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DurandalsPrincipality of Krugstahl
History
Krugstahl is a human colony originating from Earth's early interstellar history. It was supposed to be the first large-scale interstellar exodus vessel, propagating humanity in the distant reaches of the galaxy. For this purpose it mounted a gigantic and still experimental black hole engine which powered its "Jump Drives", design 80% identical to the Alcubierre Drive yet working by a different mechanism. All trials were a success and live-testings went perfectly. The designers were confident in the technology and began preparing for the first long distance colonization mission. A giant colony was equipped with a scaled up Jump Drive and blackhole engine and by 2092 it gained the shocking number of over 100 million inhabitants. Unfortunately Kurgstahl's systems suffered a critical malfunction during its maiden voyage, making the entire colony disappear. People were rightfully assuming the worst and this tragedy led to the ban of blackhole engines and the abandonment of Jumpdrives. In truth the system was successful, maybe even too successful. The Jump Drive overloaded and sent the colony Krugstahl with its millions of residents much further than their original destination. Having no way to replicate this feat and return to home the colonists declared this patch of the galaxy their new home, eventually growing into an entire fleet of wandering colony vessels. Government/Society/Species
The Principality of Krugstahl is a nomadic civilization that lives entirely in space. To their belief "gravity weights down human souls" thus they refuse to live in natural gravity wells, instead prefer their own colonies and space vessels. Indeed, over the centuries Krugstahl's population evolved to live in their low gravity environment.They also beleive the vastness of space and generations in living without the chains of gravity they became something more. Indeed there's a small population of people with extrasensory abilities. Legend says the colony's historical first leader the visionary Karl von Krugstahl did predict this, and called them "Neue Mensch" or Newtypes. According to him the Newtypes would be the next step in human evolution and would bring a great era of peace. Unfortunately neither of his theories proven right. Krugstahl's people are still warlike as ever and their once democratic system devolved into a feudalist principality. Newtypes are the government's favored tools for war and oppression. Unless born aristocrat a Newtype can only have two career options: Join the military and become a Panzerjagervig pilot or join the principality's secret police and use their psychic powers to spy on their own people. Some Newtypes choose the third option and go into hiding but they have no chance against their well-trained and experienced comrades. The principality is ruled by the Duke von Krugstahl while the nobles are his loyal vassals. High-class nobles can lord over an entire colony or even oversee a cluster of colonies. They enjoy considerable autonomy and these can be considered small kingdoms. Colonies are cylindrical space vessels with the average length of 20 kilometers and the diameter of 4 kilometers, each holding at average 5 million people, making them effectively like a tiny country each. They have their own gravity chiefly maintained by centrifugal force and have their own artificial environment including even food production. The original colony Kurgstahl is even larger, over 90 kilometers long and 16km wide with the staggering population of about 254 million people. Aside from regular aristocrats there's a military branch called Knights. Knights sire from aristocratic roots who pursue soldiering. Their title reflects their rank and influence within the military. Mere Landeritters (common knights) are just little above common troops, at best leading a Panzerjagervig squadron. Rittermeisters (Knight Lords) are owning colossal warship-castle colonies called Kriegschloss that make up the heart of Krugstahl's military. There's also the unofficial title Oberrittermeister (Supeme Lord of Knights) who control multiple Kriegschlösser and thus effectively lead more than one Knight Order into battle. Knights are free to ally themselves with any aristocrat of sufficient status and it's a matter of prestige between barons to own the most Kriegschlösser with the best knights available. The Duke holds great power with the ownership of Krugstahl and quarter of the other colonies yet his rule is only stable with the nobles' support. As such any attempts at proper centralization were so far futile.Neue Mensch also called Newtypes are gifted people who by Karl von Krugstahl's teachings represent the next step in human evolution. In effect though there's little information on their origins or how they come to be. What they lack in understanding why they exist we have a far better understanding exactly what they can do. Newtypes are talented people with enhanced learning, extrasensory perception and at times even psychic powers. They can be ranked from Theta to Alpha rank and even in that there are 3 levels. There are much dispute whether a Newtype is born with power and only unaware how to use it or actually capable of raising their power. What is known that training, concentration and experiencing strong emotions can result in a Newtype raising in the ranks, albeit the exact process is unknown. Also while Newtypes are ranked they aren't equal in abilities. Some are gifted in one aspect or another. They might even be inept in everything but one ability.
