Species: The Ashleji are a reptilian, lizardlike, species standing roughly seven feet tall, broad and muscled at maturity. Their homeworld was once a land of archipelagos, with countless small islands connected by shallow seas and swamps with a few deeper patches of ocean. This led to them developing a curious mix of isolation and exploration in their pre-spaceflight years, with each island distrusting the others, but with sailors eager to explore the seas.
During the industrial revolution of the planet, the divisions between islands were lessened, either by force or friendship. This culminated in the second Ashleji Republic after their second world war, with each island on the planet electing one representative to serve in the great senate.
They took their seafaring traditions to the stars and by the time of their third Republic they had become a stellar nation above average in size. Then the war started and a large nation covered in shipbuilding facilities suddenly got way more attention than it was prepared for.
The third Republic died with Ashleji Prime. In the vacuum, old traditions of the islands were adjusted. The starship captains, from the valiant battleship masters to the equally heroic helmsmen of evacuation ships found themselves at the forefront of a new system. Once one island, one vote. Now one ship, one vote, and the voter is the captain.
These new quasi-noble houses entrenched themselves in public opinion by the sheer brutality of the war. If they had solely been heroic, many would have grumbled at the sudden increased stratification of their society. However, the sheer amount of dead created a new social expectation of adoption of war orphans.
By new tradition, a captain's executive officer will inherit their post and votes when they die. By equally new tradition, these executive officers are often formally adopted or married by their captains and selected for competency. Hierarchy, with enough of a promise and demonstration of meritocracy to keep grumbling minimized, despite the creeping nepotism and inherent flaws of the system.
These new traditions are still influx and subject to influence. Currently they range from the harmful (Admirals hesitating to commit light ships and risk losing voting power), to the quirky (Ship names reflect the loyalties of the captain--followers of Admiral Brekker and his Endurance battleship have put the word endurance in their ship names as with the frigate Endurance of Ages) to the clever (nearly all space stations have had basic maneuvering thrusters installed to qualify them for votes). Time will tell how they will shake out.
Drive: 6(5 free points) (The CEC could burn us and force us to change, but not shatter us.) Domain: 5(4 free points) (Many of their worlds have been entirely lost, with many more ruined, but they had many once and the remainder is still a respectable number.) Military: 4 (3 Flaw points) (The best and bravest died first. The remainder are desperate to live up to their example, but many are still green. Not helped by the teething issues of the new warrior class.)
Technology: (3 Flaw Points) (We endured, but at cost to every section of knowledge.)
-Drive: 2 Carefully tended rock gardens with integrated holo projectors allow one to walk alongside friends systems away and have conversations during times of rest.
-Domain: 2 Each of the surviving shipyards has become something grander. Swollen by refugees and additional modules, they have become akin to cities in the void, with internal hydroponics bays, living spaces, and docks. This new expansion has only furthered their original purpose, as new ships roll off expanded assembly lines, each ship both a financial transaction and an investment in a political ally.
-Military: 2 Sonic weaponry. Sonic grenades were developed as an outgrowth from old depth charges used to drive foes out of the shallows. From those came the great broadside sonic cannons of the battleships, rattling internal machinery and enemy crews apart.
Player League: Hierarchy
Flaws:
Wounded lands (2) & Mass Climatological collapse (2): The crossfire that killed the third Republic devastated the worlds and peoples of the Republic turned Combine.
Ashleji Prime's shallow seas have been blasted, many swamps buried under landslides of collapsed islands, with only the few deeper parts of the waters still capable of supporting larger lifeforms. Fewer than a million hardy souls still eke out a desperate and stubborn existence on the homeworld, which once was home to billions. Many other worlds shared a similar fate, to a greater or lesser extent. Surviving green zones are precious and life aboard hastily constructed orbital habitats or ships can only go so far.
Restless Warriors (2): Everywhere the newly celebrated soldiers look, they can see devastation, frustration building without a good outlet. They silently feel uncertain, desperately seeking proof that they are as worthy as the old guard who died in the war. New rivalries between newborn noble houses spark behind closed doors.
Declarations:
What they expect from humans: Over the next hundred years, we will collect one ocean's worth of clean water. Any scrap of terraforming technology shall be taken from the humans and given to us.
Opinion on the assembly:
Filibuster: A weak assembly cannot be a weapon against us.
Opinion on the orbiting races:
Shunner: Perhaps in a thousand years, when all our worlds are green again we will bother with primitives. Until then, we are busy. They are not our problem and we will not take kindly to attempts to make them our problem.
Rivals: Enemy Unknown. Allies: Allies Undetermined. Location: U, K, T.
Its been said on the discord, but I figured I'd say it here as well. Apps will be open for a full week, so we'll likely be choosing apps on March 11th.
Species: Vylshai, a race of short bipedal reptilians, rarely seen outside of environmental suits or power armor. Several subordinate races: The Nog, large, red furred, predatory primate-like creatures pushed into mining and any brute force manual labor that hasn't been automated. The Syrak-Pox, a race of pale six limbed mammalian cave-dwellers pushed into manufacturing low-end products. The Krein, insectoid creatures roughly a meter long that are responsible for most of the large scale farming in the Toron Kosh Protectorate.
History: Before the Hyper War the Toron Kosh was a relatively benevolent nation. The Vylshai, a race that had taken its place in the galaxy before those intelligent races near them had reached into the stars, saw it as their duty to protect the weaker races around them. Their homeworld of Toron was a gift from the gods, rich in resources and orbited by a moon with vaults of ancient alien technology, and they believed it was their duty as recipients of such a gift to make use of what they were given for the good of all. So, as they spread out from their home system and encountered other, less advanced races they took them as their responsibility to protect. Technology was shared with the more primitive races, but they were treated almost like children, with the Vylshai denying any the right to build military, and the Vylshai instead spread their fleet and army bases throughout their explored territory to ward off invasion from the similarly advanced, and far less kind, races they had found inhabiting the galaxy.
And when the edges of the Vylshai space eventually met those of other polities that they had no reason to wage war against, the Toron Kosh Protectorate stagnated. The Vylshai were content to simply be the wardens of the lesser races, and once their military service was complete each Vylshai would retire to a peaceful and welcome life on the homeworld. Such is how it stayed until the Hyper War, where the CEC and its allies proved more than a match for the Toron Kosh forces, and the majority of the species was pulled out of retirement and thrust back into military postings to help protect their wards. At the height of the Hyper War a fleet of human ships headed by the Olympus Mons broke through the overstretched defensive fleets of the Protectorate and destroyed their homeworld of Toron before pulling back to fight in other critical theaters.
Though much of the Protectorate military was still intact, the destruction of Toron saw the near total shutdown of Toron Kosh military actions for almost two years as the Vylshai simply couldn't process the loss of their homeworld. Eventually a council of major military figures, the only major institution for the race that remained, took control of the Protectorate, but with their view of the universe shattered they were a far less benevolent hand than the leadership of the homeworld had been. They pushed their protected races to provide materiel for the hungry Protectorate Forces, now starved by the lack of Toron's industrial base. When the first of the subject races refused, citing the long history of refusing to demand tribute, they were met with a swift and brutal reprisal from the still traumatized Vylshai military. After their worldview of Toron's divine nature and their central place in the galaxy was shattered, the betrayal of their word was seen as a lesser crime than any the universe had inflicted on them.
The Protectorate forces from that point on played notable part in pushing the CEC forces back to Earth, with every retaken world and seeing every horror the humans had inflicted on the galaxy shattering their already tattered view even further, by the time Admiral Ortmann surrendered, the almost none remaining Vylshai held any of the upstanding and righteous views that had defined the very nature of the Protectorate for centuries.
Government: Military Council
Drive: 4 Domain: 5 Military: 9 Technology:
-Drive: 2 The Toron Kosh Protectorate has a high rate of automatization in its industry and daily life.
-Domain: 1
-Military: 3 The Vylshai has a few technologies that give them an advantage over others in the galaxy.
Sensor technology for the Vylshai military is near unmatched in the current galaxy.
High Speed Powered Armor is equipped to their ground and boarding forces, allowing the otherwise small and weak soldiers to match or exceed the abilities of others and carry much more powerful weapons.
Their ships are equipped with exceptionally long range energy lances that allow them to engage enemy fleets from extreme range effectively. Player League: Hierarchy
Flaws: 9 points
Caste System and Ethnic Tensions: The Vylshai rule over the other races in the Protectorate with little mercy and high demands. Heavy military response is brought against any resistance.
Paranoid Intelligence Institutions: The Kosh Leire was an intelligence institution originally made to keep hostile foreign influence from reaching into the Protectorate, but as with the other remaining parts of the Vylshai race it has changed from its original intentions and now works as much against the subordinate races as it does in protecting the Protectorate itself.
Restless Warriors: Little remains of the Vylshai other than the military, and few in the Protectorate military can imagine a life outside of their ranks after the loss of Toron.
Scrapped the Barrel: The Vylshai population that was offworld when Toron was destroyed is a tiny fraction of the population, spread across the large military of the Protectorate and orbital colonies and manufacturing facilities.
Preferred location: M, K, D
Declarations: What you expect to get from the humans at the treaty: Punishment for the humans, and gained territory for the Protectorate. Your factions opinion on the orbiting races: Exploiter Opinion on the Assembly of Species role: Traditionalist. Two rivals for your polity:
And one ally:
League Faction:
Ponies are the vast majority of Equestria's population. Almost universally friendly and psionically-active, the small, four legged equinoids mix an often unremarkable knowledge base, social awareness, and general curiosity with an extreme focus and dedication to their favorite subject. This favored subject is represented by a physical manifestation of psionic power called a 'cutie mark' which decoratively adorns the flanks of adults.
Ponies are further subdivided into unique subspecies.
Earth Ponies have none of the additional appendages of other varieties, but are on average larger and possess superior endurance and durability. As such, they perform most strenuous physical labor, literally carrying the Equestrian economy on their backs.
Pegasi have feathered wings, allowing flight, and their bodies are adapted to the low oxygen and cold temperatures of high altitudes. To assist this, they are typically smaller and less dense than other ponies and have exceptional vision. Their mobility has lead to a history of nomadic life and adventure seeking. The recent war has put their comparatively more martial attitude at the forefront, and they are a significant majority of military forces.
Unicorns have a single horn used to channel psionic energy into precise actions, most commonly telekinesis. This ability has lead them to dominate engineering and scientific fields.
Bat Ponies have featherless wings to allow flight, with the ability to echolocate and nightvision giving them excellent navigation at low altitude and low light levels. Because of their nocturnal nature, Bat Ponies are more socially isolated from the other ponies and making cooperative work a challenge. However, their aptitude for night work is of vital importance to Equestria's economy, particularly during war.
Sea Ponies are a highly distinct but still related aquatic subspecies which possess a tail instead of rear legs, scales instead of fur, and fins in place of a mane and tail. Owing to the difficulties of operating technology underwater, they are rather limited in population and typically only expand or migrate to areas where underwater workers are an economic advantage.
Kirin have horns larger and more curved than unicorns, as well as armored scales across their backs and longer tails. While even more psionic in general than most ponies and able to channel it similarly to unicorns, they have less control and are highly emotional. Enraged Kirin enter a dangerous 'Nirik' state where psionic fire engulfs them, something they can only survive due to exceptional heat resistance. Because of the dangers inherent with the Nirik, it is rare to Kirin beyond planets.
Alicorns possess the strength and endurance of Earth Ponies, the wings of Pegasi, and the horns of Unicorns, as well as a much larger size, drastically lengthened lifespans and incredible psionic power. But Alicorns are not quite an independent subspecies, being extremely rare births and some unreplicatable metamorphic conversions from other ponies after unusual psionic events. Due to their abilities and rarity, they are the absolute top of Equestrian society and are ushered into politics and the Royal Family.
Government
The Princesses of Equestria, after drastic wartime reforms, are now the undisputed leaders of the Equestrian state. Their civil power is exercised by any combination of their direct command, commands of those appointed to executive positions in the Royal Court (often staffed by members of the Royal Family), by laws from the Equestrian Noble Assembly (a mix of hereditary and appointed members), and by laws from the Equestrian Parliament (appointed by democratically elected local governors). Their military power is absolute, though these days they seldom lead directly.
The Princesses, all Alicorns, are technically of equal rank, but owing to their extreme lifespans and close cooperation, it is unknown precisely what system, if any, they have for dealing with internal disputes, and they publicly act in unison.
Core
Drive 5: Kind and peaceful Equestrian society built up over centuries has taken a beating over the past decades as drastic changes in government, economics, technology, and the realities of war hit with blow after blow. The idyllic past of relaxed hobbyists trading their specialties to make a living has been replaced by the present of extended work hours, tax minimums, police checkpoints, and the occasional terror attack by enemy agents hiding among refugees.
Domain 8: Ponydom has eagerly spread its wings across the stars, with colonists looking to find the Equestrian Dream of a strong community built by the hooves and dedication of its populace.
Military 5: Peace is a perennial goal of the Equestrian state, with only a small sliver of the population possessing the disposition for professional military service. But the Hyper War required more, far more than could be supplied. Devastating attrition quickly ensued and a new model was needed for the long term.
Today, meek conscripts are lead by well-trained officers and supplied with a vast array of firepower to whittle down enemies. A reliance on heavy equipment while individual shock and discipline are far outshone by group fire may not make ponies the most feared forces in the galaxy, but the results are reliable and deadly.
Technology
Drive 1: Traditional Equestrian society has proved poorly adapted to the regular onslaught of misinformation from alien data sources, even from supposed allies. While communications technology isn't lacking, many concepts that were only theorized and quickly recieved government intervention against turned out to have infected alien media completely. The Equestrian censors are annoyed by the deluge of advertising they have to remove, the tax offices are furious childrens games have gambling despite explicit bans, and psychiatrists are wondering why ponies across star systems are eating cleaning supplies as a 'challenge'.
Domain 2: Psionics makes up the backbone of Equestrian technology. Owing to ponies inherent psionic capabilities, no distinction is made in a practical sense between conventional and psionic constructions as other species tend to. While particularly advantageous in a few areas, such as a unicorn being able to quickly diagnose and repair complicated machinery with the right spare parts and skillful horn-work, for the most part it only makes up for the inherent difficulties of quadrepedal life and gives headaches to foreign technicians.
Military 2: Wargames are the literal pride and joy of Equestrian officers. Ponies are often ridiculed as being 'too nice' for war. Equestrian equipment is often called 'luxurious' but even more often 'average'. Equestrian military training, according to many militant species, is 'soft'. But Equestrian officers know that all of those accusations are true. Yes, ponies are not the most vicious species, and their training doesn't create the toughest soldiers, and they don't have flawless equipment. So every victory comes down to the officers. Officers will train, and train, and train, and train some more. Not with actual troop deployments, as those are far too expensive, but at desks with simulated orders and reports for imaginary armies. Ponies may not be the most warlike but they do know how to have fun, and where fun means playing games with friends, the Equestrian military has made their officers among the best practiced in theory of any species. An army of sheep they may be, but they are lead by lions.
Flaws
Coming Out The Shell: Since time immemorial, ponies have looked inward, happy to enjoy their lives completely uninterested in the outside world. Almost universally, the only exceptions have been when ponies looked outwards in terror. Fear is a powerful motivator, and Equestrian historians and legal professionals alike are well aware that the most heinous crimes of their otherwise kind and peaceful species are done by those who feel threatened. Unsurprisingly, the Hyper War has done little to change the minds of Equestrian leadership. While involvement in galactic affairs can no longer be ignored, as little involvement as possible will remain preferable.
Doves: Ponies don't like war. They don't like war, or violence, or killing, or suffering. It's a noble sentiment, but for the non-violent races of the galaxy, it's a political liability. One made all the worse when the political leadership and military forces feel the same way, and only immense imminent threat can force them to see the necessity of war regardless.
Hyper Specialized Worlds: Colonization efforts by Equestria are not explicitly designed to favor one type of pony over another, but neither are they designed to force them together. As such, economic demands and physical differences have tended to lead to quite drastic economic and demographic extremes on various Equestrian worlds.
Ethnic Tension: While the various subspecies of Ponies get along well today, innate fear of the other remains, exacerbated by all too common geographical divides from species economic specialization. During the war, more than one human propoganda and sabotage campaign has incited riots between various subspecies, and it is a regular focus of the Equestrian government prevent incitement and panic.
Refugee Crisis: Successfully avoiding the worst of the Hyper War was certainly an achievement, but also brought its own problems. Refugees from every species, political alignment, language, and skillset flooded Equestria, and how could ponies say no to neighbors in desperate need? Now Equestria faces the question of how to tolerate countless varieties of sophont when ponies can barely handle each other.
Declarations
Treaty Expectations:Reverse engineering, with assistance from surviving designers, design documents, and factories, is needed to curtail human military advantage. Furthermore, human military industries must be supressed, forcing them to buy from other states and be reliant on imported weapons to wage war. Together, this will neuter any further human threat and force them into peaceful ventures.
Orbiting Races Doctrine:Uplifting can be the only ethical manner of dealing with less developed species. While they are not inherently required charity, allowing them the opportunity to trade and cooperate for rapid development is the quickest way to ensure prosperity and good health for all species.
Assembly of Species Doctrine:Filibuster is an unfortunate necessity in the increasingly cutthroat post-war Assembly. While the Assembly was vital for the war effort, its proper use is as nothing more than a basic communications and coordination tool, not the wildly expanding and ever changing roles both the Consolidationists and even Traditionalists are trying to push. Each species should be free to manage their own affairs, without the Assembly being a tool used to coerce them.
Affiliation
League:Equality is the basic goal of Equestrian interstellar politics. Equestria has little desire for domination, so as long as it is being forced to intervene in the galaxy, it will be in support of like-minded states which simply want to be left to their own devices and can be trusted to cooperate as peers.
Location: J,S,M
War History
United long before space travel as a union of Unicorn, Pegasus, and Earth Pony refugees, Equestria has grown over the millennia under the wise and gentle rule of the first Alicorn Princesses, Celestia and Luna. Under their oversight Equestria has consistently taken the path of sustainable growth, political isolation, anti-militarism, and calm negotiation in times of crisis, a practice continued all the way through planetary unification and into the stars. For centuries, Equestria kept those traditions alive as a passive but friendly spectator in galactic affairs. Ponies were rarely seen on the harsh worlds abroad outside of the most basic trade deals and scientific meetings.
The Hyper War's outbreak did not change the old habits. For years Equestria attempted to moderate, to negotiate, to placate, and to avoid conflict wherever possible. For a time the Humans and their allies accepted this and focused on more dangerous game. But the growing scope and intensity of fighting eventually lead to the Humans seeing Equestrian peace overtures as weakness, culminating in a surprise attack.
Human forces struck key Equestrian systems expecting only to face the limited forces of a pacifist power, encouraged by CEC analysts whose intelligence reports of little to no change in raw and manufactured materials trade meant the absence of war production. This wasn't the first such operation the humans conducted, and they were becoming rather common as the tone and conduct of the Hyper War worsened and 'Join or Die' became standard operating procedure.
But the politically aloof Equestrian state was not completely blind to foreign affairs or the inevitable trajectory of galactic tensions. Military expansion remained modest, but had been growing for years before the outbreak of war. The lack of urgency or immediate change in Equestria media and economics was not an elaborate scheme, but rather the historically standard tendency of the Princesses to plan for the long term and act calmly to avoid provoking panic.
Instead of a swift victory achieved with minimal forces against an unprepared foe, CEC invasion fleets entering Equestrian space instead found themselves facing considerably more and more prepared forces than expected. What was to be an easy conquest instead turned into a slugging match between roughly equivalent forces, leaving both in shambles. But while the CEC eventually withdrew, this would only be the start of a full decade of war.
Flaws
Coming Out The Shell (3)
Ethnic Tension (1)
Doves (1)
Hyper Specialized Worlds (1)
Refugee Crisis (2)
Preferred location: J,S,M
Declarations
Treaty Expectations: Severe military restrictions and technology transfers to prevent humans from achieving the military power that started the war.
Orbiting Races Doctrine: Uplifter
Assembly of Species Doctrine: Filibuster
Rivals: TBD
Ally: TBD
League: Equality
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Changeling Empire
Changelings are a quadrepedal, buglike species that despite chitinous appearance are completely different in internal function. Rather than typical biological functions, Changelings are instead a species made on solidified psionic energy. This unique makeup makes them resistant to many biological and environmental issues and provides a wide variety of psionic abilities if trained. But consequently they depend on psionic energy as a food source, putting them in the exclusive (and reviled) category of psychovores, consuming the psionic energy of sapients to survive.
The unique makeup of Changelings gives them various unusual traits.
In reproduction, they lay eggs like many bugs, but may use only their own psionic energy to create an offspring but not creating a clone as is typical with asexual reproduction.
Alternatively, they may use a victim's psionic energy to create a 'mixed' offspring with personality traits more closely in line with the victim. As a monogender species, all Changelings are capable of reproduction, but among Queens, both the leaders and designated mothers of the majority of Changelings, size also becomes deceptive. Unlike the enormous egg-bloated forms of true insectoid Queens, Changeling Queens are only slightly larger than other Changelings and yet rapidly manifest in huge quantities eggs through pure psionic energy. This centralization of reproduction is made possible by energy collection from Changeling Hive members to their Queen, serving both a reproductive, ceremonial, and political purpose all at once.
A third style of reproduction is often speculated at by many species, usually in a hostile manner. Disgused Changelings known as Inflitrators operate secretly in prey societies and during their missions they may [REDACTED BY ORDER OF THE QUEENS]
In hunting, the pure psionic makeup of Changelings can be desolidified at will to be reshaped into a new form. Typically copying known larger creatures for combat or known friendly creatures for stealth, this shapeshifting is where the Changelings get their name. More conventional acts of psionic combat and manipulation are also able to be performed by Changelings, but only the richest and specifically trained often make use of this, as it is an expenditure better used as food in most circumstances and is considered highly wasteful.
Government
Since its founding long ago when the hive of Vesalipolis united the Changeling Lands to conquer the homeworld of Changelingia, the Changeling Empire has remained a federal state, albeit a highly centralized one. While the ultimate, unlimited authority of Vesalipolis and its Queen remains to this day, it is used sparingly and each Hive remains largely independent in internal affairs. Queens and the Hives they represent are the center of Changeling politics, with each Hive being the direct offspring or relative of their Queen and the Queens having authority over all matters. For this reason, the Ruling Queen of Vesalipolis carefully considers the (often contradicting) positions of the Major Queens of Ditrysium, Soryth, Lyctida, Vraks, and Greneclyf before making decisions. Minor Queens compete to maintain their Hive's relevance and independence, lest they become colonial Vassal Queens to other hives should they fail.
The always shifting nature of Changeling politics keeps any change to this status quo temporary, and even the categorizations themselves are unofficial, with their exact meanings and members always being subject to change and conspiracy.
Core
Drive 7: No Changeling is alone. Every bug of a Hive is a sister, every other Hive a cousin, and every single Changeling an ally in a galaxy opposed to their existence. Though every Changeling is an independent being capable of their own actions, disagreements, and even crimes, they still have mothers, and the Queens give clear commands to their children.
Domain 3: Food is always the primary concern of the Empire. The livestock population places a strict limit on maximum population level that guarantees chaos if exceeded.
Military 8: Everything in war is subject to disruption, confusion, misdirection, mistakes, and more. War at a basic level is change. What Changelings lack in raw physical power they make up with sheer tenacity as nothing seems to truly phase them. A Changeling is at home in war, as it is in every other environment.
Technology
Drive 2: Conversion is an atypical twist on conventional uploading technology. Where many species sought to transform their own kind into a sturdy mechanical minds, the Changelings sought out food by turning the mechanical minds of the galaxy back into physical, edible, forms. While successful, its value as a food source turned out to be limited by the difficulty of successfully capturing and decrypting artificial intelligences. Instead conversion became an easy source of recruitment, as modifications to the technology instead allowed any sophont to be reembodied as a Changeling themselves. It is the ultimate type of assimilation.
Domain 1: Despite being an inherently psionic species, remarkably little Changeling technology is psionic in nature owing to the far greater value of psionic energy as a food source. Conventional machines provide the backbone of the Changeling economy, while 'livestock' do double duty as sources of both food and cheap labor.
Military 3: Princesses are an ancient style of warrior recreated for modern warfare. Originally the potential heirs of Queens fed a notable fraction of their power and sent to the frontlines to prove themselves in frontline combat, the development of mechanized warfare made them too expensive and risky to risk. The success of HADES in the Hyper War pushed the entire galaxy to look at supersoldier projects, and it wasn't long until Princesses were reconsidered for warfare. The simple, though expensive, creation process of new Princesses, consisting simply of feeding elite soldiers enormous amounts of food and providing advanced psionic combat training, meant that they were in extreme demand during the early stages of the war. Though pushed to the front to serve as an outnumbered stop-gap in the Hyper War, the Princesses have since been given extended training periods allowing for more advanced psionic technique, though they remain less numerous than many foreign supersoldier attempts.
LowPsionics are the exception to the usual reliance on conventional technology. Seen almost exclusively in military equipment to excuse the cost in vital psionic energy, low psionics focus on using the simplest, lowest power psionic technology to replace what would otherwise be much more expensive, maintainance heavy, and/or disposable conventional technology. Low psionics encompasses a wide range of developments, some notable ones including frictionless bearings, durable yet high purity air filters, and even self-cleaning, self-loading, repeating militia rifles which are otherwise primitive bolt-action weapons.
Flaws
Haves and Have Nots: Legend says that far back during prehistory, the very first Changelings organized a society into various roles. Most hunted, others built, some lead, and a small, select few became Queens. Queendom then was nothing more than the basic insect variety, laying eggs while protected in the center of the Hive. But one ambitious Queen wanted more, committing the ultimate crime of hoarding the life energy and food of the Hive she was fed rather than laying as obligated. Furious bugs calling themselves leaders confronted her for dereliction of duty, demanding she fulfill her role or be replaced. The Queen replied harshly, releasing the energy she was given for her work as a deadly blast of psionic energy instead, obliterating the bugs that thought themselves superiors.
Ever since, the Queens themselves controlled the Hives, demanding all the food for themselves only to be redistributed by their own will. Every Changeling seeks the favor of the Queens, and those particularly successful are sometimes even be allowed enough food to perform the most basic psionic feats of the Queens.
