Darkspleen

Divinus: The God RP, Mk. III. Finished in Record Time™!

Phystene quickly made her way to the crystal that would take her to her own sphere after bidding Kalmar farewell. Phystene wasn’t the only deity who had tarried so long, but those left also seemed ready to be on there way. She wasn’t particularly interested in speaking to them at this point in time anyways. She had work to do.

Upon touching the crystal she was taken to an empty void. It was chilling, not in the sense of temperature, but in how a space could be so utterly devoid of anything at all. There was not even a single particle of gas. Correcting this was to be Phystene’s first task.

She held her hand out in front of her, palm up, as she gathered power from deep within. Once she had gathered enough, she forced it to coalesce on her palm forming a small seed. She gazed at the seed for a moment before allowing a smile to spread across her face. “You,” She said to the said, “Shall be my first child. As such you shall be special. You shall be this universe’s first tree. And I shall grant you the strength you need to grow large. Large enough to rival even a world. Yes… You shall be the World Tree.”

She held the seed close for a moment for this would be the one time she could embrace it so, before casting it out into the void before her. She then closed her eyes and focused on pulling upon the power the Architect had granted her. She drew deeply upon this power and sent it to the World Tree. Seconds turned into minutes, which turned into hours. Soon she lost track of all. It mattered not, all that mattered was nourishing her child.

After what had felt like an eternity she ceased nourishing the World Tree. She could have truly spent an eternity empowering it, yet she had more to do. She opened her eyes to gaze upon what the World Tree had become and was not left disappointed. True to its name, the World Tree had grown to rival a small world in size. Its roots formed a structure approximating ground, from which other plants had already taken root in. The World Tree’s trunk equaled its roots, seeming to go upwards forever. Phystene could sense that the World Tree’s top most branches brushed against Asceal’s domain, not quite breaching into the Light Goddess’s sphere, but coming so close that those branches themselves were being altered by the foreign sphere. Phystene’s eyes widened as she realized that the leaves of those top most branches were, themselves, emitting light. “How amazing” Phystene said, “you are my child.”

And it was at this point that Phystene came to realize just how much time had come to pass. Asceal and Aelius had already finished their first projects. And…. of course someone had decided to throw a big rock at it. That matter was something that Phystene figured Asceal would be able to deal with on her own.

Another rock, thrown by some other deity presumable, crashed into Galbar just as Phystene turned her attention towards it. She could only shake her head as she asked “What is with my peers and throwing giant rocks?” She gazed at the World Tree and asked “Any thoughts?”

If it had any, the World Tree chose not to share them. Phystene stared at the World Tree for a moment longer before returning her attention back to Galbar. The tsunamis caused by the asteroid was going to be an annoyance, but at least its impact had created an archipelago.

Phystene observed the new archipelago and, once she had determined it was safe from further tsunami and other extreme weather, departed the World Tree and headed for Galbar. Once on Galbar she went to the largest of the islands and looked around. Pleased with its characteristics, she gathered some of her power and used to as a spark to bring life to the island. Trees and other plants that would form a lush jungle. Giant scaled and feathered creatures that would inhabit the land. She continued pouring energy into this new ecosystem until it had grown into maturity before slowly walking around in it. She enjoyed the feel of dirt under her feet and the sensation of leaves against her skin. The sounds of the new wildlife creating a pleasant melody. After a few hours of walking she headed towards the middle of the island, where she had one more present for its inhabitants.

She gathered power from deep within, deeper than she had ever before, and called out to the World Tree. It heard her calls and immediately answered. One of the World Tree’s branches reached towards Phystene and, with her aid, breached the barrier to Galbar. The breach occurred under the soil before Phystene, thus as the branch continued to grow it appeared as if it were simply a tree growing out of the ground. A very large tree. Soon the branch of the World Tree had become the largest “tree” on the island, but Phystene wasn’t done yet. She poured more power into the branch, granting it characteristics unique to this particular part of the World Tree. “Use this to help your siblings grow.”

Summary

Phystene makes a big ass tree in her sphere and calls it the World Tree.

She comes to the conclusion that her peers are really weird and should stop throwing giant rocks around.

Phystene then travels to the new archipelago formed by the asteroid impact and creates a large ecosystem on the archipelago. She also creates a monument on the island called the Branch of the World Tree, which has an aura of roughly ten miles that increases fertility of all living things within, as well as creates sap that has an increased fertility bonus and can even restore fertility that has been completely lost.

Starting Points: 5 MP and 20 FP
Expenditures:
World Tree - 12 FP
Large ecosystem - 3 FP
Branch of the World Tree Monument - 3 MP
Ending Points: 2 MP and 5 FP

(3 MP towards Fertility)
(1 MP {or 2 FP depending on how you want to count it} towards Animals)

Divinus: The God RP, Mk. III. Finished in Record Time™!

To say there had been nothing would be a blatant misrepresentation of reality. The entity had existed for hundreds of millions of years. It had felt, had acquired knowledge, during those megaannum it had existed, even as it lay in a state similar to coma for a living being. Even so it had been aware of what was occurring in the world. It felt as each flower bloomed, as each blade of grass gave its life to nourish an animal, as each tree was felled by the chopping of an axe. It felt as the plantlife, that which had caused her existence, began to dwindle. As the greed of a few led the world down a path of death and destruction. And through all of this the entity could do nothing except exist.

And then the entity awoke.

For the first time the entity had a coherent thought. It was a thought of pain and terror as it was torn away from all it had known and pulled towards a being whose power the entity could not even begin to comprehend.

And just as the entity had suddenly acquired consciousness, so too had it acquired form. It looked down, for now it had eyes, to gaze at a hand so very reminiscent of the greedy creatures from her origin point. Why had she, the entity realized it was female in both mentality and form, been given the appearance of those who had caused her so much pain? Even as the question had formed in her mind she had found the answer: because at one time they had lived alongside nature, loved it just as she had loved them. It was only after hundreds of thousands of years that they had allowed themselves to become tainted in the beings of greed that was even now destroying their world.

And just as she had acquired her form from the greedy creatures, so too had she acquired her name from them. Phystene. That was what the greedy creatures had whispered with reverence before they had become greedy. Mother of Plants.

Phystene listened to the Architect as she slowly looked at those who had also been gathered. She observed them with a sense of curiosity she had never before had. They were so odd… yet felt so familiar. Some of the other… gods, yes that was what they were, panicked. Others began conversations with each other. One even threw a rock at the Architect in a, in Phystene’s opinion, foolish fit of rage. And through all this Phystene felt only calm.

Phystene felt herself naturally drawn towards some of the gods, those whose duties most aligned with her’s or were most likely to be beneficial to the plants she would spread throughout this new world. But of all these gods and goddesses, Phystene was drawn most strongly towards the goddess Asceal, who would inevitably nourish the majority of Phystene’s plants. Without even being fully aware of it, Phystene began to saunter towards Asceal.

Summary

Phystene sort of existed.
Then Phystene actually existed.

Divinus: The God RP, Mk. III. Finished in Record Time™!

Soon~

Divinus: The God RP, Mk. III. Finished in Record Time™!

Going to gun for animals with an intent to get the nature cluster.

Divinus: The Divine RP, Mk. III

Mother of Plants

Phystene

The World Tree - Sphere of Plants

The Sphere of Plants is made up of a tree so massive it defies mortal comprehension, so massive that to call it anything other than the World Tree would do it a disservice. The World Tree’s roots form the ground, its upper branches and leaves the sky of the Sphere of Plants. The region closest to the World Tree’s trunk is made up of rainforests and jungles. As the distance to the World Tree grows greater, so too does the variety in types of forests. Tropical forest give way to boreal and temperate forests, which eventually give way to savannahs and grasslands.

Due to its nature, the Sphere of Plants possesses weak borders and the regions near its edges are easily influenced by nearby spheres. Altered by Asceal’s Lustrous Garden, the World Tree’s top most leaves emit the light as if they were stars themselves, bathing the whole sphere in a soft, nourishing light. Mangroves form endless mazes in the regions of the sphere close to Eurysthenes’ Infinite Maze. The World Tree's roots extend all the way into the World Spring from which it absorbs water. This water helps nourishes the World Tree and is also deposited into the Sphere of Plant's mangrove as well as leaks out of the World Tree's branches and leaves, thus creating rain in the Sphere of Plants. The World Tree's roots, in turn, releases sap into the World Spring which the spring can convert into more water.

The World Tree is the first plant. It is the progenitor and source of all plant life on Galbar. When new plant life is formed the World Tree blesses it with some of its energy, causing it to grow much faster and more wildly than the plant otherwise would. Symbols and ruins of civilization are quickly, comparatively speaking, overtaking by nature due to this fact. In places on Galbar where the World Tree's influence is greatest plants grow larger than normal and are more nourishing to the animals that consume them, allowing the animals to grow larger than they otherwise would.

The Sphere of Plants would have an entropic nature due to the nature of its borders if it wasn’t for the influence of the World Tree, which ensures that all within the sphere remains properly ordered.

Location of Sphere: The Sphere of Plants is an upper sphere located relatively close to Galbar.

Portfolio

Plants: Where Phystene wills it forests grow. In her footsteps flowers bloom. Plants alter the world to fit her vision of beauty. In a sense plants help bring order to the world, as the roots of trees help anchor the ground, preventing some of the erosion caused by rain. Yet at the same time they require the nurturing of rain, and sometimes destructiveness of it, as well as the fires of destruction, to nourish the ground and allow the creation of new life. Wherever there is soil, light, and water so too will Phystene’s children grow. When she desires it plants grow, and should Phystene decide it necessary they wither and die. She has the power to change the form and function of any plant and can create entirely no forms of plantlife.

Persona

Chaotic good in nature, Phystene is a benevolent being who seeks to spread life and the beauty it brings to every corner of Galbar. Phystene is a creative being, always feeling the need to create and alter, never quite happy with her creations and seeking some sort of perfection while fully understanding that to be an impossible goal. For her the journey and destination are of equal importance as is the process of creating and the final product. Phystene is a gentle being and wishes harm and suffering on no one. Despite this she understands that death, and even pain, are a part of life.

She possesses a serene nature and is slow to anger. She has a strong dislike of advanced civilization, though is happy enough to ignore it so long as it doesn’t intrude on her forests. To her civilization represents greed and, while she is fine with a mortal cutting down a tree for firewood or to build a shelter, large scale logging and the like are things that she will not stand for. Perhaps the one other thing that she hates more, perhaps the only thing that she truly hates, is metal of any form.

Phystene doesn’t require or expect mortals to worship. Despite this she has a habit of coming to the aid of mortals in need in her forests. She feels that the forests of the world exist for the benefit of all life, thus all are welcome to its bounty so long as they do not take out of greed or malice. She welcomes those who are willing to abandon advanced civilization for a feral or tribal life with open arms. Some view her as being an entropic or capricious goddess as she doesn’t provide aid equally, but those who truly understand her nature knows that she couldn’t possibly aid every living thing in need at all times.

Appearance/Form

Musical Theme

Dark Matters (Open)

Imperial Palace, Floyn Thal System, Empire of Astrana

Sebastian plodded up to the massive set of double doors that led to the throne room, looking up at the pair of guards who towered over him, but outweighed him only due to their heavy armor. The guards silently opened the door for Sebastian, performing the action while keeping their gazes fixed to the front. They had seen Sebastian more than enough to question whether or not he should be allowed in. At one time they had feared him, an irrational emotion given their heavy armor, but now they viewed him with either fondness or indifference.

Sebastian plodded into the throne room without giving the guards another look, his gaze focused on the three figures that occupied the room. The three beings he loved most in the world. There was father, seated atop his throne, quiet and thoughtful as ever. Lucretia was currently speaking. Despite her quiet words he could sense and undertone of frustration as she spoke, so different from all the times she had let him nap on her bed. Henry was always quick to slip Sebastian a piece of jerky or other treat, but at the moment his focus was turned away from Sebastian. He cut off Lucretia, his voice becoming louder and more angry as he and his sister began to argue.

