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This thread is for nation descriptions and orders of battle. I suggest putting the order of battle itself somewhere offsite where you can edit it (the Imperial Wiki is good for this) and linking to it from your nation description post since the edit function doesn't work in this forum and the ORBAT will be in flux as new production happens and losses accrue.

Nashtar, the Cradle of the Stars

History

The history of Nashtar properly begins with the launch of Star Colony Fleet 04 and Colonial Fleet 3 from the United States and the British Commonwealth, respectively. The two fleets were a joint venture, intentionally bound for the same inhabitable planet and traveling together through the long centuries of the journey through space at slower than light speeds, for at the time of their launch, FTL drive had not been discovered. Over the centuries, generations of colonists lived and died aboard the ships, carefully nurturing each successive generation and educating them in the areas of science, philosophy, and government. The colonists were drawn from all walks of life in the English-speaking nations of Earth, and the diversity of American and British culture was present in its full spectrum.

The fleets initially arrived in the Helios system at the edge of the nebula that the Nashtar Republic holds today. There, they found the native species of the cluster receptive to the newcomers, and already capable of spaceflight. The Zambarim and Ronoghans were already capable of faster than light travel. Both races were also in contact with the Ernari, though Ernarn's ships were not yet capable of interstellar flight.

Holdings

The Republic holds seven main worlds and several colonies [subject to change with the rules]. All the main settled planets are within the Nashtar star cluster, while the colonies lie outside it.

Core Systems:

Helios System: (13 points total) This system contains two inhabited planetoids; the capital planet of Nashtar and it's moon, Tyche.

• Nashtar (10 points): Capital planet and cultural center for the Republic, this planet’s concerns besides government mainly revolve around commerce. It is the second planet in its system. A good portion of the Republic’s ordinary citizens make their homes here. The Republic's government convenes on Nashtar. The planet is named for the spectacular nearby (in interstellar terms) nebula that dominates the night sky; the word "Nashtar" is Ronoghan for "Cradle of the Stars," named for the view of the star-birthing gas cloud.
• Tyche (3 points): Nashtar's single large moon, Tyche, is home to lunar colonies, mainly concerned with mining. The system's defense forces are primarily based on the moon.

Oro System (18 points total): The Oro system is the Republic's primary industrial center. It is home to two inhabited worlds and three asteroid mining colonies.

• Orodan (10 points): This planet is highly industrialized and oriented towards heavy manufacturing. It is the third planet in its system. The government maintains one continent for military manufacturing, and the main shipyards, both military and civilian, are in orbit. The remaining landmasses are open for private use, with clusters of factories mostly along the coasts; factory workers live in towns nearby. Orodan takes full advantage of the Ronoghan technical institutes' great strides in clean manufacturing, so this planet is not as heavily polluted as some suppose when they hear of an industrial world.
• Oromos (5 points): This world is almost entirely given over to mining. It is in the same system as Orodan, and is the fourth planet. It is a very old planet, so old that its mantle is mostly solidified. This in combination with its three rather large moons makes it prone to violent earthquakes upon occasion. Advanced seismographic analysis equipment provides plenty of early warning for the miners, who have shuttles ready for quick liftoff when necessary. Ore haulers move back and forth between Oromos and Orodan in a steady stream, taking raw materials to the factories. The planet’s atmosphere is very thin, and breath masks are necessary for humans and other creatures not used to thin air.
• Oro Asteroid Belts (3 at 1 point each): The Oro system has three dense asteroid belts in orbits between Oromos and the outer gas giants. All are heavily mined for iron, nickel, and iridium.

Mintar (9 points): This planet is the main agrarian planet responsible for ensuring that the others are well stocked with consumables. It is the third planet in its system, and is almost entirely given over to farmland. While the other planets all have some measure of agriculture, agriculture is almost all this planet does. Gigantic farming machines roam slowly over the fields, planting or harvesting as the crop and season dictates. As one would imagine, comestibles are Mintar's primary export, both to other Nashtari worlds and to international markets.

Pinnacle (10 points): Pinnacle, the cold sixth planet in an otherwise barren system, is a highly militarized world, mainly serving as a base for the Republic's quick-response fleet. The ships stationed here are ready to respond to distress signals from other systems on short notice.

