Strife over Tlaxis (Off topic discussion)

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Re: A large scale strategy based scifi- RP (AoTB style)

#31 Post by NoOoDLe »

I forgot part of the punctuation actually. Sort off is part of the former sentence not the latter. x'D
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/mdelarbre/slaanesh.jpg[/img][quote="Raneth"]Noodle was elected prime minister for the duration of the crisis.[/quote]
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Re: A large scale strategy based scifi- RP (AoTB style)

#32 Post by Ammusvarasto »

Eh, my civ is complete, but I'll make a post about it later, because at the moment the fluff section is 23 pages long (I've been working on this quite long, I knew this RP was coming about a year ago). Meanwhile here's a list of movies, games and books I've ripped for ideas :D

Movies: Mad Max 2 (The Road Warrior in U.S), Terminator -quadrilogy plus tv-series, Die Hard -quadrilogy, Doom, Lord of War, Dr. Strangelove, District 9, 9, Dead Snow, Threads, 28 Days Later, Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning, Iron Sky, Star Wars: Original trilogy, Starship Troopers, Death Race, Gamer, Red Dawn, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Alien series, and there are probably more

Games: Entire Halo series, Gears of War series, Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout 3, Doom series, Command & Conquer series, DEFCON by Introversion, Call of Duty 4, Mass Effect, Half-Life series, Portal, Far Cry 2, Red Alert series, Blood Bowl (2009 version), Star Wars Republic Commando, Army of Two, and many, many more...

Books and comics: Gone with the Blastwave (recommended reading for everyone), U.S DOD: Fallout Protection, Cormac McCarthy: The Road, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (all five books), etc.

Special mention of inspiration: The Soviet Union :D (James Bond movies started to suck after the USSR collapsed).
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Re: A large scale strategy based scifi- RP (AoTB style)

#33 Post by Ashnari Doomsong »

So, I'm holding off on making my faction's history before I've got some inkling of the setting's history.

Have humans, for instance, abandoned Earth altogether? Was there ever a giant empire that fractured?

I'd like some guidelines, please!
[quote][i]I’m not offering these revisions for Mubarak! I don’t care about this government. What is important is that I killed people—Copts, innocent persons—and before I meet God I should declare my sins.[/i][/quote]

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Re: A large scale strategy based scifi- RP (AoTB style)

#34 Post by Ruerl Khan »

Ashnari Doomsong wrote:So, I'm holding off on making my faction's history before I've got some inkling of the setting's history.

Have humans, for instance, abandoned Earth altogether? Was there ever a giant empire that fractured?

I'd like some guidelines, please!
I think the setting is going to be based losedly on what the players create. ;)
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Re: A large scale strategy based scifi- RP (AoTB style)

#35 Post by NoOoDLe »

Updated my post with more info.. I might revise and expand a few things later. =)
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/mdelarbre/slaanesh.jpg[/img][quote="Raneth"]Noodle was elected prime minister for the duration of the crisis.[/quote]
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Re: A large scale strategy based scifi- RP (AoTB style)

#36 Post by Waaagh »

As Ruerl said, it can be anything. These races can be from anywhere in the whole universe, but happen to be on the same star system as the others because of X. I'll make something up.
Luna has already a race of humans, with allies included from other various races. A huge Union of sorts. Like the covenant from the halo series.
Just let your imagination do it's work :wink:

I've also decided not to include space ships. Sorry. Space ships would draw the attention away from the ground activity, which is the main point in this game. Plus there's pirates, warp storms and chilly. Nobody likes that cold, brr :D Interplanetary travel will happen with some kind of interesting portal systems.

Plus, for your eyes, one of the NPC races! :

The Wertia Corporation


Ruler: Corporation president Demin Hayer

Religion: They live to research.

What they are:
The Wertia Corporation is the Tlaxis star systems’ dominating force. They are scattered all over the systems’ planets with their research centres. Compared to even the MSU and UAC, the Wertia Corporation is far ahead of them in technology, be that weapons, medicine or nearly anything else.
It is curious though that they still dwell solely on this star system, while their propulsion techniques and star ships are highly advanced.

Appearance& anatomy:
Probably once human, The Wertia Corporation’s denizens consist of a single race, so human like that even other humans make the mistake, although their culture and how they behave is completely different.
Their research of genetic manipulation has taken them to a level of near- immortality at least compared to the basic human form. They do not need to eat, breathe nor drink, their muscles and other tissues strengthened, creating a heavy resistance to any kind of damage, and the regeneration of tissues highly boosted. They still die of old age, but they still live extraordinary long compared to humans. The oldest members of the Corporation are known to be over 200 years old.

Culture& behaviour:

They really don’t have any kind of advanced culture, as more or less all they do relates somehow on their researches. A good number of them live on research centres located all over the system’s planets, but the most live on the great city of Xalapet, a huge city filled with libraries, research centres, and just normal houses. In Xalapet is located the ministery of research, the president’s palace, and the great library of past, present and possible future researches.
The denizens of the Corporation are all equal, save for the president and the ministers of research. They all do their jobs contently, as they know of nothing better. They regard other less advanced races coldly, but understandingly. They KNOW they are the best, which is true. They are also very reluctant to share their technological advances, as they have worked hard over millennia to achieve this status, and think that others should advance themselves, not with the help of others.
Even though their weapon and warfare technologies are highly advanced, they are a peaceful lot. “War takes time, and time is research”. But should the need arise, they are more than capable of fending off even the most determined attacker with little to no effort.

Current& future research:

The Corporation is always striving for more knowledge, new inventions and better results. A rumour is that they are engineering a sort of virus that would be let into a body, where it would renew old tissue, making the host all but immortal…
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Re: A large scale strategy based scifi- RP (AoTB style)

#37 Post by Ashnari Doomsong »

The Federation of Intra-Species Syndicates (FIASS)

Aliases: The Syndicates, Councils, the Reds, FIASS.

Species: All species are welcome in FIASS. The original founding species were the Mellenians, and they currently make up about thirty percent of the population - Mellenians are rough, big bipedal and two-armed creatures whose hides are grey.

Ruler: Board of Directers, currently chaired by Chorass Athar, a Mellenian.

Homeworld: The industrial cityscape of Darachim, an enormous, high-G planet. Because of the planet's hostile environs, most interspecies syndicates meetings are kept at the space station "SS-I-528", dubbed the "Conveyor Belt" for the amount of representatives that pass through it.

Religion: FIASS is explicitly atheist.

Form of Government: FIASS is an experiment in state-syndicalisation. This means that every factory, every shop and every farm is owned collectively by the people who work there. These people then elect their own supervisors, their own leaders and set their own safety-regulations and wages. FIASS' central body exists only to maintain a durable and sound welfare state and prevent the return of an exploitative class. FIASS bueraucracy (what little of it is not computerised) is itself syndicalised, and is funded collectively by the major organisations of syndicates, called Grand Syndicates.

Military: The FIASS military arm is disproportionately small in comparison to the federation's industrial base and manpower. It is organised in the Collectively Organised Revolutionary Guard, or CORG, and is in essence simply a confederation of soldiers' syndicates; the soldiers elect their NCOs and lower officers, said NCOs and lower officers elect their superiors, and so forth. In the end, the Supreme Guardian of the Revolution is up for election by every soldier in the CORG after being nominated by a board of generals. This bizarre structure means that wars of aggression are practically never initiated, since the CORG might run with a general strike if the soldiers disagree with the necessity of one. The CORG is funded by FIASS, and FIASS maintains an independent commisariat to prevent any possibility of a coup, by censoring out dangerous candidates from most higher positions. The current head of the commisariat is a human, by the name of Natalya Vladimirovna Rakhmanina, and the head of CORG is currently up for election - the electoral cycles are [whatever constitutes eight rounds in-game].
It is important to note that CORG is not permitted to initiate wars, it can only veto them.

CORG Doctrine:
The CORG generally emphasises clean, surgical operations with low numbers of casualties and a high degree of co-reliance due to the democratic nature of their units. Surface-wise, this means a high degree of focus on air superiority, commando and combined-arms operations, whereas in the fleet it means an intense focus on huge motherships escorted by stealth ships. Attritional warfare, however, quickly saps the morale and unit cohesion of CORG. A preferred fleet tactic is to focus overwhelming firepower on the enemy's flagships using stealth ships while the carriers and their smaller, speedy craft draw fire before retreating and regrouping. CORG units are also prone to surrendering when the situation looks hopeless, which again means that attritional warfare is to be avoided.

Composition of Military:
The CORG consists of both surface battle-units and fleets. CORG fleet aesthetics vary according to the syndicates responsible for their production, but the generally preferred build is one of bare metal and massive guns as a monument to the force of collective labour. The uniforms of the CORG fleets are the traditional colours of syndicalism, red and black, with the symbol of CORG and whatever sub-syndicate the soldier belongs to emblazoned on them. The army units, naturally, are clad in camouflage appropriate to whereever they are fighting. The fleets are generally relatively haphazard, but there are some mainstays of the CORG fleet. In particular, the Hammer-class carrier is known and feared by all enemies of FIASS for its sheer bulk.

Culture: FIASS has no cultural imperative. Artisans' syndicates are funded by collective actions from the part of individual workers (FIASS helps this along by providing the necessary buerauocracy) and other syndicates, and the diversity of the backgrounds from which the people of the Syndicates come helps diversify FIASS' culture. Every citizen of FIASS has to accept the Syndicate Creeds, however.

The Creeds: FIASS' ruling Creeds are as follows:
1: The Creed of Exploitation: To stand for no exploitation of a sapient being by another
2: The Creed of Equality: To permit no oppression on the basis of species, gender, sexual desires or other otherness so long as said otherness does not involve breaking any other Creed.
3: The Creed of Ethics: To allow no undue harm unto another sentient, to work your best for the benefit of yourself and your syndicate, and not undermine the syndicates.

Naturally, the Creeds are extremely vague and are interpreted in wildly different ways from syndicate to syndicate. Generally, however, they do a fair job of protecting the people from the exploitation and harassment that they are intended to be.

Unemployment: Those unable to work or currently unemployed are organised in the Syndicate of the Labourless, the SOL. The SOL is given a tithe from the profits of every major syndicate, and works to educate and return every creature capable of doing any sort of work to the workforce; it is, in essence, a syndicate that struggles to make itself as small as possible.

The Grand Syndicates: Syndicates are formed around individual factories or farms or laboratories or hospitals or whatever. Obviously, these are far too numerous to form a functioning multi-planet organisation, so similar syndicates (say, medical workers) band together to send representatives to larger organisations called Grand Syndicates. As always, membership of any individual syndicate in any given Grand Syndicate is entirely up to the members of said syndicate, and Grand Syndicates may be dissolved or formed anew at any time in a general referendum, ensuring that the Directers of the Grand Syndicates adhere to the interests of their electorate. Chorass Athar, for instance, was the Directer of the Grand Syndicate of Metalworkers before becoming Chairman of the Board. The Board itself consists of twenty-odd sapients elected by representatives from each Grand Syndicate above a certain size, though smaller ones may agree to elect a common representative if their combined size is sufficient.

Economy: FIASS is an industrial powerhouse, but being so extremely decentralised severely hampers military mobilisation. A General Assembly of Grand Syndicates is required to give FIASS any sort of greater power to mobilise, which means that the resources of the CORG are severely limited during peacetime, generally being able only to field and maintain a relatively small fleet. The Chairman of the Grand Board of Directors may call up a General Assembly in the case of invasion, total war or other unforeseen catastrophe, and this will allow him or her or it a much greater degree of command over the Syndicates. Any individual Syndicate may abstain from this command economy, though the Creed of Exploitation is generally held to apply in the case of intervention.

Expansionism: FIASS will not conquer planets where the workers are opposed to their syndicalisation. They will, however, enter and eliminate any exploitative elements and annihilate the old hierarchy while doing their best to spare the exploited before leaving. In practice, this generally means that when FIASS aquires military control over a planet, the economy is driven by force to a point of syndicalisation, and after at most a few generations the populace will decide to join. There have been exceptions, however, and in these cases FIASS simply insures that what it deems as exploitative business practices are not resumed in its absence.
If a planet is populated only by the exploiting classes, a regime of forced proleratisation is instituted, or the CORG carries out a genocide. The latter is exceedingly rare, only carried out in extreme cases and has never actually been put into effect. The entire Board of Directers will immediately resign after issuing an order for genocide for any reason. Generally, however, simply supporting the exploited parts of the populace is deemed sufficient to cause a planetwide revolution, adding a new world to the FIASS. Executing major CEOs and suchlike, however, is standard doctrine.

Driving Force: FIASS has the stated goal of ending all exploitation. Since it holds practically any economic system less democratic than its own to be exploitative, it considers most other civilisations oppressive and morally bankrupt, and will struggle to foment revolution.

History: Darachim was the world of the Mellenians, and had been for as long as any history or archaeology could deem; an old species, Darachim was where they evolved and where they founded their first, primitive civilisations.
Then the humans came.
The humans, already an advanced spacefaring race, set up shop on and around Darachim, wearing special environmental suits and exoskeletons to sustain them on the high-G planet. Finding the Mellenians very much suited to manual labour, they subjugated them, eradicated their culture and set them to work. The forges of Darachim soon became a critical lynchpin for the entire human empire, producing massive amounts of all sorts of high-quality materiel. Of course, the Mellenians who produced everything saw practically none of the profits; as more and more human ideas seeped into Mellenian society, clamour for reform grew. The human overlords responded by setting up a parliamentary system in which the Mellenians were permitted to "elect their own representatives to govern their society", and subsequently manipulated it into becoming a corrupt stooge for human interests. The Mellenians were subdued, but not for long; very soon, powerful trade unions sprung up despite fierce resistance from the parliamentary and human forces. Darachim was practically seething; as the texts of revolutionary human philosophers were imported by sympathisers and syndicalists, the Melennians created their own system. The planet, peaceful since the humans had arrived to put down all nation states, was on the verge of civil war. The overarching human empire looked on with concern, but not overmuch; there had been planetary uprisings before, and they had been put down. This would be no different.