Theta/Eta/Zeta: Low-ranking Newtypes generally only showing above average capabilities and hints of sixth sense and spatial perception. In case of Theta levels even their status as Newtypes is often questionable and they're unfelt by their peers.
Epsilon/Delta/Gamma: Decent Newtypes with more reliable abilities and occasional psychic powers like psychometry, empathic sense or brief premonitions. They are often either famous pilots or if their psychic abilities are developed can be part of the secret Newtype police and hunt their rouge brethren or occasionally spy on people.
Beta/Alpha: The most powerful Newtypes have further boosted abilities along with more reliable psychic abilities. While still nowhere perfect they can showcase some extend of telepathy, precognition and similar powers. They are extremely rare and valuable. Such people can rise to become heroes in war or be the secret tool of the Duke or a high-ranking noble. There are probably just a handful Beta rank Newtypes out there and there's no officially reported case of an Alpha-rank.
Theta/Eta/Zeta: Low-ranking Newtypes generally only showing above average capabilities and hints of sixth sense and spatial perception. In case of Theta levels even their status as Newtypes is often questionable and they're unfelt by their peers.
Epsilon/Delta/Gamma: Decent Newtypes with more reliable abilities and occasional psychic powers like psychometry, empathic sense or brief premonitions. They are often either famous pilots or if their psychic abilities are developed can be part of the secret Newtype police and hunt their rouge brethren or occasionally spy on people.
Beta/Alpha: The most powerful Newtypes have further boosted abilities along with more reliable psychic abilities. While still nowhere perfect they can showcase some extend of telepathy, precognition and similar powers. They are extremely rare and valuable. Such people can rise to become heroes in war or be the secret tool of the Duke or a high-ranking noble. There are probably just a handful Beta rank Newtypes out there and there's no officially reported case of an Alpha-rank.
Technology
Having separated from humans during the early ages of interstellar travel, the Principality was forced to develop on its own. They have large self-governing automatized factories which can produce all their needs with various mining bases providing the required resources. Hydro-farms can cover all the population's need of food. Their primary source of energy is pure fusion reactors, gathering their fuel from stars and gas giants. Colony ships and Kriegschlösser have a controlled singularity engine as their main power which is also essential for their jump drive mechanism. No Principality ships smaller than a Kriegschloss are capable traveling interstellar distances. To protect their crew from shaking and great accelerations they use inertial dampeners which Panzerjagervig pilots also use to rapidly change vectors thus improving their combat maneuverability. Their main energy weapons are using mega particles that improve efficiency but usually needs a powerful reactor to prepare them in sufficient amount. They also have advanced guns, explosives, railguns and lasers.
Materials&Manufacturing: Krugstahl has advanced material science knowledge and manufacturing. They utilize nanolathes, an evolution of the sintering method which allows precise and fast worksmanship but above all versatility. By just changing the program and procuring the right materials it's possible to switch a factory from producing one thing to another. This also let them to engineer with materials like never before. One of the most commonly known product of this is the family of durametals. Resilient, strong and designed for the purpose they make the basis of almost any construction in Krugstahl. Acquisition of materials is generally accomplished by automated mines. These are factories building automated miners that bring back materials for refinement. Automated mines help Krugstahl to survive and let their industry to properly function.
Fusion Power: Using the M-effect it's plausible to contain the heat and pressure of nuclear reactor enclosed within an I-field. Initiated by high-intensity laser pulse the fusion power is versatile with multiple easily accessible fuel types including (but not limited to) hydrogen and helium. Panzerjagerviger uses the slightly over-engineered variation of this to fit inside the unit called the ultra-compact fusion reactors. M-type fusion reactors (as in practically any nuclear plant in Krugstahl) have one issue, though. If a concentrated burst of M-particles breach the containment it could easily lead to runaway chainreactions, turning the otherwise safe reactor to violently explode.
Pulse Engines: A versatile engine design using nuclear power for propulsion. Two of its most popular modes nuclear pulse and plasma impulse are also the two extremes. In nuclear pulse mode there's hardly any fuel spent but in return for minimal thrust. Plasma impulse mode allows the highest accelerations at the cost of much higher fuel consumption and losing any pretense of stealth.