Sebastian didn’t like it when Henry and Lucretia fought. There was only one thing he could do to stop them. He took a deep breath before letting out a fierce roar.

***** ***** *****

All eyes turned towards Sebastian as he let out a roar, the throne room becoming quiet. They all knew that they had nothing to fear from the white tiger, but centuries old instincts had them freezing and going quiet regardless. After a moment the emperor of Astrana let out a soft chuckle. “Looks like Sebastian didn’t like hearing you two argue.”

“He never does” Lucretia agreed. The imperial family had long had an informal rule that, should Sebastian let out a roar, they were to cease arguing immediately. Sebastian was both a mascot and pet of the imperial family, as had all Sebastians before him had. Ever since the Martians had gifted the emperor a white tiger, centuries ago, the family had maintained one as a pet, naming each one Sebastian after the original Sebastian, regardless of whether they were male or female.

Henry let out a frustrated sigh, earning him a glare from the emperor. “So what are we going to do about that Ressie offensive? Should I tell the Admiralty to send more warships?”

The emperor thought for a moment before saying “I find myself agreeing with your sister on this. We will not send additional forces to aid the Resurrectionists.” After a moment, perhaps feeling that he needed to give Henry something, he added “But we will continue our planned naval exercises to the galactic south. In fact… let’s expand it a bit and see if we can draw some of the Coalition’s attention away from the Resurrection for a bit.” He gave a gesture of dismissal as he said “Henry, you can oversee these orders.”

Dark Matters (Open)

A Spleen x Iso production

Xakolant System - Local Command Station

Under the careful guidance of Commodore Sinnett, the small Astranan flotilla settled into its assigned docking bays. The ships had barely settled into place before a stream of marines disembarked to partake in the oldest marine tradition of all time, that of liberty.

Having been asked by the prince what exactly liberty entailed, Sinnett had simply shrugged and said “Getting drunk and engaging with the local women. But mostly just getting drunk.”

A small contingent of Resurrectionist soldiers flanking a diminutive man in a navy uniform made their way to through the veritable tide of Astranan sailors on their way to drink away their sorrows until they reached Sinnett and his charge. The navy man greeted the foreign Commodore with a crisp salute, “Lord Commodore Sinnett and company I presume? I’ve been instructed to shuttle you to the primary command post in this system.”

“Very good, very good.” Sinnett answered. “Is there anything we should be made aware of before meeting with your commanding officer?”

The man beckoned for them to walk while they spoke before he replied, “Regarding that, it seems the third fleet arrived for reinforcement just after you. On it was the acting High Admiral, one Olivia Lahti, she’s decided to attend the meeting alongside the systems nominal commanding officer Rear Admiral Thomas Hall. I hope this isn’t an unwelcome surprise, I was not made aware of it until a moment ago.”

“If anything its most welcome” Sinnett said, letting a small smile appear on his face.

“Acting High Admiral?” Isaac echoed, speaking up for the first time. “Is that not a permanent position in your navy?”

“It is, however the current High Admiral on the books was demoted in absentia after the unfortunate setback two years ago. It is custom not to formally strip an individual of rank unless it can be done in person, and as the former High Admiral remains cut off from support he has yet to be formally relieved. Ah, here we are.” The man gestured at a door which lead to a small private dock where a conventional transport shuttle sat. Its pilots had been lounging against it and straightened up quickly at the entrance of their superior, their contrite salutes evidence enough they’d not meant to get caught.

“I see” Isaac said in a tone that made it abundantly clear that he actually didn’t. He stepped towards the transport, but stopped as Sinnett placed a restraining hand on his shoulder. Isaac gave the commodore a questioning look before realizing that he had been delayed so two of his four personal guards could check the interior. A few moments later one of the guards gave Sinnett a quiet nod, after which he removed his hand from Isaac’s shoulder. Isaac waiting a moment before taking first one step towards the transport and then entering.

“Two years is a long time to remain cut off from supply” Sinnett commented as if the event with Isaac and his guards had never taken place. “Are your lines really stretched that thin?”

Their escort shook his head, “No. The former High Admiral permitted the ninth fleet to be trapped in a pocket during a surprise Scorpine counter offensive. The Scorpine have refrained from assaulting the pocket, preferring to starve it out, and so we’ve focused on consolidating our gains so our eventual offensive can end the war in one go. At least, that is my understanding. You’ll have to forgive me Lord Commodore, I’m not terribly involved in the decision making of the admiralty or War Council.”

“Of course.” Sinnett said as he himself stepped into the transport. “I thank you for your candor in this subject.” He took a seat next to where Isaac was and belted himself in. “I must say that it is quite an honor to have the acting High Admiral meet with the commander of a mere flotilla.” He glanced at Isaac before adding “Or is it someone else she is hoping to speak with?”

As the transports ramp retracted and doors closed the navy man admitted, “I couldn’t say. It might just be auspicious timing, what with the third fleet returning around your arrival.”

“I suppose so” Sinnett said after a moment.

The shuttle took off with little fanfare, only a slight vibration providing evidence of the vessels enormous acceleration. The flight to the command post was brief and before those aboard knew it the shuttle had landed in a wide hanger. The Resurrectionist guards and their leader departed first, the last guard to step off beckoning for the Astranans to follow.

The delegation waiting for them this time was a great deal more remarkable. At their head Olivia Lahti struck a notable presence, her hair as white as her uniform and her cybernetic eyes taking tracking those leaving the shuttle with unsettling focus. Beside her an affable looking man with a bushy brown beard and a good fewer bars on his uniform smiled widely, his nameplate revealing him as Thomas Hall.

“Lady Admiral Lahti I presume” Sinnett said after rendering a salute. It wasn’t exactly required that he salute an officer from another country, but it was good decorum. “May I introduce you to His Highness Prince Isaac?” He gestured towards the prince who rendered a slight bow.

Olivia returned Sinnetts salute and extended a hand to the prince, “Prince Isaac, Lord Commodore Sinnett, a pleasure to receive you.”

“The pleasure is mine” Isaac said as he eagerly shook Olivia’s hand. “Lady Lahti-” A cough from Sinnett had Isaac quickly rephrasing “Lady Admiral Lahti I hope you will see fit to share some of your wisdom with me.” Sinnett rolled his eyes but refrained from commenting.

Olivia gave the Prince a smile and stepped back, “Now then, there’s a meeting room just off the hanger here. I’ll be here to answer any questions, and perhaps ask some myself, but it is the Rear Admiral here that’s been preparing for this meeting and who’ll be largely leading it.”

Thomas Hall stepped up and saluted Sinnett before grinning widely, “Indeed! Come Lord Commodore, we have much to discuss!”

“Of course” Sinnett returned the salute. “Of course.” He and the rest of the Astranans followed Hall into the meeting room before he asked “So what is our first piece of business today?”

Hall gestured for Sinnett and the Prince to seat themselves in few chairs set around a large oaken table before he took his own spot and replied, “Well before we can plan on how best to integrate your force into the greater war effort we’ll need to know if you’ve received any overriding orders regarding your rules of engagement. Are there any specific actions you’ll find yourself unable to participate in, for example?”

“In short” Sinnett said as he took a seat, “I’ve been told to not fuck with any Coalition troops” The sudden foul language had Isaac flinching. “That word was His Imperial Majesty’s, not mine, by the way. And to act with honor. So no attacking hospitals or non combatant civilians.”

Hall and Olivia shared a look before Hall nodded, “That’s uh, more than acceptable. Most of the actions at the front are military in nature, though of course there are insurgent elements mixed in with the Scorpine forces. I trust that won’t be an issue?”

“We’ll have no trouble engaging any combatants” Sinnett answered. “And while we will try to limit the amount of civilian casualties we cause, we are going into this with the understanding that there will be some collateral damage.”

Hall’s smile returned, “Ah, of course. Well with that out of the way the question is what unit to attach you to, most are preparing for the upcoming offensive but I’m more than willing to leave it up to you to decide if you’d rather be the tip of the spear or its base.”

“We’re definitely hoping to get our troops some good combat experience.” Sinnett said. “We are, in part, intervening in this conflict to help ensure we have enough veterans qualified to serve as cataphracts.”

“So the tip” Isaac said with the smile of a teen who had just made a sexual pun.

“The Brilliant” Sinnett ignored Isaac’s comment, “my flagship that is, is set up in an assault configuration, so we’ve got about half the aircraft you’d normally expect. Of course that’s because we have an armored battalion, an infantry battalion, a company of Imperial guards, and a platoon of paragons.”

“Paragons?” Isaac was suddenly very focused on Sinnett, who seemed to be making a point of ignoring the prince’s one-liners.

Olivia had remained silent but pointedly raised an eyebrow at the Princes innuendo. However, at his question she said, “Special forces, if I recall correctly?”

“You do” Sinnett stated simply.

“They’re the best we have” Isaac added. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of them being deployed.”

“They are the best we’ve heard of” Sinnett corrected. “And trust me, your father has had many uses for them over the past decade.”

Hall nearly replied before Olivia put a hand on his shoulder to indicate she had more to say, “Would you prefer they be deployed alongside your forces, or with autonomy? There is a… Representative of our own nations Irregular Operations Division aboard the station at the moment, if you’d rather they be deployed with discretion she could arrange for such to be case.”

“Honestly I would prefer to keep them close at hand” Sinnett begun, “but I’ve seen some of their best work, and it always takes place long before our troops are anywhere nearby. I’ll send their CO to your spec-ops division so they can work something out.”

Olivia nodded and gestured for Hall to move on, “Right, well I’ll admit I’m reluctant to put you right in harm's way but given the scale of the fleet actions being planned I’m certain a commander of your experience will come out better than most. In that case I’ll offer to assign you to the fourth fleet, they’re being equipped to lead the charge to open the northern pocket and relieve the fifth fleet. Now as for a time frame there I’m no-”

Olivia cut him off, “It will be within the month. Understand that such is highly privileged information Lord Commodore, and while I’m providing you it with the understanding I am sharing it with the Astranan government I would prefer you personally distribute it as little as you are able.”

“Should I interpret that as a desire that I not pass this information back to Astrana?” Sinnett asked in a neutral tone.

“Not precisely.” Olivia met Sineett’s eyes, “I am asking that you pass it to as few elements within Astrana as you are able. If possible, just the one I know you are accountable to. I don’t mean to question the integrity of your government, but as of now information security procedures have limited this knowledge to the highest State and War Councils of my own government. In total and at present, this information is known to just under a hundred individuals in the galaxy. For thirty years we’ve pushed the Scorpine back slowly, methodically, I merely ask you to understand the stakes when I say this offensive is meant to end the conflict once and for all.”

Sinnett simply shrugged. “I’m not required or even obligated to report the specifics of ongoing or planned operations unless I have a reasonable belief they’ll cause harm to Astrana or the Imperial family. Is there any message you specifically want me to pipe back to my government?”

Olivia drummed her fingers against the table, “I received orders directly from the War Council to inform you of the date we intend to act. The request that you limit that informations dissemination is my own. I won’t pretend to understand the intentions of the War Council, though I imagine they wouldn’t have issued the order without meaning for it to end up in the hands of your government. Personally, I’d have rather not informed you at all and thus the request you report to as few individuals as possible. That said, even as the acting High Admiral I am forced to submit to a higher power.”

“I’ll keep that in mind while making my next report to my superiors” Sinnett said. For a moment he looked supremely tired. But his weariness disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. “There will be no operational leaks on our end.”

Olvia nodded and leaned back, Hall scratched his beard and awkwardingly picked up the conversation, confusion evident on his features, “Well then. We know where to put you and, uh, when I suppose. If you’re willing to wait the month you can coordinate with the fourth fleet from here on, is that acceptable?”

“As long as you don’t mind a battalion of rowdy soldiers on your station for a month” Sinnett agreed with a smile. “Morale is high and our men are ready to show their prowess in battle.”