It all ended when a grand conclave of unions was held, with Mellenian worker and human intellectual pledging to stand side by side and declare a general strike. The great forges went quiet, all over the planet, all at once. Power plants shuddered to a halt, and metal stopped being manufactured.
The Forge of the Empire had suddenly stopped producing, and panic ensued across a number of systems.

Of course, it was a symbolic act. Production was back online the very next day, but the products - weapons, tanks, ships, foodstuffs, exoskeletons and supplies - were not what was demanded by the empire, nor what was mandated by profit. No, the unions had seized the factories collectively, and were preparing for war. Revolutionary cadres were in the streets, on the space stations and in the factories, rounding up and jailing the profiteers and exploiters, the CEOs and the bosses. Thousands died in a night of slaughter, and Darachim's independence had its baptism in blood, as everyone knew that its birth would be.

They were not, of course disappointed. Imperial spaceships appeared shortly to set up a blockade; the population of Darachim responded by rationing and intensive small-scale food-production. Underground plants were harvested and made foodstuffs of. Every garden, every piece of land unclaimed by the factories and cities, was turned into agriculture to sustain the planet's vast population. Starving Darachim did not work, at least not quickly enough - the empire screamed and bled from the lack of so many vital products. To make matters worse, solidarity strikes were launched all over the sector, and all the while Darachim's revolution was becoming more and more armed; space stations were rigged up to become planetary defense measures, and ships were being produced at record speeds. Soon, the blockade was broken, and the Empire itself withered and died in the throes of constant revolution, counterrevolution, of coup and countercoup.

But Darachim had its freedom, and its independence. Human, Melennian and a number of volunteers from all over known space blinked, sat down and hammered out a system that could survive in a hostile galaxy.
FIASS was born.

Currency: FIASS worlds have the Labour Token as a currency. It is not a form of capital as such, and can only be used to trade commodities. Inter-syndicate trade is carried out with Value Receipts, which can be used only to purchase in bulk. FIASS centrally sets the value of commodities and other wares, according to the labour theory of value (that is, an item is valued per how much labour went into producing it).


PROPOSED SPECIAL RULE:
FIASS earns only 0,5 PPs for each territory under its control and can not have a force whose total units exceeds its amount of territories times two, but the player may petition the Grand Syndicates for a more general mobilisation. During mobilisation, every FIASS territory earns 2 PPs, and its force limits are expanded to three times the amount of territories controlled. Once the Council deems the threat past, demobilisation is carried out and the original rule is reinstated, with any excess units being disbanded.
[quote][i]I’m not offering these revisions for Mubarak! I don’t care about this government. What is important is that I killed people—Copts, innocent persons—and before I meet God I should declare my sins.[/i][/quote]

-A condemned man in an Egyptian prison. Now executed.
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Re: A large scale strategy based scifi- RP (AoTB style)

#38 Post by Luna Guardian »

DAMN!! I can already see that I have THREE enemies to begin with!. Better start making some friends...
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Luna, try not to beat them too hard. They are proud about their pseudo-glorious past and their present nothingness, you know.
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Re: A large scale strategy based scifi- RP (AoTB style)

#39 Post by Ammusvarasto »

A little something something before I make a full post. Please excuse spelling errors.

Life in Hell – The Civics of the New Future

Humanity – Live Free or Die Hard

UAC is a mere interplanetary company, with great influence over matters on each planet. Each and every planet in known space has their own regime, an independent planetary government. But governments can be changed, bought, subverted, manipulated, coaxed and bribed to do UACs bidding. This is often the case in most situations. Sometimes a planetary council gets too greedy or idealistic to accept UACs terms and agreements. In such cases war is inevitable. The planet is then annexed, or destroyed as the Policy dictates in each given situation. These are desperate measures, however, as freedom is what benefits UAC the most. If people do things of their own free will, or at least think they do, UAC has no reason to intervene. Instead, UAC can focus on business. Nothing costs more than unnecessary war or forced peace. Only one planet is an exception: Hell’s Reach. This planet is under the supervision of UACs CEO, under his management, his mandate. It is untouchable, incorruptible, and indestructible. Unattainable and underestimated.

The Code of Law

“No-one can escape Hell’s Reach”, “There’s no way in Hell you can run”, “Remember, no-one is safe from Hell’s Reach”. These are the first and foremost words spread all around the galaxy. On every annexed planet, on every space station and on every ship, all citizens know that rebellion is futile. No-one can escape Hell’s Reach, its weapons of mass destruction, which can rain fire from the skies in an instant. This is the basic philosophy for everyone. There is no point trying to fight someone who can kill you, instead exact your vengeance, your malice and your hatred against everyone else who you can defeat. If someone stands in the way of true justice, you simply walk up behind them and stab them in the heart. Trust no-one but yourself, do not help anyone unless there’s something to be gained. Always be polite, unless you know there are no negative consequences from being rude. Remember, gun ownership is compulsory. Might makes right, but you are expected to sacrifice yourself, your family and friends for the Greater Good. That is, for the good of United Aerospace Corporation, for the good of Greater Profit, for the good of Mankind, in that order. Someone always knows better than you, therefore do as you are told and obey orders. Propaganda is the best source of information you have, because everyone else has a reason to lie to you. Even propaganda is lies, but they are consistent lies. Military service is not compulsory; it is the meaning of your life. All who disobey are enemies of the state, your enemies. They must pay for their crimes with money, blood or work. You are poor, and your life would be even more meaningless if you are given the luxury of capital punishment. Therefore you must toil in the penitentiary colonies, or entertain the crowds in the Tournament, where you can achieve immortality. Show your gratitude for your safety, your right to exist to the UAC and serve. You will not live forever, but there is no greater glory than giving your life for the eternal Sovereign State of the United Aerospace Corporation.
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Re: A large scale strategy based scifi- RP (AoTB style)

#40 Post by Ammusvarasto »

They play sports in the far future too, you know... Here's a sample

Glorious History of Violence – The Tournament

In an effort to try and control violence among UAC colonists a series of bloody leagues and games were developed. In this way violence became a sport, a very profitable sport with individual soldiers of fortune, teams of unparallel skill and the craziest, most murderous psychopaths the history of the galaxy has ever known, men who only wish to see the world burn. All compete for superiority in the one art known since the dawn of time: violence. It was not too long before the double-Y penal colonists, the Crimson Omen and the cyborgs ruled the Tournament games. However, some regular citizens and military personnel have achieved great ranks, as have military robots.

Nuke-Ball – Ball Game from Hell

Nuke-Ball was invented on Armageddon by rebelling penal colonists who got hold of an Mk54 mini-nuke. They decided to make a social experiment with it. The rules of Nuke-Ball are basically a recreation of this experiment. Two teams of sixteen players face off against each other. They attempt to get a ball made of steel, containing an Mk54 set to explode in 30 minutes, through the opposing team’s steel ring (known as a hoop). When the ball is through a hoop (known as shooting a hoop) the Mk54 is deactivated. However, all players wear vests filled with explosives and shards of metal. The team that does not succeed in shooting a hoop have their vests detonate, turning them into a bloody mess. If the timer on the Mk54 runs out, all players and the whole stadium is evaporated in nuclear fire and the game is a tie. It is not forbidden to kill players from the opposing team and in fact most games are won by eliminating the opposing team first then shooting a hoop. Although there are official teams which practice the game it is much more fun if both teams’ players did not volunteer. A variant of Nuke-Ball, called Swamp-Ball changes the setting. The game is played in a muddy swamp 1.6-2.4 meters deep, plus all players have lead weights attached to their feet. Their hands are tied and all goals must be made by kicking. Due to the fact that it is much more difficult to win, the timer is set at an extended time of 35 minutes. It must also be noted that almost no team ever survives to play a second Swamp-Ball match. The same applies for the audience watching the game.

Overdose – Radiation is a Funny Thing

In OD, there are eight players trying to kill prisoners using only their bare hands. The more they kill the more radioactive materials are vented into their armor system, while the less fortunate killers get combat drugs pumped into their blood stream. Too much killing and players die due to radiation, too much idling and players die due to overdose of combat drugs. The winner is the last man standing.
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Re: A large scale strategy based scifi- RP (AoTB style)

#41 Post by Waaagh »

Firstly, great races from both noodsy and Ash this far, plus I know that Luna and CH both have good races too.

Ash, I think I could accept that special rule of yours, of course the greater syndicates being me (which I think you meant from the beginning)

Secondly, some additions to the rules section of units:

I expect every basic unit is of a normal range category, this meaning normal rifle- caliber weapons with an effective range of, say, 100 metres. So I'd like to include weapon distances (as no doubt there will be some VERY different ranges of course) in the rules.

It's as simple as this:

Melee range (depending on unit) 2PP cheaper (self explanatory)
short range 1PP cheaper (shotguns, pistol etc.)
normal range as stat value says (rifle- caliber, basic guns)
long range 1PP more expensive (cannons, heavier MG's)

So, what do you say?
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Re: A large scale strategy based scifi- RP (AoTB style)

#42 Post by Luna Guardian »

Morning Star Union

Official name: The Union of the Worlds of the Morning Star

Also known as: The Union, The Morning Star Union, The MSU, The Hypocrites

Ruler: The Union President, Peter Laut alongside the Union Senate

Race: Human, Chratian and Khe'er form the greatest three species. Other sentient species are also a part of the Union

Human: The human population of the MSU originates from the planet Dnalnif. Because of the moon's gravity, they're muscular, although the geneticists of other races often wonder how the Dnalnifians grow so tall (an average Dnalnifian is 180 cm tall). Now spread all over the Union, the humans are without doubt the most influential of the Union's races.

Chratians: Chratians are a humanoid race with leonin features. Very strong and very tall, they're born and bred for war. Providing the Union with its most elite soldiers the Chratians are always the first to face any threat to the union, fighting with all the might and courage of their race.

Khe'er: Before the forming of the Union, the Khe'er were by far the most advanced of the races in the known galaxy, their domain encompassing several worlds. Extremely intelligent the Khe'er provide the Union with it's top researchers and scientists. With most of their race being femal, lithe and fair, the Khe'er don't appear to be capable fighters, but their military traditions run deep and none are more skilled in shadow warfare than their stealth troops.

Capital/homeworld: The ice moon of Erian, Dnalnif

Description of the homeworld: Dnalnif is a snow-covered moon with an athmosphere that is breathable by humans. Slightly smaller than an average planet, its core is extremely dense, giving the moon a higher-than-average gravity of 1,358 G's.

Religion: None official, but many of the member species practise their ancient religions. Also, to the outsider the quest for the Messiah-device could be seen as religious.

Form of government: Oligarchy. Only the citizens may vote or run for office.

Citizenship: The population in the Morning Star Union is so big, that any kind of democracy would be full of unwieldy bureucracy. Therefore, the population of the Union is divided in two classes, the civilian masses and the citizens. Citizenship can be earned through military service (service automatically guarantees citizenship), through significant acts benefitting the Union or by proving unwavering loyalty to the Union. Citizenship is not hereditary, each member of the Union has to earn it for him/her/itself. The vast majority of the civilians will never gain citizenship, and most never even strive for it. The rights and responsibilities of the Citizens are:

Rights:
- The right to own a firearm
- The right to vote or run for office
- The right to have genetic manipulation done to oneself
- The right to become the CEO of a mega-corporation

Responsibilities:
- To serve in the MSU military
- To serve the MSU Senate in whatever way the Senate deems necessary

Military:

The Morning Star Military is divided into three organisations: The fleet, the army and the Special Forces. Out of these, the army is the largest, encompassing almost all of the MSU forces that operate on the surface of planets such as the ODAR, the Chratian legionnaires, the SHIELD-units etc. The fleet is made up of the space-faring vessels in the MSU, but also fields its own planetside forces, albeit much smaller than those of the army. The Special Forces are made up from the units that operate in strictly specialized roles or that are otherwise so outstanding that they don't fit the regular tactics of the army or the fleet, such as the Khe'er troops or the Praetorian Cyborgs.

Culture:

Economy: The Morning Star Union’s economy is based on large mega-corporations employing almost the entire civilian populace and the exploitation of several planets to fulfil a certain task within the Union.

Mega-corporations: Mega-corporations are the biggest employers in the Morning Star Union. Employing over 70% of the civilian populace, the mega-corporations are viewed as greatly beneficial to the Union as a whole. Wealthy beyond description, they are the engine that drives the Morning Star Union ever onwards despite setbacks and crises. Locked in a constant state of competition with one another, the Union Senate has deemed that none of the mega-corporations are allowed to own private security forces (ironically, this has led to one mega-corporation to specialize in the security business, providing the other mega-corporations with their outsourced security). The Union Senate holds the mega-corporations in-check with strict regulations that the mega-corporations must abide by, such as minimum wage and working conditions, if they wish to stay in business. The very culture of the MSU discourages corruption, but to safeguard that, the financial records of the Senate members are overlooked by hundreds of unlinked extremely advanced AIs, which are guarded by a contingent of Praetorian Cyborgs and any anomaly is immediately noticed and investigated. If corruption is detected, the Senate member loses his citizenship, all financial assets and becomes a pariah amongst the people of the MSU.

Notable mega-corporations are:

The Mass Nova Corporation: The Mass Nova Corporation is a massive military contractor responsible for the development of the Archangel-class Orbital Drop Ships and the Mass NovaTon Cannons. One of the most influential establishments in the Union, the Mass Nova Corporation specializes in heavy-duty military ordnance and projects.

The Jurkian Trade Federation: The Jurkian Trade Federation was originally an independent faction and was assimilated into the Morning Star Union without conflict. In the past the Jurkian Trade Federation was competing against all other mega-corporations in every aspect, but the specialization of their competitors forced them to let the other mega-corporations to seize large sections of their market shares, leaving them in a state of bankruptcy. However, the Jurkian’s managed to procure the rights to oversee the food production of Erian and it’s distribution, which enabled them to climb back to the position of power and now they are one of the richest mega-corporations in the Union.

Terramorph United: The Terramorph United, while not as wealthy as many of the other mega-corporations, enjoys a special position in the eyes of the Senate, because they hold the monopoly on terramorphing planets for the Union. The Terramorph United is responsible for the welfare of the Union’s terramorphed worlds for a hundred years after the terramorphing is finished in all matters that have to do with the terramorphing, so the quality of the terramorphing is extremely high.