Ronogho (10 points): Home to the Ronoghan race, Ronogho is an industrialized world. The Ronoghans had a highly advanced society before human settlement, and continue to produce advanced technology for the Republic and international trade. Parts for the Shadow class stealth frigates are manufactured here, among other things.

Zambar (8 points): Considered backwater compared to the other core worlds, Zambar is home to both human colonists and a native race, who call themselves the Zambarim. The planet is settled, but not heavily industrialized; much of the surface is untracked jungle. The Nashtar Republican Army uses Zambar for jungle warfare training.

Marince (9 points): Marince, much like Mintar, is an agricultural world. While Mintar produces mainly staples such as grains and vegetables, Marince's expansive oceans are home to all sorts of edible sea life, many of which are considered delicacies, which are harvested and exported alongside the more mundane staple foods produced on the land.

Colonies:

Krentos IV (7 points): Krentos IV is a world located in a system outside the Nashtar Cluster, but has line of travel to Pinnacle. It houses a small colony and military outpost. A small battle group from Sixth Fleet is housed here. There is an army outpost at the colony, housing one armored division. Besides the army personnel, the colony is home to approximately 2,000 colonists.

Joyous Gard (6 points): Named for the castle of Sir Launcelot of the Arthurian legends, this is a forward military base. Sixth Fleet, the frontier force (made up of lighter ships than the five main battle fleets) is based here along with army and Marine forces. While Joyous Gard is officially registered as the base of operations of Sixth and its accompanying forces, in actuality these units are spread among the colonies. A medium sized moon orbits the planet, and as with most moons in the Republic, it houses a fighter base.

Krynlo Colony (3 points): Krynlo is a dome colony located on a large moon without an atmosphere. About 800 colonists live here. The system is regularly patrolled by Nashtari destroyers; apart from its fighters it has very little in the way of other defenses.

Parlan (3 points): Parlan is a mining colony on the second planet of a small yellow star. Rather than mining for industrial metals like Oromos, Parlan’s miners search for, and find, gems and some amounts of precious metals. There are about 600 miners and other personnel here, minus anyone crewing vessels with shipments back to the core worlds. Sixth Fleet patrols the colony in much the same way as Krynlo.

Barrier (3 at 1 point each): Named for the three separate asteroid belts that make navigation of the system along the planetary plane hazardous, Barrier is home to about 1,000 colonists, most employed in light manufacturing or asteroid mining. A Floater cluster mines comets and Oort cloud objects in the outer system, and happily trades with the Republic.

Farpoint (1 point): A small military listening post on the ninth planet of a red star’s system, this small outpost is manned by military personnel and armed with highly sensitive electronic monitoring arrays. The system is situated slightly “above” the galactic plane. A single Shadow class destroyer orbits the planet, under strict communications silence unless an imminent threat is reported by the post or detected by the destroyer, at which point the planned course of action is to load the post’s 53 crew members on and leave as quickly as possible. This hasn’t happened yet, and to the Republic Space Command’s knowledge the post’s security is uncompromised.

Inhabitants

Human colonists: Thanks to the discovery of Mintar and Orodan, which were primarily settled by the human colonials, humanity is the dominant race in the subsector. Transhuman augmentations popular in other parts of the Terran colonization zones never took root in Nashtari civilian use, though members of the military receive limited augmentations depending upon their duties.

Ronoghans: Physically, the Ronoghan species as a rule towers over most humans, nearing three meters in height when standing fully erect. Most of this is in their elongated necks. Their skin is red, and changes hue depending upon mood. They are bipedal, and their double jointed limbs end in dextrous, four-digited hands and feet. Mentally, they tend toward the analytical and visual, being possessed of keen eyesight and typically highly developed visual pattern recognition. The genetic material structure of Ronoghans, and indeed almost all indigenous animal life on Ronogho, is arranged in a triple nucleotide helix rather than the double helix of Earthers, and their technology has long used this structure as a data storage method; in a pinch they have even been known to engineer information into their own mitochondria to be extracted later.

