made of specially designed Lystheni.
The Lystheni come sporadically into conflict with the Akvian Dominion regarding their shared border but otherwise maintain cordial ties to most other legitimate factions in the Terminus systems. Their wealth has however made them an repeated target for pirate attacks and it is suspected that several criminal organizations operate in their border areas.
Status: Medium Power
Inspiration: Mass Effect, Cyberpunk
Hogane Protectorate/Kingdoms of Bellatania:
The Hogane, a species of amphibian aliens looking a bit like upright walking alligators who are capable of breathing both in the air and water, were just entering their equivalent of the industrial era when an Lystheni explorer came across them three centuries ago and decided that they were just what he needed to get an edge over his competitors. When the trader returned to Lystheni space it was far too late to do anything and the Lystheni government saw no other choice than to support his plan to uplift the whole species.
While the Hogane society underwent massive changes in the last few years its nobility has far so managed to retain its control over the various kingdoms that make up the Hogane Protectorate. The highest authority on Bellatania is the council of kings, consisting of the nine most powerful nobles, though it tends to focus on internal matters, content to follow the Lystheni on nearly all other matters.
Public speaking plays an important role in the cultural life of the Hogane with theatric ability often just important as the actual information conveyed. Court trials are seen as prime entertainment and have in the past known to draw audiences numbering in the tens of thousands (and are now some of the most watched media) and it is not unusual for talented speakers to gain patents of nobility. The Hogane are no stranger to personal conflict and small scale, nearly ritualised warfare but have never experienced the horrors of a total war. For the Hogane there is no dishonour in surrendering to a superior enemy and captives, especially those of sufficient nobility, are often treated as honoured guests rather than prisoners.
The Hogane have no independent naval force and depend on the Lystheni for protection. However several thousand Hogane serve as shock-troopers in the Lystheni military where they are famous for their expertise in close-quarter-combat.
The relationship between Lystheni and Hogane is perhaps described as a patron-client relationship with the Hogane being extremely helpful to the Lystheni for their assistance. Lystheni technicians especially enjoy a an high social standing in the eyes of the often less comparatively poorly educated Hogane and are sometimes viewed as having near mystical powers (much to the amusement of said technicians). Hogane are often willing to work for a far lower wage than other races and are often employed for janitorial duties and the like. With a population still numbering in the single-digit-billions Hogane are only commonly seen in the Lystheni space.
Status: Minor Power
Inspiration: Mass Effect, Stellaris
Akvian Dominion:
The Akvians are an avian race originating from the low gravity world of Serenity who have managed to establish their control over nearly fifty systems, making the Dominion one of the more powerful factions in the sector. Akvians are superb pilots, making extensive use of small strike craft in their combat operations, and their origin from a low gravity homeworld means that they are quite comfortable in a zero-g environment, resulting comparatively high percentage of their society living in space stations scattered around their realm.
The highest authority of the Dominion is the (High) Senate, consisting of over one thousand elected senators, who serves as the highest tier of the legislative, executive and judicative. The position of the Speaker, nominally the leader of the Senate, is decided by lot and changes every month making it a largely ceremonial role.The true power is therefore found in the leadership of the various parties which make up the Senate, organised alongside regional divides or special interests, who often form temporary coalitions. One of the quirks of the Senate is that a simple majority is enough to implement a new policy while a two-third majority is needed to repeal or change an old one, which was originally intended to provide a certain stability to the whole system but has ended up creating something of a bureaucratic nightmare.
The Akvian's are communal creatures and tend to favour cooperative activities over direct competitions. Their theatre productions are famous for their combination of breathatking aerial maneuvers, intricate costumes and music (even if many races in fact require body modification or external translators to hear the total tonal range involved in said music). While the Akvians have left their tribal origins they still place a high value on where they come from, which can often be seen by miniature differences in their clothing or styling of their feathers (well by Akvians at least - outsiders have proven to be notoriously inept at this task).
Like many in the Terminus systems the Akvians suffer from the fact that Prothean ruins in the Terminus sector are rare and seldom as big as the ones found in Citadel space which has put them at a distinct disadvantage in the technological field. Nethertheless the central location of the Akvian Dominion means that a lot of the trade is passing through its systems and Akvian companies are slowly beginning to catch up to their Lystheni and Batarian competitors.
The Akvians maintain a sizeable military that unlike many others in Citadel Space focuses on strike craft, which has proven especially effective against the less advanced ships fielded by the various pirates and other criminals in the area. Its army however is more difficult to categorize since its focus on the low-g environment normally inhabited by the Akvians puts them at a distinct disadvantage when forced to operate in "normal" g environments.
