- Pronouns
- She/Her
Cybran Nation Turn 2 Start @Velocci
The new year is marked by multiple highly inauspicious occasions. The first and most immediately severe is that the Specters have launched a sizable invasion of Cybran territory. In a bitterly ironic turn of events, they reacted to the attempts to rouse them by lashing out in force in a random direction that just happened to contain the Cybran Nation in it rather than due to them understanding that the Cybrans are the ones who roused them to anger in the first place. An immediate tactical response is required.
Second, access to the local Hypernet has involved gaining access to regional news, data analysis of which seems to indicate that the Merendi Imperium has "gained access to local battle salvage in the wake of the recent southern conflict of significant interest to the Solar Empress and the Empire," and are announcing reverse engineering efforts are already underway. To what end is unclear, but it probably isn't anything good.
Finally, even as Cybran mobile units moved to respond in force to the Specter attack and war planning for it and potentially other strategic operations for the coming year commenced, previously unseen foes moved to take advantage of the sudden relative gap in the Cybran defences. Volreaper, or more colloquially Human Hunter, is a collective term for a variety of private interests and mercenary groups bankrolled by the Singularity Pact, in particular the Ecumene, to conduct search and destroy missions on all humans they can find and safely attack. Sensing an opportunity for mass murder in a newly arrived batch of humans suddenly under heavy attack, several of these groups moved in. Post-battle analysis indicates they'd previously been in the region to probe the Merendi Imperium for weaknesses, since despite their colloquial name they battle more than just humans, but deemed the Cybran Nation a higher priority threat upon their arrival.
And despite what the concept of private death squads may bring to mind, these volreapers operate battlecruisers. It would appear that in the Lesser Ecumene's current next-generation battlecruiser program, many Great War-era vessels "vanished under mysterious circumstances", or were outright publicly sold to mercenary formations. And even an outdated Ecumenical battlecruiser is worth its weight in Cybran ships, able to threaten even a Universe-class with the proper support, although in an act of admittedly intelligent cowardice the core Nodes so guarded are avoided by the attackers.
But what the volreapers had in turn not been counting on was that the Cybran people were far from unused to being hunted for the crime of who they were. The previous year's work on defences does not go to waste, with orbital fortresses and monitor cruisers exchanging fire with the enemy's navy, holding off landings as long as possible. Citizens are ushered into armoured bunkers even as the first wave of drop pods and attack shuttles start screaming through planetary atmospheres, with orbital interdiction systems (apparently an Ecumenical specialty) deployed to prevent Quantum Gate escape, although curiously not entry.
These invaders do not have an easier time of it than their warship brethren. Burst Masters fill the sky with flak, downing many of the foe before they even touch the ground. Those that do, via luck or deployment by teleportation, find that the city itself rises against them. Infrastructure is repurposed by Evacuation Guards, manufacturing centres that had been producing vast amounts of consumer goods altered to instead construct Tier 1 units. Loyalist LABs in some cases open fire even as they walk off the assembly lines, and the concentrated streets of Cybran cities shift and move around the attackers, short walls with anti-personnel turrets appearing where there had been none before to block the foe's path while other barriers vanish to allow for rapid ambushes.
But while the enemy may have been surprised by the extent of the Cybran defences, they are not fools, and did not come unprepared. The humans of this universe have a reputation as peerless warriors through their incredible psionic strength, and so the volreapers deploy with massive force, heavy assault troops than a match for even the most valiant Evacuation Guard, dropship-deployed battle tanks, and a surprisingly fanatical commitment to the extermination of all that is human. They push towards the bunkers containing the Cybran civilian populations, almost heedless of their own losses, with an obvious aim to deploy weapons of mass destruction; chemical, biological, and worse still.
Distress calls echo out from the besieged worlds, repeating with a rising panic as the enemy's goal becomes clear. But the Armoured Command Units and mobile war fleets of the Cybran are either too busy preventing the Specters from doing even greater damage at the front or marshalling in centralised mustering grounds far away from the interdicted worlds. Painful choices begin to be debated, heavy losses likely to be inevitable, even though it's clear that the Cybran defences are more than heavy enough to prevent the volreapers from outright wiping out any given planet.
Fortunately, no such choices need to be made. Help arrives from an unexpected source.
The UEF and Aeon expeditionary fleets arrive a year or so after their Cybran counterpart, streaming through the portal in great numbers. They planned to take this year to get their bearings, establish logistical networks between their future territories and the Cybran-held portal, and otherwise take things slowly but surely behind the vanguard of the ever at the bleeding edge Cybrans. Instead, they arrive to hear those same Cybrans under attack by aliens with genocidal intent. Neither the UEF nor Aeon expeditionary commanders have any particularly great love for symbionts, but after the joint struggle against the Seraphim both at least see them as people, and in this case innocent people being murdered.
In a show of Coalition unity unseen since the final battle for Earth, both expeditionary fleets charge to the rescue of the embattled Cybran defence forces with all possible haste. Eschewing the deployment of their powerful but slow supercapitals, the relief force is instead centred around gating-in Bravo-17s and Portents. In a twist of fate, the two designs complement each other well, the Portents charging in and taking attention away from the artillery ship Bravos. Quick work is made of the main volreaper battle line when it attempts to stand and fight or evacuate its deployed forces, with the wiser enemy commanders simply fleeing immediately and leaving their ground troops to their fight, inevitably pursued by swarms of strike craft from all three factions.
Choosing not to deploy heavy ground forces for political reasons, the UEF and Aeon do move quickly to aid the ground defence with the deployment of strike craft and special forces. Broadswords and Restorers, chosen for their rapid fire rates, sweep both ground and sky of enemy vehicles, while Armigers and Operatives provide a much needed ability to combat the volreapers' heavier powered suits on their own terms. There's even some field deployment of Aeon Exorcists, seemingly to test them in actual combat, and the results seem to be promising enough, with their high-speed fighting style allowing them to overwhelm enemy positions quickly.
Before long, every Cybran world is safe once again, with minimal civilian casualties to boot, but it was an exceedingly close run thing. Additionally, many thousands of Evacuation Guards sacrificed their lives to at first delay and then defeat the volreapers, with impromptu monuments to their sacrifice already emerging on most of the assaulted planets.
As for the Coalition forces, they've privately informed Ivan Brackman that they intend to largely continue their original plan of laying foundations for expansion, with a side order of doing what they can to hunt down any remnant volreapers that may be lurking in the area. The good news is that for this year the Cybran forces will not have to watch their interior, but the bad news is that they won't help with the Specter threat unless the situation on the front catastrophically deteriorates. Additionally, space must be marked for both the new arrivals by next year in one way or another in order to keep them cooperative going forward.
Strategic Turn 2 Start
Available Resources: 156 RP
Available Sectors
-Cybran Space (1, Southwest [Heartlands, Heavily Defended]): Now a vast heartland of Cybran people and industry, this region of space is under constant threat from many different angles, but it is well defended by both static fortifications and the Cybran armed forces. Currently under attack by the Specters.
-The Merendi Imperium (2, Northwest, North): The Merendi are a humanoid race that is perhaps best described as "technicolor elves", as one Cybran analyst put it. Hailing from a distant galaxy, this Merendi colony left their home nation for reasons unknown. Whatever said home nation was, it was clearly wealthy and powerful, since the stated reason for the Merendi conquering their surrounding space and enslaving local aliens is so that they could maintain the lavish lifestyles they were used to, including truly obscene displays of wealth such as claiming entire star systems to be palaces for their ruling elite.