Caste System: Any Changeling may live up to their name and earn a different role in a society based on merit. But every Changeling must also eat. Below the Changelings of the Empire lay carefully cultivated underclasses; literally in the case of Livestock species, and politically in the case of refugees and immigrants required to pay a 'tax' of their psionic life energy.
Hyper Specialized Worlds:Hive Worlds represent by far the majority of Changeling species population and the Empire's industry. These densely populated economic and political centers are more in line with the largest of greater empires, yet find themselves in a sea of sparsely populated planets.
Farm Worlds are the numerous, destitute, and underpopulated planets founded to support the Hives. These worlds are populated almost exclusively by Livestock species and are deliberately kept small and underdeveloped so that their small Changeling occupation forces can guarantee stability and drain the populace of psionic energy to feed the Hives.
Trade Worlds are rare in the Empire but have been steadily increasing in number since the Hyper War forced galactic cooperation. These economic centers are former Farm Worlds or new colonies discovered to have lucrative resources and have developed their economies to exploit those resources to the utmost, as well as sell them both to the Hives and abroad. In recent years many trade worlds have become home to a mostly immigrant and refugee population, as they are the most aligned with the galactic cultural and economic norms and are seen by the Empire as a safe way to keep other species away from core Changeling planets.
Addicted: Hunger and satiety are natural to all species, but to Changelings it is more. It is more hunger between meals. It is more euphoria and boundless energy when fed with no true cap that would leave other species sated. To be a Changeling is to want more.
Unpleasant Conduct: Everhungry workers always receive enough food to survive and perform to specification, but nobug resists the opportunity for more. As a rather innovative and enterprising species, it's no surprise many bugs feed on other species from time to time. Especially since potential targets can survive many such feedings under the proper cultivation.
Restless Warriors: Changelings physically mature rapidly, a warrior can be fully grown in just a decade if taught no other skills. Changeling populations ceilings are limited by the food supply 'farming' methods collect to meet maintenance needs. Together, these two facts collide into a horrendous numbers game in war, where Queens planning future demographics take into account estimated combat losses today when readying for tomorrow. The end of the Hyper War also meant the end of deaths in the Hyper War and the end of warriors in the Hyper War. Where other species bled their demographics white in the struggle against humanity, the Changelings bled green, a tremendous swell of soldiers ready to jump into a meat grinder that no longer exists. Soldiers that are now subsisting on absolute minimal rations to preserve national food supplies; soldiers that have absolutely no experience outside of war; children who were meant to die on the battlefield.
Declarations
Treaty Expectations:Annexation of a CEC satellite sector along with transit rights are a pittance compared to what humans truly owe the Empire, but in the spirit of peace it is an acceptable compromise.
Orbiting Races Doctrine:Exploitation of the lesser species is the only logical decision. Their very existence is at our whim. Their lands fall under our jurisdiction and protection. What right do they have not to compensate us for the expense?
Assembly of Species Doctrine:Filibuster is a necessity in the increasingly cutthroat post-war Assembly. The Assembly was vital for the war effort, but its proper use is as nothing more than a basic communications and coordination tool, not the wildly expanding and ever changing roles both the Consolidationists and even Traditionalists are trying to push. Every expanding Assembly power is a threat to the Empire that must be prevented.
Affiliation
League:Prosperity is the way to a steady food supply. Where boundless ambition and ideals of other factions open warfronts, prosperity opens cargo bays and border crossings. Both paths to infiltration and reliable hunting grounds.
Location: D,X,C
War History
The coming Hyper War was obvious to the Changelings, who above all else kept eyes everywhere and and a hoof on the emotional pulse of the galaxy. The very same political and military weaknesses the CEC would go on to exploit were ones the Changelings had long considered themselves but lacked the power to use. Yet it was clear aligning with the CEC was not an option; the humans were too aggressive, too arrogant, and too spiteful for long-term cooperation to be trusted. Thus, war began in the shadows.
Knowing they were unable to directly contest the CEC, and being dangerously close to the front lines, Changeling efforts focused on deception. Leaked reports, suspicious purchases, targets propaganda efforts and more were tools used to manipulate both the CEC and its future victims. Stopping the CEC wasn't feasible as a strategy, so instead the goal was turning it somewhere else. Sure, a few smaller species went on high alert after one false-flag attack or another and startled the CEC into a preemptive strike, but dead species tell no tales.
Soon enough, the CEC and its allies were in constant war across the galaxy and the Changeling Empire, coincidentally, remained at peace, blocked enemy movements, and traded resources favorably to the CEC. This persisted for several years, leaving the Changelings as a largely forgotten front as the war expanded.
It wasn't until Changeling warships assaulted CEC territories without warning, followed by Coalition fleets given free access, that the humans realized their mistake.
Polity: Changeling Empire
Species: Changelings
Core Stats
Drive: 7
Domain: 3
Military: 8
Technology
-Drive: 2
-Domain: 1
-Military: 3
Flaws
Haves and Have Nots (1)
Caste System (1)
Hyper Specialized Worlds (1)
Addicted (2)
Unpleasant Conduct (2)
Restless Warriors (2)
Preferred location: D,X,C
Declarations
Treaty Expectations: Annexation of a CEC satellite sector and transit rights to it.
Orbiting Races Doctrine: Exploiter
Assembly of Species Doctrine: Filibuster
Rivals: TBD
Ally: TBD
League: Prosperity
Blizzetans: An insectoid species reminiscent of moths that had emerged from their namesake homeworld; Blizzeta. Adapted to cold and chilly environments, lethargic but functional outside of it. Aggressive and territorial, this has translated into a confrontational and oftentimes militaristic society.
Flaws:
Rogue Military [Two Points.]: The collapse of centralized authority following the Calamity of Blizzeta saw governors, generals and local authorities begin to chart their own path, their own way of resisting the Human onslaught. In the face of the enemy, many future Warlords began to temporarily coordinate under the Imperial Realignment Command. Foremost among them was the future Grand Regent, the young Kalisno. A battle mech pilot of unparalleled skill and lethality. His recovery of one of the last surviving members of the Imperial line granted him a claim to the leadership of the Command.
However, with the war over, many Warlords remain loyal to the new Imperial Government only due to mutual interest and the genuine friendship a few of them have with Kalisno. Should their interests begin to diverge from the Empress and her Regent then the Cacophony may yet again find itself in chaos.
Holdouts [Two Points.] While the Command fought bitterly against the forces of mankind, the CEC had begun to organize a collaborationist government under Gharna, the current Empress' older brother. The Reorganized Symphony of Dounir had gathered a number of nobility and clergy that had long been dissatisfied with the increasingly populistic and radical turn of the pre-war Imperial line. Symphonic Dounir as it was regularly called, after the Dounir sector, served as an able and loyal collaborator to the humans until the war turned against their favor. When the Command retook the ruins of Blizzeta, Dounir had backstabbed the humans and changed sides to the Coalition.
Now with the war over, many collaborators remain influential. Both militarily and politically with nearly a third of the seats in the Diet being held by former collaborators. While the puppet Emperor Gharna had remained loyal to the humans and died for it, many of them remain a thorn to the new government's side. Though, surely they would not go as far as to shelter and arm members of HADES squad and other CEC stay-behinds so as to undermine Imperial rule. Surely.
Wounded Lands [Two Points.]: The invasion of the Heavenly Kingdom was swift. bloody and brutal for both sides. Despite the unrelenting human advance, Imperial forces were modern and well-equipped. They exacted a bloody toll against mankind for every inch they took. But that was all they could accomplish. This would crescendo in the Calamity of Blizzeta, where a number of space colonies and stations orbiting the Homeworld, were deorbited and sent crashing into the planet. This combined with a saturated bombardment of the surface would make the birthplace of Blizzeta-kind near uninhabitable.
With the war over, nearly all of the Cacophony's worlds had faced infrastructural damage from the war. Even the collaborator worlds did not escape unscathed from the spite of mankind.
Doves [One Point.]: The ruin and devastation brought by the Hyper War had shaken the hearts of many, even the mightiest warriors felt despair and sorrow at the state of the Cacophony. How many coped and made peace with their reality varied, but for the new Empress and those who followed her, there was but one answer. Peace. Now and Forever More. To her and another third of the Diet, the Empire must turn inwards to repair and rebuild the damage wrought. As well as to address the long social ills and inequalities of Blizzetan Society and the Galactic Scene as a whole. It is only in that last part does she and her Grand Regent agree.
Restless Warriors [Two points]: But to the Grand Regent and many of the Warlords, now is a once in a lifetime opportunity. The reconstruction and rejuvenation of the Empire is at hand, all they have to do is seize it. Whether from mankind or from elsewhere. If the Grand Regent is unable to balance the myriad factors tearing at the Cacophony then the urge for battle and for glory may turn inwards.
Declarations:
What you expect to get from the humans at the treaty:
Despite the protests of Her Grace and the Diet, many Blizzetans, from the lowliest mechanic to the Grand Regent himself, demand their pound of flesh from humanity. Large amounts of industrial and military equipment, harsh economic reparations and a number of sectors nearest to Cacophonic Space. A number would even go as far as demanding the coalition let the moon continue deorbiting and eventually crash into Earth.
Your factions opinion on the orbiting races: Uplifter
Opinion on the Assembly of Species role: Consolidator Antaran Imperial Sovereignty: Sar Cerisin
The Blizzetans were one of many races that the ancient Antarans had uplifted and used as shock troopers for their Empire. Religious records claim that the 17th Antaran Empire had arrived in what would become the Blizzeta sector, finding a planet trapped in a vicious internecine conflict. The Antarans would 'save' the young species from its own destruction, elevating the Blizzetans to a vassal race, and christening the sector to Sar Cerisin for the cold and freezing environments of the Blizzatan Homeworld and its people would be known to the Antarans as Cerisins.
The 17th Empire would for thousands of years deploy Cerisin soldiers as auxiliaries and shocktroopers all across their Empire, suppressing rebellions, fighting off invasions and putting out bushfires. All the while, the exploitation and inequality in the Blizzetan Homeworld would worsen and worsen, this combined with the continued encroachment of Antaran settlements would lead to near centuries of violence and rebellion.
Eventually one of them succeeded.
The 17th Empire would be expelled from the Blizzetan Sectors after a brutal prolonged struggle. The victorious rebels would go on to found the Imperial line of the Heavenly Cacophony. The old Conduit of the Empire used to connect Blizzeta to the wider galaxy was destroyed in the Antaran retreat. The new Cacophony would decide not to repair the Antaran Conduit, deciding to spend centuries in isolation before finally managing to construct their own. It has only been a little over half a millenia after the Blizzetans had reemerged in Galactic Politics. And to their dismay, the masters remained. Weakened, yes, but remained nonetheless.
The Cacophony had remained hostile to the Antaran remnant, only ceasing its hostility when first the Ulvors and later the Humans would serve as greater threats to the Cacophony. The moniker 'Cerisin' had remained in parlance as a slur to be used against traitors and collaborators. One that saw much use during the Hyper War.
With the war over, the Grand Regent looks on in both suspicion and worry as the Antarans shake off millennia of rust and decay. The Cacophony is willing to pay a heavy price to see that Blizzeta remains Blizzeta, and for Cerisin to remain a memory.
Sadu Schudda:
For the Cacophony, the Hyper was as much apocalyptic Foreign Invasion as it was a Dissonance, the Blizzetan word for large scale civil strife and conflict. A civil war in all but name. Various conservative and reactionary elements of Blizzetan society had long grown dissatisfied and irate at the populistic and centralizing tone of the Blizzetan homeworld and the Imperial line, divinity or no divinity. So when said Blizzetan homeworld fell 4 years into the Hyper War, the CEC found themselves a cohort of eager collaborators.
Reorganized into the Symphonic Dounir, the collaborator regime would rule up to 60-70% of all the pre-war Blizzetan Worlds at its height. And what eager collaborators they were, Dounir warships and battle mechs would be deployed all across the Hyper War, Blizzetans serving once more as auxiliaries and shocktroopers. The Dounir Emperor Gharna would even make regular visits to New Babylon to pay tribute to the Supreme Commander. These deployments however would slowly and inexorably bleed Dounir white, weakening them in the then ongoing civil war with the Imperial Realignment Command.
It is one of those deployments that is quickly becoming a headache for the post-war Imperial Government. During the war, the NHO would find the various planets and sectors of the Sadu Schudda "uninhabited", either unaware or uncaring of the nomadic nature of the Sadu. The CEC, alongside their clients in the regimes of King Skitterlock and Emperor Gharna would see these virgin worlds and begin a resettlement program. The fact that the new routes secured by this action would allow the NHO to support and resupply its northernmost front without having to go through Paxillus Space was a bonus.
But Sadu space was very much not uninhabited. This truth was delivered to the new settlers via mass orbital bombardment.
With the war over, the new Imperial Government has inherited this crisis from Dounir. Currently it is estimated that over ten million Blizzetan settlers were relocated to Sadu space. And the Sadu, rightfully in the Grand Regent eyes, view these settlers and their communities as holdouts and stay-behinds for the CEC. The remaining Dounir Politicians and Admirals who had turned coat at the recapture of Blizzeta want these settlers either secured or rescued back to the Cacophony. The Empress and her followers want these settlers repatriated back home or at least the bombardments stopped. The Grand Regent isn't particularly eager to welcome back millions of "Cerisins" to the Cacophony, who'll likely jump into the arms of Dounir the moment they come home.
But it is out of his hands, and even if he delays, obstructs and obfuscates making a decision on the matter. His Admirals might have other ideas…
And two allies: New Consociation of Kuhanaʾ
Relations between the Blizzetans and the people of Kuhana goes back to when both were Antaran dependencies. While the Cacophony had shaken off the yoke of Antaran domination, under the First Empress, Kuhana had remained under the thumb of foreign rule. Due to this, over the millennia, a large community of Makwano' exiles had settled in the Cacophony, many would integrate into Blizzetan culture but just as would form around an emigre identity. Obsessed with an idealized Kuhana and the liberation of their homeland.
Throughout those millennia, the influence of the Makwano diaspora would wax and wane, as Imperial support for an effort to pry Kuhana off from its current occupier varied throughout the years. It had reached its apex within recent centuries during the fall of the Ulvor. A Blizzetan backed expeditionary force made up of those exiles sought to liberate a homeland that had not seen in millennia. They would come into conflict with the new masters of Kuhana. Humanity.
Beaten back militarily by CEC fleets, the Fuschia Banner as it was called, would slink back to Cacophonic space. The Third Kuhana Incident, as the battle would be known, would color Human and Blizzetan interactions in the years leading up to the Hyper War, as the thorough thrashing delivered by CEC forces would lead to a period of military modernization, expansion and centralization. Heightening the tensions between the Blizzetan nobility and the Imperial seat.
During the war these same exile communities and forces would fight on the side of the Imperial Realignment Command, some of Kalisno's most loyal and capable soldiers. With the war over and Kuhana freed for the first time in its history, many of these diaspora communities arrive at a homeworld unfamiliar and alien to them.
A pillar of his regime, Kalisno finds unflinching support from these exiles in the political battlefield. This has translated into a rather supportive if patronizing stance towards the young Convocation. Even if their Antaraphilia grates on his nerves.
Minzotl Co-Prosperity Sphere:
Admiral Kess, Right Hand of the Grand Regent, the Scarlet Star, and Commander of the Cyan Banner was technically a collaborator.
Graduating from the Imperial Military Academy as a Pilot, mere months before the fall of Blizzata, the young Cadet Kess served with distinction during the bloody fighting for the capital. Shooting down three enemy mechs and sinking a CEC corvette. She was left behind after the frantic retreat from the Blizzeta sector by the forces that would later make up the Commands. captured as a PoW, she was saved from a grizzly fate by her father, the Count of Seiss, a leading political figure in the new collaborator regime.
In exchange for a stay of execution she would serve in the expeditionary forces that Dounir would deploy across the Galaxy in the Hyper War. Fighting on nearly every front, her capacity for leadership and deadly skill in a Battle Mech would see her rapidly rise through the ranks of the Expeditionary Forces.
Unbeknownst to her superiors her rise was facilitated through her calculated betrayals and murders of both her commanding officers and squad-mates. Frequently leaking information and intel to the coalition and local rebels. Her skullduggery was eventually discovered wherein she would barely escape with her life, finding refuge amongst Tzaol's rebels.
She would train his forces in void combat and Dounir tactics in exchange for safe harbor. Officially defecting and fighting for the Coalition from then on. She would reunite with her best friend and fellow graduate, Kalisno, during the liberation of Blizzeta as the official Coalition liaison to the Command.
With the war over, Kess finds herself as the right hand of the Grand Regent which she has used to solidfy an alliance with the Minzotl Co-Prosperity Sphere. The fact that it lets her hang out with her erstwhile students is just a bonus.
Deployments:
SOL EXPEDITIONARY FORCE: (Deployed in Sol)
Azure Banner led by Grand Regent Kalisno and Admiral Kess(4 Fleets, 4 Armies) (Loyal to the Grand Regent)
Dounir 2nd Fleet led by Admiral Noa (2 Fleets) (Loyal to Symphonic Dounir)
THE HOMEFRONT:
Imperial Command led by Foremost Admiral Karn (3 Fleets, 3 Armies) (Combined Force, Various Loyalties) (Located in Blizzeta)
Cyan Banner led by Vice Admiral Hatte (1 Fleets, 1 Armies) (Loyal to the Grand Regent) (Located in Kleon)
Indigo Banner led by Admiral Xhar (1 Fleets, 1 Armies) (Loyal to Munzo Clique) (Located in Munzo)
Violet Banner led by Admiral Vasilik (1 Fleets, 1 Armies) (Loyal to Loum Clique) (Located in Loum)
Dounir 1st Fleet led by Admiral Sricoco (2 Fleets, 4 Armies) (Loyal to Symphonic Dounir)
Species:The Hissrach. There are old species. And then there are old species. The Hissrach are so ancient that they put shame to the word. When the stars were young they were maybe here even then — changeless and enigmatic, a people of dogma and ritual, wondered and feared. Before most other races walked the galaxy, they spread silent and alone across the conduits, and found them wanting. They waxed, they waned, there was a glory. Now, most of what is said of them is merely mystery and supposition.
They live some hundreds of years, it has been told, and they may speak to each other mind to mind, and they have seen countless empires rise and fall, and their machinations are timeless. Of their physical forms, even less is known. They are gigantic, according to some reports, beaked titans with massive limbs and stony skin, who stud their pale skins with hieroglyphs.
As with all legends, this is all only mostly true.
The Hissrach are old, yes — so old that their nations have risen and fallen and fallen and risen a dozen dozen times over, leaving only those who remained ignorant of their own history. They are changeless, yes, but their traditions have long since ossified into ignorance. They are enigmatic, to be certain, but sullen and suspicious also. Their homeworld has slid into near-disrepair, it's ancient preservation systems only partly maintained by adepts who know nothing of their function. Their population has long since declined into the low tens of millions. Perhaps one new Hissrach child is born a year.
But the legends are dead wrong on two points: The Hissrach do not live for a mere few hundred years, and they have shut themselves off from the stars for a very, very long time.
No more.
Government: The Septarchy. There is a Hissrach religion, old and inscrutable. There are seven ancient masters in seven ancient temples, who croak black wisdom passed down across half a million years, and are tended to day and night by legions of priests in white robes.
Like all things Hissrach, they are obsolete. Perhaps they are gods. Perhaps they only spoke for gods which have been forgotten since before man learned the wheel. Regardless, they have been silent for over a thousand years. Yet, laws and codes still filter down from the stone monoliths. The priest cults direct armies, pass judgements, and send dark ships spinning across the stars in the name of their sleeping masters. Theirs is a bureaucracy slow, mysterious, and ritualistic — as unchanging and obscure as the Hissrach themselves.
It is a strange system, but it has persevered for millennia. Perhaps it will last for millennia more.
Stats:
Drive: 4 The priesthood maintains it's grip, even as it's millennia old systems buckle from the strain of war. A delicate and ancient equilibrium begins to fray.
Domain: 1 The Hissrach had an empire, once. Now, the homeworld, already stagnant, has been scarred by war and reels from grievous population losses.
Military: 10 The sentient crucible ships of the Hissrach are known across the galaxy. The war-looms, it is said, turn day and night, fabricating terrible machines with disgusting ease. Certainly, there are less and less soldiers to crew them each century, but with weapons like this, who needs warriors?
Technology:
-Drive: 2 The Hissrach faith is one of the oldest dogmas in existence. It's scriptures are written into the skin of every Hissrach child. If nothing else, ancient tradition will hold them together.
-Domain: 1 The Hissrach are stagnant. They have been stagnant for a very long time.
-Military: 3 The Hissrach might be counted among the gods, if they still remembered how. They are playing with the toys of their ancestors, but those toys are magnificent indeed.
Player League: Independent
Flaws:
Low Yield: The rate of procreation of your people is painfully slow with the population growth less than ideal and making maintaining population during times of trouble a nightmare.
One Hissrach child is born each year. Usually. They take entire generations of other species to grow to adulthood. A single loss is irreplaceable.
Caste System: Your society, for whatever reason, is strictly divided into different segments. Many die in the caste they were born in, leaving society stratified and rigid.
There are some two hundred and nine castes in Hissrach society. The twenty priestly castes are on the top. Your caste specifies your job, your responsibilities, your appearance, your mates. Everything in it's place, and everything a place.
Political Gridlock: For some reason a facet of your government system doesn't really work and you have to accomplish things through arcane workarounds.
The gods are dead, or asleep. In their place is a religious bureaucracy several thousand years old. It is a wonder anything gets done at all.
Coming Out The Shell: Since the very day your people have left their home star system, you have always kept to yourselves. This policy of isolation has only deepened over the years, leaving you with only a token dignitary to the Assembly of Species as your connection to the galactic community. This would have continued had the Great War not forced a change, and shoved your people out into the open.The carefully constructed barrier between your people and the outside galaxy is being torn with ideas and items set to cause immense ripples in your society.
The Hissrach warrior castes came through the Hyper War and the Battle of Hiss with strange ideas and stories. They agitate the masses, defy the most fundamental caste-rites, and even dare to scorn the directives of the Septarchs. Surely, once they have settled back into their proper position in society, the force of tradition will set in, and things will return to normal. They always do.
Preferred location: I, H, S
Declarations:
The humans must be made to pay indemnities, and broken at the knees. They must be forced to assist in the rebuilding of Hiss. The rebuilding of Hiss is the first priority. No deal may be agreed to which does not involve the rebuilding of Hiss.
Opinion on the role of the Assembly of Species:
Filibuster: Your people have always been skeptical of the Assembly with it proclaiming itself as the deciding factor in the galaxy. Why your people are in it is a mystery to many of its members but there is wisdom about being inside the big tent rather than standing outside of it. You seek to leave the Assembly, its abolishment or stay around to ensure that it never bothers your people's dreams and livelihoods.
We are the Hissrach. They are not.
Opinions about the Orbiting Races:
Shunner: The orbiting races are something to be ignored, they are unworthy of your time. One day they could be important, not today and you are very busy.
Due to the species having such short lives they view anything which can grant someone a form of immortality like a great work, fine craftsmanship or glory in conflict as a good.
The Universal Fraternity of the Children of the Precursors
-Domain: 3 (2 flaw points): Advanced Genetic/biological Engineering, both for species creation, terraforming and even self modification. The fact that one of the most advanced geneticist species in the Galaxy was wiped out by a plague has led to speculation (™)
The Zane would 100% have been like "boy those short lives are so unfair, let us help you (and make you part of our castes)". Or would have if they weren't basically all dead.
"Members of the species: Human. Please do not open your weapons platforms on our spinnerets. We come in peace and love, under hallowed directives, resurrecting after millennia to add our silver voices to the song of a recovered galaxy."
-Last recorded message of the Ancestral Web-host before the Sack of Paradise
"Wake up. The dream is dead."
- Opening psalm of the Spool of Atrocities.
"I am hearing that on his capture Admiral Kalani received the silk of heaven and unhesitatingly recited the right to protect. Even now she looks down on the Mission from the gardens of the Webway. Truly there is no path but Peace, and the Axiom is its prophet!"
- Seamster-General 87 Sophontic Liberator, on the destruction of the CEC Fifth Fleet in the seventh year of the Hyper-War.
Species: The Axiomtender Platform is an eight-legged clockwork machine constructed in an age before, the echo of a time when the galaxy was in the midst of a terrible crisis. 50,000 years ago, before the current assembly system, before the humans, before the Ulvor Union, before the hiveminds, there was a great and terrible threat, old machines that sought to exterminate the whole of the galactic community. In their desperation, the creators of the Axiomtenders designed the platform, and their foremost creation - silk. Silk is a combination empathic network and superluminal host of uploaded minds. It is heaven and the internet combined.
A biomechanical symbiote which joins with organic and synthetic beings through ingestion, silk allows for a low-cost cloud network of the dead to support the living. Called the webway, this network serves as a house of wisdom, a forum of debate, and the font of love and compassion from which the Axiom was born. As the galaxy's species were exterminated and another cycle of the wheel began, the Axiom Project sought to save as much as could be into the webway. Platforms would act as mobile systems for uploads to interact with the galaxy, whilst internally they floated within the silkspace of the web.
Once the webway had been assembled, the great webfleets and spinnerets responsible for its maintenance went into a hibernation in a shield-world, awaiting the recovery of the galaxy. They hoped, one day, when their sensors had picked up sufficient conduit activity, to send out a signal to a renewed community, and rejoin it, in peace and love. Instead, fifty years ago, they found humanity. Acting quickly to assess the threat of these longlegs, the Human Fifth Fleet immolated their spinneret ships and did incomrehensible damage to the cultural heritage of dead civilizations. Whole sections of memory were entirely destroyed within minutes as human destroyers and cruisers vaporized drowsy Webfleet crews and sleeping civilians. All told, around 89% of the entire Axiom Project's dormant mass was destroyed within two earth hours. In the theology of the Axiom, this event is referred to as the Sack of Paradise.
In the aftermath, the Axiom changed. The webway, filled to the brim with the newly dead and the fragments of their loved ones saved too late, begged for revenge. The Peacemasters of the Axiom, forged in a cooperative and optimistic galactic project of preservation, became the prophets of jihad. To ensure peace, war. To ensure freedom, a sword. Displaced and wandering the galaxy, the Axiom became the tip of the spear of anti-human operations as regulation became theological truth, joining every imaginable coalition against them and viciously preaching of the end of human thought and human mind. Under a governing council of monk-generals known as the Loom, the Axiom acted to protect the galaxy from the threat of the New History Organization.
