[hider=The Natives of the Iugulum System]

[center][h3][b][color=black]- .... . / --. .-. . .- - . .-. / ..-. .-. . . / -... . -. . ..-. .- -.-. - .. --- -. / --- ..-. / -.-. .... .- -. - .-. -.--[/color][/b][/h3][/center]

[hider=Iugulum, Letona, and R3.D12]The Iugulum system is a dark and largesly featureless expanse of empty space located in a regional void, with low concentrations of interstellar plasma. The system comprises only a single celestial body, the Rogue Planet originally designated Letona. 

Letona, otherwise known as Chantry by the native population, is a barren and rocky planet with an atmosphere with a >98% composition of cooled Nitrogen. It has an inactive core, stable mantle, and no volcanic activity to speak of. There are no oceans or lakes save for somewhat homogenous patches and chunks of frozen water and other compounds littered across the surface. Letona's surface is completely pitch black and frigid beyond measure. Letona's surface composition is noteworthy for containing regular concentrations of high-purity quartz and silicate minerals that occasionally extend from the surface as spires or monoliths.

Letona 'orbits' a compact celestial radio source codenamed Anomaly R3.D12. Originally mistaken for a gravitational singularity, Anomaly R3.D12 has no evident mass and nothing appears to occupy the physical space at its coordinate location except briefly during periods of manifestation. R3.D12 irregularly manifests and broadcasts a series of unidentified signals at Letona's surface. The nature of these signals and of the Anomaly itself were to be the subject of the scientific investigations of the colony ship [i]The Stir of Dawn[/i] as well as the Science Vessel [i]Mesektet[/i]. Letona's true orbital characteristics are thought to be due wholly to its relative angular momentum but generally remain a mystery.[/hider][hider=History]The Iugulum system and the rogue planet Letona, although exceeding hostile to Human life and posing difficult challenges to any colonization effort, nonetheless were afforded a Colony Ship ([i]The Stir of Dawn[/i]) with an accompanying Science Vessel (the [i]Mesektet[/i]) during the last expansion efforts by Old Earth. Letona itself was originally declared to be a lifeless planet on initial survey, and thus held nominal value for a mining venture that would harvest its vast atmosphere of cooled Nitrogen and the rare, high-purity minerals from its crust. The true focus of the colonization effort was naturally the study and exploitation of Anomaly R3.D12. Having been the subject of an intensive primary analysis by the survey group that originally explored the system, the Anomaly was assigned a strategic priority grade of ALBU. [i]The Stir of Dawn[/i] carried within one of its vast cargo decks (due to insufficient space aboard the [i]Mesektet[/i]) a custom-designed device intended to stabilize and possibly even control the manifestations of Anomaly. The colony itself was intended to serve as the staging and support facility for a signal array that would interface with the Anomaly and beam resulting information from the colony and through the gateway network for unknown purposes that have since been lost to history due to the collapse of the gateway network and old Terra.

These designs would ultimately never come to fruition. Due to minor technical issues with its propulsion systems, [i]The Stir of Dawn[/i] was delayed by two hours on its passage through the gateway. The Science Vessel [i]Mesektet[/i] passed through on its own rather than simultaneously accompanying the colony ship. The [i]Mesektet's[/i] passage into the system caused an irregular manifestation of the R3.D12 Anomaly, which then emitted a series of unknown signals directly at the Gateway. When [i]The Stir of Dawn[/i] entered the gateway network two hours later, it mysteriously vanished and failed to reappear elsewhere. The [i]Mesektet[/i] received the colony ship's departure signal confirming successful passage into the gateway network only moments before the Iugulum system gateway connection failed and closed, stranding the [i]Mesektet[/i].

Not all hope was lost for the Science Vessel however. Although not fully equipped and unsuited for long-term colonization, it nonetheless possessed a number of sophisticated industrial-grade printing manifolds as well as its own DNA vault which was rated to support a surrogacy scheme in spite of the Science Vessel's relatively small crew. With no other viable recourse, the crew of the [i]Mesektet[/i] prepared for a roughshod colonization effort while resuming analysis and scientific study of the R3.D12 Anomaly.

