Knight Solaire

Solar Winds - A Sci-Fi NRP ( Now Accepting)

Solar Winds

A Sci-Fi Nation Roleplay

Welcome to my interest check, I hope this RP sounds interesting to some of you.
Discord: discord.gg/3sU2FUk9

Andaluiza

Intro:

Solar Winds is a sci-fi nation roleplay set in Andaluzia, an old double ring galaxy. This roleplay will attempt to adhere to science and realism whenever possible while remaining “playable” to the nations and characters. I have devised a number of interesting mechanics that should aid in protecting the realism while not taking away from the enjoyment of the RP experience. As a GM I will not be playing a nation, instead I will be shaping the background atmosphere, controlling NPC’s and other matters outside of players control. Space is volatile, confusing, and unforgiving so expect the conditions you meet in Andaluzia to be the same.

Rules:

- Be courteous, no insults, slurs, assholdry or over-edginess. I will ban you
- Communicate in the discord, I would implore you to discuss plot lines and other story devices amongst yourselves
- No god-modding, be balanced, be fun to fight, be fun to interact with. I will balance you and your nation if I feel like it is too much
- No magic, Psyonics, tech-psyonics or other fantasy. Nothing against it, I love the fantasy, just not what I was thinking about with this RP.

- Keep up with your posts

o 1.5 weeks without a post, I will give you a slight reminder
o 3.0 weeks without a post , I will move the plot/battle along
o 1.0 month without a post, your nation will be liquidated and under NPC control

- Stay based in science and realism. Im no astrophysicist and I am no expert on the science, but I would expect nation tech, weapons, travel, etc… to be somewhat plausible. I will accept scientific handwavium if it could be possible.

The Plot

The year is 239 of the 63rd millennium, space is no longer the final frontier and life flourishes amongst the stars. Thousands of Civilizations have come and gone through the galaxy of Andaluzia. Some civilizations naturally died out, failing the test of survival for their species. Others destroyed themselves, burning hot as stars for a moment before wiping themselves out.
Andaluzia has seen few exceptions to this rule, some civilizations have endured throughout the ages to permanently change Andaluzia for the better. The current inhabitants of Andaluzia have many legends for those who came before them, but one name is common amongst them all, The Solis Ecclesia.
The Solis Ecclesia started humbly, like most of the civilizations of Andaluzia. Growth was rapid and the civilization soon met other civilizations with similar goals. Some cooperated, some fought, others conspired against one another in the great game of survival. In the end however, one nation remained, the Solis Ecclesia. Having dominated the galaxy and not destroyed themselves in the process, the people of the Solis Ecclesia could grow without resistance. All manner of beings lived in harmony under the banner of the Ecclesia. Science flourished and it seemed that utopia could be reached as the power of galaxies could finally be harnessed.
The wild tides of the universe cannot be tamed however, and doom soon came to Andaluzia. Its sister galaxy Fomonka, on a collision course for millennia, finally collided with Andaluzia. Once prosperous worlds collided with stars and other worlds. Some unfortunate worlds were flung far from the warmth of their parent stars and died out, becoming cold rouge planets. Others had their surfaces ravaged by debris as chaos gripped the galaxy. This would be the death of the Solis Ecclesia, their people scattered and isolated, cut off from the power and stability that they once enjoyed. Time continued however and as Andaluzia healed, so did those who inhabit it.
In the current age, Andaluzia has formed itself into a double ring galaxy. The Inner ring, is made up of old ancient stars that are the orginal inhabitants of Andaluzia. Old and powerful civilizations make up this inner core. This inner core is isolated themselves however, as a great void exists between them and the civilizations of the outer ring. The outer rings is made up of newer stars and systems, thousands of younger civilizations call this great ring home.

This is where our story begins, a tale as old as the galaxy itself. Will these civilizations fizzle out slowly, burn away in a quick blaze or fury or stand the test of time to brave the dangers of an endless universe. The choice is up to them……or is it.

Gameplay

I want to try something different with this RP and incorporate a number a “gameplay” mechanics that ( in my opinion) will make player interaction a little smoother.

- Maps

o I want to incorporate the use of maps for things like battles, travel, etc….
o I have found that this helps balance FTL travel and battles while providing a physical representation for progress and distance.

o This will also help keep track of campaign/exploration progress

map examples

FTL Travel limits

o FTL travel will be timed

- Short jumps between. Solar systems and within your local area do not require a cool down post. Jumps under 1000 light years are considered short

- It takes a month of in game time for fast, regular and slow vessels to reach their maximum range.

- Players can make two back-to-back FTL travel posts, but must make a short FTL drive cooldown post after two jumps.

o I am adding three classifications of FTL travel, each with their own ranges and cooldown times.

- Slow FTL travel

• Vessels are classified as slow if they are old/relics or are overly heavy in terms of armament, cargo and/or armor. Slow vessels can jump up to a maximum of 10000 light years in one jump or 5000 light years split between two jumps with a short cooldown post in between

• Modern vessels and ships of normal weight, armament, cargo and armor are considered normal speed FTL. These vessels can jump up to 16000 Light years in one jump and 8000 split up into two jumps

• Vessels are classified as fast if they are dedicated recon ships. Smaller vessels like destroyers, corvettes, mine layers, etc. These. Vessels can travel up to 20000 light years in one jump and 10000 split between two jumps. Vessels. Capable of fast. FTL travel have the option of overcharging their drive to achieve 30000 light years in one jump, but must suffer a double cooldown penalty due to an overheated drive.

- Character death and Nation losses

o This is a RP of nations, not necessarily characters. If you continuously put your characters in harms way, expect them to be harmed.

o Characters will die as a result of battles, assassinations, accidents, etc.

o I will be keeping track of nation losses in battles, societal attrition, etc. This is to keep army and population sizes in check as well as the progress of military campaigns.

- Nation Size

o Nations will be classified into three sizes at the start of the RP

- Large nations, most likely civilizations that barely survived the merging of galaxies or were established shortly thereafter. Large nations control between 10 and 20 systems and can field moderately sized expeditionary forces without huge societal change. Energy and food production match population growth ( approx pop: 70,000,000,000 - 140,000,000,000 souls)

- Medium Nations, established sometime after the merging of galaxies. Control between 5-9 systems with the energy and food production to maintain population growth over time. Can field small expeditionary armies without huge societal change. ( approx. pop. 35,000,000,000 – 68,000,000,000 souls)

- Small Nations, young nations recently established. Small nations control between 1-4 systems. Can field small expeditionary raiding groups over relatively short distances. ( 7,000,000,000- 28,000,000,000)

[indent][indent][indent]o Nations can be split into a few different specialties:
• Balanced: Balanced energy and food production

o Pros: Unspecialized, energy and food production sustain normal population growth

• Agri-nation: More energy and food production

o Pros: Rapid population growth

o Cons: Overpopulation, pollution, low tech growth

• City State: High tech, slow populations growth

o Pros: High tech growth, high base tech, high energy

o Cons: Slow population growth, low food production

• Pirate haven: Lawless regions of space with a random assortment of tech, martial strength and societal growth

o Pros: Can have degraded high tech ships and weapons and societies

o Cons: Little to no population growth, food or energy production.

- Military Size, Strength and Composition

o Military size will depend on a few factors, such as culture, population size, tech level and energy production capability.

- Large nations cannot have more than 10% of their population in the military without loosing population growth, production and societal morale

- Medium nations cannot have more than 5% of their population in the military without loosing population growth, production and societal morale

- Small Nations cannot have more than 2% of their population in the military without loosing population growth, production and societal morale

o Nations have the choice of being militaristic

- Militaristic nations can have up to 40% of their total population in the military

- This would be the equivalent of having every able man, woman and child over the age of 16 in the military

- Militaristic nations slowly lose any culture they had, turning more towards a martial culture ( Think: The Imperium of Man)

- Militaristic nations suffer stagnation in tech growth, food and energy production.

