[center][url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/135515-the-solar-age-mecha/ooc]Interest Check[/url]
~~~[h1]Σωτήρ: the Solar Age[/h1][/center]
[i]It is the 113th year of the Solar Age. Mankind’s souls have broken free of Earth’s gravity well, spreading across the stars. A little over a century ago, the rapid depletion of the planet’s natural sources and a renewed urge to explore the mysterious void drove many to seek their dreams upon alien worlds, with the wealthiest of citizens leading the charge to colonise space, establishing settlements all over the solar system and expanding humanity’s frontier to even the farthest-flung moons of Jupiter.

Yet even in this era of unprecedented prosperity and opportunity, humanity is still as divided as ever. Nations continue to function independently of one another, the advent of space colonisation having yet to overcome the inertia of the state system. Private corporations govern the settlements of the red planet in all but name, banding together under the flag of the “Mars Group”. The political allegiance of the space habitats are like the tides, gravitating to whichever entity would be most predisposed to supporting their interests. And of the colonies beyond the Earth Sphere, whether they be hidden strongholds within the asteroid belt or those of the Jovians, communication is far too slow, too inefficient, for there to be true accord.

The people of mankind may all claim to cooperate under the banner of the United Nations, but their supposed unity is fraught with conflict, leaving the peace they share a fragile one.

A dangerous state of affairs when the existence of militarised extraterrestrial life has been noted.

Forty years ago, a buildup of excessive pressure within the Earth opened up a sinkhole in Siberia, one that, to the shock of the entire world, lead to the discovery of what could only have been an ancient spacefaring vessel, possibly millions of years old, buried deep underground. It was the first sign that humanity was not alone in the universe, sending tremors throughout the world. Scientists and archaeologists from all over the globe and the colonies leapt at the chance to study the ship, and in the process, were faced with a horrifying revelation.

There was life beyond the planet, and they could easily pose a threat to humanity.

During their excavation of the ship, they stumbled across large, humanoid vehicles, clearly built for the purpose of war. Although the controls of both the vessel and the machines had been damaged over the millennia they had spent trapped beneath the surface, the studies conducted by humanity managed to awaken one of them for the barest of seconds before its engines failed, yet that was all the time that was needed to comprehend the sheer power of the alien technology.

Panic gripped mankind. Alien life had developed terrifying weapons of war that could easily reduce humanity to ashes. The activation of the vehicle, some claimed, could have sent a distress signal to either its original creators or any other race that travelled the void between stars, likely bringing Earth to the unwanted attention of these powerful beings. Although there was little evidence for such an occurrence, states around the world sought precautions, beginning the creation of their own weapons, known collectively as Humanoid Fighting Vehicles (HFVs).

This powerful reaction to the vessel soon lead to the United Nations taking action and establishing, with unanimous support, a specialised organ to handle possible encounters with alien lifeforms: the Commission for Affairs Pertaining to Extraterrestrial Intelligence (CAPEI), which would preside over any first contact scenarios, as well as overseeing an international task force equipped to combat any hostile lifeforms, the Outer Space Defence Treaty (OSDT).

Years passed, but there were no signs of alien life to be found. Soon enough, humanity began to relax, content in their safety in the face of a missing threat. They turned inwards once more, the weapons they once developed to combat aliens increasing in sophistication so that they could be used upon other humans. CAPEI was derided as nothing more than another wasteful organ of the United Nations, a drain on the funding that the states provided. Calls for its abolishment grew more common, and slowly but surely, the resources allocated to the agency began to dwindle. Few saw the need for them, and the possibility of extraterrestrial contact was soon forgotten by mankind.

Today, the CAPEI is a shell of its former self, a mere name on UN reports. Few ‘Ozzies’ remain with the OSDT, and lack of state involvement, as well as frequent budget cuts, have left the task force with a mere three ships. Instead of against alien threats, the rare opportunities for them to be fielded have been against other humans, and many are wondering whether they are needed at all.

In a time of increasing pirate raids from their hidden asteroid fortresses, murmurings of revolution among the dusty colonies of the Martian surface, and the failure of Jupiter’s Pasiphae Habitat, there truly seems to be little need for these self-proclaimed protectors of humanity.

Will you be able to change that?[/i]

[center]---[/center]

Welcome to Σωτήρ, an RPG that's very heavily influenced by a variety of mecha anime (Mobile Suit Gundam, SPT Blue Layzner, Martian Successor Nadesico, SDF Macross, Aquarion, Grendizer). In this game, your character will be involved with the Outer Space Defence Treaty task force, a UN-affiliated group whose goal is to defend humanity from any hostile alien threats. However, by this time, the task force has become a waste on the UN budget, and consists of merely three ships: the [i]Jannah[/i], [i]Gungnir[/i] and [i]Tin Hau[/i], and an eclectic collection of personnel. Underfunded, undermanned and in general a seemingly unnecessary group, the task force these days is usually sent to patrol the space lanes against pirates or other miscellaneous activities, as there is very little other use they can be.

As a HFV pilot on the [i]Jannah[/i], the OSDT carrier assigned to patrol the Martian Sphere, under the command of Captain Radomir Pajari, your job is to assist the OSDT in regaining its pride and funding, to prove to humanity that your presence is necessary to protect mankind against all foes.

Even as tensions and problems continue to spring up around the Solar System.
[hr][h3]Profile Form[/h3]
[B]Name:[/B]
[B]Age:[/B]
[B]Gender:[/B]
[B]???:[/B] Y/N (I will hit you up with a diceroll for something if you select Y)
[B]Skills:[/B]
[B]Appearance:[/B]
[B]Personality:[/B]
[B]History:[/B]

[B]Model:[/B] (What type of HFV is it? An old grunt-type? Some frankenstein'd test machine?)
[B]Specialty:[/B] (What is it good for? What is its role?)
[B]History:[/B] (Optional if you want to explain the history behind its creation)
[B]Appearance:[/B]
[B]Features:[/B] (What kind of special equipment and features does it have? Maybe long-range sensors?)
[B]Armaments:[/B]
[B]Weaknesses:[/B]
[hr][h3]Rules[/h3]
1. Follow Guild rules. This should probably be a given.
2. No meta-gaming, bunnying or god-modding.
3. Keep your beef somewhere private. If you don’t like somebody, yeah, I can’t stop you from doing that, but talk to them through PMs and whatnot rather than filling the OOC with drama. This also applies to IC posts. Keep your beef out of your character interactions.
4. GM gets final say, although I am willing to talk decisions over.
5. Try and enjoy yourselves.