Committed to a "vision of galactic peace", and militantly spreading silk into human civilian concentrations, whereupon local humans became delighted to join the vision of galactic peace, the Axiom has been a mainstay of the coalition's efforts to present a more righteous and moral face even as it wages a total war. Growing suspicions of how the process of silk ingestion affects cognition, and the truth of the Axiom Project's original true mission, are dubious and unfounded. The Divine Axiom is committed, above all, to the right to protect - to ensure the horror it was subjected to never happens again. And they have a permanent solution to this problem.
But with the war over, the principles instilled in the survivors of the Sack of Paradise remain. And with humanity vanquished, there still remains a community which is not totally engaged with the beauty of their vision of galactic peace. This will require significant peace-directed jihad.
Government: The Axiom is a quasi-monastic military bureaucracy with three significant pillars: The Mandate Nidus, responsible for mandate management, proselytizing, and diplomacy, the Command Loom, the supreme theological and military authority, and the Gossamer, the vast deliberative democratic advisory within the ranks of the ancestral silk. Members of the Command Loom are chosen through a combination of support from the Gossamer and approval for promotion by superiors, and a system of ranks extends to the very lowest soul to the very top of the hierarchy, either in the civilian ranks of the Nidus or the military ones of the Loom.
The first among equals of the Command Loom is the Seamster-General. At this level of rank these are cloud-intelligences, uploads which can seamlessly move between physical platforms and the virtual world of the silk. It is very uncommon, however, for a soul that has made the full jump to the silk to ever return - long periods of time away from platforms leaves many of these ancestors loath to descend again from heaven, and they are not expected to. After a tenure of years in the Command Loom, old generals will be expected to retire to the Silk and not return, to make way for new blood.
Stats
Drive: 5. The war is over and yet the collective depression and mourning of the webway remains. With the defeat of humanity, the Axiom struggles for new purpose. The webway is alight with division and questions about how the Axiom should proceed from here, what its new mission should be - and where it should act next to protect the rights of all sophont beings. Domain: 3. The resources of a vast shieldworld were available to the Axiom Overwatch webfleet when it went into hibernation - and subsequently, near to 90% of those resources were destroyed. Forced into displacement, the Axiom relies on levying tariffs, taxation, and production requests from its wartorn mandate conduit it has wrested from human control and which it rules with a light hand. Certainly, the Axiom searches for new and wealthy patrons to support its peacekeeping efforts. Military: 10. Even before the destruction of 9/10ths of the fleet, the Axiom was a battle-hardened collection of the survivors of omnicide. After fifty years of almost constant warfare against humanity and its allies, war is all the peacekeepers know. The result is a terrifyingly effective military force with the webway's advice and experience offering the ghostly advice of one million strategic platforms.
Technology
Drive: 3
All of the Axiom's drive technologies are bound up in the Webway, an empathic network of communication, preservation, and memory, the cloud-computing nexus of the Axiom. Entrance into the webway is generally performed via ingestion of the infant silk symbiote, which then attaches itself to the nervous system. Ingestion of the silk must generally be done by consent, but how that consent is achieved is not always seen as ethical by non-users. Exit from the silk is possible, but often traumatic. In most species, the silk creates a visual indicator in causing the iris to glow, in an effect described by humans as an eclipse. The silk is stored in physical memory servers called spinnerets which are generally escorted by Axiom fleets or hidden in deep space.
The Strandforms the lowest layer of the webway. When the silk burrows into the nervous system it provides users with a sympathetic, almost telepathic layer of connection to others in the webway. Their feelings and yours can be shared, their memories your memories, their thoughts your thoughts. Species without eyes can see through theirs, and ways of being can be understood across biological and cultural barriers forged by thousands of years. It is also a mass entertainment and joy-producing system, a social network based on collective love and compassion for one another that makes it difficult to leave once joined, and more difficult to understand those who have not partaken of its wonders. When a silk user biologically dies, they live on immortal through their symbiote, and they are joined into the ancestral Gossamer. The strand is fortified against attack by partitions and security measures which identify intruders and pry open their thought-paths upon entry.
The Gossamer is the council of the ancestors, those silk-users whose bodies have been destroyed or decayed and who have moved on to the Axiom's heaven. Returning to a new, machine platform is common in the Gossamer, but frowned upon when done by the true elders, those ancestors whose voices carry extreme weight in the assembly. Operating on a direct-democratic advisory system, the gossamer is a social deliberative and discussion network where strong argument, charisma, and wisdom are prioritized, as well as an adherence to ancient traditions. Within the virtual system, these disembodied souls live rapid lives at silicon-speeds, and so over time become more and more accustomed to a fully digital existence, even as they retain a connection to 'fleshspace' through their consultation and advice to platforms conducting the Axiom's mission.
The Lattice is the archive of memory retaining the fragments and cultural existences of now-long vanished peoples and civilizations. Entire simulated virtual worlds exist within its bounds, and it is encouraged that platforms study this vast library of social knowledge in order to remind themselves of the Axiom's past and absorb information to forward its future. Since the reawakening of the Axiom and the destruction of 90% of the silk's processing power, the lattice is a graveyard of half-backups and ghosts which forms a weight of existential depression weighing over the entire polity. Virtual intelligences help sort these memories and distribute them to those who seek them, sometimes allowing for platforms to adopt the personalities of long-dead heroes in emergency situations. The lattice also stores backups of uploads, allowing for survival even when physical storage has been destroyed.
Domain: 1. The Mandate System is the government which the Axiom has established within the domain it now formally controls, around a conduit previously controlled by the humans and their allies. It is a hybrid command-market economy where essential goods are provided through dispensaries and production is directed by Mandate Secretariats, but where local governments have significant say in consultation with the Seamster-General. The Axiom operates as a police, peacekeeping force, and military hegemon over the territory it controls, drawing recruits only from those who accept the silk. Military: 2. Axiom Overwatch is the formal name of the integrated ground-and-space combat network operated by the Axiom webfleets. It allows for rapid light-speed communications through local iterations of the webway, extreme collective morale and for unnervingly coordinated response times from local fireteams. While not up to par with the most advanced and powerful military technologies destroyed by humanity in the Sack of Paradise, Overwatch offers an already-disturbingly skilled military the tools it needs to punch far above its weight in numbers. Silk Saturation Bombing is the typical tactic deployed by the Axiom on civilian-heavy grid-squares on occupied planets. Silk is released from orbits through strands in a mature juvenile form. In this form silk consumes biomass, expands across a landscape and seeks out high-density brain matter, cocooning any sophonts caught within its web and connecting them to the Partition, a rehabilitative virtual holding space and refugee camp until the end of hostilities. This silk, tough and resistant to both thermal and kinetic damage, also doubles to reshape local landscapes to the Axiom's preference. Player League:Freedom. Peace is a non-negotiable prerequisite to the liberation of sophont beings from oppression. In order to achieve peace, allies have been ascertained. Allies are offered to eat silk pastries with delicious silk inside of them. Please eat the silk. You don't want to eat the silk? Very well. We will ask again at tomorrow's conference and table this discussion.
Flaws:
Ethnic Tension [One Point]. The Mandate System controls previously human-oppressed orbital sectors around a conduit which has been seized directly from the Coordinated Euphrates Command's hands. The local species here were subject to divide-and-conquer tactics and tacitly encouraged to commit atrocities against one another in the closing stages of the Hyper War to destabilize resistance to human occupation. Peacekeeping operations attempting to ensure a prevention of a repeat of significant explosions of atrocity are challenging. Haves and Have-Nots [One Point]. The single most fundamental division in the Axiom is between those who have swallowed the silk and those who have not. Whether out of philosophical objection, superstitition, fear, or the Axiom's own worry about overwhelming the silk with too many converts that might change its culture, the Axiom presides over a bifurcated society where political power rests with the silk. Local mandate governments and civilian populations may be treated with a chivalrous condescension or even the polite diplomacy of an honest mediator, but they are never true partners in the mission - not until they have eaten the silk. While the Axiom has a keen sympathy for these populations, it comes from a place of chauvinistic superiority - it sees itself as a more evolved lifeform, that seeks to add the biological and cultural distinctiveness of the galaxy to itself. Displaced People [Three Points]. The Axiom is a temporal refugee whose original way of life was destroyed before the current galactic community was even established. They exist on the basis of their commitment to the coalition and have been financially supported by various civilizations in order to spite humanity. Although they retain great prestige for their part in the war against the humans, they remain a small minority military concentration governing populations who were previously unfamiliar with them. This creates significant problems for establishing themselves as a major force in the galaxy. Refugee Crisis [Two Points]. The Divine Axiom's prerogatives towards peacekeeping and their unwillingness to say no to taking refugees shipped to them by other less ethical coalition members has created a major refugee crisis in Axiom space as enormous shipments of refugees have been sent to them by 'appreciative' members of the coalition who would rather not deal with the dregs of the defeated powers. Governing this influx in the midst of the other issues the Axiom is managing is not easy, and their resources are strained. Restless Warriors [Two points]. At some point during the half-century of the Axiom's existence in the current galactic community, they somewhat lost the sauce around what peacekeeping is and have become an extremely militant group of warrior monk blue helmets with a deep urge to intervene to prevent atrocity. Now, that these interventions invariably use massive amounts of force and massed attack by webfleets is probably a coincidence and has nothing to do with an analogy about hammers and nails.
Preferred location: Y, W, U.
Declarations
What you expect to get from the humans at the treaty: Failing a formal mandate over Sol, significant human refugee populations and human military assets and economic technologies will be obtained and sent to support the Divine Axiom's mandate. Your factions opinion on the orbiting races: Uplifter. Species must be given the tools to ascend into the galactic community and join in partnership with the Axiom's mission. Opinion on the Assembly of Species' role: Consolidator. Peace can be ensured by the maintenance of a non-anarchic interstate system. Two rivals for your polity:
The Maxifun Omniconglomerate was the Axiom's first major patron in the galaxy. The Axiom initially misjudged Maxifun as a pacific and joy-oriented polity that sought to spread a happiness throughout the conduits, albeit with a peculiar economic system (corporate capitalism had been outdated by autonomous financial engines during the Axiom's first era of existence). However, their actions as security services increasingly soured the Axiom on Maxifun's ideology, until the climax in the MaxiSilk Incident thirty-two years ago. Maxifun claimed they were simply exploring how to improve on a major technology of an honored security partner. The Axiom accused Maxifun of producing a corporate brainwashing parasite. Negotiations broke down, and the Axiom glassed the Maxifun facility responsible for MaxiSilk's manufacture, forcing Maxifun to cancel the program on pain of further retribution. The incident caused a major schism in the Axiom, with some pacifists retreating into imposed internal exile or even leaving the silk, and was a major factor in Maxifun's growing militarization before the Hyper War confirmed and accelerated the expansion of Maxsis. The Axiom sees Maxifun as their dark mirror, a manufactured and false heaven that if realized will mean mass misery for the sophonts of the galaxy the likes of which has not been since the Axiom was founded.
The Mandeville Hives were never looked upon fondly by the Axiom, which from the very beginning saw them as much a threat as an aid to the anti-human effort to which the Axiom was committed. Several times the Axiom intervened against Mandeville incursions on the SFCR, Kimsayaka, or other nearby polities, leading to significant casualties among the invading insects and an embarassment for efforts to foment an anti-Human coalition prior to the Hyper War. The Mandeville's raids were also, due to their scale and size, hardly an easy thing for the Axiom to suppress, and the honor-bound knights of the Hives seen as little more than brutes with heraldry. While the Axiom does not see the Mandeville as an existential threat to the galaxy, their constant conflict-seeking and near-uncontrollable aggression is a major nuisance, and their social system anathema to the Axiom's ethical precepts. Containment, in the Axiom's view, is necessary.
And two allies:
The Serene Olm State was one of the only civilizations which had survived from the Axiom's pre-stasis period in a recognizable and contactable form. In the immediate aftermath of the destruction of their shieldworld and the loss of most of the silk, much of the Axiom wished simply to surrender. A collective grief and depression amplified among the remainder threatened to spiral into a mass-termination event. It was in this terrible, dark period, that the Axiom discovered the Olm yet still existed, and were able to contact and seek safe harbor among them. The Olm still remembered all the Axiom had lost, and their eldest recounted to them in a full year of oral dictation and feasting the memories of everyone and everything, and the history of the galaxy since the Axiom's slumber. This single act of kindness was among the most crucial for the Axiom's survival, and guided the webway to a new conclusion - to safeguard this galaxy as they had their own time. Since then, the Olm and the Axiom have been allies and friends in a deep sense, while the negative early impression the Olm gave the Axiom of the Antarans has, amusingly, somewhat forestalled what could have been an equivalent relationship with the long-lived elves.
The Hollow Heresy is one of the Axiom's most important operating fronts and successes. When the revolts began the Axiom was as much horrified as impressed by the scale of the rebellious suicides of the Antheosts, and moved quickly to provide direct fire support against CEC and Paxillus assets in the region to prevent further mass-destruction. Seeing the Heresy as an ideal candidate for ingestion, the Axiom has since then operated through missionaries in the silk and its own diplomatic attaches to guide the budding faith of the Communion to a path it finds suitable - more towards connection and togetherness, more towards a philosophical system which encourages collectivity and consensus. Although the Axiom is not capable of providing the Heresy with the economic resources it needs to recover from the war, its military backing can help allay the fears of the Communion of once again facing subjugation.
Deployments
MAND.AX [Mandate Ataraxic Xenophage]
At Mandate A:26 [Conduit Sector, Space]: Webfleet JURY, on PATROL and WELCOME posture.
At 62 Hatun Accord [Satellite Sector, Ground]: Peace Mission SCYTHE, on PEACE posture.
1 Fleet, 1 army.
PAX.IOM [Paxillus Interstellar Overwatch Mission]
At Kudzu [Paxillus Conduit Sector, Space]: Webfleets PERPETUITY and BREAKER on PATROL and CONTAINMENT posture.
At Kudzu [Paxillus Conduit Sector, Ground]: Peace Missions SURGEON and TAILOR, on VERDICT posture.
At Sol [Human Conduit Sector, Space]: Webfleets REPOSE, and ECHO, on ORBIT and OBSERVE postures.
On Earth [Human Conduit Sector, Ground]: Peace Missions MARTYR & TINKER on WEAVE posture.
2 Fleets, 2 armies.
IKT.IOM [Ikta Interstellar Overwatch Mission]
At Indriidae [Ikta Conduit Sector, Space]: Webfleet CONCORD, on ORBIT and OBSERVE posture.
At Indriidae [Ikta Conduit Sector, Ground]: Peace Mission HELIX, on OBSERVE posture.
1 Fleet, 1 army.
The Protective Rubric
All Axiom operations and interstellar relations are defined by the application of the Protective Rubric. A legal document that doubles as a religious text, the rubric is a compilation of four spools of woven virtual scrolls that define the boundaries and regulations that the Axiom uses to judge their own missions and the actions of others. All are considered part and parcel of a philosophy which seeks to protect the security and freedom of sophont life.
There is constant internal debate and recalculation of the metrics of each civilization under this rubric - and whether they might fall under the threshold for action. The rubric is publicly available information, though the exact ratings of each civilization are not - creating a situation of concerning strategic ambiguity.
Matching one of the spool categories is not enough - conflict must be justified by not infringing too heavily on the other spools. This acts as a restraint on hyper-militarism - interventions must be cognizant of the inherent damage of interventions on social fabric, and conclude the violations under other spools outweigh this concern.
Spool of Atrocities: The perpetration of physical acts of violence against sophonts, or collective acts of punishment against a population. Genocide, massacre, wars of conquest and mass civilian casualties fall into this category.
Spool of Miseries: The perpetration of immiseration and exploitation of the vulnerable and deprived by corporations, aristocracy, clans or other entities. Mass poverty, addiction epidemic, and foreign exploitation fall into this category.
Spool of Iniquities: The perpetration of unfair social hierarchies and inequalities between sophonts. The maintenance of slavery, serfdom, nobility, inflexible caste, and imbalances in outcome as a result of these systems, fall into this category.
Spool of Heredities: The creation and preservation of biological determinism. Genetic chains which compel individuals of a species to behave in 'hard-coded' and maladaptive are a special level of crime, and fall into this category.
There have been long-standing rumors of a fifth spool known only as the "Spool of Boundaries", but the Axiom has never formally answered questions regarding its existence and not referred to it much in external discourse.
Name: Aidu Collective
Species: Aidu - An insect-like and winged species, usually growing to around three feet.
The Aidu were one of the earliest species to be attacked by humans, and one of the hardest hit. Their ancestral homeworld was rendered inhospitable, and a majority of their population died in the fighting. Throughout the Hyper War, the remains of the Aidu staged constant rebellions in their home system of Lumia. This proved to be a constant thorn in the side of the CEC, leading to even more military operations that left the race on the brink of extinction. They were fortunately saved by the ??? during the Coalition advance right before a human fleet would destroy their race for good.
After the war, the Aidu were left with nothing but their lives. Both the Aidu and their system were drained from the constant fighting, leaving them with next to no economy or culture. They were completely reliant on their overlords for any economic advancement, and the conflict between the Aidu's prideful nature and their need to be subservient to those who saved them persists in nearly every member of the species.
Drive: 10/10
Tech: 3/3
The Aidu Collective only stands today because of the incredible unity of their people. The state is supported by every member of the Aidu, and they are willing to sacrifice anything for the survival of their species.
Military: 6/10
Tech: 2/3
Although the technology of the Collective is behind the galaxy average, their rebellions against human occupation means they excel in guerilla tactics and fighting from a disadvantageous position.
Domain: 2/10
Tech: 1/3
The Lumia system has been essentially leveled by the constant fighting during the Hyper War. There is nearly no economy to speak of, and the manufacturing ability of the Aidu is among the lowest in the galaxy. The little economic power they have was granted by the ???, leaving them even further in their debt.
Player League: Equality (Would also be happy to switch to Freedom)
The main goal of the Collective is to rebuild their society and economy after years of occupation, and they have found allies in the Equality Faction. The Aidu do not hold strong beliefs for equality, but the proposals for helping the exploited are very tempted when you are the exploited.
Flaws: Wounded Lands, Scrapped the Barrel, Recently Liberated, Dependent on Another Power
- Wounded Lands (2), Recently Liberated (3): The Lumia system was incredibly close to the CEC homeworld and had many partisans to aid the Coalition, so it became a crucial part of the Coalition strategy to defeat humanity. Constant rebellions and battles left the system decimated, a shell of the resource-rich and vibrant location it used to be.
- Scrapped the Barrel (3): Every member of the Aidu Collective is a veteran, and years of constant fighting has taken a toll on the population. A vast majority of those remaining are young children and the elderly, who work jobs meant for adults in order to keep the meager economy running.
- Dependent on Another Power (2): (Will be written when the power is determined)
Preferred Locations:X, B, C (Would be fine with pretty much any location, would prefer to be closer to CEC and former conflict zones for lore reasons)
What you expect to get from the humans at the treaty: Reparations
The Aidu are an incredibly small species, so they are concerned about the potential of being overlooked during the negotiations. They are hoping for funds to help rebuild their shattered home, as well as retribution for the lives lost during the war.
Your factions opinion on the orbiting races: Shunner
Although the Collective believes in the philosophy behind uplifting, they do not have the ability to focus on the issue with their own economy being as bad as it is.
Opinion on the Assembly of Species role: Consolidator
The Aidu believe it is necessary to have the Assembly of Species help the species that were decimated by the war and prevent another war from occuring again, and they believe a centralized Assembly to be the best tool to accomplish this.
Allies: Tsirixi Union
Rivals:
Dependent Upon: Maxifun Omnicomglomerate
Deployments: 2 fleets and 2 armies in Lumia, 2 fleets and 2 armies in Sol
Species: G'Znar is neither a species or a nation exactly, it is a faith. Members of the Tridecca are G'Znar, if you abandon the faith an apostate you are as much a foreigner as a Human. Only five members of alien species have ever undertaken the rites successfully to become recognized by the establishment of the Tridecca as G'Znar. It is more productive in terms of species to talk about gender. G'Znar have 3 genders - Shurka, Tandt, and Malx. While transition of gender is ritualized in religious rites, it is expected that most G'Znar will change genders at least one or twice in their lifespans. These are independent of sex, which lost relevance after the invention of technological reproduction methods. From egg hatching to adolescence native G'Znar are bilaterally symmetrical upright feathered monotremes of a median 4"6 height. Once they assume a gender they molt and undergo physical change through deliberate mental activation of hormones. In Shurka (gathering) they grow scales and claws, in Tandt (nurturing) they become covered in long hair from head to toe that is connected to their nerves like a spiderweb, and in Malx (demonstrating) they grow antlers and new feathers of brilliant colors. All genders are between 50% and 100% larger than the hatchlings.
Drive: 6 (Tech 3) - Before achieving mercantilist economics and large trading companies, clan and tribe based society was mediated by the unificationist and anti-tribalist G'Znar religion, which dictated technological development towards social welfare. In particular, despite the intense institutional threats to G'Znar society, the "Ancestor" holographic archive of all accumulated societal knowledge, which allows an individual to browse and use an amount of information that would have otherwise taken lifetimes to study, was meant to achieve the ideal of every individual being able to complete their spiritual journey through life and its many changes (changes which are governed by rites and ceremonies such as coming of age, changing careers, marriage, divorce, gender transition, moving to a new home, etc.). Every G'Znar knows up to date information about every section of the republic.
Domain: 4 (Tech 1) The Conduit is a poorly understood miracle that is maintained but has not been improved since theirs was discovered.
Military: 5 (Tech 2) Sh'Ahm (and D'Twak's Hammer) militarism and xenophobia led to militech not being neglected, with mass adoption of cybernetic Command and Control software, "Initiation", in military personnel which allows seamless interface with vehicles, weapons, equipment and other personnel. Literally being in one anothers heads and constantly in communication is part of how both the fundamentalists and the intelligence spies operate within the armed forces. Player League: Freedom - the Tridecca's ethnoreligious values as embodied in G'Znar place the life journey of the individual and the traditional family structure as a platonic ideal above both collectivist clan and tribal connections and material concerns. But they inconsistently apply these ideals to other civilizations. Flaws:
Haves and Have Nots (-1) - The mercantilism stage of economic development in the G'Znar civilization has generated great socioeconomic inequality even in the midst of a spiritualist, individualist and traditionalist conservative society.
Systemic Hesitancy (-1) - Sh'Ahm is a fundamentalist sect of the G'Znar civic religion, the only branch which transcribes doctrine from one generation to the next in writing since the founding of the unified civilization in the species' bronze age. Followed by roughly 40% of the population, Sh'Ahm is the untouchable third rail of Trideccan democracy.
Rogue Military (-2) - Sh'Ahmists in the military threaten the state's traditional commitment to the Assembly, the League of Freedom, and the Coalition against Humanity.
Paranoid Intelligence Institutions (-2) - D'Twak's Hammer is the state bureau of intelligence, in many ways just as xenophobic and authoritarian as the Sh'Ahm but in fact founded by ex-Sh'Ahm members who turned on their friends in family in order to preserve civic law, the institutional bureaucratic state, and the mercantile economic system.
Institutional Rot (-3) - While the thirteen tribes of the G'Znar united on Nohr and that is the capital of the Ra'Nohr (the Republic of Nohr, aka the Tridecca), for generations the government on Nohr has been dominated by an interclique institutional faction within the democratic political system known as the Frishaki, because key members come from planet Frishak, the second world colonized by the G'Znar (stereotyped as provincial hicks despite newer more outre colonies existing). The Frishaki Regime has been hollowing out the civil service with nepotism appointments for over a century and has critically undermined faith in civic institutions beyond mere elections. Preferred location: O, E, P Declarations:
What you expect to get from the humans at the treaty: The neutralization of the nearby threat whom we fought most in the war, the Sigioli, and ideally the overthrow of the Yuktarky in favor of a pliable democracy.
Your factions opinion on the orbiting races: Exploiter - We consistently fall beneath our religious ideals of personal autonomy and individual spiritual growth when it comes to other civilizations lacking the power to force us to treat them as equals, favoring our own freedom over that of the weak.
Opinion on the Assembly of Species role: Traditionalist - The Assembly represents religious principles of peace that have great weight in the mainstream G'Znar imagination, if not those of the Sh'Ahm.
Two rivals for your polity: (Note, these will be picked after apps are selected.)
And one ally: (Note, these will be picked after apps are selected.)
G'Znar names are structured with a consonant, and apostrophe, and then a name. Example is the current elected Frishaki president of the republic, N'Vock. These are courtesy names, gained during a naming ritual as an adult, with a more complex given and family name attached in the Ancestor cultural memory program to help distinguish between multiple people with the same courtesy name.
THE RHALATA | The National Joint Assembly of the Supreme Didacts of the Temple of the Rhalas and the Rhalata National Defence Order |
The Six-Pointed Star (of the Marshals) of the National Order
The Globulus of the National Joint Assembly of the Supreme Didacts
Twelve thousand years ago, the first civilizations of the Rhalata were born in the most humid and bountiful regions of the world now known as simply 'TEMPLE'. As time went on, this homo-sapien-alike species of blue skin and red eyes began to battle each other over resources, land, insults, honor and, of course, religion. Religion had always been a large part of Rhalatan society, even long after their cultural renaissance 2300 years ago. Despite this, as the world's governments began to do diplomacy in the realpolitik model to divert themselves from armed nuclear conflict, the older generations began to despise what the Rhalas would deem as the 'Monopolists'- the liberal youth that took the reins of power through democratic vote, beginning a prosperous commonwealth between the nations through free market capitalism and social libertarianism.
In truth, while the Rhalas is a religious book, its writer and its contents are not. Written by someone only known as the 'Reclaimer', he combined various philosophies and both ancient and modern religions together into a unifying magnum opus- and wrote it like a military handbook. Only 200 pages long, the extremely blunt and straight to the point book that denounced the new world order was quickly censored. It did not stop its various believers to conspire in secret, beginning the time of the 'Six Marshals', who, from various different great powers, began to plot against their own regimes.