The Blue Sun PMC: While not really a PMC due to their lack of lethal weaponry, the Blue Sun still fancies themselves as such due to being the only private security company in the Morning Star Union. Providing the other mega-corporations with their security forces, the Blue Sun is carefully monitored for the slightest slip-up by the Senate. One of the most influential mega-corporations, they are able to pressure the other mega-corporations into certain actions, which has gotten them a reputation of being something akin to thugs.

Olympos Manufactorium: Formerly regarded as a minor player, the Olympos Manufactorium rose to a significant position practically overnight with the development of the Implosion Torpedo. Before the Implosion Torpedo, they were most well-known for the high quality of their Jollon metal-alloy used to build civilian vessels.

Ullat Genetics: The Ullat Genetics is light years ahead of its competitors in the fields of genetics and pharmaceuticals. Responsible for many of the genetic improvements to both the general population and the military, the Ullat Genetics are most reknown for the ImmunoGland, an organ that strenghtens the immunity system of the host to almost supernatural levels and the Kaliat gene, an artificial gene that has changed the physiology of the MSU human population so that they remain strong and healthy far longer than they naturally would.

Exploitation of planets: The MSU encompasses dozens of planets and hundreds of moons, all of which either support indigenous sentients or have been terramorphed to suit the Union’s needs. Some planets have been specifically terramorphed to provide the Union with food, entire worlds existing only to feed the billions upon billions of mouths of the Union’s populace. Other world’s or moons have rich mineral deposits, which are then exploited to provide the Union with the raw materials it needs. There are few colonies on these worlds, as most of the mundane work is done by automation and the worlds, while they aren’t hostile or harsh, are rarely up to the standards of such population centres as Dnalnif.
If the mega-corporations are the engine of the Union, then the resource-worlds are the fuel, as without them the Union would grind to a halt. Its no small wonder that these worlds are protected especially well by several orbital fleets and artificial asteroid shields as well as MRCs on the planets’ surfaces.

Morning Star Union military: When speaking of the MSU economy, like in every other aspect of their culture, the military plays a major role. The single largest employer of the Union, the military employs 20% of the populace and the mega-corporations dependent or at least partially reliant on it employ at least 30%. It’s the most honourable and honoured establishment to work for in the Union, as the standards are very high and without their powerful military, the Union would succumb to outside threats and its people would be wiped out.

Vision of the future: The people of the Morning Star Union expect a lot of their future and are very confident that there are few if none in the galaxy who are capable of defeating the might of the Morning Star.


Driving force: The quest for the Messiah-device. Also, they seek to combat what they seem as evil as well as further advancing as warriors and soldiers without peer.


Appearance: The most numerous species in the Union, the humans of Dnalnif are tall and strong, the average man about 185 cm tall and weighing about 100 kg under 1g gravity. The other significant species in the Union are the Khe'er, a race of blue-skinned humanoids with pointed ears who are mostly female and, at least to the eyes of humans, very beautiful and the Chratians, huge leonine humanoids who are a very proud people and extremely skilled in warfare.


Currency: Union Credits


Architecture: Varying

History:

Forming of the Morning Star Union: The legacy of the Morning Star Union began on the ice moon Dnalnif. The humans living on the moon were a hardy folk, having adapted to survive the harsh climate, living from hunting and gathering. According to Khe'er records, the Dnalnifians were intelligent, but lacked the means of developing any high-grade technology. They were regularly traded with though, as the skins of the wild beasts that inhabited the moon were highly sought-after by the Khe'er elite, and the Khe'er traders made annual visits to Dnalnif, to keep up the high demand and the high price of the skins.

On one such trade trip, the Khe'er were surprised to find permanent residences. Before that day, the Dnalnifians had shunned such practises, as it would make it more difficult for them to follow their prey. This was but the first surprise the Khe'er traders would encounter however. In the past, the Dnalnifians had traded the skins for basic medicine and tools, but now they demanded raw materials and more advanced technology. The Khe'er, caught off-guard, accepted the terms and the trade continued.

After that, the Khe'er noticed that the Dnalnifians advanced incredibly quickly, taking leaps that had took them dozens, maybe hundreds of years to accomplish in a single year. The Khe'er grew worried, but they didn't have time to investigate further as another alien civilization declared war on them, drawing their attention. The Dnalnifians were left to advance in peace.

This was the time of the explosive advancement period on Dnalnif. As the two alien races were warring with each other, the Dnalnifians unified, built cities and weapons and multiplied. In less than a decade they had mastered space-flight and began building a powerful PDS (Planetary Defence System) to protect Dnalnif from orbital assault. As the war between the Khe'er and their enemies ended, the Khe'er couldn't recognise the moon. Fearing a potential enemy, they struck out at the humans.

Unknowingly to the Khe'er, the Republic of Dnalnif had been trading with their enemies during the war and had extensive information about Khe'er tactics, organization, equipment and ships. What they didn't have though, was experience. Not having fought a single war during the entire unification process, the Dnalnifian soldiers were inexperienced, and this had the Dnalnifian commanders worried. If the Khe'er managed to land sufficient amounts of troops on the moon's surface, the human defenders could have a hard time pushing them back. The Khe'er on the other hand were afraid of the Dnalnifians, seeing their sudden advancement as unnatural, unsure what to expect. It was decided that the safest way to deal with the threat of Dnalnif was to bombard their cities and military facilities from orbit, not presenting a potential target for the Dnalnifian ground-troops and unknown weapons.

As the Khe'er fleet took positions around the orbit, the Dnalnifian defence batteries opened fire. Enormous rail-cannons dug deep beneath the planet's surface blasted ships apart and huge missile barrages tore through the sleek vessels, taking the Khe'er commanders completely by surprise. Not one Khe'er ship escaped, allowing the Dnalnifians to launch a succesful counter-attack on the homeworld of the Khe'er. As the Dnalnifian ships landed tens of thousands of soldiers on Khe'er, the High Council surrendered unconditionally.

The Dnalnifians surprised their defeated enemies one last time. In stead of revenging the unprovoked attack on Dnalnif by sacking and looting, the Dnalnifians brought humanitarian aid to the civilians and contented to only demilitarise the Khe'er. After brief talks between the Khe'er and Dnalnifian leaders, the two people formed the Morning Star Union, naming it after the sun in the starsystem.

Early years of the Morning Star Union: After the Union was formed, the Khe'er shipyards were modified to build ships of a new design, that of the Morning Star Union. The blue-skinned aliens were stunned by the level of technology the Dnalnifians put on the ships, rivalling or surpassing anything the Khe'er had. The Dnalnifians were however reluctant to tell the Khe'er how they had developed such technology in such a short time. After several decades, the Union had a fleet larger and more powerful than any the Khe'er had ever recorded. And with this fleet, the Morning Star Union went to war.

The Morning Star Union invaded several worlds, conquering and assimilating several civilizations during this time of expansion, never meeting an opponent that could match their strenght. While some of their opponents fought until they were destroyed, none provided the Morning Star military with much of a challenge. That is, until the Morning Star Union finally met the Chratian Empire.

Having rejected the offer to join the Morning Star Union peacefully, the Chratian Empire emphasized it's words by mobilizing its military. Despite the warnings of the Khe'er Council the Morning Star Union responded like they had in the past, launching an invasion on the Chratian planets, certain of victory. However, unlike in the past, this time they were beaten back. The Chratians had a long history of war, having fought off numerous invasions and conquering numerous worlds in return. The warriors of the Chratian Empire outfought the Morning Star Union forces at almost every turn on the planetary surface due to their superior physique, weaponry and training while in space the superior Morning Star vessels pushed the Chratian ships further and further into Chratian space. The war could have lasted like this for centuries, had not fate intervened.

After the war had gone on for three decades, the Morning Star Union brought out its latest ship and the ”ultimate solution to end the war”, the Archangel-class super-heavy Orbital Drop Ship. This montrous vessel was designed to seize total space superiority and then lend aid to the troops on the planet by providing orbital bombardment and drop troop re-enforcements. Joining the fifth stellar fleet, the ”Finality” was deemed invincible. However, the Chratians had heard of the Archangel's developement and had built their own ship to rival it, the ”Lioness”. Not quite as powerful as the Archangel, the ”Lioness” however was an exceptionally powerful ship and especially with the support of the Chratian fleet it was assigned to, it rivalled the ”Finality”. The fleets gathered and both sides held their breaths, throwing everything they could gather in a short while into the battle that was to finally determine who would emerge as victorious in the war. If the Morning Star Union won, they would be able to fight the Chratians on their own terms and finally overcome them. If the Chratian Empire won, then they could push the Morning Star fleet back and, without the fleet's assistance, their ground forces would be easily defeated. As the two fleets engaged in battle, disaster struck both.

With no communications from the fifth stellar fleet, the seventh stellar fleet was sent to investigate. What they found was the wrecked hulls of both the Chratian and MSU ships, as well as several destroyed ships of unknown design. It was discerned that the unknown fleet must've had been responsible for the destruction the fifth stellar fleet as well as the Chratian armada. What records remained state that the battle lasted less than ten minutes, that both the ”Finality” and the ”Lioness” were destroyed within the first two minutes and the fleets survived little longer. The admiral of the seventh stelar fleet named the unkown fleet as the ”Witch Fleet”, after an old Dnalnifian legend. After this battle, the Chratian Empire and the MSU decided on a ceasefire, both sides turning to face this new and unknown threat.

The war against the Witch Fleet: After the Chratian Empire and the Morning Star Union formalized their alliance, both sides started looking for the enemy that had cost them both dearly. However, the time it takes for two powers like the Chratian Empire and the MSU to mobilize is great, and by the time they had turned their guns against this new enemy, reports started coming in, informing the leaders of the MSU and the Empire that the Witch Fleet had attacked and destroyed several worlds, killing all sentient life on them. This infuriated the MSU and the Empire, for while they were both militaristic, they both held honour in high esteem. Neither could believe that someone would target and slaughter civilian populations. With righteous fury they redoubled their efforts to stop the Witch Fleet. The artificial fleet was moving deeper and deeper into Morning Star space, wiping out all sentient life it came across. Entire fleets were eradicated, trying to stem its advance and the people of the Union were terrified and even the Chratians, although they were spared from the havoc the Witch Fleet wrecked, were worried. After the Morning Star Union was destroyed, who was to say that the Witch Fleet didn't come for them next? This, and the respect the Chratians had for the Morning Star Union, made the Empire give it's full support to the MSU. In fact, to an outsider, it would've been difficult to say if it was two allies fighting shoulder to shoulder, or a single entity struggling against a very powerful enemy.

If the Witch Fleet was halted somewhere, it returned with greater numbers, crushing all opposition. It's advance was relentless. Finally, a plan was devised to stop this merciless enemy. A plan with terrible risk and cost. Six fleets were sacrificed to slow down the advance of the Witch Fleet, diverting the Witch Fleet from it's path to Fregat, one of the main shipyards of the Morning Star Union. The reason for this was that on Fregat, two Archangel-class ODSs were almost complete and if they were finished, the MSU would have a chance of mounting a succesful counter-offencive against the Witch Fleet. The gambit paid off, but the cost of victory was terrible. All six fleets were destroyed to the last and as the giant stargate was powered to allow the Archangels to leave, the Witch Fleet arrived. The captains of the Archangels ordered all other vessels to follow them as they made their escape. Behind them they saw the Witch Fleet descend on the now defenceless Fregat.
But the sacrifices made were not in vain. With the two Archangels and the surviving ships of the Fregat defence fleet, the Morning Star Union had enough ships and firepower to halt the advance of the Witch Fleet. After a series of fierce battles against the Witch Fleet, during which one of the Archangels was destroyed and the other left crippled, the Witch Fleet vanished, leaving only the hulls of destroyed ships behind. No one knows where the Witch Fleet went, but no word has been heard from it since. Even today Morning Star Union is on the lookout for any sign of the Witch Fleet's return.

After the Witch Fleet was defeated, the Morning Star Union entered an era of rebuilding with the help of the Chratian Empire. Several worlds had been wiped out, including Fregat and Nakar, and the Morning Star Union military had suffered terribly. During this time, the Khe'er noticed that the technology that the Witch Fleet used was strikingly similiar to the Union's own technology. The Dnalnifians were forced to reveal the secret to their rapid technological advancements: almost a thousand years ago, the Dnalnifians had found a machine from underneath the ice and snow of Dnalnif, about the size of a human head. This device, that the Dnalnifians had dubbed the Messiah-device, had been the source of most of their technology, explaining in intricate detail and simple terms the theory of fusion technology, pharmaceutical advancements, wormhole theory and even different social structures. The database was corrupt and incomplete, but even so, the amount of knowledge had allowed the Dnalnifians to rapidly advance to the point where they had been able to overcome the much older civilization of the Khe'er.

Rise of the Mega-Corporations: In the aftermath of the war against the Witch Fleet, the Morning Star Union was devastated. Entire worlds had been wiped out, vast amounts of resources were lost and the population was in a state of panic at the newfound vulnerability of the Union. The Senate negotiated a peace with the Chratian Empire and agreed upon a special fund to help stabilize and rebuild the broken and battered Union. Up until this point, almost every planet in the Union was free to go about it's daily life much like they had before the Morning Star Union conquered them and as such, the corporations of those planets were many and small, most having nothing to do with the other planets in the Union. During this time of recovery however, the opportunity for massive growth presented itself to these corporations. The Union was spending incredible amounts of credits to repair the damage done by the Witch Fleet, and this meant that the corporations could make huge profits in a very short time. Every corporation that could get a deal with the Senate took it and expanded almost exponentially, the faster seizing the slower businesses. Soon the combined wealth and might of the, newly dubbed, mega-corporations challenged that of the Morning Star Union Senate. In their arrogance, the chairmen of these mega-corporations made demands to the Senate, demanding further freedoms and more power over the planets they were located at. The Morning Star Union was at the brink of a bloody civil war which would've left the intestellar superpower ravaged beyond any hope of restauration.

