The long dead Zuukid empire’s sheet exists primarily for historical reference and to compare and contrast its various successors with their progenitor. [hider=The Zuukid Empire] [center][h1][color=bc001b]The Zuukid Empire[/color][/h1][/center] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/l8YlShi.png[/img][/center] [h2][color=bc001b]Brief Description:[/color][/h2] The Zuukind Empire is, or was, a theocratic empire that engaged in a series of crusades towards the galactic core, all originating from its place of birth in the outer fringes of the galaxy. In the process the zealots conquered, converted and destroyed many nations, their greatest victim being the Orionic Empire itself, that was cleaved in twain and simultaneously overrun by those fleeing the might of the Zuukind. Their state religion, Anchorism, attributes the gravitational force created by what other ascribe as dark matter to a galaxy sized divine being, one that grants divine authority and wisdom to certain chosen individuals such as the line emperors. This line ended, along with the empire itself, as a result of a coup that saw the last emperor killed in battle and the empire’s territories plunged into a civil war between various factions attempting to fill the power vacuum. The Zuukind Empire counted many races among its ranks, but only the core faithful, those that were absorbed by the founding race of Rodorphins in their early years of conversion based expansion, are grouped under the moniker of Zuukind. Those races forever associated with the fallen empire and the destruction it wrought upon the galaxy. [h2][color=bc001b]Government:[/color][/h2] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/svwX5n8.png[/img][/center] At the top of the governmental apparatus is, or was, the emperor. Descendants of the prophet Avostin Zuuk they rule with the divine mandate and are unrestricted by any legal law or apparatus. Below the emperor is their court, a collection of favors individuals who might be anything from bureaucrats, head priests, generals, scientists or wealthy industrialists to individual soldiers, courtesans, childhood companions or celebrities. All of them are vested with a chose amount of authority by the emperor and act as both his/her ad visors and as unrestricted arbiters of their divine will. Below these individuals is the state proper, a mix of bureaucratic agency and religious institution generally referred to as the theocracy, it is charged with maintaining and nurturing the financial, military and spiritual health of the empire. As a result they are the underappreciated lifeblood of the empire, ensuring, among other things, that the faith is strong, that the emperor's armies are equipped for war, that the empires infrastructure remains intact, that waste is disposed of correctly and that that heretics and criminals are routed out and punished. These positions are filled by individuals specially trained at religious schools for the job, the tuition costs of which makes them these positions the purview of upper middle class students. The emperor traditionally does not meddle with appointments of bureaucrats, though their favor or ire can affect an individual's social standing among their peers and thus can indirectly affect their position in the hierarchy. The government itself has partial control over the economy, with the state and emperor mostly free from the influences of the various large corporate entities that run the civilian economy. Corruption is meticulously routed out by state inquisitors, their rigorous faith making them more resistant to bribery and manipulation than the average government employee. Religious mandate allows the state to set prices for purchasing services but generally private businesses are allowed to run themselves as they see fit so long as they do not actively clash with the needs of the state. Governance outside of the core worlds works similarly, with the representatives of the central state mainly enforcing taxation, forced requisition and religious law while letting local affairs be dictated by either a ruling corporation if the world is ripe for a specific type of exploitation, the former local leadership if they were comparative during the absorption period or a governor appointed either by the theocracy or the emperor, who is free to run the territory as they see fit so long as they comply with the state’s needs. The masses influence on political affairs is mainly done via the local priesthood, who are expected to listen to the concerns of their flock, which is generally done via one to one confessional like meetings. Most often complaints will be met with guidance or advice, but sometimes the priest will bring important matters to the attention of the theocracy, allowing them to keep a finger on a pulse of the people and giving them a sense that they are being listened too. To encourage the public to rely on the priesthood as their first go to for enacting change anything said by a person to a priest during a confessional cannot be used against them in a court of law, nor can it be the basis for an investigation, creating a safe and controlled environment for addressing of sacrilegious views. [h2][color=bc001b]History:[/color][/h2] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/Yb8RHpD.jpg[/img][/center] Despite vast advances in the field of physics, the Rodorphin never found what contemporary human scientists refer to as dark matter, the group of so far undetected entities that are responsible for a significant proportion of the gravitational field holding the galaxy together. This mystery, having eluded their brightest minds for centuries, gradually took on a mystical quality for the Rodorphin, one that eventually ascended into a full blown religion canonized by Avostin Zuuk. It centers around the worship of the unseen force that holds the galaxy together, a force that Avostin Zuuk anthropomorphised into a god called the Anchor, said to rest at the heart of the galaxy with its limbs sprawling out from that central body to form the arms of the galaxy. Avostin Zuuk’s influence grew and spread due to the prophet’s dazzling charisma, becoming more and more abrasive to the Rodorphin’s current government as the faithful push for expansion/emigration towards the galactic core, culminating in a core-bound colonization/crusade flotilla headed by Avostin Zuuk being formed and subsequently clashing with border patrol forces belonging to one of the Rodorphin’s neighbours. For the sake of maintaining control and preventing a war the central government attempted to crack down on Anchorism, but was taken by surprise by Avostin Zuuk’s fleet turning around and sailing straight for the home-world, their arrival culminating in a lighting coup that handed the reigns of power over to the prophet. Avostin Zuuk was subsequently crowned the first emperor of a new royal dynasty, his power derived from the divine anchor, and on that day the Zuukid Empire empire was born. Faith and empire alike are first consolidated within the Rodorphin’s own territory before beginning a slow and steady push towards the core, gradually absorbing and integrating each empire they encounter over a few decades. This process was relatively effective when dealing with the sparsely populated sprawling realms of the outer reaches of the galaxy, but by the time they hit the territory held by the Orionic Empire propper the rate of progress had been deemed unacceptable by the latest, and subsequently last, emperor. In response she launched a full scale crusade, blasting through system after system, shattering the Orionic Empire in the process, while leaving her subordinates to pick up the pieces of the peoples and places she conquers. This caused a great deal of economic, political and religious tension back home with some warning that they might well collapse like the Orionic Empire if they did not consolidate their new holdings. With the central figurehead of the empire off conquering distant worlds with the most faithful at her side and repeated calls for her to return to address the growing instability her recklessness was causing, those who do not like the way the empire was being run began to meet and conspire against the current emperor. What ended up spurring them into action was not the completion of their scheming however, but an opportunity created when a notable section of formerly absorbed territory suddenly broke away from the empire. The conspirators managed to grab the reins of the general panic and anger that resulted from this and directed it at the emperor and her new method of expansion, turning the demands that the emperor return home from mutterings to violent uproar. The unlikely alliance of religious leaders, capitalists, nationalists and populist leaders then used their followers and resources to rapidly seize control of the empire’s core worlds, cutting off the emperor's supply lines. The tip of the crusade’s spear was forced to turn back in response, just as planned, but the return trip was a bloody one as they were harried by the rising warlords of the realms they have shattered and are plagued by the inability to acquire supplies without fighting costly battles to seize them. Even the outlying provinces of the empire’s old acquisitions turned hostile as they attempted to forge their own futures free from the rapidly disintegrating empire. When they finally return to the imperial heartland the emperor found their enemies well prepared and, though the rebels troops were green as can be they far outnumber the weary and worn down loyalist forces due to their ranks bein swelled by each and every group marginalized by the empire’s rule. What was meant, by some, to be an intervention rapidly devolved into a shooting war after the emperor refused to meet any of the demands of the rebels and warmongers on both side’s agitation for decisive action eventually caused by the first shot of the battle being fired, perhaps accidentally, by an unknown rebel gunner. With battle commenced the empire’s finest manage to extract a hefty toll on the rebel forces but were eventually overwhelmed by the sheer number of ships and a planetary defense emplacements located around the Rodorphin home-world. The emperor's flagship broke in two after stubbornly taking hours of sustained fire while she and her honor guard drop podded to the surface in an attempt to seize the palace on foot. Finally, less than a hundred meters from where Avostin Zuuk was first crowned emperor, his royal dynasty was ended by a singly stray bullet. Having overcome their enemy, the only person it seemed who had been holding them together in the first place, the rebels rapidly succumbed to the entropy of victory and where driven apart by their vast ideological differences. Attempts to seize power were made by multiple parties simultaneously, resulting in battles breaking out between previously aligned rebel forces all across the core worlds while various populist, nationalist and religious focused uprisings cleaved swathes of territory from the empire’s control, many of whom set eyes upon their ideological difference neighbors and saw them not as fellow citizens free at last of the yoke of tyranny, but as targets of opportunity, scorn or cries of heresy. The emperor's death was as a result the beginning, rather than the end, of the Zuukid civil war. [h2][color=bc001b]Military:[/color][/h2] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/39Q0gBd.jpg[/img][/center] Ideology: The core principles of the Zuukid empire and its descendants militaries is a glorious hardened core protected by a disposable center. Their own ship, troops and vehicles where made to the highest standards possible materials wise but where often elaborately decorated or stylized at the price