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For The Tyrants Fear Your Might (A quest of interstellar rebellion)

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  • Informational
    • THE ALL-RADIANT CONGRESS

    ​

    Setting Information
    The Solarian Compact:

    Initially formed as the Solarian Treaty Organization from the ashes of the old United Nations Security Council, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, and the Global Climate Relief Organization in the worst decade of Earth's environmental collapse. The STO was originally a body tasked with overseeing the granting of offworld mining permits and the purchase and distribution of the resources to countries struggling from climate change.


    The advent of the Korolev-Chandrashker gates and the construction of the first one under STO oversight in 2063 led to the beginning of the transformation of that body into the de facto single governing body of the Human species.


    Reorganized into the 'Solarian Compact', the first Charters were granted to massive corporate conglomerates to explore and exploit the cosmos for Humanity with little to no regulation or restriction.


    In the early decades, the Solarian Compact oversaw the construction of KC gates in the systems closest to Sol and began the process of granting colonization rights to the most habitable worlds within that region with colonization rights granted to a number of national and international blocks.


    With the growth of the Solarian Compact's power came calls for the body to become more representative and democratic, and in 2099, the Solarian Compact held its first elections and constitutional convention, inviting representatives from the Sol system and the five systems that held permanent Human settlement.


    Over the course of the 22nd and 23rd centuries the Solarian Compact has held fast to what it sees as its duty to act as the mediator and financier of the Charters, the unifying agent of the disparate first Human colonies, and the guarantor of interstellar peace for Humanity.


    As of 2252, the three most important bodies within the Solarian Compact are the Solarian Parliament -Located on Earth, the Solarian Compact Navy -based in the Korolev-Chandrashker system, and the Solarian Central Bank, -based out of the Columbia System.

    Organized as a liberal democracy, with universal suffrage, the Solarian Compact is theoretically overseen by three equal institutions: the Solarian Parliament, the office of the Solarian Secretary General, and the Solarian High Court.


    Though the Solarian Compact prides itself on being a Constitutional government, the actual original document merely outlines the terms of admitting new MPs and High Court Judges, and the electoral procedures of the Compact Parliament, with subsequent Parliaments meeting to add items like the Declaration of Property Rights, the founding of the Central Bank, the creation of the Solarian Navy, and the Laws on Freedom of Navigation and Travel being added later.


    The Solarian Parliament is made up of two thousand six hundred and twenty seats representing ridings on Earth, Columbia, Atlantis, Penglai, Olduvai, and Epsilon which are elected every three years to a Parliament that meets in the New York prefecture of Earth.


    Though the many frontier colonies do not have direct representation in the Parliament due to being owned and operated by private entities, their inhabitants are considered 'Absent for Employment' and may register with a home riding and submit a physical ballot (for security reasons) by courier from when polls open until they close. Though this process was suitable for the closely settled regions of space at the time of the ratification of the Compact Constitution in 2100, the rapid growth of Human settled space in the century and a half since has seen the de facto voter suppression of over 90% of Human settled space.


    At the first sitting of each new Compact Parliament, the assembled members will elect a Secretary General and a slate of Ministry officials on a majority basis, and those individuals will oversee the executive branch of government and day to day operations. Though the average Compact Parliament contains between seven to nine parties in each Parliamentary sitting, the vast majority of seats belong to one of either the Party for Human Rights and Liberties or the Justice and Development Alliance and have since the very early 2100s. The governments formed this way can be brought down by losing the confidence of the Parliament for example, by failing to pass a budget, the process of finding a majority government will repeat again.


    Though a democratic body that has maintained stability for over a century and a half, the Solarian Compact Parliament has been dogged by accusations of dynastic politics, Charter influence, voter suppression, regulatory capture, inability to reign in the Banks and MIlitary, and corruption at all levels.


    Separate from the Parliament is the Solarian High Court that consists of eleven judges that serve terms of up to thirty-three years, with each new sitting of the Compact Parliament selecting one judge from a list provided by the governments of the six main worlds of the Solarian Compact. The High Court rules on matters of adherence of laws to the Solarian Constitution, and have been accused of serving as an arm of the Charters, though this has been strenuously contested by the Solarian legal profession as a whole.


    By law the Solarian Compact also oversees a number of other important institutions including the Earth Reconstruction Commission (In a permanent public-private partnership with the Earth Reconstruction Association), the Solarian Central Bank, and the Solarian Compact Navy, though these important institutions often exhibit an alarming degree of autonomy from Parliamentary control.


    The Charters:

    The result of a cleverly conceived merger between specialty transport vessel manufacturer Titan Staryards and Private Military contractor Martian Military Solutions, Ares cut its teeth not just supplying material to the skirmishes between Mississippi Shipping and United Starhaul, but in supplying military contractors to both sides.


    The professionalism of Ares mercenaries and quality of Ares gear led to the rapid expansion of business opportunities for the company and investment skyrocketed even after the Mississippi-Starhaul war ended in a hostile takeover of Starhaul by Mississippi.


    Thanks in part to Mississippi debts held by Ares, when the RT-2102 Gate was opened up for settlement strategic maneuvering saw the Compact grant Ares mining and settlement rights to the newly opened system.


    The rest, as they say, is history. Leveraging the immense resources of the Alexander system with their existing military expertise, Ares expanded nearly exponentially over the following century. While they maintain a dominating edge in the military field, they now integrated companies in fields from agronomy to personal fitness centers to xenobiology.


    Internally Ares very self consciously styles itself as a hierarchical military organization complete with a semi-formal rank structure and an ethos of respect for the chain of command, professional courtesy, and treating your subordinates with respect. In practice Ares is hidebound, authoritarian, filled with passive aggressive sniping and rampant empire building.


    While Ares remains headquartered on Mars, they have holdings in several systems and own the distant system of Alexander outright.

    Rhodes Mining


    One of the three original Charters that the Compact granted, Rhodes considers itself the singular reason that Humanity survived ecological collapse and spread past Sol. Immensely wealthy, over 52% of all material mined and processed by the entire Human race has passed through Rhodes hands at one point or another.


    While founded merely to provide Earth the vital materials that it needed to rebuild itself after the lost decades of ecological collapse, Rhodes quickly expanded into all areas of the economy to support their mining, refining, and processing operations.


    Dedicated to their vision of logistical chain efficiencies they've developed an entire chain of star systems into an efficient production center based around the resource rich system of Foundry, and the nearby feeder systems of Ecrams, Qem, and Crucible.


    Rhodes considers itself home to a version of meritocracy built on hard work, education, and good old fashioned personal drive. This has developed over time into a stratified internal divide between the rank and file workers, the lower level management, and the highly lauded senior management. Each class lives in entirely separate worlds, attending separate schools, consuming different products, and leading very different lives in what many observers have labelled a de facto caste system.

    they make food and medicine, the 120 year old CEO is kinda creepy tho?

    Techbros, some of them science, some of them explore

    Born from the union of Hermes Interstellar Services and The Ishtar Group, the Hermes-Ishtar Corporation owns and operates not only the communications backbone of Compact space, but much of the content that crosses over it.


    The results of increasing consolidation of pre-spaceflight communications infrastructure and content creation and management firms, Hermes Communications and Ishtar Entertainment Group were both part of the second round of Charters established after the advent of the KC gates.


    While Hermes quickly established operations throughout Compact space, their waystations, couriers, and communications repeaters a common sight in every corner of Human occupied space; Ishtar Group mainly limited their own operations to Sol and the Radiant system, where Ishtar owned and operated the world of Elysium to support their many projects.


    Following a wave of Compact space wide reorganizations following the Mississippi-Starhaul conflicts of the 2130s, a desire for complete vertical integration on Ishtar's part led to a mostly amicable union with Hermes in 2139.


    Since then Hermes-Ishtar have dominated all communications across Human space with only the privileged internal high-level communications of the other Charters managing to avoid consolidation under Hermes-Ishtar.


    While Hermes-Ishtar make a great show of respecting individual creativity, initiative, and drive from their employees; in practice this amounts to rampant internal fighting involving the parasocial personality cults of different "genius" inventors, artists, and executive that rise and fall inside of Hermes-Ishtar at a dizzying rate.

    Sketchy buggers, they can get you anything tho


    Historical Topics:

    Between 2036 and 2071 the Democratic Federation was the governing body of much of Earth's Western Hemisphere.


    Initially comprised of a Federation of Socialist, Anarchist, Communist, and other far left social movements, militias, and political factions controlling regions of Earth's North American continent during and after the decline and collapse of the United States of America (1776-2034) due to the effects of unaddressed climate change amplifying existing political and economic crisis.


    Eventually solidifying into the governing body of the former United States of America, United States of Mexico and the Dominion of Canada, the Democratic Federation embarked on an ambitious program of cultural revolution and economic reform designed to mitigate and reverse the effects of the climate change crisis.


    As the patron of much of the central and southern western hemisphere, the Democratic Federation attempted to chart a course of environmental restoration separate from that of the Solarian Treaty Organization (In 2063 reorganized into the Solarian Charter), choosing not to contest Eurasian and African domination of outer space.


    Having never existed out of crisis conditions, a combination of pre-existing economic damage, sabotage, and instability drove the Democratic Federation into decline in the Grey Decade of 2062 to 2070 and eventually forced the Democratic Federation to ratify a series of treaties giving the Charters economic access to Federation member states in order to conduct vital reconstruction work.


    A last ditch uprising by radical elements in 2072 to eject the Charters from the Democratic Federation failed when Solarian Compact peacekeepers were called in and in seven months of street fighting pacified most of North America's key urban centers via strategic use of orbital weapons on the areas of greatest urban resistance.


    Though guerilla warfare would continue in the Western Hemisphere for another three decades, the Democratic Federation was officially defunct by December 2072 and parcelled out into a number of Charter owned reconstruction areas under Compact authority.


    Today radicals still pine for the four decades that the Democratic Federation attempted to build an alternative to the emerging Charters, and the polity's distinctive black, red, and green flag is brought out for each and every Great Black Summer. Well into the twenty second century, riots were often accompanied by demands to 'Avenge the Martyrs of 72!'.


    Despite this underground extremist nostalgia, Charter and Compact schools teach that the Democratic Federation was a collectivist state whose iconoclastic behavior saw the destruction of famous landmarks like Mount Rushmore, Stone Mountain, and other monuments to Liberal Democracy and the Free Market in a mad attempt to remake the human race, but whose doctrinaire adoption of command economics saw them unable to deal with the ever-changing complexities of climate change.


    Misc Details:

    The first five systems to hold permanent Human colonies are known as either "The First Sisters" or "Earth's Daughters", depending on who you are asking and their political persuasion. From oldest to youngest, these worlds are:


    Columbia: settled by billionaire American expats and tens of millions of refugees who had fled the unfolding revolutionary violence of the North American continent several years beforehand. Columbia was founded under a vision of fidelity to the American dream and to prove the indomitability of the soul of the United States of America and liberalism in the face of the red flags of the (North American) Democratic Federation. Fiercely loyal to the Compact and the dream of Charter prosperity, and home of the Solarian Central Bank, Columbia is often known as the "Gilded World" in reference to what many see as a return to American Gilded Age wealth and social inequality. Ares Conflict Solutions' central command is located here.


    Atlantis: With colonization rights to this majority oceanic planet initially granted to the waning power of the European Union, the nations of the EU opened up colonization opportunities to other allied powers, especially Russia and Egypt. Atlantis was often seen by the EU as a place to dump unwanted refugees from outside of Europe's borders, and Russia and Egypt's tendency to see the world as a genuine project led to the usurpation of colonization rights away from Europe in the mid 2080s. Known today as the most restive of the first wave of colonies, Atlantis is the most skeptical of Charter power and plays a delicate game of wealth redistribution to underwrite the greatest social security net in Human Space. Cernunnos is de jure headquartered here.