-Minor Powers (1, West): Thanks to swift and effective Cybran intervention, this space has seen a full restoration of peace and security, with many small nations blooming like a field of flowers as ruins are rebuilt into cities once more. While no overarching government exists, the polities here share a strikingly powerful independent streak, choosing to try and make their own way through the stars.
-Syrabaric Defense Coalition (1, Northeast): A collective term for several local nations that all share a highly democratic and collectivist means of government not that dissimilar from the Cybran Nation's own, although they take things even further, eschewing formal leadership beyond representative speakers altogether. Are supported by material and personnel aid from their ideological allies in the galaxy, apparently including a sizable quantity of Merendi who are very angry at their western neighbors. Interested in getting to know the Cybran Nation properly.
-The Omni-Enlightening Swarm (1, Center): A scientist of a now-extinct local race decided that their brilliance was unmatched throughout the universe, and so it should be the only thing in the universe. Destroying his own civilization with legions of drones, he now sits as the immortal ruler of an empire made up exclusively of cyborg clones of himself. The Swarm seeks to exterminate all other life out of pure egoism and a solipsist belief in their own divinity. Currently being checked mostly by the SDC to the northeast, but border skirmishes with the Specters have recently intensified thanks to Cybran intelligence efforts. The Swarm is aware of said efforts, and seem to be none too happy about it, even if they're spending some time to gather their forces rather than attacking immediately.
-The Specters (1, South): Visitors from another dimension seemingly called Nodespace, if the studies left behind by their victims are any indication, the Specters are powerful extradimensional aliens that exhibit unusual abilities, and seem incensed by the disturbances created by biological races using FTL drives. Due to bad luck, they are moving to attack the Cybran Nation in force, something that necessitates an immediate military response.
-Art Project? (1, East): Each star system in this sector of space is exactly the same. One red dwarf with a single tidally locked rocky planet in its Goldilocks zone. Each one has resulted in a totally unique biosphere from the same seed microbes. To call this a marvel of stellar and bioengineering would be putting it unfathomably lightly. Technically, there's nothing stopping the Cybrans from colonizing this region of space, and with modern technology it would even be easy to do so without severely disrupting the various unique ecosystems. Notably, however, no local faction has done so themselves.
-Shaltari Tribal Confederation (1, Southeast): An alien race of "diminutive space hedgehogs", as a certain Cybran analyst beginning to gain recognition for their colloquial naming sense put it, the Shaltari keep to themselves and their various tribes. What a tribe is remains a little unclear, but it is believed to be roughly equivalent to a Cybran Node rather than a more traditional meaning, and they respond to identified scouts in varying ways. While largely internally-focused, they have laid decisive claim to their region of space with a military apparatus of comparatively small but high speed units with a penchant for trickery that even the most devious Cybran Commander can approve of. Currently engaging in border skirmishes with an unknown force to their approximate southeast, with relatively few details available via the hypernet due to the Shaltari being only minimally plugged into it at present.
-The Merendi Imperium (2, Northwest, North): The Merendi are a humanoid race that is perhaps best described as "technicolor elves", as one Cybran analyst put it. Hailing from a distant galaxy, this Merendi colony left their home nation for reasons unknown. Whatever said home nation was, it was clearly wealthy and powerful, since the stated reason for the Merendi conquering their surrounding space and enslaving local aliens is so that they could maintain the lavish lifestyles they were used to, including truly obscene displays of wealth such as claiming entire star systems to be palaces for their ruling elite.
-Minor Powers (1, West): Thanks to swift and effective Cybran intervention, this space has seen a full restoration of peace and security, with many small nations blooming like a field of flowers as ruins are rebuilt into cities once more. While no overarching government exists, the polities here share a strikingly powerful independent streak, choosing to try and make their own way through the stars.
-Syrabaric Defense Coalition (1, Northeast): A collective term for several local nations that all share a highly democratic and collectivist means of government not that dissimilar from the Cybran Nation's own, although they take things even further, eschewing formal leadership beyond representative speakers altogether. Are supported by material and personnel aid from their ideological allies in the galaxy, apparently including a sizable quantity of Merendi who are very angry at their western neighbors. Interested in getting to know the Cybran Nation properly.
-The Omni-Enlightening Swarm (1, Center): A scientist of a now-extinct local race decided that their brilliance was unmatched throughout the universe, and so it should be the only thing in the universe. Destroying his own civilization with legions of drones, he now sits as the immortal ruler of an empire made up exclusively of cyborg clones of himself. The Swarm seeks to exterminate all other life out of pure egoism and a solipsist belief in their own divinity. Currently being checked mostly by the SDC to the northeast, but border skirmishes with the Specters have recently intensified thanks to Cybran intelligence efforts. The Swarm is aware of said efforts, and seem to be none too happy about it, even if they're spending some time to gather their forces rather than attacking immediately.
-The Specters (1, South): Visitors from another dimension seemingly called Nodespace, if the studies left behind by their victims are any indication, the Specters are powerful extradimensional aliens that exhibit unusual abilities, and seem incensed by the disturbances created by biological races using FTL drives. Due to bad luck, they are moving to attack the Cybran Nation in force, something that necessitates an immediate military response.
-Art Project? (1, East): Each star system in this sector of space is exactly the same. One red dwarf with a single tidally locked rocky planet in its Goldilocks zone. Each one has resulted in a totally unique biosphere from the same seed microbes. To call this a marvel of stellar and bioengineering would be putting it unfathomably lightly. Technically, there's nothing stopping the Cybrans from colonizing this region of space, and with modern technology it would even be easy to do so without severely disrupting the various unique ecosystems. Notably, however, no local faction has done so themselves.
-Shaltari Tribal Confederation (1, Southeast): An alien race of "diminutive space hedgehogs", as a certain Cybran analyst beginning to gain recognition for their colloquial naming sense put it, the Shaltari keep to themselves and their various tribes. What a tribe is remains a little unclear, but it is believed to be roughly equivalent to a Cybran Node rather than a more traditional meaning, and they respond to identified scouts in varying ways. While largely internally-focused, they have laid decisive claim to their region of space with a military apparatus of comparatively small but high speed units with a penchant for trickery that even the most devious Cybran Commander can approve of. Currently engaging in border skirmishes with an unknown force to their approximate southeast, with relatively few details available via the hypernet due to the Shaltari being only minimally plugged into it at present.
Unknown Space (7, All Except Below): The Cybran Nation has not yet identified who or what lies within this territory.
Renegade Space (1, East): Former occupied by a xenophobic and isolationist human outverser nation known as the Emerald Empire, this region of space was also overran by the Hierarchy before the latter arrived in the Cybran's neck of the woods. The few surviving records indicate that it resembled a pastiche of ancient Earth cultures from the northwest pacific, but now it is mostly home to various disparate refugees and pirate groups.
Unoccupied Space (1, Southeast): Mostly empty territory, it perhaps most notably contains the few refugee fleets to escape the destruction of the Emerald Empire in good order, primarily a culture group called the Unicorn accompanied by samples of all the subject human cultures and non-human species the Empire had managed to obtain before the arrival of the Hierarchy in what seems to have been a last ditch effort to preserve their culture and those of their vassals. However, this presence is small enough that there would be no major objections to an external power moving in and establishing control, although it is being loosely eyed by the Super-Directorate to the south due to formally being a buffer territory between it and the Empire.