The relative prosperity of the Akvian's makes them an attractive target to many in Terminius, especially the warlords of the Omega region or pirates operating out of Hell's Gate, with raids and counter raids being a common occurrence.
It's relationship with the Citadel is a bit more complicated. The wealth, influence and security of the Citadel races is admired and envied by the Akvians, who have expressed their desire to join several times, but the imperious way the Citadel, especially the Batarians, have treated them in the past has created a lot of anger and mistrust.
Status: Medium Power
Inspiration: Master of Orion, Original
Chad Theocracy:
The Chad Theocracy was one of the first races discovered during the initial exploration of the Terminus sector but it remains a mystery to this very day due to its isolationist policy and location inside a dense nebulae, causing problems for most scanners.
Status: ???
Inspiration: ???
Madaniak Ascendency:
The Madaniak Ascendency has only recently appeared on the galactic stage and not much is known about it. If the rumours on the Holonet are to believed the Ascendency, lacking any local Prothean ruins, was restricted to its home system for thousands of years before finally cracking the secret of the Mass Effect themselves. It seems however that during this time the Ascendency has grown quite comfortable with its situation and now sees little reason to actually leave its home system, favouring to instead enjoy vast virtual worlds and drug induced hallucinations.
Status: Minor Power
Inspiration: Hedonism
Grimgor's Empire/Amerath :
Grimgor was born several hundred years after the Krogan Rebellion on a remote and desolate colony in the Krogan Demilitarized Zone (Krogan DMZ). He is said to have been a smart child and somehow caught the attention of a young Asari officer visiting the colony. When the Asari left the planet young Grimgor accompanied her and for over five hundred years the two travelled all over the galaxy, first in service for the Asari military and then as military contractors for the Asari PMC Elanus Risk Control Services. When the Asari reached Matriach age and announced her intention to retire to Thessia and teach at the prestigious Kal'no military academy she invited Grimgor along but he decided to instead try his luck in the Terminus systems, reportedly seeking a worthy challenge for his talents. Using his extensive military contacts he gathered a sizeable army of mercenaries and conquered the Vorcha occupied planet of Amerath, formerly part of the ill-fated corporate sector. Since then he has been busy restoring the planet's industrial facilities while fending of repeated attacks by the Horde and other Vorcha pirates.
Grimgors Empire is the picture book example of a military dictatorship with all power being held either directly by Grimgor or his lieutenants. They use their army of several thousand Krogan, Turian and Batarian mercenaries to control the several million Vorcha that survived the initial invasion and are currently in the process of training and reconditioning the most promising of those.
Unlike many other would-be warlords Grimgor is well aware that there is more to war than just winning battles and has worked tirelessly to restore some of the old industrial facilities found on the planet back to life. He success on that front has been limited so far but his low prices and -no questions asked policy have ensured a steady supply of criminals and down on their luck merchants looking to fix the rust-buckets that serve as their ships. And even importantly he recently managed to convince the two Lystheni mega companies, Tri Technical and Anyc to relocate part of their infantry weapon production to Amerath.
Grimgor's fleet is rather small, consisting of a single cruiser and a number of smaller ships of varying quality. His army is a bit more impressive consisting of several thousand hardened combat veterans, including the famed, all Krogan Black Guard, supported by large masses of Vorcha irregulars.
Most of Terminus is still unsure what to think of the Krogan warlord. While many would be happy if he dealt with the Vorcha plaque of Hell's Gate others worry if this doesn't simply replace one problem with an even an bigger one and fear that they might be next. For the moment though most are content to wait and see, after all he would not be the first would be conqueror getting eaten by Hell's Gate.
Status: Minor Power
Inspiration: Warhammer - Black Orks, Mass Effect
Republic of Larrisa:
Founded by the Asari Matriach Voniy M'priros who, with her followers, was exiled from Thessia due to her unconventional views regarding body-modification and gene-modding shortly after the Rachni Wars. She and her followers were of the opinion that self-improvement via implants and genemodding were necessary for the continued survival and prosperity of the Asari race, a view strongly opposed by the cultural and religious authorities of the time. After her banishment Voniy severed all ties to the rest of the galaxy and travelled for over a decade through the Milky Way before deciding to settle on Larrisa, a temperate planet in the Terminus expanse.
Rediscovered by a Lystheni prospector just a few decades ago the Asari of Larrisa have developed their own society and culture and quickly made a name for themselves in the bionic and medical field while keeping their distance from the Citadel races.