of operating efficiency. For example, Zuukid built ships often have figureheads on them, depicting saints, prophets, and emperors who give the vessels their names. the extra work needed to stabilize the ship's thrust is considered worth it for the positive effect on moral they have for friendly units and the awe they impart upon enemies and/or possible converts. However the Zuukid fleets where padded with reclaimed, captured and requisitions vessels known as adjuncts that exist primarily to support and protect the core. It is these disposable escorts that allow the Zuukind to commit forces that most would consider to costly to risk, and to do so safely knowing that the disposable assets can be sacrificed to save the core. Weapon Systems: Lasers use focusing chambers to translate electrical energy into occasional bursts of focused light that relay energy to a small point on the target. These are primarily used on units expected to operate on their own for extended periods, deriving their firepower from the same systems that power their other systems. The inherent speed of photon based weapons also makes them excellent for point defense systems and accurate long range space based weapon systems but they are limited by the fact that they only do heat based damage, the fact that they can be reflected with the right materials and the fact that intervening materials such as air, smoke, water and gas all greatly their effects over distance. Coil-guns meanwhile utilize Gauss technology to propel various ammunition types using a series of electromagnets. Coil-guns generally consist of one or more coils arranged along a barrel, so the path of the accelerating projectile lies along the central axis of the coils. The coils are switched on and off in a precisely timed sequence, causing the projectile to be accelerated quickly along the barrel via magnetic forces. These weapons can be used to fire a variety of munitions, from solid slugs to explosive shells, flak, acid canisters, incendiary devices, flechettes, guided missiles, drones, and even boarding craft. Unlike lasers these weapons are hampered by their need to carry this ammunition, which means they are limited by either short operation times, space consuming ammunition stores or the need to protect dedicated supply vehicles. The utility and raw damage of these weapons cannot be denied however, and so coil-guns are found all over the Zuukind military, where they fill rolls that lasers cannot. The zuukid empire is notable for an unusually usage of of melee combat as something other than a last resort. There are three reasons for this. The first is that many of the Zuukind have a long and steady history with ritualistic forms of melee combat, often originating from mating rituals, that have subsequently had religious tapping interwoven with them, that have lead it to being seen as the most sacred form of battle and one that brings the victor praise and recognition from their peers and superiors. The second more pragmatic reason is that it is a lot more targeted and less destructive than, say, an artillery barrage, leading to it being used to capture enemy ships, vehicles and facilities that can then be used to continue the war effort. The final reason is simply that it is incredibly unexpected by most enemies the Zuukid empire encountered. Their target’s general lack of preparation for close range combat coupled with the Zuukind’s general size and physical prowess made melee encounters almost always come out in the empire's favor if they could safely close the distance. Safe distance closing generally occurs in dense city fighting and ship boarding actions where the enemy's fire is downgraded for fear of damaging their own facilities. Notable units: [hider=Hoplite StG mech:] [img]https://i.imgur.com/9aAOXFn.jpg[/img][/hider] An iconic staple of the Zuukind’s core fleets, these versatile mecha are designed as vast suits of power armor mimicking the shape of their pilot. They are generally armed with a energy lance which is a combined melee/ranged directed energy weapon that can either fire lasers from its tip or energize its entire length into a long stabbing weapon, generally used for sabotaging enemy vessels if they can get close enough. They also carry an Aspis, which is a device that can be used to physically block weapons fire and contains a directional force field generator to increase the mecha’s survivability. A second, omnidirectional, generator is located behind the mecha’s head. The mechas are also capable of operating in atmosphere and on planetary terrain where they can divert power normally used for maneuvering into their various weapons and defense systems to let them operate as tanks instead of as fighters. They can also swap out their energy weapons for heavier Gauss weapons, though these limit their ability to operate independently, as the hoplite can only carry a very limited amount of the gauss propelled munitions without compromising its maneuverability. [hider=Martyr class vessels ] [img]https://i.imgur.com/wAVvAyh.jpg[/img][/hider] Exceptionally large ships that personify the zuukid’s usage of adjunct vessels, generally made up of asteroids or welded together space battle debris they are used to protect the rest of the fleet. With minimal crew capacity and almost 0 armaments the martyr is used to physically shield the more important core ships from fire as they move into optimum firing range. Some more sophisticated variants are equipped with heat/mirror shielding, point defense weapons, force-fields, decoys etc. However most simply absorb fire via sheer mass and some lack engines entirely, being simply reinforced slabs or convenient debris that are held/pushed ahead of the fleet via tractor beams. Smaller variants are used to shield fighter, bomber, boarding and Hoplite teams as they approach their targets. [hider=Sabotage Drones ] [img]https://i.imgur.com/GpGMKxY.jpg[/img][/hider] Small autonomous robots or power armor individuals that are tasked with latching onto enemy spacecraft and disarming, disabling or breaking into them. The Nahash variant show is a Sethhanide design does this using special acid coated claws to cleave through very specific hull materials. It also has 4 small turrets mounted on its wings designed to coat larger areas with the acid. They are often fired from coil-guns at enemy vessels, and have just enough charge in their capacitors to course correct slightly and to cancel their own momentum before they collide with the vessel. If left to their own devices they can do considerably more damage than a similar sized missile, cutting away rivets that hold armor in place, blinding sensors, crippling entire rows of turrets, breaking into ship rooms via airlocks or vents to massacre crew etc. [hider= Medusa class BattleShip] [img]https://i.imgur.com/xY8eXns.jpg[/img][/hider] A Sethhanide designed spacecraft that was 4000 m long while only being 200 m wide and 20 m tall it was one of the longest vessels the Zuukind empire ever produced. It was designed as a dedicated broadside vessel, with just under 1000 high grade laser cannons mounted on a single narrow side of its immense length. If it angled itself correctly it could bring all of these to bare while only presenting only a thin 20m line of its own bulk to the enemy. This made it an exceptional ship for engagements with only one major enemy ship but left it vulnerable to franking above and below. The front of the craft features a figurehead in the form of a fully functional mech representation of a prominent Sethhanide, most often of its inventor with whom the class of vessel shares its name. The entire vessel is capable of moving in a serpentine manner, slithering through space unpredictably as it orientates its cannons at foes. It is also able to enter a coiled up defense mode around its figurehead when attacked from multiple angles, the head producing a substantial shield around the compacted vessel while the cannons are able to target vessels all around it. [hider=Crescent Fighter] [img]https://i.imgur.com/0Ne4ktC.png[/img][/hider] A ship specifically made to be launched via coil-gun, the Crescents main maneuvering wings fold up against its body while in the barrel and then extend upon exit to steer the craft. Generally they will perform strafing runs using their for mounted twin armaments on whatever they are engaging, then will decelerate and perform a rear assault on the enemy formations. [hider=general ship design] [img]https://i.imgur.com/shJBFG8.jpg[/img][/hider] Throne Class BattleCruiser(Large), A predecessor of the medusa class, it too features many side mounted laser cannons, however as these are mounted on the rather rigid front section the majority of the aiming is done via lenses. Generally they are sued as the command ships for small battle fleets engaging in longform operations out of Zuukid home controlled space. Stronghold Frigate(Medium): Mid sized carrier that features a large amount of forward facing firepower. A group of these can do significant damage to far larger ships if they can focus fire, while also fielding a sizable fighter/bomber screen to protect their long tails. Guardian Corvette(Small): Each spine contains a small point defense turret that lets this ship screen other vessels against bombers and missiles. They almost never act alone, but instead escort larger craft when the enemy is expected to employ a large number of fighter/bomber craft. Dominion Strike Craft(Fighter): A single man spacecraft built primarily for dueling with its equivalents and intercepting bombers/missiles. The rotatable wing mounted engines give it excellent maneuverability. Virtue Torpedo Boat (bomber) equipped with a single Gauss cannon and carrying a number of high yield missiles or shells it is designed to deliver these payloads to weak points on enemy ships without them having to worry about armoring the munitions themselves against point defense. Powers cargoship (civil): a small cargo vessel used by the Zuukind military to transfer moderate amounts of materials between vessels or across relatively safe routes. [hider=autonomous weapons pods] [img]https://i.imgur.com/ydFSHCJ.png[/img][/hider] Compact weapons platforms capable of being dropped from orbit, the Zuukind will “seed” a landing zone or priority target with these to soften them up for further assault. A pod can either unfold instantly form their compact forms to attack or can remain hidden buried or submerged at their impact site for days waiting for an opportune moment to strike their targets. [hider=Trilobyte Light Tank] [img]https://i.imgur.com/JnCx13u.png[/img][/hider] Made from similar materials and components as a lot of their spacecraft, these tanks skim across battlefields at high speeds, bringing their versatile selection of armaments to where they are most needed. Its primary weapon turret will generally be an anti tank weapon, while its many spine mounted turrets act as anti infantry/air weapons. [hider=BioMechanical Scout Units] [img]https://i.imgur.com/Dogtdku.png[/img][/hider] The size of small dogs or large birds these units will move ahead of the Zuukind armies, spotting targets for artillery, routing out ambushes and gathering intel. Small, stealth and disposable they can be found scouring the periphery of most battlefield, circling enemy formations like carrion eaters as they relay vital tactical information back to the Zuukid forces. [hider=BioMechanical Armor Units] [img]https://i.imgur.com/2jmZxeR.jpg[/img][/hider] While conventional wheeled/tracked vehicles and more advanced hover vehicles are used by the Zuukid the Sethhanide bioengineers have created a number of biomechanical frame onto which conventional weapons systems can be mounted upon. While generally slower than traditional vehicles they