The beginning of the [i]Mesektet's[/i] efforts hit a snag when they discovered what the original survey team had overlooked: The Planet Letona bore life. It, in fact, bore a complex ecosystem of hybrid Silicon-Carbon based organisms the likes of which had never been documented before. Undeterred and reinvigorated by the prospect of now needing to tame an alien frontier, the crew of the [i]Mesektet[/i] boldly set down upon the planet to begin their colonization efforts in earnest.

This proved to be a mistake.

Upon Letona was a single species of sentient organisms called the [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] (it does not translate well outside of the native signage). Having dwelt upon [color=black]-.-. .... .- -. - .-. -.--[/color] (it translates slightly better) for hundreds of thousands of years trapped in primitive stasis for the failing of dwelling in an atmosphere that could not support flame, the [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] found themselves playing host to travelers unfortunate in circumstances. Compounding the natives' innate and somewhat hostile curiosity was the failure of the [i]Mesektet's[/i] crew to realize the [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] were sentient. Live specimens were procured and interred only for them to escape, followed by a series of assaults that for want of numbers eventually saw the crew of the [i]Mesektet[/i] succumb, the survivors barricaded and trapped within the shipboard dormitories while the alien natives seized the ship. What followed was a slow surrender, paced out across decades as the captors and captives came to understand each other only for the hosts to decide they valued knowledge more than comradery. 

By the time the last of the [i]Mesektet's[/i] crew died, an ample number of the natives had determined how to use the ship's automated systems and had since become familiar with the steps necessary to keep the craft operational. In the next two centuries that would pass, this understanding would transform into mastery, replication, and proliferation, causing the equivalent of a renaissance period that would lead to the rise of technologically advanced culture upon Chantry.

Perhaps more valuable than the technological and industrial knowledge the [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] gained from studying the [i]Mesektet[/i] and its crew was the conceptual and practical application of altruistic behavior. The otherwise instinctively solitary and independent individuals who banded together to capture the [i]Mesektet[/i] had to work in tandem, however unwillingly or coincidentally, in order to achieve victory. Interrogation of the surviving crew and analysis of the ship's systems likewise were not endeavors that any single individual could reliably undertake effectively. Moreover, the experience of fighting the [i]Mesektet's[/i] crew had exposed the [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] to the practical utility of Human altruism, ultimately resulting in the formulation of the first [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] warrior clades. From these clades would emerge the first widespread form of [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] cultural philosophy, known as [color=black]-.. .-. --- ...- .. -. --.[/color]  . In time, this martial philosophy would split into distinct schools of thought reflected across the different aspects of [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] life, leading to the eventual establishment of [color=black]- .... . / --. .-. . .- - . .-. / ..-. .-. . . / -... . -. . ..-. .- -.-. - .. --- -. / --- ..-. / -.-. .... .- -. - .-. -.--[/color] . 

Over decades, the [color=black]- .... . / --. .-. . .- - . .-. / ..-. .-. . . / -... . -. . ..-. .- -.-. - .. --- -. / --- ..-. / -.-. .... .- -. - .-. -.--[/color] would itself split several times, resulting in the formulation of cooperative bodies such as the [color=black]... -.-. .. --- -. ... / --- ..-. / - .... . / -- .- -.-. ..- .-.. .- - .[/color] and the [color=black]...- . .-.. .-.. . .. - -.--[/color]  .