Larrisa's government is one of the more strange in the galaxy. It is led by a queen, which must be of M'pririos descent, but said queen is elected during a democratic election every fifty years. There is also a royal council, consisting of the most influential matriarchs on the planet, which exists to advise the queen and practically serve as its ministers. And last but not least it has kept its basic democratic elements with its always active e-democracy that can only be vetoed by the queen directly.
Self improvement plays a very important role in Larrisan culture with genemods and extensive augmentations being common. Extreme sports like free climbing or a high intensity for of soccer are popular but it is not uncommon to see somebody trying to master a particularly difficult instrument or researching a philosophical treaty. Asari on Asari relationships are fairly common, after all there weren't that many aliens available, but seldom represent a lifelong commitment and the Larrisan have kept most of the openness and curiosity that is so typical for Council Asari.
Its military is small and exist mainly for self defense purposes. In terms of naval capacity the Larrisan's field a handful of frigates, bought from the Lystheni, and otherwise depend on a network of defense satellites. They maintain only a small professional army, though every citizen goes through basic military training and may be called upon to be part of the militia.
Larrisa is only slowly reconnecting with the rest of the galaxy with their premiere trading partner being the Lystheni Confederacy.
Status: Minor Power
Inspiration: Deus Ex Series
Candarian Republic:
The Candarian Republic was founded three centuries ago by the mutinous crew of the Batarian cruiser "Choli's Pride" on the planet of Candara and over time developed into one of the few truly independent Batarian colonies with its own distinct culture. Disdaining the class system and its resulting inequality the Candarians set out to create a society where everybody was equal which resulted in a communist type of government where everybody may be theoretically equal but also a place where any form of deviation from the norm is viewed as highly suspect, leading as far as widespread genetic modification to ensure maximum conformity. The other defining trait of the Republic is its chronic fear of an attack from the Batarian Hegemony, resulting in the Candarian solar system being one of the best fortified systems in all of Terminus.
Status: Minor Power
Inspiration: Mass Effect
Terminus Governments:
Lystheni Confederacy:
Lystheni is an archaic Salarian term and originally meant exiled or clanless and was used to describe those banished from their clan/family, a fate far worse than death in the eyes of the ancient Salarians. The term experienced a revival shortly after the Salarian Union met the Asari and joined the Citadel Council where it was used to describe the emerging political movement demanding a more democratic system modelled after the Asari and an end to the oppressive and outdated matriarchal dictature by the Dalatrasses.
Originally little more than a political fringe group its popularity exploded in the aftermath of the League of One scandal, viewed by many at the time as a betrayal of loyal (male) Salarians by a corrupt and power hungry elite, with several minor Dalatrasses joining the movement. Still paralysed by the assassination of the majority of its leadership the Union was unable to effectively oppress the movement and acts of civil unrest and even sabotage started to appear all over the Salarian Union. The Salarians were in the midst of mobilizing their military when the Asari intervened and mediated a compromise between the two factions which resulted in the majority of the Lystheni leaving the Union and settling in the, then barely explored, Terminus systems, far away from the Union and its meddling Dalatrasses.
Nowadays the Lystheni Confederacy is one of the major powers in the eastern Terminus sector and posses its own vibrant and distinct culture. Theoretically it is a representative democracy with two chambers, one directly elected and one made up of representatives from the major colonies, which in fact also enjoy a high degree of autonomy and often compete with each other. Every free citizen has the right to vote and elections are scheduled every two years. However its political system also includes strong meritocratic and oligarchic elements, higher positions are for example reserved for those who made significant contributions to the well being of the state and the sale and buying of votes is permitted. In reality this leads to a political system that is dominated by the corporate and intellectual elite though the population seems generally quite satisfied with the situation and wins by outsiders/populists candidates are not unknown.
Culturally the Lystheni resemble the Salarian Union, favouring the gathering of knowledge over more mundane activities, though they also put a high value on personal freedoms and political transparency, which coupled with their pragmatism often leads to political decisions that outsiders have difficulty to follow/understand. Viewing the clan based breeding policies of the Salarian Union as one of the key reasons for its, in the eyes of the Lystheni, outdated political system the Lystheni breeding is organised directly by the state which is also responsibility for the education and upbringing of the new children, though couples or interested individuals can apply for partial adoptions. Unlike the original Salarians the Lystheni have also no problem with the permanent genetic modification of their genome which over time has resulted in far higher percentage of females, who enjoy the same legal standing as males, and a slightly longer lifespan. The Confederacy also has significant alien minority populations which for the most part are totally assimilated.