are far more capable of handling difficult terrain and can run most of their systems off local biomatter rather than needing access to specialized fuel. The fact that they need far less metal to produce is also considered a great boon and so, as their production requirements intersect very little with traditional manufacturing, pure and biomechanical warmachines are often seen fighting side by side in the Zuukid military. [h2][color=bc001b]Religion/Culture:[/color][/h2] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/F0nT6Mj.jpg[/img][/center] Religion: Anchorism The Zuukind believe that the galaxy rests upon or inside (which is matter of much theological debate) a great being known as the anchor. It is this being that provides the additional gravitational pull that holds the galaxy together and is, effectively, anthropomorphised Dark Matter. Because the heart of the great beast is located at the galactic core that places is considered the holy land by the faithful, which is somewhat problematic as the Zuukind empire was located at the fringes of the galaxy. It is the state religion of the Zuukind empire, and adherence to it is mandated resulting in religious intolerance and persecution of all belief systems that were incompatible with anachronism (which was most of them). One of the focuses of religious worship, other than regular temples, are deep space monasteries. Here, in small space stations free of artificial gravity, the faithful can come to get closer to the anchor, free from the distraction of other gravitational pulls. Those who stay there are entirely reliant on external supplies, as the monasteries are often light-years from the closest star. A careful balance is maintained between the frequency of supply ships arriving to drop off fuel, food, etc, and the amount of space given over for storing said supplies. Both add mass that might distract the meditating inhabitants of the station, and so they are almost always walk a thin tightrope of survival for the sake of enlightenment. For some even these stations are not enough and the greatest seekers of the anchor will live alone in tiny ships or even space suits in deep space, deliberately becoming the most isolated people in the universe for days or months on end. Insanity in these individuals is common, enlightenment rare. Telling the difference is sometimes an art onto itself. Regular worship involves meditating once per day in a zero gravity environment, either a simulated one available in planet-side temples or by deactivating the artificial gravity for those who are currently in space. Most space bound habitats and vessels coordinate this meditation ship wide, setting aside 30 minutes of zero g for all those on-board to meditate simultaneously. There are also drug assisted guided meditation sessions lead by the priesthood, each lasting two hours, that Zuukind are culturally expected to partake in at least once a week. Commoners will generally partake in group sessions in temples, ship wide broadcasts or, at worst, recordings available online while the dedicated wealthy might have private sessions or a personal priest. The most faithful may partake in this type of meditation more than once a week. [h2][color=bc001b]Demographics (Species):[/color][/h2] [b][url=https://imgur.com/a/EBftSY7]Rodorphin:[/url][/b] Bulky 8 limbed creatures that are the founders of the empire and its faith. They somewhat resemble the mythical centaurs, with a humanoid torso mounted at the front of a hexapod body, but they have claw like feet and their skin is covered in soft scales that comes in various shades of dull reds, browns and oranges. They are carnivores that are about two and a half meters tall and can outpace horses on most terrain. They are used to a higher oxygen concentration than that expected by humans, and as such often need to supplement the air of other worlds with additional O2 using a filter/enricher mask lest they be left permanently breathless. Founders of the Zuukid empire and the species of the Prophet Avostin Zuuk they fill much of the imperial theocracy on account of their home-world being the empire’s capital. They can also be found across the empire, though unlike humanity they did not end up ubiquitously dominate their empire’s holdings. This is partially because the empire put the faithful first, not the founders and also because the Rodorphin’s oxygen need restricted them from casual occupation of many worlds. The Rodorphin exhibit sexual monomorphism, with all members appearing to be masculine in appearance to the casual human observer. Culturally, other than a basic use of pronouns they distinguish very little between the sexes, resulting in an absence of the gendering of titles, occupations and words found in other species’ languages. For example, the emperor is always the emperor, regardless of gender, with the word empress being seen as an annoying and pointless complication in other languages. [b][url=https://imgur.com/a/nnm0xGa]Sethhanide:[/url][/b] An alien race with a colony of serpents, known as hydras, growing on their skulls. These serpents are a form of parasite on the Sethhanides planets, which have developed a symbiotic relationship with several species there. The serpents help protect their host from the dangerous ambush and pack hunter predators that live on the planet by providing 360 vision, acting in shifts as a night watch and fending of foes with their venomous spit. In return the host warms the cold blooded serpents and shares food with them. While the Sethhanide have long since surpassed the need for their companions they retain a cultural and biological fondness for the creatures, and as such most of them retain them as pets. The Sethhanide known well known for their work in cloning and genetic engineering, the most notable of their achievements having been the race of Vuans, human based super-soldiers that they provided to bolster the Zuukid crusade forces. Sethhanide vehicles, robots and space vessels are generally serpentine in nature, this leaves them rather fragile but highly maneuverable. They were early willing members of the Zuukid empire and their addition of biomechanical engineering is the basis for a lot of the empire's success. They have managed to keep a firm hold of their art despite it spreading across the empire thanks to their old home systems now housing most of the universities that teach it while simultaneously having lax local ethics laws that allow the somewhat unseemly experiments needed to further the art of biomechanical engineering. Sethhanides had less problems than the Rodorphin in colonizing other worlds, though their size did still cause some similar problems that limited their spread, the main one being time, as colonization efforts of abandoned or underpopulated worlds where still in their infancy when the empire collapsed. [b][url=https://imgur.com/a/M68TeVZ]Vuans:[/url][/b] The Vuans were developed by the Sethhanide to serve as shock troops. There were two primary goals in their development. First, to have troops optimized for operating effectively in human friendly environments and second, to let them easily put captured/seized human technology to work. A third added benefit is that their production required only human cadavers, something that was in plentiful supply after most military engagements in Orionic Empire space. They possess increased strength, endurance and limited regenerative capabilities that have greatly extended their lifespans at the cost of increased risks of brain disease like Alzheimer's. Their usage has fallen off in most parts of the former Zuukid Empire due to a lack of raw materials, but they persist in use among the Faithful Hairs and with/as independent marauder groups all over the galaxy. Vauns, after being assembled from raw materials, are subjected to intense indoctrination and brainwashing to remove any prior loyalties or personality, making them perfect zealots of the Zuukind cause. Despite this some memories will remain in fragments, and the older variants particular can be plagued by flashes of their past lives. When this occurs most submit themselves for re-indoctrination but rarely they deserted instead, something that became considerably more common during and after the empires collapse. [b][url=https://imgur.com/a/cUMQtIA]Rekshai:[/url][/b] Rekshai come from the Sethhanide home-world, where they were one of the predators that causes their symbiotic relationship with their distinctive serpentine hair. Unlike most of their competition the Rekshai where not driven to extinction by the rise of Sethhanide civilization, as instead the worryingly intelligent monsters managed to follow their most successful prey species as they expanded across the globe, avoiding all subsequent attempts at extermination through cunning, stealth and adaptation. By the time technology had advanced enough that true eradication would be possible conservation moments had arisen that preserved the predators existence, though limiting their domains to certain national parks, zoos, preserves etc. and initiating an ever advancing method of prevent attacks on Sethhanides using radar tagging, smart shock collars, etc. They subsequently fell into quiet irrelevance, a lingering reminder of what progress had overcome, until the someone in the biotech industry had the idea of using them as a basis for a new biomechanical construct. Subesequent study revealed just how advanced the brains the beasts had actually been, exhibiting intelligence that, if given a slight boost, allowed them to achieve limited sentience. While some might argue against the wisdom of granting greater cognitive abilities to one of your own predators the effectiveness of the results were undeniable. Coated in biometalic armor, improved with synthetic muscles, injected with performance enhancing drugs and installed with limited cybernetics they became deadly weapons of war capable of understanding complex orders with little alteration to their cerebral cortex. The Zuukind subsequently use them as incredibly deadly attack dogs: unleashing them on enemy formations and ships via specialized attack craft, releasing them into cities and compounds to sow terror or having them accompany inquisitors hunting down heretics. Inevitably some subjects have escaped and evaded re-capture, the collapse contributing significantly to the number of such escapes. While these subjects have sometimes started infestations via breeding their offspring are non-augmented and thus lack their parents intelligence boosting implants. Unfortunately they display more intelligence than their wiled betherned ever did, presumably due to being trained/lead by their progenitors. [b][url=https://imgur.com/a/uYIxOwu]Lonoxi:[/url][/b] Insectile creatures that evolved a social structure similar to that of ants or bees, where a small number of fertile females have access to a small number of males for breeding purposes while the majority of the species are infertile drones made to serve the fertile females bidding. This social structure was retained even when the race achieved sentience, with fertile Queens and their male lords acting as regents and aristocracy while the drones where their willing servants. This persisted right up until the invention of chemical warfare, as the subsequent reactions introduction of gas masks unintentionally gave the drones a way to free themselves from the pheromones the queens secreted, pheromones that none of their kind had recognized as existing. Here the species split into two distinct, opposing, styles, the old monarchistic one which used this knowledge of pheromones to cement their rule and one where the drones overthrew their progenitors and formed collectivist councils of drones to govern, with the breeders being subservient