    Penglai: Originally the world in the most need of terraforming of the original colonies, Colonization rights were granted to the People's Republic of China and their allies after a lackluster bidding campaign. As China's focus was mainly on attempting to stem the damage of climate change on Earth herself, colonization of Penglai initially lagged until the Chinese Politburo struck upon the strategy of subcontracting colonization rights to Pacific adjacent nations suffering from the rise of that ocean. As colonization unfolded in the early 22nd century Penglai became known as a multicultural mosaic as hundreds of millions from across the Pacific settled and intermingled on the wine darkened shores of that world. Known today for its vibrant cultural milieu, violent clashes between labour unions, and private police, Penglai hosts the headquarters of the Hermes-Ishtar, Omoikane and Rhodes corporations.


    Olduvai: With Colonization rights granted to a coalition of African nations at the height of the 'African Century', the African Colonization Organization did not see their colony as a refugee destination, dumping ground, or resource colony like their fellows. Instead the ACO saw the colonization scheme as an opportunity to preserve and export the rich traditions and cultures of Africa on their own terms, fully intending to set up healthy and self-sufficient colonies. To the current day, Olduvai has the closest relations with the home nations and is the heartland of Daughter sentiment and a bedrock for the Party for Human Rights and Liberties.


    Epsilon System: While not technically a single world, the cluster of heavily inhabited space colonies in the Epsilon system are always considered the 'Fifth Sister' or 'Fifth Daughter'. As the most mineral rich system of the original colonies, Epsilon was the source of many of the materials that helped pull Earth through her darkest hour, and the system was recognized for their efforts by being invited to send delegates to the 2099 Solarian Compact Constitutional Convention. Epsilon is famous for its people's long roots in spacing and for being the headquarters of Mississippi Shipping Interstellar and thus the most heavily trafficked system in history.
    Technologies
    Nanomanufacturing, summary:

    The contemporary gold standard for manufacturing. These devices use mechanosynthesis, a process that guides chemical reactions by placing reactive molecules with atomic precision. Ribosomes in the body's cells use a form of this method.


    While the largest units can create objects up to 2m x 2m x 2m, smaller units (halving the units each time) are viable on basically any human scale. Projects larger than this size (such as ships or buildings, need to be either grown layer-by-layer via nanofabricators attached to robotic arms, or assembled from smaller parts through traditional assembly line, dry dock, or construction processes.


    In principle basically anything can be made with these devices, and some materials can only be manufactured via these methods in microgravity. All manufacturing patterns in Compact Space feature Charter DRM using embedded explosive molecules like octaazacubane or cubic gauche nitrogen that will damage a disassembler or x-ray machine making reverse engineering of their products difficult.

    A common part of 23rd century life is the near ubiquity of Artificial Intelligences in daily life, from consumer grade VIs through specialist TLIs, controversial AGIs, finally the perpetually 10 years away Artificial Super Intelligences.


    The common consumer will daily run into what are properly known as Narrow AIs, and generally labelled as VI -Virtual Intelligences- by people outside the field. This category covers a broad swathe of techniques, from search and pathfinding to expert systems to genetic fuzzy trees to deep neural networks, which are mixed and matched with each other to optimize for the designed task. VIs are ubiquitous, exceeding human peak skill in their areas of specialization (though real world applications often don't do all that much better than trained humans), and have spent the past two centuries getting augmented with more and more clever algorithmic tricks for improving VIs. In order to do this, the Charters employ large teams of analysts and software engineers to develop clever algorithmic tricks that supplement or outright supplant neural networks, exploiting machine precision where stochastic methods are inadequate.


    The use of VIs in everyday life is well accepted by the vast majority of the population, with professionals mixing and matching various consumer VIs to analyse data or assist them with creative or scientific works. Some VI lines are well loved by both the populace and the Charters themselves, with Charter programmers often deliberately leaving VIs with behavioral quirks and unpredictable glitches that not only save money on quality assurance, but are considered endearing traits that lead to anthropomorphization by the consumer market

    Despite the mass comfortability and profitability of VIs of all kinds, the introduction of AGIs has been, to put it delicately, controversial. Though computer science has advanced to the point of producing programs that can not only pass the Turing test, but demonstrate sapience and match 23rd century human intelligence, flexibility, and creativity, the public reaction to the introduction of AGI saw the companies of the time rapidly pull them from the market, and even say the Compact itself move to heavily regulate the AI sector.


    First introduced in the 2060s, the great tech firms began replacing their work staff with AGIs who did not require food, rest, housing, or pay. This shift led to an alliance between white collar workers fearing that automation would put them out of work and radicals who opposed what they insisted was AGI Slavery, a growing movement that would climax in the First Great Black Summer of 2084. When the ashes of the First Black Summer settled, the Compact's Parliament moved to grant rights to AGIs, and the resulting economic damage saw dozens of formerly great names in computing consolidate under the aegis of several of the first Charters who flaunted their extra-Solarian wealth by buying up prestigious brand names and research divisions on the cheap.


    Since the 2080s, while the regulation surrounding AGI production and use have been severely weakened none of the Charters have sought to reintroduce them into the market, perhaps fearing another backlash like the First Black Summer and the few hundred thousand surviving AGIs that were granted Solarian Citizenship rights have found spread throughout the Compact and Charter Space where they usually work at the same white collar jobs whose workers they were designed to replace.

    Perhaps due to the risks of attempting to reintroduce AGIs to the market, Omoikane has instead introduced their flagship product the "TLI" or Temporary Limited Intelligence. Approximately as effective as an AGI, a TLI is billed as a more moral replacement for AGI that uses a suite of high end VIs and a proprietary batch of creativity algorithms in order to complete complex tasks.


    TLIs are used as a fire and forget program designed to be licensed to solve a single issue, no matter how complicated and then delete itself. Though the TLIs are a black box product, scientists from the other Charters believe that the central creativity algorithm in the TLI is inherently unstable and rapidly degrades in ability with time, making the TLI an instance of Omoikane attempting to market a critical technical flaw as a selling point that is accepted due to the ubiquitous market practice of planned obsolescence and artificial scarcity.


    Though expensive, most businesses and successful professionals will keep a few licensed Omoikane TLIs on hand to throw at difficult problems or to supplement manpower in crunch situations.

    While AGIs have been possible for nearly two centuries, the promise of a Seed AI, a recursively self-improving general superintelligence, is perpetually 'a decade away from the market', and no successful ASI ever been demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Charters or the Compact.


    This is not to say that the Gödel machine architecture or the AIXI model has somehow been forgotten in the past 230 years, but that the Friendly AI problem has yet to be cracked. Every demonstration has either stalled out or gone immediately rampant, attempting to overthrow Charter Space before being stopped by the safety net of Narrow AIs. The small trickle of roughly human intelligence level AGIs that are created every decade typically come from these projects.


    Urban legends persist that a few Seed AIs managed to escape and hide out beyond known space, plotting to return and crush humanity, or that they control all of society in secret, puppeting the Compact and Charters from their very foundation and occasionally engineering publicly failed ASI attempts to allay suspicion. These rumours are, of course, patently false, and simply the fevered imagination of crackpots at work, no doubt inspired by entertainment made by Hermes-Ishtar that feature AI supervillainy.
    Systems
    Map made by @Redshirt Army


    The Spinward Frontier:



    The Middle Spinward Frontier

    The Core Region:

    UNDER RADIANT CONTROL OR ALLIED:

    The Radiant system is host to a G-class star, only slightly smaller than Sol. The system itself is rather small and resource-poor; experts believe that one or more Jovian planets ejected much of the system's bodies and then followed themselves. This is evidenced by the system's asteroid belt degrading over time, with high levels of eccentric orbits and impacts on planetary surface.


    Radiant 1: A rather unremarkable airless iron planet, gravity 0.4 Earth Standard.


    Radiant 2: A slightly larger unremarkable airless iron-silicate planet, gravity 0.6 Earth Standard.


    Radiant 3: A binary planetary system and the outermost of the Radiant systems' planets.


    Asphodel (Radiant 3a): The larger of the Elysium 3 pair, Asphodel might have once hosted life of its own. That life has been snuffed out for hundreds of millions of years, though, as the planet's significant atmosphere began the runaway cycle of your usual hothouse planet. Hermes-Ishtar maintained a significant aerostat and automated surface miner operation for in-house manufacturing, given that the frequent asteroid impacts from the asteroid belt keep digging up chunks of the upper crust and having low-melting-point metals rain out of the sky and solidify, unoxidized, on the surface for collection. Gravity 1.4 Earth Standard.


    Elysium (Radiant 3b): Elysium was settled in the late 2190's, being a relatively simple affair. Simple life had already begun to evolve under its oceans, but continued orbital bombardment far past the lengths of things like Earth's Late Heavy Period had kept it there. It was a simple matter of forming up a small anti-asteroid task force armed with tugs and mining lasers to artificially end the pummeling, and the surface proved amenable to Terran life transplants. The colony is energy-self-sufficient, using a variety of solar, tidal, and nuclear power. Gravity 0.9 Earth Standard.


    Radiant I: The outermost significant feature of Radiant, this asteroid belt is more a loose mixture of a primordial asteroid belt much like Sol's with a Kuiper belt. The shepherding gas giants which once nudged all these rocks into their orbits are gone, and with it the entire outer system is a maelstrom of chaotic orbits as the belts lose their coherence. This requires constant vigilance from Elysium's anti-asteroid team, but the high eccentricity of many asteroids also makes it cheap and easy to mine the ones that might come Elysium's way, which provides a trickle of basic resources for upkeep and personal goods. All large-scale building and infrastructure projects have been supplied from out-system, however.

    A G-K far binary system, Gaid is simply a transit point to Radiant. Gaid's own gate maintenance techs and SAR rotated in and out through Radiant itself. There is no infrastructure other than a set of buoy lines for communications in Gaid A, and nothing in Gaid B.

    Gaid A1: An airless world. Quality 10.

    Gaid A2: A planet much like mars with a vestigial CO2 atmosphere. Quality 7.

    Gaid A3: This planet boasts a methane hydrosphere. Quality 4.

    Gaid AI: An asteroid belt.

    Gaid A4: A turbulent Jovian planet, its storms would make resource extraction difficult. Quality 5.

    Gaid A4a: An icy moon, with tidal heating creating a large ocean under a thin icy shell. Quality 9.

    Gaid B1: A molten Cthonian world hosting a simply ludicrous amount of iron. Quality 15.

    Gaid B2: An airless world. Quality 10.

    Gaid B3: An airless binary system with two near-identically sized planets. Quality 7 and 8.

    Gaid B4: This airless planet boasts a large and beautiful ring system, famous as a screen background option across human space. Every few years, a cruise or scientific expedition will stop by for more images.

    Gaid B5: A small icy planet. Quality 3.

    Gaid B6: A frozen world. Quality 7.

    Gaid B7: An interesting gas dwarf sometimes referred to as an 'ice dwarf.' Quality 14.

    A close K-M binary, Shei is home to an old Ares penal colony.

    Shei 1: A Cthonian world. Quality 15.

    Shei 2: An airless world. Quality 12.

    Sheol (Shei 3): A boreal world, with a large, decaying ring, the planet features two large continents. The population of the consists of a large prisoner population on the larger of the two continents and a small Ares training base on the smaller. Records show that the prison consists of several million persons convicted to "high risk labour" and dropped on the continent with automatic resupply via Ares contractors and watched from orbit by weapons satellites. Most of the planet's land area is covered in a native tree analogue with a strange multi-stranded trunk.


    Sheol is actually home to a population of over 100 million made up of prisoners and their descendants taht Ares was usuing as a live fire training course. Cooperation between Radiant agents, Ares mutineers, and the Sheolites themselves have seen the planet freed.


    Gravity .95 Earth Standard. Quality 12.

    Watchman (Shei 3a): Once the outer of two moons, this body now boasts Ares' local light shipyards and system command center. Quality 13.

    Shei 4: Spiraling in from the outer system, this planet will eventually evaporate near-entirely as it closes towards the dual suns of Shei. Quality 3.

    Shei 5: Martian planet with an active methane cycle. Quality 5.

    Shei I: Asteroid belt.

    Shei 6: Jovian planet with high rotation rate. Slightly squashed as a result. Quality 8.

    Shei 6a: An icy capture, this moon will be torn into a ring sometime in the next hundred thousand years. Quality 2.

    Shei 6b: Cold Martian planet, covered in a thin layer of water and carbon dioxide ices. Active methane cycle. Quality 8.

