[hider=Vorskel Confederacy, crazy space bats] [b]Faction Name:[/b] Vorskel Confederacy (including any applicable initialisms). [b]Faction Type:[/b] The Vorskel Confederacy is an alliance of nations created to avert a catastrophic nuclear war. Since then the Confederacy has taken center stage in administrating colonization and interstellar trade. It also still acts as an intermediary in international disputes. The Confederacy has quite a lot of influence but the nations are still sovereign and maintain their own militaries and government types. All three superpowers, Ghorak, Mesenthia, and Sonique are members as well as many other minor nations. Since its creation wars have been a rare occurence. The Confed's mission to maintain world peace and foster international cooperation has been largely successful. Whether this will last, or if this is simply temporary remains to be seen. The Vorskel Confederacy is a non governmental organization or NGO that exists to facilitate the peaceful resolution of conflicts between nations and negotiations between said nations. It also offers financial assistance to developing nations as well as medical care and foodstuffs to particularly impoverished areas of Kesh. It is composed of several branches including the General Assembly, Security Council, International Court, and the Tripartite. The General Assembly is where all members meet to decide on budget, accepting or denying new applications, and elects bureaucrats in other branches. The security council is responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security. It has representatives from the four permanent members, the superpowers of Ghorak, Spetses, Sonique, and Mesenthia. The court is where disputes are resolved and international laws are drafted. The Tripartite is the defacto leader of the Confederacy. The General Secretary, Lord Marshal, and Merchant General along with their cabinets reside here. They are responsible for social, military, and economic matters respectfully. [b]Species:[/b] The Vorskel are a humanoid race with digitigrade legs. The males have an average height of "5'6-"6'2 and females have a height of "4'10-"5'8. Their legs end in four toed feet with two large toes in the middle with two smaller toes on either side. Their hands have four fingers tipped with short blunt claws. They have thin furred tails that reach down to their ankles. A small pair of wings protrude from their backs. Their whole body is covered in fur. The fur is black, grey, brown, or white. It can be a solid color, spotted, or striped. Atop their heads are a pair of perky triangular ears. They can have either short slight snouts or long fox like snouts. Their eyes can be blue, yellow, green, or violet. They have human like secondary sexual characteristics, i.e. prominent breasts on females. [b]Scale & Territory:[/b] The Confederation lays claim to six star systems. Rakesh, Rorsch, Trir, Nasgarth, Daran, and Talyala. Rakesh is the home system. Rorsch is home to a developed core world. Rorsch is the international system in which everyone has territorial claims. Trir is solely owned by Sonique. Talyala belongs to Ghorak. Daran belongs to Mesenthia. Nasgarth belongs to Spetses. The most striking feature of Rakesh are five O'Neil Cylinder space colonies at the lagrange points. These are gargantuan 30km stations home to hundreds of thousands of people. They were constructed from material found in the belt, and materials launched into space with mass drivers. Hundreds of other smaller stations orbit the homeworld of Kesh too. Dozens of asteroid mining colonies dot the asteroid belt. [b]Culture:[/b] Vorskel culture varies greatly depending on where one goes within their territory. But for the most part can be seen as highly militaristic and nationalistic. In the West they are collectivist and do not value individual rights and are very secular. Polygamy is not seen as a sin in the west, and marriage is a custom absent from several of their societies. They are xenophobic and not that welcoming of outside influences. In the East however, the people are known to be more spiritual and individualist. They're also open and welcoming to outsiders. There are multiple religions but the majority of the religious follow monotheist religions. [b]History:[/b] Much like the League of Nations and United Nations on Earth, the Confederation was formed after a destructive world war. The inception of