to the will of their offspring. These two patterns never managed to overcome one another, the ability completely stop the creation of pheromone filters as difficult as preventing breaches in filter protocols. In the end it was the Zuukind that forged the two together in an unhappy union, Sethhanide manufactured drugs making drones immune to the pheromones while the Zuukid theocracy relentlessly preferred the breeders as officials or governors due to their longer life spans and more individualistic intelligence. Still, while there where those who longed for both the old ways faith and inquisitors kept the Lonoxi firmly focused on serving the empire as a whole. With the empire gone however the old divisions have re-arisen, now joined by the third who still desire what the Zuukid brought them. Drones are rather squat, bulky and well armored, featuring a pair of large blades pointing backwards from their forearms. Males are tall, thin and supermodel esque in appearance, traits grown to improve their odds of been chosen by a queen. Queens themselves are somewhat similar in appearance to the males but have a large abdomen extending out behind their hips that is used to grow and lay eggs. [b][url=https://imgur.com/a/1tAhNMs]Forensakai:[/url][/b] Unlike the Rodorphin, Forensakai exhibit extreme sexual dimorphism that make their two genders aprea to be almost different species: the females are tough four armed, four eyed bipeds with shriveled wings while the males are 4 legged creatures of an almost bestial appearance that are capable of flight. Despite their structural differences and the makes animistic appearance both genders exhibit near identical levels of intelligence. The reason for these differences can be found by studying their old mating habits. The females need a living host within which to parasitically insert their larvae(much like certain parasitic wasps of earth), a host that they actively defend from other predators while their young mature inside it. The males then need to both retrieve this host in the first place and need to keep the woman fed while she guards the host. To do so they travel great distances to find the perfect host as well as to forage food for their mate, but do not need to be able to tussle with hostile predators. Thus the females became tough flightless fighters and the males agile aerial hunters with excellent endurance. The Forensakai eventually adopted a herding method of protecting their hosts and upon this cooperation their civilization was build. While their life cycle involves presenting a host they do not require once capable of sentiants like the Parasitians. Infact scentiens generally make for very poor hosts due to their diets, general lack of extensive fat reserves and ability to recognise they are infested. Instead they use livestock, preferably large caterpillar like creatures from homeworld, but creatures like cows will serve the task as well, though the infant will often need assistance from their parents or a doctor to deal with the creatures skeleton. Culturally they exhibit minor form of matriarchy, one that is only really detectable by those knowledge of their society, as it can be seen only in some of the quirks of their native language and at a larger statistical level rather than as a day to day occurance. It stems from the male's hunter gatherer biological adaptations became less and less relevant in their developing society, where raw strength gave the woman an edge in more fields than the male’s flight, resulting in them getting pigeonholed into a limited number of rolls that kept flying useful, such as scouting, skirmishing. mail deliver, vertical construction etc. and this prejudice dribbled into intellectual pursuits as well. Modern tech’s general nullification of the female Forensakai 's physical advantage resulted in equality movements that mirrored those found on earth, resulting in the matriarchy becoming merely a small if difficult to remove stain on Forensakai culture rather than a dominating force. Outside of this they have a nostalgia for ranching and are often found tending to herds of animals on low population and poorly developed worlds. They are also relatively nomadic in nature and, while they do build cities they have a greater tendency to move around than humans do. Housing in a city is not a pace here people are born, live and then die, but rather a place where people stay for a few years while they work in that particular city. Their economy is structured to accommodate this constant cycling of new blood arriving and old blood moving on to fresh pastures, which has its positives and negatives. Rodorphin businesses and people are very open to new ideas brought in by new people and their documentation is rigorous and their teaching methods are highly effective but the fact that there are always people getting up to speed does damage productivity somewhat. Access to space travel and alien worlds as led this tendency to leave them rather spread out as they journey from world to world as their whims take them and so they don't have much of a unified species culture off their own worlds as they seem to actively adopt other cultures quickly and enthusiastically when they start living among other races. Rodorphin are sometimes seen as noncommittal, unreliable and easily distracted, while the Rodorphin find the tendency to stick to the familiar a sign of timidity and a cause of dangerous stagnation. [b][url=https://imgur.com/a/iKWSCw8]Draskavians and Atholabes[/url][/b] Draskavian evolved on an ocean world where they had to deal with the limited availability of nesting space available on the small island that dotted globe spanning sea. Draskavian juveniles are seabirds, who travel in great flocks across the waves, never touching land from the moment they leave the roost till the moment they seek to make one of their own. The adults are bipedal bear like creatures that have given up flight in return for increase strength and hands that they use to protect their island nesting grounds and food supplies from hostiles. Other than predators the main hostiles the adults faced were flocks of juveniles seeking to claim land before puberty fully overtook them and they lost their wings, resulting in periodic battles between the small agile young and the large lumbering adults. Initially these battles would result in the gradual grinding down of the aging adult population until a suitably strong flock took over, but as technology slowly advanced the balance of power shifted towards the adults thanks in part to a partnership with the planets other sentient race: the Atholabes. An Atholabe is a eel like creature about the size of a great white shark that has 3 ruby read eyes on the front of its head surrounded by eight manipulator tentacles, four being thick and strong limbs while the other four are whisker like appendages used for fine manipulation. An incredibly ancient race, the Atholabe myths speak of a time before the great sea when part of an incredibly advanced civilisation that was brought to an end by the calamity that caused the ocean to form which they only survived thanks to a miracle that gave them bodies suited to the new world. While archaeological has failed to find any evidence of this study of their biology by Zuukid bioengineers has discovered signs of what they believe to be the vestiges of ancient genetic engineering. Their aquatic environment had made technological advancement incredibly difficult, their race trapped forever in the stone age despite their best efforts until the Draskavians evolved. Some were fraught with jealousy of the upstarts who eventually discovered metalsmithing upon their tiny islands, but others saw opportunity, forming, after a great deal of strife, a working relationship with some Draskavian populations, trading raw ore for manufactured goods. The adult population grew stronger and more advanced on the back of this trade, though it was hampered significantly by the intergenerational battles for control of the islands. Frustrated, and somewhat horrified by this state of affairs the Atholabes attempted to introduce the Draskavian to the concepts of a. Population control via abstinence and b. Raising their young. They only really took to the second suggestion, capturing juveniles on the cups of losing the capability of flight during attacks and using them to replace their losses. This solidified the adult hold over the islands and allowed the preservation of knowledge between generations, causing Draskavian civilisation to start reflecting standard development trends, interspersed with occasional bird attacks. Islands where artificial expanded with the help of Atholabe builders and Draskavian populations grew with them. Ships and navigational techniques were created allowing island communities to meet for the first time, with the inevitable trading of goods, culture and blows following after. All the while the Atholabes civilisation flourished once again, fueled by their avian trade partners’ technological strides. Eventually the Draskavians, who now lived in vast floating cities, used contraceptives to implement the long insisted upon population control and had replaced the flackguns used to swat down juveniles attacks with dedicated capture drones that plucked pubescent Draskavian from their flocks to be raised on land, took to the stars along with their Atholabe allies, making the ancient eels one of the few aquatic races to know what it was like to swim in space. Other: The empire absorbed/subjugated may races during its heyday and as such it contains a baud sampaling of the galaxies races further augmented by pilgrims from even further afield. However, only the above are referred to as Zuukind due to their pervasiveness as the faces, both civilian and military, of the empire. [h2][color=bc001b]Characters:[/color][/h2] [h2][color=bc001b]Relations:[/color][/h2] [h2][color=bc001b]Habitation:[/color][/h2] Aesthetics: Zuukid architecture and fashion generally follows that of ancient greece mixed with local flavor. White marble and equivalent synthetic materials dominate their public buildings which are decorated with columns and statues. Togas made of modern materials are associated with Anchronism and are thus popular wear for the faithful when the climate permits them. [/hider] [hider=The Faithful Heirs] [center][h1][color=bc001b]The Faithful Heirs[/color][/h1][/center] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/l8YlShi.png[/img][/center] [h2][color=bc001b]Brief Description:[/color][/h2] The furthest point along their warpath the Zuukid crusade forces reached is now one of the last bastions of the Zuukid empire They are descendants of the gerison that were left behind to hold it for the last true emperor and are now ruled by the granddaughter of a minor member of the Zuuk dynasty. Holding a small region of space they where an unlikely island of saft during the tumultuous migration period they created, acquiring several protectorate human states in the region around their new capital. [h2][color=bc001b]Claim:[/color][/h2] [h2][color=bc001b]Government:[/color][/h2] The Heirs are structured like the head of the Zuukid Empire, with an emperor having unconditional power over all aspects of the nation. Below the emperor are their favorites, who are representatives of their will, granted full authority over a world, army, station etc. Below them remains a rump of the theocracy consisting entirely of military ranked subordinates who serve the emperor's chosen representatives directly and who’s position and status is mainly determined by the representative they serve and how they serve them. The upper levels of this hierarchy are still dominated by Zuukind, but the lower levels are becoming increasingly packed with