While maybe not as advanced as the Citadel Council races the Confederacy is netherless famous for it's highly competitive and advanced economy which maintains extensive ties to Citadel Space. Due to its extremely relaxed laws, which in many cases are practically non-existent, it's is the favoured destination of those finding Citadel regulation to constricting but outsiders should be aware that patent law is generally viewed as a suggestion at best and that corporate espionage is nothing unusual. The same laws also make it the favorite destination for mercenaries, and other organisations operating in the legal grey zone, looking for something more advanced than what Batarian State Arms can provide. There is however also a darker side to those laws since practices like indentured labor, though outright slavery is officially forbidden, and the sale of highly addictive drugs are also permitted (and often exploited by criminal organizations)
The Lystheni military is one of the more powerful in the Terminus sector and the Lystheni shipbuilders, like their Salarian counterparts, favour a modular approach though with no powerful allies like the Turians to fall back on the Lystheni ships tend to be of a more generalist nature than the specialised tools of war the Union fields. Its land based army is fairly small, consisting mostly of non Lystheni troops, and where possible the Confederacy prefers to use mercenaries instead. In cases of emergency the Confederacy has however shown its ability and willingness to field what basically amounts to clone troops, made of specially designed Lystheni.
The Lystheni come sporadically into conflict with the Akvian Dominion regarding their shared border but otherwise maintain cordial ties to most other legitimate factions in the Terminus systems. Their wealth has however made them an repeated target for pirate attacks and it is suspected that several criminal organizations operate in their border areas.
Status: Medium Power
Inspiration: Mass Effect, Cyberpunk
Hogane Protectorate/Kingdoms of Bellatania:
The Hogane, a species of amphibian aliens looking a bit like upright walking alligators who are capable of breathing both in the air and water, were just entering their equivalent of the industrial era when an Lystheni explorer came across them three centuries ago and decided that they were just what he needed to get an edge over his competitors. When the trader returned to Lystheni space it was far too late to do anything and the Lystheni government saw no other choice than to support his plan to uplift the whole species.
While the Hogane society underwent massive changes in the last few years its nobility has far so managed to retain its control over the various kingdoms that make up the Hogane Protectorate. The highest authority on Bellatania is the council of kings, consisting of the nine most powerful nobles, though it tends to focus on internal matters, content to follow the Lystheni on nearly all other matters.
Public speaking plays an important role in the cultural life of the Hogane with theatric ability often just important as the actual information conveyed. Court trials are seen as prime entertainment and have in the past known to draw audiences numbering in the tens of thousands (and are now some of the most watched media) and it is not unusual for talented speakers to gain patents of nobility. The Hogane are no stranger to personal conflict and small scale, nearly ritualised warfare but have never experienced the horrors of a total war. For the Hogane there is no dishonour in surrendering to a superior enemy and captives, especially those of sufficient nobility, are often treated as honoured guests rather than prisoners.
The Hogane have no independent naval force and depend on the Lystheni for protection. However several thousand Hogane serve as shock-troopers in the Lystheni military where they are famous for their expertise in close-quarter-combat.
The relationship between Lystheni and Hogane is perhaps described as a patron-client relationship with the Hogane being extremely helpful to the Lystheni for their assistance. Lystheni technicians especially enjoy a an high social standing in the eyes of the often less comparatively poorly educated Hogane and are sometimes viewed as having near mystical powers (much to the amusement of said technicians). Hogane are often willing to work for a far lower wage than other races and are often employed for janitorial duties and the like. With a population still numbering in the single-digit-billions Hogane are only commonly seen in the Lystheni space.
Status: Minor Power
Inspiration: Mass Effect, Stellaris
Akvian Dominion:
The Akvians are an avian race originating from the low gravity world of Serenity who have managed to establish their control over nearly fifty systems, making the Dominion one of the more powerful factions in the sector. Akvians are superb pilots, making extensive use of small strike craft in their combat operations, and their origin from a low gravity homeworld means that they are quite comfortable in a zero-g environment, resulting comparatively high percentage of their society living in space stations scattered around their realm.
The highest authority of the Dominion is the (High) Senate, consisting of over one thousand elected senators, who serves as the highest tier of the legislative, executive and judicative. The position of the Speaker, nominally the leader of the Senate, is decided by lot and changes every month making it a largely ceremonial role.The true power is therefore found in the leadership of the various parties which make up the Senate, organised alongside regional divides or special interests, who often form temporary coalitions. One of the quirks of the Senate is that a simple majority is enough to implement a new policy while a two-third majority is needed to repeal or change an old one, which was originally intended to provide a certain stability to the whole system but has ended up creating something of a bureaucratic nightmare.