nuclear weapons motivated the nations of Kesh to begin working together. While the nations did oppose each other, nobody wanted to become a radioactive crater. Some didn't take the Confederation seriously at first however. The Imperium of Sonique, which had lost a lot of territory in the previous war suffered a revolution. The People's Republic of Sonique took over under the Industrialist Party. They spread outwards and started reconquering the lands they had lost. The other superpowers intervened eventually but this new war was indecisive and a ceasefire was signed. An uneasy peace began and the nations set their sights to space. [b]Technology:[/b] Vorskel technology is anachronistic perhaps, but cheap and reliable. The pinnacle of their power production is still nuclear. They use fusion reactors, which lack many of the drawbacks of the older fission reactors. For artificial gravity they use a centrifuge or simply spin the entire construct. They still largely rely on ballistic weaponry but have the means to make weaponized lasers, and particle beams. They can generate anti matter but still lack the means to store vast quantities of the stuff. They also have the means to carry out cloning, genetic engineering, and have cybernetics. They lack faster-than-light communication and must rely on couriers to spread information. Though, rumor has it that the new scientific field in subspace is close to changing that. [b]Military Forces:[/b] The Confederacy doesn't have a standing military technically. The closest thing is the Peacekeeper Corps which is composed of military units provided temporarily from member states to deal with a dispute that has failed to resolve itself peacefully. There is also the council chamber guard, but they're considered more law enforcement than military. But the guard aren't pushovers, they have the skill of professional soldiers. The Peacekeepers can be composed of ground and space units and are deployed off world when the need arises. But generally the nations are responsible for guarding their holdings. The forces on Kesh are designed for large conventional conflicts and as a whole number in the millions (~40 mil personnel). They are split between atmospheric air forces, ground forces, and 'wet' naval forces. They also have a fair number of ballistic missiles and surface to orbit batteries. The threat of mutually assured destruction keeps the peace. Though proxy wars do happen from time to time. Due to the Confederacy most wars are small in scope and limited. These conventional armies can be used off world but require heavy transports and orbital and aerial superiority at the target zone. There are also small elite forces specialized for fighting on other worlds. The Mesenthian Storm Troopers, Ghorakian Janserii, Soniquien Guard, and Spetsen Marines make up this force. They focus on surgical strikes rather than large battles. They can also board enemy spacecraft and fight within a vacuum if needed. They are all professional career soldiers. They operate a wide range of equipment including autocannons, high velocity missiles, lasers, good old fashioned guns, and in some cases railguns. Then most importantly there are the Space Forces. Most nations use a cheap series of standardized space frames affectionately nicknamed the "Alphabet Soup Crew". However, the superpowers operate their own native designs. They're the only ones that have the resources to design their own ships. The space forces are very frugal to an extent and don't throw away much. It's not uncommon to see decades old warships or older in active duty. Many old ships are also kept around in a mothballed state. [b]Kingdom of Mesenthia[/b] [hider=Spacecraft] [hider=Corvettes] [hider=Disk Wing-class] Class function: Patrol Armament: Spinal 40cm railgun, 2x 15cm railgun turrets, 2x 120 MW lasers, and 10x missile tubes with 8 ton warheads Point Defense: 2x 12mm machine guns, 4x 30mm autocannons, 2x 77mm flak cannons Hull Size: L= 80 meters, W= 15 meters, H= 10 meters Misc Traits/Systems: Atmospheric Capable[/hider] [hider=Funnel-class] Class function: Reconnaissance Armament: 1x 15cm railgun turret Point Defense: 4x 30mm autocannons, 2x 77mm flak cannons Hull Size: L= 70m, W= 10m, H= 10m Misc Traits/Systems: Highly sensitive sensor array[/hider][/hider] [hider=Frigates] [hider=Abatis-class] Class function: Patrol Armament: 4x 20cm railguns, 2x 120 MW lasers, 20x missile tubes