Imperial Species, mostly humans. The Heirs rule over a number of protectorate states who are mostly self governed. They are mostly ruled by some kind of democratically elected government, a system encouraged by the Heirs to ensure popular support of their military presence and to prevent upstart warlords from ripping a protectorate away from them. These governments manage all of the civilian affairs of the planet, and it always only one planet, they control while paying tribute to the heirs who act as the collective military of all the Protectorates. [h2][color=bc001b]History:[/color][/h2] The faithful heirs started life as a portion of the Emperor's crusade force who were left behind to ensure the gains made by her davence where not lost while she returned to put down the core world uprising. The emperor failed to return. The gerisons of the conquered worlds slowly lost their holdings and forces to desertion, uprising and independent marauder groups. In the end they were split in two groups. The first retreated back to the Zuukid heartland, where they were consumed by the civil war. The second group retreated towards the holy land, hoping for salvation at the core. These forces ended up congregating around the most distant acquisitions, held by part of the emperor's own elite forces under the command of Vansorosh Zuuk who had been personally charged by the emperor in defending this most distant and exposed part of the conquests. Hee the remains of the Zuukid empire’s military held out against the chaos of the migration period, hoping that eventually the empire would stabilise and come back for them. Eventually however it became clear that relieve would not be coming, that the fleet was and perhaps would forever be completely cut off from the empire. The Zuukid military forces had to face the question of what they should do now. Their first act was clear, they declared Vansorosh Zuuk emperor of their new nation, but after that it was unclear what this new nation should do to find its place in the universe. Some argued they should fight their way back to Zuukid space, back to the homeworlds of many of the species who were apart of the military. Other believed they should become nomadic as so many seemed to have done, to become a military for hire or a marauding band. It was even brazenly argued they should push forwards, to conquer the heart of the galaxy as they had once set out to do. In the end Vansorosh Zuuk decide they would stay where they were rather than abandon the local defences and people. This last part was surprising to many and yet that sentiment laid the groundwork for the rest of the Heir’s development. Vansorosh Zuuk had recently begun what perhaps they should have been doing all along, namly integrating the local populations into the empire, a population that was now far more willing to accept this integration as the Zuukid had, for mainly selfish reasons, stood between them and the marauding forces that plagued the migratory period. There were two reasons for this intagrations. Firstly, that integrating the population gave them access to power, namely military service, and thus reduced resistance to the occupation somewhat. The second reason was that military installations where no place for children, and if the Zuukind forces where to survive for longer than a generation some of them would need to step down from service to create, and then raise, the heirs to the empire. This flow of Zuukind out of the military, and the flow of local, generally human, population into it gradually changed the heirs from conquerors to locally accepted leadership. The Heir’s territory even grew, as they used their limited remaining military hardware toc oame to the aid of surrounding populations, acting as protectors in return for supplies to maintain the fleets. This then led to the current state of affairs, with the small region controlled by the heirs themselves being the guardian of a far larger are of protectorate states surrounding that last bastion of the Zuukid empire. [h2][color=bc001b]Military:[/color][/h2] [img]https://i.imgur.com/3JVtbwm.jpg[/img] The Heirs operate much as their ancestors did, with a core force supported by disposable adjunct forces, however the lack of any real manufacturing capability for their old equipment, and a lack of the blueprints for it as well, has left the relics of the Zuukid empire a small and most treasured core, guarded by locally manufactured adjunct assets. Other than Vauns, who were generally manufactured by the crusade fleet themselves anyway, most of their disposable biomechanical arsenal has been lost as well. This leaves the bulk of their army consisting of Vauns and local species utilizing equipment loosely based on Orionic Empire or new designs, lead by a Zuukind officer core using indispensable and carefully maintained Zuukid relics. Notable new units: [hider=adjunct ship designs] [img]https://i.imgur.com/nFPpVAh.png[/img][/hider] Leopard: a torpedo bomber that, for the sake of cost reduction, simply has dumb fire missiles strapped beneath it rather than firing its payloads from a gauss cannon. Falcon Intercepter: an incredably striped down fighter that's basically just an engine with a cockpit and some guns attached. Fast but with relatively poor maneuverable they were made to let reinforcing fleets get something useful into battle as soon as possible, these ships, like crescent fighters, are launched from gauss cannons, however they are mainly used to put something in between valuable besieged allies and their attackers, rather than being used for flanking maneuvers. The life of a Hawk pilot is often a short and brutally heroic one. Hawk Intercepter: A fighter ship that is built for maneuverability above all else, their core system is about 20% turning thruster. These are the exact opposite of falcons, designed to stick close to fleets in a swarm meant to intercept hostile munitions and bombers Puma Corvette: Panther Destroyer: A ship designed primarily to screen other ships from fighters, their bulbous heads packed with lasers and crude flack cannons that cover a wide area around them. Their engines are evn pulled in close so that the side mounted turrets can shoot past them. Wolf Frigate: a versatile ship designed to be able to counter most threats when working in wolf only packs. They act as escorts for civilian and military ships alike and can also be used in squadrons to handle w wide range of low level threats relatively reliably. Tiger Destroyer: Tigers are odd in that they are built with adjunct components yet are armed like core ships, bristling with expensive amounts of firepower. They generally act as the core of the increasing common adjunct only fleets the heirs are having to employ as their true core ships are slowly used up in defence of its protectorates. Gazelle Corvette: Small and agile ships that use a different engine setup to achieve their skittish maneuvering skills which leaves them without ftl, meaning they have to dock themselves against friendly vessel to be towed to a warzone. As a result of this complication they are most often seen defending systems, running interference against invaders while they wait for reinforcements toa rive. Buffalo Cruiser: these fat ships are primarily troop transports. Featuring a massive amount of storage space and with the triple engine setup to move it they are capable of bringing entire battalions to a belgard world. They can also be easily retrofitted to hold a large number of fighter/bombercraft instead, replacing the landing shuttles with these offensive ships for pure space combat missions They aren't lacking for firepower however, and an Buffalo with empty holds can still go toe to to with similar sized ships. [hider=Mecha overview] [img]https://i.imgur.com/JSleIvp.jpg[/img][/hider] Vulture Recon Unit: while unlike anti grave they don't work in all environments, rotor blades have made a comeback for the mainly planet defending Heir’s military forces. The Vuklture is one example of their usage, a twin prop vehicle about the size of a bike it is used for scouting and harassment campaigns against invading forces. Shikra Flightsuit: a very cheap to manufacture flight capable exo suit sued for planetary defense. While smaller than the vulture it is much smaller, making it excellent for ambushing form unexpected spots or operating inside cities where vertical mobility is a great boon. Oryx Support Unit: a two person mecha, one pilots the vehicle while the other operates its weapon systems. Tis makes the rather cheap and poorly armored mech quite a difficult target to hit. It is armed with a single heavy machine gun, a snout mounted laser cannon and a set of 4 AA missiles that are fired from cheap single use gauss cannons. While it can engage most targets with its varied armements it struggles again the most heavily of armored units. Rhino Tankhunter: A small agile mech built off the same chassis as the oryx, it features a single massive Gauss rifle that is used purely for sniping enemy heavy armored units. Most of the upper section is used to store ammo for and vent heat from tis singular large cannon. The only real difference it has vis smaller targets is the pilot physical leaning out the mech’s open cockpit to try and shoot them with a side arm. As a result it is often escorted by oRyx mechs, as the two cover each other's weaknesses nicly and can traverse the same terrain. Jackle Recon Unit: Taking the place of their biomechancial scout units, the jackal is a one man piloted robot capable of rapidly traversing even the most inhospitable landscape while recording and transmitting recon data. Unlike the biomech it is capable of defending itself using a simple machine gun that the pilot can detached from its turret if the robot if damaged. [hider=Violin Spider Tank] [img]https://i.imgur.com/OSZXg4I.jpg[/img][/hider] While their overland speed is rather poor, spidertanks cannot be beat when it comes to dealing with terrain, nor is their toughness to be sniffed at, as a tank can still move even if a half of its legs are missing. Generally used as guards for cities and mountainous regions the violin is more a defensive installation than a mobile armor unit, featuring a wide berth of firepower on its bulky body. [hider=Scorpion Attack Bike] [img]https://i.imgur.com/EzIfIi0.png[/img][/hider] Dedicated ground based harassers, these bikes come equipped with either gause launched missile pods or mecha tendril mounted mini guns that they use to strike their enemies for unexpected angles in brief flurries of weapons fire before darting away as swiftly as they arrived. [h2][color=bc001b]Religion/Culture:[/color][/h2] The heirs have, somewhat surprisingly, abandoned theZuukid’s hardline religious intolerance in favor of cultivating more allies during the crisis period. While Anchorisim is encouraged, particularly in the military, it is no longer mandatory, primarily because they have no way of enforcing such a position without wasting precious resources the oppressing their protectorate states. This is reflected in a lot of the heir’s policies, generally being very diplomatic and accommodating of those under their protection so long as they support the military. The Zuukind are fully aware of how isolated and outnumbered they are even in their own territory and just how much the Imperial Successors despise them. The fostering the happiness and good will of their subjects is not benevolence, it is necessary for their survival. This has, for the most part, worked as the protectorates seem to be inclined to remain loyal to those who saw them through the migrationary crisis rather than turning to the Orionic successors now that the worst seems to be over. Describing the culture of the varios pretoecorates would take an age, as