Hall, as much as he kept his expression neutral, paled. With a weak smile he backpedaled, “I’m uh, sure there are actions taking place right now. High Admiral! Is there anything these gentlemen can do to further the war effort in the next month?”

Olivia openly rolled her eyes, “Yes, there is. Lord Commodore if you’re interested the battle on Hestollon II is still ongoing, and it is unlikely the Scorpine will commit another fleet there after our third fleets victory there mere days ago. A reserve fleet is currently guarding the planets space, but less than a quarter of the planet has been secured by our forces.”

Sinnett let out a short chuckle at Hall’s discomfort. “I’m not sure what good we could do in less than a month, but if you want us there that’s where we’ll go.”

Olivia smiled, “I don’t expect you to conquer a world in a month, but I can’t imagine experience dealing with Scorpine regulars wouldn’t be valuable to your soldiers. They’re a capable enemy, even if you’ll never hear our news admit it. I’d be more comfortable committing you to the front in a months time knowing you’ve had prior experience engaging the Scorpine anyhow.”

“Very good then.” Sinnett stated. “We’ll focus our efforts to reconnaissance in force and supporting your troops in combat in order to acquire as much knowledge as possible while limiting how much our fighting strength is depleted before the big operation. Is there anything else we need to discuss?” He looked at Olivia and Hall each.

Hall glanced at Olivia and she shook her head, with a shrug of his own he spoke, “Not that I can see, we’ll provide you with an attache to smooth out any disputes with the local forces but beyond that I imagine our business here is concluded.”

Dark Matters (Open)

Floyn Thal System, Empire of Astrana

“There he goes.” Lucretia whispered as she felt a slight tremor roll over the ship. She kept her gaze locked through the viewport, hoping to catch one last view of the coffin as it began its journey towards the star. There it was! She caught sight of the coffin for just an instant and then it was gone.

She ignored the hustle and bustle behind her. The sound of soldiers raising their ceremonial rifles. The call of the officer to ‘Present Arms’ and fire. The sound of the blanks discharging. The posh. The ceremony. None of it mattered to her.

“He goes to rest with our ancestors.” Her twin brother startled her as he placed his hand on her shoulder. She could hear an undercurrent of anger in his voice and couldn’t blame him. When she thought of what the Martians had done to them she couldn’t help but feel outraged as well and she had always been more calm and level headed than her brother.

“At least he can continue to watch over us” Lucretia said, trying to sooth her brother a bit. “And his light shall wash over the throne forever more.” Her brother gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze before he turned away from her, towards the pomp and ceremony.

“Your highnesses!” Lucretia let out a sigh as a man approached. She kept her gaze locked on the viewport as the man continued. “Allow me to offer you my condolences for the passing of your grandfather. May his light shine on us forever more.”

“Thank you Lord Meyers” Lucretia’s brother answered. Lucretia tuned the remainder of the conversation out, content to let her brother handle the lords and ladies that would soon come swarming. He could act as her shield this one last time.

On board the Brilliant, Xakloant System, Great Resurrection Territory

“That’s quite the setup they have here” Isaac Stuart, fourth prince of the Astranan Empire commented.

“This is the Resurrection’s forward operating base in the region” Commodore Sinnett didn’t sound especially impressed. “Those shipyards” He indicated towards a map on the bridge with the sweep of his arm, “are set up for retrofitting ships. Useful to be sure, but not exactly what I’d want at a navy base this close to the front.”

Isaac raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment further as Sinnett began giving orders that would bring his ship, an Illustrious-class escort carrier, and the four leopard-class frigates escorting it closer to the Resurrectionist facilities. The reason behind the Astranan arrival in the region was well known, to provide aid to the Resurrectionists in their ‘little’ war. Isaac had been assigned to the ship so that Sinnett could act as a teacher of sorts.

“I have a question.” Isaac said once Sinnett was done giving orders.

“Just one? That’s rare.” Sinnett’s response was enough to cause Isaac to scowl. He looked over his shoulder towards the two Imperial guards who stood at the rear of the bridge. The junior of the two guards did his utmost to not look Isaac in the eyes while the senior simply shrugged.

“Why aren’t we hiding the fact that we’re helping the Resurrectionists?”

“Hiding? Hell your father has made it damned sure the Coalition knows exactly what we are up to.” Sinnett answered.

When no further explanation was forthcoming Isaac pressed further. “Why?”

“Because he doesn’t want to fight a war with the Coalition.” After a moment Sinnett glanced at Isaac and, obviously seeing the prince’s confusion, admitted “I probably should walk you through that Your Highness. Right now we are not at war with the Coalition and they aren’t at war with the Resurrectionists. Chances are they are preparing to send troops to aid the scorpines, if they haven’t done so already. Now even when those troops arrive they still won’t officially be at war with the Resurrectionists. Much like we are, they’ll hide behind the fiction of sending a peacekeeping force.”

“Why would we allow them to do this?”

“For two reasons. First barring a major commitment of Coalition forces, Resurrectionist victory in this war is all but assured. Secondly to fully prevent Coalition intervention we would have to wage war on them and even then we couldn’t prevent them from interfering. Now as long neither of our peacekeeping forces actually attacks the other we can both continue to not be at war with each other.”

“And that’s why we’ve made no attempt to hide our involvement?” Isaac asked.

“As I’ve said before, His Imperial Majesty has made damned sure the Coalition knows exactly what we are doing. I wouldn’t be surprised if he sent the Coalition the exact date we left Astranan space and everything. He’s personally ordered me to set up a direct hotline with any Coalition force in the region once we’ve identified them. That way we can both be sure to dance around each other.”

“That’s insane.” Sinnett grinned at Isaac. “So despite the fact that we are both sending forces to fight in someone else’s war, we are both going to do our best not to shoot at each other?”

“Assuming the Coalition doesn’t want to fight us for real, yes.” Sinnett answered.

“And if they do want to fight us?” The only answer Isaac received was a small shrug.

Dark Matters (Open)

Astrana

The Planets and Territories under the Protection of the Imperial Crown of Astrana

The Empire of Astrana
Astrana

Brief Description

Astrana is a human-centric country that tries to balance a strong autocratic ruler with the protections of more liberal forms of governments. While not necessarily anti-xeno, it is exceedingly rare for a xeno, or any immigrant for that matter, to gain citizenship in Astrana. Astrana does allow some foreigners to live in the country under a long-term residency status and it does encourage foreigners, both human and xeno, to come as tourists, but its society as a whole shows little interest in allowing immigration and dealing with the issue of having multiple ethnicities. Astranan emperors of the past focused on conquest, but over the past hundred years there has been little interest in conquest, with the emphasis being on the expansion of the country’s economy.

Claim: (As stated in the OOC, keep it smaller than usual; the empires have fallen.)

Government

Type: Constitutional Monarchy/Liberal Autocracy
The government is ruled by the reigning monarch, whose powers are limited by a constitution. A parliamentary body, elected by individual planetary populations, helps with the administration of the government while ensuring that the needs of the citizens are met without infringing upon their constitutional rights. The reigning monarch assigns viceroys to govern over star systems and individual planets; these viceroys in turn have a counterpart parliamentary body that deals with the system or planet’s laws and taxation. These viceroy assignments are held until the viceroy either dies, retires, or is recalled by the monarch.

Perhaps the single greatest power of the parliament (both Imperial and planetary) is its control over taxation rights. Constitutionally it is the parliament that sets tax rates, collects taxes, and sets the government’s budget. While reigning monarchs do have their own personal holdings to gather funds from, these are not nearly enough to meet the needs of the government, thus giving the parliament great leverage over the monarch.

History

Despite being located near the Orionic Empire’s borders, the worlds that would eventually form the core of Astrana grew rapidly in both population and industrial output. A combination of wealth of resources and their physical location incentivized the construction of major Imperial garrisons as well as trade routes through this region of space. By the time of the Zuukid invasion, the region that would eventually form Astrana had become the hub of military and industrial power in the region.

While the Zuukid invasion never actually reached the region, the worlds of Astrana sent millions of soldiers and countless supplies to the south to help fight the war. Initially the waves of refugees from the conflict actually helped the economy, providing more bodies to put into factories and to arm with weapons. At the same time these worlds were in the midst of a cultural renaissance of sorts. The people were looking for ideals and legends to help them weather the storm of war; they found these ideals in medieval Europe. An idolized belief in the codes of chivalry, strength of nobility, and noblesse oblige and begun to take root in the population.

Eventually the worlds of Astrana, like so many other worlds, became swamped by the seemingly endless stream of refugees and the economy began to break down. By the time that the Orionic Empire fell the year 500, these worlds had had enough. Billions of refugees were expelled from the worlds of Astrana. First went the ‘xenos’, basically anyone not human, and then went the humans who were not “culturally similar enough”.

In the year 505 the Core Confederation was formed. It was a loose political entity of worlds that had come together seeking mutual protection after the Orionic Empire had fallen. The Core Confederation proved to be too weak of a political body to accomplish much, with the various planetary parliaments unable to agree on much.

Over the next ninety years the central government of the Core Confederation was greatly strengthened, in no small part due to the Stuart family. Through a combination of shrewd propaganda and political maneuvering, the Stuart family was able to gradually form itself into the de facto ruling dynasty of the Core Confederation. In the year 595 Horace Stuart reformed the Core Confederation into the Astranan Empire and declared himself its first emperor. The next fifty years would see the new empire rapidly expanding into its current borders. The peoples of the worlds conquered were either forcibly expelled or forced to assimilate into Astranan culture.

Around the year 650 Astrana began to view the Aurolian Republic as a regional rival and potential threat. A series of proxy wars between the two powers began in the Norma arm, with neither country able to gain any real advantage over the other. In the year 740 the rivalry came to a head as a proxy war exploded into an armed conflict between Astrana and Aurolia. The Norma Expanse saw some of the heaviest naval engagements it had ever had over the five year long war as both combatants sought to gain dominance over the region. In the end neither country was able to estable any sort of lasting dominance over the region, but both countries proclaimed victory stating they had halted their foe’s attempts to conquer the region. In reality the war ended in an uneasy truce and a return to the status quo. Intensified proxy and intelligence wars between the two countries had individuals from both countries proclaiming that the war was still ongoing. It seemed that a second full blown war between Astrana and Aurolia was inevitable in 755 during the Aurolian-Kingdom War as Astrana sent volunteers and supplies to help fight against Aurolia. In the end Astrana never entered the war as a combatant and relations with Aurolia began to warm slightly in the years following it.

Technological Overview

Astrana possesses fairly advanced energy weaponry in the form of particle beams which can even be used in strike craft and armored vehicles. Shielding for spacecraft is commonplace and even some infantry possess personal shields. A few choice pieces of technology, such as the zero point generator and widespread use of cyberware, does make Astrana stand out slightly.

Major Techs

Cyberware: A broad term, cyberware refers to essentially any machine or hardware that is implanted into an animal. Cyberware can be divided into two categories: interfaces and prosthetics. Interfaces are implants that are used to interact with other machines, usually wirelessly, or store information. Specialized interfaces are used by the military to allow soldiers to link with their hardware to achieve better control or gather more information quicker. Interfaces are also used to accelerate the learning process. Prosthetics are hardware used to replace limbs or re-enable their use should they or the nervous system be damaged. A darker side to this technology involves replacing limbs with prosthetics to increase a soldier’s physical capabilities or use interfaces as a means of surveillance and control.

Defensive Smoke: By placing a charge on the particles created by a zero point generator and then dispersing those particles in an area a magnetic field can be generated. These particles essentially form a “cloud” of plasma that can vaporize projectiles and cause intense diffusion and blooming in energy weapons that go through it. It is important to note, however, that defensive smoke isn’t as effective of a defense as shields generally are and that multiple attacks will cause it to disperse. It is also important to note that a sufficiently powerful attack can punch through defensive smoke, although it will lose some of its strength in doing so. A ship technically has an unlimited amount of defensive smoke to employ, however using defensive smoke means there are less particles available for other applications such as propulsion or weapons. There have been instances of defensive smoke being used offensively as well in a sort of “shotgun” attack against strike craft or larger ships that got too close, although this is comparable rare.