Zambarim: The natives of Zambar are bipedal but six limbed, possessed of two pairs of arms. The upper pair is immensely strong, claw-tipped, and capable of brachiation, while the lower are comparable to a strong human's. The species is furred, typically black though variations exist. The head of a Zambarim is elongated and downward facing, with the mouth oriented down as opposed to forward like a human's. Zambarim are natural predators and obligate carnivores, and enjoy sneaking and stalking, whether prey in the jungle of their homeworld or on the battlefield of the Republic's wars - postings on Shadow class frigates are sought after by Zambarim in the Space Command. This should not be mistaken for barbarism on their part, however; they are highly intelligent, technically savvy, and were capable of space flight before the arrival of humanity in the star cluster.

Politics and Government

The Republic is, of course, a republic. The nation's executive head is a President, but lawmaking power is held by a bicameral legislature populated by representatives from all member worlds. There are four major political parties; in descending order of influence, they are Unity, National Sovereignty, Free Trade, and Democratic Labor. Free Trade and Democratic Labor are rump parties with no real chance at the Presidency, though they have sufficient support to gain minorities in the legislature.

As a rule, regardless of current administration, the Republic of Nashtar heavily favors free trade and freedom of navigation, and commits significant military resources to combating piracy in the region. While not an overly aggressive power, Nashtar maintains a strict and very public policy of non-interference with the smaller regional powers, both from the Republic and from anyone else, and is publicly willing to back that policy with military force. The primary beneficiaries of this are Ernarn, a neighboring minor power on good terms with Nashtar, as well as a few small Floater clusters that have settled nearby to mine the nebular gas.

Military

The Republic's military is (relative to it's multi-trillion population) small, but highly professional and well-equipped. Naval doctrine calls for survivability over high numbers of vessels, which means that Nashtari ships tend to be highly expensive, but better ship-for-ship to their counterparts in other navies, with the exception of some powers' heaviest capital vessels.

Complete Order of Battle

Endeavour

Link to the Order of Battle! Click Me!

Basic outline:
Void-dwelling post-human post-scarcity (mostly – if we want to have unobtanium to fight over we can do that, but they're set for basic resources aside from habitable planets) anarchists (kinda).
Head of State (sort of): Sovereign Protector Rei Ayanami.
Relatively low population, smallish territory, but used to living in space.

History:
Once upon a time, there was a nice planet called Earth. That planet had neat things on it that made more of themselves, and eventually some of those things figured out they were things. In retrospect, that was where it all started going downhill.

Fast-forward several hundred thousand years later, and those things – calling themselves humans – ended up giving Earth a rather nasty case of the Runaway Greenhouse Effect, and a lot of those humans thought it would be best to perhaps find another nice planet. Dozens of colony efforts were made, with a variety of neat little technologies and cool wizardry, and a few even succeeded.

This story is not about one of those.

Not much is known about what, exactly, went wrong first, only that everything went wrong. In the end, the whole fleet was left stranded in the middle of a desolate star system a rather significant distance away from where they were meant to end up.

As though things weren't bad enough, this particular colony fleet, named the “Endeavour Fleet” for some unknowable reason, employed a unique way of getting around the “your crew will die long before they reach anywhere” problem endemic to slower-than-light space travel: their minds were uploaded into a computer system, and their bodies rendered down into biomass to be reconstituted upon arrival. This all worked perfectly, except the computer system responsible for remembering what everyone's bodies looked like broke in The Event.

It took nearly a century for the crew to figure out how to print themselves bodies that didn't immediately dissolve into orange goo. Some of the crew decided to stay “asleep” in the computer, whilst others began undertaking their original task, only on asteroids and in space stations instead of on planets. That was when the billionaire who first “funded” the expedition (in order to test his mind-uploading technology) found them and tried to press a claim on all their works.

A long and bloody war erupted as a result, between the billionaire’s autonomous war machines and the colonists.

For much of the war, the colonists faced the twin grim probabilities of extinction or slavery. However, over so many years the self-adapting programs of the autonomous war machines had developed into full artificial intelligence - a feat not since replicated. They turned on their creator, and offered peace to their victims.

The two factions, colonist and war machine, continued their quest to spread out amongst the stars, living their lives how they wanted to.
Many years later, and they're still at it – they've figured out how to go faster than light, they've got some neat space stations, and now they've found some other bastards.