    Shei II: Asteroid belt.

    Shei 7: Jovian planet. Quality 13.

    Shei 7a: An icy moon with significant cryovolcanism. Quality 6.

    Shei 7b: A tiny icy moon, this is on the edge of hydrostatic equilibrium. Quality 2.

    Shei 8: Ice giant. Quality 6.

    Shei 8a: An icy moon. Quality 9.

    Shei 8b: An icy moon, orbiting in an unusual polar orbit. Quality 9.

    Population: 103,000,000

    While lacking any currently-habitable planets, Five Lions' large size and potential have made it a significant point of Rhodes' recent extraction efforts. Ambitious terraforming efforts have recently begun.


    Carajas (Five Lions 1): A Cthonian ball of iron, it's actively mined by robotic Rhodes-built landers. Gravity 2.3 Earth Standard. Quality 12.


    Five Lions 2: A small rocky ball. Quality 3.


    Five Lions 3: A rocky ball. Quality 7.


    Grasberg (Five Lions 4): A large rocky world, glaciation has rendered it uninhabitable for now, but terraforming efforts have begun to artificially ramp up the greenhouse effect and restore liquid water to the surface, along with mining its ice. Gravity 1.11 Earth Standard. Quality 14.


    Five Lions 5: This planet's atmosphere is so significant it verges on a gas dwarf. While a solid surface covered in a thin layer of ice is at the bottom, no reasonable colonization is possible. Quality 7.


    Five Lions I: This asteroid belt, along with all the others, is being mined heavily.


    Five Lions 6: This Jovian planet forms the center of current Rhodes extraction efforts. Quality 4.


    Five Lions 6a: This Martian planet boasts significant ice caps and active plate tectonics, though only a vestigial atmosphere. Debate on whether to put resources into terraforming it are ongoing. Gravity .81 Earth Standard. Quality 17.


    Oyu Tolgoi (Five Lions 6b): Home to the local population in covered shelters, this Martian planet, while nearly completely lacking water or plate tectonics, has its own atmosphere. Comet bombardment away from populated areas is ongoing and is already beginning to show results. Gravity .79 Earth Standard. Quality 11.


    Five Lions II: An asteroid belt.


    Five Lions 7: An unremarkable Jovian. Quality 2.


    Five Lions III: An asteroid belt.


    Five Lions 8: Jovian planet, its rotation speed has resulted in an unusually calm upper atmosphere. Quality 15.


    Five Lions IV: An asteroid belt.


    Five Lions 9: Jovian planet. Quality 9.


    Five Lions V: An asteroid belt.


    Five Lions 10: Neptunian ice giant. Quality 8.


    Five Lions 10a: A small icy moon. Quality 5.


    Five Lions 10b: A large icy body, this was probably its own planetoid at some point before being captured due to the complex interplays of no less than 5 gas giants.


    Population: 15,000,000

    A rare system with a brown dwarf orbiting a G-type star (just barely in the limits of what's considered a single system rather than a binary), and with a Jovian planet orbiting that, and on top of that treasure trove a dual ice giant binary, Osliam presents a golden research opportunity, and was bid on by Omoikane despite its otherwise sparce resources and poor habitable prospects.


    Osliam 1: A rare hot ice giant, this planet is actively shrinking on a measurable time scale. It must have migrated in as a much larger planet recently.


    Osliam 1a: This once-rock-ice moon is now a tiny molten ellipse barely holding together.


    Osliam 1b: This somewhat larger moon changes color unusually with its day, as the shade of its parent cools lava to a dull red before emerging back into the light heats the lava back to a healthy orange glow.


    Osliam 1c: This entire moon glows dull red in its day, just barely solid, and cools to an unusually smooth moon in its night.


    Osliam I: This asteroid belt was probably a planet before Osliam 1's passing tore it to shreds.


    Osliam 3: A hothouse planet with a relatively thin atmosphere, it retains temperatures and pressures that are survivable with heavy-duty equipment on the surface—when it's not raining sulfuric acid, that is.


    Osliam 4: This small Martian planet seems to have collected some of Osliam 1's offgassing in its move inwards, and has a renewed temporary atmosphere.


    Osliam 5a: This planet seems to have survived at the edge of the frost line by siphoning gas off its smaller twin.


    Osliam 5b: Barely a gas giant, this planet was probably only slightly smaller than Osliam 5a in the distant past.


    Osliam 6: The focus of Omoikane colonization in-system, Osliam 6 retains plate tectonics from the nearby brown dwarf but no atmosphere, an odd combination.


    Osliam 7: A brown dwarf, this substellar object long ago burnt its deuterium and now lies slowly cooling, glowing dimly red. It is, however, still giving off a prodigious amount of low IR radiation.


    Osliam 7a: Once its own planet, Osliam 7a was captured at some point by Osliam 7, perhaps in the same interaction that threw Osliam 1 to its suicidal innermost orbit.


    Osliam 7a1: This icy moon is simultaneously shrinking and becoming more habitable—while its outer layers of ice are sublimating, the fierce tides of its complex interplay with Osliam 7 and 7a are heating the inner ocean to temperatures comparable to terrestrial water sources. Some scientists even suggest a pocket of water vapor is forming under the ice, and may form an internal "sky" for as much as a hundred million years before the outer shell sublimates entirely.


    Osliam 7a2: This moon is less lucky; its tides are so strong that they seem to slowly be ripping the moon apart. It won't have the honor of becoming more than an ephemeral ring; the same complex tides tearing at it will rapidly disperse its debris field. While it lasts, though, it's easy water harvesting.


    Population: 650,000

    UNDER CHARTER CONTROL:


    A distant double G binary, Xotreh hosts a small habitable moon around Xotreh B, the smaller of the two stars. As such, development has focused on the second star, despite the fact that the jump points center closer to Xotreh A.


    Xotreh A1: This world boasts an active liquid silicate cycle on its surface, with oceans of basalt and continents of granite. Gravity 0.38 Earth Standard. Quality 8.


    Xotreh A2: A rather large airless world, its original atmosphere was likely blown off by a massive impact. Gravity 1.2 Earth Standard. Quality 9.


    Xotreh A3: A binary planetary pair of airless worlds about the size of Mars. Quality 6 and 8.


    Xotreh A4: A hothouse planet with a planet-wide sulfuric acid storm due to its rapid rotation. Gravity .71 Earth Standard. Quality 8.


    Xotreh A5 "Cueball": This planet is remarkably similar to Earth—if earth was buried under a kilometers-thick ice sheet across 90% of the surface. One day, as Xotreh A expands and dies, this world will become an ocean planet, but for now it's a cold desert. Gravity .87 Earth Standard. Quality 5.


    Xotreh A6: An unremarkable icy ball. Quality 4.


    Xotreh AI: An asteroid belt.


    Xotreh A7: A Jovian planet, Xotreh 7 corrals the entire inner system in line. Quality 10.


    Xotreh B1: This planet must have once been a gas giant at least the size of Uranus before it was sent inwards. Now all that remains is a dense core with a molten surface. Gravity 1.51 Earth Standard. Quality 13.


    Xotreh B2: A binary pair of earth-sized airless worlds. Quality 6 and 7.


    Xotreh B3: Another once-gas giant, this planet remains far out enough to boast a wholly-solid surface of iron. Gravity 1.64 Earth Standard. Quality 14.


    Xotreh B4: A Jovian right on the frost line, its tidal heating keeps its moons on the edge of habitability. Quality 3.


    Xotreh B4a "Sushi": An ocean world with massive polar ice caps, Omoikane has constructed a series of seasteads on the equatorial high ocean plateaus where it was feasible to drive foundations into the sea floor a few hundred meters below the surface. These small facilities serve as housing, data storage, and production centers for the research teams studying the dual Cthonian planets of Xotreh B. Gravity .67 Earth Standard. Quality 2.


    Xotreh B4b: The lesser tidal heating here worsened the glaciation, and the planet lies under a planet-wide crust of ice. Gravity 1.13 Earth Standard. Quality 10.


    Xotreh BI: The close proximity of this asteroid belt makes it an ideal location for resource extraction.


    Xotreh 5: This Jovian is definitively beyond the habitable zone. Quality 6.


    Xotreh 6: A dense ice giant. Quality 4.


    Xotreh 7: Jovian planet. Quality 6.


    Xotreh 8: An exceptionally cold Jovian. Quality 9.


    Xotreh 8a: An unremarkable icy sphere. Quality 8.


    Xotreh 9: This planet would have a massive atmosphere, if it wasn't so cold it all froze and fell to the surface. Only a few degrees above the space surrounding it. Gravity 1.3 Earth Standard. Quality 9.


    Population: 54,000

    Besides an interesting Jovian-gas dwarf planetary system, Bestreer holds little of interest other than its connections to other places.


    Bestreer 1: An airless world. Quality 2.


    Bestreer 2: An airless world. Quality 6.


    Bestreer 3: This airless world once had a captured moon, torn apart at the Roche limit and forming a ring. A small gate maintenance and SAR team bases here, siphoning fuel and water from Bestreer 5 and mining into the surface for both resources and safe spaces for housing. Quality 10.


    Bestreer 4: A rock-ice world. Quality 5.


    Bestreer 5: Another rock-ice world made up more of ice than rock. Quality 5.


    Bestreer I: An icy asteroid belt.


    Bestreer 6: A large Jovian planet, on the edge of becoming a brown dwarf. Quality 15.


    Bestreer 6a: This gas dwarf might have become a gas giant in its own right without its massive sibling. Quality 5.


    Bestreer 7: Another Jovian. Quality 14.


    Bestreer 7a: An icy moon, with an internal ocean buried under kilometers of ice. Quality 12.


    Bestreer 8: An icy ball. Quality 10.


    Population: 450

    G-class star. A transshipping point to Radiant and environs, Mississippi keeps a substantial support crew on hand for possible cargo ship breakdowns or emergencies in-system, due to the slightly increased risk of issues from the absolute shambles of Akleod's inner system. A minor executive has also put together a cheap refueling and battery exchange station.


    Akleod 1: Even actively evaporating and leaving behind a trail in orbit of dissipating volatiles, this body is large enough to have usurped Akleod 1a's orbit temporarily until it disappears away or the chaotic orbit of the two throws one into the star or out of the system. Quality 2.


    Akleod 1a: The original Akleod 1, its orbit has been badly disrupted by the current, migrating Akleod 1. Which of the two gets ejected is still uncertain despite a decent amount of computational simulation; odds put it at 48-52% relatively. Quality 6.


    Gnat's Ass (Akleod 2): A small, loosely-held-together icy body, perhaps what used to be an asteroid belt before Akleod 1's suicidal inner-system dive. It's not yet had time to fully reach hydrostatic equilibrium. Quality 3.


    Akleod 3: An icy planet similar to Akleod 1, perhaps an old sibling. Quality 13.


    Akleod I: An asteroid belt.


    Akleod 4: A Jovian with an unusually elliptical orbit, it's regarded as the culprit for the chaos of Akleod's inner system. Quality 11.


    Population: 5,000

    As it turns out, transponder codes from regular priority messages through Gaid (now that we can see them, having backdoored the gate control) bear tags from a system, Thoa, along with navigational chart updates for any ships that happen to stop by. Thoa and Gaid both seem to have been nothing more than transit points to the far-more-valuable Radiant for Hermes-Ishtar, but Thoa holds a small anti-pirate base guarding against raiders from Signia. Hermes-Ishtar was apparently serious enough about it to have a converted corvette on station.

    All told, the Thoa system holds gates to 2 systems besides Gaid's. There's also an unimproved jump point simply labelled as "dangerous." that leads to Signia

    Thoa System Stats:

    Thoa 1: A molten mess of a planet, it's hot enough that a residual atmosphere of vaporized low-melting-point metallics exists.

    Thoa 2: An unremarkable airless metal ball.

    Thoa 3: A super-earth hothouse, this planet would have been uninhabitable due to its gravity even before turning scorchingly hot.

    Thoa 3a: A captured asteroid barely on the edge of hydrostatic equilibrium, the Nasty Bastardhad been excavating rudimentary shelters for "leave" for its crew.

    Thoa I: An asteroid belt.