Modern-day Chantry exists within the confines of a limited number of sprawling, subterranean [color=black].- .-.. .-.. --- -.-- / .-. . . ..-. ...[/color] with populations in the hundreds of thousands, and attendant [color=black]..-. .-. .. -. --. . / .-. . . ..-. ...[/color] covering and surrounding them with populations in the millions. Specific reefs and fringe reefs are usually communally controlled by different cooperative bodies either vying for or exploiting control of industrial printing capabilities and refineries for raw elemental fuel or to establish rapport and to proselytize with third-parties wishing to make use of them.[/hider][hider=Sentient Chantry Natives Morphological Profile]The planet Chantry is a rogue celestial body with 88% Earth gravity, no parent star, no volcanic activity to speak of, no oceans, an atmosphere with >98% composition of supercooled and inert Nitrogen, and little in the way of exposure to cosmic radiation. Completely dark and with no conventional energy gradients to speak of, in the unlikely circumstances that resulted in the emergence of life it was uniquely alien in nature.

Due to the planet being irregularly bombarded by signals from a compact celestial radio source and the abundance of high-purity quartz upon Chantry's surface, when simple biomolecular life first occurred it was Silicon-based and utilized simple piezoelectrical principles to convert radio-waves into mechanical and chemical energy for metabolic functions. Over the eons, these simple lifeforms would diverge and evolve into a complex ecosystem of hybrid Silicon and Carbon based organisms which harvest sound to produce low amounts of bioelectrical and biochemical energy, and which otherwise subsist by feeding or harvesting minerals and materials from the terrain. Life on Chantry is centralized around several niche reef-tending species that till and alter the terrain of the planet, creating high biodiversity zones. 

The [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] are one of these reef-tending species. Their main body is a bulbous core somewhat wider than the Human torso, with a single orifice used for ingestion. From this core extends four long, prehensile appendages across the body's tetrahedral axis which act as hydraulic muscular chambers, each one tipped with ridges of calloused dermis and a spicule that give ways to the interior, fluid-filled hollow of each appendage. Contained in the hollow of each appendage are a series of muscles and silicon fibers woven into spine-like filaments that can extend from each appendage, each one laced with small high-traction barbs. These hairlike protrusions serve as dexterous manipulators good for digging through loose particulates and probing into narrow spots. [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] ambulate on these four limbs, and most individual specimens are capable of balancing and moving on two or all four limbs. Stretched between each limb is a membrane with a band of muscle running down the middle, allowing for the membrane to extend and retract away from the main body. These membranes act as tympanic tissues with complex clusters of piezoelectrical structures that convert acoustic waves within a certain range of frequencies into electrical and chemical energy before redistributing it across the rest of the body. When these membranes are all extended, they form a concave, hollow space between the extended limbs and the core body, forming an optimal channel for acoustic reception. Depending on personal age, [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] will range between the size of a closed Human fist and growing to be as large as three meters in diameter at three centuries in age.

[color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] do not breath, are completely blind, and have no olfactory sense. They do not have a true sense of hearing akin to what Humanoid species are accustomed to, but are highly sensitive to vibrations, tremors, and atmospheric shockwaves. This sense is so refined, that a [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] can 'hear' a conversation carried out between individuals who are behind windows, walls, below them through a floor, or above them through a ceiling (depending on density). Individuals lack vocal cords and do not speak, and communicate via whip-lash like, patterned motions with their manipulators often described as a form of dance, or else through direct physical contact between individuals and their manipulators.

The most prominent element in the [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] physiology is Silicon. Carbon is the third most prominent. [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] do not qualify as true Silicon-based lifeforms categorically due to having a hybrid morphology exploiting both Silicon and Carbon, but it would be misleading to label them as Carbon-based - illustrating their novel classification as a novel, Hybrid-Basis species. This odd biological profile has been borne out from the first days when simple molecular life first emerged upon Chantry, which were wholly Silicon based due in part to the proliferation of high-purity Quartz upon Chantry's surface.

The outer [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] dermis is primarily comprised of a durable and flexible bionmineralized Silicon fiber. This dermis is both surprisingly resilient and tolerant of a wide range of atmospheric conditions, in spite of also possessing remarkable durability. In practical layman's terms, it has often been described as 'if tortoise shells were like normal skin.' 