each has freely flourished under the Heirs protection in a carefully segregated fashion. Communication, movement and cooperation between protectorates is mostly done via the heir’s military, supposedly to ensure the safety of travels and the security of information, but mostly this is to prevent any form of coalition formation among the protectorates against the Heirs. The military of course draws from all of these worlds, both in terms of resources and manpower but the Zuukind actively attempt to foster an internal loyalty and culture to keep them seperate from the civilian protectorates. [h2][color=bc001b]Demographics (Species):[/color][/h2] The faithful hiers core territory is, despite their best efforts at encouraging population growth and the occasional arrival of a refuge fleet, still dominated numerically by Local, Imperial and Cartel species. The protectorates meanwhile have almost no Zuukind presence whatsoever. [h2][color=bc001b]Characters:[/color][/h2] (You don't need to go that in depth in the NS, but once we get to IC, definitely have them fleshed out, at least mentally.) [h2][color=bc001b]Relations:[/color][/h2] (Talk to people! This section in NRPs often goes neglected, but it's important for other characters making their own NSs.) [h2][color=bc001b]Habitation:[/color][/h2] most of the protectorate worlds are of a low population density, the abundance of habitable worlds in close proximity to one another leaving the locals spoiled for choice when it came to where to live. Most planets only have a few cities dotted across their surface near landmarks or resource deposits of interest, with much of the world given over to farming or simply left to bloom in its natural state. Resource extraction is done vea large mobile harvesters or from small temporary worker settlements that gradually travers the globe digging up ores, gems etc,leveling and then replanting forests for lumber or performing investigations into yet areas containing as of yet uncataloged flora and fauna in search of ones with interesting properties. The heirs meanwhile live either in their defence fleets or on a few heavily fortified core fortress worlds from which defence fleets can be launched at a moments notice. It is here you will find most of the Zuukind, either in the military or as the major comented of the limited civilian population that lives upon the fortress worlds where they mostly either do clerical work or work to raise the next generation of heirs. These fortresses feature some of the best schools and universities in the region as a result, attended to by the Zuukind students and, more recently, the best and brightest the protectorates have to offer. [/hider] [hider=The Zuukid civil war zone] [center][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/451823223764680704/460907657549709322/civil_war_zone_map_2.png[/img][/center] The civil war zone is made up of a number of groups who, despite their violent differences, all share a desire to reforge the Zuukid Empire. The problem, the one that has led to the two centuries of on again off again violence, is that they all want the empire to reform under their political/economic/belief system. While a lot of the territory originally held by the Zuukid empire has either broken away or fallen out of the control of the warring factions they still collectively hold the southern tip of the perseus arm. Despite the various substrates officially being at a state war with one another they have not, officially, traded blows for near 5 years thanks to an armistice signed by all involved. This is not the first of such armastices to be agreed upon, nor do many expect it to be the last, and so the powers in play watch each other carefully as they rebuild their forces and wait for someone to make the first move. [hider=The Celestial Bureaucracy] [center][h1][color=bc001b]The Celestial Bureaucracy[/color][/h1][/center] [center][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/451823223764680704/454433545205710858/zuukid_buro.png[/img][/center] [h2][color=bc001b]Brief Description:[/color][/h2] Controlling the easternmost part, and the old capita, is the Celestial Bureaucracy, who are, in contrast to the faithful heirs, the still intact central theocracy of the Zuukid empire who now lack an emperor as it was decided in the aftermath that such a leader was unnecessary and dangerous, they had functioned without one for long enough, and her return had only ruined everything. Other than this removal of the emperor little has changed in celestial controlled space when compared to the rule of the Zuukid empire. The bureaucracy is the only path true path to power, the people are guided by the priests and kept in line by the inquisitors, and the state manages most essential functions while leaving tertiary needs and desires to private institutions. Because they control the old Core worlds they see themselves as the continuation of the Zuukdi empire, guided by its ever faithful servants, and thus wish to reclaim the parts of the empire that have been lost to them. [h2][color=bc001b]Government:[/color][/h2] [h2][color=bc001b]History:[/color][/h2] The eventuale victors of the battles for control of the Zuukid capital where its true masters, the clerks, priests and inquisitors of the empire’s theocracy. Those conspirators not aligned with the theocracy and those still loyal to the dead emperor were hunted down and imprisoned, exiled or executed depending on their threat level. Yet while the bureaucrats reinforced their authority at home the rest of the empire rapidly fell apart as two bit upstart despots and escaped political disonents gathered up forces to lai claim to sweeps of former empire space. This the theocracy could not stand and they set about pacifying these upstart uprisings and bringing all that was once the empires back under their control. To this day they still officially view the other factions of the civil war as mere revolting provinces rather than actual independent nations they are at war with. [h2][color=bc001b]Military:[/color][/h2] [h2][color=bc001b]Religion/Culture:[/color][/h2] [h2][color=bc001b]Demographics (Species):[/color][/h2] [h2][color=bc001b]Characters:[/color][/h2] [h2][color=bc001b]Relations:[/color][/h2] They are still at war with the 3 other major powers in the civil war zone, claiming to be the true successor state to the empire and thus have legal dominion over all the territory it once held. This distinction makes diplomacy difficult but individual bureaucrats or departments often find ways to skirt this ridged state of affairs for the sake of pragmatism. [h2][color=bc001b]Habitation:[/color][/h2] [/hider] [hider=The Republic of Equals] [center][h1][color=4682b4]The Republic of Equals[/color][/h1][/center] [center][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/451823223764680704/454433588201390080/zuukid_rep.png[/img][/center] [h2][color=4682b4]Brief Description:[/color][/h2] Despite being called a republic for near 150 years the region has rarely had any kind of democratic elected institution at the helm, and has rather been ruled by a series of governments, councils and dictators who have either held power past their term or sized it from the previous now unpopular group. Despite this constant fluctuating leadership the region has remained firmly united mainly because its armed forces and outer territories cared very little about who back home was calling the shots so long as the supplies and reinforcements kept coming in to keep the territory safe. The latest in the long line of regimes is the committee of reconstruction who have held power since the armistice was signed and have been focusing on rebuilding and reconnecting the wartorn planets they control. Now they are finally fulfilling their promise to hold an election now that the infrastructure is in place for it. The republic, by its nature, is a threat to all the various regimes due to its, supposed, popular support and they have a right to be worried, for the republic intends to spread democracy across the former Zuukid empire. [h2][color=4682b4]Government:[/color][/h2] At the moment they are ruled by a 300 strong committee of self declared representatives of the people called the committee of reconstruction who overthrew the prior regime of a popularly elected tyrant when he took to long to sign the armistice. The people in the committee have a sole aspect of the Republic that they claim to represent, generally a planet, continent, important industry or bureaucratic department, and they then input that sector’s will in the committee, voting on their behalf on important matters. However, the Committee has finely finished drawing up a new constitution, the 16th written in the life of the republic, which includes an implementation of a truly representative parliament of 400 members elected by the populus and 400 members who represent various key private and government institutions, supposedly in an attempt to avoid said institutions bribing the democratically elected representatives by giving them a legitimate method of influencing the government. [h2][color=4682b4]History:[/color][/h2] [h2][color=4682b4]Military:[/color][/h2] [h2][color=4682b4]Religion/Culture:[/color][/h2] [h2][color=4682b4]Demographics (Species):[/color][/h2] [h2][color=4682b4]Characters:[/color][/h2] [h2][color=4682b4]Relations:[/color][/h2] Civil war factions: They are still at war with the 3 other major powers, but have better relations with the Federation of independent systems due both to not being authoritarian and not having touching borders. They are the Vostork Conglomerate’s main region of operation due to being a pure capitalist society. They do not deal much with the Volt Vipers, however Vostork often uses the mercenary group in ways that benefit the republic. Aurolia: the coalition member is currently offering support to the republic in the form of military armament and training, hoping to groom them into the dominant faction and one that could end up joining their coalition with mars. [h2][color=4682b4]Habitation:[/color][/h2] [/hider] [hider=Teramentai Sovereignty] [center][h1][color=4f53a2]Teramentai Sovereignty[/color][/h1][/center] [center][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/451823223764680704/454433627585904640/zuukid_spartans.png[/img][/center] [h2][color=4f53a2]Brief Description:[/color][/h2] Ruled by the Shonva dynasty, the Teramentai Sovereignty is incredibly bloated kingdom like the ones in the Federation of independent states that has evolved into a successor state via repeated conquest. The founder, Teramentai Shonva, was the premiere general of the rebellion who, after everything fell apart, formed an army and easily conquered the region that had stood in the path of the emperor's return, absorbing much of the emperor's remaining forces in the process. It was only a matter of time till she was hailed as emperor but, wanting to distance herself from that now besmirched title she instead took the trial of Sovereign. The Sovereignty is the group that most resemble the old empire, with the Sovereign at the top and a far more controlled state obeying their every whim. The Sovereignty desire to bring the empire under their regime for it is they, or rather their ancestors, who paid the price of blood to liberate it from the emperor, and thus the empire is theirs by right. [h2][color=4f53a2]Government:[/color][/h2] The Sovereignty is ruled over by the Shonva dynasty, a familial line of Rodorphin military dictators founded by the rebel war hero Teramentai Shonva. In essence it almost perfectly reflects the empire which it succeeds, with the only major differences being that the overall leader being known as the Sovereign rather than the Emperor, that the Sovereign exerts far more direct