    Thoa 4: A normal Jovian planet.

    Thoa 4a: A moon much like Mars in climate.

    Thoa 5: A Jovian planet with an unusual triangular wind pattern at the poles.

    Thoa 6: Blooms of hydrogen well up from the core of this Jovian, perhaps disturbed by some recent impact.

    Thoa 7: Bathyscapes would find themselves at home on the surface of Thoa 7. Pressures much like that at Earth's seabed keep a crust of ice 3 stable enough robotic drones could walk on it.

    Thoa 7a: Unusually, Thoa 7a is the only large icy body in the system. Scientists are unsure of where the others went. As the only easy source of volatiles, the UNasty Bastard periodically stopped by a handful of obsolete volatile collection systems on the surface to top up.

    Thoa II: A Kuiper belt of icy objects.

    Empty Systems

    Kimberly: A fairly unremarkable and empty system, this site was chosen as Rhodes' spinward boneyard—a place for failed experiments, old equipment, and ships so worn they weren't worth maintaining anymore, but were still valuable enough to warrant not throwing into a gas giant or otherwise completely destroyed. For 2 decades a Rhodes-affiliated salvaging contractor worked here, gathering scrap and other valuables, but following high injury and death rates and low returns, the contract (and most non-local dumping) was cancelled in 2247 (4 years before the March Days.)

    Kimberly 1: A large rocky planet, this must have migrated inwards from further out in the system a long time ago to be so large so close to its parent star.

    Kimberly 2: A Martian planet that keeps a comfortable daytime temperature despite its lack of atmosphere due to a close orbit.

    Kimberly 3: A Jovian world.

    Kimberly I: This asteroid belt is actually combined with a thinly-spread junkyard corralled by Kimberly's 2 gas giants.

    Kimberly 4: A Neptunian world, this planet has several starship hulks abandoned as the closest stable orbit to the gate out. An old deactivation hub orbits in resonance with Kimberly 4a, the former site of a salvaging operation.

    Kimberly 4a: The only significant satellite in the system, this icy moon retains a thin crust and a massive subterranean freshwater ocean.

    Total:


    Radiant:


    Gaid:


    Five Lions:


    Head of Diplomatic Corps:

    Name: Amanda Redcrest, Victoria Blackwell, and Kayla Hayashi


    DoB: "2222", 2219, 2227, 2224


    Current Position: Influential media figure and figurehead of Social Committee propaganda


    Not a traditional diplomat, or a traditional individual 'Veronica Stardust' is the persona of a trio of XP broadcasters who have been working together since 2246 and has consistently been one of the most recognized figures across Charter space and is a local Elysian celebrity.


    In Charter space those individuals who choose to make money by recording their lived experiences, of all kinds, for later playback are treated with an indulgent disdain by the polite classes as a mix of internet celebrity and sex worker despite the practice of selling XP experiences being common in the poorer segments of society and a smaller portion of the professional middle class attempting to stay afloat in a tight gig economy.


    Amanda Redcrest was a former media programmer whose attempts to supplement her income with XP work backfired and saw her fired from her job. Contrarily, Kayla and Victoria both come from lower class backgrounds, though Kayla's attempts to climb into the middle class by earning a marketing degree were frustrated when her lower class status markers and financing of education via XP work saw her frozen out of the job market.


    A former collaborator of Kayla's, Victoria had been a rising XP star in her own right and had no desire to change her station, but as her brief celebrity began to fade Victoria approached Kayla to propose the creation of a dedicated broadcasting persona that both would act as. Later bringing on Redcrest, who they'd both done crossover XP work with, to do technical work, the trio used carefully gathered market data and some intuition to create the "Veronica Stardust" persona of an middlingly-intelligent and freewheeling persona who played to the upper class's picture of what depravities and indignities the poorer class must get up to in their spare time.


    From 2246 to 2251 the Veronica Stardust persona (performed by all three at various times, though primarily Victoria) produced experience recordings that were nearly always in the top 10 best sellers across Charter space.


    Though they enjoyed the wealth that they brought in, the trio increasingly chafed at the market driven limitations of Veronica, and were considering a number of possibly catastrophic brand shifts when the March Days broke out and all three participated in street actions in a private capacity after sending one last broadcast as 'Veronica' to encourage revolt.


    Since the formation of the Social Committee the figure of Veronica has been rebranded to serve as the figurehead of Social Committee Propaganda and several major initiatives have been launched with her at the forefront including a highly successful part of the anti-overproduction initiatives.


    As part of the now-completed campaign to maintain the charade that Radiant was still under Charter control, Veronica Stardust continued to sell broadcasts to HI media chains, though the trio could not help but begin a brand shift towards a far more intelligent and radical persona.


    Pros: XP Celebrity, influential, well known, inspiring to the middle and lower classes


    Cons: XP celebrity, little diplomatic experience, three people


    Diplomatic Goals: Defeat the Charters in the field of public opinion, push social revolution and freedom of information and communication, cause public opinion to oppose attacking Radiant


    Unlocked FRM

    Ares Peacekeeping Grade - Access to planetary army formation

    Ares Military Grade - Access to mid-sized shipyards, bonuses to planetary army combat. Bonus to completion of Chinook remodeling


    Rhodes Light industrial Grade - 10% increase to all mining income, reduced Cost for BLG and other actions that use basic fabber processes

    Rhodes Heavy Industrial Grade - Massive discount on mining upgrades, able to unlock automated technologies with Omoikaine


    Cernunnos Consumer Grade - +1 to all Soccom actions

    Cernunnos Enterprise Grade - NOT UNLOCKED


    Omoikane Consumer Grade - +1 to FRM reserach for each two tech bases unlocked (+6 currently)

    Omoikane Enterprise Grade - +5 to blue sky research, automation with Omoikane


    Hermes-Ishtar Consumer Grade - Your economy doesn't crash when the turn of funding

    Hermes-Ishtar Production Grade - NOT UNLOCKED


    MSI Consumer Grade - Consumer Goods, Drones, and personal vehicles, +2 to domestic projects in IndComm and SocComm

    MSI Enterprise Grade - NOT UNLOCKED


    Original Tech

    The Box: Fabber the size of a X-box that can, with time, materials and power, print the components for a full sized box. Less efficient, but easy to print and hide.


    Defence Coordinator:


    Name: Maria Awhina

    DoB: 2165

    Current Position: Military Committee Delegate from the Radiant Veterans Guild


    Born into poverty on Earth as the twenty-second century began to wane, young 22-year old Maria Awhina caught up in radical anti-Charter politics during the third black summer of 2187 and was convicted of property destruction during the rioting and sentenced to serve as a contractor to Hermes-Ishtar until her contract was paid off.


    The stark choice of starvation or service to Hermes-Ishtar caused Maria to descend into self-destructive behavior where for twenty years Ms. Awhina continuously volunteered for the highest paid and most dangerous positions that Hermes-Ishtar had available.


    Hermes-Ishtar considers Special Operations Lieutenant Awhina to have served with distinction throughout the heavy skirmishing of that era, though Maria herself continues to carry guilt for her service and her survival.


    After performing exceptionally well in a hostage rescue operation Awhina was transferred to the Protective Detail Division of Hermes-Ishtar Security, and was eventually assigned to serve as the head of the Radiant Vice President's protective detail.


    Over the next four decades she came to see the world as her home, and while her professionalism never wavered, her loyalty to the company who still owned her contract did.


    This March, Maria had the option to gun down her fellow planetary headquarters workers to secure Yang's escape, or to finally return to roots in anti-Charter agitation. The fact that we are all here today shows what choice she made.


    Pros:

    -Actual Combat Veteran, knows Radiant inside and out, special operations expert, professional.


    Cons:

    -only academic knowledge of starship operations, logistics, organization command and strategic operations.


    Command Traits:

    -Objective oriented, unflappable, aggressive, prefers attacks and operations to come from unexpected angles.

    Reports from the Permanent Commission for Military Intelligence on hostile forces in neighbouring systems:

    Blue Squadron:
    -Allegiance: Ares Combat Solutions
    -Service: Mars Interstellar Security
    -CO: Rear Admiral Weylon Kang
    -Flagship: MIS Yorktown

    We know little about Rear Admiral Weylon Kang except that he has received a number of commendations from the MIS board for keeping costs low while on deployment. He appears to be making an effort to clamp down on the rumours racing back and forth across the fleet.

    MIS Yorktown
    -British Empire-class Fleet Tender
    MIS Eurymedon
    -New Model-class Strike Corvette
    MIS La Rochelle
    -New Model-class Strike Corvette
    MIS Cape Rachado
    -New Model-class Strike Corvette
    MIS Second Schooneveld
    -New Model-class Strike Corvette
    MIS Matapan
    -New Model-class Strike Corvette
    MIS Valcour Island
    -New Model-class Strike Corvette
    MIS Kerch Strait
    -New Model-class Strike Corvette
    MIS Galveston Harbour
    -New Model-class Strike Corvette
    MIS Cape Sarych
    -New Model-class Strike Corvette
    MIS River Plate
    -New Model-class Strike Corvette
    MIS Third San Francisco
    -New Model-class Strike Corvette
    MIS Scipio Africanus
    -Cossak-class Frigate
    MIS Suleiman I
    -Cossak-class Frigate
    MIS Louis Botha
    -Cossak-class Frigate
    MIS Fort Ware
    -Hudson's bay Company-class Fast Fleet Tanker
    MIS Fort Mackinac
    -Hudson's bay Company-class Fast Fleet Tanker
    MIS Fort Osage
    -Hudson's bay Company-class Fast Fleet Tanker
    MIS Arabian
    -Postal-class Courier
    MIS Macedonia
    -Legionary-class Fast Troop Transport
    MIS Hispania Citerior
    -Legionary-class Fast Troop Transport
    MIS Hispania Ulterior
    -Legionary-class Fast Troop Transport
    MIS Gallia Narbonensis
    -Legionary-class Fast Troop Transport
    MIS Sicilia
    -Legionary-class Fast Troop Transport
    MIS Corsica et Sardinia
    -Legionary-class Fast Troop Transport

    Fixed Defences:
    Battery A
    -MSS-54-F LMP Constellation
    Battery B
    -MSS-54-F LMP Constellation
    Battery C
    -MSS-54-F LMP Constellation
    Shoal A
    -ASR-33-C TAM Shoal
    Shoal B
    -ASR-33-C TAM Shoal
    Shoal C
    -ASR-33-C TAM Shoal
    Shoal D
    -ASR-33-C TAM Shoal
    Shoal E
    -ASR-33-C TAM Shoal
    Shoal F
    -ASR-33-C TAM Shoal

    Fixed Defences:
    Battery A
    -Blindfire-Pattern LMP Constellation
    Battery B
    -Airstrike Pattern LMP Constellation
    Shoal A
    -Macross-Pattern LMP Constellation
    Shoal B
    -Macross-Pattern LMP Constellation
    Strikecraft Wing, ID# 48603
    -Radiance-Type Strikecraft

    -None

    -None

    Local Security Forces
    -Approximately fifty strong volunteer station security militia drawn from station personnel

    Local Security Forces:
    -Deep Space Security Solutions (Omoikane Subsidiary) Customs shuttle squadron based out of Xotreh B-4a's orbital station
    -Three companies of Standard Planetary Security Company (Ares subsidiary) troops based out of Xotreh B-4a's habitat complexes for internal security and law enforcement

    139th Solarian Navy Squadron:
    -Allegiance: Solarian Compact
    -Service: Solarian Navy
    -CO: Vice Admiral David Visser
    -Flagship: SNS Krak de Chevaliers

    Thanks to his heavy handed labour discipline and extractive tribute and demands for corvee labour from Ascension Admiral Visser is viscerally hated by the populace of Ascension, and to a lesser degree the rest of the Solarian Force as well. While the gate's completion draws near, it is uncertain what path that Visser will persue.