The Akvian's are communal creatures and tend to favour cooperative activities over direct competitions. Their theatre productions are famous for their combination of breathatking aerial maneuvers, intricate costumes and music (even if many races in fact require body modification or external translators to hear the total tonal range involved in said music). While the Akvians have left their tribal origins they still place a high value on where they come from, which can often be seen by miniature differences in their clothing or styling of their feathers (well by Akvians at least - outsiders have proven to be notoriously inept at this task).
Like many in the Terminus systems the Akvians suffer from the fact that Prothean ruins in the Terminus sector are rare and seldom as big as the ones found in Citadel space which has put them at a distinct disadvantage in the technological field. Nethertheless the central location of the Akvian Dominion means that a lot of the trade is passing through its systems and Akvian companies are slowly beginning to catch up to their Lystheni and Batarian competitors.
The Akvians maintain a sizeable military that unlike many others in Citadel Space focuses on strike craft, which has proven especially effective against the less advanced ships fielded by the various pirates and other criminals in the area. Its army however is more difficult to categorize since its focus on the low-g environment normally inhabited by the Akvians puts them at a distinct disadvantage when forced to operate in "normal" g environments.
The relative prosperity of the Akvian's makes them an attractive target to many in Terminius, especially the warlords of the Omega region or pirates operating out of Hell's Gate, with raids and counter raids being a common occurrence.
It's relationship with the Citadel is a bit more complicated. The wealth, influence and security of the Citadel races is admired and envied by the Akvians, who have expressed their desire to join several times, but the imperious way the Citadel, especially the Batarians, have treated them in the past has created a lot of anger and mistrust.
Status: Medium Power
Inspiration: Master of Orion, Original
Chad Theocracy:
The Chad Theocracy was one of the first races discovered during the initial exploration of the Terminus sector but it remains a mystery to this very day due to its isolationist policy and location inside a dense nebulae, causing problems for most scanners.
Status: ???
Inspiration: ???
Madaniak Ascendency:
The Madaniak Ascendency has only recently appeared on the galactic stage and not much is known about it. If the rumours on the Holonet are to believed the Ascendency, lacking any local Prothean ruins, was restricted to its home system for thousands of years before finally cracking the secret of the Mass Effect themselves. It seems however that during this time the Ascendency has grown quite comfortable with its situation and now sees little reason to actually leave its home system, favouring to instead enjoy vast virtual worlds and drug induced hallucinations.
Status: Minor Power
Inspiration: Hedonism
Grimgor's Empire/Amerath :
Grimgor was born several hundred years after the Krogan Rebellion on a remote and desolate colony in the Krogan Demilitarized Zone (Krogan DMZ). He is said to have been a smart child and somehow caught the attention of a young Asari officer visiting the colony. When the Asari left the planet young Grimgor accompanied her and for over five hundred years the two travelled all over the galaxy, first in service for the Asari military and then as military contractors for the Asari PMC Elanus Risk Control Services. When the Asari reached Matriach age and announced her intention to retire to Thessia and teach at the prestigious Kal'no military academy she invited Grimgor along but he decided to instead try his luck in the Terminus systems, reportedly seeking a worthy challenge for his talents. Using his extensive military contacts he gathered a sizeable army of mercenaries and conquered the Vorcha occupied planet of Amerath, formerly part of the ill-fated corporate sector. Since then he has been busy restoring the planet's industrial facilities while fending of repeated attacks by the Horde and other Vorcha pirates.
Grimgors Empire is the picture book example of a military dictatorship with all power being held either directly by Grimgor or his lieutenants. They use their army of several thousand Krogan, Turian and Batarian mercenaries to control the several million Vorcha that survived the initial invasion and are currently in the process of training and reconditioning the most promising of those.
Unlike many other would-be warlords Grimgor is well aware that there is more to war than just winning battles and has worked tirelessly to restore some of the old industrial facilities found on the planet back to life. He success on that front has been limited so far but his low prices and -no questions asked policy have ensured a steady supply of criminals and down on their luck merchants looking to fix the rust-buckets that serve as their ships. And even importantly he recently managed to convince the two Lystheni mega companies, Tri Technical and Anyc to relocate part of their infantry weapon production to Amerath.
Grimgor's fleet is rather small, consisting of a single cruiser and a number of smaller ships of varying quality. His army is a bit more impressive consisting of several thousand hardened combat veterans, including the famed, all Krogan Black Guard, supported by large masses of Vorcha irregulars.