Jumpdrives: Developed in a much more optimistic past the Jumpdrive is a huge and complex device and Krugstahl's only means of interstellar travel. They work by using the blackhole engine's gravity to generate a special wormhole punching a hole in reality to a alegedly a different dimension. While that's true the transit is almost instantenous. What limitation it does have the range. Jumpdrives are extremely demanding in power so after one or a few jumps the ship's capacitor must be drained.
Inertia/Gravity Control: Jumpdrives in part use the gravity of their blackhole core to operate. Derived from this Krugstahl developed artificial gravity and inertial dampeners for more widespread use. On the other hand these devices are still power hogs so they find most use in the military.
Structural Integrity Fields: Derivative of the artificial gravity technology, this reinforces materials down to the elementary levels to make them tougher. Structural integrity fields are rather power-hungry but they can be useful to enhance a portion expected to be under attack or strain. Also jokingly called the poor man's shield this is very often used as a defensive reinforcement albeit there are examples where it involves offensive uses.
I-Field: With alternating fields the M-Particles can be arranged into a well-organized lattice, this so-called M-Effect is used in fusion reactors for compact and safe operation. The same could be used as a sorts of barrier called the I-Field which can repel radiation and charged particles but especially other M-Particles. Designed against mega-particle beam weapons they require severe power to break through the barrier. Radiation and beam weapons not using M-Particles are somewhat more effective and kinetics generally have way too much momentum to be stopped by an I-Field. While promising the I-Field technology is still experimental and consumes too much power to be constantly active. They are rare sight reserved for the wealthiest. Large vessels also have too much surface area to be entirely covered with an I-Field. As such a variant I-Shield was invented which covers only a limited area at the time, allowing the crew to cycle emitters depending on the direction where they mostly expect an attack.
Mega Particle Cannon: The binding properties of the M-Particles can be used to form a single superheavy particle, the Mega Particle. Using this and the repulsing effect of I-Fields in a chamber it's plausible to unleash a highly energy efficient particle beam. That's the Mega Particle Cannon, generally abreviated as beam cannon. They are close to standard for warships but the compression process requires too much power to be viable for a Panzerjagervig thus the MPC technology was born. Proper name Mega Particle Capacitor it holds already compressed and ready Mega Particles so even the meager power of Panzerjagervig reactors can fire them. These weapons are called the Beam Rifles, possessing power close to the beam cannons (or more like the thinner beam compensates for much of the difference in penetration). Beam rifles have shorter accelerator coils thus inferior range to cannons but regardless their threat is real. Their other drawback is that the capacitor can only hold particles for a limited amount of shots, limiting the mech's combat endurance. Beam Rifles are still far from widespread and only the more elite units utilize them.
Fusion Power: Using the M-effect it's plausible to contain the heat and pressure of nuclear reactor enclosed within an I-field. Initiated by high-intensity laser pulse the fusion power is versatile with multiple easily accessible fuel types including (but not limited to) hydrogen and helium. Panzerjagerviger uses the slightly over-engineered variation of this to fit inside the unit called the ultra-compact fusion reactors. M-type fusion reactors (as in practically any nuclear plant in Krugstahl) have one issue, though. If a concentrated burst of M-particles breach the containment it could easily lead to runaway chainreactions, turning the otherwise safe reactor to violently explode.
Pulse Engines: A versatile engine design using nuclear power for propulsion. Two of its most popular modes nuclear pulse and plasma impulse are also the two extremes. In nuclear pulse mode there's hardly any fuel spent but in return for minimal thrust. Plasma impulse mode allows the highest accelerations at the cost of much higher fuel consumption and losing any pretense of stealth.
Jumpdrives: Developed in a much more optimistic past the Jumpdrive is a huge and complex device and Krugstahl's only means of interstellar travel. They work by using the blackhole engine's gravity to generate a special wormhole punching a hole in reality to a alegedly a different dimension. While that's true the transit is almost instantenous. What limitation it does have the range. Jumpdrives are extremely demanding in power so after one or a few jumps the ship's capacitor must be drained.
Inertia/Gravity Control: Jumpdrives in part use the gravity of their blackhole core to operate. Derived from this Krugstahl developed artificial gravity and inertial dampeners for more widespread use. On the other hand these devices are still power hogs so they find most use in the military.