control over the underlying civilian bureaucracy than the Emperor ever did in order to stifle any repeat of the rebellion overthrowing the empire and that the Sovereign’s favorites are the always generals. [h2][color=4f53a2]History:[/color][/h2] Teramentai Shonva, the founder of the Sovereignty that bears her name, was one of the main rebel generals during the anti-emperor uprising. It was she who lead the rebel forces to victory above the homeworld, only to watch as the politicians, priests and bureaucrats squabled and fought over control of the capital while the empire itself fell apart around them. Rather than become a pawn of their infighting she gathered together much of what remains of the forces who had fought for control of the planet and took them west, tracing the path the emperor had traveled through the empire territory during her return, picking up whatever garrisons she had left behind on the way till she hit the wave of Zuukind forces who had headed home after they abandoned the long thin crusade path towards the core. With these gathered up forces she carved a kingdom out of the collapsing empire and was eventual crowned Sovereign, as opposed to emperor, of her new realm. This realm rapidly grew as she and her successors repeatedly reinforced their regime’s legitimacy with military conquests, absorbing world after world, including the the lonoxi homeworld, until it came up against 3 barriers it has not been able to overcome: the republic of equals in the south, the federation of independent systems in the east and the Eusociate of Perseus in the west. At this point it had grown to one of the largest factions in the civil war zone, one that has persisted long enough to become one of the current big 4 vying for dominance of the former empire’s holdings. [h2][color=4f53a2]Military:[/color][/h2] The Sovereignty’s military had, at least initially, the most relics of the Zuukid empire in their possession but thier 3 warfronts has have consumed much of this equipment and, as with most of the Zuukid successors, they have not got the capacity to produce more in a large enough quantity to meet the demand of protecting all of their long exposed borders. Nor can they capture enough vessels to serve as adjuncts due mostly to their front with the posthumans producing little in the way of recyclable assets thanks to their extreme modifications and biotech, while the republic’s nuclear scorched earth tactics result in their tehc being similarly unusable due to it often exploding before it can be captured. As a result the Sovereignty makes little use of disposable assets, relying on highly trained well armored, often cybernetically augmented, soldiers and hardy vehicles that nonetheless are inferior to most of the Empire’s forces’ equipment. The their usage of biological weaponry such as gas or flesh eating viruses developed to counter the post humans, as well as the federations usage of radiation as a weaponry, have resulted in most of their infantry being sealed inside airtight armor even when fighting in breathable atmospheres to protect them from these environmental hazards. Notable additions include: [hider=Chevalier Mech] [img]https://i.imgur.com/vixUaM2.jpg[/img][/hider] A replacement for the far too expensive to produce Hoplites that the Sovereignty have no sentimentality for, the Chevalier is similar in function and armaments but is built with more practicality in mind. Its shield and weapon are both fixed solidly to its arms rather than them featuring intricate hands, the shield size has been expanded and the spear replaced with a laser rifle with a fixed bayonet and a dedicated aiming camera attached. The second back mounted shield has been replaced with 6 maneuvering thrusters and its pivotable head is now a fixed cockpit. All this has made the Chevalier a simpler mecha that has sacrificed aesthetics and adaptability for ease of manufacture of both the mecha and the facilities needed to make the mecha, greatly bolstering production. The hoplite may be the superior mecah in a one on one duel, but Chevaliers are cheaper to build and maintain, meaning that such a duel should never need to occur. [hider=Black Swan] [img]https://i.imgur.com/UaJDCLc.jpg[/img][/hider] A variant of the Chevalier designed almost entirely for dogfighting. Its most prominent feature is a pair of massive laser cannons with side mounted force-glaives in place of the traditional weapon shield combo of Zuukid mechs. It unorthodox arm setup puts a lot of strain on the pilot’s psyche compared to the usual body image conforming mechas, but the firepower these twin guns bring to the table is considered worth the detrimental impact they can have on pilots’ brains. [hider=longbow artillery unit] [img]https://i.imgur.com/eaSflkg.jpg[/img][/hider] A hybrid of metal and organics the Longbow is the Sovereignty’s primer artillery piece capable of both wheeled and legged locomotion for dealing with diverse terrain conditions. They utilise railguns due to them being simpler to build and because the high voltage/amperage running through the rails can be used as defensive weapon, lightning arcing from the charged rails to strike melee range targets. These can also be used as giant snipers rather than artillery pieces, punching shells stright though vessels or large enemies instead of raining down explosive ordnance. [hider=Mace Assault Drone] [img]https://i.imgur.com/Z60aB6H.jpg[/img][/hider] Despite appearances and size Maces are not mechs, but rather large robots controlled by a Lonoxi Drone’s severed head housed in the massive head part of the robot. This head’s spinal cord and eyes are hooked up to a the robot as if it where the Drones boddy, and the brain is also equipped with a drug delivery system that keeps them constantly dosed with combat drugs and their Queen’s pheromones, ensuring both total loyalty and peak performance. The mecha is equipped with two arm mounted weapons, generally a medium ranged rail rifle and laser cannon combo making it an excellent mid ranged brawler. [hider=Torch Cleanser Drone] [img]https://i.imgur.com/at2BZMG.jpg[/img][/hider] About half the size of the mace but still operation on the same design principle, the Torch is notable mainly for its heat ray armament, a massive thermal generator used to incinerate fleshy monsters at close range. It also has several pairs of close combat arms as well as a dule bayoneted pulse laser, leaving its only real ranged armament a V shaped beam laser mounted atop its arched back. They are used primarily for base and city clearing, smashing and burning their way through anything they come across. [hider=Birdeater Tank] [img]https://i.imgur.com/UTAVpWg.jpg[/img][/hider] The these quadruped robots use a Forensakai male’s head as control unit rather than a drone’s, making them slightly rarer than the above robots. They are equipped with a antigravity unit sticking out of the back of their large rectangular heads that they use to jump short distances, guided by the Forensakai’s instincts, to engage targets from unexpected angles or get to raised sniper locations. They are equipped with a laser sniper and a combined rail/tesla-rifle. [hider=Vardanari Skykiller] [img]https://i.imgur.com/k7B769L.jpg[/img][/hider] Made by someone decided Rekshai weren't enough, Skykiller are based off of a large aerial predator found on the Sovereignty’s capital. Coated in metal and augmented with cybernetics they are terrors of sky and space alike. While they have shoulder mounted gauss rifles and a mouth mounted laser cannon that let them act as fightercraft their main use is as a weapon of terror, engaging enemy ground and space targets in melee and tearing them to shreds with their force-claws. Generally used in cities or mountain regions that feature plenty of cover due to their vulnerability to aa missiles. [hider=Vardanari Hunter] [img]https://i.imgur.com/Le9ZSa2.jpg[/img][/hider] Juvanile Vardanari don't yet feature the massive pair of wings that let their progenitors dominate the sky, but they are still ferocious predators in their own right. The same person who make the skykiller also made these, small attack creatures with a conventional ballistics firing minigun strapped to their backs. The gun is not controlled by the Hunter, as juvenile Vardanari could never grasp the concepts of aiming or conserve ammo, but instead by a simple AI algorithm that unleashes short burst of fire whenever the gun happens to line up with a target that the Hunter is charging. Limited brain augments let the AI know if the hunter is trying to sneak so that it does not blow its hosts’ cover. [hider=Rekshakai Stalker] [img]https://i.imgur.com/wESNN7i.jpg[/img][/hider] An appalling mish mash of a Rekshai and a Forensakai female all augmented with cybernetic enhancements created to be the perfect assassin/commando units. Their brains are a surgically combined version of the two species nervous systems, giving the powerful insectile guardians the killer instinct and agility of the Rekshai without sacrificing (much) of their intelligence and granting them limited true multitasking capabilities. The resulting individual is usually sent on stealth missions to fulfill vital tasks deep in enemy territory or to used to take down priority targets in a combat zone. Stealthy and nimble though they may be the Stalker is a still nightmare to face in combat, hex wielding weapons in a blinging blitz of blows or unleashing pinpoint hails of gunfire. [hider=Guardian Drone Armor] [img]https://i.imgur.com/rr0aLgX.jpg[/img][/hider] Heavily armored drone infantry with limited augmentation are a common sight in the Sovereignty’s armies. Their arm blades have been enhanced with larger force-blades and their shoulders have an series of bubble shield generators, used to protect an entire squad of regular infantry, attached via pauldrons. All of this requires a lot of power from a generator who’s twin exhausts are needed to prevent the armor from cooking the drone alive. [hider=Prince Armor] [img]https://i.imgur.com/gGMTt7g.jpg[/img][/hider] Lonoxi Princes are a rare sight on the battlefield, but when they are found they are often acting in an officer roll. Those that do are equipped with a specialised armor that features a pair of wings which are wired into the nerves that control the Prince's own stunted pair of wings, allowing the Lonix to fly as their ancestors once did. The large lance like weapon afixed on one of the armor’s armes acts in much the same way s a meche’s shield unit does, while also allowing the Prince to sacrifice this defence to drive the massive force-spike through near any material. Their shoulder pads also feature a pair of personal shields and their free hand is generally used to wield a laser pistol powered by the suit’s own generator. [hider=Black Bee] [img]https://i.imgur.com/PorcLKt.jpg[/img][/hider] The drone equivalent of prince armor requires extensive augmentation of the drone to use: lightening their bulky bodies, removing the arm blades and larger useless wings. One of the hands is also removed and replaced with an oversized gauss rifle equipped with a force-bayonet and underslung tesla cannon. The remaining hand is given force-claws but can still be used for reloading or other, less important, tasks. The suit itself is a dedicated set of flight armor powered by two anti grav generators rather than the fanciful wings used by princes. The result is the drone who is more of a cyborg than a person wearing armor, but the drone, its mined clogged with pheromones by an auto drug injector, does not mind these invasive procedures one bit. [hider=Infantry Armor] [img]https://i.imgur.com/TutgSwU.jpg[/img][/hider] All species can serve in the Sovereign’s armies but due to the need to make specialised armor for each and every race’s