The preferred temperature range for [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] is between -110° and -50° Celsius (their 'room temperature' is -80°). Due to the robust thermal tolerance of Silicon they have a theoretical upper livable temperature range between -130° and 30° Celsius. As temperature rises, [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] will slow down and instinctively enter first a state of torpor, then a period of hibernation before eventually falling utterly comatose. During these states, [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] biological processes grind to a halt in an effort by the body to prevent the build-up of insoluble metabolic toxins due to drastic changes in temperature rendering increasingly impure reaction products of their organic chemistry. With training and sufficient focus, a [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] can defer loss of consciousness at 20° (described as being akin to resisting the impulse to fall asleep when exhausted), but they will begin to die of chemical toxicity and massive organ failure within two hours on average. If a [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] enters a comatose state, returning them to their preferred livable range will eventually revive them. Depending on how much time was spent outside their livable range in a comatose state and the build-up of toxic insolubles in the body, a [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] may suffer from 'Exile Syndrome' and slowly die due to gradual organ failure regardless. 

[color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] originate from a planet with an atmosphere similar in density to Old Earth's, comprised largely of cool elemental Nitrogen. Their Silicon-based morphology affords them a greater tolerance for pressure gradients and G-force and they are even capable of surviving for limited spans of time in hard vacuum (they will 'starve' to death from the absence of acoustic stimuli within two hours, long before the conditions of vacuum actually kill them). Likewise, they have a remarkable tolerance for acidic and basic chemical exposure. They can be safely submerged for short periods of time in hydrochloric acid as long as it is not ingested, though it will begin to erode through their dermis after several minutes. [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] possess a similar tolerance for ionizing radiation as Humans, but suffer acute structural faults in their body as a result rather than the occurrence of chronic deterioration. Harmful doses of ionizing radiation are known to cause prominent shifts in coloration and hue in [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] ' Silicon-rich bodies, occasionally even producing low levels of phosphorescence, and sufficient cross-section exposure of a given body part or organ will cause it to grow brittle and crack apart like plaster.

[color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] do not possess a conventional XNA-patterned genetic template, storing physiological and nervous information in Silicate structures often compared to circuitry. While this affords them extreme resilience to conventional diseases and viruses, the process by which information is permanently transcribed and stored within their tissues is much slower than with Humans. Significant structural damage, particularly due to Ionizing radiation, can severely impact an individual's memory and sense of self as a result. [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] are generally also characterized for having relatively idiosyncratic short-term memory. On average, individuals without training or experience can only retain memory of five to six discrete aspects of information at a time, and require half an hour or longer for ingrained information to transition to long-term memory. When placed under pressure and time constraints, this can lead to [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] forgetting important information.

[color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] have no known natural upper life span and do not suffer from traditional hereditary illness with the passage of time, and additionally never stop growing in size. However, beyond three centuries in age, [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] begin to grow too large for their own physiology to support, resulting in gradual deterioration and death due to malnutrition and eventual organ failure. Hypothetically an individual can be kept alive on life support indefinitely, but the degree and extent of invasive methods necessary to do so would be galling to the extreme.

[color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] do not reproduce sexually, but instead 'bud' every few years, excreting a complex neonascent cluster of materials encased in a shell of mineral quartz when they reach physical maturity, usually around 75 Terran years of age. These buds are known to hatch and then opportunistically seek out and cannibalize other buds before then entering a state of chrysalis and developing into a physiologically distinct [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color]. Buds that cannot cannibalize another one effectively develop to become clones of the parent individual.