Renegade Space (1, East): Former occupied by a xenophobic and isolationist human outverser nation known as the Emerald Empire, this region of space was also overran by the Hierarchy before the latter arrived in the Cybran's neck of the woods. The few surviving records indicate that it resembled a pastiche of ancient Earth cultures from the northwest pacific, but now it is mostly home to various disparate refugees and pirate groups.
Unoccupied Space (1, Southeast): Mostly empty territory, it perhaps most notably contains the few refugee fleets to escape the destruction of the Emerald Empire in good order, primarily a culture group called the Unicorn accompanied by samples of all the subject human cultures and non-human species the Empire had managed to obtain before the arrival of the Hierarchy in what seems to have been a last ditch effort to preserve their culture and those of their vassals. However, this presence is small enough that there would be no major objections to an external power moving in and establishing control, although it is being loosely eyed by the Super-Directorate to the south due to formally being a buffer territory between it and the Empire.
Unknown Space (8, All Except Below): The Cybran Nation has not yet identified who or what lies within this territory.
The Super-Directorate (1, Northeast): A loose, multi-species interstellar alliance of megacorps and states that are merely de-facto extensions of megacorps (some native and some outverser) called the Super-Directorate for Market Prosperity, which seems to be the main local power to your immediate south. The Super-Directorate is notable for a few things: the first is that it makes use of cyberisation and clone tech similar to, but even more extreme than, the Cybran's with almost everyone being modified with both genemods and cybernetics; the second is that some 90% of its economy is millions of "quantum stocks" being traded between AI every nanosecond without any connection to the Super-Directorate's material circumstances; and the third is that the remaining 10% of the economy which is rooted in reality is heavily based around hyper-commercialized violence.
Billionaire influencers murder each other in order to legally inherit the other's assets, which is televised and broadcasted live alongside the streams of militarized police forces and private mercenaries as they chase serial killers, hunt mutants & rogue bioweapons in the slums, quash riots, foil (corporate) terrorist plots, and silence dissidents. Numerous hypernet articles label the Super-Directorate the #1 exporter of snuff media across former Pentarch Space. According to numerous 'insider trading tips' on the hypernet, they are currently preparing to encroach on a lucrative new kind of resource to their galactic east, which is currently being denied to them, in an effort spearheaded by the Messenger Logistics Corporation, a primarily transportation and communication company well positioned to rapidly establish extraction efforts while breaking into this new potential market.
The Super-Directorate (1, Northeast): A loose, multi-species interstellar alliance of megacorps and states that are merely de-facto extensions of megacorps (some native and some outverser) called the Super-Directorate for Market Prosperity, which seems to be the main local power to your immediate south. The Super-Directorate is notable for a few things: the first is that it makes use of cyberisation and clone tech similar to, but even more extreme than, the Cybran's with almost everyone being modified with both genemods and cybernetics; the second is that some 90% of its economy is millions of "quantum stocks" being traded between AI every nanosecond without any connection to the Super-Directorate's material circumstances; and the third is that the remaining 10% of the economy which is rooted in reality is heavily based around hyper-commercialized violence.
Billionaire influencers murder each other in order to legally inherit the other's assets, which is televised and broadcasted live alongside the streams of militarized police forces and private mercenaries as they chase serial killers, hunt mutants & rogue bioweapons in the slums, quash riots, foil (corporate) terrorist plots, and silence dissidents. Numerous hypernet articles label the Super-Directorate the #1 exporter of snuff media across former Pentarch Space. According to numerous 'insider trading tips' on the hypernet, they are currently preparing to encroach on a lucrative new kind of resource to their galactic east, which is currently being denied to them, in an effort spearheaded by the Messenger Logistics Corporation, a primarily transportation and communication company well positioned to rapidly establish extraction efforts while breaking into this new potential market.
Unknown Space (8, All Except Below): The Cybran Nation has not yet identified who or what lies within this territory.
The Super-Directorate (1, Northwest): As O-7.
The Super-Directorate (1, Northwest): As O-7.
Imperium of Man Turn 2 Start @Signupname
Not all work in the Emperor's name is glorious. While the Scourge threat has been eliminated, remnant pockets of resistance from the cursed machine race do remain, endlessly seeking to fulfil their programmed directive to expand and colonise and due to their self-replicating nature are deemed a Primus-grade security threat, with Guard and Navy task forces established to hunt down and eliminate these pockets with local Mechanicus, Sororitas, and Astartes support where available. Though this is but one of an unknown number of nodes of the Wayfaring Scourge across the universe, the loss of their matryoshka brain construct at the battle of the "Eye of Iron" station has left them unable to properly coordinate without setting up new communications.
This allows the Imperial military machine to engage them as disparate chunks across their remaining worlds, ruthlessly targeting the centres of their neural network and the data ghosts of their voracious programs, which fortunately find little purchase on the holy spirits of Imperial technology. With the machine threat that had dominated many propaganda reels defeated, there would now be a new section in the Infantryman's Primer about how the Imperium's genius had deciphered the fatal flaw of the products of xenos materialistic greed. A means to stop the siren song the robots sang to the soulless contraptions of cultures lacking the Emperor's protection.
But the remaining Scourge superweapon that had caused the Imperium the grief it did in the Foundation War offered a new conundrum. The PIONEER network that served as the collective thought of the robot horde was not stupid and mindless, unlike what was told in the Uplifting Primer. They were incapable of challenging their core directive but they were always looking for new ideas and improvements. Throughout the war with the robots, they were attempting to devise counter weapons to the Imperium's doctrine and methods. Adjustments to armour to better resist standard imperial weapons, adjustments to shield patterns, new models of robot. Even as it died, scattered as it was, the Foundation Node was attempting to overcome its situation.
This superweapon was a key example of the Wayfaring Scourge's drive to find new ways to win, a means to lay waste to worlds without even having to be anywhere near them. Though it was reduced to wreckage by Iron Warriors Tactical Dreadnought teams that had teleported within once its shielding had failed and systematically cleaned its radioactive interior out, it was still being attended to by a swarm of learned men and women. The Astartes who had dared to brave an interior filled with a strange, sickly golden light reported a hell of machines from all sides. And with the purging of the nerves of the system, the gun fell silent, and no more worlds would fall to its wrath.
While this process has gone fairly smoothly, one point of interest is the material of the warhead; an unusual mineral seemingly locally referred to as Exteritite. While the Emperor's Tarot indicates it is intrinsically connected to disaster, some controversial individuals have argued instead, on the basis of preliminary Mechanicus investigation showing immense potential utility, that the material is a boon to be exploited, and that the portents could instead refer to the catastrophic Imperial wrath that would be unleashed on the Emperor's enemies if the material was properly used: The Tarot is ever-unclear, after all! Either way, something must be done about or with the stockpiles of the material.
On a more immediate note, hostile forces have attacked outlying Imperial worlds in lightning strikes. So-called "volreaper" formations, established by xenos with an entirely typical hatred of humanity, assail mankind with genocidal intent across this universe. Always preferring a mercenary approach to their problems, Octarine Incorporated has encouraged these activities in local space, and in particular some were engaged in battle against the humanoid forces of Outworld immediately prior to the Imperium's arrival. Apparently believing that the Imperium would be easy prey, or at least easier than Shao Khan's Kombatants, they shifted targets and launched assaults on numerous outlying Imperial worlds.
They come in numbers and with force, landing armoured and mechanised formations of professional ground troops even as their cruisers engage and destroy the Imperial orbital defences, held off from bombardment only by the planetside weapon silos and void shields. Resorting to ground assault, their attacks are merciless, bombarding PDF trench lines and civilian hab-blocks with equal ruthless abandon. The fighting is fierce, and they certainly have the upper hand, especially thanks to their seemingly universal light powered armour and a general technological advantage. But the PDFs defend their worlds fiercely, and in a move that seems to take the aliens by surprise, so do the citizens of the Imperium.
