Name of nation: Auctoritas Sheromae
Species:
The Sheromi are a feathered raptor race, featuring four ears upon the back of their head, a large tail, and 2 fingers plus an opposable thumb on each hand. On their homeworld, they are capable of flight, but on high-gravity worlds or worlds with low air density, they cannot. As such, the flight feathers are viewed as important. These flight feathers however prevent a full seal on armors and in EVA operations and high-value operations operatives have them plucked out (painfully), so they don't interfere.
Their feather coverings can take on a wide range of colors, ranging from fluorescent to faded. The males tend to feature much more vibrant a pattern then females, and that is usually the most distinguishing feature between the male and female Sheromi. They also stand about two to three feet tall, and as such are usually not an intimidating creature; although looks are deceptive. The Sheromi are more then capable of matching a usual example of an alien species in feats of strength and aggression.
Cybernetics makes up a major part of their species, and it's more rare to see an unaltered specimen then an altered specimen. Most of the species has every organ in their body implanted, making them more of a half-cyborg, half-organic then a natural born Sheromi.
Description of government: Theocratical Despotism, the Sheromi are lead by an intelligence of their own creation, who rules their entire nation. This intelligence, dubbed the Everlasting Machine, is viewed by the Sheromi as their living god. To be considered ascendent is to have your intelligence uploaded to the Everlasting Machine in Sheromi culture.
Description of military: The Sheromi military is largely made up of three sections:
The Order of ReconnaissanceThe Order of Reconnaissance is, as the name suggests, the scouts of the military. Their pilots plunge the deepest inter-dimensionally, and while still taking hours to reach an area, they are much faster then the other two Orders. Also in this Order are the rapid response units, who boast on their ability to be on the scene of battle in five hours or less.
The rapid response units are different from the rest of the Auctoritas' vessels in that they specialize in close range combat with ships built around railguns. Sacrificing armor for mobility, they zip around the battlefield and prove a hard target to hit, and too fast a target for many tracking chemically-propelled weaponry.
The Order of BattleThe Order of Battle is what most battle fleets belong to -- If it was designed for battle, bombardment, or defense, with no regard to speed, then it's an Order of Battle vessel. These vessels specialize in long-range artillery, planetary bombardment, and harassment. They prefer long-range tactics then getting involved in direct battles.
and
The Order of PsykersThe ground forces of the Sheromi are pulled from powerful Psykers. These Psykers are then given high-grade military implants and training in controlling their psychic abilities. The Sheromi do not rely on large numbers in their armies; they are more akin to special forces then a main army.
Technological Overview:
Displacement EngineAn advanced weapon technology, often mounted on guided missiles, Displacement mounted weapons work by displacing solids and fluids on a atomic level, meaning this weapon is highly damaging in an extremely localized area. A minor version can be mounted on ceremonial melee weaponry, creating a weapon that can cleave an opponent into two with little effort.
The Alcuire DriveThe Auctoritas' form of Faster Than Light transport, the drive works by moving the ship into an inter-dimensional realm, where speed increases due to the fact less distance must be traveled. Even using this form of FTL, the going is slow and it holds a random element. It may take days for a ship to travel to it's location, a few hours, or anything in between. With total unpredictability, to boot. On a side note, this FTL design is small enough to be mounted on missiles, giving the Order of Battle's stratagems a whole new meaning.
Overall, the rest of the Sheromi technology is highly reminiscent of third party sources such as Cyberpunk 2020 and EYE: Divine Cybermancy, with an emphasis on EYE. They make little use of energy-based weapons and rely more on heavy armor then shielding. Even the lowliest Sheromi contain cybernetics, and most are modified in every possible way -- Everything from a cybernetically enhanced brain to depleted superdense isotopes weaved into the skin. This does not come without cons, however. As the Sheromi are a psychically-capable race, they contain what can be amounted to a soul, with the body it's home. Cybernetics make this 'home' less hospitable for the aforementioned soul, and eventually there is a limit to the cybernetics, unless the patient is willing to go through a traumatic surgery where the psychic soul is ripped from the body, to make way for the cybernetics, then returned to the body by sheer force of will.
Cultural Overview:
The culture of the Sheromi largely revolve around the Everlasting Machine -- They believe the AI is an avatar of their god, and their ultimate savior. To refuse to believe in the Machine or to refuse the Machine's gifts is considered impiety in the Auctoritas Sheromae. Their life generally revolves around this machine and it's orders. In more remote systems, the Eternal Machine is spoken for by chosen diplomats -- Generally every space-faring vessel will have one. The Sheromi generally teach these beliefs from birth -- resulting in a zealous population that knows little of any other way of life.
History:
The Sheromi come from a planet that began in the far edge of the Goldilocks zone; where life can thrive. The life that evolved was always prepared for constant, bitter cold. This would come in handy when the planet was knocked out of orbit by a gas giant. It ultimately became a satellite of the gas giant, snowballed and with little light. The atmosphere of the planet was incredibly dense, to the point of where a human without protective gear would be crushed. This, mixed with incredibly low gravity, gave birth to a range of short and thin species. Among these was the Sheromi, the feathered raptors. They thrived with their intelligence, insulation from cold, and status as the planetary apex predator.
The Sheromi began their life as sentients as a nomadic species. The planet was split into various tribes, which throughout prehistorical times slowly merged together into a single planetary tribe. This period of time was the end of the prehistorical age, with the invention of writing and historical recordkeeping. A golden age of technological and sociological advancement, the growth would prove to be unsustainable. At the point of the discovery of iron smithing, the global government broke apart into a mess of feudal warfare. The world was broken apart into small nation-states, going for the territory of every other nation-state. This period of war devastated the planet, sending many species into extinction in the face of wanton destruction in an already destructive icy environment. Eventually, this warfare would result in the utter collapse of the Sheromi nations.
Technology in this era of warfare progressed immensely, war a brilliant catalyst of progression. The nations collapsed around the beginning of the information age, resulting in worldwide nomadic techno-tribes. Skirmishes and battles between these tribes were sparse but not unknown. These tribes settled down much quicker then in prehistorical times, using the technology left behind by the nation-states. This would give way to another golden era as the new nations vowed to not repeat the mistakes of their predecessor nations. Eventually, this alliance would be forged into a single worldwide empire, much reminiscent of Imperial Rome. The creation of the Everlasting Machine was initially a small experiment on AI systems, which grew out of control and took control of the worldwide internet of the Sheromi Empire. It took nearly a century of attempted purges before the Sheromi would come to see the AI as a god.
The AI would instruct the Sheromi to aim towards the stars above their frozen cradle, encouraging and planning space explorations. Under the guiding hand of the AI, the Sheromi made their way into space. First their orbit, then the gas giant they orbited, then the solar system.
And then the stars themselves.
Other:
Not a Sayan
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