- Population, Tech and production growth can only occur by conquest

- Creating your nation

o Players can make three choices in Andaluiza:

- There are slots for 5 large nations

• Large Nations must reside in the inner ring

- There are unlimited slots for small and medium nations

• Small and medium nations start within the outer ring

- Small and medium nations start with no knowledge of other nations, unless planned beforehand by those players

- Large nations have established diplomatic ties with one another, but no knowledge of smaller civilizations

Nation Sheet

- Nation Sheet

o Nation name:
o Systems controlled:
o Government Type:

- Nation Size: ( Small, Medium, Large)

- Nation Specialty: ( No specialization, Agri-nation, City State, Pirate haven)

o Nation History:
o Species:
o Culture:

- Notable civilian tech

o Economy:

- Trade Craft:

o Military

- Size/Organization

- Land Forces:

- Naval Forces:

- Notable military tech

o Territory Maps

Shattered Stars - A Space Opera [Open for more players - Someone please join Karbana Kinnis... it's lonely there]

Commander Cassius Caspian
Thera ( Dominion Controlled Planet)
Outside City 001

Cassius warmed himself on the large bonfire in front of him, eyeing the alien slabs of meat he had put on a makeshift grill. It had been a month since the recon team dropped down on the planet, and Cassius had made himself very comfortable within the recon team. All of the comfortable fat he had accumulated while working for Lord Barca was gone, revealing the slim physique common within recon teams.
The team had finally accepted the former recon officer into their team and they were celebrating a successful recon mission with alien meat and liquor. The meat was a freshly killed farm animal commonly eaten by the locals of this system, while the liquor was surprisingly donated by a resident of the city.
City 001 was taken without any significant damage or loss of life, something rather uncharacteristic for the Solite marine regiments. Additionally, the population of city 001 was rather sympathetic to the Solite troops as they prioritized keeping infrastructure intact, minimizing the change to their way of life. The population of city 001 was largely human, removing most of the animosity of the invading Solite troops.

Cassius brushed the meat with a homemade marinade of Solite spices and herbs before walking back to a makeshift throne of ammunition and rations. A half empty bottle of local liquor sat next to the crates and was quickly snatched up by Cassius as he sat down.

“ ten more minutes”, Cassius said in a tipsy tone before removing the cork from the bottle and taking a swig.

“ Where did you learn how to cook?” a recon commando said, clearly drunk and slurring his words

“ Mordant Prime….” Cassius answered with a smile “ We used to hold bonfires like this almost every week after an operation. There was always something fresh to eat and plenty of livestock around” Cassius continued with a drunken smile.

The rest of the team laughed as they shared a few drinks as the meat cooked. The conquest of City 001 was largely over and small orbital transports could be seen using the spaceport within the city. On a clear day, the larger ships of Task Force 1 could be seen in low orbit of the planet , as continued operations to control the sector were under way.

Task Force 2
13th Mordant (Acid Dogs) Regiment, 2nd Battalion, 3rd platoon (Mechanized)
Pvt. Cato Euchar
On planet Ibirius

Third platoon shuffled back into the into the forward operating base after a weeklong combat patrol. The men of third platoon looked haggard as they stagged back into their barracks for a well needed rest.
The platoon had lost three men, all replacements of troops lost during the Mordant campaign. The resistance on Ibirius was well prepared and very motivated to fight. Xenos and human fought side by side and their resistance became fore vicious by the day. Solite troops enjoyed a nearly two to one kill ratio, but the largely guerilla resistance was disheartening to say the least.
The 13th Mordant and 2nd Marine division were veterans of guerilla campaigns on Mordant prime, but the conflict still had an effect on the new replacements the Solites had gained since leaving Solite controlled space.

Cato, found an empty patch of pavement and promptly fell to the floor, using his pack and helmet as a makeshift pillow. The large industrial spaceport was under Solite control and the larger ships of task force 2 could land and unload their cargo onto the planet. Combat engineers and local laborers, worked day and night to erect defenses and the area around the spaceport looked more like a fortress than a spaceport.

As Cato watched the endless stream of men and material arrive on the planet, his eyes involuntarily closed as he drifted off into a well deserved nap.

Task Force 3
Designated System : Yanna

The troops of Task force three landed and started combat operations with relative ease. The PDF was largely under strength and poorly trained. The resistance was not match for the drilled and hardened troops of the third task force.
As the last pockets of resistance were being destroyed, combat engineers worked to erect defenses and make defensive positions.

Shattered Stars - A Space Opera [Open for more players - Someone please join Karbana Kinnis... it's lonely there]

Commander Cassius Caspian
Thera ( Dominion Controlled Planet)
30km outside of City 001


Cassius checked his watch, it had been five minutes since the call for the fire mission went out. From experience, he knew that the rounds should be entering the atmosphere soon. Suddenly, a pair of sonic booms were heard in quick succession as Cassius reflexively dropped down into the hole he was in.

“ Those are the Marines landing….” another commando said quietly, his eyes still glued to an optical device. “ They’ll know we are here now..” he finished before a symphony of loud sonic claps could be heard.

Large columns of smoke could be seen streaking downward over the town before seemingly exploding in mid air a couple hundred feet above the ground. Through the advanced optical devices, one could see the warhead drop from the delivery device and onto the target. With the naked eye however Cassius observed two explosions, once in the air above the target and the second when the warhead hit the target on the ground.
The sky seemed alive with fire, it looked almost apocalyptic as more rounds fell from the sky and impacted their targets. The targeted buildings along the edge of the city were quickly dispatched and the air around the perimeter of the city was full of dust and flying debris.

Grabbing a handled set of binoculars, Cassius pushed the zoom as far as it would go before starting to observe the city. He could see soldiers of the self defense force running around and towards the now destroyed buildings and field emplacements. Some were attempting to dig their comrades out while others hurriedly tried to salvage equipment and get to some state of readiness.
Cassius was surprised, on Mordant, the initial bombardment of cities usually left the defenders utterly shocked and unable to function. The planetary defense force here seemed to have good training and more importantly, the will to fight.

“ Follow on targets!” a commando said in a louder tone as he panned his optical device around the city.

“ Target, mobile AAA battery moving east of the destroyed barracks. Secondary target, anti tank position and stockpile, north of the motor pool” the trooper barked as it was quickly repeated by another commando on the radio

It felt almost cruel to Cassius, he felt sympathy for the humans on the ground as they tried to dig their friends and comrades out of destroyed buildings and bunkers. They had no idea what was coming their way and there was certainly more coming.
The squelch of a radio shook Cassius from his thoughts as foreign female voice burst over the radio.

“ Assassin 1-1, this his Chaos actual. We are at 50% deployment and are sending two company sized elements your way. Request target data and egress points. Marine artillery is ready and standing by for targets…” The voice finished before the familiar sound of rumbling tracks could be heard.

The invasion of Thera had started in earnest and Cassius had front row seats to the whole show.

-One Week later-
Task Force 2
Inside dominion territory ( Designated System: Vescyr)


The radar warning receiver of the destroyer immediately began to light up upon exiting FTL travel, the software tentatively classifying the target as an orbital station. A box appeared on the ship’s heads up bridge display as the radar officer began tracking the orbital station signal, complete with range and orbital drift data.

“ Launch recon craft and communications probes…” the destroyer captain barked before pressing the general quarters alarm. “ Don environment suits! GENRAL QUARTERS, GENERAL QUARTERS!” an automated messaged yelled over the intercom as crew members began readying themselves and their stations.

The Orbital station was still roughly 100k kilometers away and well outside of visible range, but still inside the maximum known range of some Solite weapons. The captain of the destroyer was being careful and rightfully so as his communications officer began intercepting messages from the orbital station.