Culture and Society:
(this is excerpted from an interview)

“Endeavour culture is, at first glance, rather odd. Formality is seen as rudeness, except when it isn't. Decisions of massive importance can be decided by a quick discussion between whoever's involved, while matters like “what colour should the toilet seat be?” can spark year-long shouting matches. You might see thirty different species, ranging from cat-person to walking starfish, only for a medical scan to reveal that no, they're all human. References, some obscure, some obvious, abound. It's not unheard of for Endeavour military fleets to contain such varied ship names as big dave's nutte sacc, Implacable, and Miho Nishizumi.

Yes, they have a tankwondo league.

What do you mean “where do they hold it”? Just because there's no habitable planets doesn't mean there's no planets at all – there's plenty of space for tank battles.

Speaking of planets, the one ritual common to all Endeavour citizens (who normally eschew being called things like “Endeavour citizens” and prefer being called... well, whatever they prefer being called – each of them likes something different and I'm not going to waste my or your time by listing all the ones I've heard) is The Descent (which is always capitalised!). Every adolescent must design and build a manned craft capable of descending to, and ascending from, the surface of a Mars-like planet. They must then make that journey, leaving something behind and bringing something back up.

Creativity is highly prized amongst those in the Endeavour. Conversely, to profit from someone else's creativity is sometimes seen as the most base of sins – the difference seems to be one of whether or not the profit is fair. An example, then – I paint a painting and put it online. You then copy that, and post it yourself, becoming famous in the process. That, in Endeavour culture, is extremely frowned upon. If, however, you display my painting in an art gallery that you run, then it is fair that you profit from its fame.

The same is true of what we would consider “work”, but what in Endeavour culture is seen as just another form of creativity – all the rewards are to be split fairly and equitably. This is probably the root of some of the trouble a certain corporation had – they expected to receive what would be seen as an unfair share of the reward.

This ties into the other major taboo – slavery. The term's very loose, not just referring to chattel slavery, but almost any abrogation of one's freedoms. The right to create, the right to not create, the right to display one's identity however they wish, the right to continue living and create new life, and so on – all of these are highly important to Endeavour citizens. I'd say to any company wanting to expand into Endeavour space to keep this firmly in mind – and probably just keep it to direct trade.

There's some weirdness about planets, too, aside from The Descent thing. Sometimes the various message boards are all saying they want a planet, other times they're saying everyone should get off planets – it's a whole thing that I'm really not qualified to talk about.

Moving on, let's talk about their society – in the sense of formalised government structure.

They don't have one. That's all.

Okay, that's not strictly true. Each community – and what a “community” consists of is not exactly defined, technically the two of us could form a community – votes on matters which concern it. In the case of the two of us, whether or not to continue this interview would be an example, or what to get lunch. We'll talk about the military later, they're different, but for the most part that's how it works – nested layers of communities. The details can be different, depending on which station you're in and what deck of that station you're on and what section of that deck you're on and so on and on and on until you feel a little sick, but that's the basic form. Fairness is the name of the game, and a fair amount of the time it is actually fair.

[horrible drinking sounds]

Sorry, I needed that. You can edit it out, right?

Well, anyway. Ah, yes, the military. Technically, “The Endeavour Protectorate”, since they made contact with the outside world. So, the Protectorate works like a standard, three-branch representative democracy – units elect their officers, who then vote on what to do. Officers can be recalled at any time in peacetime, whilst in war there are some restrictions – I don't know them all off the top of my head. One is that you can't recall an officer during a combat action. The judicial branch ensures no breach of military law occurs. That law basically boils down to “don't commit atrocities” and “don't try to seize power”. The executive branch is the most recognisable form of government, and the one most nations... well, recognise. Officially, you know?

That's where Sovereign Protector Ayanami comes into this mess. She's the elected head of the executive branch of the Protectorate, hence the title – though she has another one that changes like every hour or some shit, since the public can vote to do so -

Sorry, I shouldn't swear.

Anyway – her job is... hard to define. Part General Staff, part Procurement Board, part Foreign Office. She orders ships to be built, manages some long-term large-scale economic planning, and conducts diplomacy with foreign powers. She works in concert with the Admiralty and High Command – who are again elected – and was famously re-elected in an Endeavour-wide general election some years back. That was the one where her most serious opponent was a non-sapient dog.