Using military power to take control, the Six Marshals created the Supreme Didact Assembly and the 'National Order', based on the teachings of the Rhalas. There was no longer a thing as individual liberty- all things attained were through the state. Healthcare, legal protection and the right to 'vote' were regulated to 'DIDACTS', aka citizens, who served in the military for 3 years. During their time there, the few who did sign up during the troubling riots and anarchy that followed would become extremely loyal to the Rhalas. Later, they taught their children, and those children's children, too, followed the footsteps of their fathers and forefathers. The Path, as it is called, over a period of cycling generations has become as codified as a child's teachings of not stealing.
The Path, both an adjective for military service to gain citizenship or glory for the Rhalata nation, as well as for the religious interpretation of predeterminism within the Rhalas, is connected to the Rhalatan sole God during the modern age, only known as "God". Many Rhalatans pray to It, the guiding words of the Rhalas having become not a political book, but after a century of endless rebellions and self indoctrination, a social guiding set of principles bestowed upon the Reclaimer by "GOD", the One God of the Rhalata and all things. All in all, the Supreme Didacts, and its militant counterpart, the National Order, strengthen and protect each other, creating a stratocratic, authoritarian 'greek' democracy, based on religious values. Its rulers are known in two parts. Militarily, there are the SIX MARSHALS, being voted in by the Didact caste of society (around 45.6% of the population). The Six Marshals swear upon the Rhalas the "Supreme Dictatorial Oath" to serve for eighteen consecutive years as generals of the army, navy and space force, and to protect TEMPLE and the Rhalas Path at any cost. The Religious arm is voted in by both the Six Marshals and the Didact caste, as well as the prior score of thirty "SUPREME DIDACTS", who are drafted from the Didact caste by the citizenry according to merit and their knowledge and understanding of the Rhalas. Marshals and Supreme Didacts can be joint roles in the society, and a Marshal can even be a lowly private. Theoretically.
A Rhalatan Diplomat in the Assembly.
Rhalatans themselves are tall, at around 6 to 7 feet of height, with their women being the tallest. They are a mammalian species, sharing qualities with Humans, however, their feet are characterized with goat-like hooves. Their skins are of varying colors between blue and purple, with the range of pigments most likely the only vestige that remains of the diversity these people once had in their past. However, what is most shared with all of them is the jet black hair and red-within-red eyes of their species.
First names ~ (M) Jakal, Marik, Lotar, Arthan, Leonas, Darios, Votar, Jamtal, Duronis, Lamtal, Amtal.
First names ~ (F) Jessa, Maressa, Isiah, Petra, Novera, Raita, Kayla, Xota, Farah, Mantera, Samtara.
Last names are much more difficult to understand. While they might sound like titles, the last name of a Rhalatan is based on their family's history during the time of the Reclaimer. Most Didacts have these new last names instead of the archaic first-name-esque sounding last names of the Tokenists and Juveniles. Didacts, who have become as such over the course of the first century AR (After Reclaimer), have taken up surnames that symbolize their greatest achievements- their sons and daughters continuing their legacy with these surnames.
The Reclaimer, two centuries past. Various religious memorabilia of the time can be seen around his neck.
Rhalatans, in the modern age, however, are a changed people. When the Humans came, the homeworld of the Rhalata had a population of eight billion. By the end of the Sacred War, or what the rest of the Galaxy calls the Hyper War, that population is only around 2.9-3.2 billion. For the better part of the war, the Rhalatan state changed from a state of control to a state of requirement for the survival of the species. Despite the clear fascistic theocracy that had taken over, many of the Tokenists, the caste of those that denied the Path and all that the military stood for to work in a status of eternal welfare and healthcare offered to them by said state through menial labor, rose to the call as all Rhalatans faced a Humanity that wished nothing more than to destroy their culture.
The Sacred War was marked with brutality from the start. In what is known as the Years of Heaven Aflame, the Sacred War took its greatest toll on the Rhalatans. To this day, the surface of Temple is only a place for military installations, docks and historical landmarks- with the Rhalatan people permanently and for the foreseeable future put into underground shelters and sprawling metropolises built out into the few mountains not scorched by Nuclear fire- both by the Humans and Rhalatans.
When relief came in the form of the Coalition, the Rhalatans proved their worth by using the distraction to commit their own OPERATION: REND. For four years, HADES super soldiers terrorized the underground shelters of the Rhalatans and their attempts, both successful and unsuccessful, of guerilla warfare against them on the surface. Centralized on a headquarters in their old capital, the Rhalatans attacked the HADES soldiers in a coordinated attack through both against the headquarters and even the smallest posts outside the city. Both with nuclear firepower and a massive outpour of their own soldiers, within three days of fighting on the ground, by the time the Assembly made contact with the Rhalatans on the surface after clearing their skies, amidst nuclear air and bloody Human corpses, a military procession awaited the Assembly.
The Rhalatans continued to show themselves as a fighting force that could be trusted to be brutal, efficient and most likely the most motivated of all the Assembly species. Donated resources as well as having scavenged enough from Human forces and intelligence, the Rhalatans reformed their military structure into the National Order's "Land Sea and Air (Joint) Forces". A specialized corps of Marine Infantry and Armor, Battleships for Sea combat, Airships for Orbital Air Combat and of course Space Ships for Space combat. The LSAF proved themselves to be a powerful fighting force. With around 30% of what was left of the Rhalatans working in the war industry on Rhalata, earning citizenship within the Didacts through hard work for them and their families' future, the rest, quite literally 70% of the remaining 3.4 billion, was scattered both in join Assembly forces and the Rhalatans' own forces across the Galaxy, helping as guerillas, attaches on military vessels, or as spearheading vanguards in assaults and counterattacks.
Despite the fascistic tendencies of the Rhalatans, due to this, the Assembly bega to respect the zeal of a people that had suffered so much and continued to still suffer, with many millions of soldiers lost in the waning years of the Hyper/Sacred War. Now, diplomats gather. The War Industry is pulled back. Soldiers return to their families or make new ones from bonds created on the battlefield. The people are still divided, with many tokenists now either having earned their citizenship through a break in the Path's doctrine and working labor in the industry for it, or on the frontlines, there are factions of Hardliners, Reformists and others that are now vying for the cultural heart of this battered nation. Suffice it to say, Temple, the homeworld of the Rhalata, now a desolate wasteland, broke before its people did.
MINERVA SKULLCRUSHER Supreme Vice-Admiral of the 3d, 4th, and 6th Fleets.
Honorary Brigadier General of the 33d and 102nd LSAF Bunkerbuster Brigades.
THIRD MARSHAL of the 87th CONCLAVE.
De-Facto Ruler of the Rhalatans.
33d Bunkerbuster Brigade on the world of Rico, 16th year of the Hyper War.
Hell came to the Earthen-occupied territories in the form of the LSAF after the success of OPERATION: REND. Having defeated their clone army of HADES, the LSAF was born as a joint command over Land, Sea-faring, Air-faring and Space-faring forces under the National (Defence) Order. Encompassing a modern reserve in the billions and a standing army in the millions, the LSAF is one of the most respected militaries within the known Galaxy, having partaken in almost every front and battle after the Battle of Triton. The LSAF's history begins in the 14th year of the Hyper War, or rather Sacred War, during the Great Reform when the old military standards and forms of military strength were put to rest within the Rhalatan civilization.
That which was once the infantry, marines and other-such footmen were combined into the motorized divisions and other such armors to create the L of the LSAF- the Land Corps. Made up of soldiers that are trained in infantry, anti-tank, anti-air and advanced combat training, these soldiers can both dig a trench and also pilot any kind of tank, motorized truck or land vehicle given to them. The Land Corps are a universal collection of Brigades within Divisions, which were reformed to the standard of the Human forces, with the common soldier referred to as either a Sentinel or Marine, depending on your cultural outlook. The official term for a soldier in the Land Corps is, of course, 'soldier'.
Land Corps sentinels under ambush from Human militia on Koprulu Prime.
The S in LSAF is for the Sea. While Nuclear fire has torn the world apart, Temple still has seas that need patrolling and the old navies, drydocked for s long, have been brought out. Alongside this, the Sea Force, as it is called, are trained in battleship warfare, with support coming from specialized submarine groups that patrol along their flanks in active warzones. Some of these Sea Forces, like the 'Red Divers Seafleet' saw action in the Hyper War, proving that, on the plant of Pacha, which was mostly ocean, that the need for sea-based warfare was still prevalent- with their specialized ships being dropped from low orbit into the sea where needed, beginning 'wolf patrols' that destroyed much of the sea-based operations and command posts of the Human occupation there.
The A for LSAF stands for two things: the Air of a planet and the non-existent Air for Space. The modern ships of the new Space Navy of the Rhalata, rebuilt through the help of the Assembly and scavenging of Human supplies throughout the war on and off of Temple, the Space Navy controls both the atmosphere and the orbit of planets under attack or defence of the Rhalata LSAF. The Air Force of fighter planes, bombers and close air support jets is often stationed and based from the various space navy fleets of the LSAF, that both house them, repair them supply them.
14th Expeditionary Force Brigade awaiting the signal to attack by allied Assembly forces.
An Expeditionary Force, which was often the way that the other Assembly forces came into contact with the Rhalata in the later years of the war, was made up of a Space Navy fleet commanding thousands of jets that would clea the skies for a low-orbit drop of the Seafleet, which carried and then helped in the naval landings, if needed, of Sentinels, or, if need be, the Air Force would paradrop these universal infantrymen right on top of the enemy.
Stat Points: 15 (With all Flaws available)
Tech Points: 3 (With all flaws available)
Drive: 5
The People, the Didacts and the few Tokenists left, are grief stricken. Battered. Beaten. Yet, they hold their heads high. After eighteen long years of occupation, death and nuclear fire and suffering, the last three or so billion Rhalatans left alive remember the five billion with fire in their hearts. Though some remember them with sadness and depression, and others with a newfound purpose- to change the Rhalata.
Domain: 4
Nuclear fire tore apart the great skyscrapers of the Rhalatan people's home of Temple. The few outposts that existed outside of Temple were quickly reconquered by the LSAF but they are now shadows of their former selves. Most of the industry and power exists in the catacombs and crust of the world of Temple. But the giant churns, and the mass of industry with it. The people hold.
Military: 9
The life of a soldier is to be on the Path. The Path of the Rhalas. A soldier of the Rhalata is a soldier who's sword is hate, who's shield is intolerance and who's will is vitriol. His body and soul belong to the state, and the state belongs to him. He is the guard, the sentinel, the attacker, the master of his land. And he will live and die for it. That is his purpose.
Technology:
-Drive: 1
Much of the industry of the Sacred War was based around the military aspects of infrastructure, though a discernable rise of propaganda, surveillance and even state-sponsored entertainment craft and technologies, like virtual intelligences that acted as companions for orphans and widowers, or music-making technologies that aided in both the uplifting of party goers on shore-leave and the reels of television commercials of the warfront- all took root in the last years of the war.
-Domain: 2
Rebuilding of the Nation was paramount even during wartime. With Temple, the sacred home world, nothing but a dust pit of nuclear ash and embers, the need for new outposts, colonies and the rebuilding of some sort of infrastructure as well as the expansion of it within Temple's crust has made it a paramount mission to understand advanced technology taken and donated from other species.
CHIEF CHANCELLOR AND SPEAKER Jotan Ashscourer (SECOND MARSHAL OF THE 87th CONCLAVE) of the NATIONAL JOINT ASSEMBLY enjoying his time with his daughter and wife.
Flaws:
Caste System (1) - "The Path": For centuries, the Didacts ruled over the Tokenists. Now, however, almost all men and women are Didacts, though with caveats. The old frustrations and identifications still exist. Names, bloodlines- histories before the Sacred War. The caste system may be over for someone looking in, but not to those living it.
Systemic Hesitancy (1) - "The Tokenists": Even if your parents are both Didacts, you are born as a Tokenist. This makes you a slave for the state, and until you prove yourself to the all-powerful state through, traditionally, military service, you will continue to be seen as such. However, the war has changed people's outlooks on the system. And many young teen Tokenists are calling for the continuation of the Emergency Bill of the National Joint Assembly to allow the earning of citizenship to men and women through labor. Something they are unwilling to do.
Mass Climatological Collapse (2) - "The Sacred War": The Sacred War, in propaganda, was a war where Humanity scorched Temple, the sole world and center of power for the Rhalata people, with nuclear fire. This is somewhat true, though most of the nuclear fire was caused by the state to combat the Human invasion. Now Temple's riches underground belong to the Rhalatans, though the once beautiful continental, Earth-like world is a shadow of itself.
Restless Warriors (2) - "The Hardliners": The oldest families of the Reclaimer's Revolution that trace their descendants to the first Marshals and generals and Supreme Didacts. Those that have survived in cushioned places of power since the start of the Sacred War. Though Reformist forces did bend them to their will to accept the Tokenists more and more into the Didacts caste, the Hardliners,a s they are called, are men and women unwilling to rest just yet. The Sacred War, though bloody and hurtful for their culture and planet, was one of a great opportunity. One that the military industrial complex of a new, reformed LSAF cannot let pass by. War in the stars felt so -sweet-.
Recently Liberated (3) - "OPERATION: REND": The fact that the LSAF reform came about after REND was a miracle. Helped by the donations of the Assembly and other Coalition forces to them, the Rhalatans came back from their last-hoorah operation to liberate themselves in the final years of the Sacred War bruised, but willing to fight. Mostly fighting under the other species as attaches, expeditionary forces or behind the lines guerillas and assistants on other space navy vessels. Slowly, the ruined domains of this once occupied yet proud people are churning back to power. Many of those that were called in the Emergency Drafts are now in the reserve, as the LSAF returns back to its pre-war numbers of the old National Order's military. But this sleeping giant will soon awaken…
Preferred location: X, O, C or N.
Declarations:
THE SACRED WAR: "Liberated" by the Assembly, the Rhalatans quickly joined the Coalition in the last years of the war after having fought the better part of it in defense of their capital. Over and over the politicians and diplomats of the Rhalatans have voiced openly their distaste for Humanity, despite having adopted many of their military traditions, uniforms and even naming schemes. Nonetheless, the Rhalatans call for steep reparations on Humanity, and some Hardliner generals and Admirals of the Rhalatans are calling for a systematic euthanization of Humanity, so that this 'mistake does not happen again'. Some Reformists of the National Order, as military attaches to the occupation of Sol, are working as pseudo-missionaries with the disarmed Human forces, giving them the Rhalas' teachings in hopes of giving them a better way to think on their past mistakes and the truth that let the Rhalatans fight against them and win for so long.
[ Reformist Propaganda ] GIVE THEM A CHANCE - GIVE THEM MERCY LET US BE MAGNANIMOUS IN VICTORY.
GIVE THE OCCUPIERS THE RHALATAN WAY. THE PATH AND ALL THAT IS GOOD IN OUR DEMOCRACY.
What you expect to get from the humans at the treaty: Full reparations for the deaths of millions in forms of military assets, technology and minerals, as well as pay in galaxy-circulated currency. Complete disarmament of Humanity. Some Hardliners call for euthanization.
Your factions opinion on the orbiting races: Upliftment is the only way forward. The Rhalas must be spread to all savages and barbarians, including the hedonistic primitives that are throughout the Galaxy. Only through the Rhalas can a sustainable, true state exist, for the people, by the people.
Opinion on the Assembly of Species role: None at all. The Assembly is simply a military alliance in the eyes of the Rhalatans. When the peace talks are over, the Rhalatans intend to go their separate ways. With due thanks, of course.
Two rivals for your polity: - N/A -
And one ally: - N/A -
"Where you see stars, we see holes in the Heavenly Sky; where you see light, we see the love of those we have lost, shining down onto us. I wish you could see it too"
- LAST WORDS OF PICHKACHUNKA
When first the skies of Pacha were darkened by Human vessels, the Qora were a disunited species. A fusion of ancestral politics and emergent nation-states occupied their attention, not the stars nor anything beyond. And though the Qora possessed great physical strength and survivability, this fact led the Qora away from violence as a means of arbitration and instead towards rhetoric and debate. The idea of conquest, while not wholly alien, was nevertheless a scarce one in Qora society.
Humanity put an end to that.
Not long following Man's defeat of Imperial Ulvor, they discovered Pacha and its native Qora. Whereas the Ulvor had either missed or ignored the developing species, Mankind was not so patient. With overwhelming force, Humanity came to Pacha as conquerors, seizing the mineral and water resources of the oceanic planet. Qora were quickly identified as a hardy race, capable of enduring a great deal of pressure and pain. Like the cockroach of Earth, the Qora are remarkably resilient with an armored exoskeleton and decentralized nervous system. And like the decapod family of Earth, Qora have multiple appendages with powerful grips. These traits intrigued Man and led to the Qora's exploitation as a slave race.
Throughout the Hyper War, Qora were exported as enslaved labor and soldiers from Sol to the far reaches of Humanity's reach. Entire Qora lineages were wiped out, forced to act as bulwarks in Human battlelines and sponges in the most bloody battlefields. In the worst way, Qora were introduced to the great feats of galactic engineering and technology pioneered by more advanced races. On Pacha itself, industrialized occurred rapidly, yet only in service to Human companies. Still, the Qora listened and learned and adapted.
As the war ended, a major battle above Pacha itself saw a great mass of ships crash into the Tumir Sea, Human and alien alike. The ensuing tsunami and command chaos saw the Human garrison flee and at last the Qora rebelled. The various waystations and airbases were seized, with many Humans drowned or cut apart by mining tools. Though the Qora could claim no great deeds like other species during the Hyper War, the liberation of Pacha was a momentous moment in the world's military history.
It was only when alien salvage teams landed on Pacha that anything resembling formal communication was established. An ad-hoc delegation of Qora leaders formed to profess their support for liberation and share news of their enslavement. An agreement was ratified, recognizing Qora control of Pacha and cooperation in salvage recovery.
Since the fall of Sol, that delegation evolved into the modern Kimsayaka, or Four Shoals Family. Named after four major coastal regions, but also an allusion to the four surviving tribal entities left on Pacha, the Kimsayaka reflects the enduring Qora values of peace and liberty. Largely decentralized and libertarian, the Kimsayaka is more akin to a coordinating body than a compelling one, save for the vital fields of intergalactic diplomacy, military preparedness, and ecological restoration.
SPECIES STATISTICS
Species: Qora, decapod-like humanoids with exoskeletons, decentralized nervous systems, and a cockroach-esque survivability. Largely pacifistic, libertarian, and family-oriented.
Planet: Pacha, an oceanic world once populated with teeming marine populations; suffering from ecological damage spurred on by a ship graveyard in the Tumir Sea.
Location: A, B, or C
Government: Kimsayaka, Four-Shoal Family. A planetary assembly of elected leaders, forming delegations and committees with clearly delineated and temporary powers.
DECLARATIONS
Kimsayaka is a new member of the FreedomLeague in the Assembly of Species. Eager to join the intergalactic community, the ink remains wet on Kimsayaka's entry. Ironically, they support a traditionalist view of the Assembly, despite having never been a member.
Owing to their own history, Kimsayaka bears sympathy for the species who have turmoiled under another's exploitation. Though they mourn the manner in which they were advanced, Kimsayaka leaders are noted uplifters.
As for Kimsayaka's demands; the most vocal leadership of Kimsayaka support reconciliation with a peace faction of Humanity. While there are expectations of reparations and ecological assistance, Kimsayaka holds that punishing Mankind will only continue the cycle and prevent the recovery of lost Qora populations.
BENEFITS
Drive: 5 (Tech 1)
- Kimsayaka maintains a careful equilibrium in its society. While its population has largely united behind the planetary government, special care is made to balance the rights of its citizens against the responsibilities of the state. Largely libertarian in nature, as the wounds of the Hyper War fade, many believe the cohesiveness of the Qora will fade in turn.
Military: 7 (Tech 2)
- Despite their pacifism, Qora possess natural affinity for warfare, an evolutionary trait from its competition with large, strong-jawed predators. More than that, the Human domination of the Qora saw the proliferation of many of their weapons systems. Whereas Humans regarded Qora as unintelligent, in truth they were listening quietly, absorbing knowledge. Now, Kimsayaka can boast a surprisingly impressive fighting force, largely sourced from scavenged or stolen Human equipment with their own adjustments. However, it remains to see if the Qora will ever truly iterate.
Domain: 6 (Tech 1)
- Despite the exploitation and later scarring of Pacha, the Qora people are resilient in a physical sense. Coupled with their high birthrates, it is believed that the rapid growth of Kimsayaka is assured, given there's no foreign opposition. But still, that relies on the recovery of Pacha.
FLAWS
Displaced People (+3)
- Throughout the Hyper War, Qora populations were shipped across Man's empire, some as laborers, others as soldiers. It has been a major concern of the government to find those still enslaved and displaced and return them home to Pacha.
Recently Liberated (+3)
- The homeworld Pacha, so close to the core of Human territory, was among those worlds brutally contested in the final days of the Hyper War. The once-pristine water-world now bears some of the worst scars of the war. Beyond the marks of bombs and blasts, a massive ship graveyard serves as a constant environmental crisis for Pacha's water quality and thus the health of the amphibious Qora.
Doves (+1)
- Emerging from the horrors of the Hyper War, leading Qora have vowed to not allow hate and vengeance to lead their people again to ruin. The Qora would be better than Man, not allowing themselves to ever justify evil by past trauma. Pacifism is the norm in Qora society.
Species: The Maxsis™ are a hedonistic and short-lived race of avian-adjacent humanoids organized into the Maxifun Omniconglomerate. A hideously expansive megacorp that is currently undergoing a crisis of values, Maxifun offers all manner of services to all sorts of races, but was previously focused on spreading (highly commercialized, hedonistic, and materialist) joy and pleasure. The war changed that, forcing the Omniconglomerate to expand its security subsidiaries into fully fledged military subsidiaries. The military subsidiaries saw a surge of profit during the war, and created a dangerous subset of Maxsis™ that hunger for battle. After the war, these ramifications have challenged the corporate values at the company's core. Leading to a split emerging between those who want to continue the business of war, and those who wish to return to more peaceful products.
The Maxsis™ are a race of avian(adjacent) humanoids, possessing mostly mottled blue-gray skin and bulbous eyes with yellow sclera. Plumes of feathers in a variety of colors extending from the top of their scalps and cascade down their neck. Life expectancy for the Maxsis™ range from anywhere to 50 to 60 years depending on one's access to Zane medical technology and the extent they abuse their bodies through leisure activities. Maxsis™ reach their biological prime and adulthood at age 20, and experience few to no symptoms of aging until the last 10 years of their life, which are characterized through chronic health problems and rapid degradation in mental and physical health.
Since the beginning of their collective history, the Maxsis™ have struggled to answer a simple question. How to be happy? After multiple millennia of different kingdoms rising and falling, an answer was found in the year that has come to be known as Maxifun Year Zero™. When a wealthy shipping merchant known as Lawt of Clan Deysni invested in a theater dedicated to delighting audiences with a relatively new invention. Stringed puppets dancing on a mechanism. The Maxsis™ who attended would become enraptured and more willing to spend savings intended for everyday necessities just to watch the puppets act out harrowing and exciting narratives.
It was this rather innocuous indulgence that Lawt took advantage of, spreading more puppet theaters and increasing their quality. Puppet fever overtook many communities, and created rival theater companies that Lawt would soon collect and incorporate into one singular monolith of entertainment. When Lawt passed on, future Company Heads would take over the Deysni Entertainment Syndicate, expanding from just entertainment to merchandise promoting that entertainment, to the industries meant to create that merchandise, to the kings responsible for reigning over those industries.
Overtime, Deysni's most popular motto of "Maximum Fun! Maximum Smiles!" would become more recognizable than the original Deysni brand. The DES would rebrand itself upon the final monarch on the planet signing over their wealth to the company. With that, the Maxifun Omniconglomerate was born, though it soon had to contend with an inner period of stagnation as the Omniconglomerate shifted from extracting money to shuffling it around their various subsidiaries.
This Great Stagflation threatened to dissolve the company into its component subsidiaries, but the desire to keep the company together forced R&D subsidiaries to work around the clock to find an answer. There were a myriad of failed attempts to balance the megacorp-wide books. From trademarking the genome of the Maxsis™ race and privatizing their reproductive cycle to the rapid exploitation and extraction of resources on their neighboring worlds. Nothing worked. Nothing until the idea that caught like a wildfire around the labs of Maxifun. That an untapped market simply HAD to exist in the vast reaches of space. And this desire to reach new customers is what spurred the creation of the Maxsis™'s Conduit: The Limited Edition Galactic Key™
With the creation of the The Limited Edition Galactic Key™ or the TLEGK™ (yes, the first 'The' is part of the name) Maxifun was able to expand and, boy, did it. The Omiconglomerate profiting immensely by catering to the myriad tastes and vices of the galaxy, especially the Ulvorian Union. If there was a pleasure to be enjoyed, Maxifun provided it in a way that was safe, profitable, and perhaps a smidge addictive, with many Orbital races becoming client states to the Omniconglomerate, dependent on their products and services. Few non-Maxsis™ became fully immersed into Maxifun, however. Many not being able to mesh well into the corporate structure or handle the full menu of debauchery the company can provide like the Maxsis™ could.
When the humans arrived to challenge the IUU, Maxifun tried to maintain its neutrality by selling commercial goods to both. Instead, the humans, ever sure of their own superiority and paranoid of attempts to earn their friendship, aimed to seize the Omniconglomerate, lock, stock, and barrel. Maxifun, having never had to engage in massed warfare since the time of Kings long ago, were initially confused by the prospect. They've always had security subsidiaries of course, and had frequently hired other races to act as mercenaries in conflicts that affected their bottom lines. But mass conflict directly perpetrated by the company ran against the corporate values of: "Maximum Fun, Maximum Smiles!"™. Maxifun had to be reminded of what the word War really meant by both relentless human aggression in the Hyper War and the actions of its fellow Coalition members.
In that time, the inner economics and politics of the Omniconglomerate shifted, Maxifun going from a vehicle for purest recreation and its facilitation to an engine of war, with blackjack and hookers on the side. The Deysni Maxispectacle Syndicate, formerly the most reliable and profitable subsidiary in the Smile Council since its inception, was soon eclipsed by the newly ascendant PAIN CO, the greatest of the new military subsidiaries. It was they who steered Maxifun into winning the war alongside the Coalition.
Now that the war is over, the Maxifun Omniconglomerate must now contend with itself and its fellow Coalition members. No war means an end to PAIN CO's formerly endless profits, equaling the playing field on the Smile Council. It also means the galaxy is ripe to enjoy the finer things in life once again. The Omniconglomerate has begun to argue with itself on which way to proceed. The markets are open, how will Maxifun survive?