Imperial Swords: Soldiers in the Imperial military have access to a variety of melee weapons called swords. While named after an archaic weapon, these swords have been updated for use in the modern battlefield and range from having plasma based blades to monomolecular blades.

Particle Beam Weaponry: These weapons function by taking the particles produced by a zero point generator, giving it a charge, and then accelerating these particles with a circular accelerator to produce a beam. These weapons are useful as they have more impact damage than lasers and possess greater penetration. On the flip side they have far less range, about one light second for the largest and most advanced models. Advancements in the miniaturization of the circular accelerator have resulted in even fighter craft being equipped with these weapons, although they are much weaker and have far less range than the models found on larger ships. Particle beam weaponry effectively have unlimited ammunition due to how the zero point generator functions, but this means that there are fewer particles available for other applications. Continual use can also overheat the weapon, decreasing its effectiveness.

Personal Energy Shield: Some of the more expensive suits of infantry armor used by the Empire, usually those used by elite forces, are equipped with energy shields capable of protecting the user from a variety of attacks. While effectively useless against large calibre/power attacks, these do provide some additional protection from small arms fire and shrapnel.

Q-thruster: Short for quantum vacuum plasma thruster, Q-thrusters are a type of drive used to propel almost all of the ships used by the Empire. Q-thrusters make use of the virtual particles produced by a zero point generator by charging the particles, effectively turning the particles into plasma. The particles are then exposed to a crossed electric and magnetic field which induces a force on the particles. As the particles are expelled in one direction an equal force is applied on the rest of the ship, thus propelling it in the opposite direction. Because of the way they function Q-thrusters do not require fuel, thus saving space in the ship and eliminating the risks inherent with many conventional fuels.

Squire AI: Squire AI are specialized AI designed to push human capabilities beyond their natural limit. Usually these AI are integrated into a piece of equipment such as a strike craft, warship, or armor and interact with its user via their implant. Squire’s are set up in a way that they are intended to make it as if the equipment they are installed in is a part of the user’s body; but it does more than that. The AI helps process large amounts of data for its user and supplements its user in a way that greatly increases their decision making abilities and reflexes. Some high ranking officials even have these AI permanently installed in their cyberware, although this is somewhat rare. Commonly Squire AI are simply referred to as ‘Squire’, however some users decide to give them a real name.The use of limited purview and sophisticated moral and reinforcement coding ensures that Squires do not become a threat to those who made and use them.

Zero Point Generator: Using the dynamic Casimir effect, two reflective flat plates are placed a few nanometers apart. These plates are then manipulated in such a way that they osculate, producing particles and energy in the process. The zero point generator first saw use in spacecraft, which they were used to power and propel without traditional fuels. Later developments allowed for the construction of massive zero point power plants that provide power for entire cities. While the virtual particles produced by a zero point generator are inherently useless, due to ceasing to exist after a short amount of time, by charging these particles they can be made usable for a wide variety of applications. It wouldn't be an understatement to declare the zero point generator as the foundation of modern Astranan technology.

Military

Astrana’s military is divided into two general components: the Imperial Armed Forces (shortened to AIAF) and the planetary self defence forces (PSDF). The Imperial Armed Forces themselves are divided into three branches: the Navy, the Ground Forces, and the Aerospace Forces.The Imperial Armed forces have very high standards for recruitment and training that, while resulting in fewer personnel overall, ensure that AIAF troops are amongst the best. AIAF prefers firepower and mobility over defense. The planetary self defense forces usually end up with those who didn’t meet the high standards of the AIAF. As their names indicate, the PSDF’s roles include protection of planets, anti-pirate operations, and rescue operations.

Ground Forces

Maneuver-Firepower Doctrine: The combat doctrine of the Imperial ground forces revolves around incapacitating the enemy’s decision making ability through shock and disruption. This doctrine revolves around punching through enemy lines, or outmaneuvering the enemy, in order to strike their command structures and logistical bases.

Infantry

Imperial Infantry

The bread and butter of the IGF, Imperial infantry are well trained and decently well equipped soldiers. They are notable for being great marksmen. These soldiers are equipped with railguns, usually a semi-auto variant, and a monomolecular blade. Imperial Infantry are organized into sections of eight soldiers, which can be further divided into fire teams of four. Each fire team has one soldier equipped with a heavy weapon that can be anything from an LMG to an anti-armor rocket launcher. Each soldier is outfitted with a physical shield that has been further enhanced by a direction energy shield. These shields can repel a little small arms fire before being rendered useless, providing the soldiers with a little extra protection.

Imperial Knights

These veterans serve as shock troops, focusing on breaking through enemy lines and destroying vital targets. Imperial knights are equipped with powered armor that are further enhanced by a personal energy shield. These soldiers are stereotyped as using swords, but also make use of grenades, rockets, high rate of fire railguns, and just about anything else that will help them complete their missions.

Cataphracts

Veterans pulled from the ranks of the Imperial infantry and knights, these are Astrana’s elite troops. They are equipped with the best weapons and armor available to Astrana, making use of powered armor that are further enhanced by a personal energy shield and squire AI. Much like the Imperial Knights, Cataphracts are stereotyped as using a sword in battle (specifically a beam sword), but they’ll use whatever is necessary to get the job done. In battle cataphracts are used sparingly, usually held in reserve to stop any enemy breakthroughs in their tracks. Their rare use in battle has resulted in the saying “Its come to the cataphracts” being used throughout Astrana, basically meaning “they have broken through and this is the last thing we can do to respond.” Cataphracts can also be used to great effect to take advantage of any breakthroughs made by Imperial Knights.

Praetorian Guard

Originally established as an organization tasked with protecting the Imperial parliament, the Praetorian guard’s role has expanded to protecting all high level government officials and the Imperial capital of Truica. They excel on the defense, but aren’t equipped or trained for offensive operations. While it is common for them to work alongside the Imperial Guard, the Praetorian Guard are neither part of the Imperial Guard nor required to follow the Imperial Guard’s orders.

Imperial Guard

Tasked with protecting the Imperial family and Imperial Capital, Imperial guards are well trained and equipped, but typically serve a ceremonial role more than anything. They take orders from the Imperial family alone and are not technically even part of the IGF. Imperial guards are equipped with the highest quality infantry armor outside of powered armor, and even have personal shield generators. They possess large shields capable of emitting a directional shield as well for added protection. Historically they served on the battlefield much in the same capacity as the cataphracts, but over time their role became increasingly ceremonial.

Paragons

Paragon commandos are the most distinct special forces in Astrana’s armed forces. Each Paragon is a highly skilled commando, as one would expect from an elite special forces unit, but what truly sets them apart from other special forces in the sheer amount of cybernetic enhancements they recieve. These enhancements not only greatly increase each Paragon’s strength, but also his agility. Each Paragon has a permanent squire AI installed in their cyberware which provides support. The amount of cybernetic enhances is to such a great degree that there have been cases of squire AI controlling the body to engage hostile forces even after the Paragon has passed away. Paragon armor is comparatively light, focusing on flexibility, protection from the elements, and special technology, including a personal stealth device, over outright protection from direct hostile fire. The armor is made out of stealth materials making it harder to sense it with sensors and is greatly hardened against EMPs. Most distinctive of all is the armor’s ability to produce its own, greatly localized, EMP that can fry all but the most hardened of electronics that are near the Paragon. Paragon commandos are usually deployed on raids, direct action assaults, special and covert reconnaissance, human intelligence collection, battlespace preparation during a transition to war, assassinations, capture of subjects of interest, and on rare occasions protection of subjects of interest.

Armor

Heavy Knight

Standing at four meters tall, Heavy knights act as both infantry and armor. Their heavy armor, equipped with shield generators, grants them the durability of conventional armor, while allowing them to retain much of the flexibility of conventional infantry. Most of the time heavy knights will be equipped with a particle beam cannon, although heavy anti-armor railguns are also common. Heavy knights are intended to work alongside knights, although it isn’t uncommon to see them providing support to other Astranan infantry as well.

Heavy Imperial Guard

Imperial Guards outfitted with mechanized armor that stand at four meters tall, Heavy Imperial Guards are a more combat oriented version of the Imperial Guards. Like their infantry comrades, Heavy Imperial Guards are tasked with the protection of the Imperial family and Imperial capital world. Historically they have been tasked by the Emperor to oversee battles and act as elite soldiers on the battlefield, although this has fallen out of practice recently. The mechanized armor of Heavy Imperial Guards are equipped with a shield general, is capable of prolonged independent flight, and there are even some variants made specifically for use in the void of space. Like their lesser armored brothers, the shields these soldiers carry are capable of producing a direction shield for added protection. These soldiers are commonly equipped with a plasma sword and heavy particle beam rifle.

Heavy Cataphract

Much like the Heavy Knight, the Heavy Cataphract are mechanized soldiers who are intended to support their less armored comrades. Heavy cataphracts stand at six meters tall and are equipped with an incredibly advanced shield. Its built in squire AI is intended to provide the pilot with support including information, countermeasures control, and is even capable of operating the armor by itself and continue combat in the event that the pilot is incapacitated.

Tetrarch Tankette

The Tetrarch tankette is a tiny tank with a single person crew. Strictly speaking it is a tank-walker hybrid vehicle, capable of switching between the two modes during battle. It was designed to support infantry in combat and serve as a reconnaissance vehicle. Towards this end the Tetrarch tankette has good top speeds, acceleration, and agility. Its main cannon is capable of loading a variety of different types of rounds ranging from high explosive and armor piercing to shrapnel and EMP; it is important to note that even with armor piercing rounds the Tetrarch tankette struggles to pierce the armor of any vehicle larger than a light tank. On top of this the Tetrarch tankette’s armor is very thin, so much so that some of the larger infantry based rifles can pierce it given the right circumstances. The Tetrarch tankette is capable of being dropped into combat both from the air and orbit. Because of its drawbacks the Tetrarch tankette sees a lot of use in an auxiliary and logistics capacity instead of actual combat. Even so these vehicles excel in rough terrain and urban environments and should not be underestimated as they are a potent tool when used correctly.

Scorpion Light Hover Tank

The Scorpion light hover tank is small sized, thinly armored hover tank intended to serve as an armored reconnaissance vehicle, artillery observer, and skirmisher. Its main cannon is almost identical to the Tetrarch tankette’s and is capable of loading a variety of different types of rounds ranging from high explosive and armor piercing to shrapnel and EMP. Although the Scorpion possess superior armor to the Tetrarch, the Scorpion is also a much larger target. In addition to its main cannon the Scorpion has one anti-air missile and two anti-armor missiles.

Striker Anti-Air Artillery

The Striker is an old, almost ancient design, even so it has more than proven to be a highly reliable piece of equipment. Originally outfitted with ballistic flak guns, most modern Strikers have either railguns or particle beam cannons. The Striker excels at destroy hostile aircraft. More importantly some of the particle beam variants, when equipped to an outside power source and extra cooling systems, have been able to hit objects in low orbit, including both satellites and starships. In addition to destroying aircraft, the Striker is quite good at engaging infantry and can even fight head to head with light armor.

Chariot APC

The Chariot APC is a hover transport designed to carry two full squads into combat. These combat transports possess decent armor and speed. Their only armament is a heavy machine gun, meaning they can not engage other armor. Chariots also serve as logistics vehicles, carrying ammo or serving as a combat medical vehicle.