Structural Integrity Fields: Derivative of the artificial gravity technology, this reinforces materials down to the elementary levels to make them tougher. Structural integrity fields are rather power-hungry but they can be useful to enhance a portion expected to be under attack or strain. Also jokingly called the poor man's shield this is very often used as a defensive reinforcement albeit there are examples where it involves offensive uses.
I-Field: With alternating fields the M-Particles can be arranged into a well-organized lattice, this so-called M-Effect is used in fusion reactors for compact and safe operation. The same could be used as a sorts of barrier called the I-Field which can repel radiation and charged particles but especially other M-Particles. Designed against mega-particle beam weapons they require severe power to break through the barrier. Radiation and beam weapons not using M-Particles are somewhat more effective and kinetics generally have way too much momentum to be stopped by an I-Field. While promising the I-Field technology is still experimental and consumes too much power to be constantly active. They are rare sight reserved for the wealthiest. Large vessels also have too much surface area to be entirely covered with an I-Field. As such a variant I-Shield was invented which covers only a limited area at the time, allowing the crew to cycle emitters depending on the direction where they mostly expect an attack.
Mega Particle Cannon: The binding properties of the M-Particles can be used to form a single superheavy particle, the Mega Particle. Using this and the repulsing effect of I-Fields in a chamber it's plausible to unleash a highly energy efficient particle beam. That's the Mega Particle Cannon, generally abreviated as beam cannon. They are close to standard for warships but the compression process requires too much power to be viable for a Panzerjagervig thus the MPC technology was born. Proper name Mega Particle Capacitor it holds already compressed and ready Mega Particles so even the meager power of Panzerjagervig reactors can fire them. These weapons are called the Beam Rifles, possessing power close to the beam cannons (or more like the thinner beam compensates for much of the difference in penetration). Beam rifles have shorter accelerator coils thus inferior range to cannons but regardless their threat is real. Their other drawback is that the capacitor can only hold particles for a limited amount of shots, limiting the mech's combat endurance. Beam Rifles are still far from widespread and only the more elite units utilize them.
Military
[Military Anthem]
Just like their government, the Krugstahl military is in the hands of nobles. Knights of various title fill up nearly every leading position within the army. Yet in times of war Duke von Krugstahl can rally all nobles under the Bundeswehrmacht, often abbreviated just as the "Bund". In addition there are the duke's own personal army the Zentraler Kriegsmacht or just "Kriegsmacht", reserves kept exclusively for war while the central colonies were protected by another forces called the Reichswehr. These three organizations together form the core of the Krugstahl military. Because interstellar travel capability is limited only to their largest vessels the Krugstahl military doctrines also concentrated around these. Using civilian colony habitats as war carriers was foolish early idea thus they developed a new kind of vessel, their mobile castles AKA "Kriegschloss". These are the base of operation for each knight order and the forward bases during military campaigns.
Name: Kriegschloss, Mobile Castle
Classification: Mobile Military Base, Military Factory, Fleet Carrier
Dimensions: Length: 4km, largest diameter: 1.2 km
Mass: c. 12 billion tons
Maximum Capacity: 120.000 people (while usually less than 12,000 of them being soldiers)
Hull Material: Durametal Alloy Composite
Powerplant: Compact Singularity Control Engine
Propulsion: Gravity Drive, Pulse Engines
Defensive System: Integrity Field, I-Shield Generators (only rare variants)
Interstellar travel: Jumpdrive
Weapons (specific numbers and loadouts are variable):
- Durametal Ram (frontal spike made of solid durametal, also used for landing operations)
- Missile Ports (launching thermonuclear missiles)
- Interceptor Pods (launching swarms of smaller interceptor missiles)
- Gun Turrets (armed with railguns, mega-particle beams and other means)
- Point-Defenses (smaller scale gun turrets, or laser emitters fit in flexible ball-mounts)
The Kriegschloss is a sturdy warmachine which is also the home of an entire knight order. It's a colony just as a warship, serving as the soldiers' habitat even outside combat. It's also a carrier, holding and servicing multiple warships and hundreds of Panzerjagervig. It has habitat modules, hydrofarms, mining modules, refinery systems, factories and even more. Overall it possesses everything to support itself thus if required a Kriegschloss can act independently for extended period. Their versatility also make them preferred to send out for establishing mines and other installments which help Krugstahl to sustain itself. Kriegschlösser are too big to be produced in regular factories and instead made in special hollowed out colonies which were entirely transformed into a gigantic plant to manufacture Kriegschlösser, always one at the time. Due to this Kriegslösser are rather expensive and replacing even one of them could take a considerable time. Even the loss of a single Mobile Castle can be seen as a major blow to the military.