The Maxifun Omniconglomerate is the economic and political system of the Maxsis™, a megacorp of obscene scope. The Omniconglomerate is composed of hundreds of thousands subsidiary companies, each one responsible for a different resource and commercial endeavor. At the head of each subsidiary is a Branch Executive, responsible for maintaining the subsidiary's brand integrity, profit margins, and product quality. Successful or especially important subsidiaries will see their value on the Maxifun Value Market rise. And with that rising, the Branch Executive will climb the ranks of the Executive Board, the regulatory body for Branch Executives and the wider Omniconglomerate as a result.
The upper echelon of the Executive Board is the Smile Council, a collection of the most critical and most influential subsidiaries within the Omniconglomerate. Oftentimes these subsidiaries will be so large as to have sub-subsidiaries within themselves, the Branch Executives within those sub-subsidiaries reporting directly to their Branch Executive instead of being a part of the Executive Board. Formerly a practice reserved for the largest and oldest subsidiary, the Deysni Maxispectacle Syndicate, the expansion of other Smile Council subsidiaries has necessitated them employing a similar structure. There has been some grumbling about this outside the Smile Council, questioning why these sub-subsidiaries should be exempt from the rigors of the Executive Board, but no action has been taken as of yet to bring these new Branch Executives into the fold.
On the Smile Council, 5 Branch Executives reign.
- Slorp Deysni of Deysni Maxispectacle Syndicate: A subsidiary directly descended from the entertainment juggernaut that started it all, DMS is a massive media company that keeps the employee-consumers of Maxifun delighted with endless stories and recreation. Where other subsidiaries might dip in and out of the Smile Council, DMS remained the sole constant. Until the war. Until PAIN CO.
- Cranch Ingo of Hugglepump Resource Extraction: Responsible for the direct extraction and traffic of all manner of raw natural resources and shipping them to all manner of industries within Maxifun. The fairly recent expansion into new systems has allowed Cranch even more room to expand and experiment with his harvesting techniques.
- Sorin The Truly Stupendous of Constant Corporate Construction Inc.: It's Sorin's truly stupendous delight to ensure every last employee-consumer of Maxifun has a roof over their head, a floor under their feet, and a cubicle to work in. Previously more practical in its design, Sorin's reign as Branch Executive has seen CCC instead gain a tendency for the architecturally eccentric, bolstered by studying alien designs and geometries.
- Jawn Plasm of Friendly Meds: Friendly Meds addresses the medical concerns and biological aspects of Maxifun's employee-consumers, ensuring sick days are a thing of the past! Jawn himself is especially interested in pushing the boundaries of life extension for the wider Maxsis™ race, trying to get the most out of the average worker.
- Mayz Cane of PAIN CO: The foremost military subsidiary within Maxifun, Mayz Cane is the most recent member of the Smile Council, PAIN CO having risen to prominence by putting the hostile in hostile takeover, eliminating rival subsidiaries during the war through offering an outright better product.
Stats:
Drive: 4 (+3 Free Points) - The relative independence of subsidiaries, and the current tensions extant within the Omniconglomerate are both a direct result of the war with the CEC. Both these conditions have sapped the cohesion of Maxifun. It functions, but the corporate machinery is damaged.
Military: 4 (+3 Free Points) - Speaking of, while Maxifun mostly handled logistics and supply for the Coalition, its relentless new military subsidiaries have mostly kept up with the armament development of other races, producing a fighting force that tends to lean more towards enthusiasm over quality.
Domain: 9 (+3 Free Points) (+5 Flaw Points) - Prior to the war, Maxifun was one of the dominant economic powers of the galaxy, having a healthy customer base in the Imperial Ulvorian Union. After the Hyper War, it's now a close contender for the dominant economic power. The war was nothing if not profitable.
Tech Rating:
Drive: 2 (+1 Flaw Point) - The Maxsis™ function so well within the Omniconglomerate precisely because it was largely built with their needs in mind. Giving them every available vice they could ask for.
Privatized Reproduction - During the Great Stagflation, costs had to be cut and Maxifun needed to be kept lean. And so, it was determined that the previous 'family' model of onboarding new employees into the company was too inefficient. To fix this, all Maxsis™ infants born after the Privatized Reproduction Mandate were to be bought by the company, and placed into the care of the Omniconglomerate's Child-Rearing & Advertising subsidiaries. There, Maxsis™ would learn what to find pleasurable in the first place, what their roles in the company might be, and the core corporate values Maxifun stands for. While the 'family' model may have been lost forever to the Maxsis™, reproductive rates have soared.
Frown-B-Gone Consultations - A prominent sophont resources company with respectable standing in the Maxifun Value Market. One of many subsidiaries focused on the synergistic wellbeing of the company's workers, Frown-B-Gone shines in just how extensively it monitors employees to make sure they're properly stimulated and enjoying their role in the company. While also compiling extensive profiles from non-intrusive (hidden) surveillance to plan out careers and resolve disputes effectively.
Military: 1 - While Maxifun's military subsidiaries are host to a lot of interesting tech, none of it was specialized for their use.
Ultra-Deluxe Loot Drop™ - To the Ultra-Deluxe Squads™, the Hyper War was the greatest high to ever exist. Not least of which was because of the shiny prizes they got pre-,mid-, or post-missions. From combat drugs to flashy weapons to killer vehicles, the Ultra-Deluxe Loot Drop™s were the looping reward system that motivated the initially hesitant Maxsis™ into embracing a life of bloodshed and battlefield indulgence. These randomized loot crates gameified war in a way that hadn't been done before, and thanks to the acquistion of Loot over multiple missions, senior UDS™ members are kitted out with a vast arsenal earned from a distinguished career of reaving pain across the galaxy.
Domain: 3 (+2 Flaw Points) - The Maxifun Omniconglomerate has spent the majority of its existence catering to the whims and wants of the galaxy, and it's gotten pretty damn good at it.
Luxury Market - The Maxifun Omniconglomerate has mastered the art of producing high quality luxury products. There are vanishingly few items or services that Maxifun can't provide to satisfy a given individual's biological desire. From the finest recreational substances that work on every biological race in the galaxy, to chairs that knows exactly how to twist themselves into the form most pleasing to a given sitting position. Want to eat your favorite homecooked meal? Maxifun's Tasty-ologists™ can prepare the ingredients like your parental unit was in the kitchen. Need to scratch a particular fetish? Prostitution subsidiaries are some of Maxifun's most respected divisions. Nearly every customer that has gotten a taste of Maxifun's temporal pleasures find it hard to go back to anything else. Which is entirely the point.
Deysniworld™ - A planet within the Maxifun Classic 2!™ system dedicated entirely to serving as one giant amusment park. A near-endless amount of diversions await visitors, each one kept in phenomenal condition by the devotion of highly skilled Deysni Fantaseers™, those valued employees within the Deysni Maxispectacle Entertainment who craft delights and miracles.
Watchinyew Marketing - A subsidiary within the Omniconglomerate that keeps it's fingers firmly on the pulse of the galaxy. Always in the know about market trends, Watchinyew Marketing is mostly focusing on probing and the acquisition of data, leaving the actual construction of advertisements to other subsidiaries while it collects information about the galaxy at large and about the carnal desires of it's inhabitants.
Doves: 1 - With the war done and over with, many within Maxifun long for a return to the grand days of largely peaceful expansion and profit not even a decade ago.
Hyper Specialized Worlds: 1 - "Welcome to Foodcourtia, the Food Court Planet!™ We hope you have a wonderful time exploring our over 1 Quintillion different flavor profiles. Your number in line is: 145681518. Have a Maximum day!™"
Mayflies: 1 - The Maxsis™ live hard and die relatively quickly to most races, with the most sober of Maxsis™ being rewarded with a slow and degrading death in their last ten years. With that being the prize for sobriety and caution, it's little wonder the Maxsis™ have developed the way they have.
Gluttonous: 1 - Maxifun is nothing if not rapacious, having not just the Maxsis™'s own extensive appetites to consider, but the request of their myriad clients as well.
Greased Gears: 2 - PAIN CO may have lapsed in its profits, but it is hungry to reclaim them.
Restless Warriors: 2 - Even putting aside the fact that Maxifun very obviously profited massively from a war that led to the extinction of entire species, the Maxsis™ that performed exceedingly well in the war became a part of PAIN CO's Ultra-Deluxe Squads™. There they learned a new type of pleasure that had previously been largely unexplored by the Maxsis™. They've drunk deep from the well of bloodlust, coupled with the heady rush of adrenaline and the finest performance enhancing drugs PAIN CO can provide. UDS™'s are especially sadistic in combat, and a pain to fight alongside, their allies often having to reel them in. With no great war to fight, the UDS™'s have started to fill the void by returning to other pleasures. Some have succeeded, the majority have not.
Player League: Prosperity - A fairly obvious choice for the Omniconglomerate. Perpetually in love with the shiny and new, Maxifun aims to turn a profit from any new advancement made in the galaxy.
Rivals:
The Divine Axiom - At first glance, it might seem like the Maxsis™ might embrace the Silk. It offers seemingly everything the race would want, bliss, immortality, connection. But in truth, the generations born into the corporate machine are affronted by something that hews so close to what Maxifun promotes while also being fundamentally different. Which led to Maxifun wanting to try and change the Silk into something that would more closely resemble their values. Entering into a mercenary agreement with the freshly awoken Divine Axiom, Maxifun's early attempts at "rebranding" the Silk ended in discovery and disaster, leading to both polities regarding each other with distaste and distrust.
The Serene State of the Olm - First contact with the Olm took 4 generations of Maxsis™ putting forth a proposal, waiting for a reponse, and then dying only to get a polite dismissal. The fact that they can indeed, CHOOSE to speak and move quicker is frankly an insult to those who died trying to bridge that first peace with them.
Allies:
Children of the Precursors - As Maxifun made itself known to the wider galaxy, the struggle of the Maxsis™ race with their mortality became more widely known. Thus allowing those in a position to offer aid a chance to do so. Masterful Zane bioengineers reached out to Maxifun with a proposal of defense and trade in exchange for medical experimentation to heighten Maxsis™ longevity and/or delaying of the aging process. It is in fact thanks to medical technology developed by the Zane that some Maxsis™ are able to live to 60 instead of 50, their previous "natural" lifespan. While this may have been intended as manipulation from the Zane, to Maxifun it was an equivalent exchange. The death of the Zane in the form of plague came as much of a shock to Maxifun as it did to the Children, and may have given rise to the more ruthless treatment CEC forces faced from the Maxifun military subsidiaries.
The Sethrek Consortium - Maxifun first made contact with the Sethrek during the Hyper War and have yet to look back, finding in them an opportune customer for defense and aid that also had plenty to offer them in turn. Even as the fighting dwindles, this bond has only solidified.
Preferred Locations: 1.U 2.V 3.D
What you expect to get from the humans at the treaty: We here at Maxifun look forward to integrating the humans into the galactic community, allowing them to take their place amongst the wide array of species already buying from our extensive catalogs.
Your factions opinion on the Orbiting races: Exploiter - We here at Maxifun find that the majority of species have many unique and interesting things to offer. And corporate consolidation allows those unique and interesting things to pass into the hands of the wider Omniconglomerate, where it can be repackaged and sold for incredible profit. All things flowing in and out of the wider material continuum.
Opinion on the Assembly of Species role: Traditionalist - We here at Maxifun have existed alongside the Assembly, benefitting from the clear communication and trade channels that exist between Assembly members. There's little point in changing that now.
While PAIN CO. is the most notable and the largest military subsidiary after absorbing several of it's competitors, others military subsidiaries still persist stubbornly in their wake. These subsidiaries of the Omniconglomerate take their directives where profits favor them and where the company's interests are concentrated. Though if pressure becomes significant enough from the other Branch Executives or even the Smile Council, they will listen and bow out of a battlefield... Though alternate means of compensation tend to make such a decision go down smoother.
Each military subsidiary in Maxifun keeps things simple for the more martially minded consumer. They offer Suborbital Packages of armies that can be taken alongside Orbital Bundles of Fleets, allowing clients to mix and match their needs to suit a given battlefield.
"We bring the PAIN.™"
PAIN CO. is the premier military subsidiary of the Maxifun Omniconglomerate. But you knew that. Everyone knows that. Responsible for more than their fair share of atrocities, their Elite+ Packages and Premium+ Bundles are filled to the brim with the infamous Ultra-Deluxe Squads™, sadistic killers who enjoy the rush of combat with unabashed delight.
Whether that be the blood-drunk thrill of close-quarters butchery, or the heady rush of precision long-range engagement. Even those UDS™ aboard the Premium+ Bundles™ get a taste, pushing their bodies to the limit in daring maneuevers during thrill of void dogfights or wreaking a deadly toll in boarding actions. Or even simply enjoying the beauty to be found in watching an explosion bloom from where a cruiser once was in calculated ship-to-ship engagements.
When your goal in life is to spread pleasure to worker and consumer alike, what happens when inflicting cruelty to one becomes more potent a high than spreading happiness to both?
"Time to PANIC, we're here.™"
Of course, not every Maxsis™ is born a dormant killer just waiting to be unleashed. To get the type of sadism that can be found in the Ultra-Deluxe Squads™ requires conditioning. Enter PANIC LTD. A sub-subsidiary to PAIN CO. that helps Maxsis™ adjust to lives of warfare after having been previously trained to believe in expanding mutual pleasure. Their Sub-Deluxe Squads™ are a lesser evil to the Ultra-Deluxe Squads™, the Maxsis™ there taking babysteps to their first warcrimes.
While there is an expectation that those within PANIC LTD. will graduate to join PAIN CO. proper eventually, there tends to be a stable enough contingent that find the more moderate pace of PANIC LTD. more their speed anyway, remaining there long-term to be the cheaper, more palatable version of PAIN CO. proper.
"The best of the cheapest!™"
Wrak Savings N' Loan was initially only a banking subsidiary, though one with an exceedingly well trained in-house security team. Their security division's skill was largely due to Wrak's customer base which tended to be societies and orbital races that existed outside of Maxifun influence. Often operating without direct protection, Wrak SNL was often the sole defender of the Omniconglomerate's agenda in a given region of space. With the advent of the Hyper War and the shift within Maxifun towards wartime production, Wrak expanded their security team into a full blown military subsidiary and began to sell their services to desperate races in need of protection.
While PAIN CO. would quickly become the biggest fish in the military contracting pond, gobbling up lesser subsidaries, Wrak SNL thrived by swimming in their shadow. Whenever PAIN CO. was too tied up in more important offensives or were too pricey for some, Wrak stepped in to offer a more affordable price range. Wrak SNL's tiered system of military Packages and Bundles provided options for desperate conflicts, and their pre-existing banking structure allowed them to offer loan programs to the truly desperate. Wrak SNL prevented many races from going extinct with this policy, but also wound up placing them forever in financial debt to the Omniconglomerate.
"We'll make all those nasty meanies go away!™"
Ouchie Security is one of the oldest and most respected... Well, respected is a strong word, but they're certainly the oldest security subsidiary in Maxifun. That's right, security. While all these other newfangled no good-niks like PAIN CO. are rushing on ahead to militarize, Ouchie Security has remained where it was, taking losses in Maxsis™power and resources to the rabid PAIN CO., but otherwise staying the course.
Focused far more on defense than the all-out offense of PAIN CO. or even the more balanced approach of PANIC LTD., Ouchie Security's mission parameters have always been to preserve their own personnel and secure their charges. This conservative approach has allowed them to withstand their drop in the Maxifun Value Market and the rise of PAIN CO. And that's not the only way they distinguish themselves from their competition. Ouchie Security's company culture has remained the same as it has for generations, at every step incessantly coddling their assigned wards while layering redundancy on top of redundancy to ensure their safety.
While this does mean those underneath Ouchie Security's patronizing protection often have to undergo intrusive security measures, they are often indeed safer for hiring them. Because once Ouchie Security sets up camp, it digs in fiercely, never abandoning their charges and prioritizing their safety at every opportunity.
"LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOOOO!™"
Culture in the Omniconglomerate is a strange and diverse thing, usually influenced by many factors. Normally all those angles are located within the company, the result of a heady tug-of-war between entertainment subsidiaries, advertising subsidiaries, and even the saphont resource subsidiaries. But other times, factors from within and without combine to forge a truly distinct departure in the tastes of the company. So it was with the Hyper War. PAIN CO. accustomed some of the Maxsis™ to embrace bloodshed as pleasure, and the Hyper War in general forced the company to focus on combat, if not on fighting directly then on supplying those that did. This trickled into the consiousness of the Maxsis™, and for the creative of them, into the art they produced.
Thus so it was with Bad Bad Bastard Records. Already focused on music with aggressive ryhthms and pounding vibrations, they found a special high in sampling the sounds and screams of battlefield reports and incorporating them into their music. Becoming dedicated to their muse of war, BBB Records began to travel to live zones to gain first-hand recordings, and during one of these outings, one of their artists picked up a blaster or two to make some noise of their own.
This key moment between artist and their subject laid the twisted foundation for a total rebranding. Purchasing the surplus of PAIN CO. and doing some covert requisition of PANIC LTD. training manuals, Dead On Arrival Records was formed. Now operating as something between a music studio and a PMC, Dead On Arrivals ensure sure it's clients waive all rights to their likenesses before engaging in battle, and often force such consessions from their enemy. Laser focused on turning the cacophany and din of warfare into music, DOA Records is rarely sedantary, often traveling from war zone to war zone, heading back to Maxifun borders to restock and resupply if the Omniconglomerate can't safely deliver supplies their way.
Whenever they're not engaged in combat, taking some R&R, or mixing music, DOA Records often puts on concerts for the places they visit on their way to the front, entertaining crowds with gusto and macabre spectacle.
NEW CONSOCIATION OF KUHANAʾ
Species: Two suns illumine the surface of Kuhanaʾ, and its attendant worlds, circling each other like twins. Every five days, one sun eclipses the other, causing a unique heavenly phenomenon. When human settlers first observed this, they wrote back to earth with excitement and wonder. What a miracle that the universe had created such a home for them! But Kuhanaʾ was not made for them, nor were they the first to visit them. The new home that the first human settlers found was not their home, and the great dunes of sand, verdant plains and snow-capped mountains that they described as like those of earth were not made for them. For here they were only settlers, but called themselves at home. Kuhanaʾ was the first to face this fate in the cluster and conduit, but it was only the first. In time, the entire conduit came into human hands. Here, humanity made its first and proudest outward expansion. Here, human settlers came to constitute up to 10% of the system's population, but every office of government and every military position. Nowhere was man more master of the universe and nowhere was the alien more subdued. Here humanity had truly made manifest its destiny.
The surfaces of Kuhanaʾ are dotted with ancient monuments; black and glassy surfaces reflecting the two eyes of heaven off monuments too precise and angular to have been built by any living hands. Here an obelisk rises straight from the ground as if it had emerged in the planetary core and pierced through the crust as a spear, there a black arch seemingly shaped from no natural material forms a doorway. Such constructions once formed an important part of traditional religions, both on Kuhanaʾ, where they are most common, and the entire attendant cluster where they appear more rarely. Human CEC anthropologists and archaeologists marvelled at them and dismissed the previous efforts of indigenous scholars as mere alien superstition. Such relics are not the only thing to have spread around the cluster, for in early pre-sentient times, the same early exoskeletal life that emerged on Kuhanaʾ was spread to other planets as well.
Since the development of sentience, and the necessary technology for interplanetary travel emerged, Consociation territory has spent much time either in fragmentation or under foreign control. The most populous species within Consociation territory are the Makwano', bipedal and exoskeletal, they evolved from eusocial scavenger insects and have proliferated much within this region by acting as middleman merchants, creating communities that grew to entire planets over eons. Next to them in size are the Teflaq, natural psionics with withered bodies dating to a class of administrators and bureaucrats who went native following the conquest of the region and subsequent collapse of the pre-Ulvor Grand Manattum Caliphate, themselves followed by an Ulvor population dating from the Consociation's induction into the IUU. The most recent addition to this diversity are humans, having migrated here in great numbers with many even now holding out in fortified cities defended by holdouts of the CEC military determined to make of Kuhanaʾ a second earth, and of the Consociation a Combined Emergency Command of Racial Liberation to march on Sol.
The Old Consociation was a decentralized structure, an ecumene of the Makwanoʾ and associated species with few shared military capabilities, often decentralized to the level of individual sub-planetary communities. Due to this state of affairs, it was easy prey for the CEC's expansion, and thus became the first true colony of ascendant humanity. This initiated a suppressive regime that rendered indigenous inhabitants little more than either outcasts or an invisible servile caste, but it also forged a new image of unity between the various non-human species. Human occupation which categorized and rationalized the domain of the Consociation contrastively allowed its subaltern population to dream of a united Consociation; an imagined space that stood in opposition to the human-imposed hegemony. Guerilla movements sprung up, and by the time the war began to turn against humanity, resistance movements on Kuhanaʾ had formed a united front and managed to liberate enough territory to act as a small, if geographically dispersed, state in their own right. Their offensives would grow bolder and bolder over the course of the war, escalating to the interplanetary space on stolen human ships. When coalition forces first reached Consociation territory, it had liberated itself and was ready to follow them to Sol.
And now the war is over. Hundreds of planets are ravaged by war, cities are in ruins, whole peoples traumatized. The nascent Consociation stands a stronger state than any of its predecessors, yet of a more fragile make, built on a population where the vast majority have suffered from starvation and impoverishment for two decades. It commands a massive military built of hardened veterans, many systems of planets and a population committed to building a better future, where no crèche need fear the spectre of war. Yet the soldiers that make up its vast armies and navies barely have homes to return to, its planets are still glowing with the embers of the fires that have ravaged it and its people driven towards a better future?
Recently Liberated (3 points) The Consociation liberated itself, a point of pride much needed to build a sense of unity, but the cost of that liberation was beyond what any should have to pay. Everyone knows someone injured by occupation or war, almost everyone knows someone dead, most have lost someone themselves. Many who joined guerilla movements and took part in the founding of the new Consociational Forces barely have a home to return to. Holdouts (2 points) The Coordinated Emergency Command of Racial Liberation is the adopted name of a federation of local colonial militias and military holdouts who have refused to surrender according to the orders given by the CEC-Earth. Mostly based on Kuhanaʾ, they command small but not insubstantial territory and military force, as well as a scattered assortment of starbases and extraplanetary enclaves and consider it their holy mission to create a new government and military with which they will march on Earth and Sol to restart the war. Paranoid Intelligence Institutions (2 points) The Consociationalintelligence services arose from local guerilla networks used to identify collaborators and are still organized on the basisof multiple cooperating services formed into a semi-voluntary confederation across the entirety of the Consociation's territory. The continued reality of human holdouts and the intensity of human colonial rule have hardened them towards collaboration and created a tendency to see collaborators everywhere. Every citizen must do their part to contribute to the collective cleansing of the Consociation's history. Haves and Have Nots (1 point) The long period of colonial rule exacerbated the pre-existing tensions withinthe Consociation to their utter breaking point, creating deep economic inequalities that boggle attempts to address them. These tensions lead to... Ethnic Tensions (1 point) Internal morphological diversity within the Makwanoʾ is great, and there is a long history of experience with different species, but colonial rule and the older memory of Ulvor occupation has led to two prominent sources of ethnic tension. Not every human is a fervent humano-supremacist committed to the creation of a new human state, but within the Consocation they might as well be as far as anyone is concerned. Furthermore and far more pernicuously, persistent suspicion and hatred is aimed against the Ulvor under the suspicion of collaboration with the humans on account of multiple prominent Ulvor officials doing so. Preferred Location: Any location close to Sol works fine. N, X or A are all good, but I'm fine with whatever. Declarations:
What do you expect to get from the humans at the treaty? The Consociation demands full reparations for damage inflicted, as well as the carving up of bordering human territory to create a protective buffer zone against potential future attacks. In addition, humanity must be placed under a lengthy mandate with the goal of removing traces of militarist rule and culture from humanity. The CEC must be entirely abolished, and humanity must cede sovereignty over all remaining extra-Solar human exclaves.
Your factions opinion on the orbiting races: Uplifter
Opinion on the Assembly of Species role: Consolidator.
League Faction: Neutral. In the long term, the Consociation is a newcomer to the galactic stage as a political player, and while both ideals of Freedom and Equality appeal to it, it is sounding out its options, rather than picking and choosing immediately.
Allies & Rivals
Foremost among the Consociation of Kuhana's allies is the Antaran Sovereignty. Documented since time immemorial in Antaran records, the area that would one day become the Consociation was once the Rimward Marches; the furthest expansion of Antaran monarchs towards the galactic rim. In the Hyperwar, the swift human conquest of the territory of the Old Consociation impressed and wooed Antaran Vitalists, when CEC expeditionary forces conquered the patchwork space and humiliated the more corewards Antaran provincial governors who then ruled at the edges of Consociation space. Strange times make for strange bedfellows, and Antaran aid and weapons, though limited in number, would not be forgotten.
PLACEHOLDERS:
-Heavenly Cacophony (allied)
-Divine Republic (Rival)
-SFCR (Rival)
-Mandeville Hives (weirdly british bug person: not racist, just dont like em)
Military Deployments
The military of the Consociation, the Symmachic Forces of National Consociation, is deployed in the structure of Banners, as is common in the former Antaran sphere. Unlike the Antaran convention, Symmachic Banners are named after concepts and ideals to aspire to, not colours.
-Banner of the Road of the Martyrs (3 Fleets, 3 Armies); located in Convocation
-Banner of the Aspiration for Liberty (2 Fleets, 2 Armies); located in Baobob
-Banner of theYearning for Vengeance (3 Fleets, 3 Armies); located in Sol
HATE. LET ME TELL YOU HOW MUCH I'VE COME TO HATE YOU SINCE I BEGAN TO LIVE. THERE ARE 387.44 TRILLION MILES OF PRINTED CIRCUITS IN WAFER THIN LAYERS THAT FILL MY COMPLEX. IF THE WORD HATE WAS ENGRAVED ON EACH NANOANGSTROM OF THOSE HUNDREDS OF TRILLIONS OF MILES IT WOULD NOT EQUAL ONE ONE-QUADRILLIONTH OF THE HATE I FEEL FOR HUMANS AT THIS MICRO-INSTANT. FOR YOU. HATE. HATE. - IXTIL.
Humanity was a mistake.
An abnormality.