Crusader IFV

The Crusader IFV was designed to replace the Chariot as Astrana’s primary ground combat transport. While this certainly hasn’t occurred, due to a variety of issues, the Crusader is still a widely used vehicle in the army. The Crusader has two different variants: the Crusader IFV and the Crusader Tank Destroyer (picture above). The IFV variant is equipped with a railgun and can carry a squad of soldiers into combat. The tank destroyer variant sacrifices its ability to carry troops in exchange for a heavy particle beam cannon capable of destroying even the most heavily of armored vehicles. While reliable, the Crusader doesn’t handle rough terrain as well as the Chariot and, due to having wheels, is prone to be knocked out when moving over rough terrain.

Warrior Hover Tank

The Warrior tank serves as the Empire’s main battle tank. It is noted as possessing phenomenal mobility and firepower, but at the cost of armor. Typically, the Warrior is outfitted with a railgun for its main armament, however particle beam cannons are not uncommon. Because of its comparably light armor, the Warrior suffers in engagements where it is close to its foes. There have been known instances of light tanks or IFVs disabling or destroying a Warrior at close range. Despite this the Warrior excels at long range battles, where its superior cannon often times outranges those of contemporary main battle tanks and its comparably superior mobility allows it to better dodge incoming fire. Even with these comparative advantages the Warrior struggles against contemporary main battle tanks, especially in defensive engagements.

Titan-class Planetary Assault Ship

The Titan-class planetary assault ship is a specialized warship designed to operate in any environment. Titan-class ships are roughly the size of the average corvette and can operate in space; however, they are designed primarily to function within a planet’s atmosphere. Their primary purpose is to transport troops and equipment to planetary battlegrounds and support those troops in battle. Titan-class ships possess a single heavy particle beam cannon, missile launchers, railguns, and a variety of point defense systems. In many ways Titans act simply as a premade bases or airfields, however they can also serve as a large scale transport or supply depot.

Navy

Command of the Stars Doctrine: The Imperial navy’s doctrine revolves around maintaining complete dominance wherever it operates. This is achieved by either finding and crushing hostile forces in traditional battle or attacking and destroying their logistical base. Towards these ends Imperial ships are made to be both fast and powerful.

Escorts

Tribal-class Corvette

Length: 109 meters
Role: Planetary patrol craft, Ground support craft
Description: The Tribal-class corvette is a low endurance ship designed primarily to patrol the area around inhabited worlds and star bases. Although small and comparably weak, the Tribal-class’s primary armaments are very accurate. Mix this with the craft’s ability to enter a planetary atmosphere and the Tribal-class is more than capable of supporting troops on the ground. Later modifications allowed the Tribal-class to be refueled and armed by larger ships, allowing it to operate as part of battlegroups and to partake in planetary invasions. Although small in size, the Tribal-class has been used as a troop transport and can ferry supplies to ground forces. Tribal-class corvettes are also designed to carry a single fighter craft, on the outside of its hull, to aid it in its duties, although the corvette lacks the ability to rearm and properly service these fighters. Tribal-class corvettes are a common sight throughout Astrana, as they are often used by planetary defense forces as well as the Imperial Navy.

Leopard-class Frigate

Length: 153 meters
Role: Anti-fighter/torpedo screen, Scout ship
Description: Originally designed to replace the Tribal-class as a patrol ship, the Leopard-class frigate’s design was altered after navy decided it needed a ship to fill scouting and more traditional screening roles instead of another patrol craft. It possesses far greater endurance than the Tribal-class, allowing it to easily support battlegroups. Oversized engines makes it one of the fastest combat ships around, although this has resulted in them being fairly exposed and prone to damage. Despite this potential weakness, Leopard-class frigates have shown themselves to be excellent scout craft. While generally lacking in offensive weaponry, its surplus of close-in-weapons systems allows it to fairly easily swat fighters and torpedoes out of the sky. Like the Tribal-class, Leopard-class frigates are designed to carry two fighters on the outside of its hull, although like the Tribal-class it is unable to rearm its fighters.

Huntress-class Destroyer

Length: 208 meters
Role: Torpedo ship, convoy raider, capital ship hunter
Description: The Huntress-class destroyer was designed to be a true ship killer. It packs heavier weaponry and greater mobility than ships of similar size, although its defenses are generally weaker, especially its armor. This ship is not to be underestimated; although its torpedoes can, and often are, destroyed before reaching their target, they have been known to instantly destroy battlecruisers. Besides their torpedoes, Huntress-class destroyers have four particle beam cannons that can be used to great effect against frigates, cruisers, and even capital ships. Unfortunately these ships are comparably fragile, with few point defenses and comparably weak armor, although their shields are fairly decent. Like Leopard-class frigates, the Huntress-class is designed to carry two fighters on the outside of its hull, although like the Leopard-class it is unable to rearm its fighters.

Tiger-class Light Cruiser

Length: 250 meters
Role: Gunboat, Flotilla flagship
Description: Tiger-class light cruisers are designed to destroy any frigates or destroyers that come too close to the fleet. These warships are armed with an array of particle beam cannons that can seriously damage smaller ships in a single volley. As for most Imperial ships, the Tiger-class is quite fast for its size and can keep up with the Huntress-class destroyer fairly well, resulting in it commonly being the flagship for destroyer flotillas. These ships carry a complement of four fighters and, unlike smaller ships, can rearm their missiles, although their hangers have room for only a single fighter at a time. Unfortunately the Tiger-class is quite a fragile ship. Its point defense are lackluster at best and it's armor is no thicker than that of the Huntress-class.

Capital Ships

Honor-class Heavy Cruiser

Length: 255 meters
Description: The Honor-class was designed to fit the roles of convoy protection and ground forces fire support, all while still retaining the ability to act as a capital ship in combat; this all required a solid combination of good cruising range and speed as well as independent fighting capabilities.The Honor-class is notable for being a generally well rounded ship and a go to for just about any task. Eight torpedo launchers, mixed with its variety of railguns and particle beam cannons ensured that the Honor-class was a threat to any ship it came across. It was also designed with two small hangar bays with a combined capacity of eight fighter craft. Unfortunately the Honor-class did have its fair share of issues. The largest issue of which was its needless complicated particle beam turrets which were originally designed with the requirement to be able to provide anti-aircraft/torpedo fire, despite the end result having the inability to train and elevate quickly enough to track such targets. However this does not mean the the Honor-class is unable to engage torpedoes and fighters: it has a fairly sizeable battery of point defenses at its disposal.

Illustrious-class Escort Carrier

Length: 283 meters
Role: Carrier
Description: A comparatively small class of carrier, Illustrious-class escort carriers were designed to escort convoys or act as the flagships of patrol squadrons. To this end it was made to both be inexpensive, relatively speaking, and fast. Later on it was upgunned in response to some of the Aurolian Republic’s developments in carriers, sporting six torpedo launchers and an absolutely obscene amount of point defenses. It has a total carrying capacity of 112 fighters, which can be launched very quickly. It can also act as a sort of assault carrier, aiding in the transportation and deployment of ground forces for planetary invasions, in which case it would only carry half or even a quarter of its capacity in fighters.

Courageous-class Battlecruiser

Length: 305 meters
Description: Designed to serve as “enhanced” heavy cruisers, the Courageous-class battlecruiser was originally outfitted with comparably weak armaments for a ship of its size. After the outbreak of hostilities between the Resurrectionist State and Neo-Scorpine front it was determined that the Courageous-class was too underpowered and was refitted with some of the largest armaments ever used by the Imperial navy excluding spinal mounted weapons. More recent retrofits further enhanced the Courageous-class’s power source. These ships were fast, even for a battlecruiser, but possessed only a few heavy armaments in the form of particle beam cannons. A small hanger allows the Courageous-class to carry and service four fighters.

Revenge-class Assault Carrier

Length: 330 meters
Description: The Revenge-class was originally designed and built to replace the Illustrious-class escort carrier, which at the time was viewed as being too fragile to survive the battlefield. Towards this end it was designed with substantially more armor, closer to that of a battlecruiser than a carrier, as well as additional torpedo and missile launchers. Ultimately the Revenge-class never replaced the Illustrious-class, due to being substantially more expensive and slower. It was noted as being able to carry only slightly more fighters than the Illustrious-class, 120 in total, and being much slower at deploying them. Despite this it earned itself a niche role in providing close carrier support to the navy’s battleships and battlecruisers as well as deploying atmospherical aerospace fighters into battle; although it can’t linger in an atmosphere indefinitely it can do so long enough to launch its fighter compliment.

Invincible-class Battleship

Length: 365 meters
Description: The Invincible-class battleship is something of an oddity in the Imperial navy as it tries to more evenly balance speed, armaments, and armor, even putting a slight emphasis on defensive capabilities. The Invincible-class’s spinal particle beam cannon has become somewhat iconic of its class and has proven to be invaluable in the few naval engagements that these battleships have participated in. Numerous other particle beam cannons and close-in-weapons systems makes this a very powerful warship. There have been complaints about the Invincible-class’s slow speed, in comparison to other Imperial warships, as well as its complete lack of fighter carrying capacity.

Aerospace Force

While its own branch, Aerospace forces tends to be subordinate to both the Navy and Ground Forces. Officially the Aerospace Force is responsible for the airspace of any planet and the area of space around the planet, as well as providing fighter craft for the Navy’s carriers.

Strike Craft

TSF-6 Tempest

Role: Aerospace Interceptor
Description: Originally designed to counter the Aurolian Republic’s Havoc Interceptor, the TSF-6 Tempest is a small fighter notable for its high agility, top speed, acceleration, and ability to perform well in both atmosphere and void. While decent in a dogfight, the Tempest distinctly lacked durability and firepower, thus wasn’t useful against ships or even larger strike craft. Its original design called for it to help screen the fleet or ground forces from strike craft assault, which it did a good job at. It possessed a single anti-fighter particle beam cannon and a single hardpoint that could be used to store either fuel or an anti-fighter missile. After the development of the TSF-7 Hurricane it was quickly replaced and regulated to a role as an interceptor.

TSF-7 Hurricane

Role: Navy Multirole Fighter
Description: Designed to replace the Tempest, the Hurricane is more durable and possesses more firepower while retaining much of the Tempest’s agility. It is outfitted with two anti-fighter particle beam cannons and nine hardpoints. Eight of the hardpoints can carry anti-fighter missiles or small bombs, while the center one is designed to carry an anti-ship torpedo or bomb.The Hurricane is capable of entering and exiting a planet’s atmosphere and providing close air support to troops on the ground.

TSF-8 Sabre

Role: Aerospace Multirole Fighter
Description: Designed alongside the TSF-7 Hurricane, the Sabre was designed to ensure that Astrana maintained air and space supremacy around a planet. Its agility, speed, and reliability have made it a mainstay of the IGF and widely sought after by the Imperial planetary defense forces. While intended primarily to operate within a planet’s atmosphere, the Sabre does have the capability to exit the atmosphere and operate in the void of space, although it lacks the endurance to go very far. Its armaments include two railguns and six missile hardpoints.

TSF-9 Swordbreaker

Role: Aerospace supremacy fighter
Description: Designed from the ground up to utilize Squire AIs to their fullest extent, the TSF-9 Swordbreaker is considered a far superior fighter to the Hurricane and Sabre. First and foremost the Swordbreaker has far superior processing power than the Hurricane or Sabre, allowing for a much more powerful Squire. This greatly enhanced Squire grants its pilot even greater reflexes and battlespace awareness. The Swordbreaker also comes with modular internal bays that allow for easy upgrading and the installation of processing and Ewar modules to name a few. While not a durable fighter, it does come with a fairly weak shield generator. However it relies on its phenomenal agility which is so great that a limiter had to be placed on it so the fighter didn’t snap itself in half while operating in an atmosphere. The Swordbreaker has two forward facing particle beam cannons and two weaker rear facing particle beam cannons, all of which are gimbaled. It also has an interior bay that can hold four missiles. Each wing has two hardpoints that can carry a number of objects including anti-air missiles, bombs, fuel tanks, and particle beam cannons, and even extra zero point generators. A single reinforced hardpoint on the underside of the fuselage can carry a torpedo, heavy anti-ship particle beam cannon or two missiles. All of this comes at an incredibly high price, making the Swordbreaker a fighter reserved for the most elite of pilots.