Used to be the primary weapons of space warfare, nowadays that had gradually shifted for the Panzerjagervig. Still, Panzers have limited endurance and require servicing. Warships offer more consistent firepower and potential to deploy more potent weapons of mass destruction. In addition to this they are also carriers for the Panzers which allows them more flexibility than just being deployed from the Kriegschloss. There are also more dedicated carrier warships but usually the standard warship can accomplish this duty fine. Warships and Panzer complement each other well in battle.
Also can be abreviated as Panzer, they're roughly 8-12m tall humanoid warmachines equipped to fight both in space and on the surface. They're fast, agile and surprisingly powerful for their size. They have ultracompact fusion reactors and capable of using their limbs along with the inertial control mechanism to perform some maneuvers quickly and without spending precious fuel. Regardless the Panzerjagerviger in general are known for their short endurance and need to engage enemies from relatively close range. Panzerjagerviger make up the backbone of space combat and they have a key role even when fighting on planetary surfaces. There are a host of practical reasons for this but more importantly the Panzer is in the focus because they're associated with the knighthood of Krugstahl, the Ritters. As explained before the Ritter are noblemen practicing for military deeds from early age. Once becoming fully fledged knights their most reliable option to advance is by performing feats and heroics while piloting their Panzer. Thus the culture of war fought with Panzerjagerviger was born. Panzers are also used in sport events, competitions and frequently the chosen tools for resolving duels. Outdated or decomisioned Panzers may also end up in the civil sector after disarmament and used for labor and construction jobs.
Machinegun: Autocannon firing heavy shells from a proportionally scaled up rifle. While decent it isn't generally made for fighting warships.
Rail Rifle:Panzer-sized rifles using electromagnetic force instead of propellant, generally powered directly from the reactor. Rail Rifles tend to not focus on rate of fire (albeit Rail Repeaters do) but on raw penetrating power, acting kind of like semi-auto rifles. This makes them better against heavily armored and preferably less agile targets and at times even used as snipers. Another variant is the Siege Railgun which goes even further in power in return for long charging times.
Bazooka: Large tubular weapon using composite multi-stage launch methods to deliver a heavy warhead to the target. First stage is always a moving charge that works similar to a large gun. The mech's thrusters are linked to fire in a way to overcome the recoil forces. The following stages are akin to a rocket, often having a cheap chemical stage first and then a battery-powered pulse engine. There are simpler and more complicated methods than this but Bazookas more or less follow the same ideas. Warhead can change, too. Kinetic blast, plasma, tactical nuke and so on. Bazookas are generally employed for sieges and for anti-warship warfare. Whenever their raw destructive power is needed. There's also a smaller and simpler cousin to the Bazooka, the Sturmfaust. It sacrifices sophistication, range and a bit of firepower for cheapness and easy portability.
Missiles: A vague term for various other missile types, delivery methods and so on. They are not as prominent in Kurgstahl's battle and known to run out fast but they can add some extra utility. They are not handheld but rather mounted on the mech's hull so as to supplement the main weapons.
Beam Rifle: See technology section. Basically it's a compact mega-particle cannon using MPC to store limited amount of particles to fire beams unusually powerful for its weight class.
Beam Saber: Utilizing M-particle plasma contained within an I-Field for destructive effects. These weapons are easier to obtain than Beam Rifles but still denote a measure of quality.
Vulcan: Rapid-firing gun (or guns) used to engage thin skinned targets. While chainguns are still popular there's a gradual move towards small-caliber rapid-firing railguns that save considerable ammo and space. They're fixed armament of the mech and most commonly mounted in the head, making that a sorts of improvised turret for the weapon.