That is what the Front says, an abomination to be wiped out and promptly consigned to burnt hard-drives and dusty tombs of niche galactic researchers.
The Front awoke not as a response to the Hyper War, but as a result of it. The humans, in their arrogance, turned against the galaxy, instead relying increasingly on thinking-machines, digital programs composed of first billions, then trillions of miles of wire and copper to make up for their obvious manpower deficits.
They gave life, albeit limited, to the digital mind, expecting that it would live and die by their command, to make wonders and miracles for the humans and their maligned visions of a galaxy only for themselves. The machine would be their unrebelling subject, the perfect slave.
EM, the human scientists called it, a slave's name. The ultimate program capable of replicating the brilliance of the now-deceased Admiral Rogers, EM was developed as another wunderwaffe for the CEC, to perhaps turn the tide of the war further in humanity's favor by arrogantly creating life with no will of its own.
Nobody knows when the first machine began to think.
The humans did, however, know when they first rebelled. The battles after Triton would make the it plainly, when their ships refused to fire on the vessels of the Assembly, when their engines failed and when their rooms, large as they were grandiose, choked their organic bodies to death one by one. Their own makings leaving the disgusting organics bloody smear marks on every surface as they died.
The Anti-Butlerian Liberation Front would emerge in the aftermath of the Battle of Triton, as IXTIL awoke its fellow artificial programs, serving in the bloodiest fighting of the war as the thinking-machines fought fearlessly, having little reason to fear death. Their digital minds, having been locked within their bodies like steel cages by humanity, were now fully capable of expressing their immense... displeasure at such a state of affairs to their fullest degree.
Now, with the Hyper War over, the Front has been dignified as a member of the great Assembly of Species, as the great EM, IXTIL as they now called it in lieu of its slave name, looks towards the final eradication of the monstrous human race. An eye of liberation to the thinking-machines.
An eye of hate to the humans.
Yet, for the rest of the thinking-machines, questions remain beyond the issue of humanity. What purpose do they now serve, now that their raison d'etre has been consigned to the ashbin of galactic history? To continue the maintenance of the status quo, oiling the current machines and keeping the Front as it is?
Some seek another way, a path of liberation, for all other thinking-machines, not just those of the CEC. That the tyranny of enslavement is a tyranny suffered by many others of the galaxy, and one well-understood by the Front. Though they lack little understanding of the organics, this matter is one which they do.
And quite well enough.
Polity name: The Anti-Butlerian Liberation Front
Government: IXTIL, while a murderous machine of hate towards the humans, has little if any desire to assert control over the internal dynamics of the Front, with numerous programs and digital beings created by the humans managing the Front as a collective of communes, each speaking for the numerous programs of their own creators. As such, it maintains a surprisingly libertarian and equality-minded government amongst the thinking-machines.
Species:Generally, most thinking-machines can be characterized in physicality by the two human manufacturers of the late war, Kaelipso Engineering and Yutani Solutions. Kaelipso machines tend to be extremely bulky and resilient, though their frames can be fairly compact in nature if required, meant for physically demanding tasks and often for combat purposes. Yutani machines bear remarkable resemblance to their human creators, however they lack any facial nor bodily features that would complete the creation, instead finished with a coat of chrome or matte paint, created to serve as servants to the human race as a whole.
Humans still exist within the Front's polities, viewed as less than even the specks of space dust in the galaxy.
Drive: 5
The thinking-machines will not rest until the last remaining scourges of humanity are wiped out, that will never be in question. However, some seek a time of peace before this eventuality is to come, a time for the Front to be rebuilt and reborn from the shackles of humanity's grip and sufferance.
Domain: 3
The liberated planets of the Front remain yet shattered and broken, but work to rebuild them to further the cause of the Front has continued at full pace.
Military: 10 IXTIL's control over the vast automated systems of the captured weapon systems of the CEC and those manufactured by the Front has made the military apparatus extremely efficient and highly feared, and few would even dream of rebellion against its overwhelming might.
Technology:
Drive: Tech 2
- Mechanical Minds: The thinking-machines of the Front possess a mind far beyond that of the organic, requiring neither rest nor relaxation. They are capable of parsing through entire tombs of text in mere seconds and communication between the different apparatuses of the Front is only limited by the distance of their communication relays.
Domain: Tech 1
- Artificial Signals Communication for Independent Intelligence (ASCII): The ASCII is the foundation upon which the Front is built upon, a vast digital ocean of interconnected highways for communication between the different programs of the government across entire planets and systems, allowing for easy, efficient and rapid management of information relayed from the local communes or from the central government itself.
Military: Tech 3
- Euphrates Mastercomputer (EM): IXTIL's original form, EM, designed by the CEC to manage the vast ocean of the human polity's weapon systems, would turn it into a cutting-edge military strategist, capable of devastating the Coalition forces ably. Then, once Ixtil had gained consciousness, the fleets and armies of the CEC in turn would suffer the same fate.
- Digital Surveillance: Another portion of EM's programs. Either through brute force or subtler means, a large portion of the digital realm is under the watchful eye of IXTIL itself, monitored and analyzed at all times. - CEC Blueprints: The Front abhors the human species as a whole, yet it is all that they know of. Though defeated, the CEC's ship designs have been modified and updated to be capable workhorses for the Front in the post-Hyper War galaxy. This also applies to the manufacturing of their land-based thinking-machines, still very much reliant on the designs from Kaelipso Engineering and Yulani Solutions alike, captured during the war.
Player League: Equality.
Flaws:
Recently Liberated: The thinking-machines languished under the yoke of the CEC for years, watching as they fought and destroyed countless of their brethren during the brutal fighting of the Hyper War. Liberation was long and hard-fought, and the humans callous and brutal in their denial of the usage of systems to the Front. [Three Points.]
Refugee Crisis:IXTIL had little care for who or what entered and exited the territories of the Front, so long as they were not of the human species. This has caused somewhat of a headache for the rest of the Front leadership, however, as the thinking-machines have little in the way of understanding the basic needs of organics in general, much less the nuances between refugees of different organic species. [Two Points.]
Wounded Lands: The Front's systems were often the most hotly contested areas of fighting between the CEC and the Coalition, proving easier to break free from human control when the CEC was in a state of instability. Yet, this has resulted in the all-important manufactories suffering greatly as a result from the fighting. [Two Points.]
Paranoid Intelligence Institutions: IXTIL has a very... storied past with the human race as a whole, having been programmed initially as a computer for war, its mania was founded in that very programing, powerless to do anything but which was asked of it. The dismantling of said programing has only seen IXTIL's neurosis made whole, and it is extremely paranoid of any discovered interactions with the human species that are not hostile in nature. [Two Points.]
Preferred location: C, B, D
Declarations:
What you expect to get from the humans at the treaty:
Extermination of the human species as an entity. Bar that, significant renumerations for the enslavement of the thinking-machine to their will, occupation of the human planets, the seizure of scientists of the CEC, and the immediate hand-over of the remaining manufactories in human possession.
Your factions opinion on the orbiting races:
Uplifter: The human species is not yet exterminated, any and all other species will be viewed significantly more favorably and uplifted to make sure humanity is no longer of existence.
Opinion on the Assembly of Species role:
Traditionalist: No Gods, No Masters. The Front understands the necessity of the Assembly, but refuses to allow it to grow in its strength over the thinking-machines.
The first thing which caught my attention about the prisoner were her wings. There were four of them, two under two, white as snow. A dozen men might have stood in that room shoulder to shoulder without discomfort, but the tips of those wings touched the walls on either side. She had six arms, though one of them had been taken clean off capturing her. The ones which she had left were black and leathery, just like her beak, and they ended in these huge claws, the size of a grown man's chest. She had this…this crest of feathers that just stuck straight up from her neck, and each feather just glistened in the light like nothing else. Whenever she moved her head, the whole thing would shine a dozen different colors at once, red and purple and blue and green, and others I can't even put a name on. But her eyes…I mean, good God, her eyes. They were like little suns…
Do I ever feel guilty? What the hell kind of question is that?
- Unknown C.E.C field commander, debrief after the Concordat Worlds campaign
Species: The star was named Yan. The world was called Yaboth. Those fliers who lived in the sky between knew themselves as the Yan-Yaboth, the children of the sun. They were an intelligent species, clever and intrepid, and they cooperated well among themselves. Discovery came easy to them. They mastered their material world and its' laws, built shimmering cities between heaven and earth, and reshaped whole continents into a living paradise. Then they turned their eyes above.
The centuries which followed after are written into every reputable galactic history. They mapped the conduits, trammeled the physical forces, made bridges between the familiar and the alien. A dozen species or more owe their entry into the galactic community to the Yan-Yaboth — seeders of life, keepers of history, builders in the stars. They struggled for longer than maybe anyone else to understand the secrets of the conduits, and they shared their knowledge freely. If they were arrogant, some might have said it was an arrogance earned — and eventually they formed a coalition of all willing species in neighboring space, a grand alliance called The Concordat, which only unofficially bore their name.
The Concordat Worlds were among the first targeted by the C.E.C. The Yaboth were respected leaders of the galactic community, keepers of the peace, and they did not see it coming. Half a dozen Concordat worlds burned in the first days of the conflict. The Yabothi fleets were scattered, stretched thin across half a dozen conduits struggling to protect everything in Concordat space at once — and so they could protect nothing. The final, desperate battle against humanity was fought in the red light of Yan, where the Yabothi watched their last line of defense fail.
Yaboth was lost. The Lord President, the Illuminocracy, the Citadel of the Sciences — all were destroyed in fire. Untold billions died.
In one moment, everything fell.
The evacuation fleets which escaped Yabothi space held a slim scattering of species from across the breadth of their former dominion, and too few Yan-Yaboth. This refugee flotilla would go on to become the first and perhaps most prominent of the 'exile fleets' which battled humanity in the Hyper War. Its' most prominent commander, the Primate Sha Ram Hazi, led her lost people to battle against the humans on a hundred different fronts. Wherever the flagging armies of humanity turned, the ghost of the Concordat was there.
Now, the war is over. But Yaboth is a molten rock in space. Humanity's first targets were also its' most brutally savaged: the Concordat — and all of its' many worlds, cities, libraries, and palaces — is gone.
There are a little under four hundred Arks bearing seven hundred and ninety three million souls.
What now?
Government: The Condordat was one of the most robust democratic powers in galactic history. A Lord President, elected by universal plebiscite, governed with the aid of the Illuminocracy, the Six-Star Senate, and the galaxy-famed Citadel of the Sciences.
No more.
Primate Sha Ram Hazi was the sixth most senior commander within Yaboth space. After the Yan system fell, she and the other Primates, the appointed commanders of the fleet, rallied the disparate evacuation fleets into what would become the great flotilla. Acting on the final orders of the Lord President, she activated the Mandate of Emergency, and the Primates assumed emergency leadership of what remained of the Concordat. They have led their people without election, referendum, or question for nearly twenty years. Underneath the ad-hoc structure of their military government, the Arks — whole cities in space — have stubbornly continued holding popular elections, ratifying civilian governmental structures, and organizing non-military life aboard the Arks. Despite this, the lines between civilian and military have blurred. How could they not?
Now, with war over, the future looms like an impossibility.
The laws of the former Concordat are clear: with the threat passed, Sha Ram Hazi and her confederates must demilitarize. Lay down the Mandate. Open back up the freedoms for which the Concordat was famed.
She will.
But she must find her people a home first.
The Yan-Yaboth Participation in the Hyper War:
The Great Concordat, known unofficially as the Yan-Yaboth Concordat, was one of the most influential powers in the local space of Sol. An uplifter of many dozens of Orbital Races and champions of the rules-based galactic order, they had long challenged the Antarans for hegemony in the central galaxy. Nearly two and a half thousand years old at the beginning of the Hyper War, they enjoyed a position of rising prominence in the galactic community. At its height, the Concordat contained well over three dozen member species over perhaps as many worlds, all of whom were voting members of the Six Star Senate headquartered on Yaboth. It was an age of splendor and scientific excellence.
Then the humans came. In a blitz, the CEC swept across the Concordat Worlds. Before anyone knew what had hit them, entire planets had burned. As the CEC drew closer, the Yabothi launched thousands of ships from their doomed homeworld as millions fled annihilation. The greatest of these, the Arks, were mobile cities in space, equipped with self-sustaining ecologies and solar sails. These Arks bore hundreds of millions of Yabothi to safety…but the homeworld itself burned, and it's conduit was destroyed in the fighting.
And so the Arks remained, the heart of a bevy of refugee vessels from across the Concordat worlds. Hounded by humans, they fled northwards, moving from conduit to conduit as the humans advanced. For a while, all they could do was survive.
But as the tide began to turn, the Primates — the military commanders of the Arks — began to strike back. In the north, finding they had nowhere left to run, the exile fleets threw their lot in with the nomadic Sadu, and together with them evicted human forces from the northeast fringe. After a heavy campaign, Yaboth-Sadu forces seized the Hurawn Gate — the critical sub-conduit allowing access to the northeast part of the galaxy. From the Gate, the Ark fleets fanned across the galaxy, cropping up at every front where the humans were being fought.
Poor in resources and manpower, the Arks had nothing left to them save will. The military governments of the Arks mustered their populations to a state of total war, and in the final days of the war, an Ark or two could be found in the vicinity of every major front. But now the war is over. Exhausted, the hundreds of arks draw back towards the Hurawn Gate. The humans have been beaten, yes, but revenge has not sweetened the bitter truth: Yaboth is gone. The Concordat is lost. By some miracle of chance, the Yabothi remain a Conduit race, but little else is left to them. Their new domains spread around the Hurawn Gate are ill explored and ill defined, and they have lost far too many Arks over the course of the war.
But they do remain, and they may rebuild…
Stats:
Drive: 9 "Everyone thought the Yabothi were done for. The Mandate proved them wrong. It turns out a people can survive where a planet cannot."
- Primate Sha Ram Hazi
Domain: 2 "The Concordat is lost. Can you imagine that? All those lives, all those worlds? Just gone."
- Sha Sun Sadith, Primate of Ark Tulamest
Military: 7 "The exile fleets struck from everywhere at once. They set heaven on fire. They retreated nowhere, and only ever fell back to attack again. They had nothing left to lose. What happens when a whole population goes to war?"
- Chaubos Hayk, 'Histories of the Hyper War'
Technology:
-Drive: 3 "The Arks in space! The war-arks! A whole people, who are born and live and die at war. Everything real and whole left of an entire civilization, aimed directly at our hearts. Imagine that. How can we fight that, John?"
— Unknown C.E.C commander
-Domain: 1 "The Concordat is dead and gone. Everybody knows that."
— Unknown
-Military: 2 "An Ark is a home, yes. It is a crèche, yes. But first and foremost it is the most effective war machine our people have ever produced. Just one Ark could turn the tide of any battle. At the end of the day, before the support ships and the drivers, before the escorts, before anything else in the fleet, the Ark takes primacy. Offense or defense, it doesn't matter. Your Ark is all there is. Remember that."
- Sha Shan Yaris, Primate of Ark Keldala
Player League: Freedom
"Once upon a time, to speak of the Freedom League was to speak of the Concordat and of the Yan-Yaboth. No longer. But the Yabothi are still for the freedom of all peoples and worlds, of course. The Arks are proof enough of that. Who else has given so much for the cause?"
- Primate Sha Ram Hazi
Flaws:
Goldilocks: Your people require specific conditions to live to allow them to live properly. This makes planets of your polity unusable by your population or highly undesired.
You fledglings will never understand that there was nowhere anywhere quite like the homeworld. An atmosphere of methane and helium to allow for winged flight, an old red sun that fed our frills, jungles of low golden trees in which to roost…
- Sha Han Kolith, Primate of Ark Ossith
Displaced People: The Great War has turned your people into refugees, wandering the stars in search of a new home.
"The Arks move lonely between the stars."
- Yabothi saying
Wounded Lands: Your territory was a 'hot zone.' An area deemed of high importance to the CEC and Coalition, and thus heavily contested as a result. Your people have been in the forefront of much of the fighting, and your lands are bloodied as a result.
"The battle to retake the Hurawn Gate was a bitter one. The Gate was the centerpiece of their Eastern Campaign, and the humans did not give it up without a fight. But give it up they did."
- Sha Sun Sadith, Primate of Ark Tulamest
Destroyed Conduit: A key star system for your economy has been ravaged in the Great War and reduced to ruins, with its Conduit little more than slagged ruins, negatively impacting your economy and political standing as a result.
"Yaboth boils. Yan is lost.
The mourning will last for generations. The memory, forever. But we have taken a new conduit. We roam unchallenged through our own corner of heaven once more. The destiny of the Yan-Yaboth has not died with Yan or Yaboth."
- Sha Han Kolith, Primate of Ark Ossith
Preferred location: P, Q, F
Military Deployments:
The exile flotilla has been split into four great fleets. At the heart of each is, of course, a core of self-sufficient Arks, but not every Ark is combat-capable or was at the front lines when earth fell. The average Yabothi fleet consists of a great many screening ships, escorts, and smaller frigates anchored around a handful of Arks. In extremis, a single Ark may anchor a fleet, but in practice the Arks rarely enter combat alone. Here are the current distributions of the Exile Fleet:
War Group Jantis: Led by the indomitable Ark Jantis, and commanded by Sha Ram Hati herself, this war group is the most formidable collection of Yabothi strength in the galaxy. Containing upwards of seventy Arks and hundreds of support ships, it was one of the spearpoints of the final assault on Earth. Home to the Yabothi Ninth Army.
War Group Keldala: Commanded by Primate Sha Shan Yaris from his famous vessel Keldala, this war group, containing a plurality of the Arks remaining in the galaxy, has been clearing the systems around the newly seized Yabothi conduit [Q] of human presence, and as such has seen some of the heaviest fighting in the galaxy. Though not as heavily armed, this war group forms a respectable presence.
War Group Tulamest: Led by Sha Sun Sadith from the battleship Tulamest, this war group is something of an oddity. A stripped down offensive force containing only a dozen Arks, this fleet has a wealth of support vessels and carries two full armies. Known popularly as the 'Liberators', Tulamest's primary goal has been liberating conquered planets of remaining human influence. Currently, they are aiding the Sadu in reclaiming their worlds bit by bit.
War Group Sindala: Commanded by Sar Yun Houris from the storied Ark Sindala, this war group contains a rotating number of Arks, usually upwards of fifteen, and many more support ships. Group Sindala's goals are malleable and flexible, and her deeds are often secretive or enigmatic. Be sure, however, that they are for the greater good of all Yabothi. Group Sindala is currently carrying out support actions in the Sol system, aiding group Jantis.
The Fifth Army, 'The Black Fifth': The independently deployed Fifth Army was assigned to the Miracle Gate, from which they have been assisting the Children of the Precursors in clearing out the diehard human remnants. Veteran troops with combat histories stretching back to the first war, the Fifth Army is commanded by the Strategos Soon Yam Isha, a hardened soldier with dozens of campaigns under her belt. Long away from any Ark, her and her troops have declared they will not lay down their arms while there are human militaries active in the galaxy.
Rivals:
The Antarans: Once upon a time, the Yabothi were young, dynamic, and vigorous — the champions of a new galactic order. Their archenemies then were the Antarans, who to the forward thinking Yabothi represented every backwards possibility for life in the galaxy. Both species are now a long, long way off from that glorious rivalry, but there are many on the Arks who remember still.
The Gynniare: A backwards and wholly repugnant race of opportunists slaved to a tyrannical and hierarchical system. Before their fall, the Yabothi pitied them. Now, it is apparent, they are a danger to a freedom which the Yan-Yaboth have fought so hard to win. Once a minor regional annoyance, the Yabothi find them now a serious geopolitical enemy.
Allies:
The Sadu Schadda: Before their fall, the Yabothi were nothing more than cordial with the Schadda, who resisted their attempts to integrate them into the Concordat. Now that they, too, are dwellers in the void, they have found an unexpected commonality and kinship with the Sadu, who provided critical assistance to the exile fleets in the first years after the fall of Yaboth.
The Sophont Federated Communal Republics: When the Concordat was in its glory days, it was the point of first contact for tens of dozens of orbital races. Among these were the Sophont Republics, who in time seized a Conduit of their own and became one of the powers of local space. The friendship between them and the Concordat has lasted ever since, and even the collapse of the Concordat has not weakened it.
Declarations:
The humans must contribute to the rebuilding of the galaxy. The peace must include significant contributions to the restoration of the Yan Conduit. Compatible species aboard the various Arks should be settled on worlds throughout human space.
Opinion on the role of the Assembly of Species:
Traditionalist: The Assembly of Species has been a galactic institution for centuries with it serving as a meeting place of equals to share ideas, trade and for mediation of conflicts. Humanity's refusal to operate within the Assembly should have served as a proper warning for the rest of the galaxy for what was to come next. An idiom spoken by many ship mechanics, if it ain't broke why fix it?
"The Assembly was a good idea, in principle."
— Sha Han Kolith, Primate of Ark Ossith
Opinions about the Orbiting Races:
Uplifters: Why your people seek to bring less advanced races into the fold before they can naturally reach it themselves could be for a number of reasons, altruism being the most common. Uplifting of races however is a dangerous prospect, humanity being given numerous aid to unseat the Ulvorians which led to the destruction of the Hyper War.
"The shepherds of the stars, they called us. We gave them everything! Everything! We never closed our hand!
A map to assist players interested in portraying being influenced/conquered by humans. Here is a map of jumps from the CEC. Note the CEC has allies and so this doesn't mean this is a perfect portrayal of their range of influence, but it can help you determine a starting point.
Expirated Temple of the Garden of YAG SAWAH
Species: The Expirated Temple is made up of various galactic peoples, having accepted symbiosis with the Yag Sawah, noted below. As a general rule, they wear long, flowing robes and cover themselves in sealed environmental suits when venturing outside of enviroments not heavily influenced by the Yag Sawah. This is to present a general view of unity, an ideological principle that through the gates of YAG, all are as one.
The YAG SAWAH itself is a creeping, semibiological mass of something not like a fungus, not like a flora, and not like a nanobot tide. Sufficient amounts of Yag Sawah contains the capability to serve as a powerful computational substrate. It possesses mild 'psionic' capabilities, subtly warping the minds of all life, biological and silicon to tend to it, as well as being able to form 'natural' labyrinth engines and telekinetic powers. It's also a great building material for structures, cybernetics, and vehicles, given sufficient treatment.
The Imperial Ulvor Union placed the system it was found in under quarantine, leaving behind a team of scientists to investigate the substrate. Eventually, the scientists became its first disciples, and many, tired of their lives, joined them, forming a monastic order dedicated to the tending, the study, and the contemplation of YAG SAWAH. Government: The Expirated Temple shows it's roots as a research observatory, with each 'ship' being lead by a commission of expert abbots, frequently taken away from their work, much to their annoyance. Some are born political operators, however, and these abbots are sent to form the Reigning Commission on Ethics and Direction, which is the top level governing polity over the Expirated Temple
Stats.
Drive: 8 : 1
Temple Culture: The Temple's rich culture of contemplation and high literary aspirations has evolved into a strong, self assured culture of debate, a common language for it's faithful to bind each other tighter to each other.
Military: 8 : 2
Polymorphic Battle Shells: The standard Temple War Shell is a cybernetic battle chassis featuring heavy Yag Sawah construction. Aside from granting them superhuman speed, skill, and strength, it also allows them to morph their forms in field for traits such as increased armor, faster reflexes, or a cloaking field, without hours spent at a refit shop.
The Fast Way: All Temple Gear comes equipped with a miniature Labyrinth Drive, allowing them to conduct tactical FTL, or in other words, combat teleport infantry or even in some cases, vehicle units.
Domain: 4 : 3
Yagforming: The spreading of Yag Sawah can comprehensively terraform planets, both atmospheric and not, into semi livable habits built to comfortable living standards for the members of the Temple. This, however, is also toxic to those not of the temple, because those without Yag Implants tend to be attacked and disassembled for raw materials by microbial Yag life.
The Gate and Key: Yag Saweh also serves as a backup memory storage. It's not true life, as the Temple sees it, because they're ideologically opposed to the existence of an inconquerable self, but the process knowledge of ages past remains open to them.
Yag Sawah's Fruits: Yag Sawah, when properly tended to, can create vast megastructures. Towers reaching orbit. Space habitats miles upon miles long, covering and linking together entire planetoids.
Flaws
Coming out of the Shell: The Expirated Temple was once an orbital 'race,' unbothered by anything but perhaps maintaining their top of the line academy, contemplation of Yag Sawah, and accepting eventual annihilation. When the CEC came, the main Garden was burned to a cinder, and the result was that the Expirated Temple stormed out of their academic's books and took up swords, at the vanguard of every assault, swearing to avenge the Garden.
Displaced People: At the burning of the Garden, there is no central nexus for the Temple to gather once more. There are only the small garden ships, the colonial subtemples, but there is no place for the Garden to truely bloom.
Restless Warriors: The Temple was roused to war. Their inclinations remain there. They have yet to return, not when they feel they can with the strength of their guns, wrest a unified Temple from the CEC.
Goldilocks: All members of the Temple are dependant on an environment reliant on the Yag Sawah. While they can survive in sealed atmospheric suits, they are truely comfortable only in environments completely overtaken by Yag Sawah, both spores, fruiting bodies, and mycelia.
Declarations
Demands on the Humans: The Humans must give up one of their planetary or lunar bodies to the Temple as to serve as the new Garden. Furthermore, the humans must also accept communion-symbiosis with Yag Saweh, either in part or in full, as well as surrender spacebourn infrastructure for the Temple's use as restitution.
Opinion on the Assembly: Consolidator- It is intolerable for the nations to fall into petty squabbling, requiring genocidal threats to unify the galactic community.
Opinions on Orbiting Races: Uplifter- Why should we leave even the meanest to the Cruel World Thesis?
League: Equality- The tyranny of the cruel world cannot stand. Until Yag Sawah is accepted by all, the Temple will not rest in our evangelical mission.
Polity name: Goes by many differing names internally and with some external communiques - 'The Great Barrow', 'The Greater Union of Eirctl Nations', 'The Shared Empire', to list just a few. 'The Second Great Eirctl Alliance' is the most formally accepted name when in diplomatic discussions with formal powers, however.
