Starboard Watch

Battle of Targus IV (Gunther/Starboard Watch)

Brigadier Childebrand looked down into the armored car and could see the young driver, Gefreiter Dalfin, who was driving pedal-to-metal to get the front-leading officer to where his men were by now beginning their opening maneuvers. True to the custom of the Panchalans, and indeed the entire Empire, an officer would be required to lead from the front. Changes to the operation were always, as the doctrine taught to them said, better conducted in the direct field of fire.

He looked behind him and could see a convoy of armored cars, perhaps ten or twelve of them, likewise on a course to assist the infantry operations. The flag of the Royal Panchalan Regiment fluttered in the wind on each of their cars. Their part in the plan, an ingenious gambit that if it paid off would surely throw the Chasseurs in disarray but if it didn't would doom the defense to defeat, would be to smash through the weakest point in their lines and overwhelm the already occupied enemy infantry. It would be, in essence, like a cavalry charge of Old. Like when Procas cut apart the Tirolian lines on the Fields of Trantano.

"Lieutenant! Issue the codeword to the Brigade!" The Brigadier shouted down over the roar of the engines. The watch-word Ritterschaft would denote that the officers of the companies and battalions would begin their offensive operations, and to signal to the convoy that they would soon be breaking through the enemy lines, and to prepare for engagement.

Battle of Targus IV (Gunther/Starboard Watch)

Yes it does. I'll move him back to being a Brigadier General as he as previously and you can be the aide-de-camp.

Battle of Targus IV (Gunther/Starboard Watch)

History

Farewell, Fatherland
Remember us
Farewell, familiar faces
Not all of us will return

The Imperial Commonwealth is in flames.

After the death of Emperor Ignatius the Glorious, Prince Arnaud, Count of the Outer Stars, raised his banner in Rebellion against the rightful Emperor, his own brother, Honorius Norbanus Antius. The system of Alpha Centauri, one of the core systems of the Empire, was the first to support him as the Prince called the Galaxy to arms on the steps of the White Fort on Gelasia, the capital of the system. Soon, dozens of other systems would join the insurrection against the Emperor.

That was six years ago.

The Empire and the Rebellion have been fighting a grueling war across the stars for control of the Galaxy. The Empire is fighting to preserve the Union of Man which has persisted through other rebellions and threats for twenty centuries, to protect the Holy Kingdom that the Holy Procas had formed through sword and conquest in the ashes of the Deluge. The Rebellion is leading a Revolution, to totally cast away the chains that were forced upon man two-thousand years ago, to lead Man into a New Order of dignity and respect.

The Empire, at its height, controlled most of the Galaxy. It had grown so large, that out of the Terran Race grew many sprouting branches of different folks, spread out across the stars. Separated by custom, slight differences in language, and by the stars themselves, they were united by the Emperor and their shared racial heritage. Even the Martians, that Race of seven-foot copper giants, pledged their undying loyalty to the Emperor, who reigned simultaneously as the Universal Emperor of Man but also as the High King of Mars.

But the Revolution has set folk against folk, man against man, brother against brother. Originally intending, and still secretly, the Bloody Prince sought to claim the Rosy Throne from his brother, who he saw as an unfit Emperor. But the cost of the War has forced him to change the succession crisis into a Crusade against all that is Holy: Order, Aristocracy, and Truth. Lying when it suits him, telling the truth when it doesn't, Prince Arnaud has conscripted half the Galaxy in a quest for blood against his own family. Mobilizing them into an army of bloodthirsty beasts, he would strike at the very heart of the Empire and topple the false Emperor, and tear down the whole rotten system with him.

In the third year of the War, Commodore Simon d'Bocher (known to the Terrans as Simon the Butcher, and for good reason) led an Armada against the home system of the Terran Race. After a long and hardfought struggle, the Home Fleet of the Empire was annihilated and the twin worlds of Terra and Mars fell victim to the vengeance of the beasts. Terra was conquered ruthlessly, most of its cities reduced to ash, but Mars was not given such a treatment. The entire Martian Race was annihilated, their planet stripped of the atmosphere that Man toiled to build before the Deluge. What little of the Martians that remain fight in the ranks of the Imperial Army, fighting for revenge against their slain Race.

In this sixth year, the War has ground into a bloody stalemate across a widefront, stabilized relatively along the Galactic Axis. Trillions of men are locked in deadly combat across the Galaxy, on planets far from their home. Only a miracle can save the Empire, and only a miracle could bring the Revolution to deliver the final blow against their sworn foe.

Battle of Targus IV (Gunther/Starboard Watch)

Posted in quotes our discord discussions straight copy-pasted. If you wish I can write up some more elaborate lore. Moved the characters to Characters.

Sorry for lack of decorum!