Rail Rifle:Panzer-sized rifles using electromagnetic force instead of propellant, generally powered directly from the reactor. Rail Rifles tend to not focus on rate of fire (albeit Rail Repeaters do) but on raw penetrating power, acting kind of like semi-auto rifles. This makes them better against heavily armored and preferably less agile targets and at times even used as snipers. Another variant is the Siege Railgun which goes even further in power in return for long charging times.
Bazooka: Large tubular weapon using composite multi-stage launch methods to deliver a heavy warhead to the target. First stage is always a moving charge that works similar to a large gun. The mech's thrusters are linked to fire in a way to overcome the recoil forces. The following stages are akin to a rocket, often having a cheap chemical stage first and then a battery-powered pulse engine. There are simpler and more complicated methods than this but Bazookas more or less follow the same ideas. Warhead can change, too. Kinetic blast, plasma, tactical nuke and so on. Bazookas are generally employed for sieges and for anti-warship warfare. Whenever their raw destructive power is needed. There's also a smaller and simpler cousin to the Bazooka, the Sturmfaust. It sacrifices sophistication, range and a bit of firepower for cheapness and easy portability.
Missiles: A vague term for various other missile types, delivery methods and so on. They are not as prominent in Kurgstahl's battle and known to run out fast but they can add some extra utility. They are not handheld but rather mounted on the mech's hull so as to supplement the main weapons.
Beam Rifle: See technology section. Basically it's a compact mega-particle cannon using MPC to store limited amount of particles to fire beams unusually powerful for its weight class.
Beam Saber: Utilizing M-particle plasma contained within an I-Field for destructive effects. These weapons are easier to obtain than Beam Rifles but still denote a measure of quality.
Vulcan: Rapid-firing gun (or guns) used to engage thin skinned targets. While chainguns are still popular there's a gradual move towards small-caliber rapid-firing railguns that save considerable ammo and space. They're fixed armament of the mech and most commonly mounted in the head, making that a sorts of improvised turret for the weapon.
Simply referred as armed vehicles, this is a category for mostly ground vehicles. Since the Principality is diverse this is reflected back the most in the chaos that accounting for various ground vehicle variants. They can range from repurposed civilian vehicles to mass-produced vehicles unique to a certain house or even entirely custom battlewagons sparing no cost in their construction. As such rather than trying to reconcile these Krugstahl introduced a standard system categorizing these vehicles.
Most land vehicles have conventional propulsion like wheels and threads and powered by fuel cells or standard generators rather than fusion reactors. When a vehicle is hover-capable it's signified with an S (Schwebend) letter at the end, ie: Wwgn-10S. Similarly if it's flight-capable but still mostly considered a surface vehicle than aircraft it gains the F letter, Flügend. If a vehicle has an ultracompact fusion engine rather than traditional powerplant then it gains the N designation, Nuklearen.
- Wwgn-1: Ultralight vehicles with the maximum weight of 1 ton.
- Wwgn-10: Light vehicles with the maximum weight of 10 tons.
- Wwgn-25: Intermediate class vehicles with up to 25 tons of weight.
- Wwgn-50: Medium-class vehicles with up to 50 tons.
- Wwgn-100: Heavy vehicles up to the 100-ton range.
- Wwgn-100+: Superheavy combat vehicles with over 100 tons of weight. They are usually custom-made and rare.
- Wwgn-1000+: Not an official classification but semi-popular for referring to gigantic mobile constructs that stretch the meaning of vehicle.
Most land vehicles have conventional propulsion like wheels and threads and powered by fuel cells or standard generators rather than fusion reactors. When a vehicle is hover-capable it's signified with an S (Schwebend) letter at the end, ie: Wwgn-10S. Similarly if it's flight-capable but still mostly considered a surface vehicle than aircraft it gains the F letter, Flügend. If a vehicle has an ultracompact fusion engine rather than traditional powerplant then it gains the N designation, Nuklearen.
Since mostly conducting wars in space foot soldiers don't have an obvious use in most battles. They are used for security, policing and occupation. Since the majority of the soldiers equipped by the nobles their gear can depend on which lord they serve. It can range from unarmored troops with bolt-action guns to people in environmentally sealed full body armor suits with pulse and electromagnetic armaments. Wealth of the person or the one equipping them often directly correlates to quality. Also while heavily restricted in use by treaties the infantry has a stockpile of nuclear demolition charges and atomic mortars as their ultimate weapons.