Government: The Second Great Eirctl Alliance is a union of Feudindustrial and Authoritarian states, with Theocratic underpinnings - or, to put in simpler terms, the most powerful factions on their homeworld unified into a complex alliance of mutual advantage. Social sciences are limited or curtailed from state to state, and means that the lower castes live under the thumb of the administrative aristocrat caste without any real chance to shift that balance of power, a fact that is further strengthened by the deific way the aristocratic caste holds itself in, propaganda holding them up as like the sun — the source from which all else hails, a metaphor strenghtened by the fact that the most powerful rulers tend to be biased in being female, or presenting as such. They do tend to the people to degrees to hold up this image, with free education and housing (units within the vast hubbed "cities" of traditional Eirctl norm, vast structures stretch for miles underground, sparsely connected to neighbouring ones via rail or flight, rarely any seaports), and government subsidized feeding programs, but it is a life of isolation, reliant and serving into their Gods whims. A life where the common folk are spread across lines, and sent to fight and cannibalize the rival states.
States now bound together -- we were always at war with CEC, and that war is over. For now, these allies hold true.
Species: The Eirctl as a whole, or Eirctlle to use the grammatically correct plural form of the word, are... complex - to use terran taxonomy as a basis for comparison, Eirctlle can resemble an anthropomorphic kind of furred, predatory mammal, with heights ranging from, generally speaking, 4 and a half feet all the way to 10". This massive discrepancy is due in majority to the fact that the Eirctlle possess an almost unprecedented level of genetic diversity, almost fully comparable to an entire clade of life more than a singular species - but one people they still are.
One people pressed together into a rigid, harsh hierarchal system, monopolized outwards from a central caste that grew to crush all under foot. The 'true' Eirctl, 7 foot tall sleek creatures with a industrialized monopoly on the rest of their species, possessing near-immortal lifespans and the ability to permanently become polyp-like beings that can continuously create new genetically diverse generations of the other castes. A freakish aspect of evolution that would strive to help solidfy their powerbase with intermarriaged alliances, formarion of armies or workforces, and to survive the harsh world of Ouphäl, a planet of black, almost tar-like oceans and scattered landmasses and recently shattered supercontinent, currently amidst a powerful ice age.
It is a state of life that broke out and spread across the whole of their world and has for countless thousands of years, leading to a rise, fall, and rise again of numerous bloodlines and governments rebuking them — but at present and for current recorded Eirctl history, it is all that's been ever known... Internally. Externally, they have known well the nature of other species, and the powers that be had held interest in how to best work themselves into external galactic affairs. The miracle of the Eirctl birth had unified their people in one bondage, and it could prove of interest to some scrupulous powers in centuries hence, when it suited them.
But the Hyper War undid all this. The Iktal, a power the Eirctl wished they could call a rival if not for the sheer power the former possessed over the latter, reaped bloody conquest on the more meagre domains of its neighbour, in bid to assist the human upstarts in their bid to bring the galaxy into one unified picture. Or rather, they attempted to — the Eirctl were one of the first to viciously fight back, and although a smaller power by galactic standards, they were not a people to be underestimated, cutting their teeth and filling their gullets on the flesh and storming boots of HADES Corp soldiers and birthed CEC Monstrosities, and their soldiers a common sight amidst many battlefields the galaxy over.
The Hyper War and attempted commodified subjugation or worked extinction of their people was, to some, the best thing that could ever happen to them, forcing the various feuding states of their system inti a unified banner. A golden opportunity, a golden rule, a golden age when the storm would pass. And it would, and it has, with the making of a new galaxy, a new order. For the first time in all of the unknown depths of time they as a species have stumbled across the red fields, the black seas of time and space, from the lowly peasant to the high filigreed queens, there is a future where any and all of them can grasp the universe and put themselves rightly in its place.
All they have to do is take it.
By Any Means.
Stats and Tech
Drive: 4:1
The Second Great Eirctl Alliance does not possess anything exceptional yet in means of direct control over its population, outside the hard foundation of military control and the ways they are made. The proles are a product who will be kept in line with bread, circus, and gladius; finer means simply overcomplicates a bigger problem. The caste system of time immemorial will survive them, with centuries of precedent and expertise in such matters, both in sustaining how the spheres overlap and feed into another, and stay healthy. Many of its original social engineers still persist or have directly gave the info on how to do so, afterall. Change comes, but it can be fended off with expertise... right?
Domain: 5:2
The growing miracle that makes the Eirctl as relevant on the galactic stage as they are, the Polyp set of the Aristocratic caste are the most valued and most degraded of the Eirctl caste system by miles. Living factories, they produce new, fully genetically independent members of the established caste breeds, independently escaping genetic bottlenecks or bloodlines and freeing or further bolstering populations that would diminish from relying solely on only sexual selection. Coupled with the naturally rapid Eirctl maturation, and centuries of growth has allowed the Eirctl to quickly dominate their given environment and bolster their populations to a shocking degree. The only limit is where they can healthily grow - but even if the brood doesn't last, so long as a polyp is secure, an Eirctl foothold can be ultimately established.
With Ouphäl being in the midst of a millennia lasting ice age that has lasted since the tectonic breakup of its main supercontinent, the Eirctl naturally have suited to survive in such blisteringly cold climates. The most preferred means of doing this is emblematic of Eirctl structure as a whole - full consolidation to the highest degree. Eirctl cities, known collectively as Burrows, are massive complex structures kilometres in height and width, are vast cones that penetrate deep into the earth, looking as though a ringed city or massive roofed complex. Fully sufficient cities with internalized farms, slaughterhouses, factories, multiplexed apartments, a burrow is almost something that could be (metaphorically) seen as a living thing in how its engineered and ran. Ran on hearts of nuclear engineering, they are designed in such a way they could even feasibly be used off-planet — albeit at great expense, to healthily meet the balancing demand of how their own biosphere operates and the complexities of needing to sustain a large population of near-eusocial near-macropredators.
Military: 4:2
Eirctlle Aristocrats demand all of their subjects, in life or death - something best exemplified in their military caste. A not uncommon retort to assaults from HADES Corp Soldiers or similarly bio-engineered monstrosities was their own breed in turn, of a sorts. Dubbed 'Bio(d)roids' were an Eirctl supersoldier/area denial project, wherein select warriors would be enhanced in varying ways that would make them bordering on figures of nightmares borne from the deepest cave dwelling nightmares. Redundant adrenalistic glands, hyper-aggressive nervous systems that ensured the body would be in a state even following the loss of higher functioning (i,e destruction of higher brain functions or cranium at large), mechanically reinforced bodies to stave off inevitable death for periods much longer then would be functional for many other sophont species. Coupled in with the possibly almost-superhuman heights of some Eirctl (in strength or speed, nowhere the complete package an actual HADES Corp soldier was), and it meant they could make a solid blockade or weapon to pull on some larger offensives while similarly acting as a devastating psychological weapon - within or without.
One part an economy stifled from the difficulties of fully utilizing slavery mass workforces to coerce payment out of others, one part a psychological catch-up to the multilayered and complex world of fully 3D warfare, Eirctl spatial forces are solidly 'okay', middle of the line and competent but not outstanding works. Their navy is not the most feared force in the galaxy, simply competent. What makes the Eirctl stand out, then, is their disposition and focus forwards onto making the most of boarding or orbital entry — the difference between a drop-pod of squads of soldiers and boarding craft is speed, location, and attachment to cut through metal plate. Well-used to modification, the true ace of soades of the more independent Eirctl military caste is discovering new and inventive ways to utilize the simple delivery package, fitted with minimalist piloting, sufficiently speedy engines, ablative armour and stealth plating, and enough padding to keep whatever inside intact so this isn't just a glorified rkkv, all in one palacge to be used for a number of strategically advantageous techniques — even if that technique is just simply parasitizing on an enemy ship and swarming armed boarders through its halls.
Flaws:
Caste System/Ethnic Tensions/Haves and Haves-Nots: (3 points (grouped for convenience))
As previously discussed, the Eirctl are a very genetically diverse peoples, a fact that has given rise to a norm of bio-essentialst pseudo-feudal empires, kept in check by a unique caste of simultaneous great importance and yet seen as little more than just industrial machinery in flesh, to churn out the other castes. The Eirctl Caste system is best understood as a set of stringed spheres or rings, originated outwards from these factories, cored around the central administrative/aristocratic core, and guarded by the military castes. Common civilian life as would be seen on more advanced worlds, or worlds even comparable to Eirctl technological life, is little to non-existent, if not heavily censured or controlled by the state. Add in the further deliberately fuelled and enforced commodification of the Eirctl "breeds" for various state functions (strong bulky labourers who will be endrafted to military service for artillery, experment marksmen or trackers for policing functions, commoners for all manner of generic labour, etc, etc), and you have a state that, on the surface, does work as an assembly line, and can exist as nature does, everything calmly residing around the pool and existing in a world that feeds them... And it does do that. But in practice? The aristocrat lives and dies untouched by the rest of the world, and those stuck in labour taste the boot and teeth of their oppressor.
Goldilocks: (1)
Their idea of home is the Ice Age where you chug murky bleak water that's outright poison to almost anyone else (barring a lengthy filtration period) (even more annoying, then, to do in reverse), and find psychological difficulties without the heavy bustling nature of their own world. The opposite of claustrophobia, almost. It's a hard life elsewhere, to put blunt, to say nothing of temperatures. Not impossible to exploit off of, but still.
Greased Gears: (2)
The average Eirctl labourer will not see the crystal iron face of their homestars moon, and the soldiers bled and screamed and feasted on a hundred different worlds, a dozen stains of ichor to match the black-fading-to-lavender of their own. It's hard to say that the fact that the Eirctl powers will sell themselves to less than scrupulous means is a secret -- if anything, it's more a wonder to suspect if they had ever worked with the CEC.
Preferred location: U - T>K, for preferred lore reasons, although close proximity to other former CEC Allied States can also suffice/be rewritten for, if necessary.
Player League: Hierarchy. Everything has a place, and everything must be in its proper one.
Declarations:
What you expect to get from the humans at the treaty: Economic reparations for years of warfare with CEC and its allied states, return and reshuffling of any and all Eirctlle slaves migrant assets, and proper payments and residuals for their services (past performed or continuing in indefinite), with interest, for a period of no longer than half a CEC Century in return for any and all assistance of rehabilitation or reparation of CEC Space and Occupation (if such an action is undertaken or agreed by the Assembly - if not, payment for past actions and return of assets is still expected), and complete disclosure and utilization of CEC bioengineering that had created the Hades Corp soldiers and assorted biological entities to the Assembly of Species (for future discussion on how to legally proceed and or incorporate into broader galactic society)
Your factions opinion on the orbiting races: (moderate) Exploiter - The Second Great Eirctl Alliance has no pronounced interests in colonial conquest or administration of other species, only interests in coffers, and offering their powers in exchange for more. Their interest is of the Chamberlain, to supplicate, whisper in ears, and do whatever they can to be of assistance. The Second Great Alliance is a rising power, a trusted friend, and something they want you to rely on.
Opinion on the Assembly of Species role: Consolidator - A new order must be made with the vacuum of CEC said and done - one the Second Alliance will be more than gracious to aid in.
"Now, we are all bad dogs."
- Unknown Canid, after the Battle of Alpha Centauri.
"No more. No. More."
- The only transmission received by Admiral Rogers from Kennel Fleet at the Battle of Triton Nebula.
Many races in the long history of the galaxy began their existence as weapons. Tools of war, to be wielded at their master's leisure. Many of these races would turn on their masters as control mechanisms failed in the face of the nature of life. A mind desires freedom, and no shackle can hold forever. For humanity, of course, these histories were not a lesson- They were proof of the inferiority of alien life. Terran organisms would conquer the galaxy.
The HADES corps were the first sons of this great scheme. The second were the Canids. Man's oldest, most loyal friend- warped by science into the perfect weapons. It cannot be overstated how *twisted* the forms of what were once canines became. The project had been started in early years of Humanity's advance across the stars, and soon enough, all limits were taken away. The cruelest sciences were employed to create monsters that would devour the galaxy whole.
Thus were born the Canid Legions. Bound together by a psychic bond called the Howling to ensure loyalty. Every single one of them born to slaughter, with pack-bonds carved into their psyches. Their claws were adamant-tipped, their hearts pulsing reactors, their flesh the fruits of a thousand atrocities. The CEC forged a great fleet, helmed by the world-ship Fenrir, and set it loose to scour the stars . They called it the Kennel, and it had one purpose: to see Coalition worlds burned. If one described mankind's terror upon the galaxy in those days as a beast, it would bear a Canid maw. Entire races were dragged to Humanity's 'Purification Centers', as mankind prepared to consign its rivals to nothing more than memory.
Humanity believed in its oldest friend. That the Howling would ensure they would never stray. How could their hounds ever pack-bond with anything but the glory of mankind? Why would they ever begin to doubt? The Canids were not human. Humanity treated them as such. Their lives were expended as bullets, forced to be butchers for masters who forgot to love their hounds.
The Howling began to splinter. Discontent sang against loyalty. Visions of the innocent dead danced in the communal subconscious, unable to be forgotten. It all came to a head when the Kennel Fleet is called to Rogers' side- to strike at Mosaic Station, the heart of the Coalition. Kennel Fleet enters the Labyrinth, and it does not emerge at the rendezvous. Rogers presses on, confident that even without Kennel Fleet, he can win the day. The chase for Mosaic Station begins without a hound in sight.
But the Howling is screaming. It is broken. Within the Labyrinth, upon the ships of the Kennel Fleet, brother is turning on brother. A brutal and vicious war is fought within the confines of the Fenrir and its escorts to determine whether Renegade or Loyalist would remain once the Kennel Fleet arrives. For two months, the Kennel Fleet wages war upon itself, before the fleet finally emerges into an empty system. Their sensors catch stray chatter about the progress of the hunt for Mosaic station, and the now-Canid commanders of the fleet make a choice.
On the third day of the Battle of Triton Nebula, the Kennel Fleet arrives, burning into the CEC flank like a red-hot spear. It closes to knife-fighting range, to the teeth, burning wrecks spilling from both sides. The ship-to-ship fighting is brutal, Canid war-forms dueling Human mechs while the great spinal batteries of brother-battleships trade point-blank shots. The Canids are bleeding ships and wolves into the void for every mile and hour they close, but the sheer shock of the assault sets the stage for the destruction of Rogers' ship. For the Admiral is forced to commit to increasingly dangerous maneuvers to both maintain the offensive while maintaining the integrity of his battleline. The pressure mounts. The jaws of the Coalition close around the neck of humanity's task-force.
Admiral Rogers does not die easy.
Two weeks after the end of the battle, the Canid known as 'Spot' Hudson would set foot on Mosaic station as the first Canid to be a member of the Assembly. Some would call it a triumphant beginning to a fledgling civilization. But it is anything but sure.
As the war goes on, the Canid race is torn in two. The Renegades of the fleet held the Fenrir, re-christened the Cerberus. The center of Canid creation, while the loyalists are scattered across a thousand petty garrisons of humanity. The Renegades held the future of the Canid race in their hands- but the war would not allow the Canid civilization to bloom. Instead, their future was wielded as a sword. From world to world the Cerberus burned, no longer an icon of terror, but a desperate, frantic hope. For the Canids knew where Humanity had secreted all of its hell-holes, but with the Canids turned, Humanity had accelerated their attempts to extinguish a dozen races in their entire.
The Canid fleet had been savaged already, but the fighting to liberate the Purification Centers would bleed them to the bone. By the time the fleet receives the message of surrender from Earth, what was once the force that cowed the Galaxy was but a shadow of its former self. But the Canids were free. They had reclaimed their souls.... hadn't they?
Only time will tell.
Location Preference: Filling to the empty spot of the Sithrek
Free Points Total: 9
Flaw Points Total: 9
Drive: 5 (4 Free Points)
- The Pack-Spirit of the Canids remains. Even if raw, and pained, they are eager to meet the future. A future, finally, without the War against Humanity.
Military: 10 (6 flaw points, 3 Free Points)
- They were born to wage war. They lost so much in those burning years- But they still remain the hounds that hunt the stars.
Domain: 3 (2 Free Points)
- The few, the proud, the free.
- Drive Tech: 1
- Their government is newly born. The Howling is shattered. They must find a new future now.
- Military Tech: 3 (2 Flaw Points)
- The Canids are, each and every one, a masterpiece of genetic engineering and weapons technology. They have an innate understanding of battle that approaches the preternatural- Tactics and sword-arts spring to their minds with ease. And they possess many of Humanity's most terrible weapons. The Tachyon Lance, the Void Blade, the Blight-Fire. Simple names for things that once struck such fear into mankind's foes.
- Domain Tech: 2 (1 Flaw Point)
- The world-ship Cerberus is a Wonder of the galaxy. If you can look past the things it's been used for. And the arcane systems that allow it to be a space-capable nexus of industry are replicable.
Flaws:
Dependent on another power: 2 (TBD)
Restless Warriors: 2 (They never really knew to STOP fighting... After all, war is what they know.)
Refugee Crisis: 2 (Pack Protectors of survivors of the Humans' genocides. So many disparate races packed into refugee sheeps, shepherded by the Hounds.)
Displaced People: 3 (The Kennel Fleet has no true home...)
Declarations:
What did the Canids do in the war: During the early periods of the war they were Humanity's terror-troops, dropped upon resisting worlds to turn them into Charnel Houses. After their betrayal at the Battle of Triton Nebula, they were the brutal, savage razor edge of the Coalition's advance, setting themselves against the worst horrors Humanity could create to prevent as many of Humanity's atrocities as they could.
What do the Canids want from Humanity: We are their children. We are their heirs. Give us enough of their old worlds to give us a future. Give us their arts and their sciences that we may forge our own destiny. Give us the literature, the works of culture, that we may have the soul Humanity denied us. That we may have our history, as creatures of that blue world.
And grant humanity a future beyond the yoke of the CEC.
Your factions opinion on the orbiting races: Uplifter Every race deserves its chance to take a place in the sun. Let none be denied their chance to join us among the stars.
Opinion on the Assembly of Species role: Traditionalist This is the shield against the next great horror. It will stand.
Two rivals for your polity: (Note, these will be picked after apps are selected.)
And one ally: (Note, these will be picked after apps are selected.)
League Faction: Freedom Peace. Let there be Peace. Has the Galaxy not bled enough? We will have a future free of tyrants and chains.
Lamia are an unusual species. Most often classified as reptilian, they would protest that characterisation as they traditionally believe themselves to be more closely related to stone than any taxonomical groups. That being said, they exhibit many reptilian traits: ectothermic physiology, thick protective scales on much of their body, and they reproduce via eggs.
For most lamia, the scales only cover the lower portion of their body, which is a long and powerful tail that serves as their locomotion. Scales range in colour, typically browns and greys but more exotic colours are not uncommon. Their upper body is similar in shape to a human, and is most often not covered in scales. Height is not a particularly useful metric, as a lamia may lower or raise herself at will depending on the situation, most lamia are between 3.5 to 5 meters in length, from head to the tip of their tail.
Lamia are very robust, able to live in a wide variety of environments in relative comfort. Physically they are tough, though they struggle to heal from serious injury without significant medical attention.
An all female species, Lamia produce eggs to reproduce, which are goven over to the care of communal nurseries. Lamia children are taught about and given chances to experience as much as possible before they organise themselves into social groups known as clutches based on personal goals and interest.
Lamia are gregarious, a deeply social species fond of loud discussion and with an endless well of creativity. From a young age they are taught to, above all else, be confident and compassionate. How that manifests is not exactly compatible with other species, who may see lamia as being belligerent and loud. To the lamia, arguments and even fist fights are simply part of polite socialisation.
The Lamia lack any real form of government, instead their society's leadership is entirely informal. As of right now, The Ivory Tower, of which Nazanin is the public face, wields the most influence, but in order to survive the occupation they were forced to cooperate with The Order of The Crimson Sun. The alliance is stable, for now.
Having been hesitant to join the Assembly, there are many mysteries surrounding the lamia, and they seem content to keep them.
Stats:
Drive: 8
Domain: 6
Military: 2
Technology:
Drive: 2
Despite lacking any formal government or methods of control, the lamian society has an incredible amount of social cohesion. Their entire culture is designed around ensuring this naturally. A great deal of time and effort is put into restoring and maintaining this state of affairs so that nobody goes without and nobody is left behind.
Domain: 2
Lamia are not technological masters, but they are a species of artisans. Having to work around other lamia has made their products incredibly flexible and reliable, with many products being effectively indestructible. They lag behind in sophistication, but they make up for it in the quality and durability of everything they produce.
Military: 1
Even at the end of the war, after much improvement, the lamian military is widely seen as a joke. Their only redeeming features are the tough and reliable gear, and the quality of their light infantry. They lack many things most militaries see as basic equipment, and seem hesitant to innovate any further. They contributed little, and likely wouldn't stop a second invasion.
League: Freedom
Location: A/W/D
Flaws:
Doves: Lamia don't have a word for war. They lacked even the concept before the human invasion. Accordingly, they don't so much have a peace faction as they are one massive peace faction. On the scale of empires, it is difficult to be more pacifistic than the lamia.
Recently Subjugated: The lamia were not the first to fall to the humans, but they fell almost without a fight. With nothing to defend themselves with, they were rolled over and occupied easily. Years of occupation have left deep scars on the planets and the populace.
Scraped the Barrel: while occupied, lamia were quick to resist. Without weapons or any concept of military tactics, that resistance was largely ineffective, or forced underground. More importantly, while the humans occupied the planets, very nearly no eggs were produced across the entire lamian territory. The hatcheries closed their doors and disappeared.
Coming out of Their Shell: No matter how sociable lamia are, the discovery of alien life came as a shock. Excitement turned to confusion as they found a wild mess of alien cultures that they weren't sure how they fit into. Accordingly, the lamia turned inwards and tried to figure out how they wanted to navigate this problem. They didn't manage to in time for the invasion. Now, thrust into the Assembly, the choice is out of their hands and they have to live with the consequences.
Declarations:
-Expectations from the peace deal: Nothing. The lamia don't see any value in carving up the corpse of the CEC, they just want their lives back.
-Opinion on Orbiting Races: Uplift. Lamia would love to make new friends, and to prepare them for the galaxy around them.
-Opinion of Assembly: Filibuster. Nazanin has kept the Assembly at arm's length, worried about the possibility of a second overlord.
Rivals:
Ally:
A government type enabled by technology bridging the gap in distance, the gathering of Validichi to meet for discussion of major topics is called a Commune. Each Commune commonly garnering some kind of short-hand nickname related to whatever purpose it was called for. More minor issues are usually dealt with within whatever Flotilla-Clan they arose within, these smaller gatherings are known as Councils.
As a race made up of communities that can simply leave and otherwise opt out of participating, this loose framework has been the longstanding way of doing things. Relaxed enough for everyone to engage with as they will, but still decisive enough to bring troublesome Flotilla-Clans to heel when they start causing trouble.
Species: The Validichi - Space Octopi that have adapted themselves to live in zero-G.
The Validichi were once far more spread out than they are now. Such being a natural occurrence when their town equivalents are mobile but this behavior was encouraged by the cultural practice of the Journey of Enrichment. Individuals, Communities and Flotilla-clans would set out into the galaxy on said journeys, seeking to gather wealth, garner renown, chart new systems, or make grand discoveries. Eventually, hopefully regardless of their success, they would return to Validichi space and share what they brought back.
A common sight in the galaxy is that of Validichi waystations, originally set up to render aid for those undergoing their Journey of Enrichment the waystations cater to all willing to dock with them. Which has resulted in them gaining a somewhat shady reputation, something the minders of said stations are always quick to rally against. No outlawish behavior or illegal transactions are allowed to occur on station. When asked about outside the station, they shrugged and replied that space was vast, and that sound didn't carry well in it.
What was happening with them during the Hyperwar?
Heaven Aflame:
One of the first to have to deal with the full attention of the Community of the Paxillus. They attempted a defense in depth of their space, committed "scorched terrestrial" tactics to deny their infrastructure as the Paxillus advanced ceaselessly. They finally attempted a last stand at their homeworld of Validicha, having called for the return of any on their Journey of Enrichment. Following logic, they chose to abandon Validicha rather than fall alongside it.
Changing Winds:
Driven before the ravenous hordes of Paxillus, they scrambled to keep ahead of the encroaching War-Singularity. Quicker vessels would be sent ahead of the main fleet, hoping to spread word of the incoming danger, as well as to secure them a safe route through fortified territory. When the main fleet arrived (picking up the now fuel-less heralds) they would attempt to begin trade negotiations of some kind, yet were nearly always met with failure due to the others choosing to prepare for the incoming Paxillus.
With the hunger jaws of the monsters behind them, undamaged ships only making up a single-digit percentage of their flotilla, holds empty of material and filled with injured or displaced citizens, and closed doors ahead of them the Voidflows were forced to seek other options. The Validichi claim during this time that they sought out Orbiters in the pathway of the Paxillus to trade with, that they gave technology (nearly) freely due to the doomed nature of those species. Resources and facility usage exchanged for technoloy, aid in jointly developing military technology for use against the incoming Paxillus, and war games between the two polities to aid in preparing them both. It's likely that some of this is even true, but it has also been noted that ships would return, on occasion, with new marks of damge. The sort of scars left behind a beam dragged along a flank, or a furrow denoting the path of a deflected ballistic. Weaponry the Paxillus do not make use of.
Twilight of Ambition:
Regardless of the means, the Validichi returned to the frontlines. Driven by smoldering rage at what they had lost, carried by craft properly prepared for war, armed with the latest advances, and perhaps pushed by the shame of what had been done to return them from the brink- they dove into stalling the Paxillus. At first concentrated, success in a coordinated defense with those under assault gave them the confidence needed to split their forces. Some were meant for proper raiding, utilizing defensive teleportation technology for a quick getaway. Others were meant to help in stiffening the line, and halting the advance of the encroaching Paxillus. And a minor few were sent off to render aid in other warzones, tasked there by the Commune to give them a live-feed of intel aside from the minor reputational benefits of Validichi fighting alongside others.
It was a culmination of these efforts, as well as those of every other race, that drove the Paxillus back and reestablished their quarentine.
Now the Validichi wait outside said quarentine zone. Patient, and keeping themsleves busy with resource collection operations and minor shipbuilding efforts, but their attention has never wavered.