The humans of this galaxy, it would appear, are infamously fierce fighters, but they rely on their psionic abilities, and in particular their telepathy seems to instil a weakness that makes most local humans comparatively unwilling to do battle. The Imperium has no such issues, however, and so the aliens often find themselves attacked by scratch companies of guerilla fighters, hastily armed militia using ambush tactics and a mixture of improvised and PDF-supplied weapons, when they least expect it, which in combination with the line units of PDF mechanised infantry and static fortifications slows down the invaders significantly.
Soon enough, Imperial Guard, Navy, and Space Marine forces arrived to answer the astropathic distress calls of the embattled worlds, and swiftly put the enemy to flight. The volreapers seem to be particularly cowardly for xenos, more Eldar than Ork, favouring retreats when threatened and optimising their combat units for safety, including features such as emergency teleportation out of a battle zone when heavily damaged. This prevented them from doing noteworthy damage to Imperial infrastructure, and while through combat with militia and deliberate targeting of civilian populations many Imperial citizens have returned home to the Emperor's side, the Administratum has already routed spare personnel towards the affected areas, swiftly returning all industrial facilities to optimum staffing regimes and resuming all tithe gatherings with minimal disruption. Genocidal volreaper attacks have thus been designated as a mere Tertius-class threat.
Finally, there is the matter of the local information infrastructure known as the Hypernet. Described by investigating Tech-Adepts as not unlike the noosphere, but universe-wide and accessible via external terminal, it is designed to take a wide variety of inputs and give a wide variety of outputs in terms of data formats. The good news is that the Imperium has been able to successfully access the Hypernet, and commence passive intelligence gathering on foreign powers, such as rumours of Octarine Incorporated beginning to reverse-engineer technology from another xenos race that had been present to the Special Economic Zone's south east, and Vorkyli United Republic troop and ship movements towards the Imperial border with complementing forward deployment of logistics assets.
The bad news is that the Imperium has been able to successfully access an endless flood of xenos filth, and investigation shows that the first accesses were actually by elements of the general population. Fortunately, most Imperial citizens lack a personal cogitator, so the damage is limited, but a rash of unrestricted access to doubtlessly corrupting information has sprung up regardless, primarily from amateurishly modified data-slates able to engage in very simple read/write protocols, with some cogitators and terminals allowing for visual image transmission.
The Inquisition has swiftly moved to counteract the threat, with access to the Hypernet being restricted to specially selected research and intelligence personnel. To help enforce this ban, a digital firewall has been established between all Imperial data infrastructure and the Hypernet, although it may be possible for canny and knowledgeable individuals to bypass the comparatively simplistic barriers. Of course, there is also the matter of what to do next.
The current leading strain of thought is put forward by a coalition of moderate Inquisitors and most Imperial Judges present among the new worlds, with support from large swathes of the Adeptus Mechanicus and Ecclesiarchy in a rare display of unity. Unauthorised access going forward is to be punished by a life sentence in a Penal World, with standard possibilities for redemption such as serving in a Penal Regiment, and an intensive one-year reeducation and forced labour course for ex post facto sentenced, both to be delivered by the Arbites as soon as that holy organisation is properly reestablished due to the relative seriousness of the crime.
It would be a merciful compromise, considering the significant number of Puritan Ordo Xenos Inquisitors, with support from firebrand Priests and orthodox Magi, who want said access to be punishable by immediate execution, both going forward and ex post facto. Access to deep xenos lore is little better than access to that of the Ruinous Powers, the argument goes, and so the penalty should be much the same lest corruption spread through the hearts of mankind like wildfire. A slave of the Tau is just as much an enemy of the Imperium as a slave of the Dark Gods.
There is also a small group of Radical Inquisitors and Magi that have forwarded an unusual proposal to allow the continuation and indeed formalisation of Hypernet access for the Imperial population, albeit suitably censored and hijacked for the purpose of connecting Imperial worlds and peoples to each other rather than access to external media. The enormous benefits to Imperial communication and coordination are plain to see, but it would make it infinitely easier for sinners and heretics to bypass the restrictions and firewall and access the heretical external Hypernet. Whether access to the unfiltered Hypernet is to be punished by imprisonment or execution remains up to debate, however, so this choice would be in addition to rather than instead of taking one of the other two sides. This third group itself pushes for a more lenient punishment regime, suggesting that mere reeducation should be sufficient for the relatively lowly crime of accessing xenos media. Unlike the runes of Chaos, the argument goes, such media has no intrinsic corruptive properties, so the punishment should be correspondingly lighter.
As Warmaster and commander of the Battlegroup, Warsmith Harrsk has final say in the matter. Whether he chooses to side with any of the above groups or forward a proposal all his own is up to him, and with the support of the Battlegroup's Astartes and much of its soldiery what he says will go, although political considerations remain as always in play.
Whichever path forward is chosen, with almost a year of unfiltered access to the external Hypernet the damage to Imperial purity and social cohesion may already have been significant. Priests are encouraged to double their efforts, local enforcers intensify their patrols and arrests, and Inquisitorial Acolytes and information networks are on the lookout. From the few outright taken in for questioning so far, the corrupting materials most accessed are of the disgusting alien form in its uncovered either hideousness or sinful beguilement, promoting the sin of xenophilia, and of unusual brands of humour that seem to be heavily based around unseriousness, which is less concerning but considered a security threat regardless just to be safe.
Strategic Turn 2 Start
Available Resources: 88 RP
-Unlocked a free action to decide between imprisonment, reeducation or execution for subjects found guilty of illicit Hypernet access.
-Unlocked a free action to decide whether or not to make use of a censored Hypernet for internal Imperial communications. High security communications will be kept to the relatively more secure Astropath network.
Available Sectors
-Imperial Space (1, Center [Established, Moderately Defended]): Once territory bitterly contested by the Republic and the Scourge, the Imperium's sudden arrival has both shattered the state of the local territory and potentially upset the balance of power of the entire region. Imperial cities and defences have been established across the entire territory, and now Battlegroup Harrsk may look outwards toward new conquests.
[Exteritite Debris] 1: If accepted, subsector productivity gains +4 RP/turn once the sector is developed to Colonized or higher. This trait can be upgraded. For 8RP, this trait can be removed, as the last remains of the Infesting Gold is cleared from biospheres and otherwise cleaned up.
-Kroatangan Raiders (1, Northwest): Monstrous xenos not entirely unlike the Orks, albeit equally not entirely alike, these Kroatangans are remnants from a Warpath that was defeated in battle by a local military coalition a few centuries ago. Divided pirate bands fight each other as much as they attempt to strike out at the rest of the sector, and when they do the latter a cull is usually swiftly organised to keep them down. Despite outright culls not being forthcoming at this time, Deathwatch operations in this area have successfully removed one of the likely leadership candidates from play and ensured that hostilities will remain properly hostile for the foreseeable future.
-Ykantras Orda (1, South): The Ykantras are a nomadic species of alien raiders, but this particular Orda is not. It had the misfortune of attempting to skirt through Octarine-controlled territories, only to end up engaged and ultimately defeated by mercenary forces. To most optimally control and extract wealth from the Ykantras, most of their mobile habitats were recycled for their materials, and they were forced to settle on various regional worlds, the Ykantras' familiarity with enclosed living ensuring that Octarine didn't have to go to the expense of finding ones with compatible atmospheres. A strong spacer culture and a partially crippled technological base is almost all that remains of the once-proud raiders, but they have not forgotten or forgiven their torments. But, as impoverished as they are, there isn't much they can do about it without help.