Due to numerous factors across their evolutionary history, [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] are either devoid of or possess weakly intrinsic altruistic instincts. Natural resource competition on the individual level and the aggressive nature of reproduction divorced from reliance on a partner have, over the span of millions of years, weeded the instinct out of the species' behavioral profile. [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] are capable of exhibiting altruistic behavior as a rationalized strategy but suffer from a severe disinclination to do so - individuals typically require extensive training and practice to rationally accept altruistic modes of thought and to work together reliable. Contrary to expectation, a lack of altruism does not render the species more aggressive on the individual level, as individuals are not inherently malign in disposition. It does, however, render them far more standoffish, brusque, and apathetic as to the circumstances of others. This has given rise to the stereotypical [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] mode of translated speech, which is characterized as being curt, terse, suspicious, and defensive.[/hider][hider=Government: Charitable Distributive Commune]The planet of Chantry has no central or controlling government due to the inherently temperamental behavior of its natives. The [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] as a whole distrust each other on an individual level and barely tolerate each others' existence. The closest thing to a governing body that exists is the so-called [color=black]--. .-. . .- - . .-. / ..-. .-. . . / -... . -. . ..-. .- -.-. - .. --- -. / --- ..-. / -.-. .... .- -. - .-. -.--[/color], a loosely aligned but large clade of influential figures who advocate the adoption of altruistic thoughtform and who charitably distribute resources, technology, land, expertise, and public works to the remaining native population such as will accept such charity. There is very little contact between individuals relative to Human forms of governance, and what bureaucracy exists is highly informal, being rooted more in tradition than in regulation. There exists no true standing army, merely a militia of martially-inclined figures who train to fight and who are often compensated or otherwise motivated on the personal level by nonstandardized contracts. Most of the native population continue to live as primitives in undeveloped, rural regions.[/hider][hider=Demographics & Population][color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] Demographics are inordinately diverse to the point of the number of independent nation-states upon Chantry being undocumented in number. In undeveloped rural regions of the world, entire primitive civilizations are speculated to exist, either having rejected or remaining unaware of the convenience of modern technology. Travel by individuals between these states is unregulated beyond the unspoken threat of retaliation for trespass. Alongside these countless, ununified cultures exist nearly as many religions and traditions - all complicated by the fact that no reliable census is kept by the Greater Free Benefaction.

The native population of Chantry numbers a speculative four billion. The number of individuals with modern standards of living and advanced technological amenities likely only numbers in the hundreds of millions.

No Human lifesigns have been detected on Chantry. The entire crew of the [i]Mesektet[/i] is considered lost.[/hider][hider=Culture & Society]Traditionally, [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] dwell in massive, partially subterranean reefs that are dug and arranged on an individual basis. Due to their native distrust of each other, individuals live alone and, by preference, as far away from each other as possible while staking out large territorial tracts to themselves. The emergence of alloy reefs has changed this trend however, as individuals desiring access and use of industrial printing facilities now often live in dormitories in relatively close proximity with each other. This in turn has given rise to a relatively primitive trade and barter economy, with artisans and technicians of different leanings dedicating themselves to their particular callings to procure the privilege to make use of printing mechanisms or else for raw materials necessary for smaller-scaled personal printers. There exists no widely accepted fiat currency or form of legal tender, trade occurs almost wholly on the individual level and via inscribed contracts enforced either by warrior clades more reliably by the cooperatives controlling the printing facilities themselves. The cooperatives tallying and tracking credi for hours of use with their printing facilities between individuals is the closet the [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] come to conventional modern economic practices.

By Human standards, most individual [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] would be considered eccentric in temperament. Left to their own devices they focus on personal interests or subsistence, and even within the span of alloy reefs they trend towards solitary rather than confrontational, making each individual something of an island of insular culture all their own. 

Having become more popularized, divergent sects of [color=black]-... . -. . ..-. .- -.-. - .. --- -.[/color] and [color=black]-.. .-. --- ...- .. -. --.[/color] philosophy have gained enough amateur practitioners that attempts at convergent behavior are becoming frequent, resulting in informal hobbyist clades and the occasional conspiratorial cult. These are typically prone to internal strife but serve as gateway clades to the larger more formalized warrior and religious clades, if not [color=black]- .... . / --. .-. . .- - . .-. / ..-. .-. . . / -... . -. . ..-. .- -.-. - .. --- -. / --- ..-. / -.-. .... .- -. - .-. -.--[/color] itself.