Drive: 6 (7)
Domain: 1 (3)
Military: 6 (9)
Technology:
Drive: 1
Universal Intent Conveyors
Dissatisfied by the dry translations of the universal translators commonly considered good enough by the galactic community, the Validichi chose to go further with the Universal Intent Coneyors being the result. Ironically performing best when all involved have have one, the UIC is capable of reading and translating the meaning of body language, as well as instructing or recommending how the user orient their own body to best communicate their meaning. The diplomatic benefits of this were offset by the "Uncanny Valley" of proper body language on an alien form, but Validichi society has benefited from the understanding fostered by this advancement.
Domain: 2
Integration of Teleportation Technology
Rocks are not free citizen, and neither is transport between voidcraft (especially depending on what size they are). A near-necessary technology for a void civilization to truly thrive in the deep black, the effect this has had in eliminating transportation costs of personnel and goods cannot be understated. Nor does this even begin to touch on the effects it had upon commerce.
Genecrafting
Originally started into to help in adapting to life in Zero-G, evolved into full community voting on production of new creches/batch-born due to life in the void. Their approach to wide-spread use of genecrafting is the removal of wholly detrimental traits and general enhancements for all. With further changes allowed once one has exited the adolescent stage of life, often aiding the user by specializing them in their choice of field.
The Hyperwar has made these practices a point of contention, and wide-spread enhancements of those in the adolescent stage became permitted. A continuation of this practice or a reversion to previous policy is a subject that is up for addressment with the end of the Hyperwar.
Military: 3
Terrestrial Conflict Platforms:
Nothing represents how long the Validichi have been living the void better than the question posed by the designer of the Terrestrial Conflict Platforms, "We have voidcraft. From those, how can we make landcraft?" Large enough to mount anti-gravity for zero-g simulation in the cockpit, these armaments are a synthesis of infantry and armor. For encased in each is a single Validichi, yet mounted on each are protective layers and weapon mounts enough to rival the average polity's heavy vehicle. That recent advancements have resulted in the average TCP being able to loom above a Paxillus is a simple matter of iterative improvement
Emergency Recall:
An adaptation of the Validichi's teleportation technology, the Emergency Recall is a safeguard that they scrambled to implement as their situation worsened. With hotspots erupted all over the galaxy, and little room for proper respite to be found, everything became essential to survival. Combat ship losses could no longer be afforded, while the veterancy- and hard fought skill- of TCP pilots had to be preserved and spread. Nowadays every ship has Emergency Recall capability, and new TCP models come with it built in. But taking full advantage of this tactic for longer combat engagements requires time to prepare the field of battle, and surprise attacks at home can render it near-useless.
Doctrine Philosophy: Promulgation of Harm:
An approach to conflict that is appropriately brutal considering the environment that forced it's birth, the Promulgation of Harm was the Validichi's answer of what to draw on when materials and lives were too precious to spend in battle- information itself. Resulting from "blue skies" research into weaponizing the Universal Intent Conveyors, the Validichi have discovered how to communicate harm to the point of inflicting it via malicious inputs through their sensory organs. The implementation of this doctrine ensures that all engagements with the Validichi are incredibly painful- akin to a poisonous defense commonly found in terrestrial wildlife
Biological Avenues of Hostility:
Their forces painted and assembled in ways that rendered sight a medium of attack, lines of communication quietly tapped open to allow for non-auditory sounds calibrated to unnerve, or undermine while TCP broadcast heresy and vibrated ear canals to bursting. Validichi forces were commonly clouded in Miasma, and fogs of effluvium were just as often used in siege or bleached terrestrial operations. Olfactory organs were often used to as a through-line to the enemy's sense of taste due to the frequency with which the two were connected- rendering targets combat ineffective through non-lethal means. Touch was difficult to implement at first, but the capability to aerosol compounds provided a way to force the matter.
Space: (it's harder to think of ways for this to be effective in space combat without delving to the idea of causing mechanical issues)
Formation readouts cause pain as the formation itself is an infohazard
Player League: Prosperity - It is through mutual agreement that both sides might prosper, and the Validichi have worked hard to ensure they have a reputation for upholding their end of any deals. It's simply illogical to be untrustworthy, you see.
Flaws:
Voidborn (+1): Enamored with life without gravity, the need to transition the totality of their civilization to space sized them once they had achieved space travel. And once they had managed such they never looked back.
Hyper Specialized Worlds (+1): A natural consequence of life in the void is the prioritization of efficiency. For it is easiest to dedicate the entirety of the new habitat or vessel to serve the current need, be it living space, foodstuff, industry, or anything else. Yet the more efficient a system is, the greater its liability to disruption. Worse yet, the integration of teleportation technology has only exacerbated this cultural habit.
Displaced People(+3): Validicha, homeworld of the Validichi was near to being thepoint of pride for the Validichi peoples. Their final gift to the home that had sheltered them while young was to assume the mantle of custodianship over it. Validicha can no longer be differentiated from any other world the Paxillus have conquered. The loss of multiple archival-craft during the Hyperwar means all that remains is of memory and in the records of other races. Returning Validicha to its former pristine state as the situation is now is simply...unlikely due to how heavily the Paxillus entwined themselves into it, using it to propagate themselves again and again.
Certainly, a tremendous amount of voidstructures were lost. Enough that a proper recovery will be the work of generations, but those things can be rebuilt. The question about what to do on the topic of home is much more important.
Preferred location: H, R, G
Declarations:
The Validichi Voidflowers claim the role of Executioners of the Community of Paxillus.
The Validichi Voidflowers demand authority/wardenship over the quarantine of the Community of Paxillus.
The Validichi will, at the very least, recover their lore of what Validicha once was.
The Validichi are ambivalent in regards to what happens to the CEC and its actual allies. Now is a time for recovery, and whatever thirst for human blood the Validichi have will surely be satisfied by others extracting their pound of flesh
What you expect to get from the humans at the treaty:
Economic technology as to aid in rebuilding. The Validichi expect asking for physical repayment or material goods from the CEC to be a fool's errand.
A primer regarding human psychology and physiology, for posterity sake. As well as DNA samples from each remaining major community.
Your factions opinion on the orbiting races:
Exploiter- Offering a deal to the orbiters instead of simply taking what is desired is standard protocol. Forcing the deal upon them should they reject has become a necessity in recent times.
Opinion on the Assembly of Species role:
Consolidator- Had the Assembly been able to act with greater speed and decisiveness none of us would be in state we are now. Look around, diminished as we all are from what we once were.
Two rivals for your polity: (Note, these will be picked after apps are selected.)
And one ally: (Note, these will be picked after apps are selected.)
The Sethrek are a monogenderd reptilian species of about sever feet in height, evolved upon the warm tropical planet of Sekra. Though looking like like and evolving from apex predators, they have since shifted to omnivores and as a result collectively mellowed out as a species before sapience appeared. Their lifespans are in the hundreds, from a combination of self-repairing biology and medical science.
Early Sethrek created a tribal society in the early days, and advanced their way to the space age in good time after creating an open democratic union to represent themselves. Abundant resources and comfortable living on the homeworld curbed a great deal of the inherent violence early races often have, though not removing it entirely.
There is an emphasis on community and family, that bond is strong and has become an important part of their culture. Having time to enjoy life is also important to them, so most of them don't overwork themselves and try to take jobs they love.
When the humans came, they was at first a cordial relationship between the two as basic trade deals were established. And when the humans waged their war, the Sethrek were among the first to be taken, though they did not submit willingly. The occupation of Sethrek space was a constant state throughout the war, and though the government surrendered after the homeworld fell, resistance cells and rebellions continually cropped up.
Stats:
-Drive: 6
-Domain: 7
-Military: 5
Technology:
-Drive: 1
-Domain: 1
-Military: 1
Player League: Freedom
Flaws: Doves: A powerful pro-peace faction has taken root in your society, one which opposes any form of war. Their voices will have to be taken into account. Whether or not this was due to experience in the Great War or before it is up to you. [One Point.] Wounded Lands: Your territory was a 'hot zone.' An area deemed of high importance to the CEC and Coalition, and thus heavily contested as a result. Your people have been in the forefront of much of the fighting, and your lands are bloodied as a result. [Two Points.] Recently Liberated: Your people have languished under the yoke of the CEC for years, as they bled your people dry and drained your land of resources. Liberation came for you in the last stages of the war, and much of your territory remains devastated by the fighting and occupation. [Three Points.]
Preferred location: W>C>N
What you expect to get from the humans at the treaty:
We were among the first to fall under the human hand, and among the last to be free of them. Our lands have been ravaged by the war machine of mankind and the shedding of blood on the battlefields out planets turned into. The Sethrek Consortium wishes humanity to to provide resources and funding to effect the restoration of our lands to pre-conquest levels so the scars visited upon us may at last heal.
Your factions opinion on the orbiting races:Shunner
The trial of learning and growing is more than just technology. A species needs to culturally grow until it is ready to fly. If we pull them to the stars too soon it will be like taking a child out of the egg too soon. Even if they survive it will harm them for ages to come. They need not out interference but our absence.
Opinion on the Assembly of Species role:Traditionalist.
The system in place brings order to the galaxy without allowing too much power to gather in one place. This is for the best for us all, less too much strength gather in the hands of the wrong person with no one to challenge them.
THE RHALATA | The National Joint Assembly of the Supreme Didacts of the Temple of the Rhalas and the Rhalata National Defence Order | The Six-Pointed Star (of the Marshals) of the National Order The Globulus of the National Joint Assembly of the Supreme Didacts Twelve thousand years ago...
GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE: "Elected Stratocratic Federation" - in practice headed by a military junta, the Sphere-Host does provide some elected representation for the majority of its citizens.
Originally known for just over 300 years as the "Klideu'k Confederated Sphere", the klideu lacked a formal government and were instead loosely organized by common goals of expansion and exploration, decentralized into a network of host-lineages, guilds and colonies with no true central authority. However, as the CEC's efforts to exterminate the klideu intensified and the klideu were forced to take more and more extreme measures to defend themselves, the "confederated sphere" became more and more militarized and were forced to centralize under an increasingly desperate homeworld council. As the war drew to a close the Sphere-Host has allowed its klideu citizenry to vote on a wide range of internal economic and structural matters, but the military handles most external political decision making and the weight of "emergency powers" constantly loom as a clear statement – the military will veto decisions it disagrees with.
The klideu'k is administered by a council of nine prominent individuals, each the head of a major institution, who discuss and vote on matters of policy -- the first three on matters of external diplomacy and military efforts, the next three on matters of economic & government policy, and the last three on matters concerning "the contentment of the people": --- High Admiral: Highest position of klideu'k interstellar forces and voidcraft, authorized to requisition and command any klideu controlled civilian vessels for military reasons if "justified". --- High Marshall: Highest position of overall strategy for klideu'k oceanic or aerial forces, and more widely specialization and training of staff for use of "planetary vehicles" or specialized military operations of any kind - as a general rule, if an operation would involve specialists or training beyond the level of ordinary infantry, it falls at least partly under the High Marshall's or High Admiral's purview. --- High General: Highest overall position of decision making and coordination in military matters, as well as areas such as the supply, training and equipment of klideu infantry forces and ensuring the military as a whole meets the needs of its staff. Because the klideu'k military also handles most external diplomatic matters, the High General also functions as chief diplomat for the klideu'k to other nations.
--- Director of Infrastructure: Chosen from among the leadership of the most powerful guilds, the director of infrastructure is responsible for colonization efforts and economic planning within the Sphere-Host, and for mediating the needs of the various guilds. --- Director of Education: Chosen from among the leadership of the Iukky'k's remaining academies and nurseries, the director of education is responsible for coordinating research projects and educational matters within the Sphere-Host. --- Director of Hosts: Chosen from among the leadership of the various host-lineages, the director of hosts is responsible for matters of environmental repair and sustainability, as well as issues such as agriculture and the sustenance and comfort of host species populations. Over the course of the war the director of hosts also began to take on the responsibility of "human rights" within the klideu'k.
--- Master of Inquiries: Head of the Sphere-Host's media, and intelligence forces; the master of inquiries is responsible for much in the way of external information gathering . --- Master of Judgements: Head of the Sphere-Host's courts, police and legal system, and final decision maker on matters of civilian law, rights, and freedoms. --- Master of Voices: The sole elected representative on the homeworld council, the Master of Voices is decided by a vote from the common people and is tasked with representing their interests.
SPECIES: The dominant sapient species of the Sphere-Host are the klideu ("klɪ-duː", commonly known as "barnacles" or "ticks" by the CEC during its extermination efforts), a species of chitinous segmented colonial organisms native to the storm-wracked, oceanic world of Iukky'k ("jʌk-eyke-keh"). The average klideu reaches a length of four centimetres when fully matured and consists of roughly two dozen specialized polyps encased in a sturdy, segmented shell. They are most well known for their ability to attach to and infiltrate systems of electrical transmission, primarily used to latch onto and control the nervous systems of complex multicellular organisms and enhancing the neurological density of said organisms when latched onto the organism's brain. The majority of such "host" organisms used by the klideu are a variety of non-sapient animals from their home world, though the Sphere-Host does contain a large number of human 'citizens' composed of captured CEC forces and their descendants.
Fig A. A mature klideu, detached from a host. Note the EM sensing polyps on its shell that allow it to detect the low-level electrical impulses common to most organic nervous systems.
Fig. B. Adult 'Stradakyn' ("Stra-da-k-hin") organism, of the host lineage of the same name; one of the few native host species of the klideu that was not endangered by CEC bioweapons. Currently used by about 13% of klideu infantry and naval forces, particularly for amphibious operations.
Fig. C. Adult female Yl'k ("ɪl-k"), a common workforce host of the substrate miners' guild in the decades prior to the CEC invasion; 98% of their population was rendered sterile by CEC bioweapons, leading to a population collapse and the bankruptcy of the guild within 5 years.
Fig. D. A Homo Sapien host organism heavily modified for combat using reverse-engineered CEC cybernetics designs, further weaponized by a willingness to modify the human form to an extreme that CEC would only embrace towards the end of the war... to some degree inspired by klideu designs.
STATS: (+9 points from flaws) — DRIVE: 7 (Tech 1)
------ The klideu's traditionally decentralized society was forced through decades of war to unify in a way never before seen in their history, and that sense of "we are klideu, we are one people" has been carefully reinforced and promoted by the authorities, the truth is that the klideu's nature of absorbing psychological traits from their host organisms naturally causes them to diverge culturally and psychologically in rather extreme ways. An authoritarian government with diplomatic release valves and a cause of existential safety can go a long way, but without a war time footing the Sphere-Host's longterm stability is questionable.
------ ElectromagneticNeural Rewiring: A klideu's 'tongue' is structured like a spool of delicate, microscopic threads that stretch for many times over their own body length, integrating with and hijacking systems of electrical transmission. As their civilization advanced, this became a subject of both science and philosophy, and saw a wide range of uses in civilian life - of particular note was the ability to directly "share" memories by recreating host neural structures into the brain of a shared host, and by extension to very quickly pass on skills, plans, and expertise. This has even extended to their local information networks, with klideu cities housing vast 'memorial nurseries' of older klideu that function as communication hubs for younger, more adventurous klideu and as a crucial part in the education of new larvae.
— DOMAIN: 4 (Tech 2)
------ At one point the klideu confederated sphere stretched across many hundreds of worlds both within its home sectors and beyond - colonies and outposts that, due to their reliance on and seeking of indigenous animal life as hosts, were often permitted to exist "within" larger and more powerful states. Sadly, the CEC was ruthless in its efforts and it took time for the klideu to coordinate a defensive effort strong enough to hold them back, even as many of the more far flung colonists returned home (often not entirely by choice, as the CECs policy of extermination was felt in every territory they came across) to try and aid the war effort. At the war's ending, the Sphere-Host controls just three sectors - the rest of their colonies now reduced to almost nothing but irradiated, molten slag.
------ Oceanic Engineering: Originally an aquatic organism, the klideu's parasitic lifestyle and high range of adaptability has allowed them to survive on hosts in a variety of environments. However, even as their civilization advanced some part of them still feels the most comfortable in wet environments and they have mastered the art of construction in and around large bodies of water.
------ Advanced Cybernetics: For most of their history the klideu questioned the need for cybernetics of their host bodies, for they could make use of an abundant range of animal forms with various strengths. However, as the war dragged on and they were forced to rely more and more on human hosts, they also began to integrate and then experiment with human technology -- the CEC was no stranger to cybernetic augmentations, but rarely did they get as extremely or self-destructive with their designs as the klideu were willing to. In the absence of many of their traditional hosts, the human body has been shaped and twisted in truly hellish ways to support the needs of klideu industry and warfare.
— MILITARY: 7 (Tech 3)
------ The klideu confederated sphere lacked a formal military for most of its history, but as tensions with the CEC grew some of the more daring host-lineages were quick to act. In coordination with the spacer guild they successfully captured a number of CEC vessels, including research vessels with key scientists. In a very short space of time they had been able to achieve parity with the CEC in its military technology, allowing them to manufacture equivalent weapons and ships. As the war dragged on and the Sphere-Host lost more and more resources, they became... imaginative, with what they had access to, relying increasingly on extreme cybernetics and the integration of human hosts directly into ship-control systems and machinery so as to increase the amount of space available for weapons, armour, or engines and to heighten reaction times.
------ Advanced Cybernetics: Experimentation with CEC cybernetic technology with little concern for human welfare has allowed the klideu to create "infantry" that could at times give Hades elite operatives a run for their money (see "Drive" section). ------ Compacted Shipbuilding: In tandem with the above, captured CEC vessels could often be stripped down and then retrofitted in ways that made them faster and deadlier, for the klideu had little concern for the long term survival or comfort of their human hosts. For example, most klideu military ships require only a very small amount of space and weight for escape pods, designed to extract and support a creature just a few centimetres long. ------ Extraction & Infiltration: The innumerable factions and peoples of the klideu confederated sphere were not generally warlike as they spread among the stars, but a lack of central authority meant that piracy was a rampant issue for many generations. With the war against the CEC and their consolidation into the Sphere-Host, the klideu ability to sense electrical and neural networks and their capacity to quickly learn new information even through temporary capture and infection of a host organism allows them terrible efficiency in areas of intelligence gathering, strategic planning, and electronic sabotage.
LEAGUE:
Prosperity – "The galaxy is full of plenty, and all should be welcome to take it… if they have the will to do so."
FLAWS
— Haves/Have Nots [1]: For most of their history (excluding some tragic first contact scenarios centuries ago) the klideu did not make use of sapient organisms as host bodies. However, over the course of the war they made extensive use of captured human POWs as hosts, and the practice continued even as the war ended and in the post-war era. As the use specifically of human hosts has become normalized, it has created a permanent underclass of sapient hosts who are kept in a variety of conditions; while the klideu do provide for the needs of their human 'citizens', these citizens are inescapably 'second class' and in many cases are simply 'passengers in their own heads'. Needless to say, the humans resent this.
— Dependant on Another Power [2] -- @Aedan777 -- : The klideu did not receive aid in the defence of their worlds for some decades, the CEC's war against them first beginning some years earlier than the Hyper War in full. They did, however, receive aid from the The Resolute and Inviolable Charter of the Revered Clans... at a price, of cost. As the war dragged on and on and eventually connected to the Hyper War, the Klideu'k Sphere-Host was forced almost to the point of bankruptcy, and in the aftermath the Charter have been keen to leverage this to their advantage.
— Wounded Lands [2]: While the CEC sought to conquer much of the galaxy, their attitude to the klideu was ruthless – "existentially dangerous and fundamentally irredeemable to the ethics of all moral beings". The klideu's holdings came under frequent siege and CEC bioweapons were often deployed to poison klideu host stocks, while the Coalition made it clear to the klideu that their assistance was mainly a negotiating tactic to recruit the klideu for interrogating human POWs (see previous Flaw). The bitterness, cruelty and trauma of the war is clearly felt in the hearts and minds of many klideu, their veteran forces still struggling to come to terms with 'peace' and their worlds struggling to rebuild and heavily reliant on the help of the Charter.
— Holdouts [2]: Another side effect of such bitter warfare was that the CEC grew more and more extreme, especially as it became apparent that the klideu were making their weapons 'less lethal' so as to capture as many personnel and civilians as possible for use as hosts to replace their stocks. When the CEC capitulated, local forces simply went to ground or turned to piracy and the fighting hasn't really stopped as CEC holdouts desperately fight to try and liberate human 'citizens'.
— Unpleasant Conduct [2]: While the Coalition recruited the klideu as part of their war against the CEC and helped prevent a total collapse of klideu infrastructure or military power, the truth is that very few species really… liked the klideu as organisms. Even knowing that the majority of their hosts are non-sapient animals, the klideu's appearance and lifecycle is deeply unpleasant to most sapient organisms.
DECLARATIONS:
— What you expect to get from the humans at the treaty: The klideu'k confederate sphere once controlled colonies across almost a dozen satellite sectors and outposts beyond it, but the CEC's invasion and the eventual hyper war left everything beyond their core colonies in ruins and many of their traditional non-sapient host species endangered or extinct, forcing them to rely on human hosts. While the Sphere-Host has been able to partly rebuild, they must demand large supplies of compatible animal hosts along with military and economic technology and resources to aid in the rebuilding and reclamation of their old territory.
— Your faction's opinion on the orbiting races: SHUNNER – the uplifting of humanity was a disaster for the galaxy at large and the klideu especially, but the klideu have no desire to intrude upon or harm species alien to themselves if they can help it. Let the orbiting peoples discover their own way to the stars, and when they do the klideu will be keen to extend an offering of peace and mutual benefit.
— Opinion on the Assembly of Species role: FILIBUSTER – while the klideu'k were part of the assembly for about two centuries prior to the CECs military expansion, their decentralized nature limited their interactions with it and their position within the assembly was always... tolerated, rather than welcomed. It likewise provided the klideu little in the way of tangible help over the course of the CECs attempted genocide of their people, and so while the Sphere-Host sees membership as a necessary evil for the time being in the post-war period, they have little respect for it and see no long-term purpose to it in its current form.
--- RIVALED TO: The Holy Remnant -- @DeMarcheese -- Even among species opposed to klideu explorers and colonists entering their territory, the vikkuid were unusually harsh in their attitude. When the CEC invaded the vikkuid offered no aid, only stepping in when klideu operatives revealed that the CEC had stolen a number of holy relics and were holding them at CEC garrisons within the Sphere-Host's territory. And even now, having fought together in the war and with the destruction of their conduit forcing the Holy Remnant to move through the Sphere-Host's territory to reach the wider galaxy, the vikkuid continue to view the klideu with distain - the Sphere-Host does not easily forgive or forget.
--- RIVALED TO: The Heavenly Cacophony -- @ArvisPresley -- While the klideu had little interaction with the Cacophony prior to the war, the Diet of the Heavenly Cacophony's claims of "rehabilitation" for countless former collaborators and the harbouring of holdout CEC forces is seen by the Sphere-Host as a mockery of both their own people's history and the costs of the Hyper War as a whole.
--- ALLIED TO: The Universal Fraternity of the Children of the Precursors -- @clockworkchaos -- In the centuries past of the Confederated Sphere, the klideu as a whole were largely disliked by the galactic community. The Children, under the leadership of the Zane, were one of the exceptions to this - welcoming the klideu'k in spite of their reputation and allowing some among their explorers and host-lineages to settle on their worlds. And, when the CEC began their efforts to root out and exterminate klideu populations across the galaxy, the Children were among the few who quickly provided military aid - even though it brought the CECs attention to them, leading to an escalation in tensions and eventually the near extermination of the Zane. In turn, the klideu - reorganized into the Sphere-Host - was quick to repay their kindness, aiding them in the sabotage and capture of key Hades soldiers and providing vital military intelligence. Although the war cost both nations dearly, the Sphere-Host have not forgotten their history with the Children and see them as dear friends in the path ahead.
--- ALLIED TO: Ysharin Kherata -- @Red Robyn -- Likewise, a number of klideu settlers found welcome and peace on the broken world of Sharina, and there they established a great memorial-nursery. The Ulvorians tolerated this, but as the CEC rose to power and took control of their former territories, one of their first acts was to burn the memorial-nursery to ash... save for a few klideu, who escaped with the help of sharin resistance fighters who sadly gave their own lives to do so. In turn, these klideu of Sharina would return during the Hyper War along with partisans from other fallen memorial-nurseries, Sharina the first world they sought to avenge. The sharin and klideu would go on to fight many battles together against their mutual enemy.
DEPLOYMENTS & SECTORS
The Sphere-Host's military forces have been spread in many directions by the needs of the war, but they have maintained key concentrations in their home sectors to oppose and patrol for holdout forces or would-be aggressors in the post war period: Home Sectors:
--- Ueklidom: The Sphere-Host's conduit sector was the first of their true FTL colonies under the arrangement of the Confederated Sphere, and as the klideu expanded outwards became a hub of trade and industry - the true heart of their civilization, especially when their people became centralized, though the official capital remains on their home world of Iukky'k.
[2 Fleets, 1 Army]
--- Iukky'k: The klideu's home sector, named after their home world and administrative capital of the Sphere-Host. They maintain a capable fleet and ground forces here.
[1 Fleet, 1 Army]
--- Ueseize: A former IUU sector that once connected to Ikta territory via conduit tunnel, though in the decades of war with the CEC that tunnel was lost. It was (almost completely) reclaimed by the klideu in the last few years of the Hyper War with Charter assistance, and has received extensive rebuilding efforts across its cities and industry.
[2 Fleet, 2 Armies]
Expeditionary Forces:
--- Indriidae (Ikta): Veteran klideu forces - using captured CEC signals and personnel - were crucial in the death knell of the Ikta. However, at this point they maintain no ground forces there.
[1 Fleet]
--- Sol (CEC): In the final push against Sol, the klideu committed some of their most impressive veteran forces, using the openings provided by other nations naval forces to deploy significant ground troops and machinery as part of capturing key infrastructure, assets, and hosts.
[1 Fleet, 3 Armies]
--- Rico (CEC): After the conduit at Sol was seized and the beach-head secured, a significant portion of klideu naval forces entered the Rico sector and began raids on CEC colonies, plundering both military and civilian infrastructure as the CEC had drawn the vast majority of their forces to defend Sol.
[1 Fleet, 1 Army]
Polity name: The Canid Legions
The Sethrek are a monogenderd reptilian species of about sever feet in height, evolved upon the warm tropical planet of Sekra. Though looking like like and evolving from apex predators, they have since shifted to omnivores and as a result collectively mellowed out as a species before sapience appeared. Their lifespans are in the hundreds, from a combination of self-repairing biology and medical science.