Most of Terminus is still unsure what to think of the Krogan warlord. While many would be happy if he dealt with the Vorcha plaque of Hell's Gate others worry if this doesn't simply replace one problem with an even an bigger one and fear that they might be next. For the moment though most are content to wait and see, after all he would not be the first would be conqueror getting eaten by Hell's Gate.
Status: Minor Power
Inspiration: Warhammer - Black Orks, Mass Effect
Republic of Larrisa:
Founded by the Asari Matriach Voniy M'priros who, with her followers, was exiled from Thessia due to her unconventional views regarding body-modification and gene-modding shortly after the Rachni Wars. She and her followers were of the opinion that self-improvement via implants and genemodding were necessary for the continued survival and prosperity of the Asari race, a view strongly opposed by the cultural and religious authorities of the time. After her banishment Voniy severed all ties to the rest of the galaxy and travelled for over a decade through the Milky Way before deciding to settle on Larrisa, a temperate planet in the Terminus expanse.
Rediscovered by a Lystheni prospector just a few decades ago the Asari of Larrisa have developed their own society and culture and quickly made a name for themselves in the bionic and medical field while keeping their distance from the Citadel races.
Larrisa's government is one of the more strange in the galaxy. It is led by a queen, which must be of M'pririos descent, but said queen is elected during a democratic election every fifty years. There is also a royal council, consisting of the most influential matriarchs on the planet, which exists to advise the queen and practically serve as its ministers. And last but not least it has kept its basic democratic elements with its always active e-democracy that can only be vetoed by the queen directly.
Self improvement plays a very important role in Larrisan culture with genemods and extensive augmentations being common. Extreme sports like free climbing or a high intensity for of soccer are popular but it is not uncommon to see somebody trying to master a particularly difficult instrument or researching a philosophical treaty. Asari on Asari relationships are fairly common, after all there weren't that many aliens available, but seldom represent a lifelong commitment and the Larrisan have kept most of the openness and curiosity that is so typical for Council Asari.
Its military is small and exist mainly for self defense purposes. In terms of naval capacity the Larrisan's field a handful of frigates, bought from the Lystheni, and otherwise depend on a network of defense satellites. They maintain only a small professional army, though every citizen goes through basic military training and may be called upon to be part of the militia.
Larrisa is only slowly reconnecting with the rest of the galaxy with their premiere trading partner being the Lystheni Confederacy.
Status: Minor Power
Inspiration: Deus Ex Series
Candarian Republic:
The Candarian Republic was founded three centuries ago by the mutinous crew of the Batarian cruiser "Choli's Pride" on the planet of Candara and over time developed into one of the few truly independent Batarian colonies with its own distinct culture. Disdaining the class system and its resulting inequality the Candarians set out to create a society where everybody was equal which resulted in a communist type of government where everybody may be theoretically equal but also a place where any form of deviation from the norm is viewed as highly suspect, leading as far as widespread genetic modification to ensure maximum conformity. The other defining trait of the Republic is its chronic fear of an attack from the Batarian Hegemony, resulting in the Candarian solar system being one of the best fortified systems in all of Terminus.
Status: Minor Power
Inspiration: Mass Effect
Last edited:
Spectrum
Tell me a secret~
- Location
- Behind you~
Opportunity spotted~
In case it needed to be repeated: KILL THEM FIRST
You know, as a outside party we might be able to get in good with both the Akvians and the Lystheni by acting as a neutral party for a negotiated settlement in the border conflict.
This update marked the second time we were told how difficult developing Mass Effect technology is without sufficiently big Prothean ruins.
Huge, well connected and relatively old star nations like the Akvians and Batarians are still at a disadvantage compared to others because of this.
I think introducing Mass Effect technology to the Sirius sector is going to be harder than anticipated.
Huge, well connected and relatively old star nations like the Akvians and Batarians are still at a disadvantage compared to others because of this.
I think introducing Mass Effect technology to the Sirius sector is going to be harder than anticipated.
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That's probably the idea. Sirius has a tech edge in basically everything except eezo-tech, and most notably free-range FTL. If we could easily strap eezo drive cores to our ships a couple of turns after finding it, the quest would get really easy really fast.
Beyogi
and a fairy
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Well the big question is what are we going to do now? How are we going to reveal this to the Sirius nations and how are we going to leverage it?
Ultimately our goal should be to increase our control over the transit systems and to use this to stabilise the political situation in Sirius. Otherwise the citadel races are just going to walk all over humanity.
Use the Eezo drives to force the Corsairs to solidify as a proper house and stop the piracy bullshit. And finally crushing the Outcasts by attacking their homeworld.