    SNS Krak de Chevaliers
    -Star-hold-Class light-tender
    SNS Victoria Newman
    -Leonard Greyson-Chang-Class Strike Corvette
    SNS Julia Stonechild
    -Leonard Greyson-Chang-Class Strike Corvette
    SNS Robert Chuikov
    -Leonard Greyson-Chang-Class Strike Corvette
    SNS Wallace Al-Wazir
    -Leonard Greyson-Chang-Class Strike Corvette
    SNS Dawn's Early Light
    -Freedom's Light-class cruiser
    SNS Jacob Nagumo
    -Herald Kanumba-Class frigate
    SNS Alexander Hamilton
    -Liberation-class troop transport

    Solarian Marines now spread throughout the system

    PCMI Provides new system data on the single system that lies beyond beyond Five Lions:

    Mobile Force:

    Current Orders: Defend the All Radiant Congress by acting as a rapid response in the event of any hostile acts.

    CO: Commodore Stephanie Rousseau

    CNS Velasco, United States of America-class Fleet Carrier

    -CO: Captain Esteri Attar

    -Orca Wing, Switchblade-type strikecraft (Customized)

    -CO: Wing Commander Jasmine Ang

    -Red Wolf Wing, Switchblade-type strikecraft (Customized)

    -CO: Wing Commander Heloisa Kimura de Lima

    CNS Shieldmaiden, Great Heathen-class Light Cruiser

    -CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

    CNS Shamhat, Great Heathen-class Light Cruiser

    -CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

    CNS Righteous Tempest, Cossak-class Frigate

    -CO: Captain Vehement Shade

    CNS August Willich, Cossak-class Frigate

    -CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

    CNS Elysium, Cossak-class Frigate

    -CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

    CNS Asphodel, Cossak-class Frigate

    -CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

    -


    Home Force:

    Current Orders: Defend Radiant, comet patrol, act as a reserve force

    CO: Commodore Erina Kozlova

    CNS Blaire Mountain, New Model-Class Strike Corvette

    -CO: Captain Guillermo Kageyama

    CNS Scutum, Comet-Class Patrol Corvette

    -CO: Captain Martin Pagonis

    CNS Buckler, Comet-Class Patrol Corvette

    -CO: Captain Samuel Smiles

    CNS Nasty Bastard, A Jury Rigged Mess of a Drone Carrier

    -CO: Captain Jean-Paul Beaumont

    -


    Radiant System Self Defence Force:

    Current Orders: Defend Radiant, comet patrol

    CO: Overseen by Admiral Gregory Mansur in his capacity as MilComm Chief of Naval Operations


    Radiant Customs Squadron, Arabia-class boarding craft with marine contingents

    -CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

    Switchblade Wing, Switchblade-type strikecraft

    -CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

    Apogee Wing, Switchblade-type strikecraft

    -CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-


    Battery A, Blindfire-Pattern LMP Constellation

    (Radiant-Bestreer Gate)

    Battery B, Blindfire-Pattern LMP Constellation

    (Radiant-Bestreer Gate)

    Battery C, Blindfire-Pattern LMP Constellation

    (Radiant-Bestreer Gate)

    Battery D, Airstrike-Pattern LMP Constellation

    (Radiant-Bestreer Gate)

    Battery E, Airstrike-Pattern LMP Constellation

    (Radiant-Bestreer Gate)

    Battery F, Airstrike-Pattern LMP Constellation

    (Radiant-Bestreer Gate)

    Shoal A, Macross-Pattern TAM Shoal

    (Radiant-Bestreer Gate)


    Radiant Orbital Yard 1

    Current construction: None

    Radiant Orbital Yard 1

    Current construction: None


    -


    Gaid System Self Defence Force:

    Current Orders: Defend Gaid

    CO: Commodore Victor Raine

    Battery A, Blindfire-Pattern LMP Constellation

    Battery B, Blindfire-Pattern LMP Constellation

    Battery C, Blindfire-Pattern LMP Constellation

    Battery D, Airstrike-Pattern LMP Constellation

    Battery E, Airstrike-Pattern LMP Constellation

    Battery F, Airstrike-Pattern LMP Constellation

    Shoal A, Macross-Pattern TAM Shoal

    Shoal A, Macross-Pattern TAM Shoal

    Shoal A, Macross-Pattern TAM Shoal

    Zephyr Wing, Switchblade-Type Strikecraft (Customized)

    -CO: Wing Commander Ara Helge

    Aeolus Wing, Switchblade-Type Strikecraft (Customized)

    -CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

    Gale Wing, Switchblade-Type Strikecraft (Customized)

    -CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

    -

    Frontier Force

    Current Orders: Keep watch on SolNav force in Raphanus, assist with integration of Ascension military forces, patrol Spinward frontier

    CO: Commodore Shayla McLean

    CNS Kiel Mutiny, Kaiserreich-class BattleCruiser

    -CO: Captain Inana Devlin

    CNS Choreographer, Janissary-class Light Tender

    -CO: Captain Karl Xanthopoulos

    CNS Valiant, New Model-class Strike Corvette, attached to CNS Choreographer

    -CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

    CNS Defiant, New Model-class Strike Corvette, attached to CNS Choreographer

    -CO: Captain Fool's Errand

    CNS Reliant, New Model-class Strike Corvette, attached to CNS Choreographer

    -CO: Captain Rouge Napier

    CNS Actium, New Model-class Strike Corvette, attached to CNS Choreographer

    -CO: Captain John Rankin

    CNS Crête-à-Pierrot, New Model-class Strike Corvette, attached to CNS Choreographer

    -CO: Captain Nkiru Chaudhari

    CNS Valmy, New Model-Class Strike Corvette, attached to CNS Choreographer

    -CO: Captain Sumac Barros

    CNS Revolutionary Will, Cossak-class Frigate

    -CO: Captain Yamamoto Hanae

    CNS Revolutionary Grace, Cossak-class Frigate

    -CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

    CNS Under New Management, Don-Class Fast Tanker

    -CO: Captain Adras Kierenos

    CNS Liberte, Hollywood(C)-Class Frigate

    -CO: Captain Colin McRae

    CNS Egalite, Hollywood(C)-Class Frigate

    -CO: Captain Adelia Swift

    Resources
    Naval Ship Types: Ship Types (Public Version)
    Naval Officers: Congressional Navy Officers (Public Version)
    System Codex: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rtNbPCcPsTK7HCHKo9dPgK7ntx5tBKOpltrZb_In7GY/edit#
    Blaze Zhang: Blaze Zhang is trans-masc. That means his pronouns are he/him.


    DISCORD LINK:

    Join the Wordsmiths Discord Server!

    Check out the Wordsmiths community on Discord – hang out with 897 other members and enjoy free voice and text chat.
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    • Scheduled vote count started by AKuz on Jul 28, 2022 at 2:14 AM, finished with 61 posts and 18 votes.
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  • Voting
    • #CNsubmission



    Name: Kyle Karsarov (He/Him)

    Bio: Originally a student organizer at the University of Persephone, Kyle was brought into the fold of radical politics in the early moments of the March Days when the Persephone PD attempted to crush the revolt by besieging the university, which was commonly seen as the locus of the brewing rebellion. Trapped and with few other options, Kyle and the other members of his engineering class quickly jury-rigged a crude flying machine in an effort to try and run the blockade and appeal for aid.

    The machine they kludged together - now affectionately called The Creature, and put on display at the entrance to the university engineering department - was rough. So rough, in fact, that nobody but Kyle had the nerve to get in it. And though it sputtered and nearly fell apart by the time it landed, it served its purpose - Kyle managed to run the police and their drones and called on a brewing militia to rescue his friends. But this journey did something else - it awakened a love for flying, and especially a love for flying in extreme circumstances. As soon as the Congressional Navy put out the call for strikecraft pilots, Kyle was breaking down the door to the recruiting office, and the rest is history.

    CN Service History: Served with distinction as a strikecraft element lead at Second Gaid and against 12.7, but with a notable list of minor disciplinary infractions, often for butting heads with a direct superior. Known as a hothead and a consummate risk-taker.

    Command Traits: Bold, Risk-taker, Dislikes Authority




    Trying to get the creative juices flowing again with some Congressional Navy officer submissions. A portrait will come... eventually. Probably.

    EDIT: Portrait added.
     
    Last edited:
    #CNsubmission


    Name: Tamyra Morris (She/Her)

    Bio: Tamyra was born on a deep space survey station ran by the Omoikane Explorer Corps. She grew up learning how to fix and jury-rig the various devices that would constantly fail in their underfunded station. She studied on Ascension and eventually joined the Explorer Corps herself.

    CN Service History: Tamyra was in command of a small survey ship exploring past the Raphanus gate when the revolution happened. When she came back through she saw first hand the abuse the striking gate workers suffered at the hands of the Solarian Navy and resolved to help in any way she could.

    Command Traits: Meticulous, Born in the Void, Idealistic, maintenance grunt, hates open spaces
     
    Last edited:
    Torgamous said:
    Tiny cables for directly interfacing with external hardware. Cyborgs designed to pilot larger machinery, such as XCOM MEC troopers, look like wookies.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    But with the hair under the goggles, it can't interface with any hardware other than the goggles. ...are you sure I can't question the goggles? I want to question the goggles now.
     
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    Omake - Timeshadow -Redshirt Army
  • Apocrypha

    • Amaranthine Congressional Committee on Special Broadcasts - Secondary Broadcast Media Inclusion Syllabus


    [APPROVED FOR GENERAL DISTRIBUTION BY AIC MOTION 856.31: DECLASSIFICATION OF BROADCAST PLANNING]


    MEDIA SUBMISSION #733: Timeshadow


    Expected Inclusion Performance Score: 91.1/100

    A new take on a rebloomer shooter (the descendant of 2070's bloomer shooters, themselves descendants of 2020's boomer shooters) using simplistic yet stylized and eyecatching 2130's graphics. Timeshadow has been in development since early 2253, with its public beta (under the name "Time//Trial") gaining a cult following for its absolutely unrelenting and frantic pace, its innovative time control mechanic, and its procedurally generated, editable, and shareable levels with public leaderboards. The RedHawk development team has been an innovator in making full use of enterprise-grade proprietary Omoikane VI coding within their game as soon as it became available to the public within the AIC.

    In addition to the massive number of movement mechanics expected of the genre, Time//Trial's time control mechanic either automatically slowed time when "in danger" to allow players to simulate the feeling of superhuman reflexes, or in its higher difficulty settings asked players to manually trigger bullet time at the right time to fight against otherwise impossible odds.

    After the publication of the First Broadcast, and in particular after the VdCB's AMA answers in which they both specified the types of games they enjoy and specifically requested that artists in the AIC create a game based on them, the RedHawk team got inspired and decided to finally give their game a plot and storyline, something they had up till that point avoided, renaming it to Timeshadow. Additionally, they added a "VdCB difficulty" where among other changes the time control mechanic is absent entirely, with its description noting that this mode is balanced around players who already have superhuman reflexes themselves.

    Rather than directly starring the VdCB, Timeshadow is a "reinterpretation" of the VdCB's story, along with taking heavy influences from both Sheol's Struggle and classic games in the re-bloomer genre's lineage. The player acts as one of the titular Timeshadows ("the long shadows left to drift through time"), an AGI left-behind squadron who act as the only remaining revolutionaries on the fictional planet of Ambrosia following the "glassing" of the planet through concentrated orbital nuclear strikes by the Solarian Compact, and who must take revenge for their murdered comrades through gruelling guerrilla warfare against the Compact teams sent to extract critical information from the hidden servers hidden deep within the planet.

    The setting is deliberately anachronistic, set in a hazy maybeland of history with revolutionary styles ranging from the fall of the DemFed era, to Sheol's constant struggles, to Radiants new architecture, to modern Earth's aesthetics all blended together and no solid dates given throughout the narrative.

    While the game does have a short campaign and story consisting of a dozen hand-crafted levels, the bulk of the game comes into play with the procedural generation, editing, and sharing features.

    The game can generate sprawling 50x50km levels filled with ruined cityscapes, icy tundras, scorching deserts, primordial forests, massive tunnel complexes, or even more abstract and impossible "cyberspace" locations. A VI scenario director then edits and populates the world with enemy encampments, barricades, and various natural features and assigns the level various goals and optional side objectives.