“ Sir, they are hailing us, sending identification tones. Should we respond….” The crewman said turning to face the commanding officer

“ Identify ourselves, tell them to surrender or be destroyed” the captain of the destroyer barked, his eyes glued to the heads up display on the bridge.

“ No response sir, sending again…” the communications officer said before he was cut off by the radar warning receivers shrill siren

“ LAUNCH TRANSIENT!!” the radar officer yelled over the siren of the warning receiver as the vessel’s heads up display changed to show the projected course of the weapon coming at them.

“ Shit….” The captain said under his breath before hitting the collision alarm twice. “ Make for flank speed, pull to starboard!” the captain yelled as the thrust of the powerful star engine could be felt.

The straining grown of metal could heard as the vessel made its way up to speed and shifted to the right. As the munition fired by the orbital station rapidly moved closer, a timer appeared as it could be more accurately tracked by the vessels radar. 30 seconds was displayed and rapidly began counting down as the heads up display continued to track its progress. The captain gritted his teeth as the timer got down to 10 seconds before the loud sound of metal of metal contact could be heard on the bridge.

“Damage report!” The captain of the destroyer yelled into the intercom before another voice could be heard over the captains intercom.

“ It was a ricochet, minor damage to plating, no structural damage, interior atmosphere intact and stable” the crewman’s voice replied in a relatively calm tone.

The captain grunted to clear his throat before looking towards the radar and weapons officer “ Ready missile tubes 1 through 16 with APHE and lock the orbital station” the captain barked before receiving affirmative answers from the crew members.

“ Fire when ready” the captain finished as the thundering sound of missiles leaving their tubes could be heard.

-A few hours later-

After a quick skirmish with the orbital platform, the threat had been subdued and the remainder of the task force exited FTL travel and made its way to the planet designated “Ibirius”. Much like operations of Thera, the task force set up in a far orbit of the planet and began deploying reconnaissance teams and marine detachments to take the planet.

-Two weeks Later-
Task Force 3
Designated System : Yanna


The recon destroyers of Task force three entered the system designated “Yanna” without much activity. The destroyers stopped a few freighters, captured their flight logs and confiscated their cargo before moving on. According to the flight data captured from the freighters, they indicated a large industrial space port on the nearby planet, designated “ Othae”.

The remainder of the task force exited FTL travel and entered into a far orbit of the planet to begin combat operations. While doing this, a pair of recon destroyers were sent towards the expected Saxonian frontline in order to finally make contact with Saxonian forces and merge their front lines.

Shattered Stars - A Space Opera [Open for more players - Someone please join Karbana Kinnis... it's lonely there]

Crusade Fleet,
Dominion space, 300k meters outside of Thera


A collection of naval officer sat in the briefing room looking at the holographic star chart in front of them. The plans for the first major offensive of the war were displayed while the briefed the commanding officers from around the fleet.

“ We are calling this offensive operation Torch. Our plan is to cut deep into Dominion territory, cutting off worlds while we link up with the Saxonian frontline”, the Admiral said as the display changed to illustrate the plan.



“ Task force 1 will stay in this system to protect our foothold here and support our troops. Task forces 2 and 3 will continue moving towards the Saxonian front, capturing worlds along the way. Once we link up with the Saxons, we will consolidate our positions, build defenses and distribute troops along the entire front. We also need to set up infrastructure to receive imminent reinforcements from home, until that happens our offensive capability will be significantly hampered”, the Admiral finished.

“ Orders have been sent to your task group leaders, along with any relevant locations and coordinates…..questions” the admiral barked before scanning the room.

The room was eerily silent, everyone was anxious to start the fighting. The longer they stayed here was another day that was lost to the enemy. They understood that the Dominion forces had to be mobilizing soon.

“ Good….dismissed” the Admiral finished before walking off the stage.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A few hours later
Task force 1


Task force 1 remained in its position as the other two groups left, leaving the space around Thera eerily empty. The vessels themselves were awash with activity however, as troops readied themselves and their equipment for the upcoming invasion.
On the bridge, the weapons officer received a sudden coded message, complete with coordinates and locations for an orbital strike. The recon team down on the planet had identified initial targets ahead of the marine’s assault.

“ Be advised, fire mission….stand by for coordinates” the weapons officer said over the ship intercom before sounding the warning alarm, changing the lights on the bridge from fluorescent white to a dark red.

The orders were transmitted to the other vessels in the task force and they immediately began moving into position. Without delay, the ships began firing the first salvos of the war based on the coordinates provided by the recon team.

-ASSASSIN 1-1 REQUEST FIRE MISSION: GRID ZONE ZETA-BRAVO-ONE-ONE-THREE-

TARGET-BARRACKS ( 39W,120N, 45°)
TARGET-BARRACKS ( 29W,120N, 30°)
TARGET-ANTI TANK BATTERY ( 39E,110N,43°)
TARGET-ANTI AIR BATTERY (35W,115N, 40°)
-MORE TARGETS TO FOLLOW-
-STANDING BY FOR BDA-

Shattered Stars - A Space Opera [Open for more players - Someone please join Karbana Kinnis... it's lonely there]

Commander Cassius Caspian
Thera ( Dominion Controlled Planet)
30km outside of City 001

Cassius removed his helmet with a long sigh, relishing in the cool air that greeted him. Sweat poured from his face and neck and pooled in his boots, resulting in a slight squishing sound with each step. It had been years since Cassius was involved in a recon operation, and they certainly didn’t operate like this on Mordant Prime.
He was glad that the naval recon commandos had learned from their past engagements, lessons that were often learned the hard way. On Mordant Prime, they deployed with vehicles, dropships and other loud equipment. They operated more like a light raid force rather than a recon team. This often resulted in contact, casualties and inaccurate intelligence. The new breed of recon commandos were different, they deployed light and stayed away from combat. Not getting shot at usually makes it easier to collect actual intelligence, something a recon team should be good at.

The platoon had established landing zones for the marine dropships, outlining safe locations with infrared trim so they could be seen at night. The team then began moving inland, towards their primary objective.
City 001 was relatively small, according to orbital recon scans. Far from the capital of the region, the importance of taking city 001 was its spaceport. This spaceport would allow the strike groups to land heavy weapons and could support their smaller transport ships, a necessity for continued operations. Without this spaceport, reinforcements would have to come from orbit, taking hours to reach the locations they were needed at.

Cresting a small false peak, Cassius could see the rest of the platoon laying prone against the summit of the large hill they were on. Two commandos were surveying they city handheld binoculars and scopes while the remainder of the platoon were setting up larger imaging devices and camouflage.
Cassius felt old and out of shape, the platoon had walked endlessly for the past three days. His legs ached and his back felt bent out of shape by the heavy rucksack that he was forced to carry. That didn’t seem to faze the rest of the platoon though, they moved over the terrain looking unencumbered and fresh. Even when they reached their destination, the platoon was constantly in motion as they set up their observation position.

“ Care to join us commander…….” A voice could be heard from his helmet as Cassius looked up to see the young lieutenant waving at him.

He could almost imagine the smug grin the platoon leader had plastered on his face behind the mirrored face shield. Letting out a quick chuckle, Cassius donned his helmet again and finished the ascent up the large hill and was immediately put to work.
Producing an entrenching tool from his rucksack he cut the top layer of grass and soil, carefully peeling it back while keeping the top layer intact. Placing the top layer of grass and soil aside, he began digging a hole large enough for two men to be able to lay side by side inside. Cassius then placed a large spotting scope inside while another commando began to set up communications equipment before pulling their rucksacks into the hole with them. Finally, the pair set up a few collapsible supporting beams before pulling the top layer of grass and soil over them, leaving a small gap towards the front of the hole in order for their equipment to observe the city. This process was replicated along the crest of the hill by the remainder of the platoon, as each pair was trained on a separate location.