Battle of Targus IV (Gunther/Starboard Watch)

The Brigadier

Weary and decimated,
in true knightly-brotherhood,
the best have remained
but the others have lost their strength

Brigadier Childebrand, son of Clovis

Battle of Targus IV (Gunther/Starboard Watch)

They want neither God, nor Emperor
nor pain, nor consciousness.
Only prisons and howls,
Fires in the skies.

It's our fate to read
This horrifying novel
With the swollen eyes
Of mothers and brides.

THE BATTLE OF TARGUS IV

A thousand fires burned bright on the surface of Targus IV.

The once-green world, home to a billion souls of Severacian extraction, has been set alight like a dry field doused with gasoline. Whoever could not flee to the inner worlds of the Empire took up arms in defense of their world against the rabid Revolutionaries who sought to destroy Order and Truth on their homeworld and across the Galaxy, and who threatened to tear apart the greatest union of Man in history.

It was up to the 25th (Royal Panchala) Grenadier Regiment, as well as some other hastily-raised conscript regiments, to hold the line against the oncoming onslaught. While a vicious fleet action raged high in orbit, the men of the Ground Forces put up a vicious and dauntless defense against the invaders.

Brigadier General Childebrand, son of Clovis, stood behind the ruined parapet of the Faunkleid House, the once glorious seat of the Faunkleid Family which had been the lords of this Sector for many centuries. Now, it was almost indistinguishable from the rest of the decimated city of Taxandria, reduced to rubble by the brief-but-deadly orbital bombardment of the rebel forces.

He watched through his field glasses at the burning city some miles away. There, his men were fighting a grueling and vicious battle to toss the revolutionaries off the planet and back where they came. The Paladins had arrived only a week before the first rebel ships came into orbit, and were caught on the back foot as their orbital bombardment destroyed what little defenses they constructed. Many of the Empire's men had died in the fighting, including the previous brigade commander. He had been promoted as an acting-Brigadier, but it was starting to look like that he would have no time to be officially promoted.

For he was sure he would die on the surface of this world which, although part of his Home Sector and populated with his Folk, was far from his home of Panchala.

Oh, what a lovely war, he mused to himself cynically. They had spent all their lives preparing for War, but when it finally came, he found the business quite distasteful to say the least. But in the six years since the Civil War first broke out, he had become accustomed to it. He even began to relish in it.

A fighter-bomber squadron, friendly of course, streaked overhead and broke his thoughts as they headed at flank speed to annihilate an enemy position. But Childebrand was wondering just how they would be able to throw them off the planet for good.

Battle of Targus IV (Gunther/Starboard Watch)

Anyway, as you figure that out, I'll build the story for you. So basically the pre-Deluge World is totally unknown to the people of this Empire (story is set like 2000 years after the Deluge) but it exists mainly as myth which comes out of the direct aftermath of the Deluge. Earth managed to unite into two power blocs, but also managed to colonize the Moon and Mars, terraforming the latter (super important btw). At some point the two power blocs collided and basically plunged the world into chaos. Nuclear War, etc etc etc. Here is where the myth begins: A man arises from somewhere in the Italian Peninsula named Procas who unites the Aryan peoples of Europe. He is said to have been borne of the Sun and the Moon, and slays the Mad Bull in his youth. After uniting the Peninsular tribes, he pushes northward until finally winning a triumphal victory against the Insular Tribes. A Great Council in Gothenburg formalizes the Terran Empire, and crowns Procas as the first Universal Emperor. He and his descendants, although most of it is in the myth assigned to Procas, unite Terra (Earth) and are eventually contacted by the Martians, who have become a unified and martial society but are now like a distinct race (7 foot tall, copperish skin, etc).
Over the course of the centuries, Man (the Terrans) spread out across the Galaxy and colonize pretty much every world they can. By the time our roleplay starts, distinct ethnic groups exist who speak variations upon the Imperial Standard, although the courtly language is still High Terran (maybe something like Latin? Idk). Each ethnic group is kind of using like old-style names, which is just a personal stylistic choice of mine. Terrans, by and large, tend to use Roman-like names

tbh in this RP history diverged a lot
everywhere except Europe, Australia, and North America get fucked up
But regardless
the Terran Empire went through its cycle of Golden Age and is now entering a Dark Age
The old Emperor Ignatius died and his son, Honorius, who succeeded him was unwilling to really take the throne
He never really wanted to be Emperor but recognized that he had to
His brother, Prince Arnaud, Count of the Outer Stars, is really vengeful because he was his father's favorite
And insulted by his brother's lack of will to properly become Emperor, he rallies a bunch of noblemen and system sectors (including, most prominently, Alpha Centauri, the main planet of which is called Gelasia) in a rebellion
He secretly plans to usurp the Throne but as the rebellion went on, he turned it into a sort of Communistic Bolshevik sort of Revolution
to totally overthrow the Emperor and the institution of Empire
Honorius responds with force as he finally truly becomes "Emperor"
that was ten years ago
The Galaxy is a mess, the Empire is beginning to give way to the Rebellion, which I imagine is called the Free Galactic Revolutionary Council or something equally communistic
Our story takes place on Targus IV, a relatively insignificant planet in the grand scheme of the War
just a battle among other battles
But it binds the Adjutant and the Brigadier together to the end of the War
The Front is chaotic though so even though we're officers we'll be doing some fighting.