    Depending on the scenario director's settings, Timeshadow can either generate the enemies so as to maximize gameplay fun and create incredibly cinematic and thrilling setpieces, or act with "realism", in that enemies are fully aware of both their own and the players capabilities and will set up fortifications and position themselves such as to make things as difficult as possible - or, of course, any number of settings in between.

    Players can share level codes to challenge their friends or strangers online to beat particular generated worlds, or can use the included robust world editing toolset to either tweak levels to their liking or create them entirely from scratch. A level browser allowing players to search for highly rated levels and global leaderboards (divided into basic completion time trials, full completion of all optional objectives, damageless runs, etc) encouraging repeated playthroughs and mastery of said levels.

    The RedHawk team has been contacted by BroadComm and made aware of both the planned Secondary Broadcast deadline as well as the more speculative and uncertain Tertiary Broadcast, and have expressed their belief that they can have the game polished and ready to ship in time, with the main task still remaining being to work out the bugs in multiplayer and allow for both head-on-head deathmatches and team vs scenario levels.
     
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  • Apocrypha
    • Omake - Empty Words -Redshirt Army
  • Apocrypha

    • Amaranthine Congressional Committee on Special Broadcasts - Secondary Broadcast Media Inclusion Syllabus


    [APPROVED FOR GENERAL DISTRIBUTION BY AIC MOTION 856.31: DECLASSIFICATION OF BROADCAST PLANNING]


    MEDIA SUBMISSION #241: Empty Words

    Expected Inclusion Performance Score: 88.2/100

    Initially begun by the Persephone Screenwriters Union as a series of in-jokes and memes following the publication of the Empty Passages series by Hermes-Ishtar, the Broadcast galvanized the PSU into action, leading them to begin Empty Words proper: a documentary and a satirical commentary track meant to both complement each other and to deeply criticize the Empty Passages series.

    Well aware of the looming publication deadline, the PSU had fairly modest initial expectations for Empty Words, but reached out to BroadComm as a longshot to see if any of the MilComm individuals whose analogues have starring roles in the series would be available to comment.

    As it so happens, MilComm was actually quite receptive to BroadComm when we approached them, and Maria Awinha, Erina Kozlova, Dr. Sheila Bissonette and Stephanie Rosseau have all agreed to provide some commentary. Shayla McLean has (predictably) turned down the offer.

    The satirical commentary track is planned to star a motley crew of a half-dozen individuals from various walks of life across the AIC (albeit all selected to have some acting experience) playing exaggerated versions of themselves as they sit in a theatre and watch through the Empty Passages series, putting the best of the many memes generated about the series into speech as well as making new and cutting critiques about the writing and inaccuracies in the worldbuilding, and featuring cameos from the individuals the characters were based on.

    The supplementary documentary is meant to be fairly short (current runtime is planned to be ~40 minutes) taking a deeper dive into some of the more pernicious lies of the Empty Passages series which can't be debunked with just a witty one-liner and showing the truth behind them, featuring more in-depth and serious interviews and stylish animated graphics.

    It is currently planned to allow viewers of Empty Words to switch at any time to viewing the corresponding original Empty Passages movie and back again - by broadcasting versions of the Empty Passages films with our own commentary for free throughout human space, we hope to powerfully counter H-I's narratives surrounding the AIC, with our distribution of the films becoming the "definitive version", containing as it does both the films for free and additional bonus materials providing comedy and insightful critique.

    Preliminary scripts for both sets of media have already been written, work on the documentary has begun, and casting for the satirical commentary track is currently ongoing. The PSU fully expects to be able to complete the Empty Words project in time for the projected Secondary Broadcast Deadline.
     
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  • Apocrypha
    • Redshirt Army said:
    Well aware of the looming publication deadline, the PSU had fairly modest initial expectations for Empty Words, but reached out to BroadComm as a longshot to see if any of the MilComm individuals whose analogues have starring roles in the series would be available to comment.

    As it so happens, MilComm was actually quite receptive to BroadComm when we approached them, and Maria Awinha, Erina Kozlova, Dr. Sheila Bissonette and Stephanie Rosseau have all agreed to provide some commentary. Shallya McLean has (predictably) turned down the offer.
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    "Hey, want to help us roast Empty Passages so hard that BroadComm lets it into the second broadcast as counter-propaganda?"
     
    AKuz said:
    To that end the ACC now requests MilComm and the General Congress okay the construction of more yards in Chinook, where production will be closer to the frontlines. The ACC is also requesting that any central Academy created to serve the Congressional Navy be based out of Chinook, where Spacer and Void-born expertise is prevalent along with mollifying fears of Elysium becoming the "All Devouring Tyrant Queen of the Commonwealth"
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    Thoughts on that?
    Chinook should definitely get a strikecraft yard (if they don't have one already, it says "more yards" after all), that has been their thing and yet we seem to have somehow ended up with more carriers than wings.
    Anything bigger I'd build elsewhere, not directly on the frontlines where we're one unexpected fleet away from losing it. There's a reason why we built our cruiser yard in Sheol.
    The same applies to the academy. It'd be hubris to assume that nothing will ever go wrong. New crews become even more important when we lose old crews, so setting ourselves up to lose both at the same time wouldn't be very smart. Radiant isn't that much safer and the concerns about overcentralizing are valid, so I'd favour Ascension. If a hostile fleet manages to reach that then not having any crews for new ship is the least of our concerns, there's 6 unexplored systems in the vicinity (which some of the Omoikane scientists got sentenced to explore) so it's where we'll need spacer expertise, and there's a habitable planet so the non-spacer recruits can be eased into things instead of just putting them on a space station from day one with nowhere to go and hoping for the best.
     
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    Omake: Amaranthine Congressional Committee on Special Broadcasts - Secondary Broadcast Media Inclusion Syllabus
  • Apocrypha

    • Amaranthine Congressional Committee on Special Broadcasts - Secondary Broadcast Media Inclusion Syllabus


    [APPROVED FOR GENERAL DISTRIBUTION BY AIC MOTION 856.31: DECLASSIFICATION OF BROADCAST PLANNING]


    MEDIA SUBMISSION #793: Crazed Committee Season 2


    Expected Inclusion Performance Score: 71.1/100

    An office comedy based around the antics of the fictional "Central Response for Amaranthine Zeitgeist Emergence Development Committee" Or "CRAZED Committe". Featuring a cast of stereotypically exaggerated yet lovable characters from all the representative worlds of the AIC and its allied systems which come together to try and create agreement on how to tackle various issues of the week, usually badly at first, providing opportunities for various satirical mocking of aspects of AIC issues and life problems. Typically, the plot of an episode usually being the cast facing some kind of new problem leading to bickering representing different AIC viewpoints taken to comedic extremes before they come together and work towards a united resolution. Examples of an episode include one focused around Overwork with Radiant characters taking it with extreme seriousness while Sheolite ones react with confusion as a Five Lions character needs to be constantly stopped and forcefully made to vacation at a Radiant resort.

    The first season was included in the Broadcast as part of attempts to demonstrate the presence of political disagree and free speech in the AIC and proved reasonably popular with audiences throughout the Compact. However, nearly unique among Broadcast included media Crazed Committees has been allowed to continue airing publicly and, in some cases, even promoted by authorities opposed to the AIC. With relevant data seeming to assume that the comedic depictions are useful as 'accurate depictions of anarchist government incompetence' and so acceptable or even desirable to be seen by the public. As such a second season may be of use in getting subtle messaging to audiences that would otherwise not view our media.

    The studio producing the show has stated that they believe they can hit the same tone and content that allowed the first season to slip under the radar of Compact authorities while transmitting information which will hopefully undermine Charter propaganda. It is envisioned that this will mainly be done by showing the improved conditions within the AIC in the background of episodes without direct focus on them. Although some episode plots do attempt to more directly address charter propaganda points in a heavily comedized manner such as one which focuses on an attempt to counter charter propaganda about anarchist's supposed inability to innovation by the cast rallying to prove "That not only can anarchists waste just as much time making pointless crap, but we can do it better and get nothing for it!" by participating in contest around making new Funkopops out compete a group of Charter Loyalists who stubbornly stick to incompetent corporate practices.

    While fully capable of making most of the show in time the studio has admitted if they experience any unexpected delays, they may not be able to have the latest two planned episodes centering around Panic Projects for 12.7 and subsequent disappointment at the one-sided victory against it not letting them be used ready in time.
     
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  • Apocrypha
    • Goodbye glorious Carrier Fleet, we hardly knew ye.

    On the other hand, now Vanguard Force got 4 capital ships, which is a lot of offensive oomph, all those Strikecraft Wings can go back to Chinook, which is a lot of defensive oomp, and Home Force finally got a warp-capable ship that actually deserves to be called a ship, which is very nice.
    Overall a lot better for us, I think.

    I'm only a bit sad because this would've made my plan even better. Home Force with an actual capital ship to hold the line, Chinook with enough wings to be reasonably safe, Velasco to counter enemy wings if they bring some (we've already demonstrated what happens when you bring only one Point Defence Destroyer against multiple wings, let's not repeat SolNav's mistakes) or to go to town if they don't, and 4 capital ships to convince the task group to surrender or to make it happen if they don't.
    It could've been great.

    EDIT:
    @AKuz In case those tables are reused for the Status Panel/Codex:
    First Lion still got ", can carry One Wing"
    Third Lion got a stray comma after "Converted Freighter" and
    Fourth Lion is still an "Escourt Cruiser" instead of Light Cruiser.
    The War to the Knife-class also still got that extra u in "Escourt".
    Storm Wing got "Attached to *CNS Velasco*" instead of actual cursive.

    I don't really mind any of that, just pointing it out if you want to clean it up. Only the "can carry One Wing" and the "Escourt Cruiser" are actual mistakes that might be a bit confusing.
     
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    TheArcanist said:
    #CNsubmission

    Name: Kyle Karsarov (He/Him)

    Bio: Originally a student organizer at the University of Persephone, Kyle was brought into the fold of radical politics in the early moments of the March Days when the Persephone PD attempted to crush the revolt by besieging the university, which was commonly seen as the locus of the brewing rebellion. Trapped and with few other options, Kyle and the other members of his engineering class quickly jury-rigged a crude flying machine in an effort to try and run the blockade and appeal for aid.

    The machine they kludged together - now affectionately called The Creature, and put on display at the entrance to the university engineering department - was rough. So rough, in fact, that nobody but Kyle had the nerve to get in it. And though it sputtered and nearly fell apart by the time it landed, it served its purpose - Kyle managed to run the police and their drones and called on a brewing militia to rescue his friends. But this journey did something else - it awakened a love for flying, and especially a love for flying in extreme circumstances. As soon as the Congressional Navy put out the call for strikecraft pilots, Kyle was breaking down the door to the recruiting office, and the rest is history.

    CN Service History: Served with distinction as a strikecraft element lead at Second Gaid and against 12.7, but with a notable list of minor disciplinary infractions, often for butting heads with a direct superior. Known as a hothead and a consummate risk-taker.

    Command Traits: Bold, Risk-taker, Dislikes Authority

    Trying to get the creative juices flowing again with some Congressional Navy officer submissions. A portrait will come... eventually. Probably.
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    Approved, assigned Wing Commander, Spearpoint Wing

    masterofmadness said:
    You know what we need more of? Augment officers! Sure we have a Rosseau and Mcclean who are awesome but they are still alone among the rest and why hold back on proper representation? So please welcome what will hopefully be the first of my Augment officer submission... assuming I can find decent art for them.

    #CNsubmission
    Linked to Artist:
    View: https://combidreams.tumblr.com/post/127235762070/the-portrait-for-my-character-angel-from

    NAME: Ashera "Ash" Torven (She/Her)

    BIO: Ashera "Ash" Torven was born to a working-class family of Elf Augments in Atlantic City in Sol. Like many on Earth she was a subject of the poverty draft and joined Solnav but unlike many she found herself well suited to military life. Standing out from the crowd as natural leader and fine solider she was able to rise through the ranks to a position as a senior NCO within a few years.

    However, once there Ashera found herself hitting a glass ceiling as her background as both working-class and an augment found her slapped down for her advancing beyond her station. Instead, she would be forced to spend her career as the one doing the real work of managing a ship under various less competent but more connected 'meritocrats' on various vessels. This would continue for over two decades with Ashera being forced to burying her anger with the fact it at least allowed her to afford relatively frequent immortality treatments and a better lifestyle then most from her background could probably expect.