The big question is who are we going to tell? I doubt they'll be able to keep it secret very long when exploitation starts.
I think we should go with Rheinland and Bretonnia 1st. Rheinland could really use another market to help prop up its economy so that it can actually get to work on getting its criminal and revel elements under control and make reconciling with the Bundschuch only the beginning. Plus we can use both to pressure the Corsairs into going legit once we've got the pieces in place.
Our contacts in Daumann would probably love to get their foot in the door first, and they have a lot of pull in Rheinland. Hell, if they see enough profit we might be able to get them to throw the workers a bone and support some reforms. Bretonnia is pretty well off in terms of internal factionalism compared to Rheinland or Kusari. Though frankly I'd prefer to enable Rheinland and Bretonnia to pull away from Liberty dominance in the long term.
Well, the Larissa Republic is probably a decent starting point. They're right next door, from our perspective, have a fair amount of experience with ME tech, and would probably be interested in a defensive alliance against various pirates and warlords.
Another potential idea is to get in contact with the Migrant Fleet and see about negotiating some sort of partnership with Daumann and/or the BAF. The Humpback has the best combination of cargo space, armor, and weapon amongst the game's freighters, while Bretonia is IIRC seeking to modernize its navy, and the Quarians are constantly short on ships. It might take a bit, but it should be possible to work something out where the Quarians help figure out how to outfit Sirius vessels with ME drives, or otherwise pass on their knowledge of ME technology and science, while Rheinland and Bretonia provide them with surplus military vessels or newly-built freighters.
The downside of that would be that it'd basically require going into the open about the Terminus and whatnot, given the huge amount of ship traffic this would likely see, which would be more or less impossible to hide. That, in turn, would almost certainly draw in Liberty and Kusari, trying to butt in on the deal in some way or another.
Lastly there's the possibility of simply making some money of whatever currency is used in the Terminus, buy a couple of old ME ships, and have them reverse-engineered, and/or possibly looked into retrofitting them with Sirius generators, shields, weapons, and whatnot.
Another potential idea is to get in contact with the Migrant Fleet and see about negotiating some sort of partnership with Daumann and/or the BAF. The Humpback has the best combination of cargo space, armor, and weapon amongst the game's freighters, while Bretonia is IIRC seeking to modernize its navy, and the Quarians are constantly short on ships. It might take a bit, but it should be possible to work something out where the Quarians help figure out how to outfit Sirius vessels with ME drives, or otherwise pass on their knowledge of ME technology and science, while Rheinland and Bretonia provide them with surplus military vessels or newly-built freighters.
The downside of that would be that it'd basically require going into the open about the Terminus and whatnot, given the huge amount of ship traffic this would likely see, which would be more or less impossible to hide. That, in turn, would almost certainly draw in Liberty and Kusari, trying to butt in on the deal in some way or another.
Lastly there's the possibility of simply making some money of whatever currency is used in the Terminus, buy a couple of old ME ships, and have them reverse-engineered, and/or possibly looked into retrofitting them with Sirius generators, shields, weapons, and whatnot.
- Location
- Somewhere
wasn't that meant to be ungodly expensive to even make one clone in ME?
While I have taken inspiration from the infamous Warhammer Ork that doesn't necessarily mean this Grimgor here is a carbon copy of him and hellbent on a massive crusade of destruction and fire.
While the basics of Mass Effect are relatively easy to understand (provided you have some working examples) true mastery is quite a different story. Remember that the Asari and Salarians have studied the technology for several thousand years now which does mean that catching up to them requires some effort.
I have also some ideas regarding the distribution of those ruins/the Prothean empire and its effects on the current political situation in the galaxy that in my eyes will be an interesting piece of world-building to explore.
I honestly don't remember. Sure creating super-"humans" like Miranda is said to be difficult and the same is true of recreating memories but simple cloning shouldn't be that hard and are something we see multiple times in the games (though always connected to the reapers so maybe you are right after all). I just have a hard time believing that such a thing is beyond the capabilities of an advanced, spacefaring civilization. And the Salarians seem uniquely suited for it with their shorter lifespan, clutch based breeding, and likely relatively short maturation period. I thought it would be a nice little trait for the Lystheni to have but I am not set on it if you guys feel it it too unrealistic or that it doesn't fit the universe.
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- Location
- Somewhere
There are the Krogan clones in Mass Effect 2, but as we saw, they're not really smart, plus if I recall there were significant problems with them beyond their intelligence... it has admittedly been a while since I played through 2. The only examples of smart clones seems to be ones that the cloner has to spend a lot of resources and dedicated time to ensure they're actually intelligent and capable of acting and all that jazz, as seen with Grunt.. and then there's Shepard's Clone, who seemed to be expensive enough to not warrant multiple clones.. and then there's Miranda.