Religious clades upon Chantry are commonplace, and the [color=black]... -.-. .. --- -. ... / --- ..-. / - .... . / -- .- -.-. ..- .-.. .- - .[/color] in particular is one of the few philosophical bodies with inroads into the primitive, rural regions of Chantry due to their worship of the R3.D12 Anomaly, which has been informally worshipped for tens of thousands of years in Chantryst culture even before the emergence of [color=black]-... . -. . ..-. .- -.-. - .. --- -.[/color].[/hider]
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[hider=Technology]Most of the technology used by the Chantrysts falls into two categories: Letona and Chantry Format, so-named in unspoken acknowledgement for the Human designation of Chantry. As all of the technology on Chantry was developed and designed using Human knowledge taken from study of the [i]Mesektet[/i] and its databases, the vast majority of all technology on Chantry is Letona Formatted, using conventional operational and engineering principles as utilized throughout Human space. Letona Format technology is distinct from pre-collapse Human hardware only in the occasional improvement or update that have been made to their designs using nonstandard methodology.

Chantry Format technology is an entirely different beast, made entirely from scratch almost for the sole purpose of proving that it could be done. Chantry Format devices include extensive biotechnical components and many piezoelectrical aspects, almost in imitation of [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] physiology. Intentionally, Chantry Format technology is designed to be compatible with Letona Format technology, but usually requires format mediation by specialized interface mechanisms and devices that translate between the different forms of programming and information storage formats. Tellingly, Letona Format technology uses binary machine language and executes base ten mathematical computation by default, whereas Chantry Format technology uses balanced ternary machine language and executes base four mathematical computation by default.

As the [i]Meseket[/i] was a science vessel, most of the technology on Chantry reflects that original purpose. An immense number of Letona Format laboratory equipment has been mass produced and repurposed as common reefware dormitory appliances. Bulky and sometimes ineffective laboratory equipment repurposed for menial tasks and labor, often unsuited for more practical labor, are slowly but surely finding themselves replaced by Chantry Format domestic alternatives.

The [i]Mesektet[/i] originally had onboard multiple industrial grade printing manifolds, capable of producing or replicating complex electronics and mechanical components. Also onboard were a series of specialized arc furnaces and stability-matrices for the isolation and safe processing, refinement, and storage of raw elemental fuel used by the printers for raw materials. One of the most important technological breakthroughs for the [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] was simply the discovery of how to replicate the original printers and associated mechanisms, and thus printing itself as a precept has an almost romanticized cultural significance. The use of small domestic-grade printers is almost omnipresent amongst alloy reef populations.

Likewise, since the [i]Mesektet[/i] was not a military vessel, [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] military hardware and weaponry is somewhat roundabout and inefficient in design where they are not stolen wholesale from the parameters of the few self-defense weapons present aboard the vessel. By prevalence, single-shot explosive munitions and ordinance are by far the most common and popular weapons employed on Chantry due to the uncomplicated and straightforward chemical and mechanical aspects of their design. Pneumatic and Hydraulic melee weapons are more commonplace than other designs upon Chantry, often valued more for their reliability and quietly precise lethality in comparison. 

In terms of shipboard weaponry, repurposed particle-accelerator technology and high-powered communications lasers have been reconfigured, improved, and redesigned to suit the preferences of the warrior clades who originally designed them. [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] warships have more in common with intelligence satellites than they do with the battleships and carriers favored by Humanity, and are often distinguished by their characteristic fore-mounted rectenna dishes which pull triple-duty as weapons, sensors, and signaling equipment. Consequentially, [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] warships are exceedingly specialized for signal-oriented and electronic warfare paradigms and are noted for being difficult to effectively precisely locate or target, as well as for their expansive capabilities to cripple the functionality of other ships and to interfere with target systems at extreme ranges.