The Morning Star Union military was in a state of disarray and wouldn't be able to stand against the forces the mega-corporations could equip and call upon. Under these difficult circumstances, the Senate made the decision to strike first. All across the Union all military forces that were organized enough to act were called upon to do so. An order went out for the arrest of the leaders of the mega-corporations and the loyal troops of the Union moved to follow those orders. At the center of huge metropolis' the very best of the Union's military came to clashes with the private security forces of the mega-corporations. For the first and only time in their history the people of the MSU killed one another all across the Union, but the Senate had acted before the mega-corporations had a chance to and after several days of fighting every mega-corporation was under strict control of the Senate.

The Senate however deemed that maintaining direct control over the mega-corporations would lead to unsatisfactory results, killing healthy competition and innovation as well as the willingness to strive ever onwards to outdo one's competitiors. Thus the Senate passed a series of laws that, while allowed the mega-corporations to exist as private entities, seriously diminished their power thus ensuring that past mistakes wouldn't be repeated.


The war against the UAC: It took decades to repair all of the damage the Witch Fleet had inflicted on the Union, and just when matters were improving, disaster struck the Union again. The war against the Witch Fleet and the following incident with the newly formed mega-corporations had demanded the full attention of the Union, so they had not noticed the arrival of a new power, one that rivalled them and their Chratian allies in it's strenght, the United Aerospace Corporation. This new player shocked the Morning Star Union, since after they had defeated the Witch Fleet, they were certain that there no longer existed a power that could match theirs. With a brutal attack, the UAC occupied Nakar, a Chratian planet, defeating it's unprepared defences after a series of fierce battles. The furious Morning Star leaders assembled an invasion fleet, led by an Archangel-class ship, that set out for Nakar intent on showing the invaders what it meant to attack the brothers of the Morning Star Union. What was supposed to be an easy victory turned out to be a tough battle, but eventually the Morning Star Union forces were victorious and succesfully retook Nakar. Both sides in the conflict had seriously underestimated the other. This was the beginning of the war between the MSU and the UAC that has lasted for centuries, both sides unable to gain the upper-hand against the other. After the MSU retook Nakar, the Chratian Empire and the Morning Star Union decided that in this time of war and sorrow, they would have to stand together, or fall. Thus did the Chratian Empire join the Morning Star Union.


Relationship with outsiders: The Morning Star Union has almost no enemies, for they have all been conquered or destroyed, save two: the near-mythical Witch Fleet and the UAC. When encountering a new civilization or faction they study it to determine if it's a threat to the MSU, but if they judge the faction to be hostile, they initiate military actions without a moment of hesitation.


Terramorphing: Morning Star Union has perfected the process of terramorphing planets to be habitable by all the species in the MSU. This process usually takes 3-10 years, depending on the size, state and atmosphere of the planet in question.

Spacetravel: The MSU isn't capable of FTL travel, but uses wormholes and the folding of space to travel the stars, because of their reliability and speed. Every MSU planet, or at least system, has a massive Stargate, big enough to let a Seraphim-class vessel through. However, most of the MSU ships have a Kir'Ves drive, allowing them to fold space to cross vast distances of space in an instant, because it would be impractical to build mobile stargates to follow the fleets where ever they go. In addition, every major MSU ship has a device known as the ”Trust”. No one knows why the device is in every ship schematic the Messiah-device stores, but so far any attempt to remove it has ended with failure. The device, when activated, instantly transports the ship and its crew to any random point in the universe, and so far the MSU hasn't been able to find out why or how.

Cloning and genetic engineering: The Morning Star Union is huge, and so is it's need for soldiers. However, due to the high expectations of an MSU soldier, there's only a small percentage of the populace int the MSU who can join the military. The wars against the Witch Fleet and the UAC proved to them, that the size of their military isn't as important as the quality when fighting such enemies. Because of this, the MSU has developed cloning technology and genetic engineering. Each soldier that enters the MSU military is cloned twice, any further clones suffer from genetic corruption. The clones are give full rights as citizens of the MSU and for all intents and purpouses are the equals of their brothers and sisters in arms.

The genetic engineering in the MSU is a very touchy subject. While they acknowledge it's advantages and use it widely in their military to create the super-soldiers of the ODST, they feel that using genetic alteration on the civilian populace to make them ”better” would be dishonourable and irresponsible. If, by accident, one flawed gene would find it's way to the civilian population, it could cause terrible damage. In the military, each soldier is checked on a regular basis for any such abnormalitites, but in the hundreds of billions of sentients in the MSU such checks couldn't be executed with any kind of accuracy. However, the MSU does have a system that checks for genetic flaws in a developing embryo and fixes them before the child is born.

In the past, the MSU experimented on bio-organic weapons (known as BOWs from now on) to be used in combat. These creatures would have been sent to battle before the MSU main force to sow confusion and terror amongst the enemy forces, but the program was discontinued when it was deemed to be both dishonourable and cruel. There are no official records of any of the BOWs designed remaining, but the MSU has the means to create an army of genetically engineered killing machines on a moment's notice. However, this is seen by the current administration as a last resort.


Weapons of mass destruction:
When situation calls for it, the MSU is prepared to use WMDs to bring a war to an end or to crush an otherwise reluctant enemy into submission. The WMDs the MSU uses are:

Mass NovaTon Cannon: The Mass Nova corporation's flagship design, the Mass NovaTon Cannons are monstrous constructions, big enough to hurl an average sized moon at incredible speeds to a target to destroy it utterly. The Mass NovaTon Cannon first accelerates the ammunition to near-light speeds before launching it. To pass the vast distances in space, and to avoid any possible detection and/or interception, the Mass NovaTon Cannons are also infitted with the Kir'Ves drive, which then activates, instantly transporting the projectile near to it's target, which is then hit and completely obliterated. The locations of the Mass NovaTon Cannons are closely guarded secrets, not to mention constantly changing, as they are a considerable investment and incredibly powerful.

Mass Drivers: When a situation calls for the use of WMDs, the Mass Drivers are the most often used choice. Cheap to manufacture, maintain and use, the Mass Drivers are ideal to the Morning Star Union. Mounted on the ships of the Morning Star Fleet, the Mass Drivers can be used on targets in space as well as on a planet's surface. The weapon uses asteroids and the like as it's projectiles, so the ammunition is practically infinite not to mention clean. The impact is terribly devastating, but there's no radioactive fallout or poisoning of the ground.

Implosion Torpedos: Another common WMD is the Implosion Torpedo. A rather new invention from the Olympos Manufactorium, the Implosion Torpedo uses revolutionary Heggir technology to create a massive implosion at the point of impact, destroying anything in the vicinity. The Implosion Torpedos have gained great popularity amongst the Morning Star Fleet due to the excellent size-to-damage ratio of the torpedos, which enables them to be used on smaller ships, such as the Angel, as well.

Viral Weaponry and Nuclear Warfare: The MSU has assimilated innumerable civilizations into itself and the amount of different technologies that the civilizations used is incredible. Amongst these technologies is the use of Viral Weaponry and Nuclear Weapons. Banned by the Senate, the MSU never uses any of the hundreds of bio-engineered plagues or virus' in it's arsenal, nor does it ever use nuclear weapons on even the staunchest of opponents. The nuclear weapos are worthless to the Union, for if they are used, they blight the land for decades thus making it useless. If the Union has to utterly annihilate a target, they use ”clean” WMDs, such as Mass Drivers or the dreaded Mass NovaTon Cannon (although if used, the Union doesn't expect the target to survive. In any condition. At all). The Viral Weapons are of more use, as they are ”clean”, but even so they are never used. Such methods are seen as dishnonourable and cowardly by the Union, but even so, the Senate acknowledges the sheer destructive power of their viral stockpile, and although the Union doesn't officially have any sort of viral weapons, on a secret research and developement site where the MSU hoards it's darkest secrets, there is a vault which is filled with vial after vial of pure viral death, none of which is more deadly than the Reaper-virus.

Reaper: Originally encountered on a barren rock planet during the second sphere of expansion, the Reaper-virus is one of the most deadly organisms in the universe. Capable of reducing any biological matter into nothingness and corroding almost any known metal, the Reaper was deemed too dangerous for use. Further studies revealed that once infected, the victim cannot be cured, for the virus is in a state of constant evolution and mutation, rendering any kind of anti-virus useless. Furthermore, once it has infected a victim, the Reaper spreads to every cell of his or her body, making it impossible to remove it from the carrier. Incredibly contagious, once released into a planet's atmosphere the planet and all it's life are as good as dead. The Reaper is behind seal 13 of the Doomsday Protocol, which means that it can't be used unless the President, the High Command and the entirety of the Senate unanimously agree that the situation threatens the very survival of the MSU (such a situation has risen only once, during the war against the Witch Fleet. However, at that time the Reaper wasn't yet weaponized, and releasing it against the Witch Fleet could've resulted in massive casualties. However, all other bans on unconventional weapons were lifted, and this is the only time in the history of the MSU that nuclear weapons have been used by the Morning Star Union Fleet).

Morning Star Union territory: The Morning Star Union encompasses twenty starsystems which encompass 88 habited planets and hundreds of habited moons all together. Out of these, notable planets are:

Dnalnif:
The capitol of the Morning Star Union, a snow-covered moon orbiting the planet Erian. Unable to produce much by itself, it's population is highly reliant on the supplies that arrive from Erian. Despite this, there are huge cities on the moon's surface and the moon's population circles around 20 billion. Protected by the Archangel-class ship ”Justice”.

Erian: An agricultural world, acting as the ”breadbasket” for the entire western quadrant of the Morning Star Union, this enormous planet was terramorphed for the sole purpouse of feeding the people of the Morning Star Union. Protected by the Archangel-class ship ”Honesty”

Khe'er: The homeworld of the Khe'er, a paradise planet. This incredibly large planet has lush forests and large cities existing side-by-side. Many of the finest research-academies in the entire Morning Star Union reside here. Protected by the Archangel-class ship ”Truth”

Chrate: The homeworld of the Chratians, a barren planet of mostly rock and sand with several pinewood-like forests. The cities of Chrate are often veritable fortresses as fits the warrior-people of Chrate. Chrate also houses the most important military installation in the entire Morning Star Union. Protected by the Archangel-class ships ”Courage” and ”Honour”

Sparta I: The main planet for training the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers of the Morning Star Union, it is actually a terraformed moon, created for the sole purpouse of being capable of emulating any battlefield condition the soldiers of the Morning Star Union could run into. Protected by the Archangel-class ship ”Dread”

Hakhor: A factory-world near Sparta I, Hakhor produces most of the weaponry for the Morning Star army. A mineral-rich planet with an asteroid belt made almost purely from Ithilium, it is the perfect place for industrial production. Protected by the Archangel-class ship ”Hostility”.

Not'her:
Not'her was the former homeworld of a race of highly developed artificial creatures known as the Nots. After studying the Nots, the MSU came to the conclusion, that they could not be assimilated into the MSU, and posed a threat to the MSU, and as such would have to be destroyed. After a brutal war, the last of the Nots was destroyed and their planet was occupied by the MSU. The planet now is a R&D center for the MSU military, as well as the location where the Messiah-device is most extensively tested. Protected by the Archangel-class ship ”Purity”

Fregat:
The main shipyard of the MSU and another major Khe'er world. Repopulated after the Witch Fleet purged it of all sentient life. Protected by the Archangel-class ship ”Loyalty”

Nakar: Nakar is a cause for much grief to the Morning Star Union. A part of the former Chratian Empire, Nakar is a planet rich with resources. Being one of the planets the Witch Fleet wiped out before being stopped by the Grand Armada, it has since been reoccupied and acts as the first line of defence in case of an invasion. However, it's rebuilding and repopulation was still under way when it met the full force of the United Aerospace Corporation's military, falling to their hands, but being reclaimed by the Morning Star Union. Protected by the Archangel-class ship ”Dauntless”
Last edited by Luna Guardian on Sun Nov 15, 2009 12:09 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Prince Deral Lionbane, head of the House of Lionbane, Lord of Lionstone and Warden of Tor Charta

Luna, try not to beat them too hard. They are proud about their pseudo-glorious past and their present nothingness, you know.
-Elmoth, about Caledorians
Luna Guardian
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Re: A large scale strategy based scifi- RP (AoTB style)

#43 Post by Luna Guardian »

Force fielded

The MSU only uses small fractions of its military might at any given time. New systems are first scouted by stellar fleets before any action is made one way or the other. Usually the stellar fleet can inform the Senate about their findings and the Senate can then make a decision about what kind of force is appropriate, honourable and wise, but sometimes this is not possible. For this instances the MSU has the Aggressive Recon forces. Swift fleets with plenty of firepower the AggRecspush the boundaries of the MSU where advance is the hardest. One of these forces is the 513th Aggressive Recon fleet, led by Admiral-General Briarios Gilliam. Formed from mostly Dnalnifian troops with some Chratian and Khe'er elements, the 513th is a force to be reckoned with by any who wish to do harm to the Union and a steadfast ally and a loyal friend to those wiser than that.
Prince Deral Lionbane, head of the House of Lionbane, Lord of Lionstone and Warden of Tor Charta

Luna, try not to beat them too hard. They are proud about their pseudo-glorious past and their present nothingness, you know.
-Elmoth, about Caledorians
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Re: A large scale strategy based scifi- RP (AoTB style)

#44 Post by Prince_Asuryan »

Now then.

I saw this earlier, but didn't sign up due to limited internet access. Now that that's no longer and issue and I have a fair amount of free time, I'd quite like to play.

I think you're full but should you not be or if a space become available for any reason, could you let me know?

I look forward to following the game.

Cheers,

PA
'The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.'
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Re: A large scale strategy based scifi- RP (AoTB style)

#45 Post by Ferretsnarf »

I was screwed from the beginning in Elias's...
[quote]Ferretsnarf says: Would you screw a Half-Orc?
Kitsune (formerly Lathian) says: Yeah, but wilderness, urban or planar?[/quote]
[b]You're[/b] = Possessive form of [b]You[/b]. Example: [i]You're car is nice. [/i]
[b]Your[/b] = Contraction of [b]You[/b] and [b]Are[/b]. Example: [i]Your a fool.[/i]
[i]Okay, now which loremaster changed my signiature to correct it from that? it is irony[/i]
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Re: A large scale strategy based scifi- RP (AoTB style)

#46 Post by Elias Kalderon »

Yep, and despite that Raukov, Snail and Shadow fell before you.