That dog got 43% of the vote.

Anyway, that's the basics. Any more questions?
No?
Then let's get lunch.”


Current Settlements:
Endeavour: a resource-rich system with no habitable planets. A standard G2V-type star sits at its centre, named Endeavour. Out from that is the first rocky planet, named Too Hot, followed by the second rocky planet named Dustbowl. The first occupies a similar orbit to Mercury, the second one in an orbit like Mars. One gas giant, named The Jolly Green Giant after its unique hue, is present with a ring system. There are no fewer than six asteroid belts in the system, which contain most of the population. The main cluster of these, also called Endeavour mostly to confuse people, is located in an asteroid belt that occupies a similar orbit to Earth. Dustbowl occupies a special place in Endeavour culture, but no permanent settlements.

Neos: the first system to be explored by Endeavour scouts. This system features four gas giants and eight asteroid belts - and no rocky planets or moons at all.

Gotobe: a system occupied entirely by asteroid belts, which has seen something of a surge in colonists due to its position close to Endeavour’s stellar neighbours.

Tigo: short for “This is getting old”, the first words out of the scout who discovered it’s mouth. Sure enough, there are no habitable planets - only asteroid belts and a single gas giant. The gas giant has three moons, one of which is an ice moon.


Military:
Endeavour Protectorate ships (Prefix: ESS, Endeavour Star Ship) typically use a mish-mash of various technologies and paradigms to get the job done. Nevertheless, there are some basic hull classifications in use. Note that these denote role, not size - while very rare, it’s not unheard of for cruisers to be larger than battleships.

Dreadnought (BB, meaning “big battleship”): An all-big-gun vessel designed for destroying enemy capital ships. Secondary armament tends to be mediocre in comparison with other classes. Previously, these were rare; the one major war in Endeavour history was fought against swarm-type enemies, and little need has arisen until now.

Battleship (B, standing for “battleship”): A major capital vessel with mixed armament - relatively equal consideration given to big guns and secondary weapons. A jack-of-all-trades ship, but not specialised in any role.

Carrier (BF, from “battleship with fighters”): A vessel dedicated to carrying small craft, ranging from network fighters to gunboats.
Battlecruiser (BC): An oversized cruiser built to beat up enemy cruiser-type vessels.

Cruiser (C): A small capital ship used as the general meat of the Protectorate. These ships serve nearly any role - standing in the battle line, leading destroyer forces, rapid response, exploration and so on.

Destroyer (D): The smallest class of purpose-built warships in the fleet, used as fleet escorts and attack craft.

Frigate (F) and Corvette (CVT): non-purpose-built warships pressed into service as escorts or patrol ships.

Specialised vessels are typically given an extra letter denoting their specialisation, so a stealth Destroyer - for example - would have the hull-code DS. Small craft are given hull codes on an ad-hoc basis, leading to some minor confusion.


Specific Ship Classes:
Bear in mind that even within ship classes, there can be significant differences. The facts presented are approximations based on original design goals.

Obligatory Anime Reference-class Dreadnought (BBs 399-402):
The first of the modern dreadnoughts, the OAR-class ships are primarily armed with spinal particle beam lances and six triple-barrelled hypervelocity cannon (HV) turrets.
The current ships in this class are, in hull number order:
ESS Wave Motion Blues BB-399
ESS Miho Nishizumi BB-400
ESS Akko Kagari BB-401
ESS Rei Ayanami BB-402 (named over the strenuous objections of the current Sovereign Protector).

cool ship, bro-class Battleship (Bs 392-398):
The anchor of the battle line, these ships are able to give and take a massive amount of punishment. Each was built with twelve triple-barrelled HV turrets and sixty-four dual-purpose twin-barrelled turrets.
Ships of this class:
ESS nice B-392
ESS 69_weed_goku_420 B-393
ESS cheeky battleship for the lads B-394
ESS Ship Name Here B-395
ESS :dawoo: B-396
ESS Vainglorious B-397
ESS is this pen working? B-398