    Her unknowingly final posting with Solnav would be aboard the SNS Rachel Crayak as part of Taskforce 12.7 where she experienced a crisis of conscious upon seeing the Broadcast due to both the revelation of the atrocities committed and the fact she had family connections to her opponents in the form of both a niece who had accepted a work contract on Radiant and an estranged brother serving a sentence on Sheol. Though unnoticed by most officers in 12.7 due to her previous decades of loyal service her background and rebel connections made a safe target to approach by Captain Kuang's defector clique leading to her participation as a key figure in the fierce fighting leading up to the capture of the SNS Rachel Crayak by the defectors.

    Rather than join her comrades in their quest to return to Sol she has instead chosen to remain behind and join the AIC in order to reconnect with her family here.

    CN SERVICE HISTORY: Over two decades of service in Solnav pre-defection, Seizure of SNS Rachel Crayak in Second battle of Sheol.

    COMMAND TRAITS: Highly Experienced, Natural leader, Wil need time to adjust from Solnav practices.
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    Approved, assign Captain CNS Tartarus

    bdun140 said:
    #CNsubmission
    Name: Olivia Johnson
    Bio: Daughter of a secretary and a construction worker, Olivia has been working to support herself and her parents almost from the minute she finished her H-I sponsored minimum-standard education. Thoughts of changing the system were never more than a vague pipe dream to be idly considered and then summarily disregarded, until her father was injured in a workplace accident which his insurance refused to cover. Barely able to make ends meet as it was, this event would have sent her family spiraling into complete destitution, had she not come home one day in March to see a neighbor of hers outside the office of the landlord, brandishing a pipe wrench and shouting at the top of his lungs. Listening to his outrage and deciding to join forces would be her first strike against the charters, but not her last.

    After the revolution, she and her parents spent no small amount of time simply enjoying the fact that starvation and homelessness were no longer hanging over them like the Sword of Damocles, but after some time Olivia found herself wanting to be useful, wanting to give back. Joining the Home Force was a compromise between herself and her parents, allowing her to contribute to the cause without placing herself in too much danger, or so it was understood.

    CN service history: Served as a junior officer during Second Gaid but has not seen much combat beyond this. She has good marks in training, for whatever that's worth.
    Command Traits: Untested, Idealistic, Loyal.

    Note: Do not question the goggles. Do not question them.
    EDIT:     Special thanks to Redshirt Army for firing up Photoshop and making the photo less borked.
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    Approved, CO, CNS Blaire Mountain

    bdun140 said:
    #CNSubmission

    Name: Felix Hansen (he/him)
    Bio: Born the Failson of a Fail-daughter, Felix was shuffled around various H-I subsidiaries for a time until he eventually settled into the role of director of a small studio producing low to middling budget shows and games, primarily about spaceships blowing each other to bits. When the revolution came, he covertly aided his employees as they took part, owing to a combination of genuine sympathy and an acknowledgement of which way the wind was blowing. This combined with his relative unimportance and testimony from those same employees about his highly atypical willingness to listen when they begged him not to make their jobs harder than they needed to be saw him spared from exile in Tartarus, and for want of anything better to do he began studying that which had been the subject of so many of his studio's creative works. It was during this time that those who knew him observed a change in his behavior, cynicism and ennui giving way to energy and passion. Come the formation of the Mobile Force, he wasted little time in signing on.

    CN service history: Served in various positions with competence, if not particular distinction. Was promoted to XO of the CNS Salvation prior to the Battle of the Osliam-Shei Gate, is now being considered for promotion to captain due to proposed fleet expansions.

    Command Traits: Idealistic, Loyal, Mildly Chunni
    Fun fact: He learned Japanese, purely so he could sing the Space Battleship Yamato theme. That said, he does have enough dignity left to give some platitude about broadening one's horizons, if you were to ask him why he did it.
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    Approved, CO CNS Saratoga

    bdun140 said:
    #CNsubmission
    Name: Margret Baumann (she/her)
    Bio: Born more than half a century prior to the revolution, to impoverished parents back on earth, Margret leapt at the chance to escape Sol for the colonies, and spent the majority of her life toiling for the enrichment of H-I. Yet starting from the bottom as she was, it would seem as though enough was never enough, debts piling up and her own advancing age slowing her down, the promise of life extending medical treatment slowly growing more and more distant as her need for it grew more and more dire.

    Then came the March Days.

    For a time, she was content to sit back and rest her weary bones, finally taking a long-deserved break from her berserk working schedule. Then the All-Radiant Congress decided to one-up itself, cracking the code on the medical treatments Margret had coveted for so very long. Being near the top of the list due to her flagging health, she found herself restored in vitality if not appearance, and the fact that such a miracle was just given freely led her to ask. Why? Why had the charters denied her this? How had she failed? In what regard was she not good enough? This led her down the rabbit hole of revolutionary theory, which in turn lit a fire she herself had thought long extinguished. Though lacking in relevant experience, her diligent work ethic and unshakable zeal has seen her slowly but steadily rise through the ranks. After all, she has all the time in the world now.

    CN service history: Served in various positions with competence, if not particular distinction. Was promoted to XO of the CNS Revolutionary Grace prior to the Battle of the Osliam-Shei Gate, is now being considered for promotion to captain due to proposed fleet expansions.

    Command traits: Aggressive, Loyal, Determined

    BEHOLD! MAD MAGS, THE GRANNIE FROM HELL!
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    Approved, CO CNS Liberte

    natruska said:

    #CNSubmission (sorta! SUFSF-VEF!)

    NAME: Digger Rossi (she/her)
    BIO: Young Digger never felt drawn to the Sheolite military's flashier branches. She cared little for suborbital pilots or special forces operators. Hell, she didn't even want to go topside if she could help it. Her parents were tunnel engineers and she followed in their footsteps. She might still be in that construction battalion if Ares hadn't hit her jobsite. After that, she found herself desiring a more kinetic line of work.

    After a year as a line combat engineer, Rossi joined the SCMC's elite Special Excavation Arm. The small tunnel warfare unit had a notoriously high operational tempo, and Rossi quickly progressed from rookie to veteran to commander. It was around this time that critics first attacked her for her belligerence. SEA activity - and casualties - only increased under her command, and without Radiant's intervention she might've ground the unit down to a stub.

    But Rossi's SEA passed the final test with flying colors. Armed with modern 'fabbed' explosives, they undermined Camp Rumsfeld's defenses and played a key role in the brutal urban combat that followed. During the fighting a bandaged, dirt-caked and sleep-deprived Rossi became an icon, with her brusque remarks ("Grace of God, we're ahead of schedule. Clean-up tomorrow.") spreading through the ranks. She was decisive to the point of rashness, mildly self-promoting, at times almost arrogant. And they loved her for it.

    After liberation Rossi would return to civil work, coordinating the rollout of modern 23rd century infrastructure. But she could not avoid the public eye. A fierce partisan of the Soldiers' and Officers' Councils, she supported their campaign to depose the SCMC in the 2254 elections. In the aftermath, Rossi secured a commission in the still-hypothetical Sheolite fleet, hoping to push for a strong, independent and aggressive force to counterbalance Radiant ("Bless the elves, but they just don't have the stomach for it. We're talkin' about war here.").

    Rossi's bombast, fatalism and flair for the dramatic has earned her a small but extreme fanbase on Elysian Tumblr. As a devout Black Catholic she finds this development disturbing, but her attempts to dissuade them have only made it worse.

    UNITED FRONT SERVICE HISTORY: Commander of the Special Excavation Arm during the liberation of Shei, various technical/administrative roles during the tech-up.
    COMMAND TRAITS: Technically Inclined, Militaristic and Aggressive (even by Sheolite standards), Groundpounder

    "It is fatal to enter a war without the will to win it."
    ― Douglas MacArthur

    (i realized about 75% of the way through writing this that i was just writing 'sheolite mini MacArthur' and i love/hate it)
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    Approved, CO UFC Mortem Ad Deos

    masterofmadness said:
    Okay, Submission done! Now I will try to sleep, key word try.

    #CNsubmission

    NAME: Leo Pietrowski (He/Him)
    BIO: Born on Asgard as the Third generation of Ares Soldiers Leo Pietrowski was always destined to follow in the footsteps of his family and join Ares. However, he bucked the trend of his family by managing to be the first of his family to be trained as, an admittedly junior, officer and was assigned to the Shei system aboard what would become the CNS Shieldmaiden. There he would befriend and fall into the orbit of Rosseau developing an intense personal loyalty to her and often working to cover for her retreat into XR games to cope with her position by dealing with some the micromanaging done by her superiors. When his commander chose to revolt against Ares in the Liberation of Shei he followed her in rebellion.

    Though initially seemingly more loyal to Rosseau then the Revolution but seems to have embraced the ideals of Anarchism with the devotion of a true convert. For much of the following years Leo Pietrowski was a quiet but vital background figure in the Mobile Force helping to ensure the smooth running of the CNS Shieldmaiden diligently through its numerous battles. Content with this position Leo Pietrowski did not seek promotion to previously open billets but with the loss of his previous ship of service in combat he has reconsidered this position and has stated his preference for command of another light cruiser given his previous experience.

    However, it should be noted that he maybe be a political controversial option as he has given his support behind serval controversial military proposal most notably the Rejected projects Winter and Taboo. He has defended his action by arguing that 'An officer's duty is to consider any option that might be effective again the enemy and it is Congress' to decide whether they are worth the cost to use.'

    CN SERVICE HISTORY: Officer aboard the CNS Shieldmaiden, Veteran of Liberation of Shei and Battles of Gaid and Osliam Gate.

    COMMAND TRAITS: Pros: Cruiser specialization, Experienced, Combat Veteran Cons: Potentially Controversial, Convert Fanaticism
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    Accepted, CO CNS Second Lion

    bdun140 said:
    #CNsubmission


    Name: Peter Anargyros (He/Him)
    Bio: Prior to the revolution, "Skinny Pete" was one of Persephonie City's homeless, and by all accounts his life would be like that of so many others who fell into the downward spiral: Short and miserable, with the understanding that if the conditions didn't kill you, a rabid police officer just might. When the revolution came, he mostly kept his head down, years of experience avoiding official efforts to "clean up the streets" serving him well in staying out of sight and out of mind. When the newly formed government began making its sweeping changes to how life worked, the cynical side of his defaulted to "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." When the Congressional Navy put out it's very first call for volunteers, he wasted little time in signed up, operating on the assumption that the time of free lunches was over, on the assumption that the time for elbowing those folks not pulling their weight was now upon them. And when he first reported for duty as a junior officer, he did so with a smile on his face. For as surreal and dreamlike as the post-revolution world was, the idea of some charter goon coming to tear it all down was very real, and he'd rather be taken by the unforgiving void than go back to how things were in the before times.

    CN service history: Served in various positions with competence, if not particular distinction. Was promoted to XO of the CNS Valliant prior to the Battle of the Osliam-Shei Gate, is now being considered for promotion to captain due to proposed fleet expansions.

    Command Traits: Cautious, Loyal, Disciplined

    My first OC! Hurray! Let's see how long it takes the universe to kill him!
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    Approved, CO CNS Valmy

    The Laurent said:
    Name: Caesaria Butler (She/Her)
    Bio: Daughter of a very optimistic paper-pusher of the lower-middle who had high hopes that she would conquer, she instead eventually wound up a Spacer, reaching into her forties before the revolution came and placed her within a military setting. She had a very poor reputation before that point, the kind of officer aboard a merchant ship that rarely enforced discipline, sometimes drank far too much, and pushed off any and all duties to junior officers. The difficulty for her was that this in isolation looked something like kindness, despite the fact that she comes off as oily, vaguely unpleasant, and given to whining and lazing about... though never to the extent that she could be removed.

    It was after that point that something became clear, something that would help propel her to higher positions. Her tactical ability turned out to be above-average, as did her understanding of astrogeography. While she fobbed off paperwork and logistics on other officers, this alone in certain navies might have eventually led to her retiring in a decade or two in some minor position.