TRF-2A/V Stiletto

Role: Reconnaissance Fighter
Description: The Stiletto is a specialized reconnaissance craft is packed with sophisticated sensors and can carry specialized reconnaissance missiles and sensor suites on its hardpoints. Not intended to partake in actual combat, it is lightly armed and armored. It has two variants: one of use in the void of space and one for planetary environments. The void variant is noted for being very fast, whereas the planetary variant is highly agile, but comparatively slow. Both variants have four hardpoints that are intended for recon missiles, but can be loaded with anti-fighter missiles or even unguided bombs if necessary. The void variant possesses a single anti-fighter particle beam cannon while the planetary variant has two anti-fighter railgun cannons.

TSA-3 Strike Sabre

Role: Close air support, Forward air controller, Bomber
Description: Designed exclusively for use within an atmosphere, the Strike Sabre fighter is a close air support craft capable of attacking armored vehicles and tanks, and providing quick-action support against enemy ground forces. It can also direct other aircraft to provide air support to ground forces with a degree of accuracy they would be incapable of achieving on their own. The strike sabre is a very durable aircraft, capable of shrugging off blows that would down most other fighters. Its equipped with two railgun cannons and eight missile hardpoints.

TSA-4 Tornado

Role: Torpedo bomber, Strike Fighter, Close air support
Description: The naval cousin of the Strike Sabre, the TSA-4 Tornado was designed first and foremost as a torpedo bomber. Its primary purpose is to close with the enemy fleet, launch its torpedoes, and then return to the fleet. Towards this end the Tornado was made with speed, above all else, in mind. Its four large engines ensures that it's one of the fastest craft in a fight. The Tornado is also capable of entering and exiting a planet’s atmosphere and, it's been noted to the surprise of many, its agility in an atmosphere approaches that of a dedicated fighter when it's hardpoints are empty. This has resulted in the Tornado being used in CAS missions when Strike Sabres are unavailable. The Tornado also has some ability to act as a fighter, although this is mostly in atmosphere and more of an act of last resort than anything else. The Tornado is armed with two particle beam cannons and four hardpoints, each capable of holding either a torpedo or two missiles/bombs.

TST-3 Kukri

Role: Gunship/Transport
Description: The TST-3 Kukri is the workhorse of the Imperial military. It's Astrana’s main gunship and transport for all environments.There are two main variants of the Kurki, the gunship and transport. Both variants quite durable, although the gunship variant is certainly more so. The transport variant can carry up to three squads of soldiers into battle.

Religion/Culture

There are three generally accepted classes in Astranan society: the imperial family, the nobility, and the commoners. As the name indicates, the imperial family is the ruling class in the empire. The nobility is made up of viceroys, military officers, and those given a permanent title by the monarch. Anyone can technically become a noble. This is accomplished by either progressing in rank to an officer position in the military, or being granted a title by the imperial family. The commoners are a bit different from the other classes as they are easily subdivided into other classes that include indentured servants, business entrepreneurs, and high level politicians.

Most people view the military as an honorable, and desirable, career choice. This is not only because it can lead to a title of nobility, but also because it was the military that held the Zuukid back, preventing them from wreaking havoc on Astrana’s worlds. The saying “Shield of the people, Sword of the Emperor” is often used to describe the military’s duel nature as the defenders of Astrana’s citizens, while also the tool by which the monarchy destroys its enemies. This mentality of the Astranan people, as well as strong traditions in the military itself, has allowed the military to serve as an important pillar of society while also preventing any kind of military coups or general corruption that stems from an overly influential military. Another interesting saying that has come from the military is “Its come to the cataphracts.” The saying meaning that ‘they have broken through and this is the last thing we can do to respond.’ It's a pragmatic and optimistic saying as it is essentially saying “there’s a major problem and its time for the real adults to step in and fix this.”

While Kineticism was once the dominant faith in Astrana, it is now practiced by only a small minority of the population.The dominant faith in Astrana is currently the Faith of the Children of the Stars. The Faith of the Children of the Stars is less a religion and more of a spiritual outlook and moral/philosophical framework. Important components of the faith involve viewing the stars as being the “birthmothers of all life” and reverence of the ancestors.

Demographics

~98% Ethnic Astranans (Humans)
<2% Other species and non-Astranan humans

Characters

First Prince Henry Stuart

The eldest son of the current Emperor of Astrana, Henry is the heir apparent. Despite being rash and a bit hotheaded he is well liked by both the Astranan people and military. He has been increasingly outspoken against the Coalition, especially since his grandfather passed away, and has been pushing for further expansion of Astrana’s military-industrial complex.

First Princess Lucretia Stuart

The twin sister of Prince Henry, Princess Lucretia has always been the calm and collected of the pair. Those who meet her describe her as both bright and serene in personality. Because she is the heir apparent twin, she has a strong claim to the throne, a claim she has shown little interest in pursuing. Like her brother she is fairly popular with the citizenry, although many are less than pleased with her interests in warming relations with the Coalition.

Forth Prince Isaac Stuart

The youngest child of the current Astranan Emperor, Isaac has mostly avoided politics and the intrigues of court. Since he has showed interest in the military ever since he was a child he was assigned a mentor in the navy once he came of age.

Lord Commodore Sinnett

An experienced and well respected military leader, Sinnett was never interested enough in playing political games to reach the rank of admiral. This does not mean he isn’t good at politics, only that he is disinterested in taking part in them.

Relations

TBD

Habitation

Dark Matters (Open)

Here's an updated version of my sheet. Still a WIP.

Astrana

The Planets and Territories under the Protection of the Imperial Crown of Astrana

The Empire of Astrana
Astrana

Brief Description

Astrana is a human-centric country that tries to balance a strong autocratic ruler with the protections of more liberal forms of governments. While not necessarily anti-xeno, it is exceedingly rare for a xeno, or any immigrant for that matter, to gain citizenship in Astrana. Astrana does allow some foreigners to live in the country under a long-term residency status and it does encourage foreigners, both human and xeno, to come as tourists, but its society as a whole shows little interest in allowing immigration and dealing with the issue of having multiple ethnicities. Astranan emperors of the past focused on conquest, but over the past hundred years there has been little interest in conquest, with the emphasis being on the expansion of the country’s economy.

Claim: (As stated in the OOC, keep it smaller than usual; the empires have fallen.)

Government

Type: Constitutional Monarchy/Liberal Autocracy
The government is ruled by the reigning monarch, whose powers are limited by a constitution. A parliamentary body, elected by individual planetary populations, helps with the administration of the government while ensuring that the needs of the citizens are met without infringing upon their constitutional rights. The reigning monarch assigns viceroys to govern over star systems and individual planets; these viceroys in turn have a counterpart parliamentary body that deals with the system or planet’s laws and taxation. These viceroy assignments are held until the viceroy either dies, retires, or is recalled by the monarch.

Perhaps the single greatest power of the parliament (both Imperial and planetary) is its control over taxation rights. Constitutionally it is the parliament that sets tax rates, collects taxes, and sets the government’s budget. While reigning monarchs do have their own personal holdings to gather funds from, these are not nearly enough to meet the needs of the government, thus giving the parliament great leverage over the monarch.

History

TBD

Technological Overview

Astrana possesses fairly advanced energy weaponry in the form of particle beams which can even be used in strike craft and armored vehicles. Shielding for spacecraft is commonplace and even some infantry possess personal shields. A few choice pieces of technology, such as the zero point generator and widespread use of cyberware, does make Astrana stand out slightly.

Major Techs

Cyberware: A broad term, cyberware refers to essentially any machine or hardware that is implanted into an animal. Cyberware can be divided into two categories: interfaces and prosthetics. Interfaces are implants that are used to interact with other machines, usually wirelessly, or store information. Specialized interfaces are used by the military to allow soldiers to link with their hardware to achieve better control or gather more information quicker. Interfaces are also used to accelerate the learning process. Prosthetics are hardware used to replace limbs or re-enable their use should they or the nervous system be damaged. A darker side to this technology involves replacing limbs with prosthetics to increase a soldier’s physical capabilities or use interfaces as a means of surveillance and control.

Defensive Smoke: By placing a charge on the particles created by a zero point generator and then dispersing those particles in an area a magnetic field can be generated. These particles essentially form a “cloud” of plasma that can vaporize projectiles and cause intense diffusion and blooming in energy weapons that go through it. It is important to note, however, that defensive smoke isn’t as effective of a defense as shields generally are and that multiple attacks will cause it to disperse. It is also important to note that a sufficiently powerful attack can punch through defensive smoke, although it will lose some of its strength in doing so. A ship technically has an unlimited amount of defensive smoke to employ, however using defensive smoke means there are less particles available for other applications such as propulsion or weapons. There have been instances of defensive smoke being used offensively as well in a sort of “shotgun” attack against strike craft or larger ships that got too close, although this is comparable rare.

Imperial Swords: Soldiers in the Imperial military have access to a variety of melee weapons called swords. While named after an archaic weapon, these swords have been updated for use in the modern battlefield and range from having plasma based blades to monomolecular blades.

Particle Beam Weaponry: These weapons function by taking the particles produced by a zero point generator, giving it a charge, and then accelerating these particles with a circular accelerator to produce a beam. These weapons are useful as they have more impact damage than lasers and possess greater penetration. On the flip side they have far less range, about one light second for the largest and most advanced models. Advancements in the miniaturization of the circular accelerator have resulted in even fighter craft being equipped with these weapons, although they are much weaker and have far less range than the models found on larger ships. Particle beam weaponry effectively have unlimited ammunition due to how the zero point generator functions, but this means that there are fewer particles available for other applications. Continual use can also overheat the weapon, decreasing its effectiveness.

Personal Energy Shield: Some of the more expensive suits of infantry armor used by the Empire, usually those used by elite forces, are equipped with energy shields capable of protecting the user from a variety of attacks. While effectively useless against large calibre/power attacks, these do provide some additional protection from small arms fire and shrapnel.

Q-thruster: Short for quantum vacuum plasma thruster, Q-thrusters are a type of drive used to propel almost all of the ships used by the Empire. Q-thrusters make use of the virtual particles produced by a zero point generator by charging the particles, effectively turning the particles into plasma. The particles are then exposed to a crossed electric and magnetic field which induces a force on the particles. As the particles are expelled in one direction an equal force is applied on the rest of the ship, thus propelling it in the opposite direction. Because of the way they function Q-thrusters do not require fuel, thus saving space in the ship and eliminating the risks inherent with many conventional fuels.

Squire AI: Squire AI are specialized AI designed to push human capabilities beyond their natural limit. Usually these AI are integrated into a piece of equipment such as a strike craft, warship, or armor and interact with its user via their implant. Squire’s are set up in a way that they are intended to make it as if the equipment they are installed in is a part of the user’s body; but it does more than that. The AI helps process large amounts of data for its user and supplements its user in a way that greatly increases their decision making abilities and reflexes. Some high ranking officials even have these AI permanently installed in their cyberware, although this is somewhat rare. Commonly Squire AI are simply referred to as ‘Squire’, however some users decide to give them a real name.The use of limited purview and sophisticated moral and reinforcement coding ensures that Squires do not become a threat to those who made and use them.

Zero Point Generator: Using the dynamic Casimir effect, two reflective flat plates are placed a few nanometers apart. These plates are then manipulated in such a way that they osculate, producing particles and energy in the process. The zero point generator first saw use in spacecraft, which they were used to power and propel without traditional fuels. Later developments allowed for the construction of massive zero point power plants that provide power for entire cities. While the virtual particles produced by a zero point generator are inherently useless, due to ceasing to exist after a short amount of time, by charging these particles they can be made usable for a wide variety of applications. It wouldn't be an understatement to declare the zero point generator as the foundation of modern Astranan technology.