Good luck with this one Waaagh! I'll check in every now and then to see how you're doing :D
[size=75]I'll think of something[/size]
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Re: A large scale strategy based scifi- RP (AoTB style)

#47 Post by Luna Guardian »

Elias, we're all still waiting to see how the AotB ended. Impatiently waiting. With torches and pitchforks. Outside your window. :wink:
Prince Deral Lionbane, head of the House of Lionbane, Lord of Lionstone and Warden of Tor Charta

Luna, try not to beat them too hard. They are proud about their pseudo-glorious past and their present nothingness, you know.
-Elmoth, about Caledorians
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Re: A large scale strategy based scifi- RP (AoTB style)

#48 Post by Waaagh »

Oooh, torches. I like torches. Fire. Heehee.

Uh, back to topic.

Great races everyone, Just waiting for the rest of you guys to finish yours so we're ready to start the countdown thingies. In addition to the race description, you need to make some units. The points cost is told in the rules section, but the tyoe and weaponry can be just about anything. Imagination allowed here too :wink:

And as of the maps, I've finished the concept, but managed to save them in JPG form so the pixels got all screwed up. Go me. Gotta start from nearly zero.

And prince asyruan, count yourself as a part of ze reserve.
Dwarven gravitational theory states that enough ale will make anything fall down.
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Re: A large scale strategy based scifi- RP (AoTB style)

#49 Post by Ammusvarasto »

Mass NovaTon Cannon: The Mass Nova corporation's flagship design, the Mass NovaTon Cannons are monstrous constructions, big enough to hurl an average sized moon at incredible speeds to a target to destroy it utterly. The Mass NovaTon Cannon first accelerates the ammunition to near-light speeds before launching it. To pass the vast distances in space, and to avoid any possible detection and/or interception, the Mass NovaTon Cannons are also infitted with the Kir'Ves drive, which then activates, instantly transporting the projectile near to it's target, which is then hit and completely obliterated. The locations of the Mass NovaTon Cannons are closely guarded secrets, not to mention constantly changing, as they are a considerable investment and incredibly powerful.
Ahem. And you complained about my 10 gigaton nuke. Eat your head.

Seriously though, let's not make this Dragonball Z: The Space Empires (now with 75% more hurling of planets). Otherwise I'll retreat to Pi to the Nth Universe to practice and return ten episodes later with a bigger planet to hurl at you.
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Re: A large scale strategy based scifi- RP (AoTB style)

#50 Post by Ammusvarasto »

The Sovereign State of the United Aerospace Corporation

Ruler: Each planet has an independent government. UAC controlled by the Board of Executives. CEO: 0117 ADAMS, Callsign "Sovereign"

Race & Religion: "No Gods or Kings. Only Man and Machine."

Homeworlds: Styx & Armageddon

Life in Hell – The Civics of the New Future

Humanity – Live Free or Die Hard

UAC is a mere interplanetary company, with great influence over matters on each planet. Each and every planet in known space has their own regime, an independent planetary government. But governments can be changed, bought, subverted, manipulated, coaxed and bribed to do UACs bidding. This is often the case in most situations. Sometimes a planetary council gets too greedy or idealistic to accept UACs terms and agreements. In such cases war is inevitable. The planet is then annexed, or destroyed as the Policy dictates in each given situation. These are desperate measures, however, as freedom is what benefits UAC the most. If people do things of their own free will, or at least think they do, UAC has no reason to intervene. Instead, UAC can focus on business. Nothing costs more than unnecessary war or forced peace. Only one planet is an exception: Hell’s Reach. This planet is under the supervision of UACs CEO, under his management, his mandate. It is untouchable, incorruptible, and indestructible. Unattainable and underestimated.

The Code of Law

“No-one can escape Hell’s Reach”, “There’s no way in Hell you can run”, “Remember, no-one is safe from Hell’s Reach”. These are the first and foremost words spread all around the galaxy. On every annexed planet, on every space station and on every ship, all citizens know that rebellion is futile. No-one can escape Hell’s Reach, its weapons of mass destruction, which can rain fire from the skies in an instant. This is the basic philosophy for everyone. There is no point trying to fight someone who can kill you, instead exact your vengeance, your malice and your hatred against everyone else who you can defeat. If someone stands in the way of true justice, you simply walk up behind them and stab them in the heart. Trust no-one but yourself, do not help anyone unless there’s something to be gained. Always be polite, unless you know there are no negative consequences from being rude. Remember, gun ownership is compulsory. Might makes right, but you are expected to sacrifice yourself, your family and friends for the Greater Good. That is, for the good of United Aerospace Corporation, for the good of Greater Profit, for the good of Mankind, in that order. Someone always knows better than you, therefore do as you are told and obey orders. Propaganda is the best source of information you have, because everyone else has a reason to lie to you. Even propaganda is lies, but they are consistent lies. Military service is not compulsory; it is the meaning of your life. All who disobey are enemies of the state, your enemies. They must pay for their crimes with money, blood or work. You are poor, and your life would be even more meaningless if you are given the luxury of capital punishment. Therefore you must toil in the penitentiary colonies, or entertain the crowds in the Tournament, where you can achieve immortality. Show your gratitude for your safety, your right to exist to the UAC and serve. You will not live forever, but there is no greater glory than giving your life for the eternal Sovereign State of the United Aerospace Corporation.

Notable planets under UAC controlled governments:

-Acheron: Large foundries and an orbital shipyard and assembly. Kuatt Ming naval yards.

-Armageddon: Home of the Crimson Omen. Also hosts the Crimson Omen fleet and penal colony 1809. Advanced weapons research facilities and testing grounds. Tournament Arena no. 1 is also on this planet.

-Artaxerxes: Large foundries and mining colonies.

-Flegeton: A volcanic planet. Rare ores and minerals. This planet’s molten surface is composed of extremely radioactive material, which is grafted and used in thermonuclear weapons, power cells and fuels of some ships. Tournament Arena no. 6.

-Hell’s Reach: Home to UACs nuclear device division. Largest missile factories and silo clusters in known space. The planet also harbors an orbital launch hub with a standard number of missiles equipped with mass field devices, thus enabling system-wide launch of missiles. No atmosphere. No ship has the full coordinates to Hell’s Reach, but a mere decimal of them. To be exact, a ship has a trillionth fraction of a coordinate, in a 21-dimensional space.

-Jericho: Large factories. Supplier of industrial-grade robotics. Tournament Arena no. 7. Arms manufacturers include Kovalyov Armories, Hahne-Keldar, Kessler Tech-systems, Volkov Weapons Platforms, Elkoss Combine.

-Junkyard: After an unfortunate collision with an Armageddon-class ship, this desert planet, formerly harboring foundries, became the waste dump of the universe. During the crash local penal double-Y escaped and founded an independent nation of sorts. After they tried to attain some of the crashed ship’s nuclear armament a brief, but destructive war ensued. After the war all settlements had broken and bands of double-Y gathered to form independent tribes. At present, the planet is under constant strife between rivaling factions. UAC has seen best to use the planet as a garbage disposal unit and sends all nonorganic waste to this planet. The planet is grounded at the moment.

-Moab: A jungle planet. Dense foliage and forests. Edible fungus which is used in the making of Standard Nutrition Rations. Home to the poisonous amphibian-like race of bull squids.

-Nod: Testing grounds for bio weapons research division, facilities for making and testing of bioengineered constructs. Home to the Cyborg Corps. Best product so far the Terror Bites.

-Red Dawn: Not a planet, but the remains of an artificial star, or a fusion reactor of massive proportions, predating the known history. A prime location for harvesting element zero. The remains burn brightly with red light, thereby giving it its namesake red glow.

-Rephidim: Weapon and armor foundries. Mining colonies. Tournament Arena no. 4. Also produces RadAway, the only efficient cure to radiation sickness. Current capacity is 500,000,000,000,000 tons per day. The planet’s land mass was increased to meet the massive production quotas, by infusing the planet with the nearby asteroid field.

-Rheinmetal: Primary supplier of UAC Militia hardware. Also supplies the Crimson Omen with the M41 MkII Vindicator Gatlings.

-Sinai: An unusually large number of double-Y chromosome births. Supplier of recruits (and criminals) for Armageddon and the Crimson Omen.

-Theron: Training center for the Militia.

-Tyros: Former penal colony 666, after a revolt harbors the scum of the universe. Excellent black market opportunities. UAC-sponsored pirates have made superb purchases of lost cargo.

-Zeredathah: On the far side of UAC controlled space, this planet is the most remote outpost of Human Space Administration. Research facilities for Weapons of Galactic Destruction (WGD)

A small assessment on Styx:

Styx is the center of power in human-controlled space. Several important industries reside in Styx as well as large population centers. Surface of Styx is a reddish iron oxide desert. The atmosphere cannot support human life forms without proper technology. Radiation from space comes in large quantities. Temperatures vary between -100 degrees Celsius to +17 degrees Celsius. On orbit are major fueling stations and cargo docks. The CEO of UAC resides on Styx.
Technology

Common Tech

UAC uses radio-isotopic thermoelectric generator cells and fuel cells as universal power sources for all sorts of tasks. A standard portable RTG can have a power output of up to 750 kilowatts. Hydrogen fuel cells provide a small, yet incredibly long-lasting power source. Micro fuel cells and RTGs are used to power armor systems and weapons. Fission and fusion reactors are commonly used as heat sources for the thermoelectric cells. Fissionable materials are easy to come by and muon-catalyzed fusion is the easiest and cleanest form of fusion.

Ships

UAC has a large number of cargo ships, which haul various commodities around the solar systems. All ships belong to one of four classes: Super-heavy freighters, heavy freighters, medium freighters and light freighters. Cargo ships are usually armed with small MACs and a single thermonuclear weapon used for self-destruction if necessary.
In addition, UAC has the largest military fleet in known space. Ships belong to one of three classes: Genocide-class heavy battle ships, Styx-class destroyers, cruisers and carriers and Acheron-class frigates. The Crimson Omen have their own Armageddon-class super-heavy battle carriers, fit for laying waste to entire solar systems. UAC fleet also maintains a number of Longhorn fighter-bombers. Weapons arsenal of most UAC ships consists of a series of MACs and various thermonuclear weapons. Yield for most thermonuclear weapons varies between 10 and 50 megatons, but super-heavy thermonuclear warheads commonly placed on Genocide and Armageddon ships have a yield of up to 200 megatons. Smaller charges of up to 500 kilotons are used in MIRVed missile clusters. All thermonuclear weapons systems use a variant of Nuclear Utilization Targeting System, or NUTS. This computer-assisted targeting system onboard a missile automatically chooses the best target or target area and corrects the missile’s flight according to it. Recent developments in advanced weapons research have given access to anti-matter charges, light-mass bombs and particle beams.
Common characteristics to all ships are the use of fuel cells and thermoelectric generators on board to produce power. Military ships use fission and fusion reactors as heat sources, while commercial ships use radioactive isotopes. In addition all ships have boosted ion engines, which have enough thrust to propel the ship to nearly light speed. Proper FTL devices are only found on military ships as they are difficult to build and maintain. All ships have means to land on planets via so-called EmDrives. Common fuels for all ships are liquefied metals and radioactive materials, hydrogen, helium-3, lithium, deuterium, tritium etc. All ships also have a self-destruct sequence in case a capture by xenotech forces is imminent. Only ship captains have access codes to the self-destruct sequence, though it can be activated by typing end.War to the ship’s main computer. This information however is only available to VIPs and military personnel. Armageddon-class ships have a special super-critical thermonuclear charge rigged to their reactors, engine cores, and armament which gives an amazing yield of one gigaton. This is an extremely desperate measure, however, as Armageddon ships are extremely expensive and difficult to make.

FTL travel is possible due to element zero, substance comprised almost entirely of neutrons. When under unusual conditions electric current is introduced to element zero, it reacts by causing apparent mass to increase or decrease. This is called mass effect. The ship’s mass is reduced to zero by manipulating element zero in specially constructed cores, called mass drivers. The ship then requires a substantial, but not infinite, amount of energy to accelerate to speed of light. The ship can never go faster than the speed of light, however. To prevent unfortunate accidents with colliding particles the mass field throws aside any particles in the vicinity of the ship. The mass field cannot affect anything with a large mass, such as an asteroid. In such a case, the ship is likely to be destroyed. Element zero is found in the cores of super-heavy neutron stars, from which it is of course impossible to harvest. However, small amounts of element zero can be obtained from high-density metal asteroids irradiated by neutron stars. Another form of FTL travel, known as an Alcubierre Drive is used on civilian transports between systems. An inter-dimensional railroad of sorts, the Alcubierre Drive distorts the surrounding space around a ship, enabling it to go faster in undistorted space than it actually is going. The system requires a pre-constructed path of deep-space linking stations to maintain the distortion.

A recent development in ship technology is camouflage systems. Quite simply, all heat and radiation emissions of the ship are stored inside super-conductive heat sinks. This prevents all scanners and radars from detecting the ship. However, visual sightings are still possible, though they require a source of light. The heat sinks must also be vented of all emissions after some time, as they cannot store infinite amounts of heat and radiation. A light cruiser can still remain for up to 12h next to invisible to all bar the naked eye.

More to come soon...
Last edited by Ammusvarasto on Sun Oct 11, 2009 4:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: A large scale strategy based scifi- RP (AoTB style)

#51 Post by Ammusvarasto »

Military

The Militia – Unnumbered lives for the meat grinder

All citizens are required to serve in the UAC Armed Response Corps, be it as planetary security, penitentiary guards or the most gruesome of them all, as the Militia. All members of the Militia are trained on Theron, where survival is not guaranteed. The countless billions of humans that populate the known space are a fearsome fighting force when trained and equipped properly. The hierarchy of the Militia is straightforward, based around officers and regional commanders. The Militia are well paid as well, using standard provision payment. This means that the more the Militia conquer, the better they get paid.

Nuclear Artillery Corps – Random and Deadly

The NAC supervises the use and rationing of tactical nuclear weapons, both to the Crimson Omen and the Militia. They also possess all field artillery, mortars, rockets, missiles and armored divisions.