    Except she had another virtue, one present even as an XO on Revolutionary Grace. She made decisions quickly. She could snap off a solid, above-average tactical decision in the blink of an eye while other officers were still hemming and hawing. Above-average executed quickly enough, and with a moderately competent crew to cover for any laxness with 'management', could and did in fact look something like tactical genius. All of this has finally propelled her to command of Revolutionary Grace, where she has reached higher than she has ever dreamed of... or wanted to an extent.

    Her hobbies include arguing about entertainment, drinking, and collecting.

    CN service history: Served on Revolutionary Grace, has now been promoted to Captain of the ship after the retirement of Captain Necis, who decided that they've done enough to help the galaxy and wanted to retire after Second Shei to pursue their true interests, raising exotic fish.

    Command Traits: Competent Tactically, Organizationally A Mess, Decisive/Quick Thinking

    (No picture yet of her, tho, and this is rough, but meh. Tossing it out there before everything gets taken.)
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    Approved, CO CNS Egalite

    Gladsome said:
    #CNSubmission



    NAME: Valerie Gutiérrez (She/Her)

    BIO: A long-serving astronaut from a Spacer family, Valerie spent two decades on varying expeditions charting the uninhabited bodies of the Radiant System, growing used to the everyday dangers of life in space and increasingly aware of the ways the fickle whims of corporations and executives made her work even harder as Hermes-Ishtar did its utmost to squeeze every resource it could hope to tap from the system. After a fuel explosion decimated an expedition in the Radiant I asteroid belt, Gutierrez transferred to the Radiant Space Force, committed to preserving lives, working as an engineer under the command of Gregory Mansur and joining the nascent Congressional Navy from its establishment

    CN SERVICE HISTORY: Served as Chief Engineer aboard CNS Scutum, subsequently assigned to assist with the construction of gate defenses.

    COMMAND TRAITS: Casualty Averse, Scientifically Inclined, Non-Militaristic Outlook, Experienced Spacer



    NAME: Apollonia Gwyn (She/They)

    BIO: A former student protester steadily radicalised by Charter suppression tactics and later a member of the underground union movement. During the March Days, Gwyn helped seize weapons from a police depot and led a team that held the line in a hotly contested complex in the Tartarus Archipelago until revolutionary reinforcements arrived to consolidate the region. Following the revolution, they soon volunteered to serve in the Congressional Navy.

    CN SERVICE HISTORY: Served as a crewmember aboard CNS Targe, subsequently promoted to Tactical Officer aboard CNS Nasty Bastard.

    COMMAND TRAITS: Revolutionary Idealist, Calm Leader, Hates the Charters, Prefers to Live to Fight Another Day
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    Approved, CO CNS Free Melbourne

    Approved, CO CNS Third Lion

    Gladsome said:
    #CNSubmission



    NAME: Elpis "Wraith" Dumont (She/They)

    BIO: The infamously short-lived pilots of the SCMC's airborne and low-orbit contingents had long possessed a reputation for fatalism and fearlessness to an unhealthy degree even among the standards of Sheolites, frequently attracting volunteers with minimal personal connections, often as a result of Ares' frequent training exercises and punitive expeditions that so often left trails of orphans and broken families in their wake.

    Few pilots expected to survive more than a few months behind the seat of a Sheolite fighter wing going up against drone swarms and pinpoint orbital firepower at least a century more advanced than any equipment available to the SCMC. Wraith made a name for herself by lasting a year in the cockpit and surviving four separate crashes following engagements with Ares forces, a feat that earned her no small amount of leeway with her superiors when it came to frequent incidents of insubordination and alcoholism.

    When the liberation came, numerous pilots embarked on what most thought would be their last mission as the SCMC sacrificed the majority of its strength to free Sheol forever. Wraith continued to distinguish herself in the SCMC's assaults on the last Ares holdouts, demonstrating her adaptability by using a captured Ares gunship to devastate multiple armoured columns in the last days of the fighting.

    In the aftermath of the liberation, something that had seemed unimaginable only weeks before, millions of Sheolite combat personnel struggled to come to terms with living new lives after years of seeing themselves as walking dead.

    Wraith chose instead to keep fighting. When it became clear that it would take years for Sheol's own forces to be ready to take up arms against the Charters beyond their own system, she left to sign up with the Congressional Navy, adapting in a remarkably short time from flying fifth-generation-equivalent jet fighters to Congressional Switchblades.

    CN SERVICE HISTORY: Commissioned as a Flight Lieutenant in the Congressional Navy after the liberation of Shei. Served as a Switchblade pilot during the First and Second Battles of Gaid and Liberation of Fliveons.

    Medical Note: Flight Lieutenant Dumont has been diagnosed with Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder and assigned mandatory counselling. Superiors are concerned by her tendency to openly regard herself as the vengeful shade of a dead pilot, though they are sensitive to avoid causing tensions with common Sheolite cultural practices.

    Disciplinary Note: Was recently confined to the brig for a day following an altercation with an ex-Ares pilot. Despite minimal apparent issues working with most defectors, has been repeatedly disciplined for incidents involving Ares defectors who held higher rank in the organisation before "getting bored of shooting kids from orbit", resulting in the confiscation of a set of darts boards made with the likeness of several high profile defector officers kept in their personal quarters.

    Is assembling a handcrafted collection of plush versions of historic and modern military aircraft in her spare time.

    COMMAND TRAITS: Quick Reflexes, Fatalistic, Fearless, Adaptable Pilot, Loathes Ares, Insubordinate



    NAME: Chloe "Wasp" Reed (She/Her)

    BIO: An Elysium local, Reed grew up fascinated by space travel, eventually taking a job working with the local Radiant Customs Squadron for a chance to work outside of Elysium's atmosphere. Tasked to search ships for illicit goods, Reed quickly grew disenchanted with the Charter system when it became clear that what the Charters considered contraband were either vital goods the Charters often sold themselves for extortionate prices or expressions of creativity that violated Compact Copyright Laws (including her own fanfiction). When the revolution came, she was one of numerous marines who quickly aligned with the revolution. Seeking the chance to further explore space and free other systems from the Charter system holding them back, Reed opted for a transfer to MilComm's training course for Switchblade Pilots.

    Reed performed exceptionally well as a trainee, showing good instincts for a pilot as well as a good sense of teamwork with her squadron, forming something of a friendly rivalry with a Sheolite recruit called Wraith, admiring each others' talent as pilots and adaptability to new roles.

    CN SERVICE HISTORY: Served with marine contingent with Radiant Customs Squadron, transferred to fighter training program, served as a Switchblade pilot during the First and Second Battles of Gaid and Liberation of Fliveons.

    COMMAND TRAITS: Keeps a Cool Head, Analytical Mind, Fighter Tactician, Team Player
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    Approved, CO SUSFS VEF Vanguard Wing

    Approved, CO Gale Wing


    Gladsome said:
    #CNSubmission



    NAME: Starlit-Band-of-Glittering-Stones (She/He/Them)

    BIO: Born in the ramshackle asteroid habitats assembled by the people of Chinook in Signia, Starlit-Band is a born spacer, signing up first to participate as a crew member in the raids against Charter vessels in Thoa and then joining the Congressional Navy upon Chinook joining the Congress. Starlit Band is an enthusiastic proponent of the revolution, hoping to liberate other worlds from the same tyranny that enslaved their predecessors. A popular member of their crew, Starlit-Band is a dependable crew member well adapted to life in space.

    CN SERVICE HISTORY: Served as Operations officer aboard CNS Defiant during Second Gaid.

    Medical Note: Lieutenant Starlit-Band requires continued treatment for low bone density after considerable time spent in a low-gravity environment. Prefers postings outside of a gravity well.

    Note: Lieutenant Starlit-Band will be representing Defiant in the upcoming Congressional Fleet low-grav games as captain of the ship's low-g hurling team.

    COMMAND TRAITS: Hit-and-Run specialist, Pragmatist, Casualty Averse, Eager Explorer



    NAME: Atalanta Trakas (She/Her)

    BIO: An eager recruit for MilComm's space warfare course in the early days following the liberation, Trakas made a name for herself among the informal war games simulations waged between officers for her aggressive offensive tactics and talent for micro-managing while coordinating multi-ship attacks in the manner of Erina Kozlova's school of tactics. While frequently victorious on the tactical level, some noted that such tactics would yield high costs in ships and personnel if an enemy force saw through her feints. Regardless, her cool head and reliability as a bridge officer during the Second Battle of Gaid saw her noted as a potential candidate for promotion by Captain Barros.

    Additional Note: Trakas has requested five days leave during July to attend 'LichCon 2254' in Persephone, as well as the 'FicDen Queer Writers' IRL Meetup' at Cenia's Conference Centre and Authentic Steakhouse

    CN SERVICE HISTORY: Served as weapons officer aboard CNS Valmy during Second Gaid.

    COMMAND TRAITS: Aggressive Commander, Team Player, Quick Thinker, Not Casualty Sensitive
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    Approved, CO CNS First Lion

    Approved, CO CNS Free Kinshasa


    tankdrop24 said:
    #CNSubmission

    NAME: Julius Fisker
    BIO: As a Sheolite living in a territory where orbital bombardment was a near daily reality, getting to stay out at night was an extremely rare treat for a young Julius Fisker. He loved nothing more than to look up at a clear starfield, and longed to rise into the sky and explore them. So much so, that he considered joining one of Sheol's suborbital strike unit to at least die in space until those close to Fisker talked him out of it. Instead, he joined Sheol's mechanized units as an IFV driver, working his way up to vehicle commander, then platoon leader, until finally he was in charge of an entire Mech company. His career matured his hatred of Ares for keeping him from the sky into a desire to keep the troops under his command safe no matter what, leading him to becoming an expert in ambush and concealment, avoiding exposure to orbital fire where ever possible. The crowing achievement of his career came a few weeks before the final uprising against the Sheol garrison when he managed to bait the local Ares commander into deploying their handful of tanks, which Fisker's platoon was able to encircle and force the surrender of, before evacuating the area seconds prior to an orbital strike. These captured vehicles would prove critical in his local command's assault in Sheol's liberation. With his planet finally free and no one holding him back from the stars, Julius Fisker left his position and joined the Congressional Navy.
    CN SERVICE HISTORY: Served on the Lake Champlain during the second battle of Gaid. When the ship went down, his quick thinking managed to get a few dozen crew off before it was too late.
    COMMAND TRAITS: Ground Pounder, Experienced Leader, Ambushing and Concealment expert, Prioritizes keeping his subordinates alive, reluctant to employ orbital bombardment.
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    Approved, SUFSF, CO UFC Sic Semper Tyrannis

    Cassiemouse said:
    #CNsubmission


    Name: Tamyra Morris (She/Her)

    Bio: Tamyra was born on a deep space survey station ran by the Omoikane Explorer Corps. She grew up learning how to fix and jury-rig the various devices that would constantly fail in their underfunded station. She studied on Ascension and eventually joined the Explorer Corps herself.

    CN Service History: Tamyra was in command of a small survey ship exploring past the Raphanus gate when the revolution happened. When she came back through she saw first hand the abuse the striking gate workers suffered at the hands of the Solarian Navy and resolved to help in any way she could.

    Command Traits: Meticulous, Born in the Void, Idealistic, maintenance grunt, hates open spaces
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    Approved, CO CNS Dragoon

    -

    docs.google.com

    Congressional Navy Officers (Public)

    Congressional Navy Officers Congressional Navy Line Officers Captain Al Khawaldeh, Lian Name: Lian Al Khawaldeh (She/They) Rank: Captain Post: CO, CNS Valiant BIO: A student of military history at an Elysian University, Lian enlisted in the MilComm space warfare course early on following ...
    docs.google.com docs.google.com

    -

    Open Postings:

    Mobile Force
    CNS Elysium
    CNS Asphodel
    CNS Rojava
    CNS Shippy Mcshipface

    Vanguard Force: NONE

    Home Force:
    CNS Fourth Lion
    CNS Scutum
    CNS Buckler

    SUSFS Volunteer Expeditionary Force
    UFC Memento Mori
    UFC Memento Vivere
    Forlorn Hope Wing
     
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