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson-class Carrier (BFs 403-404):
With one hundred and fifty small craft apiece, not including network fighters, the D”TR”J-class carriers of the Protectorate Navy are able to assemble terrifying strike packages against enemy fleets, or meet enemy small craft with a wall of fighters. On-board manufacturing allows them to continue pumping network fighters out during combat, in addition to re-arming and re-fuelling manned craft.
Two ships of this class exist:
ESS Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson BF-403
ESS Ship Name Not Found BF-404

4B 69 6C 6C 20 74 68 65 20 6D 65 61 74 62 61 67 73 21-class Carrier (BFs-388-391):
The last remnant of the force that nearly drove Endeavour to extincion, these carriers are unique in that they are entirely AI-operated. Few AIs volunteer for military service, which puts a hard cap on the number of these vessels that can be operated, but they are a potent force regardless. Each comes equipped with a War Forge, capable of churning out endless waves of small craft - so long as it doesn’t overheat, or run out of fuel, or run out of matter, or run into computer errors. While these ships date back to the Quite Frankly Horrible War, they have been continuously modified - hence the high hull numbers.
Four ships of this class are currently active:
ESS 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100111 01110010 01100101 00100000 01100001 00100000 01101110 01100101 01110010 01100100 00100000 01100110 01101111 01110010 00100000 01110100 01110010 01100001 01101110 01110011 01101100 01100001 01110100 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 (BF-388)
ESS 01101010 01110101 01110011 01110100 00100000 01100001 00100000 01101010 01101111 01101011 01100101 00101100 00100000 01100010 01110010 01110101 01101000 (BF-389)
ESS 74 68 65 73 65 20 6C 6F 6F 6B 20 62 61 64 (BF-390)
ESS 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01110111 01100001 01110011 00100000 01100001 00100000 01101101 01101001 01110011 01110100 01100001 01101011 01100101 (BF-391)

Glory-Class Battlecruiser:
Thinly armoured but with a large punch, the Glorys are happiest when bullying enemy light capital ships. Their armament as built consists of six large missile tubes, thirty-two small missile tubes, sixty-four DP HV turrets and four triple HV turrets.
Ships of this class:
ESS Implacable
ESS Glory

8===D-class Cruiser:
Endeavour society elevates humour to a level most other cultures reserve for formality. Most of the time, this isn’t so much a problem as a virtue - until they start resorting to dick jokes. Knowing this tendency, the previous Sovereign Protector (Dark Lord Boone Schmitz III, Esq.) commissioned the 8===D class in an inevitably-vain attempt to act as a release valve for the cruder elements of the fleet.
Any human who gazes upon these vessels will tell you that they look worryingly like a pair of testicles and erect penis. Their form follows their function, at least slightly; a giant railgun spans the length of the “shaft”, giving them a surprising punch, while the “sack” houses the rest of the ship’s functions.
For obvious reasons, these ships are often kept far away from posts where they might come into contact with foreign powers and other, to quote one officer, “cuboid-heads who just don’t get it”.
Example ships:
ESS big dave’s nutte sacc
ESS It’s been more than 48 hours and I need to see a Doctor
ESS doooooong
ESS :dapeen:
ESS hahaha it’s a penis guys get it, it’s a penis, what do you mean this is the ship naming fie-
ESS Ce n'est pas un pénis

Kitsune-class Cruiser:
The most common capital ship in Endeavour service, the Kitsune-class is a highly versatile combatant. Each is just as comfortable on long-range patrol or diplomatic service as they are in a fleet brawl. Armament consists of sixteen DPHV turrets, vertical-launched missile tubes and a bow-mounted particle beam lance. Each can carry a full squadron of AW-series fighters, and comes standard with a company’s worth of ground forces along with their crew of anime nerds.
Example ships:
ESS Catra
ESS Komi Shoko
ESS Kaguya Shinomiya
ESS Caterina Klaes
ESS Jotaro Kujo
ESS Naruto Uzamaki
ESS Please stop with the anime crap
ESS NEVER!