-Vorkyli United Republics: (2, East, Southeast): Some among the Vorkyli remember the days when they were a power in their own right, and seek to restore old glories. One otherwise ordinary republic decided to take a chance, and expanded by force after declaring the United Republics. As far as Octarine is concerned, mergers and acquisitions are no issue as long as the debt payments of both conqueror and conquered keep rolling in, which they have, for now. The southeast is the original republic, while their east is their conquest, with the latter having a mixed opinion of their forceful integration. On the one hand, nobody likes being conquered, but on the other hand the idea of setting aside false divisions to one day potentially throw off Octarine's shackles has a strong appeal to many. Currently marshalling their forces on their border with the Imperium.
-Octarine Incorporated Mining Interests (1, North): Formerly a mixture of local Vorkyli and an up and coming local species working together to battle the Kroatanga, they were forced to take out significant Octarine loans to pay for mercenaries and maintain their national forces, and while they were successful the devastation of war on their economies prevented them from doing anything like paying those loans back. Almost as soon as they were done fighting one enemy, Octarine descended to repossess their investments, which happened to be everything. Mercenaries were given updated contracts, and the volunteers that had been present to fight the Kroats left with that threat gone.
Now they work tirelessly to extract valuable metamaterials for their masters, with their debt compounding about as fast as they can pay it off, a situation that has been carefully maintained for centuries. A Magnitude 3 warfleet of Octarine's elite Xyvus Solutions mercenaries is based here to secure their 'investment', mostly from the frequent rebellions, ranging from actual uprisings worthy of the name to constant guerilla attacks and piracy from those who can get their hands on weapons or spaceships. Recent Imperial successful defiance of Octarine has only intensified these revolts, but a material difference from the prior state of affairs has yet to emerge.
-Cosmorealm (1, West): Not a name chosen by themselves, the local republic of this region was fairly unremarkable aside from being moderately prosperous and able of governance, but now it faces an incursion from beyond this universe, not unlike the Imperium in some ways. The forces of 'Outworld' march forth under their great and terrible Khan, eager to incorporate this territory into their empire through the rite and art of Mortal Kombat. Thanks to reinforcements from the Federation, the Khan's armies are being stalemated, but the balance of power continues to be rather precarious, and either side could potentially gain the upper hand in the near future.
-The Teutes Federation (1, Southwest): A Vorkyli state with a sizable local military due to being the location of their former nation's high command when things came crashing down, this so-called Citizen's Republic is a military junta in all but name, and Octarine Incorporated's local enforcer in exchange for more freedom and a lowered economic burden. While normally they might be moving to check the Imperium or perform their traditional purges of Kroatangan space, they are currently too busy trying to counter the legions of Outworld to their north.
-Vorkyli Lesser Regnum (1, Northeast): The Hograthux are a species of truly enormous voidborne worms with immense psionic powers, and one of them has made their way here, where they have dominated a local Octarine colony and turned it into its nest and slave-empire. Deemed unprofitable to deal with so long as it doesn't actively expand further, this Lesser Regnum has been more or less keeping to itself, but evidence suggests they were funding the Republican Federation's revolt to destabilise the region and, presumably, eventually bring the Republic under its own control. As might be expected, they are rather annoyed with the new interlopers in their planned expansion zone.
[Exteritite Debris] 1: If accepted, subsector productivity gains +4 RP/turn once the sector is developed to Colonized or higher. This trait can be upgraded. For 8RP, this trait can be removed, as the last remains of the Infesting Gold is cleared from biospheres and otherwise cleaned up.
-Kroatangan Raiders (1, Northwest): Monstrous xenos not entirely unlike the Orks, albeit equally not entirely alike, these Kroatangans are remnants from a Warpath that was defeated in battle by a local military coalition a few centuries ago. Divided pirate bands fight each other as much as they attempt to strike out at the rest of the sector, and when they do the latter a cull is usually swiftly organised to keep them down. Despite outright culls not being forthcoming at this time, Deathwatch operations in this area have successfully removed one of the likely leadership candidates from play and ensured that hostilities will remain properly hostile for the foreseeable future.
-Ykantras Orda (1, South): The Ykantras are a nomadic species of alien raiders, but this particular Orda is not. It had the misfortune of attempting to skirt through Octarine-controlled territories, only to end up engaged and ultimately defeated by mercenary forces. To most optimally control and extract wealth from the Ykantras, most of their mobile habitats were recycled for their materials, and they were forced to settle on various regional worlds, the Ykantras' familiarity with enclosed living ensuring that Octarine didn't have to go to the expense of finding ones with compatible atmospheres. A strong spacer culture and a partially crippled technological base is almost all that remains of the once-proud raiders, but they have not forgotten or forgiven their torments. But, as impoverished as they are, there isn't much they can do about it without help.
-Vorkyli United Republics: (2, East, Southeast): Some among the Vorkyli remember the days when they were a power in their own right, and seek to restore old glories. One otherwise ordinary republic decided to take a chance, and expanded by force after declaring the United Republics. As far as Octarine is concerned, mergers and acquisitions are no issue as long as the debt payments of both conqueror and conquered keep rolling in, which they have, for now. The southeast is the original republic, while their east is their conquest, with the latter having a mixed opinion of their forceful integration. On the one hand, nobody likes being conquered, but on the other hand the idea of setting aside false divisions to one day potentially throw off Octarine's shackles has a strong appeal to many. Currently marshalling their forces on their border with the Imperium.
-Octarine Incorporated Mining Interests (1, North): Formerly a mixture of local Vorkyli and an up and coming local species working together to battle the Kroatanga, they were forced to take out significant Octarine loans to pay for mercenaries and maintain their national forces, and while they were successful the devastation of war on their economies prevented them from doing anything like paying those loans back. Almost as soon as they were done fighting one enemy, Octarine descended to repossess their investments, which happened to be everything. Mercenaries were given updated contracts, and the volunteers that had been present to fight the Kroats left with that threat gone.
Now they work tirelessly to extract valuable metamaterials for their masters, with their debt compounding about as fast as they can pay it off, a situation that has been carefully maintained for centuries. A Magnitude 3 warfleet of Octarine's elite Xyvus Solutions mercenaries is based here to secure their 'investment', mostly from the frequent rebellions, ranging from actual uprisings worthy of the name to constant guerilla attacks and piracy from those who can get their hands on weapons or spaceships. Recent Imperial successful defiance of Octarine has only intensified these revolts, but a material difference from the prior state of affairs has yet to emerge.
-Cosmorealm (1, West): Not a name chosen by themselves, the local republic of this region was fairly unremarkable aside from being moderately prosperous and able of governance, but now it faces an incursion from beyond this universe, not unlike the Imperium in some ways. The forces of 'Outworld' march forth under their great and terrible Khan, eager to incorporate this territory into their empire through the rite and art of Mortal Kombat. Thanks to reinforcements from the Federation, the Khan's armies are being stalemated, but the balance of power continues to be rather precarious, and either side could potentially gain the upper hand in the near future.