Military

Astrana’s military is divided into two general components: the Imperial Armed Forces (shortened to AIAF) and the planetary self defence forces (PSDF). The Imperial Armed Forces themselves are divided into three branches: the Navy, the Ground Forces, and the Aerospace Forces.The Imperial Armed forces have very high standards for recruitment and training that, while resulting in fewer personnel overall, ensure that AIAF troops are amongst the best. AIAF prefers firepower and mobility over defense. The planetary self defense forces usually end up with those who didn’t meet the high standards of the AIAF. As their names indicate, the PSDF’s roles include protection of planets, anti-pirate operations, and rescue operations.

Ground Forces

Maneuver-Firepower Doctrine: The combat doctrine of the Imperial ground forces revolves around incapacitating the enemy’s decision making ability through shock and disruption. This doctrine revolves around punching through enemy lines, or outmaneuvering the enemy, in order to strike their command structures and logistical bases.

Infantry

Imperial Infantry

The bread and butter of the IGF, Imperial infantry are well trained and decently well equipped soldiers. They are notable for being great marksmen. These soldiers are equipped with railguns, usually a semi-auto variant, and a monomolecular blade. Imperial Infantry are organized into sections of eight soldiers, which can be further divided into fire teams of four. Each fire team has one soldier equipped with a heavy weapon that can be anything from an LMG to an anti-armor rocket launcher. Each soldier is outfitted with a physical shield that has been further enhanced by a direction energy shield. These shields can repel a little small arms fire before being rendered useless, providing the soldiers with a little extra protection.

Imperial Knights

These veterans serve as shock troops, focusing on breaking through enemy lines and destroying vital targets. Imperial knights are equipped with powered armor that are further enhanced by a personal energy shield. These soldiers are stereotyped as using swords, but also make use of grenades, rockets, high rate of fire railguns, and just about anything else that will help them complete their missions.

Cataphracts

Veterans pulled from the ranks of the Imperial infantry and knights, these are Astrana’s elite troops. They are equipped with the best weapons and armor available to Astrana, making use of powered armor that are further enhanced by a personal energy shield and squire AI. Much like the Imperial Knights, Cataphracts are stereotyped as using a sword in battle (specifically a beam sword), but they’ll use whatever is necessary to get the job done. In battle cataphracts are used sparingly, usually held in reserve to stop any enemy breakthroughs in their tracks. Their rare use in battle has resulted in the saying “Its come to the cataphracts” being used throughout Astrana, basically meaning “they have broken through and this is the last thing we can do to respond.” Cataphracts can also be used to great effect to take advantage of any breakthroughs made by Imperial Knights.

Praetorian Guard

Originally established as an organization tasked with protecting the Imperial parliament, the Praetorian guard’s role has expanded to protecting all high level government officials and the Imperial capital of Truica. They excel on the defense, but aren’t equipped or trained for offensive operations. While it is common for them to work alongside the Imperial Guard, the Praetorian Guard are neither part of the Imperial Guard nor required to follow the Imperial Guard’s orders.

Imperial Guard

Tasked with protecting the Imperial family and Imperial Capital, Imperial guards are well trained and equipped, but typically serve a ceremonial role more than anything. They take orders from the Imperial family alone and are not technically even part of the IGF. Imperial guards are equipped with the highest quality infantry armor outside of powered armor, and even have personal shield generators. They possess large shields capable of emitting a directional shield as well for added protection. Historically they served on the battlefield much in the same capacity as the cataphracts, but over time their role became increasingly ceremonial.

Armor

Heavy Knight

Standing at four meters tall, Heavy knights act as both infantry and armor. Their heavy armor, equipped with shield generators, grants them the durability of conventional armor, while allowing them to retain much of the flexibility of conventional infantry. Most of the time heavy knights will be equipped with a particle beam cannon, although heavy anti-armor railguns are also common. Heavy knights are intended to work alongside knights, although it isn’t uncommon to see them providing support to other Astranan infantry as well.

Heavy Imperial Guard

Imperial Guards outfitted with mechanized armor that stand at four meters tall, Heavy Imperial Guards are a more combat oriented version of the Imperial Guards. Like their infantry comrades, Heavy Imperial Guards are tasked with the protection of the Imperial family and Imperial capital world. Historically they have been tasked by the Emperor to oversee battles and act as elite soldiers on the battlefield, although this has fallen out of practice recently. The mechanized armor of Heavy Imperial Guards are equipped with a shield general, is capable of prolonged independent flight, and there are even some variants made specifically for use in the void of space. Like their lesser armored brothers, the shields these soldiers carry are capable of producing a direction shield for added protection. These soldiers are commonly equipped with a plasma sword and heavy particle beam rifle.

Heavy Cataphract

Much like the Heavy Knight, the Heavy Cataphract are mechanized soldiers who are intended to support their less armored comrades. Heavy cataphracts stand at six meters tall and are equipped with an incredibly advanced shield. Its built in squire AI is intended to provide the pilot with support including information, countermeasures control, and is even capable of operating the armor by itself and continue combat in the event that the pilot is incapacitated.

Tetrarch Tankette

The Tetrarch tankette is a tiny tank with a single person crew. Strictly speaking it is a tank-walker hybrid vehicle, capable of switching between the two modes during battle. It was designed to support infantry in combat and serve as a reconnaissance vehicle. Towards this end the Tetrarch tankette has good top speeds, acceleration, and agility. Its main cannon is capable of loading a variety of different types of rounds ranging from high explosive and armor piercing to shrapnel and EMP; it is important to note that even with armor piercing rounds the Tetrarch tankette struggles to pierce the armor of any vehicle larger than a light tank. On top of this the Tetrarch tankette’s armor is very thin, so much so that some of the larger infantry based rifles can pierce it given the right circumstances. The Tetrarch tankette is capable of being dropped into combat both from the air and orbit. Because of its drawbacks the Tetrarch tankette sees a lot of use in an auxiliary and logistics capacity instead of actual combat. Even so these vehicles excel in rough terrain and urban environments and should not be underestimated as they are a potent tool when used correctly.

Scorpion Light Hover Tank

The Scorpion light hover tank is small sized, thinly armored hover tank intended to serve as an armored reconnaissance vehicle, artillery observer, and skirmisher. Its main cannon is almost identical to the Tetrarch tankette’s and is capable of loading a variety of different types of rounds ranging from high explosive and armor piercing to shrapnel and EMP. Although the Scorpion possess superior armor to the Tetrarch, the Scorpion is also a much larger target. In addition to its main cannon the Scorpion has one anti-air missile and two anti-armor missiles.

Striker Anti-Air Artillery

The Striker is an old, almost ancient design, even so it has more than proven to be a highly reliable piece of equipment. Originally outfitted with ballistic flak guns, most modern Strikers have either railguns or particle beam cannons. The Striker excels at destroy hostile aircraft. More importantly some of the particle beam variants, when equipped to an outside power source and extra cooling systems, have been able to hit objects in low orbit, including both satellites and starships. In addition to destroying aircraft, the Striker is quite good at engaging infantry and can even fight head to head with light armor.

Chariot APC

The Chariot APC is a hover transport designed to carry two full squads into combat. These combat transports possess decent armor and speed. Their only armament is a heavy machine gun, meaning they can not engage other armor. Chariots also serve as logistics vehicles, carrying ammo or serving as a combat medical vehicle.

Crusader IFV

The Crusader IFV was designed to replace the Chariot as Astrana’s primary ground combat transport. While this certainly hasn’t occurred, due to a variety of issues, the Crusader is still a widely used vehicle in the army. The Crusader has two different variants: the Crusader IFV and the Crusader Tank Destroyer (picture above). The IFV variant is equipped with a railgun and can carry a squad of soldiers into combat. The tank destroyer variant sacrifices its ability to carry troops in exchange for a heavy particle beam cannon capable of destroying even the most heavily of armored vehicles. While reliable, the Crusader doesn’t handle rough terrain as well as the Chariot and, due to having wheels, is prone to be knocked out when moving over rough terrain.

Warrior Hover Tank

The Warrior tank serves as the Empire’s main battle tank. It is noted as possessing phenomenal mobility and firepower, but at the cost of armor. Typically, the Warrior is outfitted with a railgun for its main armament, however particle beam cannons are not uncommon. Because of its comparably light armor, the Warrior suffers in engagements where it is close to its foes. There have been known instances of light tanks or IFVs disabling or destroying a Warrior at close range. Despite this the Warrior excels at long range battles, where its superior cannon often times outranges those of contemporary main battle tanks and its comparably superior mobility allows it to better dodge incoming fire. Even with these comparative advantages the Warrior struggles against contemporary main battle tanks, especially in defensive engagements.

Titan-class Planetary Assault Ship

The Titan-class planetary assault ship is a specialized warship designed to operate in any environment. Titan-class ships are roughly the size of the average corvette and can operate in space; however, they are designed primarily to function within a planet’s atmosphere. Their primary purpose is to transport troops and equipment to planetary battlegrounds and support those troops in battle. Titan-class ships possess a single heavy particle beam cannon, missile launchers, railguns, and a variety of point defense systems. In many ways Titans act simply as a premade bases or airfields, however they can also serve as a large scale transport or supply depot.

Navy

Command of the Stars Doctrine: The Imperial navy’s doctrine revolves around maintaining complete dominance wherever it operates. This is achieved by either finding and crushing hostile forces in traditional battle or attacking and destroying their logistical base. Towards these ends Imperial ships are made to be both fast and powerful.

Escorts

Tribal-class Corvette

Length: 109 meters
Role: Planetary patrol craft, Ground support craft
Description: The Tribal-class corvette is a low endurance ship designed primarily to patrol the area around inhabited worlds and star bases. Although small and comparably weak, the Tribal-class’s primary armaments are very accurate. Mix this with the craft’s ability to enter a planetary atmosphere and the Tribal-class is more than capable of supporting troops on the ground. Later modifications allowed the Tribal-class to be refueled and armed by larger ships, allowing it to operate as part of battlegroups and to partake in planetary invasions. Although small in size, the Tribal-class has been used as a troop transport and can ferry supplies to ground forces. Tribal-class corvettes are also designed to carry a single fighter craft, on the outside of its hull, to aid it in its duties, although the corvette lacks the ability to rearm and properly service these fighters. Tribal-class corvettes are a common sight throughout Astrana, as they are often used by planetary defense forces as well as the Imperial Navy.

Leopard-class Frigate

Length: 153 meters
Role: Anti-fighter/torpedo screen, Scout ship
Description: Originally designed to replace the Tribal-class as a patrol ship, the Leopard-class frigate’s design was altered after navy decided it needed a ship to fill scouting and more traditional screening roles instead of another patrol craft. It possesses far greater endurance than the Tribal-class, allowing it to easily support battlegroups. Oversized engines makes it one of the fastest combat ships around, although this has resulted in them being fairly exposed and prone to damage. Despite this potential weakness, Leopard-class frigates have shown themselves to be excellent scout craft. While generally lacking in offensive weaponry, its surplus of close-in-weapons systems allows it to fairly easily swat fighters and torpedoes out of the sky. Like the Tribal-class, Leopard-class frigates are designed to carry two fighters on the outside of its hull, although like the Tribal-class it is unable to rearm its fighters.

Huntress-class Destroyer

Length: 208 meters
Role: Torpedo ship, convoy raider, capital ship hunter
Description: The Huntress-class destroyer was designed to be a true ship killer. It packs heavier weaponry and greater mobility than ships of similar size, although its defenses are generally weaker, especially its armor. This ship is not to be underestimated; although its torpedoes can, and often are, destroyed before reaching their target, they have been known to instantly destroy battlecruisers. Besides their torpedoes, Huntress-class destroyers have four particle beam cannons that can be used to great effect against frigates, cruisers, and even capital ships. Unfortunately these ships are comparably fragile, with few point defenses and comparably weak armor, although their shields are fairly decent. Like Leopard-class frigates, the Huntress-class is designed to carry two fighters on the outside of its hull, although like the Leopard-class it is unable to rearm its fighters.