with 15 ton warheads Point Defense: 3x 12mm machine guns, 6x 30mm autocannons, 3x 77mm flak cannons Hull Size: L= 260m, W= 40m, H= 30m Misc Traits/Systems: N/A[/hider] [hider=Intruder-class] Class function: Dropship Armament: 8x 15cm gauss cannons, 40x missile tubes with 40 ton warheads Point Defense: 4x 12mm machine guns, 8x 30mm autocannons, 4x 77mm flak cannons Hull Size: 200 meters long, 60 meters wide, 60 meters tall Misc Traits/System: Atmospheric Capable[/hider] [hider=Casemate-class] Class function: Monitor Armament: 1x spinal 200cm railguns, 2x 90cm turreted railguns. Point Defense: 2x 12mm machine guns, 4x 30mm autocannons, 2x 77mm flak cannons Hull Size: L= 275m, W= 50m, H= 40m Misc. Traits/Systems: N/A[/hider] [hider=Parapet-class] Class function: Area Defense/Escort Armament: 12x 10cm railguns Point Defense: 20x 12mm machine guns, 40x 30mm autocannons, 20x 77mm flak cannons Hull Size: L= 240m, W= 30m, H= 20m Misc Traits/Systems: N/A[/hider][/hider] [hider=Destroyers] [hider=Bartizan-class] Class Function: Escort/Mainline Armament: 6x 45cm railguns, 2x 300 MW lasers, 40x missile tubes with 30 ton warheads Point Defense: 5x 12mm machine guns, 10x 30mm autocannons, 5x 77mm flak cannons Hull Size: L= 350m, W= 50m, H= 40m Misc Traits/Systems: N/A[/hider] [hider=Palisade-class] Class Function: Escort/Support Armament: 330x missile tubes with 90 ton warheads Point Defense: 5x 12mm machine guns, 10x 30mm autocannons, 5x 77mm flak cannons Hull Size: L= 350m, W= 50m, H= 40m Misc Traits/Systems: N/A[/hider][/hider] [hider=Cruisers] [hider=Bulwark-class] Class Function: Mainline Armament: 4x 500 MW lasers, 10x two barreled 30cm railgun turrets, 40x missile tubes with 30 ton warheads Point Defense: 8x 12mm machine guns, 16x 30mm autocannons, 8x 77mm flak cannons Hull Size: L= 620m, W= 100m, H= 85m Misc Traits/Systems: N/A[/hider] [hider=Bastion-class] Class Function: Planetary Assault Armament: 6x quad 10cm railgun turrets (48 DP), 4x 50cm railgun Point Defense: 4x 12mm machine guns, 8x 30mm autocannons, 4x 77mm flak cannons Hull Size: 800 meters long, 250 meters wide, 250 meters tall Misc Traits/Systems: docks for 8 frigates and 16 corvettes[/hider] [hider=Hive-class] Class Function: Escort Carrier Armament: 50x bombers, 100x fighters Point Defense: 16x 12mm machine guns, 8x 30mm autocannons, 8x 77mm flak cannons Hull Size: L= 620m, W= 100m, H= 85m Misc Traits/Systems: N/A[/hider][/hider] [hider=Battlecruisers] [hider=Camponier-class] Class Function: Mainline Armament: 6x two barreled 90cm turreted railguns, 8x Quad 15cm railguns, 60x missile tubes with 40 ton warheads Point Defense: 13x 12mm machine guns, 26x 30mm autocannons, 13x 77mm flak cannons Hull Size: L= 1.2m, W= 400m, H =320m Misc Traits/Systems: N/A[/hider] [hider=Redoubt-class] Class Function: Carrier Armament: 4x Quad 15cm railguns, 100 bombers, 200 fighters Point Defense: 16x 12mm machine guns, 8x 30mm autocannons, 8x 77mm flak cannons Hull Size: L = 1 Kilometer, W = 350 Meters, H = 250 Meters Misc Traits/Systems: N/A[/hider][/hider] [hider=Battleships] [hider=Halberd-class] Class Function: Mainline Armament: 4x three barreled 120cm railguns, 4x two barreled 90cm railguns, 12x quad 20cm railguns Point Defense: 20x 12mm machine guns, 40x 30mm autocannons, 20x 77mm flak cannons Hull Size: L= 2km, W=450m, H=380m Misc Traits/Systems: N/A[/hider][/hider] [hider=Dreadnoughts] [hider=Fortress-class] Class Function: Mainline Armament: 2x spinal 200cm railguns, 6x four barreled 100cm railguns, 8x two barreled 80cm railguns, 100x missile tubes with 50 ton warheads Point Defense: 30x 12mm machine guns, 60x 30mm autocannons, 30x 77mm flak cannons Hull Size: L=3.2km, W=500m, H=475m Misc Traits/Systems: N/A[/hider][/hider][/hider] [b]People's Republic of Sonique[/b] [hider=Spacecraft] [hider=Corvettes] [hider=Gaffa-class] Class Function: Patrol Armament: 2x 10cm turreted railguns, 2x 10cm 120 MW lasers, 1x spinal 1375 MJ particle beam Point Defense: 4x laser turrets, 2x 20mm autocannons Hull Size: L= 60m, W= 10m, H= 10m Misc Traits/Systems: Atmospheric Capable[/hider][/hider] [hider=Frigates] [hider=Korri-class] Class Function: Patrol Armament: 4x 10cm 150 MW lasers, 2x two barreled 20cm turreted railguns Point Defense: 8x laser turrets, 4x 20mm autocannons, 2x 90mm flak Hull Size: L= 240m, W=38, H=33 Misc Traits/Systems: N/A[/hider][/hider][/hider] [b]Claims[/b] 0915, 0815, 0715, 0716, 0916, 0816[/hider]