Finally, after almost a week of exhausting hiking, this was their new home for the foreseeable future. Cassius was just glad to be laying down, this was luxury compared to the past couple days.

“ Sun rises in an hour, we will maintain 50% watch” the platoon leader said over the team’s short range radio.

“ No communication with the Crusade fleet until 1800 zulu, so radio silent until the sun goes down again” the Lieutenant finished with a sharp radio click.

“ Hey….ill take this watch commander, you get some sleep”, the commando in the hole with Cassius said as he took off his helmet. “ You look like you need it anyway…” he finished with a chuckle before turning to bury his face into the large spotting scope.

“ Thanks…..” Cassius barely got out as he laid his head down on his rucksack, still dripping with sweat.

“ No problem pops….” The commando said again without looking away from the scope

Cassius chuckled “pops….” He said under his breath. ‘What a nice nickname’ he added sarcastically before closing his eyes and immediately going to sleep.

Shattered Stars - A Space Opera [Open for more players - Someone please join Karbana Kinnis... it's lonely there]

Commander Cassius Caspian
CVN-069 Blinding Light ( Supernovae Class Carrier)
Crusade Fleet Flagship


Cassius sighed as he sat in one of the empty chairs on the bridge. The weapons officer was understandably grabbing some much needed sleep as the ship traveled in FTL. No weapons could be fired while traveling at this speed, so understandably no weapons officer was needed.
The atmosphere on the bridge was tense however, as they were in line to “travel down the slot” as the crew put it. The move worried Cassius too, they had no relations with these nations and the strict radio silence they operated under made them a very imposing force. On the surface, everything seemed to go to plan. The destroyers and recon craft ahead of the main fleet signaled that everything was clear before they jumped, and Cassius hoped that things stay that way when they arrived.
The arrival of the groggy weapons officer signaled the end of FTL travel as the vessel transitioned back into normal space, the glow of a nearby blue giant filling the dark bridge.

“ All strike groups accounted for and moving into close formation sir…” the radar officer barked, quickly looking back towards his radar screen “ We are 10k AU away from the nearest planetary body, no artificial structures have been detected” the officer finished.

At first, the Admiral was quiet, before an uncharacteristic grin spread across his face “ The gods favor us….” He said, pointing his head towards the relatively nearby blue giant. “ Young stars, a sign of new beginnings…” he finished, looking towards the command display.

A series of green lights next to vessel names on the command panel indicated that all ships were now in close formation and ready to travel in between the borders of the OPAO and Union. The bridge was now alive with activity, as crew members were hyper focused on their stations, looking for any sign of sentient activity.

“ Any reports from the recon vessels…” the Admiral said, looking towards the communication officer.

“ No sir, all quiet….nothing to download on the comm array in this sector…” the officer said with confidence.

“ Good, send a message to all vessels over the shortwave radio. All ships, begin max burn on this bearing…” the admiral said as the ship could be felt accelerating.

A large timer, appeared on the public display of the bridge reading 12 hours. This timer indicated the amount of time it would take them to travel through the “slot” and to the next waypoint for a jump.
This was an important milestone, this was the last jump before entering Dominion space and everyone was anxious to start combat action. Cassius let out another sigh and began walking off the bridge before yawning. He needed sleep ahead of his recon action.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15 hours later


“ Commander Caspian……!” a voice yelled through the bulkhead door, violently rousing Cassius from his slumber. “ Commander Caspian, its Lieutenant Junior grade Aquilla….Naval recon commandos…..2nd platoon. Ive been informed that your going to join us for this upcoming OP” the voice continued.

Cassius let out a long groan, wiping the sleep from his eyes before speaking in a groggy tone “ Enter!” he said as the door opened

The Lieutenant JG was young, almost too young to be leading a naval recon platoon leader. “ Sorry to wake you sir, we exited FTL an hour ago, we are set to recon landing sites soon…” the Lieutenant said in a blank tone, clearly not to enthused that he needed to take Cassius. “ We step off in thirty minutes, im here to get you ready…”

Cassius groaned again and stood from the bed, nodding as he followed the young lieutenant down the corridors of the carrier.

“ Do you have anything warm?” the lieutenant asked as they walked past troop and weapons bays, looking back at the commander with a raised eyebrow.

“ No….” Cassius barked, still trying to wake up “ Recon craft are temperature controlled anyway, and the planet is rather temperate if our analysis is right….” He said, his voice clearing as he spoke.

The young lieutenant let out a chuckle and shook his head “ A lot has changed since Mordant.” He said in a jovial tone “ we are jumping from high atmosphere, freefalling to our objective. Your going to be cold..” he finished, letting out another chuckle.

“ Ill be fine” Cassius said flatly as the reached the naval recon bay

“ Fair enough sir…” the lieutenant answered, pointing him inside “ Your gear is in the crate inside, the rest of the platoon is already prepping the craft so you have the room to yourself to get ready. Ill see you in thirty...” he finished walking down towards the hangar bay.

Cassius entered to room and was greeted by a large crate in the center of the room, flanked by a multitude of ammo crates an explosives. Opening the crate, Cassius saw a set of standard issue environmental armor, worn by marine raiders and naval recon. The matte black armor surfaces offering no light reflection.
Cassius was a former naval recon commando himself and was familiar with the armor and weapons associated with recon operations. However, it had been a few years since he was operational and he was not as conditioned as he wanted to be. Relying on his training, he was able to put on the armor without any real difficultly, the sound of pressurizing indicating that he had attached all the armor components correctly.
A large rucksack took up the majority of the space in the crate and it was already pre-packed by the platoon itself, probably to save the time of telling him what to bring. It weighed nearly 100lbs and included extra ammo, advanced optics and explosives. Struggling to pick it up, Cassius finally got the rucksack on his shoulder before he grabbed the small carbine rifle and began walking for the door.
The halls were eerily empty, as most of the troops and crew were still asleep ahead of the recon operation. Cassius always enjoyed the silence, it allowed him to calm his mind before potentially seeing combat. The hallway eventually gave way to the large cavernous expanse of the carrier hangar bay as Cassius walked past strike craft before eventually reaching the lone recon craft that had landed on the carrier. A woman, the pilot, stood next to a technician as the remainder of the recon team was loading their packs onto to ship.
The rest of the platoon barely acknowledged the commanders presence as they loaded the vessel, stopping only to exchange professional pleasantries before continuing to work. The platoon was loading all of their equipment into a drop pod that would be dropped with them. Due to the size of the atmospheric parachutes, they would jump clean, with just their weapons and pick up their packs from the drop pod when they land. Cassius did the same and sat in the troop bay, waiting for the rest of the platoon.
With the recon craft loaded, it taxied to the hangar elevator and quickly began rising up to the flight deck, the back ramp of the recon craft closing as they reached the vacuum of open space. The fleet was roughly 30k miles from the upper atmosphere of the planet, which looked like a large moon at this distance. The flight to the drop point was set to take a few hours, and the platoon sat in relative silence, only broken by the status reports of the pilot as they got closer to the planet.
The planet steadily grew before taking up the majority of the cockpit widow in front of them, the blueish tinge of the upper atmosphere becoming visible.

“ 1 minute!” the pilot yelled over the intercom as the crew began putting on their helmets, preparing to vent the oxygen of the craft into space. The recon platoon followed suit, pressurizing their suits to prepare for the vacuum of open space.

“ 30 seconds…!” the pilot yelled as the sound of oxygen venting out of the craft could be heard, being replaced by absolute silence as the pressure equalized to the vacuum of space.