own unique body structure those with small populations will generally find themselves in non combat or piloting roles rather than seeing the front lines on foot. One exception to this are Kalixurans, like the one modeling standard infantry armor, due to their inherent strength and ferocity being highly valued by the Sovereignty’s military. Regular infantry wear lightly force shielded metal armor augmented with synthetic muscles to help move that weight which are powered by a small onboard battery setup. Those batteries can be rapidly recharged via a power cord that can be plugged into a larger power supply. A suit with empty batteries can still operate at a reduced efficiency using an onboard backup generator, though this is highly fatiguing for the user. On the other hand, one plugged in can operate at an increased performance level, meaning that when possible Sovereignty infantry will have adapter cables trailing behind them back to a large powersource such as a base, ship, Guardian Drone or an IFV. [h2][color=4f53a2]Religion/Culture:[/color][/h2] Anchorism, while still the state religion, is no longer heavily entwined with the state and the rule of law is no longer one with religious law. The inquisitors, instrumental to the celestial bureaucracy takeover of the capital, have been replaced with military police, the theocrats with Quartermasters and so on. Honor, duty and service to the state hold high importance in the Sovereignty’s society, and there is no greater way to achieve these than to be a art of the military, to be a part of the reclamation of the empire. As a result a lot of the Zuukind in the Sovereignty are enrolled into military schools at a very young age, trained to be exceptional warriors and little else. Weakness is not tolerated and those who become severely sick or wounded are often recycled rather than medicated, their bodies enhanced into cybernetic warmachines or their brains extracted and placed into robotic shells. This is seen as a way to find forgiveness for your weakness and to repay of your debt to the state for saving your life and honer. The Sovereignty also houses the largest populations of Lonoix in the empire due to the fact that their homeworld is located within their borders. These Lonoxi operate under the traditional eusocial model which resurged after the collapse of the empire, the queens and princes of the homeworld reimposing the natural order with the help of mercenaries, bioengineered drone slaves and the Sovereignty after a long and bloody three way civil war between the 3 systems of lonixi society. As a result the breeder casts became masters of their own systems, but this dominance was short lived as the Sovereignty subsequently absorbed their weakened former ally in a quick and rather bloodless conquest. Despite this new subservience the monarchy system has spread across the Sovereignty thanks in part to the usefulness of the blindly loyal and self sacrificing drone soldiers. With Zuukind bioengineering taking an interest in entrenching, rather than removing, the breeder’s control over the drones a variety of augments where made that endure the drones stay loyal to their progenitors even when they were not around them. These are generally surgically attached auto drug injectors or cybernetic brain implants that simulate pheromone exposure. [h2][color=4f53a2]Demographics (Species):[/color][/h2] While the Sovereignty is primarily made up of Zuukind its proximity to the edge of the former empire has resulted in a higher than average population of Imperial and cartel species who where either conquered by or migrated to the Sovereignty. They also have the highest population of Lonoxi of any region of space due both to the presence of their homeworld and due to the extensive usage of drones in the military. [h2][color=4f53a2]Characters:[/color][/h2] [h2][color=4f53a2]Relations:[/color][/h2] They are at war with all the other major factions, though actual combat has ceased during the armistice. However they are still actively at war with the the Posthuman Eusociate of Perseus. They have little time for the Vostork Conglomerate’s capitalist ventures nor do they like their form of Lonoxi society, the Drone lead version the antithesis to the local monarchy system. They have made extensive use of the The Volt Vipers’ services and respect their militant occupation. They have the closest contact with the faithful heirs whom with they have a limited alliance with and, though both sides know that there can only be one true heir to the empire, there has long been talk of a marriage between Emperor and Sovereign to bring the two groups together, though more pressing concerns and the fear that this would lead to external retaliation have kept this idea as mainly just talk. [h2][color=4f53a2]Habitation:[/color][/h2] To live in the Sovereignty is to live in a place constantly either preparing for or engaging in war. With hostiles living on three of their sides there is little time for pleasantries and so the Sovereign worlds are covered in fortifications, bunkers and factories, with little space given over for luxuries like parks, decorations or entertainment facilities. To live in the Sovereignty is a life lived in the shadow of orbital guns on worldes covered in butralistic concrete the only breaks in which are for farmland or bodies of water. The outer regions are a war torn hellscape. Innumerous biological eternally horror assail the western flank while the south is still smothered in radioactive death 5 years after hostilities were put on hold. The only real represent from this are the military academies. Adorned with colourful banners and statuary of military heros they represent hope and promise, that one day all their struggles can be overcome through grit, courage and determination. That the empire will one day be theirs once more and all that oppose them will be turned to ashe. [/hider] [hider=The Federation of Independent Systems] [center][h1][color=4f53a2]The Federation of Independent Systems[/color][/h1][/center] [center][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/451823223764680704/454433681315069963/zuukid_kings.png[/img][/center] [h2][color=4f53a2]Brief Description:[/color][/h2] Sitting in between and around the greater powers are a host of territories controlled by minor factions. Generally these will consist of a couple of planets at most, generally ruled over by a warlord or self declared council of some kind that ensured the safety of their region form the anarchy of the collapse using local garrisons or hastily improvised militia forces. Many of these groups were absorbed into the major groups as they stabilized, but many banded together to remain independent from them, forming a broad and loosely coordinated federation bound by hundreds of individual mutual defence pacts and alliances. While they wage war with the greater powers their main vulnerability is their members being slowly saped away from them by honeyed words and externally funded coups causing those at the periphery to be absorbed into whatever power they border. [h2][color=4f53a2]Government:[/color][/h2] [h2][color=4f53a2]History:[/color][/h2] [h2][color=4f53a2]Military:[/color][/h2] [h2][color=4f53a2]Religion/Culture:[/color][/h2] [h2][color=4f53a2]Demographics (Species):[/color][/h2] [h2][color=4f53a2]Characters:[/color][/h2] [h2][color=4f53a2]Relations:[/color][/h2] [h2][color=4f53a2]Habitation:[/color][/h2] [/hider] [hider=Vostork Conglomerate] [center][h1][color=2d3cac]Vostork Conglomerate[/color][/h1][/center] [center][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/451823223764680704/454433726454038540/zuukid_big_money.png[/img][/center] [h2][color=2d3cac]Brief Description:[/color][/h2] Consisting of a group of companies and corporations owned by their workers, the Vostork Conglomerate are a major power in the region primarily because they can operate freely within most of it. The basic unit of the group is a company of some kind that is affiliated with the group, one that is mandated to have all its full time workers own an equal share of said company, and as a result an equal say, via voting, in the running of that company. Over the years the number of “full time workers” has remained largely stagnant and as such these companies often employ a large number of contract workers to do work for them that does not qualify them for a share of the company. Each company pays a portion of its profits to the group and gets a say in running of the Conglomerate as a whole based on the size of its contribution. This collective buying pool is held digitaly by a cloud based AI that is programed to obey the will of a voting system that the corporations partake in to make decisions that are supposedly for the good of the conglomerate as a whole. The reason for this rather convoluted system of operation is that the group was started, and is still mostly dominated by, Lonoxi Drones, who have shaped everything about it initially to get out from under the Zuukid’s discrimination against their organisation method. After the fall of the Zuukid empire they seized control of many previously bureaucratically controlled assets, expanding their power and influence dramatically. [h2][color=2d3cac]Government:[/color][/h2] [h2][color=2d3cac]History:[/color][/h2] [h2][color=2d3cac]Military:[/color][/h2] [h2][color=2d3cac]Religion/Culture:[/color][/h2] [h2][color=2d3cac]Demographics (Species):[/color][/h2] [h2][color=2d3cac]Characters:[/color][/h2] [h2][color=2d3cac]Relations:[/color][/h2] Vostork work with anyone who will pay and have companies in all the major powers’ territories. They have the most influence in the Republic of equals however and are also one of the primary clients of the Volt Vipers. Externally they have various arrangements with the the Confederate Free Nests related to the nation’s aggressive immigration policy and are considering starting to conduct business in their space as well. [h2][color=2d3cac]Habitation:[/color][/h2] [/hider] [hider=The Volt Vipers] [center][h1][color=ceff00]The Volt Vipers[/color][/h1][/center] [center][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/451823223764680704/454433757391224833/zuukid_vip.png[/img][/center] [h2][color=ceff00]Brief Description:[/color][/h2] A mercenary outfit founded by a legendary hero known only as The Commander who formed out of a mess of military personnel and lowlifes during the collapse. They sold their services to the highest bidder, protecting, raiding or conquering isolated worlds depending on the job. The sheer chaos was incredibly profitable and the group surged in size, going from simple gang of thugs to a huge independent army, free of nation, ideology or loyalty to anything but coin. They fought on all sides of the ensuing civil war but have gradually come to consolidated themselves into waht is almost a nation unto itself, owning a large number of military bases and production facilities all over the region and extracting tribute from various “protectorates” to keep themselves running in the periods where the war dies down. [h2][color=ceff00]Government:[/color][/h2] [h2][color=ceff00]History:[/color][/h2] [h2][color=ceff00]Military:[/color][/h2] [h2][color=ceff00]Religion/Culture:[/color][/h2] [h2][color=ceff00]Demographics (Species):[/color][/h2] [h2][color=ceff00]Characters:[/color][/h2] [h2][color=ceff00]Relations:[/color][/h2] THe vipers work for the highest bidder. It’s just that simple. That said, their most common clients are the Vostork Conglomerate, who use them whenever the cogs of business require the oiling with blood, and the The Federation of Independent Systems, who use them for primarily to provide military training to their disparate armed forces. [h2][color=ceff00]Habitation:[/color][/h2] [/hider] [/hider]