-The Teutes Federation (1, Southwest): A Vorkyli state with a sizable local military due to being the location of their former nation's high command when things came crashing down, this so-called Citizen's Republic is a military junta in all but name, and Octarine Incorporated's local enforcer in exchange for more freedom and a lowered economic burden. While normally they might be moving to check the Imperium or perform their traditional purges of Kroatangan space, they are currently too busy trying to counter the legions of Outworld to their north.
-Vorkyli Lesser Regnum (1, Northeast): The Hograthux are a species of truly enormous voidborne worms with immense psionic powers, and one of them has made their way here, where they have dominated a local Octarine colony and turned it into its nest and slave-empire. Deemed unprofitable to deal with so long as it doesn't actively expand further, this Lesser Regnum has been more or less keeping to itself, but evidence suggests they were funding the Republican Federation's revolt to destabilise the region and, presumably, eventually bring the Republic under its own control. As might be expected, they are rather annoyed with the new interlopers in their planned expansion zone.
Reapers Turn 2 Start @Crayak
With the bulk of the Cylons integrated under the Reapers, the time has come to directly absorb their territory and industrial capacity, with the by now fully indoctrinated 'biocylon' hybrid organic-synthetics happily submitting to becoming Reapers themselves as part of yet another stage in their evolution, something that is from a certain point of view even true. Now that this threat has been liquidated, the Reapers can begin to expand outwards once more, and a variety of targets for destruction exist. One note is that the technology used to create the biocylons could be adapted to mass-clone human-type biological organisms to keep a steady supply of Husks and, in particularly dire times, Reapers. Only a relatively minor investment research would be needed to fully develop and set up cloning bays of this type.
Access to the Hypernet, which seems to be the local equivalent of Sheperd's Cycle's 'extranet' interstellar communications network, indicates that local organics have in fact attempted to organise a potential alliance to try and fight the Reapers. However, this has proven unsuccessful, with the Scourge refusing to partake in any such alliance, the Ykantras Moot and USPR arguing over past grievances, and no one even bothered to try and talk to the Kroatangans. For now, at least, the enemies of the Reapers remain divided.
Finally, two large groups of Reapers have arrived, reuniting most of the armada. In a stroke of great fortune, one arrived directly within Reaper territory, immediately resuming their service under Harbinger without delay. In a more complicated turn of events, the other appeared directly in the middle of the USPR, and are now engaging the alien biologicals in something of a confused pitched battle after showing up there immediately after (in their eyes) the firing of the Crucible. Rendering assistance and restoring unity may be warranted.
Strategic Turn 2 Start
Available Resources: 80 RP
The absorbtion of the Cylons and their territory has given the Reapers an additional Pop and Colonised subsector. These will begin to add to the Reaper's RP income next turn but the new subsector can be improved before then with the normal cost in RP if desired.
Available Sectors
-Reaper Space (2, Northwest [Industrialised, Heavily Defended], South [Colonised]): Now productive and fortified, this territory serves as the Reapers' home base in this new reality, allowing them to commence their new crusade at a time of their choosing. The integration of Cylon land has posed some minor logistical challenges, but nothing that cannot be overcome via the usage of a few freshly constructed Mass Relays.
-Kroatangan Warpath (1, North): Some time prior to the present day, a horde of murdering organics called the Kroatanga ravaged this region of space underneath a commander identified as a Sub-Wardemon, until they were largely wiped out by a power elsewhere in the galaxy called the Unity of Yralgar. Largely, but not entirely, and a Warfiend called Abradax Smashmaster has emerged to rally a sizable group of the survivors to his banner, preparing for a crusade of blood and carnage across local space. Despite apparently being artificial creations, these 'Kroats' certainly show the true face of organics. Currently engaged in northward operations.
-Ether Drakes (1, Northeast): Strange void fauna that is apparently not native to this reality. Primitive but social, they have formed a basic society and are violently territorial, with an adult Drake being the size of a small moon and more than a match for even a Reaper Capital Ship thanks to their natural weapons and durability. To be engaged with caution.
-The Scourge (1, West): A race of organic parasites that gained advanced techno-organic technology, spreading throughout the stars and infesting various worlds and races to further their brutal empire. They were looking northwards at the Fel Empire as their next target before the Reapers came, and now look at the newcomers warily. Have a similar range of technological capabilities and units as the Empire, but their unique nature may prove problematic in a conflict.
-Union of Syrabaric People's Republics (1, Center): More an empire than a union of republics, not particularly belonging to the people, and definitely not syrabaric (this being a reference to a local political ideology), the USPR is built around a core nation (made up of a species much like the Terran mole) that underwent a violent revolution against a monarchic government and became a totalitarian, expansionist state under the guiding hand of their Great Leader. The other nations in this region of space were conquered and their wealth extracted in exchange for unasked for protection against the various threats of the region. Violently denounced by the Syrabaric International. Currently battling against a newly arrived Magnitude 3 fleet of Reapers.
-Ancient Gateway (1, East): An enormous interstellar gateway of unknown provenance and destination, the region around it has mostly been filled with handfuls of minor civilisations and reaver clans. It could prove interesting to study, but is currently under attack by Kroatangans from the south, who seem mostly disinterested in the gate itself but are eager to smash the minor local forces.
-Ykantras Moot (1, Southwest): A species of nomadic organics that live a highly mobile lifestyle of warmongering and raiding, the Ykantras normally form into smaller Ordas, but the ones here have joined together into a Moot. Not covering a notably larger area than a single Orda might, they have settled it a lot more densely, albeit still in a nomadic fashion. It remains unclear whether they will try to stay and fight against the various threats of the sector or if they will leave for greener pastures elsewhere.
-Kroatangan Raiders (1, Southeast): Kroatangans that came from the same original Warpath as Warfiend Smashmaster, but failed to generate a similar leader. Before, they feuded with their enemies to the north and west along with each other, squatting in the remnants of their former glory. Currently launching a northern offensive. Now they fight as one, with the coalition of Arch-Warmongers launching their northern 'regrouping' offensive as planned.
-Kroatangan Warpath (1, North): Some time prior to the present day, a horde of murdering organics called the Kroatanga ravaged this region of space underneath a commander identified as a Sub-Wardemon, until they were largely wiped out by a power elsewhere in the galaxy called the Unity of Yralgar. Largely, but not entirely, and a Warfiend called Abradax Smashmaster has emerged to rally a sizable group of the survivors to his banner, preparing for a crusade of blood and carnage across local space. Despite apparently being artificial creations, these 'Kroats' certainly show the true face of organics. Currently engaged in northward operations.
-Ether Drakes (1, Northeast): Strange void fauna that is apparently not native to this reality. Primitive but social, they have formed a basic society and are violently territorial, with an adult Drake being the size of a small moon and more than a match for even a Reaper Capital Ship thanks to their natural weapons and durability. To be engaged with caution.
-The Scourge (1, West): A race of organic parasites that gained advanced techno-organic technology, spreading throughout the stars and infesting various worlds and races to further their brutal empire. They were looking northwards at the Fel Empire as their next target before the Reapers came, and now look at the newcomers warily. Have a similar range of technological capabilities and units as the Empire, but their unique nature may prove problematic in a conflict.
-Union of Syrabaric People's Republics (1, Center): More an empire than a union of republics, not particularly belonging to the people, and definitely not syrabaric (this being a reference to a local political ideology), the USPR is built around a core nation (made up of a species much like the Terran mole) that underwent a violent revolution against a monarchic government and became a totalitarian, expansionist state under the guiding hand of their Great Leader. The other nations in this region of space were conquered and their wealth extracted in exchange for unasked for protection against the various threats of the region. Violently denounced by the Syrabaric International. Currently battling against a newly arrived Magnitude 3 fleet of Reapers.