Corpse Brigade – The Lost and the Damned

The widespread use of nuclear weapons, biological and chemical weapons is a threat to both friend and foe. Without adequate protection, many Militia troopers have suffered terrible mutations, disfigurement and general hideous appearance. These warriors have not lost their ability to fight, however; instead they are even more potent as they gain resistance against the adverse battlefield conditions. These veterans of many wars, called the Corpse Brigade, the Monster Corps, the Horror Corps and even the Freak Show, wear masks with re-breathers fashioned in the way of twisted human skulls. Their armor is worn and kempt, their skin hidden from wary eyes beneath a thick great coat. These warriors are grim avatars of death and decay.

The Black – Darkness Rising

The Black is the Militia’s most potent and feared section. Subterfuge, subversion, revolution, conspiracy, terror, and propaganda are their methods. Direct assault from orbit is their way of war. Members of the The Black are few, but their reputation is immeasurable. Before invasion, covert agents spread rumors of The Black, paint signs and spread posters: “Darkness Rising”, “We’ll be there”, “Revenge is coming”, “The Black spreads”, “We are The Black”. People are abducted, tortured, murdered and slain publicly; acts of terrorism begin. Bombings, assassinations, kidnappings. Only when the population is too scared to organize effective resistance does the assault begin. Hundreds and thousands of troops rain down from the sky in drop pods, designed to make a screaming sound when plummeting through the air. When first contact occurs most enemies are too scared to put up much of a fight. Once all heavy resistance is neutralized, The Black leave as swiftly as they have arrived, increasing their reputation of mystery, immortality and supernaturality.

The Crimson Omen

The Crimson Omen are UACs sledgehammer military troops, capable of solving any crisis in the least possible time. The Crimson Omen are men born with the rare double-Y chromosome mutation. This mutation occurs in one of every thousand children born and such a child has one in thousand chance of being born alive. The mutation promotes extreme growth of muscles, faster division of cells, increased perception, an innate ability to handle firearms and master combat, high stamina, very high testosterone and adrenaline levels and a peculiar sense of humor. A few double-Y have an exceptional ability to learn new things; these are usually trained as pilots. It is not uncommon for an adult double-Y to be three to five meters tall, weighing nearly five hundred kilograms. Double-Y children that do survive to adulthood have often difficult psychotic episodes, inherent paranoia, violent behavior and a tendency towards criminal actions. Such individuals are incapable of following orders and must be incarcerated for the duration of their lives. The ones that are relatively sane are a fearsome fighting force, ideal as soldiers. These are the Crimson Omen, savages and thugs to regular humans, the next phase of human evolution to themselves. Though they’re not psychotic, they’re still extremely disorganized. They are incapable of working in large groups (ie. more than three). The Crimson fight for the fun of it, not caring if the odds are against them. Their unique mutated brotherhood has a sort of apocalyptic philosophy to everything they face. Though the origins of double-Y mutations are shrouded in mystery, there is reason to believe it is related to radiation. Although it would be desirable to make the Crimson Omen UACs only army, their numbers are limited and the mutation sadly renders all double-Y humans sterile. Various experiments with cloning have met with little or no success.

The Brotherhood of Steel

The Brotherhood is a sub-section of the Crimson Omen, charged with the task of maintaining Powered Armor Mark I suits. The members of the Brotherhood are those Crimson who show an uncanny ability to understand technology. This has the small side effect of the Brotherhood jealously guarding all technology, not revealing their designs even to UAC. Rumors also would have us believe that they worship technology itself, but such rumors have never been confirmed. In any case, the Brotherhood has far greater understanding of technology than any of UACs other researches.

Hierarchy of the Crimson Omen

At the moment the Supreme Commander of the Crimson Omen is Augustus Cole, Tournament Champion and strongest of all the Crimson in the galaxy. He appoints the squad leaders for the Crimson battle squads designated for tasks around the galaxy. Apart from the Commander of the Crimson all members of the Crimson are equal. The only other person with significant power in the Crimson Omen organization, if it can be called that, is the leader of the Brotherhood of Steel, the Father of Steel. Current Father of Steel is Leon Pantera, whose intelligence and knowledge spans even beyond UACs Ark Computers.

Augustus “Gus ‘The Cole Train’” Cole – profile:

Augustus Cole was conscripted to Crimson Omen when he was born as part of the UAC-Crimson Omen Double-Y Conscription Agreement. His physical prowess was apparent already in his early years as he broke several military-grade testing robots. After taking part in the Tournament and emerging as Champion he was nominated Supreme Commander after the previous commander perished in battle. Augustus is also the only living being to have won and survived two consecutive Swamp-Ball matches.

Leon Pantera – profile

Leon Pantera was unusually conscripted at the age of ten. Where he was born and where he spent his early years is unknown. He was discovered on Hell’s Reach, where he used his formidable knowledge and understanding over machines to take control of UAC’s nuclear arsenal. Conscription officials were sent after him, but he escaped. In an unfortunate accident he lost his left arm, right palm and both legs from knee down. Conscription officials took him to the Brotherhood of Steel. Seeing Leon’s poor condition the Father of Steel built Leon bionic replacements for his limbs, for unknown reasons. The Father of Steel taught Leon everything he knew of technology. After he perished, Leon was appointed the new Father of Steel. Leon has spent much of his time researching his replacement limbs, trying to replicate the results, but to no avail. The replacements are made of unknown metal, with many mysterious functions and combat system, and they’re coupled to Leon’s nervous system in a way which so far has never been fully replicated. Leon’s progress with artificial limbs has saved many Crimson and Militia, and his research has enabled the cyborg corps. His recent achievements in the field of bio-mechanology include artificial organs, limbs and brain replacements. But even though he is the most intelligent Crimson Omen, he is still a double-Y and thus a fearsome opponent in combat. Leon fights unarmed, equipped only with his natural agility and the superior combat prowess granted by his replacements. In battle he wears the Armor of Steel, a unique suit of powered armor with a multitude of in-built combat systems.



In addition to standard troops and the Crimson Omen, UAC employs the service of several military-grade biomechanical robotic systems. These cyborgs are human in origin, augmented with machine parts, such as exoskeletons, limbs and weaponry. Cyborgs are often used on missions where human casualties are intolerable. Depending on the amount of organic parts on a cyborg they can also be employed as mechanics in deep-space. Although UAC has 100 % non-organic robots, a cyborg has a level of independence which makes it superior in some situations. Cyborgs are also worthy opponents in Tournaments. Cyborgs carry a rag-tag collection of weapons, most commonly some type of Gatling, which would be too impractical for the Crimson Omen to handle.
All weapons and armor systems have in-built scanners, meters and comm-links, which connect to the correspondent ship’s communication relay. The ship’s relay then sends the information at subluminal speed to a superluminal communications hub. The hub passes the information on at superluminal speed to the primary hub orbiting Styx. The primary hub sends the data to the UAC mainframe, which calculates all combat situations and then sends orders and resolution back to the troopers. This whole process takes only a few milliseconds. The process allows UAC troopers to have superior tactics and understanding of the situation at hand. The system is called Tac-Net or Battlenet.

Weapons of Mass Destruction

Primary WMDs are different nuclear and thermonuclear devices. These are commonly divided into strategic and tactical devices. The larger strategic devices are used in deep-space combats, orbital bombardments, decolonization and extermination. The smaller tactical devices are used in battlefield situations, sabotage missions and assassinations. Careful consideration is required when tactical devices are to be used on battlefield as the weapons are somewhat temperamental and can inflict more damage on friendly troops than the enemy. When dealing with the Crimson Omen an NAC officer must keep his head cool due to the fact that the Crimson see the Mk54 nuclear device as a universal answer to everything. Other WMDs include different chemical and biological weapons; combat gases, viruses, bacteria and toxic by-products of industry. As nuclear materials are aplenty in UAC controlled territory, nuclear devices tend to be cheap as chips and are therefore generally the most used option when dealing with hostile forces. Should the target’s infrastructure be preserved intact, the armed forces are applied.

Double Helix Undone – The End of Evolution

Double Helix Undone is a DNA-based viral substance. It can be encoded to match the recipient’s racial DNA code. When infected, the virus will kill its victims by disabling all metabolisms. Other possibilities are extreme mutations, tumors and organ failures. There is no cure or protection against the virus. It can spread on its own, by multiplying in the host body. The virus is air-borne and can also be contracted via contact with bodily excrements. A single molecule can destroy an entire species. A more subtle version of the virus, the Eradicator, is designed to prohibit all reproduction. In the case of humans, this means prohibiting embryonic development. Eradicator will not kill a civilization per se; instead it is a slow march to oblivion. Due to the difficulties in controlling viral epidemics of such a lethal virus, Double Helix Undone has never been used. The virus itself is not a natural product, but shows signs of genetic manipulation and artifice. However, the virus wasn’t created by the UAC but by some unknown civilization now lost to history. Quite why they would create such a lethal and uncontrollable weapon is beyond imagining.

Terror Bites – The Synergy of Nature and Machine

The dead space cockroach is the most persistent life-form ever known. Able to withstand extreme radiation, vacuum and temperatures, the dead space cockroaches were used as the basis for UACs most efficient (and cheapest) planet cleaner. The roaches have small vials of mutagenic material installed to their bodies. This genetic material is susceptible to rapid growth when subjected to extreme radiation, such as originating from the fallout of a nuclear weapon attack. The radiation in synergy with the genetic material boosts the roach’s size – and appetite. The parasites feed off of anything organic and most non-organic materials, bar solid rock. If a planet is determined for Extermination, salted nuclear devices are deployed in the target planet’s atmosphere. After the firestorms have passed, the roaches – Terror Bites – are unleashed. The fully mutated Terror Bites have very thick chitinous hides, which are impervious to most civilian firearms. The Terror Bites will die of natural causes eventually, when they run out of edible material, or they can be used as target practice for the Crimson Omen.

UACS Apocalypse. Now. – The First and Last Dreadnought

The flagship of the Brotherhood of Steel, the symbol of the armed might of the Crimson Omen, and indeed the entire UAC, UACS Apocalypse. Now. is the largest, and presumably only remaining, ship of its class, the Dreadnoughts. Armed with an arsenal of weapons second only to that of Hell’s Reach, the ship serves as a mobile base for the Crimson Omen. The technology of the Dreadnought is ancient, incomprehensible even. All attempts at replicating the ship have failed, as the replicas have either been crushed by their own weight or have had insufficient power systems.

Hell’s Reach – The Inescapable Fate

Hell’s Reach planetary bombardment system is the most advanced weapon of mass destruction ever conceived. The system’s heart are missiles, Hell’s Fire, which have small mass drivers, super-conductive heat sinks, and a surface material which bends light around the missile, making it near invisible, and deflects radar and other scanner systems. The missiles have a direct link to the UAC mainframe, which plots their course through space, avoiding all objects that could pose a threat. It is impossible to avoid being hit by Hell’s Fire missile. Warheads can be changed from thermonuclear to biological to chemical to even light-mass bombs.

Policies

UAC has three standard policies regarding the colonization of space. These are 1) Take and Hold, 2) Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) and 3) end.War.

1) Take and Hold: If a planet is uninhabited, and has some value to UAC, it is to be claimed immediately. If any human inhabitants are met, and their level of technology is less advanced than UACs, they are offered union or extermination. If the inhabitants are xenospecies, they are to be destroyed if they are sentient.

2) Mutually Assured Destruction: If a planet’s inhabitants are humans, and have a level of technology equal to UACs, they are offered union. If they do not agree, a balance of terror must be maintained until UAC can defeat them soundly. If the inhabitants are xenospecies, a balance of terror must be maintained until they can be exterminated.

3) end.War: If humans of a vastly superior level of technology are met, truce should be offered. If they do not agree, UAC must be able to destroy everything in its possession to maximize the enemy’s casualties and to make sure that the enemy cannot gain any advantage of UACs resources. If xenospecies of a vastly superior level of technology are met, UAC must maximize the species’ casualties and prevent them from gaining any advantage of UACs resources. This is the Fail-Deadly protocol in lament’s terms.

It is highly unlikely that any race in the galaxy be they humans or xenospecies, has superior technology compared to UAC, so the end.War protocol is relatively unnecessary. Even so, UAC must prepare for this possibility and therefore all UAC controlled tech is equipped with an end.War device, usually a small charge, sometimes a thermonuclear device.

Research Division for Weapons of Galactic Destruction

UAC is constantly developing weapons, which could ensure the success of end.War protocol. So far the research division has been unsuccessful, their greatest accomplishment the Armageddon end.War device. It is likely that WGDs can never be constructed, but the effort must be made nonetheless.

Recent development

Captured MSU ships have yielded access to a potentially war-winning weapon. By using MSU's space folding technologies UAC can now place anti matter charges within a star's core. These charges are sufficient enough to destabilize the core, enabling the star to start burning through its helium reserve, thereby causing it to burn ten times brighter and growing in size. This also increases the amount of potentially lethal particle emissions. UAC would be able to completely destroy stars if anti matter could be manufactured in large scale. At the moment, however, only small amounts can be made and even then it is extremely difficult and expensive. Nonetheless, Hell's Reach has been given yet another super weapon.
Last edited by Ammusvarasto on Mon Oct 12, 2009 7:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: A large scale strategy based scifi- RP (AoTB style)

#52 Post by Ammusvarasto »

Phew! Still more to come, that is, the History of UAC - Mankind's Eternal Struggle to Survive in the Cold, Dark Space

To all you UAC fans:

If anyone wants the full 23+ pages description of UAC, send me a PM and I'll e-mail it to you.
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Re: A large scale strategy based scifi- RP (AoTB style)

#53 Post by Shadow »

Elias Kalderon wrote:Yep, and despite that Raukov, Snail and Shadow fell before you.

Good luck with this one Waaagh! I'll check in every now and then to see how you're doing :D
Couldn't be helped, I got bored with life at that point. I suppose I should've thrown everything at Ferret and have him cushion my fall.
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Re: A large scale strategy based scifi- RP (AoTB style)

#54 Post by Ferretsnarf »

Shadow wrote:
Elias Kalderon wrote:Yep, and despite that Raukov, Snail and Shadow fell before you.