So, yeah there are canonical examples of clones and stuff.. but the example of mass clones doesn't really lead well to them being suitable for anything beyond being cannon fodder that doesn't really think for themselves, and there's only two-three examples of sapient, intelligent clones, and all of them are one-of-a-kinds that took significant time to create, as well as significant resources.
So, I mean, it's arguably possible, but I don't think the Lystheni would have the money and resources to create a significant number of intelligent, sapient clones ala Grunt/Shepard's Clone. Admittedly, that's just me, and I may be interpreting canon differently to others.
There is also Virmire in ME 1 (though as said that has reaper tech involved). But my main argument is that a lot of the problems those clones face stems in my opinion from their artificially, rapidly accelerated growth where a process that normally takes years is reduced to months if not mere weeks resulting in a less developed psyche.
Salarians meanwhile are likely to mature far faster (~ I would go with 1-2 years till full adulthood) meaning that far less acceleration is needed and posses a unique biology that also seems quite advantageous for cloning (fast metabolism, imprinting on superior, unfertilized eggs result in males etc.) which is why I think my idea fits the universe.
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Chloe Sullivan
Subdefective
- Location
- 1630 Revello Drive, Sunnydale CA
Seem like a few steps have already been taken in that direction, but it may be possible in the very long run with some luck and work to cpnvince the corsairs to go legit.
They already have some governing structures and a partially developed world, if someone can find the wreck of the Hispanola colony ship, you could make a real case for diplomatic recognition if the corsairs can be convinced of the value of legitimacy and statehood.
Be a huge cultural and political coup, restoring a legacy of the old alliance long thought lost.
They already have some governing structures and a partially developed world, if someone can find the wreck of the Hispanola colony ship, you could make a real case for diplomatic recognition if the corsairs can be convinced of the value of legitimacy and statehood.
Be a huge cultural and political coup, restoring a legacy of the old alliance long thought lost.
Our long term plan is to make the Corsairs go legit. Getting ME tech FTL disseminated is an important step as the Corsairs won't be able to hide behind their jumpholes anymore.
That and helping the Corsairs see the benefit in legit trade, helping to improve the positions of reformers/progressive/liberal (for a Corsair) dons within the Corsair people.
Chloe Sullivan
Subdefective
- Location
- 1630 Revello Drive, Sunnydale CA
Cool, so it's alreay the plan, sorry I only read updates instead of the whole thread.
Someone really needs to get carmadine analyzed proper too, that stuff is freakly and probably ancient-alien made.
Edit: do we know anything about the Hispanola, tho?
Someone really needs to get carmadine analyzed proper too, that stuff is freakly and probably ancient-alien made.
Edit: do we know anything about the Hispanola, tho?
Cardamine is being studied by several biotech firms, with Cryer Pharmaceuticals being the most successful and most well-known. It is freaky stuff and it being alien designed would make some sense but it is also possible that it is just one those cases of human and alien biology meeting and resulting in unforeseen consequences.
In regards to the Hispana you have heard rumours of being floating around in Outcast territory which would put in the one place in the Sirius sector you currently have difficulty gaining access to.
Beyogi
and a fairy
- Pronouns
- She/Her
So this Trent never went to the Outcast homeworld during the campaign? I kinda used the opportunity when I was friendly with them to explore.
Nope. You/Trent had some contacts with the Outcast during the Nomad War but never had any reason or inclination to deepen that relationship. That said you could probably get that info from some of your Order contacts if you really wanted it.
Update is progressing relatively well and I think I will be able to post it (and the list of the various important corporations/other factions (which will be a lot more bare-bone)) tomorrow. I also added an entry for the Rachni - they are unlikely to become important in this quest but they are something that would likely come up in the talks considering their similarities to the Nomads (less biological and more the impact such an attack can have on society etc.). It mostly taken from the wiki so don't expect any major revelations.
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Nah, they're Dom'Kavash, they're waaaaay the fuck older than the Protheans. More advanced, too -- see the Hypergate Network and Dyson Sphere they built. I would vote against any plan that involves trading Dom'Kavash artifacts to the Terminus/Citadel, personally, since they represent a parallel techbase.
Nope, the Alien artefacts found in the Sirius sector are of Dom'Kavash origin and have no known connection to Mass Effect technology. They might still be a relatively valuable trade good once a proper relationship is established but mostly as a cultural good, not as a source of new technology.
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