-Ancient Gateway (1, East): An enormous interstellar gateway of unknown provenance and destination, the region around it has mostly been filled with handfuls of minor civilisations and reaver clans. It could prove interesting to study, but is currently under attack by Kroatangans from the south, who seem mostly disinterested in the gate itself but are eager to smash the minor local forces.
-Ykantras Moot (1, Southwest): A species of nomadic organics that live a highly mobile lifestyle of warmongering and raiding, the Ykantras normally form into smaller Ordas, but the ones here have joined together into a Moot. Not covering a notably larger area than a single Orda might, they have settled it a lot more densely, albeit still in a nomadic fashion. It remains unclear whether they will try to stay and fight against the various threats of the sector or if they will leave for greener pastures elsewhere.
-Kroatangan Raiders (1, Southeast): Kroatangans that came from the same original Warpath as Warfiend Smashmaster, but failed to generate a similar leader. Before, they feuded with their enemies to the north and west along with each other, squatting in the remnants of their former glory. Currently launching a northern offensive. Now they fight as one, with the coalition of Arch-Warmongers launching their northern 'regrouping' offensive as planned.
Unknown Space (7, All Except Below): The Reapers have not yet identified who or what lies within this territory.
Sterilised Space (1, South): Some parts of the Kroatangan Warpath that infested this stellar region were purged more thoroughly than others. This particular sector is said to be where the Sub-Wardemon made his final stand, and the Yralgar response was absolute. But there is little in this universe can truly annihilate a Kroatangan infection, and so this sparsely populated sector slowly saw the return of small warbands, culminating in the recent achievement of interstellar travel under Sub-Warmongers that are engaging equally primitive species in open conflict. Now, however, Abradax Smashmaster has arrived to lay full and final claim to his title as Warfiend, and officially declare the Kroatangan regrouping complete. Already the various local Kroats begin to swear allegiance, and while the personnel gains will be relatively small it does represent a full doubling of his territory.
United Nations of the Tau'ri (1, Southwest): The expansion zone of an outverser human nation, less settled and defended than the core territories to the west, although still reasonably so. With small but powerful warships and starfighters and a ground corps that definitely exists, even this colony should be handled with all due force and focus in the inevitable event of a conflict.
Sterilised Space (1, South): Some parts of the Kroatangan Warpath that infested this stellar region were purged more thoroughly than others. This particular sector is said to be where the Sub-Wardemon made his final stand, and the Yralgar response was absolute. But there is little in this universe can truly annihilate a Kroatangan infection, and so this sparsely populated sector slowly saw the return of small warbands, culminating in the recent achievement of interstellar travel under Sub-Warmongers that are engaging equally primitive species in open conflict. Now, however, Abradax Smashmaster has arrived to lay full and final claim to his title as Warfiend, and officially declare the Kroatangan regrouping complete. Already the various local Kroats begin to swear allegiance, and while the personnel gains will be relatively small it does represent a full doubling of his territory.
United Nations of the Tau'ri (1, Southwest): The expansion zone of an outverser human nation, less settled and defended than the core territories to the west, although still reasonably so. With small but powerful warships and starfighters and a ground corps that definitely exists, even this colony should be handled with all due force and focus in the inevitable event of a conflict.
Unknown Space (8, All Except Below): The Reapers have not yet identified who or what lies within this territory.
United Nations of the Tau'ri (1, Southeast): A human nation from an alternative Earth that has expanded out into an interstellar federation. Armed with reasonably potent weapons reverse-engineered from alien technology native to their home universe, their arrival here has resulted in the discovery of a strange new mineral with industrial and mutagenic applications alongside unusual esoteric abilities that are both already being exploited, and a corresponding rise of new cult-like religions proclaiming salvation for mankind if their ways are followed.
United Nations of the Tau'ri (1, Southeast): A human nation from an alternative Earth that has expanded out into an interstellar federation. Armed with reasonably potent weapons reverse-engineered from alien technology native to their home universe, their arrival here has resulted in the discovery of a strange new mineral with industrial and mutagenic applications alongside unusual esoteric abilities that are both already being exploited, and a corresponding rise of new cult-like religions proclaiming salvation for mankind if their ways are followed.
Unknown Space (7, All Except Below): The Reapers have not yet identified who or what lies within this territory.
Warzone (1, Northeast): A mix of newly arrived Tau'ri settlement efforts, remnant colonies from the Fel Empire that have since declared full independence since their master's' fall, and invasion fleets and raiding parties from the Scourge, alongside a few unfortunate local powers caught in the crossfire. An absolute mess, vulnerable to intervention, although at this time it is unclear who, if anyone, will gain the upper hand if the sector is left to its own devices.
Ykantras Orda (1, East): A Ykantras clan that refused to join the larger semi-sedentary Moot to its southeast and continues its fully nomadic ways, having paused while passing through this region of space to pillage a newly arrived pre-FTL but still interstellar empire that simply call themselves the Race.
Warzone (1, Northeast): A mix of newly arrived Tau'ri settlement efforts, remnant colonies from the Fel Empire that have since declared full independence since their master's' fall, and invasion fleets and raiding parties from the Scourge, alongside a few unfortunate local powers caught in the crossfire. An absolute mess, vulnerable to intervention, although at this time it is unclear who, if anyone, will gain the upper hand if the sector is left to its own devices.
Ykantras Orda (1, East): A Ykantras clan that refused to join the larger semi-sedentary Moot to its southeast and continues its fully nomadic ways, having paused while passing through this region of space to pillage a newly arrived pre-FTL but still interstellar empire that simply call themselves the Race.
Clan Grendakal Turn 2 Start @Spartakrod
On New Year's Day 2751 by the Terran calendar, timed precisely to sunrise in the Imperial City time zone on Luthien, Takiro Kurita emerged in full Coordinator regalia to announce that the Draconis Combine was taking its rightful place at the head of mankind, and that with the support of their allies in the Galactic Empire a full invasion of the Terran Hegemony had begun. Needless to say, this swiftly becomes the main focus of the Clan's external attention, far outstripping minor matters such as ongoing negotiations with the Citadel and reports that strange alien ruins had just been discovered in the Terran Hegemony.
Streams of Imperial Star Destroyers and DCA warships darted forth into the beating heart of Star League authority, but were met by SLDF Royal Divisions and freshly refit WarShips armed with Clan technologies, able to fight the Imperial Navy and Stormtrooper Corps on even footing, while the rest of the Regular Army battled it out with the Combine's forces, including the DCMS when landings occurred. Even in the first days of the fighting, however, it has become clear that the combined Imperial-Combine forces are gaining the upper hand through sheer weight of numbers.
As of now, only the Free Worlds League has come to the aid of the Terran Hegemony. While Ewan Marik is no friend of, well, anyone, it would appear he recognizes the danger of a Kurita-Palpatine government that would encompass his realm, although it is the FWL Parliament that authorises military deployment in a rare act of swift and decisive action. The Lyran Commonwealth, by contrast, remains steadfastly neutral. While they had leaned more towards drawing on Imperial support prior to this event, that doesn't mean they wanted to launch an invasion of Terra. The LCAF has mobilised, but not to any particular end.