Good luck with this one Waaagh! I'll check in every now and then to see how you're doing :D
Couldn't be helped, I got bored with life at that point. I suppose I should've thrown everything at Ferret and have him cushion my fall.
the secret Ashnari/Luna alliance from the start, combined with their immediate alliance with Raukov, Tylarion, and Shadow really screwed little old me and Snail over :P. I was just happy to be able to flip Tylarion and crush Raukov's pathetic invasion.
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Re: A large scale strategy based scifi- RP (AoTB style)

#55 Post by Ruerl Khan »

As I hear that Bob threw in the towel i'll now be writing up a civilization soon, watch this space (tm).
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Re: A large scale strategy based scifi- RP (AoTB style)

#56 Post by Amun-Lothain »

Apologies for the late notice, and I'm sure I'll regret it, but I think I'm going to have to back out of this too. I've got one too many things going on right now, and looking at the other civilizations that have been posted, I'd feel bad if I didn't put as much effort into my own.

I will definitely be reading along though! Good luck! :D
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Re: A large scale strategy based scifi- RP (AoTB style)

#57 Post by cidracin »

Waagh I'm guessing since Amun dropped out that Asuryan gets his spot and that leaves you with no reserve players left. If its okay with you i would like to get the reserve spot. I doubht a third player will drop out but you never know.
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Re: A large scale strategy based scifi- RP (AoTB style)

#58 Post by Prince_Asuryan »

Oooh. If I do get that spot, I can have a general race and history up by the weekend at the latest. I'd start now but it's 3AM and I've been drinking :D

If you could just answer two things:

1) Confirm if it's interplanetary or not.

2) When it comes to making units, do we PM ideas to you for approval and advice?

I'll start writing tomorrow if I'm in.
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Re: A large scale strategy based scifi- RP (AoTB style)

#59 Post by DarkTyrany22 »

Well I've found my inspiration just have a bit of a hard time putting the proverbial pen to paper.
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Re: A large scale strategy based scifi- RP (AoTB style)

#60 Post by Prince_Asuryan »

Ok, I got bored/excited of waiting, so here's my race. I'll update over the next few days. If I'm not in, obviously disregard this whole post :P

N.B. It draws heavily from modified Stargate mythos, cos I love the ideas in the show. Let me know if this is a problem.

Quick explanation before people comment on the no-spaceships part. yes, I have LOTS of space ships. Generally though, just treat them as cities (they've landed), or the same sort of ultimate weapons that people have in other posts.
--------------------
The Lantean Alliance - 'The Travelers'

Aliases: Generally known as the 'Lanteans' or often simply 'The Travelers'

Brief description: a Ship-borne race, living their whole lives on spaceships. They land only to collect supplies and necessities.

Government: Ruled by a governing council who make the decisions on behalf of the race. However, individual ships captains have ultimate control over their own vessel. The Current head of the council is a young woman by the name of Larrin Denthis.

Race: Human

Capital: Aurora-Class Flagship 'Destiny'. 'Destiny' is currently in low Orbit above the planet Athos.

The 'Destiny' is the oldest ship in the fleet, the very last of the original Ancient ships that set out from the Lantean homeworld. Immensely old, and hugely powerful, 'Destiny' is the home of the most Lanteans, as well as the ruling council. It is also the most powerful ship of the fleet, possessing the powerful Drone Weapons as well as the more common plasma weaponry, rail-guns and nuclear missiles. Defensively, it also possess the most effective shields of the fleet and has the fastest hyperdrive and sublight engines.

Region: The Travelers do not worship the Ancients per se but view them as the fathers and guardians of their race, and often leave them tributes in thanks to their memory.


History

Creation: Millenia ago, a race known only as 'The Ancients' were the dominant race in one corner of the galaxy. This generally peaceful race helped to proginate and advance many other races, providing them with help, guidance and passive technological aid such as medicine. The Ancients would never provide a race with technological weapons however, and wars waged between the races was always with their own weapons. The Ancients would never interfere with the affairs of these 'lesser races' entering conflict only when it would seem one race would be irrevocably harmed. The Ancients would almost never wage war, their mere presence enough to make both sides back down, for on those rare occasions they did not, the Ancients would simply wipe out much of their population, a single Ancient warship able to combat any number of ships sent by other races. And so life continued, the Ancients aiding in the growth of races only in a support fashion but otherwise left these races to their own fate. The Lanteans however quickly proved themselves to be a good and trust worthy people, one whom the Ancients did favour over others, giving them advanced technology for shields, transportation and medical, though still never breaking their rule on weaponry.


War and Extinction: The corner of the galaxy flourished, until the arrival of the Skirtash, a parasitic race which evolved from a carnivorous, parasitic insect left untouched on a so-called 'Death World' that no race would approach. Evolving and multiplying over the millenia, the Skirtash eventually erupted from their home world to bring pain and suffering from the galaxy, wiping out many young races in an orgy of destruction before 'The Ancients' and several other of their more advanced races, including the Lanteans could collect themselves for a cohesive defense.

The Ancients, having been the most powerful race in the galaxy for so long, had lost the ability to wage war despite the massive technological advantage, they and their allies possessed. They were slowly forced back by the Skirtash, whose evolutionary past had given them the ability to reproduce with a horrifying speed. Their huge numerical advantage, coupled with their uncaring methods of waging war ensured that they forced the Ancients and their allies back more and more, absorbing the planets of many species as they went. Eventually, only the Lanteans remained alongside the Ancients, both races forced back to their home worlds. In a climatic final battle, the Ancients scarified themselves to save their favoured race. The Lanteans boarded what ships they salvage from the various races that had been defeated in the thousand year struggle, loading their whole race and culture into the cramped ships. Despite their objections, the Ancients gave them the first of a new experimental warship, named the destiny and sent the Lanteans into deep space, away from their home. On board this warship, the Ancients finally broke their promises, finally faced with extinction. They loaded all the technological discoveries they had ever made. All their weaponry, defensive powers and all of their history. The Lanteans left the galaxy to survive and carry the legacy of the Ancients. As they fled, the Ancients activated a final weapon, buried deep in their home worlds core which wiped out the Ancients, the Skirtash and all of the worlds that the Lanteans had once visited and lived on.

The Years of Travel: For the next thousand years, the Lanteans lived on board the massive generation ships, being born, growing, living and dying without ever settling. Their culture was warped ad changed, and now few really know the truth of their past. The Ancients are now nothing more than a story of creation, almost a myth. The ancient databases have slowly been corrupted or lost if a ship is destroyed.

The Lanteans only landed on planets in order to gather supplies, make repairs to their ships, or to steal new ones from other races, requiring many large ships to handle their growing population. During this time, they also made several allies, who have gifted them individual warships and technology, which have been retro-fitted to the Lantean ships to make each one a formidable warship. The Lanteans also fought through many wars, most too small and pointless to mention. They fought with the people of Geniros after they landed looking for trade. The Genirosens attempted to steal several Lantean ships, which resulted a fierce pitched battle being waged at the base of the Daedalus-class ship 'Apollo', killing much of the Genirosen army after the other Daedalus class ships 'Frentriden' and 'Juginsuc' joined the battle. The Lanteans wished to avoid anymore bloodshed, so stole several ships from the dockyards and left the world before more enemies arrived.

The Pirate War: The greatest of these wars though was fought against the Pirate fleet under the Pirate King Keppler. Many Lantean ships traveled alone for several weeks, each ship captain taking the route they thought to be best before the fleet re-united at each meeting point. These weeks alone allowed Lanteans to visit worlds, meet allies or generally carry out any tasks the captain felt was necessary. During several of these splits, it became apparent that several of the smaller ships had vanished with all the Lanteans on board. Pressed by the population for answers, the ruling council eventually agreed to investigate, as Lantean ships rarely vanished without warning. For several days they searched the space around them for answers, until eventually, a picket ship limped back to the fleet, evident that it had just been in a battle. It brought news that a massive pirate fleet that had emerged from behind a small moon to ambush it. It was only due to the shield technology and the advanced hyper-drive of the ship that it escaped. The Council and Ship Captains unanimously agreed to take the fight to the Pirates in revenge for the loss of their ships and people.

For the next 2 years, a set of running battles occurred where the Lantean fleet broke up and engaged the pirates where they could find them. The Lanteans far superior technology and their highly trained boarding teams allowed them to win a huge number of victories, and secured a large number of ships to add to the fleet. The Lanteans suffered few defeats, occurring when a Lantean ship was surrounded and pummeled to destruction by the numerically superior pirate fleet.

The war finally ended when Kepplers ship was engaged in a final battle. The ship, a highly modified warship belonging to a old race known as the Nox, had been responsible for the destruction of four Lantean ships and the deaths of thousands of Lanteans. The ship was surrounded and crippled when the 'Destiny' entered the battle, it's highly advance drone weaponry puncturing the hull of the ship and destroying it. This is the only documented occasion of a Lantean fleet destroying a ship when it could have captured it.

The war is the most costly the Lanteans have ever suffered since the Skirtash war, but led to the rise of several heroes, including Larrin Denthis, whose numerous boarding actions earned her the command of one of the only two ancient ships in the fleet other than 'Destiny', and she still commands the ship 'Orion' to this day.

Present Day: The Travelers have finally arrived in a new Galaxy, their hyper-drives worn and in need of repair, and their population finally at unprecedented levels. The Lanteans have finally decided to land and attempt to set up some settlements on various planets. Their ships have landed to form large cities thousands strong, and people have spread out to live around these ships. The next chapter of their history is about to unfold.



Culture

Military

The Traveler military system is an interesting one. They have two core systems of military might - the Fleet and their infantry forces. The fleet is its main weapon, the capital class ships able to bombard most enemies before they can effect the Lanteans. However, due to the nature of the Travelers existence, all the population understands that it must fight to survive. This means a strong army is always available, with special attention paid to ship borading actions so that the Lanteans can capture new vessels.


The Fleet

The Lantean fleet is probably the most powerful fleet in existence at the moment. Numerous and highly advanced technology makes it a fearsome prospect to face, especially when all together. There are around two hundred capital ships in the fleet, which do not carry members of the general population. These are the daedelus class capital ships, which do most of the fighting. One hundred ships in the fleet, each big enough to carry at least a thousand people, form the small citied people live on. The three largest ships in the fleet, the three remaining ancient vessels are capable of carrying almost three thousand people on them, but rarely do so due to their highly militarised nature. The Lanteans have large amount of technology, most of which has been retro-fitted to ships where possible. The following technology can be found in the Traveler fleet:

Weapons

Drone Weapons: Found only in Ancient vessels, Drones are effectively energy missiles which can be controlled mentally from a control center on the ship. These drones can ignore any shielding technology, and punch through the hulls of ship like paper. Once they pass through the ship they can simply circle around and repeat until the ship is crippled, then returns to the drone bay. Whole swarms of drone, around fifty to one hundred strong are launched at a ship, crippling it in seconds, destroying it within twenty seconds unless the drones are called off.

Plasma Beams: Also powerful, few ships can be fitted with the Plasma Beams. They are powerful energy beams which can break enemy shields rapidly, and will cripple an enemy ship after very few hits, destroying it if critical systems can be hit.

Rail Guns: Found on almost all ships, Rail Guns fire high speed, solid shot projectiles towards enemy vessels. While not highly effective at breaking down shields, they are very effective against the enemy hulls.

Nuclear Warheads: Fired from ports on the ships, missiles are effectively the same as Rail Guns in terms of effectiveness and damage, with the added drawback of moving far slower, making it possible to shoot them down before they hit the enemy ship.

All of these weapons can be directed at ground installations, but while Plasma Beams, Nukes and Rail Guns simply cause widespread devastation, Drones can be highly accurate, and eliminate individual buildings while leaving the area around it completely unharmed.

Other Technology

Shields: All Lantean ships have shield technology, which is capable of blocking all incoming fire, at least while they have power. Power is drained from the shield while they are under fire, and will fail when empty. The shields then take time to recharge to maximum, but can be raised with as little as 10% power. The oscillating frequency of shields however, allows the Lanteans to shoot through their own shields. Shields come in three levels of effectiveness, defining how much fire can be taken before they fail. Level 1 is the best while Level 3 is the lowest.

Hyperdrive: All Lantean ships have hyperdrives. Moving at light speed, these ships can cover great distances very quickly. These two come in levels of 1 to 3 to represent how fast a ship moves. The hyperdrive also provides Lantean ships with a powerful escape mechanism. As soon as shields fail or the ship looks to be o the verge of destruction, it can make an almost instant jump to light speed to escape it's attacker.

Beaming: Some ships have the ability to beam men and equipment into and out of ships, as long as they have a transmitter in their location. This can be used in an offensive application, beaming warheads into enemy ships as long as no shields are present.

Ships of the fleet

There are numerous types of ships from many different races. All of the ships have been in some way modified to repair damage, retro-fit new absorbed technology and to simply make the ships more livable. However, there are effectively five classes of ships. All the ships have effective sublight engines, making them both fast and highly maneuverable in a combat situation. All ship have various technology described above to fight battles against enemy installations and capital ships, but all have various types of anti-fighter guns as well, rapid firing energy or solid shot weapons designed to shoot down fights, but also capable to engaging ground fighters.

All the Ships are powered by Ancient devices known as Zero-Point-Modules, or ZPM's. These devices draw power from the space between dimensions, making them a limitless supply of energy, though a finite amount may be drawn at any one time, as the ship system would collapse otherwise.

Aurora-Class: A huge ship class created by the Ancients, only one can be found in the fleet. It has all the technology created by the ancients as standard, and has been retrofitted with all the technology that the Travelers have absorbed over the millenia. The only ship of this class is the Flagship of the Traveler fleet, the 'Destiny'.

Contains - Drone Weapons, Plasma Beams, Rail Guns, Nuclear Warheads, Grade 1 Shields, Grade 1 Hyperdrive, Beaming Technology.

Icarus-Class: Similar in design to Aurora-Class vessels, these ships are smaller, and less bulky than their larger cousin. Only two are found in the fleet.