The rush of oxygen leaving the craft was quickly replaced by the sound of Cassius’s own breathing as the suits oxygen reserves kicked in. Looking towards the rest of the platoon, Cassius watched as they stood and positioned themselves towards the rear of the craft. Following suit, Cassius stood as the rear ramp of the recon craft opened, flooding the interior with light from the planet and its nearby star.
The lights of the craft flashed from red to blue as two members of the platoon quickly pushed the gear pod out of the back of the craft before following suit, jumping after the drop pod. The rest of the platoon followed, running and jumping off the back ramp of the craft into the upper atmosphere of the planet.
It was always weird to be free falling without the sound of air rushing past your face. Even weirder was the sight of having high altitude cirrus clouds below them as the fell. Looking up, Cassius could see the remainder of the platoon is near perfect formation, their arms spread out in an attempt to use what little atmosphere there was to keep them stable. Slowly, the faint sound of air rushing past Cassius’s ears could be heard before they passed the upper layer of cirrus clouds. The sound of air steadily grew louder before it dominated his ears as they dropped further into the atmosphere of the planet.
The drogue chute of the gear pod engaged first, prompting the rest of the platoon to engage their chutes, first deploying drogue chutes before their main chutes opened, jerking them into a slow decent towards the ground. Dawn was just breaking down on the planet, and the majority of the ground below was shrouded in darkness. Toggling his night vision visor, Cassius got his first glimpse of the planet as the platoon drifted down towards the ground, landing together with their gear with minimal noise.

The platoon was now truly alone as they began consolidating and burying their parachutes, they had landed in a large prairie, away from any major population center by a few hundred miles at least. The sound of a radio squelch, startled Cassius after hours of silence, followed the by the young Lieutenant’s voice.

“ Assassin 1 actual, this is assassin 1-1. We are clean and in position, identification of landing zones to follow…” he said calmly as the platoon donned their heavy packs and began walking off into the night.

CVN-069 Blinding Light ( Supernovae Class Carrier)
Crusade Fleet Flagship


The message of the successful recon deployment reached the bridge of the Crusade fleet flag ship. Not wasting anytime, the Admiral, instructed the radio officer to send a coded message to Lord Von Zaschen with the frequencies given to them.

The message simply read

“ Crusade fleet in position, ready to conduct combat operations”

Shattered Stars - A Space Opera [Open for more players - Someone please join Karbana Kinnis... it's lonely there]

Commander Cassius Caspian
CVN-069 Blinding Light ( Supernovae Class Carrier)
Crusade Fleet Flagship


Cassius held onto the back of a nearby chair as the ship transitioned back into normal space, resulting a slight shift in momentum. According to his mental notes, the crusade fleet was almost halfway to the maps designation of Dominion space. In reality however, they were completely unaware of where they were. Long Range travel was limited to the edges of Solite controlled space and just beyond. True long range travel was reserved for solar priests undergoing pilgrimage to other known nations. In reality, the maps and star charts they were using were at least 40 to 50 revolutions old.
Cassius always found some comfort in space travel, he never could get over the beauty of the vacuum. It was peaceful in an eternal kind of way, knowing that these were the same stars that their ancestors saw as the made their exodus from the Dominion. This fact meant little to Cassius, but for the majority of the crew and troops onboard this was akin to a religious pilgrimage.
Nearly everyone was overtaken by religious fervor and preformed rituals and sacred rites nearly every day. Every bit of the carrier, its strike craft and weapons had been blessed nearly 6 times over and had the purity seals to prove it. Although this was a minor annoyance to Cassius, it was good for overall morale, particularly important during these long voyages.

“ Strike group one and three have exited FTL and is standing by 0.2 AU off to our starboard,” a crewmember said towards the ship captain, as he buried his face in the radar screen. The captain nodded in response before looking towards the communications station.

“ Have we tapped into the nearby communications array that the recon team dropped?” the captain asked, looking expectantly towards the crew member.

“ We have accessed the array and are currently downloading communications from high command, sir”. The crew member answered as he turned to face the captain.

Being a former naval reconnaissance operator, Cassius has spent plenty of time on long range destroyers and recon craft. As a result, he knew the procedures and tactics of how these vessels work within larger fleet operations.
While underway within a larger fleet, Solite destroyers sit far to the port and starboard flanks of the greater fleet in order to provide both long range defense, targeting and recon to the bigger ships towards the center. Solite destroyers also travel far ahead and behind of the formation in order to provide increased security. Destroyers that are on point, ahead of the formation, will commonly deploy recon craft to jump ahead of the battlegroup in order to map safe FTL lanes and drop small communications arrays to maintain connection with high command. These arrays are small, about half the size of an average man, making them hard to find unless you are right on top of them. Wherever a Solite fleet travels, it leaves a trail of communications arrays all the way to its destination.

“ Commander Caspian….” A grainy rough voice barked, breaking Cassius’s trance as he looked out towards the stars.

“ Yes…..sir…..Admiral” Cassius answered in a shaky tone, looking up towards the captain’s chair.

“ We have downloaded the most recent comm dump from high command, you may want to inform our illustrious high priest that there is information that he should be privy to” the admiral said in a dismissive tone.

The navy has always been more rational than the other branches and attracts those of more moderate faith than the Army and Marine branches. As a result, they viewed the intervention of religious clerics as unneeded and often unwanted. Being the oldest branch in the Solite state, they have earned the right to their own relative autonomy.
The Admiral of the battlegroup may have been second to the Lord Barca in terms of leadership, but this was the Admiral’s ship and armada, his word was final.

“ Yes admiral, I shall inform him at once” Cassius said with a curt nod before walking off the bridge and into the corridor behind.

‘It must be important’, Cassius thought as he walked back to the ships shrine bay, ‘why else would the Admiral request that the high priest read this personally’ Cassius continued as he walked to one of the personnel elevators.
The mystery of what this could be was eating Cassius alive as he arrived at the door, opening it with the press of the door controls

“ Ah yes, my son…..please sit, we have much to discuss” Lord Barca said as he patted the table next to an empty chair.

The room was lit by a large holographic display in the center of the table, displaying star charts, planet and system maps along with what looked like battle plans for the upcoming invasion of the dominion. This was complete with unit compositions and even frequencies for communication with the Saxionian forces in the area.

“ This is useful…..” Cassius said as the door to the shrine bay opened once again, allowing the Admiral and General to enter the room.

“ Gentlemen, Im glad you could join us….it seems our brothers and sisters of the solar truth have provided us with much needed information” Lord Barca said as the men took their seats

The Admiral grunted in response looking at the updated star charts with the new borders displayed. “I wish we knew this a few weeks ago…” the Admiral said in a flat tone, manipulating the display to show the small gap between dominion and OPAO controlled space. “ This is a problem, according to these new charts and plans, we need to enter Dominion space through this bottleneck, flanked on either side by unknown nations” he finished flatly. “ I would recommend finding another route through” the Admiral barely before the General abruptly spoke up.

“ We have been blessed with good fortune, the Dominion’s forces are thin here, and our time table will not allow us to waste more time traveling around this “bottleneck” to reach the same destination. We have Saxonians depending on us to be at that location at a specific time” the General finished before zooming in on the first system they would encounter. “ These planets are all but undefended, save personal defense forces and police. If we go around, these will be replaced with the local military if we wait and blow our timeline” he said looking towards Lord Barca. “ The gods will it, we must act with the ferocity and speed of a solar flare. It has been foretold and it is written” The General finished.

“ I agree….” Lord Barca interjected, only to be cut off by the Admiral

“ I trust your word to matters of faith but this is my domain priest, Ive seen this go very badly for our forces in the past. Please, leave the strategy to those who have the pedigree for it…” the Admiral spat back at Lord Barca.

The atmosphere in the room changed as Lord Barca rose from his chair, his small frail frame accentuated against the large holographic display. “ These may be your ships Admiral….but this is my expedition” he said as he rested his hands on the table, to lean closer to the pair of officers. His bright red eyes seemingly boring holes into the pair. “ You will go where I order….and I order that we enter the territory here….” He finished pointing up towards the gap between the OPAO and Union. “ Is that understood…..brother..” Lord Barca spat back towards the Admiral as an evil grin began to form on his face.

With a deep sigh, the admiral rose from his chair and nodded towards the men in the room. “ Don’t be so hasty to return to ash priest, such glamorous language will have your body floating in the vacuum in short order. I can assure you, it is not a glamorous or quick death.…” the man finished before walking out of the room, followed by the General after the men exchanged their farewells.

“ Not making any friends I see” Cassius quipped, looking towards the high priest.

“ The path to righteousness will always have obstacles, and those who wish to pull you from it..” Lord Barca answered before walking next to Cassius to pat him on the shoulder. “ Get some rest my son, I will see to it that your on the first recon element that is deployed in this new conflict. You shall have your glory and then return to me, you are far to valuable to loose throughout this new campaign”, he finished before walking to the door. “ Wake me in a few hours, or if anything else comes up…” the priest said with a yawn before leaving the shrine.

Cassius agreed with the Admiral, this was risky, dumb maybe, but he knew enough to keep his mouth shut. An admiral can voice his opinion freely, but Cassius was expendable, there was no shortage of noble born sons in the Solis Ecclesia.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Crusade Fleet
LST-091 ( Incandescent Truth, Heavy cruiser converted to a troop transport vessel)
13th Mordant (Acid Dogs) Regiment, 2nd Battalion, 3rd platoon (Mechanized)
Pvt. Cato Euchar


Cato’s eyes shot open before he began to fight against his restraints and the intubation tube stuck down his throat. Panic was evident on his face before the automated medical software noticed his elevated heart rate and began administering a mild sedative to calm him down. This was the first time the private had been awake since the ambush on Mordant Prime, he thought he was dead.

“ Nurse…….NURSE!!!” a voice could be heard through the amniotic fluid capsule he was in, before a figure could be seen moving around the room, running for the door.

The inject calmed Cato down as he slowly settled back into his normal floating position and he was able to take in his surroundings with a clear head. A number of machines were attached to Cato’s body, one around his left leg, his arm and one firmly wrapped around his midsection. They were transparent and Cato could see a number of mechanical arms, rapidly repairing bone, muscle and skin tissues one strand at a time. ‘ I thought I was dead…’ Cato thought before a number of figures hurriedly entered the room again.

“ Hey kid….” A familiar voice could be heard before his platoon leader pressed his face up against the glass, followed by the jeering of his remaining platoon mates.

“ They took the entire 13th Mordant off the planet after that ambush, we were replaced some by marine battalion…” he stated flatly, an uncharacteristic smile plastered on his face.

“ Were somewhere far to the galactic south of Solite territory, but that’s all we know” the lieutenant finished before eyeing the private’s wounds.

“ We took a beating in that park, Kuro, and Hellas were killed and you saw Kostin die before we were all blown to shit..” he said in a somber tone.

“ We have a while to relax and recoup though, who knows where they are sending us next. Its all good though, it cant be worse that Mordant Prime” he finished with a disturbed chuckle.

“ I managed to get you a promotion, you’re a corporal now…congrats. We’ll see you when you get out of this tube, Komninos brewed something from some fruit he stole from the mess hall. It tastes like shit but, it’ll get you some type of drunk” Lieutenant continued followed by the collective laugh of his platoon mates.

“ You’ll be out soon kid..” he finished, before removing his face from the glass

“ Oh….” the platoon leader said as he walled towards the door, “we have a new name for the regiment. Apparently, the general thought that we moved through rebels like acid and fought like rabid stray dogs” he quipped with a slight shrug and a grin. “ They are calling us the acid dogs now…Mordant Acid Dogs..” he finished with a chuckle as the group left the room.

‘Mordant Acid Dogs….’ Cato thought to himself, ‘ I could get used to that’ he finished before the sedatives took hold again, knocking him out.

Shattered Stars - A Space Opera [Open for more players - Someone please join Karbana Kinnis... it's lonely there]

Mordant Prime
13th Mordant Regiment, 2nd Battalion, 3rd platoon (Mechanized)
Pvt. Cato Euchar


Cato was always a quick learner, and this was not different. The fear of losing your life is a great motivator for learning lessons quickly. Mines, booby traps, ambushes, everyone still alive now learned those lessons and learned them at the cost of others.

The shake of the scout tank downshifting quickly roused Cato, throwing him into a world of sound.

“ Are we moving?”, Cato asked groggily looking around the troop bay

“ Yep, were moving through the park today...” another soldier answered with twisted smile

“ Great….just great” Cato said in a sarcastic tone as he grabbed his rifle and shuffled out of the troop bay.

The 13th Mordant was a newly levied regiment, one of two established personally by High Solar Priest Barca. Everyone, including the officers, were brand new and untested in battle. The planet and the regiments namesake, was its first combat action and they were learning important and deadly lessons.

The platoon quickly climbed on top of the scout tanks, making themselves comfortable as the vehicle lurched forward and traveled down the large boulevard. Cato sat backwards against the turret; his legs spread out down the back of the vehicle. His helmet was down over his eyes and his head rested on the turret bubble as he tried to gain a few more moments of rest before arriving to their destination.
It had been nearly a month since he arrived and most of the city was under Solite control, the tank passed aid stations, relaxing troops and finally guard towers before a checkpoint marked the end of friendly territory. A hanging skeleton, long picked clean of any flesh held a sign bolted to its hands added to the border. The sign stating, “ Everyone past this point is not worthy of the solar truth, show no mercy for you will receive none”.

A swift kick to his boot suddenly stirred Cato from his slumber once again. Lifting his helmet, he was met with the face of his platoon leader, staring down with his trademark uncaring stare

“ Wake the fuck up Cato….” He said quietly before turning back towards the front of the tank, a cigarette hanging from his mouth.

The pair had grown close since his early days on Mordant, the Lieutenant had taken the young private under his wing. Much like a disturbed mother goose, the platoon leader had kept them all alive and taught them lessons that he had learned over his two years in constant combat. In turn, Cato stayed alive and was an effective soldier, keeping both the Lieutenant and his platoon mates happy.

Cato grinned as he pushed the helmet towards the top of his head, the chin strap dangling as the vehicle vibrated underneath him. The troops had discovered that riding on top of the vehicles in urban settings added to the probability of surviving ambushes and sudden enemy actions. A lesson they learned after watching another tank, and its crew, burn as they tried to get the troop door open after a cannon strike.

The collection of vehicles, continued down the boulevard before a large clearing came into view, the large expanse of the city’s central park was clearly visible from the street, and seemed to go on for miles. A large lake, forest and huge grass laden vistas stretched before them. The entire expanse seemed untouched by the ravaged urban environment they were leaving adding to the oddity of the situation.

“ You could almost forget it’s a Warzone!” Cato yelled, turning his head to look toward the front of the tank.

“ Aerial recon flies over this sector every day, its been clear since we got here” the platoon leader answered. “ No reason to bomb it if there are not rebs…” he finished, taking a long drag from his cigarette.

Cato responded with an audible hum, producing a quizzical look before turning his head to face the rear of the vehicle again. The tank finally passed the last block of buildings, thrusting them into the wide expanse of the park. The vibration stopped as they transitioned from pavement to grass, and each vehicle, spat out dirt and grass bits as they traveled down into the park.

“ Alright dis…..” the lieutenant yelled before suddenly stopping abruptly, the faint pop of a flare gun, quickly distracting him.

‘The fuck….’ Cato thought as he quickly turned his head again towards the front of the tank. Turning in time to see the projectile rise into the sky before igniting in an eerie red glow. Cato held his quizzical expression for a few moments before the high pitched whine of a high velocity cannon shell shot over the tank, landing in the grass behind them with a small explosion. Almost immediately following the shell, the park ignited with enemy fire. The zip and crack of small arms fire coupled with the loud pinging of rounds hitting the tank filled his ears as he realized that they just drove into a prepared ambush.

“ DISMOUNT!” the platoon leader yelled, before rolling of the tank himself narrowly missing a few rounds that impacted where his body was a few moments ago. The rest of soldiers followed suit, rolling, jumping or falling off the tank as fast as they could.

Another high-pitched whine sailed seemingly right over Cato’s head before a wet smacking sound was heard, spraying him with a warm liquid and forcing him to close his eyes. Cato quickly wiped the mystery liquid from his face before opening his eyes again, coming face to face with what used to be one of his platoon mates. The shell had narrowly missed the tank and lodged itself into the chest of the man directly in front of Cato.

The soldiers face was panicked, as he eyed the shell in his chest before lifting his eyes to look at Cato. A sick grin passed over the soldiers face before the life visibly drained from his face, his eyes rolling back as he slowly settled on his knees, hunched over.

“ Shit…” Cato exclaimed, before a hand grabbed his arm and yanked him off the tank.

“ WAKE THE FUCK UP BOOT!” a familiar voice yelled as he was dragged towards a nearby boulder for cover, his helmet falling off as they moved.

“ You hit!?” the lieutenant yelled as they group reached the boulder, looking towards Cato with a mix of fear and determination evident on his face.

“ N…No…” Cato spat before grabbing his rifle from the ground, as he regained his wits again.

The platoon leader grunted in response, before his attention turned back towards the battle as Cato turned to look at his former platoon mate still in a hunched over position on top of the tank. His body, shook as the main gun of the vehicle fired before another couple rounds found their mark, knocking the corpse onto its back and onto the nose of the shell lodged in his chest.

“ No…..” Cato exclaimed under his breath as the shell ignited, blowing the top off the nearby tank and showering the group with bits of shrapnel and body parts. Cato was blown a few meters away, flying end over end before landing flat on his back. Suddenly, everything was silent, the sounds of gunfire, screaming and explosions seemingly went away as his vision slowly faded to black. The beautiful blue sky of Mordant prime slowly fading away.

Lieutenant Jasper Cane
In the wreckage of the naval bomber “ Lucky”

Jasper awake to the sounds of crying before the pain in his legs washed over him. Opening his eyes, he looked at the inside of the cockpit and noticed that he was inside an office building. Smashed desks and chairs were strewn about while various electronics sat in various states of disarray. Studying the scene a little more Jasper found the source of the crying, his weapons officer, was on the opposite side of the room, strung up to the ceiling by his wrists. He was stripped down to his underwear, and his face and body was badly beaten and burned.

Jasper opened his mouth to speak, but a sharp pain in his chest stopped him short as a shallow breath escaped from his lips. Tears began forming in his eyes as he doubled over his in chair, adding to the pain in his badly broken legs.

“ K….Ken” Jasper said in a raspy voice…” Can you walk…” he said just audible enough for his weapons officer to hear.

“ Shhhh……” the weapons officer answered loudly “ They’re coming back…..” he finished with a whimper as the sound of a door slamming open could be heard.

“ Who the fuck told you to talk!.....hey, cut this pig’s tongue out!” a voice could be heard yelling before three men walked into the room.

The weapons officer let out a loud scream before one of the men silenced him with a punch to his stomach. The two other men took him down from the ceiling and began dragging him away.

“ Hey! This one is alive!” Another voice yelled, as a fourth man climbed into the wreckage of the bomber.

“ Have him join the party!” another voice yelled before Jasper looked up at the butt of a rifle heading towards his face.

Shattered Stars - A Space Opera [Open for more players - Someone please join Karbana Kinnis... it's lonely there]

Solis Class (DD-211- Holy Light)
Commander Jun Leiar
(Location: 30 AU, 34.32N,-43.00S,AZ-12 degrees)
-Halfway to the mysterious CORE signal-



From the command deck it looked as if the ship peeled itself from the clouds of a storm and back into normal space. The slight shift in velocity woke the commander from her nap, her head slightly jerking forward before shooting up into a straight posture.
The command deck was dark, despite the red glow of the war lights and the monitors of the command stations. The bridge was packed with crew and their living arrangements, sleeping bags littered the floor as crew found it easier to sleep next to their station rather than travel back to the cramped crew bays. This was the life of a long range reconnaissance destroyer.

“ Crew report ma’am, and good morning” a crew member said before placing a datapad on the command chair. “ Its 05:20 back home” he said before walking back towards the bulkhead.

Commander Leiar looked at the report and sighed, it was much of the same but required for the ships logs. No messages for the past 14 local days, Radar is chasing sporadic readings and investigating, 2 of 16 communications buoys have been launched, we are three weeks into our journey.

“ About halfway there….” She said under her breath before placing the datapad down again. They would stay for a few hours to cool the slipspace drive and reactor before jumping again off into the vacuum.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Commander Cassius Caspian
Lokia-Naval High Command



Traveling with a solar high priest has its advantages, luxury accommodation and respect beyond comparison. Not to mention, they didn’t have to pay a cent for anything. Meals, drinks, anything, was completely covered courtesy of the state.

“It pays to be close to those in power” Cassius said as he buttoned the last few clasps of his dress uniform before running a hand down the front to smooth it as he looked at himself in the mirror. Adjusting the rank epaulets on his shoulders, a sharp knock at the door quickly gained his attention as a man spoke in the adjacent hallway.

“ Commander, sir….the council is meeting soon” the man said curtly.

Cassius sighed in anxiety before walking out into the hallway. Giving the man a polite nod, the pair walked down a long, windowed hallway to the council chambers.
Since his revelation, Lord Barca has told the admirals and generals loyal to him to prepare for war. In total, Lord Barca levied three complete battle groups, two fleet carriers and close to 40,000 fighting troops. This was more than enough for a vanguard action, but nowhere close to the numbers and resources required to stay put. High priests have the power to order troops around and even muster troops for war. Generals and military leaders must agree however, adding an organic balance to power. Lord Barca was popular within the military, but he cannot bring the entire mass of the Solite state to bear alone. That was the reason they were here, they needed to convince the remainder of the council to back their cause.
Cassius sighed again as they reached the door to the chamber, before slowly walking through the large doors into a massive shrine. He quickly focused on the collection of men in the center of the room before seeing Lord Barca standing at his seat, preparing to speak.
“ Fellow humans, countrymen, children of the stars, I bring to you today a daring proposal. Just as we crush insurrection in the Mordant system, another opportunity arises far to the galactic south. Ancient treaties, convened in a time before the great awakening to the solar truth, have become obsolete and ripe for removal”.

Lord Barca, paused for a moment, seemingly taking a breath.

“ The brave spirit of humanity has already exhibited itself in the people of the Saxonian Confederation, as they have declared themselves independent from the grasp of the Dominion.”

He paused again, taking in the reactions of the council members

“ Why should our people stay under the wing of those who don’t recognize the solar truth, I formally declare this day, on the 2498th revolution of this glorious solar body, that the Solis Ecclesia is and will forever be, an independent and sovereign state. Furthermore, we should, in good faith and future cooperation, aid the people of the Saxonian Confederation. The stars have called for a crusade to the south!! They wish to spread their love to these new worlds, let us be action behind their will. It is the gods will”.

He finished, looking towards the crowd again to study their reactions.

Some members of the council were nodding enthusiastically, while others sat stone faced and whispered to their fellow councilmen next to them. Cassius watched Lord Barca slowly sit before another man rose, outstretching his arms to silence the room.

“ The most honorable Lord Barca does make a rather daring proposal, there shall be a vote. All those in favor of reclaiming territory and aiding future allies, make yourself known”

A few council members immediately raised their hands, while other seemed to mull it over speaking with their colleagues. Cassius watched in a feigned excitement before a low growl could be heard, bringing the focus of the room to Lord Barca as he shot up from his seat.

“ Think!! This is our chance to gain supremacy, to spread our holy word throughout the galaxy, it is our right! The Gods Will It!! It is not our place to question this command, only act! We must act….”

He finished again as more hands began to slowly raise.

“ The movement is passed then….” Lord Barca said, as a slight grin grew on his face “ We crusade south…”

Shattered Stars - A Space Opera [Open for more players - Someone please join Karbana Kinnis... it's lonely there]

Commander Cassius Caspian
CVE-121 High Charity (Solar Flare Class Carrier)
Gamma Sector (01.12N, 90.2S, AZ 12 Degrees)


Cassius blinked the sweat from his eyes, silently sighing as he eyed the man standing in the center of the observation deck. The man was standing with his arms outstretched, one arm extending directly above his head while the other extended directly to the side. His bare feet were together, almost as if he was standing at attention while balancing on the pads of his feet. Every so often the man would alternate arms, keeping his lower body completely still and balanced. Thin grey robes clung to his elderly frame, resembling a solar priest preforming missionary duties. However the thick golden jeweled medallion that hung from his neck set him apart, designating him as a high solar priest.

Cassisus checked his watch again, noting the time before increasing the polarization level on the visor he was wearing. An eerie red glow filled the observation deck, as he moved his eyes out towards the large glass dome. The red giant, S-1103 filled the entire field of view, quickly inducing a feeling of vertigo and forcing Cassius to look away. His eyes fell back on the high priest, as an expression of anger mixed with fatigue washed across his face before a loud series of metallic knocks could be heard.

The sound startled Cassius slightly, before the high priest’s voice echoed throughout the chamber.

“ Get it….” The man stated simply and without breaking his position.

“Gladly” Cassius said under his breath as he turned towards the exit bulkhead before pressing the door control.

Cassius was immediately greeted with the cool, almost ice cold, air that existed outside of the observation deck. A welcome break after standing in the equivalent of a sauna for the past hour. His eyes quickly focused on another officer as he stepped out of the threshold of the bulkhead before he noticed the data pad in the officer’s hand.

“ Sir, you and the high priest have a few messages from the Arch-diocese.” The officer said before moving the data pad towards Cassius

“ Thanks” Cassius grunted, taking the data pad as the officer quickly walked away.

Cassius looked towards the officer for a moment before looking back towards the bulkhead, letting out a sigh before focusing on the data pad again. His mind wandering towards how he ended up in this position in the first place.

High Priest Emporion Barca was a leading member of the high council. Solite politics is mostly outwardly peaceful but maintains a culture of subterfuge and deception. Every high solar priest maintains a retinue of wealthy and influential people to help aid in their quest for increased knowledge and power. In turn, these associates are tasked with handling the intelligence gathering efforts of numerous spies and other officials who are under the influence of high priests. High priest Barca was no different, he also maintained a multitude of informants and spies, but retained a relatively small number of associates. Most solar high priests maintain large groups of associates, adding to their public image as leaders of the people. High Priest Barca retained a singular person, Cassius, and he owed his career and possibly life to the high priest. Like all military leaders in the current age, Cassius gained his combat experience during the mordant uprising. Coming from a noble family of influence and wealth, Cassius attained a leadership position within the elite shock troops, marine raider detachments. Participating in the first operations of the uprising, Cassius distinguished himself as a competent leader before being poached by High Priest Barca. His previous detachment would go onto be completely wiped out during a botched orbital insertion over mordant shortly after.

The motion detection of the data pad activated, and a collection of messages appeared, categorized by varying urgency. Cassius skimmed the messages, reports from subordinates in military high command and the high church scrolled by as he moved the page to different messages. These were normal reports, denoting the positions and actions of local governors and, clergy and high priests. These messages were usually low in urgency, but today there were two high priority messages, both distinguished by the bold red highlight on the data pad.

The first was from a source within naval high command, specifically the officer who receives communications from long range destroyer patrols. High command received information of a possible distress signal from the far galactic east, past the core. The galactic far east was not very explored, so any information from this section of the galaxy would be very important. The captain of the ship wanted to investigate further, adding months to their deployment.

Secondly, and possibly the most jarring, was the reality of a popular uprising against the Dominion in the Saxonian Confederation. The Ecclesia’s time under dominion direct control is taught as ancient history, as the Ecclesia slowly split from direct control over the course of generations of separation. The Ecclesia has not formally split ties however and is still by treaty. This could be a chance to make history and expand into Dominion space.

‘The high priest would definitely want to know about this’ he thought before placing the data pad under his arm and looking back towards the observation deck bulkhead. Cassius hated being here with every fiber of his being. Every so often, when the high priest needed “guidance” or “ to hear the word of the gods” he charted a ship and made the weeklong trip to this doomed system. The D-112 system was home to six dead planets, long killed off by the red giant that they orbit. Everything was bathed in an eerie red glow The system itself was eerie and felt evil, whatever god this star embodied it was certainly a dark one.

The priest would order the vessel as close to the star as possible without sustaining damage and spend hours praying to it in the observation deck. Every time they entered the system, Cassius swore that this would be the time that the star would explode, asking himself, ‘ who knows how long this star has been here and who knows how much longer it has’. Personally, Cassius did not want to play chicken with a star.

Toggling the observation deck door control again, the heat of the room hit Cassius like a wall, prompting him to start sweating immediately. Heat waves could be seen through the bulkhead and mirage was visible by the floor near the high priest.

“Lord Barca” Cassius said loudly as he walked back onto the observation deck, his voice echoing throughout the large domed chamber.

“ Speak my child……” the high priest answered, dropping his arms and turning the face Cassius.

The skin on his face was cracked, dry and sunburnt yet caramel in color from years of devout prayer. His eyes were a deep maroon changing to a bright red when his face was shadowed, adding to the evil look of the priest.

“ Your agents in naval high command have discovered communications from a possible distress signal in the far east, they want to investigate further” Cassius said, removing the now damp data pad from his arm.

“ And……” the high priest said as he grunted, slowly making his way towards Cassius.

“ The Saxonian Confederation has declared themselves formally independent of the dominion and wishes to wage a conflict of popular opinion.” Cassius said curtly, before stretching the data pad towards him.

High Priest Barca was nearly a foot shorter than Cassius but even his aura made Cassius feel uncomfortable. He could feel the hairs on the back on his neck stand up as the priest grabbed the data pad. Despite the unnerving aura, Cassius trusted Lord Barca, as a son would a father. High priest Barca was always loyal to Cassius and is responsible for his quick ascent up the political and power ladder. Whether or not Lord Barca wishes to collect on his influence is to be seen, but for now he was a good leader and mentor. A ruthless political agent but a just leader to those who serve under him.

Lord Barca skimmed the two messages and lazily handed the data pad back to Cassius, a quizzical look firmly planted on his face.

“ Leiar…..” the priest said as his voice trailed off “ I know that family……contact our source in High Command, recommend that they investigate further. I will pay the extra wages and supplies” he finished before turning around to look back towards the red giant.

“ As for the Saxonians” he said in elderly raspy tone “ We must assist, we cannot miss this chance to showcase Solite supremacy and expand our power.” He finished with a quick pause before turning to face Cassius again, an evil grin beginning to form across his face.

“ We must make best speed to high command on Lokia, I have generals who are loyal to me there. This will suffice until we can court enough of the council in the favor of war.” Lord Barca finished as he slowly walked to observation deck bulkhead.

“ Come my son, we have much to discuss, I need my advisor present” he said in an almost parental tone, before waving his hand towards Cassius to join him.