The [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] have broken little ground into the foray of weapons of mass destructive. Knowledge of such instruments of war are relegated to only a comparatively small handful of individuals who have dismissed them as either meaningless or have failed to grasp the full ramifications of such weapons. As such, the [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] possess no nuclear weapons, nor any significant explosive ordinance with a yield of more than five megatons. The only weapon of mass destruction the [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] possess was developed by accident and is rarely employed as such in the form of the hallmark [color=black].- ... - .-. .- .-.. / .-.. .- -. -.-. .[/color] array. The array, derived from Human particle accelerator and signal technology, is restricted to a limited number of flagships and is mounted within the rectenna dish. It is typically employed for FTL signaling, scanning, and communications purposes. When sufficiently pressed, it may also be used as a weapon, capable of generating a high-energy FTL wavefront that aggregates charged particles in a 'crown' of supercharged plasma that then begins to undergo a stellar fusion reaction that grows in size and power the further its containment beam travels until impact. The weapon is limited in range by sensor accuracy and beam diffusion to approximately 12 AU, beyond which the containment beam either fails, terminating the FTL wavefront or else deviates too significantly to reliable hit its target. The upper threshold of damage the [color=black].- ... - .-. .- .-.. / .-.. .- -. -.-. .[/color] is capable of inflicting cannot be understated, perhaps being limited only by the mercy of weapons control and their decision to deliberately restrain the upper boundaries of the FTL wavefront.[/hider][hider=Military Overview]The [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] possess a disorganized armada of under two-hundred vessels, operated in turn by the separate factions of the [color=black]-.. .-. --- ...- .. -. --.[/color] warrior clades, the [color=black]... -.-. .. --- -. ... / --- ..-. / - .... . / -- .- -.-. ..- .-.. .- - .[/color] religious sect, the [color=black]...- . .-.. .-.. . .. - -.--[/color] religious [i]cult[/i], and a smattering of privately operated vessels. On average, [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] ships are smaller than the nearest Human equivalent, with few vessels amongst their number actually possessing offensive weaponry. There are no standardized ship templates amongst the [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] fleets, nearly all of them being different sizes with different hull configurations, crew complements, technical specifications and roles.

The most common shared feature of [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] ships is that they resemble oddly roughshod communications satellites, possessing large and prominent fore-mounted signal rectenna that usually comprise upwards of 30% of each craft's entire mass. These dishes typically possess signaling, communication, sensor, weapons, and even shielding functionality all in one, making them powerful and versatile. The obvious drawback is that these fore-mounted dishes are often the most frequently and easily damaged segment of each vessel, and when destroyed completely cripple each craft. [color=black].- .-.. .-.. .. -. . .- - .[/color] militia vessels are most dangerous when confronted head-on or within the expansive cone of their fore-mounted rectenna, but they are typically defenseless from all other angles.

Space ventures and craft in the Iugulum system have developed mainly in accordance with the agendas of the particular groups who have designed them. The [color=black]-.. .-. --- ...- .. -. --.[/color] warrior clades possess a large number of warrior transports that also serve as space and atmosphere capable close-support gunships or artillery for the purposes of enforcing the will of the other factions, aggressive peacekeeping, or simply fighting for its own sake. The [color=black]... -.-. .. --- -. ... / --- ..-. / - .... . / -- .- -.-. ..- .-.. .- - .[/color] possess a smaller but still sizable fleet of comparatively massive and elegantly designed vessels with sophisticated analysis and communications systems used to aggressively hijack remote communications systems for the purposes of proselytizing. The [color=black]...- . .-.. .-.. . .. - -.--[/color] possess the smallest fleet of organized vessels, which mainly consists of single-crew ships with a design emphasis on destructive weapons capabilities and suicide tactics. Finally, a sizable number of independently operated craft exist with no governing design principles, where in some cases even the standard fore-mounted rectenna dish may be entirely absent.[/hider][/hider]