Tiger-class Light Cruiser

Length: 250 meters
Role: Gunboat, Flotilla flagship
Description: Tiger-class light cruisers are designed to destroy any frigates or destroyers that come too close to the fleet. These warships are armed with an array of particle beam cannons that can seriously damage smaller ships in a single volley. As for most Imperial ships, the Tiger-class is quite fast for its size and can keep up with the Huntress-class destroyer fairly well, resulting in it commonly being the flagship for destroyer flotillas. These ships carry a complement of four fighters and, unlike smaller ships, can rearm their missiles, although their hangers have room for only a single fighter at a time. Unfortunately the Tiger-class is quite a fragile ship. Its point defense are lackluster at best and it's armor is no thicker than that of the Huntress-class.

Capital Ships

Honor-class Heavy Cruiser

Length: 255 meters
Description: The Honor-class was designed to fit the roles of convoy protection and ground forces fire support, all while still retaining the ability to act as a capital ship in combat; this all required a solid combination of good cruising range and speed as well as independent fighting capabilities.The Honor-class is notable for being a generally well rounded ship and a go to for just about any task. Eight torpedo launchers, mixed with its variety of railguns and particle beam cannons ensured that the Honor-class was a threat to any ship it came across. It was also designed with two small hangar bays with a combined capacity of eight fighter craft. Unfortunately the Honor-class did have its fair share of issues. The largest issue of which was its needless complicated particle beam turrets which were originally designed with the requirement to be able to provide anti-aircraft/torpedo fire, despite the end result having the inability to train and elevate quickly enough to track such targets. However this does not mean the the Honor-class is unable to engage torpedoes and fighters: it has a fairly sizeable battery of point defenses at its disposal.

Illustrious-class Escort Carrier

Length: 283 meters
Role: Carrier
Description: A comparatively small class of carrier, Illustrious-class escort carriers were designed to escort convoys or act as the flagships of patrol squadrons. To this end it was made to both be inexpensive, relatively speaking, and fast. Later on it upgunned in response to some of the Aurolian Republic’s developments in carriers, sporting six torpedo launchers and an absolutely obscene amount of point defenses. It has a total carrying capacity of 112 fighters, which can be launched very quickly. It can also act as a sort of assault carrier, aiding in the transportation and deployment of ground forces for planetary invasions, in which case it would only carry half or even a quarter of its capacity in fighters.

Courageous-class Battlecruiser

Length: 305 meters
Description: Designed to serve as “enhanced” heavy cruisers, the Courageous-class battlecruiser was originally outfitted with comparably weak armaments for a ship of its size. After the outbreak of hostilities between the Resurrectionist State and Neo-Scorpine front it was determined that the Courageous-class was too underpowered and was refitted with some of the largest armaments ever used by the Imperial navy excluding spinal mounted weapons. More recent retrofits further enhanced the Courageous-class’s power source. These ships were fast, even for a battlecruiser, but possessed only a few heavy armaments in the form of particle beam cannons. A small hanger allows the Courageous-class to carry and service four fighters.

Revenge-class Assault Carrier

Length: 330 meters
Description: The Revenge-class was originally designed and built to replace the Illustrious-class escort carrier, which at the time was viewed as being too fragile to survive the battlefield. Towards this end it was designed with substantially more armor, closer to that of a battlecruiser than a carrier, as well as additional torpedo and missile launchers. Ultimately the Revenge-class never replaced the Illustrious-class, due to being substantially more expensive and slower. It was noted as being able to carry only slightly more fighters than the Illustrious-class, 120 in total, and being much slower at deploying them. Despite this it earned itself a niche role in providing close carrier support to the navy’s battleships and battlecruisers as well as deploying atmospherical aerospace fighters into battle; although it can’t linger in an atmosphere indefinitely it can do so long enough to launch its fighter compliment.

Invincible-class Battleship

Length: 365 meters
Description: The Invincible-class battleship is something of an oddity in the Imperial navy as it tries to more evenly balance speed, armaments, and armor, even putting a slight emphasis on defensive capabilities. The Invincible-class’s spinal particle beam cannon has become somewhat iconic of its class and has proven to be invaluable in the few naval engagements that these battleships have participated in. Numerous other particle beam cannons and close-in-weapons systems makes this a very powerful warship. There have been complaints about the Invincible-class’s slow speed, in comparison to other Imperial warships, as well as its complete lack of fighter carrying capacity.

Aerospace Force

While its own branch, Aerospace forces tends to be subordinate to both the Navy and Ground Forces. Officially the Aerospace Force is responsible for the airspace of any planet and the area of space around the planet, as well as providing fighter craft for the Navy’s carriers.

Strike Craft

TSF-6 Tempest

Role: Aerospace Interceptor
Description: Originally designed to counter the Aurolian Republic’s Havoc Interceptor, the TSF-6 Tempest is a small fighter notable for its high agility, top speed, acceleration, and ability to perform well in both atmosphere and void. While decent in a dogfight, the Tempest distinctly lacked durability and firepower, thus wasn’t useful against ships or even larger strike craft. Its original design called for it to help screen the fleet or ground forces from strike craft assault, which it did a good job at. It possessed a single anti-fighter particle beam cannon and a single hardpoint that could be used to store either fuel or an anti-fighter missile. After the development of the TSF-7 Hurricane it was quickly replaced and regulated to a role as an interceptor.

TSF-7 Hurricane

Role: Navy Multirole Fighter
Description: Designed to replace the Tempest, the Hurricane is more durable and possesses more firepower while retaining much of the Tempest’s agility. It is outfitted with two anti-fighter particle beam cannons and nine hardpoints. Eight of the hardpoints can carry anti-fighter missiles or small bombs, while the center one is designed to carry an anti-ship torpedo or bomb.The Hurricane is capable of entering and exiting a planet’s atmosphere and providing close air support to troops on the ground.

TSF-8 Sabre

Role: Aerospace Multirole Fighter
Description: Designed alongside the TSF-7 Hurricane, the Sabre was designed to ensure that Astrana maintained air and space supremacy around a planet. Its agility, speed, and reliability have made it a mainstay of the IGF and widely sought after by the Imperial planetary defense forces. While intended primarily to operate within a planet’s atmosphere, the Sabre does have the capability to exit the atmosphere and operate in the void of space, although it lacks the endurance to go very far. Its armaments include two railguns and six missile hardpoints.

TSF-9 Swordbreaker

Role: Aerospace supremacy fighter
Description: Designed from the ground up to utilize Squire AIs to their fullest extent, the TSF-9 Swordbreaker is considered a far superior fighter to the Hurricane and Sabre. First and foremost the Swordbreaker has far superior processing power than the Hurricane or Sabre, allowing for a much more powerful Squire. This greatly enhanced Squire grants its pilot even greater reflexes and battlespace awareness. The Swordbreaker also comes with modular internal bays that allow for easy upgrading and the installation of processing and Ewar modules to name a few. While not a durable fighter, it does come with a fairly weak shield generator. However it relies on its phenomenal agility which is so great that a limiter had to be placed on it so the fighter didn’t snap itself in half while operating in an atmosphere. The Swordbreaker has two forward facing particle beam cannons and two weaker rear facing particle beam cannons, all of which are gimbaled. It also has an interior bay that can hold four missiles. Each wing has two hardpoints that can carry a number of objects including anti-air missiles, bombs, fuel tanks, and particle beam cannons, and even extra zero point generators. A single reinforced hardpoint on the underside of the fuselage can carry a torpedo, heavy anti-ship particle beam cannon or two missiles. All of this comes at an incredibly high price, making the Swordbreaker a fighter reserved for the most elite of pilots.

TRF-2A/V Stiletto

Role: Reconnaissance Fighter
Description: The Stiletto is a specialized reconnaissance craft is packed with sophisticated sensors and can carry specialized reconnaissance missiles and sensor suites on its hardpoints. Not intended to partake in actual combat, it is lightly armed and armored. It has two variants: one of use in the void of space and one for planetary environments. The void variant is noted for being very fast, whereas the planetary variant is highly agile, but comparatively slow. Both variants have four hardpoints that are intended for recon missiles, but can be loaded with anti-fighter missiles or even unguided bombs if necessary. The void variant possesses a single anti-fighter particle beam cannon while the planetary variant has two anti-fighter railgun cannons.

TSA-3 Strike Sabre

Role: Close air support, Forward air controller, Bomber
Description: Designed exclusively for use within an atmosphere, the Strike Sabre fighter is a close air support craft capable of attacking armored vehicles and tanks, and providing quick-action support against enemy ground forces. It can also direct other aircraft to provide air support to ground forces with a degree of accuracy they would be incapable of achieving on their own. The strike sabre is a very durable aircraft, capable of shrugging off blows that would down most other fighters. Its equipped with two railgun cannons and eight missile hardpoints.

TSA-4 Tornado

Role: Torpedo bomber, Strike Fighter, Close air support
Description: The naval cousin of the Strike Sabre, the TSA-4 Tornado was designed first and foremost as a torpedo bomber. Its primary purpose is to close with the enemy fleet, launch its torpedoes, and then return to the fleet. Towards this end the Tornado was made with speed, above all else, in mind. Its four large engines ensures that it's one of the fastest craft in a fight. The Tornado is also capable of entering and exiting a planet’s atmosphere and, it's been noted to the surprise of many, its agility in an atmosphere approaches that of a dedicated fighter when it's hardpoints are empty. This has resulted in the Tornado being used in CAS missions when Strike Sabres are unavailable. The Tornado also has some ability to act as a fighter, although this is mostly in atmosphere and more of an act of last resort than anything else. The Tornado is armed with two particle beam cannons and four hardpoints, each capable of holding either a torpedo or two missiles/bombs.

TST-3 Kukri

Role: Gunship/Transport
Description: The TST-3 Kukri is the workhorse of the Imperial military. It's Astrana’s main gunship and transport for all environments.There are two main variants of the Kurki, the gunship and transport. Both variants quite durable, although the gunship variant is certainly more so. The transport variant can carry up to three squads of soldiers into battle.

Religion/Culture

There are three generally accepted classes in Astranan society: the imperial family, the nobility, and the commoners. As the name indicates, the imperial family is the ruling class in the empire. The nobility is made up of viceroys, military officers, and those given a permanent title by the monarch. Anyone can technically become a noble. This is accomplished by either progressing in rank to an officer position in the military, or being granted a title by the imperial family. The commoners are a bit different from the other classes as they are easily subdivided into other classes that include indentured servants, business entrepreneurs, and high level politicians.

Most people view the military as an honorable, and desirable, career choice. This is not only because it can lead to a title of nobility, but also because it was the military that held the Zuukid back, preventing them from wreaking havoc on Astrana’s worlds. The saying “Shield of the people, Sword of the Emperor” is often used to describe the military’s duel nature as the defenders of Astrana’s citizens, while also the tool by which the monarchy destroys its enemies. This mentality of the Astranan people, as well as strong traditions in the military itself, has allowed the military to serve as an important pillar of society while also preventing any kind of military coups or general corruption that stems from an overly influential military. Another interesting saying that has come from the military is “Its come to the cataphracts.” The saying meaning that ‘they have broken through and this is the last thing we can do to respond.’ It's a pragmatic and optimistic saying as it is essentially saying “there’s a major problem and its time for the real adults to step in and fix this.”

While Kineticism was once the dominant faith in Astrana, it is now practiced by only a small minority of the population.The dominant faith in Astrana is currently the Faith of the Children of the Stars. The Faith of the Children of the Stars is less a religion and more of a spiritual outlook and moral/philosophical framework. Important components of the faith involve viewing the stars as being the “birthmothers of all life” and reverence of the ancestors.

Demographics

~98% Ethnic Astranans (Humans)
<2% Other species and non-Astranan humans

Characters

TBD

Relations

TBD

Habitation