Contains - Drone Weapons, Plasma Beams, Rail Guns, Nuclear Warheads, Grade 2 Shields, Grade 1 Hyperdrive, Beaming Technology.

Daedalus-Class: Large ships created by a race known as the Tau'ri, Deadalus class ships were the original ships to have rail-guns and nuclear warheads, but have subsequently retro-fitted with Beaming and Plasma technology. These are by far the most maneuverable ships of the fleet, being smaller than the Aurora- and Icarus- class ships, but having comparable sublight engines. They tend to avoid enemy fire rater than relying on their shields.

Contains - Plasma Beams, Rail Guns, Nuclear Warheads, Grade 2 Shields, Grade 2 Hyperdrive, Beaming Technology.

Perseus-Class: Smaller ships than the rest of the fleet, Perseus class ships make up about half the fleet, and are generally used as living ships rather than the combat ships of the fleet.

Contains - Rail Guns, Nuclear Warheads, Grade 3 Shields, Grade 3 Hyperdrive.

Theseus Fighter: The fighter class ship of the fleet, these are single manned fight jets used to fight both in space and in atmosphere, capable of bombing runs and dog-fighting with equal ease. These ships are held in the hanger bays of the capital class ships, numbers varying on the size of the ship. Each craft is armed with a pair of mounted mini-cannons similar to small rail guns, as well as eight strategic warheads per fighter.

Medusa Landing Craft: Medusa landing craft are heavily modified shuttles that were first found on the three Ancient ships of the fleet, and are also comprised of additional smaller ships which have been modified. These ships are not only the small shuttles of the Lantean fleet, moving people from ship to ship, but they are also the assault landing craft that the Lantean army uses, having been fitted with several weapons and a unique defense system. All the shuttles have been retro-fitted with strategic warheads, which give the Medusa's a damage output similar to Theseus fighters, though with less maneuverability. However, their real trump card is in the form of a cloaking generator, which yields the ship invisible not only to all scanners, but also to the naked eye, allowing for rapid, hidden insertion of boarding teams. The only draw back is that weapons and shields may not be used at the same time.

Infantry

A space faring race, the Travelers have no use or ability to use vehicles other than those that fly. Despite this, the large number of people on the ships, and the fact that they live in constant need to fight for supplies etc, means that generally each man and woman on the ships are capable for fighting either as an infantry soldier, a Theseus pilot or as a ship board gunner. There are many specialist infantry squadrons, detailed below. They often fight in close proximity to at least one capital ship, usually of Deadalus- or Perseus- class, which can provide long range support and insertion to the battlefield. All infantry units are armed with short to medium range 'Particle magnums' which can fire 2 types of energy bolts - to stun or to kill - with the kill setting literally blowing people and other solid objects, including bulkheads, apart much like a long range concentrated explosive shotgun blast. In addition to these, other units will carry specialist equipment. All infantry squads are equipped with armoured space suits are re-breathers, making them capable of fighting in space as well as being immune to most airborne and waterborne toxins.

Boarding Parties: The basic infantry squad, Boarding parties are specialists in entering a spaceship and taking control, a skill that works just as well in enemy installations. They specialize in using cover and close range weaponry including grenades. However, they are just as capable fighting on the battlefield, treating terrain as they would the halls for ships. However, they do lack the long range weaponry that makes them so effective in a battlefield situation.

Drop Troops: The hardened veterans of boarding parties, Drop Troops specialize in rapid insertion to the battlefield, dropping behind enemy lines or into weakened friendly lines via jump packs. From there, they can bring the fight to the enemy and attack from all angles, taking the enemy by surprise. In ship-to-ship boarding, they onto to the enemy bridge windows and will blast their way through to quickly capture it. When jump packs are not viable, if possible they are beamed onto the enemy warships via the Ancient beaming technology.

Combat engineers: Combat engineers specialize in the destruction of vessels or fortifications that the Lanteans find themselves unable to capture or secure. Armed with various static explosives and at least one Missile Launcher, Combat Engineers are deployed when the Lanteans find a location that their boarding parties cannot capture.

Theseus Fighter Squadron: Attached to the fleet, Theseus fighter squadrons are often found with Lantean battle groups to provide close air support and rapid assault forces to hold down the enemy while the Lantean infantry makes it's advance.

There are several additional troops in the Lantean army, but their creation and organisation are, for now, a closely guarded secret.


General Lantean Culture

Life on Ship: The Lanteans live a cramped existence on their ships, each family crammed into a room probably too small for them. Families are limited to two children, due to the lack of space on the Lantean vessels. When a new ship is bought, captured or gifted, the extra space is used a rewards or prizes within the Lantean culture. War heroes or great leaders will will assigned as new Ship Captains, while families who have done a service to the people or have won one of the various draws will be moved to the new, larger accommodation, also freeing up space on other ships. This new space will only last a short while, before the growing population becomes too large.

Once there are too many people to contain in the fleet, the Lanteans will do one of two things. In advance of the expected overcrowding, they will go out and attempt to barter for a new ship with any race they can find. However, should they not receive this ship, the Lanteans will wage war for a races vessels. Despite being a relatively peaceful race, the Lanteans will not let anything jerpordise their future. If no race can be found to steal or get a ship from, the Travelers will resort to leaving the old, infirm and sick on a habitable planet, and then leave them to fend for themselves. This is a seemingly cruel fate for those unaccustomed to farming and living off the land, but it is the tradition, and those left behind understand that the race must continue to live. This happens rarely, around once every two hundred years or so.

Aside from the small nature of the ships, each one is similar to a small city. They have many dorms, entertainment locations and usually one cargo bay is converted into a market of sorts. The general Lantean population lives aboard the Perseus-class cruisers, and these ships rarely fight in any battles. However, around half the population will also be on the three Ancient vessels and the Daedalus-class battleships, forming the Lantean fleet crew. These crew members are soldiers and flight crew for four years, living on the cruisers and are expected to fight any battles and secure supply landings. After four years, the flight crew of a Daedalus ships will be moved to a Perseus vessel, and the population previously onboard the Perseus will become the flight crew of the Daedalus. This ensures that while the whole race serves as soldiers, only half the population is expected to fight unless full scale war breaks out. When this occurs, the population on board each Perseus vessel will become a battle ready flight crew. However, all vessels have a bridge crew around fifty strong who will always live on that particular vessel, to ensure smooth running on key functions all the time.

Life on board ships is a lot of hard work. Children begin training in general weapons management, and run in basic flight simulations at the age of 10, and begin to specialise in a combat position by 18. This will usually be as a capital ship operator, a small Theseus or Medusa pilot or they will become an infantry specialist. These means that all able bodied members of the Lantean fleet can carry out their task, but should the need arise they also have basic training in all aspects of warfare. Such is the life of a small race on the brink of destruction.

In other free time, Lanteans have little in the way of entertainment. There are simulations for games and old films can be shown, but there is not much space in the ships for large items.

The Fleet: The Lantean fleet is their home, like a whole world. Each ship is effectively a city, and people feel a loyalty to their ship which creates a friendly rivalry between vessels. Families all live together, though extended family can be split among ships. The Fleet is all together for three months of the year, and during this time any people who have free time can take shuttle rides between different ships to meet friends, family and trade. Some ships provide particular training, such as the 'Destiny' which is the only location that Lanteans can train in the use of Ancient technology and systems - a must for any Lantean hoping to serve on one of the three Ancient ships.

For the other week of the month, ships have the option to leave the fleet proper, and move into space as the Captain of the ship see's fit. They have the right to do as they will, but they are forbidden to declare war, and may only fight in defense. Ships taking this option usually do so to search for planets or to make repair and supply stops. The Lantean fleet never stops moving, so ships must re-supply and repair themselves in their own time. While whips may go alone, any Perseus-class vessel must be accompanied by at least on Daedalus-class, usually it's sister ship, to ensure it's safety.


Economy: The Lantean economy is one of physical goods. most important items - food, water and clothing - is free and equally distributed. Ancient technology found on board the Ancient ships means that even small amount of raw materials can be replicated a huge amount, allowing for the Lanteans to remain well stocked on necessities for a long time. However, other leisure items, usually made or bartered for on other world can be gained through trade in Lantean societies, and often there is much intership trading.

When they land on worlds, Lanteans can usually find something to trade with the locals, be it items, coinage - which does exist- raw materials or even medical/military aid.


Notable figures or items of the Lanteans

People

Larrin Denthis: Larrin is the current head of the ruling council of the Lanteans. She is the first, however, not to be the Ship Captain of the 'Destiny'. Instead, she remains in command of the first ship she became captain of, 'The Orion'. Larrin is a young, beautiful woman who rose to prominence during the Pirate War. During this campaign, she successfully boarded and and captured three Pirate vessels, leading her crack squad of boarding soldiers. Her success during the campaign earned her the captaincy of the Ancient ship 'Orion'. Since then, she has lead her ship in a huge number of successful operations, and in the last four years before her election she captured a further six ships all of a Daedalus class and negotiated the acquisition of two ships of a Perseus class, a number unprecedented in Traveler history. She was unanimously elected as head of the Traveler council two years ago, and has led them from strength to strength.

Larrin is also a fierce fighter, using wits and brains over brawn, though a heavily modified Particle Magnum helps.

Jentus Azlin: The Ship captain of the 'Destiny', Jentus is a man calm under pressure, and has an intimate knowledge of the ship systems. Utterly reliable, Jentus' split second decisions to commit the 'Destiny' to battle has saved countless Lantean forces and ships, despite it being policy not to commit the 'Destiny' unless no option is given.

Marcus Hengar: Marcus Hengar is a fearsome sight. Starting out as a simple Medusa pilot, he gain notoriety for leaping from his craft in daredevil one man assaults with mixed results. Despite this, he always seemed to survive and make his way back to the Leantean base, usually with much enemy Intel. Eventually, the ruling council decided it may as well put his urges into use and inducted him into the Drop Squadrons. Here Marcus excelled, and has since risen to command of the Lantean infantry army, though he maintains his roots as a Drop Trooper, often personally leading his own personal squad into battle.

Ships

Destiny: The Destiny is the most powerful ship in the universe. Fully equipped with technology unseen elsewhere, the Destiny can fight whole fleets of enemy ships and still emerge victorious. It is the flagship of the Lantean fleet, and their best hope for survival. On board it's computer systems and memory banks is the whole history of the Lanteans, the Ancients and the culture they left behind. With this power though come much risk, and the Destiny is committed to battle only when the Lanteans have no other options.

The Destiny's intricate weapon systems make it a deadly prospect for any foe to face, especially on the ground. Should the destiny appear in a battle situation, it will bombard the enemy from a high orbit. When contributing to a battlefield, it can drop warheads onto the approaching enemy forces, decimating them even as they advance, while the massive rail guns are fully capable of leveling heavy duty machinery and armoured columns. Against secure facilities, Drones and Plasma beams will punch through walls and shielding. The only true defense against the Destiny is to bury facilities deep underground, and prey they are not located. However, if the location of the facility is found, the powerful scanners on board can create a 3D image of the base, and several nuclear warheads are beamed into the enemy facility.

The systems of the Destiny are unique among even other Ancient ships. Like all the Lantean fleet, the ship is powered by a ZPM. However, each individual system is on a ZMP, meaning the Destiny has not one but three ZMP's powering it. One controls weapon systems, one shields and one engines. This ensures that all three of these systems are as powerful as they can be. On ships such as the Orion, weapons will ever be at full strength as power is also being used in the shields (which are a priority for maximum power) and the engines. This is not the case for the Destiny. In particular the shields are almost impossible to be broken down. Even should they begin to fail, power can be diverted from the other two ZPM's to triple the effective strength of the shields. in addition, with the Destiny, the Ancients perfected the use of shields as absorbing energy rather than simply dissipating it. This means that energy of any kind can generally be absorbed by the shields and used to power them. Energy weapons are the most effective, but solid shot ammunition has it's kinetic and heat energy drained and transferred to a buffer, which constantly transfers power to the shields, recharging them, rather than the ZMP's which can only maintain them when under fire. It would take a massive power strike to overload the shield buffer, and even then the Destiny should have several minutes before the shields would fail under such a powerful energy strike. This leaves them ample time to escape into hyperspace.

The weapon systems are similar to previously written, though the beam weapons benefit from the increased power options, as it allows them to maintain a longer continuous blast before the emitters need to cool down, as power is diverted to cooling systems which cannot be powered on other ships.

Orion: The Orion is one of two Icarus-class Ancient ships in the Lantean fleet, controlled by the head of the Lanteans Larrin Denthis. Heavily modified under Larrins supervision, the Orion is the most powerful ship that will regularly take to battle for the Lanteans. The large amounts of ordinance it carries, and the strength of the shields means that like the Destiny, it can fight several enemy ships at the same time and still emerge victorious while it's powerful hyperdrive ensures it can escape conflicts it should avoid. The Orion and the Prometheus are both capable of leveling whole cities in a matter of minutes, or, by using their drones can simply eliminate enemy military positions with pinpoint accuracy, leaving the enemy infrastructure unscathed for the Lanteans to pick clean.

Prometheus: The other Icarus-class vessel of the fleet, Prometheus is the ship under commander Colbin, and has fought many engagements during its time in service. While not as modified or quite as powerful as the Orion, it is still much advanced on almost any ship that the enemy possesses.

Apollo: The Apollo is the Daedalus-class ship captained by Marcus Hengar. While most Lanteans avoid bringing their capital ships into atmosphere during combat unless ordered to do so, Marcus relishes the prospect, and the front of the Apollo is burned black with re-entry burning. While shields would prevent this damage, Marcus attacks sans shielding so that his drop troops and Medusa craft can launch as soon as atmosphere is reached.


~Phew, done. Just gotta create and send my units to Waaagh :P~

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For anyone who is interested, I have images below to see where I drew inspiration from, and just to give a better overview of the Lanteans. Yes, most of these are the Stargate characters I drew inspiration from :P

Larrin Denthis
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Jentus
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Marcus
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Destiny
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Icarus-Class
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Daedalus-Class (example)
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Perseus-Class (example)
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Last edited by Prince_Asuryan on Fri Oct 16, 2009 5:49 pm, edited 2 times in total.
'The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.'
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