Making things more complicated are the actions of the Federated Suns. In what would appear to be payback for Jonathan Cameron's reluctance to intervene during the War of Davion Succession, organised by the same man now attempting a coup, they choose a third side by forwarding Guerever Cameron, illegitimate daughter of Jonathan Cameron and wife of Vincent Davion, as the new First Lord and Director-General, having launched counterattacks on the flanks of both the Combine and Hegemony military forces. This seemingly suicidal act is explained by the presence of large quantities of Citadel expeditionary forces, with Turian battlefleets, Asari Commandos, and STG intelligence assets all confirmed present, with long-range scans showing a notable amount of chronal anomalies in their areas of operation, presumably the Citadel deploying a previously carefully concealed military technology.
Of course, this has not gone entirely smoothly. While the Federated Suns are attempting to mostly play off their two rivals against each other and weaken them before moving in for a killing strike, they themselves have been attacked on their own flanks by the Capellan Confederation, which has publicly thrown its lot in with the Combine and Empire in exchange for future governorship over the territory of the League and Suns, their traditional rivals, bar the portion of the Suns' territory that borders the Combine.
To further complicate matters, the Rim Worlds Republic has also thrown its lot in with the imperial powers, although its military is currently tied up securing the extensive network of fortresses that Simon Cameron had established in the Periphery. While they had been locally unpopular, the decision to establish them seems almost prescient in hindsight, if not one the Clan can approve of (not that there's any approval of the exploitation of the Periphery to begin with.)
The other three Periphery States have thrown their lot in with the Hegemony and League, not out of any kind of love but rather due to cold practicality. They know things will not improve under the Empire, and the Taurians in particular are utterly unwilling to side with the Citadel if it means being put further under the Davion yoke, while the Magistracy simply prefer the devil they know, at least for the time being. The Outworlds Alliance has publicly remained neutral, although their conservative President seems to be leaning towards potentially siding with the Citadel and Federated Suns. Either way, their militaries are neutered to an extent that this is not immediately tactically relevant.
The Terran Hegemony, Free Worlds League, Taurian Concordat, and Magistracy of Canopus have jointly requested that Clan Grendakal militarily intervene on their collective behalf. If no such intervention materialises, they may not last the year, and almost certainly won't last the one after. The decision on whether or not to intervene is now solely in the hands of the Clan, who will likely decide the course of the civil war.
On one final note, while three sides of the Star League's borders are accounted for, one is not. To the north exists a local polity that self-identifies as the Most Serene Realm of the Great Mother. They have recently made long-range diplomatic contact with the Clan, and offer greetings. A highly enthusiastic hive-mind theocracy that used their psychic communication to establish a vibrant, collective society. They believe that the Great Mother placed them here to create a bountiful paradise on earth that she will one day return to enjoy, and pursue their assigned task seriously.
As for the aliens themselves, they are a powerfully built reptilian species, averaging out at around two and a half metres tall for males and three metres tall for females, with egglaying behaviour similar to that of the Terran Dactyloidae family of lizards and a maturation age of only twelve Earth years. Notably, the Great Father (the junior partner of the Great Mother who stayed behind to guide the Realm via his loving yet subtle hand when she departed) sometimes marks certain members of the Realm for the holy service of giving birth to specialist breeds of varying types to aid the military and civil forces of the Realm in what is presumably a psychic process from the unconscious hive mind, or perhaps a morphic entity the Realm has birthed.
They have already taken a liking to the Tribes, and encourage the establishment of further diplomatic ties. They are unwilling to directly intervene in the Star League Civil War, but are offering asylum to any and all refugees created as a result of the conflict.
Strategic Turn 2 Start
Available Resources: 39 RP
Available Sectors
-Clan Grendakal (1, Centre [Established, Moderately Defended]): This area has been settled in the unique Clan way, the few small natives left untouched and often outright unaware of their new neighbours, as a variety of artificial void habitats have been constructed and are now home to countless billions of Clan citizens. Even now, more resources and people stream through the portal connecting Grendakal to the United Clans, with both further internal development and external action slated to begin over the course of the coming year.
-Citadel Space (3, Northwest, West, Southwest): The Clan and the Thousand Sons are far from the only peoples to have come to this universe from another. To the galactic west lie a liberal union of multiple different alien races who's technology largely derives from an Element Zero which generates a phenomenon known as the Mass Effect. Currently intervening in the Star League Civil War.
-The Galactic Empire (3, Northeast, East, Southeast): A fascist dictatorship led by one Emperor Palpatine, evidently a powerful magic-user. While not outright genocidal, with many alien races living under its banner, the Empire is explicitly a human supremacist state, with humans making up almost the entirety of the Imperial military and governing institutions. The Empire is currently intervening in the Star League Civil War after having first instigated it, with Star Destroyers and Stormtroopers streaming into the Inner Sphere in vast quantities.
-The Sphere (1, North): The Star League is currently engaged in a brutal civil war between multiple competing factions. At present, the likely victor is unclear, but without Clan intervention the clear inevitable loser is House Cameron and the Terran Hegemony. An intervention may be called for to salvage the situation.
-Neutronium Pact (1, South): There is some notable local presence in the surrounding space, and they are very concerned by the sudden surge of extraversal presence. Already reactionary, these noteworthy locals have thrown their lot in with a power block known as the Singularity Pact and its meritocratic, supremacist ideology. A reinforcing expedition has arrived from a moderate distance to the southeast, providing military assets and minor uptechning from the Melkraan Axis, which is in some ways a dark mirror of Uskarlinga with their militaristic clan-based society. While both sides in the cold war look upon these newly empowered locals with caution, the Melkraan themselves and correspondingly their new puppets are more interested in the south, hoping to expand and help cordon off a nation called Tremzar. The name "Neutronium Pact" is in fact for the alliance present in this specific sector, contrary to initial misleading translations that suggested it was in fact the name for the universe-wide alliance more accurately called the Singularity Pact.
-Citadel Space (3, Northwest, West, Southwest): The Clan and the Thousand Sons are far from the only peoples to have come to this universe from another. To the galactic west lie a liberal union of multiple different alien races who's technology largely derives from an Element Zero which generates a phenomenon known as the Mass Effect. Currently intervening in the Star League Civil War.
-The Galactic Empire (3, Northeast, East, Southeast): A fascist dictatorship led by one Emperor Palpatine, evidently a powerful magic-user. While not outright genocidal, with many alien races living under its banner, the Empire is explicitly a human supremacist state, with humans making up almost the entirety of the Imperial military and governing institutions. The Empire is currently intervening in the Star League Civil War after having first instigated it, with Star Destroyers and Stormtroopers streaming into the Inner Sphere in vast quantities.
-The Sphere (1, North): The Star League is currently engaged in a brutal civil war between multiple competing factions. At present, the likely victor is unclear, but without Clan intervention the clear inevitable loser is House Cameron and the Terran Hegemony. An intervention may be called for to salvage the situation.
-Neutronium Pact (1, South): There is some notable local presence in the surrounding space, and they are very concerned by the sudden surge of extraversal presence. Already reactionary, these noteworthy locals have thrown their lot in with a power block known as the Singularity Pact and its meritocratic, supremacist ideology. A reinforcing expedition has arrived from a moderate distance to the southeast, providing military assets and minor uptechning from the Melkraan Axis, which is in some ways a dark mirror of Uskarlinga with their militaristic clan-based society. While both sides in the cold war look upon these newly empowered locals with caution, the Melkraan themselves and correspondingly their new puppets are more interested in the south, hoping to expand and help cordon off a nation called Tremzar. The name "Neutronium Pact" is in fact for the alliance present in this specific sector, contrary to initial misleading translations that suggested it was in fact the name for the universe-wide alliance more accurately called the Singularity Pact.
Last edited:
