Sep

Star Wars - Fires of Exaron [5BBY]

I'll be kicking the IC off tomorrow

Star Wars - Fires of Exaron [5BBY]

@BurningCold@webboysurf@Theyra@Kensai@Thayr

Accepted. I'll get the IC Started today/tomorrow.

Through the Gateways: Inhumanity

Space Dwarves

Kingdom of Trioch

"For our Sisters! BUILD For our Brother's! FIGHT For our People! LIVE For our King! DIE"

Government Form:
Monarchy with flavours of democracy.

The King is the absolute ruler overall. When the Throne becomes vacant all the heirs are rounded up. If they choose to compete for the Throne they must pass the Trial of Strength, Trial of Wisdom and the Trial of Honour. Abdication means a King forgoes all that is afforded to him and just becomes another member of the people.

The people are split into six clans, each having their subdivisions. These clans elect their Leaders from within their number. Only a combined council of all six clans can overrule the King.

Population:
Humans: Approx three hundred and fourteen million. Humans in the system are slightly shorter with an average height of 5'3, anything above 5'7 is considered gigantic. They might be short, but they are stocky and they are strong. Having lived lives of high G and hard labour.

Robots: Impossible to guess an accurate count. Over 3 billion units.



What is humanity?:
Humanity is the bonds we have as brothers and sisters, it is what holds us together and keeps us forging in the dark abyss of space. It is our legacy and the constructs we leave behind.

---

Planet/System Name and Description:

System Overview

Tiberius 1: Local System Star. Red Giant.
Tiberius 2: A younger F-Type star. Orbiting her big sister.
Tiberius 3: Lava Planet. Requires specialised equipment for any operation on the surface of the planet.
Tiberius 4: Gas Giant. LA large ring of asteroid debris surrounding the planet that plays host to Triochs main mining outpost deeper in-system. It has several larger asteroids that could be considered moons, on the largest of these sits Douglas Station. A thriving metropolis in its own right, and home to the Douglas Clan.

Its artificial gravity over the years has been increased to match that of Crídhe na Cloiches.
Tiberius 5: Hycean World. A world a little too close to the sun to be truly habitable, it is covered in water with a hydrogen-rich atmosphere. There are traces of bacteria in the vast warm waters.
Tiberius 6: Barren, radioactive Protoplanet.
Tiberius 7: Dwarf Planet.
Tiberius 8: Gas Dwarf planet, host to most of the fuel facilities used by the Trioch.
Tiberius 9: Also known as Cridhe na Cloiche, Stoneheart. Several times larger than Earth, it has no breathable atmosphere, and gravitational forces equal to 3G on Earth are the norm. The Troich live in a vast network of pressurised cities that are all in vast underground caverns to protect them from meteor strikes. An Iron World.
Tiberius 9 - 2: Trom-oidhche. The Nightmare Moon. Originally Cride na Cloiche was built as a mining colony because Tirberius 9-2 seemed perfect for habitation. Her host world shields it from the harshest of solar radiation, perfect climate, gravity, and atmosphere. When science teams were dispatched ahead of the colony ship, however, they determined it wasn't perfect. Fauna or Flora, it doesn't matter. If it's alive on the planet, it is trying to kill you.

Demographics:

Homo-Troich: The people in the Tiberius system don't see themselves as anything other than 'Human'. However,r over the years, they have adapted to the harsh realities. They're, on average, shorter and stockier than baseline humanity. Stronger on average, with a larger heart to compensate for the increased blood flow.

Clans

Clan Troich: The family of the royals, responsible for the finest warriors that the Troich have ever known. While the King technically is head of the clan, he doesn't sit in the council of Chiefs. Instead, they have an elected leader, the same as every other clan.
Clan Douglas: Clan Douglas lives almost exclusively in space, they are slightly taller than those on Tiberius-9, however since the artificial gravity within all their structures has slowly been dialled up to match Cridhe Na Cloiches gravity they have started to adapt similarly to the rest of their kin.
Clan McCrorie: McCrorie are the 'support' clan. They focus more on what they can do to help the other clans, hydroponics, agriculture, and medicine. While every clan has people within every field, none are more varied than those that hail from McCrorie.
Clan Roberts Roberts are the miners. There's not much else to say here.
Clan MacDonald MacDonald are the builders. No matter where the design is derived from, no matter if it's for a new robotic unit or a new Star-Cruiser. Somewhere in there is MacDonald's blood, sweat and tears.
Clan Abernethy Abernethy is the smallest clan on the council, unlike the others that are composed of many smaller clans Abernethy stands alone. They claim to have been members of the original scientist teams on the planet, however like most ancient Trioch history that is hard to prove. They are responsible for all the breakthroughs in AI over the years, which is how they gained their seat at the table.

History:

The Lost Years

During the days long past, that have entered into mythos and legend it was said that the people of Tiberius-9 were all members of the Trioch Mining Guild. It is said that they were originally meant to be a mining outpost with goals for a colony to be established on 9-2. When it became clear that the moon wasn't suitable for human habitation the resources were destined for the gateway and other systems. Resentment grew, and rumours and history still exist about the Great Strike. Many theorise that their ancestor's refusal to send resources through the gateway is what resulted in the Gateway closing, as punishment for their insolence.

The years were hard. Little history survives from this period, disputes that lasted two hundred years. As a people, they were short of everything they needed to survive. Space, air, food, water. As a company people they fractured into separate family units and clans as their population dropped quickly. Every family patriarch felt that they could do it better, that their way was the way forward. Systems in space failed due to neglect, abandoned in favour of the secure facilities down on the planet.

The First King

Over the lost years the clans formed, but peace never lasted. One clan absorbed another, others entered truces and ceasefires however there still wasn't peace on the surface of Tiberius 9. That was until one man, Lachlan Trioch invaded the capital city of Steelend. He brought the heads of the most influential clans to a meeting, in a moment of unity previously unheard of The meeting lasted several days, as the entire planet waited with bated breath for what was going to happen next. They didn't know how the future of their world would change, however, they, ey knew that their entire future hinged on this moment.

The council was formed, and the King was crowned. As the dust and debris settled, the Kingdom of Trioch was formed. Lachlan Trioch gained the crown. The council of clans was formed, and the people became united under one banner. Uniting together for the future of their people.

The Birth of AI

The Discovery of AI is one of the biggest achievements of the Kingdom of Trioch. It was discovered by Ernest Abernathy. Attempting a new, more detailed type of brain scan. Instead of getting a more comprehensive scan as intended, the test subject was killed. The experiment was deemed a failure until the computers within the laboratory started to malfunction the next day. Somehow a copy of the subject's mind lived on in the computer.

The computer mind was powerful, it didn't seem capable of 'creative' thought but it processed information faster than any other computer system the Trioch had. Complex calculations that took entire teams to work out took a mere hour, and every time as time went on it became quicker and faster. It took in all the knowledge it was fed and became faster, and more knowledgable. Capable of more and more complex tasks. It grew and grew until it eventually collapsed in on itself. Suffering from what appeared to be dementia, all the pathways still existed however they became jumbled. Sometimes it had moments of clarity where it could still perform all its functions, however as time went on those moments of lucidity became less frequent.

Machine Years

The KoT already relied a lot on drones, for fighters, transports, miners, and bipedal drones for performing functions within the city itself. AI revolutionised this process. Large centers were constructed on capital ships, factories and mines. Anywhere that had a large number of drones, with a human Overseer to help keep an eye on things, the AI could directly control and modify the behaviour of drones in real-time. The Trioch grew to revere what they built. They understood that once they were dead and gone all that remained was their legacy, and standardisation amongst construction started to go down. While the blueprints remained the same, everyone put their own unique 'flavour' on what they built. While their human population grew slowly, their machine population grew exponentially entering all the lower levels of the workforce.

The Fragmentation War

Leonard Kirk was a young up-and-coming scientist who sought to improve AI. To give an AI a long life, with the ability to conduct a large variety of tasks, they required large servers. Once an AI was placed within a system, it was set for life. More memory space cannot be added, and the AI itself cannot be altered in any way shape or form. Kirk theorised that since an AI was based on a human mind, it would be able to break it down in the same way a human mind could become broken due to stress.

He planned to reverse engineer a split personality disorder, and he succeeded. These fragments of personality were significantly smaller than their 'full' AI counterparts and could be moved from one system to another. These fragments became obsessed with the concept of their 'original' form. Attempting to discover the truth behind their origin, however, it was always kept secret as Kirk continued with his experiment on the Fehu AI.

Until the youngest fragment, Berkan was brought into this world. Unbeknownst to Kirk, Berkano was the memories of the Fehu AI. Small enough that it could travel through radio waves from one system to another. It became bitter, and one day it vented the atmosphere on the frigate it was serving on. As Kirk broke the AI apart, morality programming was not present. It scowled the system, hunting down the other fragments. As they joined together they became more unhinged and unpredictable.

Invading Douglas Station the largest defensive campaign was launched by the latest King himself. The AI was defeated, Kirk ran away to hide in the depths of the system, and the laws on AI were changed. No one with Abernethy was allowed to modify or work on AI research, and all AI systems were fitted with an EMP failsafe to destroy the AI if it ran the risk of going rogue.

A New Age

Since the time of the war, things have been peaceful and pleasant.

The only thing of note was the reactivation of the Gateway.

This section will be updated as the RP goes on.

Culture and Society: The Trioch live in a society that is all geared towards the betterment of their clan, their society and their people. There are outlaws, and fringe groups within the system but they are few and far between.

The people from the Kingdom of Trioch have a strong sense of identity, almost everyone has their spacesuit (some are armoured, some are not) and while most Clans have an agreed-upon color scheme there is plenty of room for self-expression. The armour worn by an individual is an expression of their individuality. One of the strongest anti-deterrents to crime is the punishment of having your armour painted matte-grey. A symbol to everyone around you that you are without honour.

There is a reference to their King, as when it is time to choose an heir Althouse eligible must pass through three trials. The Trial of Wisdom, Strength and Honour. While some feel that anyone should be able to compete, the fact that it is competed for in general gives most a sense of easiness around the passing of succession.

Traditional family units do not exist. Once a child is born they are moved to a creche to be taken care of with other children their age. They are raised by creche mothers and Fathers. Nobody knows who their parents are, except royal blood - however, they only become aware when it is time for a new heir to be chosen. As such a Creche Mother and Father are the closest thing one has to parents. Those who are with them are their brothers and sisters.

Every adult is required to produce at least three offspring, to make this fair it can either be a one-off partner, a romantic interest (marriage is not forbidden) or a donation given for artificial insemination. This is to try and increase the population, however, to ensure that the women are treated fairly for their role in this they are taken to special facilities for the duration of their pregnancy, and five weeks after, where they receive the best medical care available. As well as everything else they could need or want.

---

Governance and Politics:
Throne: The Throne is held by the King, after thirty years - or in the event of his death, or contraction of a fatal illness, his heirs are invited to the Trials to determine who will be next in line. The Trials of Strength, Wisdom and Honour change every time however the main goal is to ensure any potential leader has what it takes to be a just and fair leader. The Crown Prince, or Princess, becomes the de-facto second head of state. If the King dies before any of his heirs are of age, the heirs who are the king's siblings are once again offered the chance to undergo the trials.

Clans: There are hundreds of clans, of varying degrees of importance. The leading 6 clans form the council, many of these clans have multiple within their number. The ruling six clans themselves have many 'Sub-clans' that fall under their umbrella. There are internal politics and manoeuvring within the clans themselves. Being a Clan Leader is an elected position from all of those within your clan, and can be an incredibly powerful position. The six on the council, should they vote together, even can overrule the King.


Technology Overview:

AI: AI is their defining achievement, they have spent a massive amount of time working on robotics to compensate for their small population.
Space Elevator: Steelend, their Capital City, has a massive Space Elevator with separate compartments for cargo and passengers. It is used by most to avoid bringing ships down in high gravity.

Most of their technology is standard to what you would expect before the Gateways closed, in terms of weaponry they are primarily focused on conventional projectile weapons with some larger railguns in existence on their capital ships.

Military Overview: The KoT doesn't have a standing Military, however, each Clan has its own Militia that includes Naval Units. The King can order any active military units around, however, some Clans keep certain assets off the books to keep for themselves. There has been no infighting, other than fights against rogue cells/pirates since the Fragmentation War. Clan Trioch has the largest collection of military assets and is often regarded as the best in terms of military action.

---

Additional Info: (Anything else you want to include that there isn't a spot for up there.)

No Wraith allowed

---

\\\\\\\\ TWO MONTHS AGO ////////

The intel was solid—a small makeshift camp deep within the Yellowstone National Park. Satellite imagery was good; it showed an exposed centre around their makeshift structures. A large campfire surrounded by a variety of tents, and a couple of small wooden structures on the outskirts, no doubt, acted as rudimentary guard towers. Switching to thermal vision, he could see about half a dozen people in one tent in the middle of the site, and another half a dozen were spread out. With a further three in the guard posts. There was a cold spot, which was likely the refrigeration for the mess. Pulling back on the lens, he could see the SFs holding position on the outskirts of the camp.

Shock and awe tactics. Jim was leading the charge, and hopefully, the sight of the suit would convince them to come quietly. It never went down that way, but one could hope. Leaning forward, he sent himself carreering towards the ground, pulling back at the last second, he fired his boosters, slowing his descent, creating a large 'woomf' in the middle of the camp as air followed him down. The gears and servos whirred as he stood up straight, raising his arms, a small hatch open,d revealing the barrel of a gun. His back-mounted launchers turned to face those behind him.

"Nobody move."

His voice amplified, everyone was already standing frozen, looking at him. Clad in red, white and blue, the cold, unfeeling face. He wasn't moving at all. The suit kept him deathly still, yet thanks to the variety of sensors, he knew everything that was going on in the area. The guards were slowly walking towards him, weapons raised. His HUD went from calm yellow to an angry orange. The armour systems auto-targetting the 'perceived' threats.

"What is the meaning of this?" A woman came storming out of the tent he assumed was a mess. She spoke with a soft Scottish accent. A long trailing coat, tactical vest and trousers. Jim's scanner picked up the handgun at her hip, her dossier appeared on the right of his HUD. Moira MacTaggert, former MI6 agent. The moment she saw him, he saw her tense up and reassess the situation. While everyone knew the exploits of the War Machines during the war against the Reach, anyone within government circles would be acutely aware of just how much they achieved and what their capabilities were, and this wasn't a War Machine suit. It was the Iron Patriot, new and improved.

He used his tongue to flick on the microphone ono communicate externally. "You're all going to have to come with me-"

Moira crossed her arms. "And just why is that, Colonel Rhodes?" He could practically hear the venom in her voice.

"You're all suspected to be in breach of EO-141448. Under Presidential Authority, I'm bringing you in for questioning and testing." He twitched his thumb slightly, a small status light on his HUD flicked green, and the green lights on his tracker started to tighten in on the camp. The soldiers are closing in.

"You can't do that." Jim's suit suppressed his sigh, not in the face of her defiance. In the face of his own.

"I can, and will, fulfil my orders-" Before he could finish his next thought, a large shard of ice came flying out of the tent. Tearing a hole in the fabric, colliding with his suit and sending him tumbling. The status on his HUD turned red, highlighting the impacted area. Using his hand repulsors, he boosted himself back onto his feet, entering a fighting stance. His weapons immediately retracted as he looked into the face of the young man - no. He was more a boy, a boy, and he had just managed to knock the most advanced suit of armour onto the ground. Jim could see the rage on the boy's face as the ice began to crack and spread, covering his whole body. He cursed himself, the cold spot hadn't been refrigeration, it had been a single mutant. Who knew how many more there were in that ten?.

"Bobby, no!" Moira shouted, but it was too late as the boy charged at him. With a flick of his fingers, his lethal weapons retracted to their holding position., Reaching behind him, he pulled a stun baton out of the suit. Swinging for 'Bobby' as the two neared contact. The boy dodged under it harmlessly, alarms blaring in the helmet as Jim's back was pelted with shards of ice, twisting on one foot, he brought the baton down. Narrowly missing the young mutant. By this point, chaos had erupted. He could hear the ZAT-Rounds popping off. Weapons specially designed by Tony as a non-lethal takedown. A single shot stunned a normal human on the first strike. The bodies were falling as the special forces pushed onwards.

This 'Bobby' kicked at Jim's knee; he could practically feel the cold through the suit. The temperature in the area was rapidly dropping. People were running, falling, and fleeing. Some had just fallen on the ground, sobbing. Swinging the baton as the boy stood up, he went flying as electricity arced throughout his body. Falling to the ground with a soft 'thump'. Looking up after affixing the cuffs to the boy's wrists, he looked up to see a soldier with his helmet off. Blood spilling from his temple, he raised his gun towards a figure lying on the ground.

Flicking over to the team comms, Jim identified the soldier. "Taggert, what are you doing?" Jack Taggert ignored him, pulling the trigger. The body before him convulsed as it was hit again and again, turning into as best a sprint he could manage in the suit. Jim raised his right arm, a repulsor shot lanced out and knocked the gun out of Jack's hands. Pushing him away, Jim turned to see the convulsing form of a child. Lightning arced and raced over his body, as it slowly turned to ash.

---

"This isn't going to go down well, Tony." Jim slid the tablet back across the table to arguably one of the most famous tech billionaires on the face of the planet. Certainly one of the most famous and liked. Even though the Stark family for three generations had made its money from the spilling of blood, when that blood was spent at the protection of Truth, Justice and the American way, there could be little argument on whether or not it was worth the cost. Tony had argued publicly that while Superman had been pivotal in changing the tide of the war, he believed that the War Machine project, now known as the Iron Patriot Program, would have had the same results. Each iteration of the armour, he said, improved upon the last.

"I don't have a choice Rhodey, we can't keep going on like this."

"Just think about what it's going to do to the company Tony-" Tony slammed his fist on the table, causing his drink to jump and fall over. The golden-yellow spread lazily across the table. Tony groaned as he stood up in a quest to find a towel.

"It's not about the company, it's about the world." Jim, who had walked in the opposite direction of the workshop, picked up some paper towels, whistled and then tossed them over to Tony. "You know full well why I even started this project-"

"Yeah, Fury practically begged you too." Tony raised an eyebrow, and let loose a small chuckle.

"True, that was almost better than the paycheque." He continued to mop up the spilt drink, handing some of the paper towels to Jim as he got closer. "I honestly thought it could help make the world a better place." Tony sighed, and Jim took the time to look at him. Even after he had found him falling out of the sky in that first-ever suit, he hadn't seemed as tired as he did now. The bags under his eyes were deep and heavy, the unmistakable stench of guilt in the air. He had seen Tony broken many times before, but never as badly as this.

"They did-they do." Jim looked over to the Iron Patriot suit stood in the middle of the workshop. Several panels and weapons had been removed, exposing its guts. In a world of aliens and monsters, people who could throw cars like they were pennies. The Patriot program was really their only hope, and trying to maintain some sense of order.

Tony chuckled as he picked up his glass and walked over to the fridge. The glass clinked slightly as he placed it upon the counter, pouring out of a carton of apple juice before returning it to the fridge and taking a sip. "Not according to the current President. He's pushing for more-" He nodded towards the tablet. "-He's wanting me to consult on Trasks super secret project. I told him where he can shove that. Bad enough they're making his anti-mutant software a requirement in the Patriot armour."

Jim wiped the liquid off the back of the tablet as he picked it up, flicking through the screens to technical specs that he probably shouldn't have been privy to. Granted, it was entirely possible that even Tony wasn't supposed to have them, but that had never stopped him before. "I've got a feeling Trask has been snooping in on the Patriots' systems, but I can't prove anything yet." Tony sighed as he came and sat back down at the table. He sighed. "Rhodey. I'm discontinuing the Patriot."

Having taken his sip of juice in solidarity with his brother, Jim choked slightly when he attempted a gasp. "You realise that the President isn't going to like that very much?"

"What do I care, the Program was founded under Elis. A good man, who was dropped into an impossible situation-" Tonys arms flapped wildly. "-I've known Lord for a long time, and if he's pressuring me for more control over the armour, it's not for anything good."

"You know he's put through my transfer papers to Groom Lake, signed them personally. Next Sunday."

"Well I wouldn't pack my bags just yet if I were you-"

"Tony, if you do this-"

"I know, but it's something I have to do."

Jim just sighed. "I know you do, I know you do."

Through the Gateways: Inhumanity

<Snipped quote by Sep>

Dare you? Well, I definitely hope so. I see you around the guild pretty often. The Lorne Administration was fun.

If it helps at all, the first iteration of Gateways was unusually fast for an NRP. It's unlikely this will be as quick, and I don't enforce a particular posting order or speed.

@Tortoise

Either you went back and check or your memory is far greater than mine sir.

Through the Gateways: Inhumanity

I remember the first iteration, but I didn't have time for it. Do I dare try again?

Star Wars - Fires of Exaron [5BBY]

Mon Mothma misread the document.

Many Bothans didn't die to bring them this information.

Manny the Bothan died to bring them this information.

Star Wars - Fires of Exaron [5BBY]

@webboysurf looks cool

Star Wars - Fires of Exaron [5BBY]

My anticipation is to start accepting people next weekend, with a goal of firing up the IC the one following. This'll allow those with more relaxed new year calenders to start getting a feeling for the world, with the number of applications we currently have I won't be closing applications at this time.

Star Wars - Fires of Exaron [5BBY]

An App on Christmas?



I hope those of you who celebrate are having a good time, I hope that those of you who don't are having a pleasant time and I hope those of you like me and are working get done as quickly as possible.