other worldbuilding stuff I guess is that Terra has been conquered
Mars has literally been destroyed
idk how else to describe it I guess but the entire Martian Race has been exterminated except those off-world
The Martians are feverently pro-Empire
The Imperial Court fled to Surya, a planet on the Outer Rim deep in Imperial Space
The Prince is basically rallying a bunch of disparate forces: rebellious barons and nobility who felt jilted by the centralized Imperial system, lower class slaves and serfs who joined the fray after being spurned on by promises of Republic, merchants who felt the pain of Imperial taxes and seek to dismantle the system under which they chafed
It's allegorical, really, to historical things
I guess, the eternal pull between Aristocracy and the Masses
The Rightful King and the Unlawful Usurper
The Empire is also pretty Pagan, religiously speaking
The Sun is considered to be the ultimate manifestation of the Godhead, of which the ultimate manifestation is the Galactic Core
The Galaxy spinning and rotating around it
they believe in Gods, holy men, as like the Romans and Germans did etc etc
do you have any lore questions?
In my head I viewed it a lot like the Crusade against the Cathars by the Romanists, the fall of the Third Reich, and the demise of Akhenaten's Empire

yeah basically imagine this Empire as being comprised of mostly European-types
who are, depending how you view it, organically assuming the rhymthic variation of Time back towards the names of their long-ago ancestors
or
LARPing as ancestors
Terrans are Romans, Martians are like Old Slavics
Panchalans are Frankish
Alpha Centaurians are more like closer-to-modern-day Frenchmen
for example Prince Arnaud's real name is Arnoldus Norbanus Antius
The Emperor's name being Honorius Norbanus Antius
but he changes his name to Arnaud because of his ties with Alpha Centauri, which is where he first raised his banner in rebellion
like i said the story i wrote was really mythological, grounded in esoteric symbolism
but this can be more of a straight-played military RP

Great Southern Land

my app

Dicko

Name: Richard (Dicko) Jacob Butler
Age: 36
Appearance: Many would characterize him as the stereotypical Australian of a century past, a look partially made with effort. Though of European origin his skin has been so thoroughly sunburned it has a permanent brownish shade, his eyes hazel, while his hair is an ashy blond. He has a shapely if not exactly very strong nose, along with prominent chins and some developed wrinkles here and there.
Personality: Dicko is best described as a person of folksy attitudes as well as rough around the edges with a heart of gold. Though many years ago his imitation of an old movie character and bogan were an artificial personality, it has strongly grown on him. Rather than just imitating a noble savage, he became on.
Background: Chavs, hoods, hopniks, tokkies, rednecks or more locally bogans such people existed across all cultures and that of today's Australia was no exception. Born a poor boy in the rich city of Adelaide, it was really the only thing Dick could be. Doing odd jobs as he grew up, he happened to come upon some old bits of information in his schooling, and finally a very old movie portraying an Australian man's adventures across much of the world which gave him an ideal. Taking his savings the boy went off travelling the land trying to mirror the character, even if at times regretful of forsaking true civilization.

Only pure luck let him survive the harsh new world and gain enough experience to become a Ranger. However in becoming one he found true fulfillment, and did his job with eagerness and self-sacrifice making a name for himself very fast.

Weapons: A modified P14, three Glock 19s for the purpose of what was once called "a new York Reload." A very large knife, a concealed stiletto and various riot control grenades.

@Andreyich

Approved.

Poland Partitioned - the third World War in 1947 (alternate history)

<Snipped quote by Starboard Watch>

We had a couple questions come in through Discord as well, re: some of the treaties that might impact the borders of Poland.

One such question involved the Oder-Neisse line that stipulates a 1937 border, which includes East Prussia in Polish territory.

Would also imagine that Kalinigrad/Konigsberg/Krolewiec would be part of the Third Republic of Poland's territory owing to the Baltic landings that used Gdansk primarily, but probably include that as well. By the time Potsdam would have happened, it would be a fait accompli.

Granted, this is also one of the first places the USSR would hit.

@HeySeuss

Would Pomerania and Silesia, or perhaps just Pomerania, stay with Germany in this TL?

Great Southern Land

Hmmm, how post apocalyptic is this? I.e. are guns now scarce with blades and bludgeons to many being the main weapons? Or more fallout/mad max/metro wherein guns are still omnipresent in every man's arsenal. Will probably go with an old vet of sorts

@Andreyich

It's been generations since the Deluge which destroyed Civilization, but the City of Adelaide still produces armaments like the L1A1 and other rifles that would've been in service with the ADF at the time of the Deluge. There are also independent manufacturers who make simple bolt-action rifles and such as well.

Guns are still omnipresent.