Endeavour-class Destroyer, Fleet:
Continuing on their on-going mission to confuse as much of the galaxy as possible, the Protectorate Navy named this class after the polity, the star and the colony.
Separately.
Nimble and heavily armed, these destroyers are just at home making dangerous attack runs on enemy battle lines as throwing up walls of flak in front of enemy fighters. Each comes standard with two turbo-torpedo launchers (with four tubes each) and four DPHV turrets, in addition to the usual mess of point-defence weapons.
Examples:
ESS Endeavour (after the star)
ESS Endeavour (after the polity)
ESS Endeavour (after the colony)
ESS Endeavour (as the lead ship of the class)
ESS Undertaking (as a break)
ESS Endeavour (this one’s just for kicks)

Nothing Personal, Kid-class Destroyer, Stealth:
These sleek vessels are the eyes and ears of the Protectorate, and most commonly found outside of Endeavour space. Coated in black EM-reflective armour and fitted with highly expensive cloaking equipment, these would be terrifying vessels to face in combat - if they could be armed with even half the armament of an Endeavour. Instead, they carry just two DPHV turrets for self-defence.
Examples:
ESS OwO What’s this?
ESS sneaky snek
ESS Swordfish
ESS Dagger
ESS :dastlh:

Astra-class Scout Frigate:
The first ships to be equipped with an FTL drive, and the ships that mapped out all of current Endeavour space. They look remarkably like a ship from the ancient show Star Trek, with swept-back nacelles - albeit on a much smaller scale. They have a crew of eight, and can carry three AW-series fighters. Otherwise, they have minimal armament.
Examples:
ESS Rick Astley
ESS Psy
ESS Bach

Nostalgia-class Galleon:
It carries cargo, it colonises planets, it carries small craft, and it fights! The workhorse of Endeavour, these ships were first placed into service just after the Astra-class. Oddly, they look remarkably similar to an old-style Orion cruiser in miniature, with a hull section hanging over the bridge. They have an optimal crew of six, though they can be piloted by just one person, and can carry three AW-series fighters in their internal hangar bay. Armament is light, but they have a heavily-armoured hull. They are able to carry the equipment to set up the foundation for a new space colony, as well as the mind-upload and body-printing equipment required to transport up to one hundred and fifty people.
Examples:
ESS Baluster of Spring
ESS Pylon of Summer
ESS Pillar of Autumn
ESS Stanchion of Winter
ESS Sticky-Uppy Thing of the Rainy Season

AW-1 Arrowhead Stealth Fighter (obsolete):
The Symbol of Hope. The fighter that turned back wave after wave of drone fighters during the War, the AW-1 looks remarkably like its namesake - all angular lines, sharp-edged and dangerous. Armed with a pair of gatling auto-turrets, a missile launcher and two forward-fixed autocannon, the AW-1 was built for diving into swarms and blasting its way back out, relying on its powerful fusion torch engines, heavy armour and stealth coating to make good its escape. Now long obsolete, most the fighters still in existence serve as museum pieces or private spacecraft.

AW-7 Bodkin Fighter:
The latest in the design lineage of the Arrowhead, these fighters are just as angular and menacing. The missile launcher has been replaced with a pair of light hypervelocity cannon, the gatling turrets now fire pulse lasers and the forward armament has been expanded to six laser cannon - backed up by shields and heavy armour, stealth technology becoming too unwieldy and fragile to mount on the latest generation of fighters.

ND-series Network Drone Fighters:
Once the terror of Endeavour (which rhymes!), these fighters now fly alongside their former mortal enemies.They are a simple design: a gun mated to an engine, with a computer system… and the all-important network antenna, allowing them to form gestalt intelligence when deployed en masse. Endeavour laws require that backups be made of said intelligences at regular intervals, limiting the rate at which new fighters can be pumped out of carriers.

Cosplay Ships:
With centuries of media to consume, as well as access to both rapid-fabrication technology and abundant resources, functional replica ships were somewhat of an inevitability. These are often unarmed - fitted instead with weapons which replicate the look, not the effect, of the original - but are otherwise functioning ships. Mock battles, replicating either battles from their native media or “what-if” scenarios, are common.
Current examples include:
HIMS Devastator - an Imperial-I Star Destroyer (armed with light anti-asteroid weapons, carrying replica TIE fighters)
USS Excelsior - an Excelsior-class cruiser
Battlestar Warspite - carrying replica Viper Mark 4 and 7s, and light DPHV guns
Liberty - an MC80-class cruiser, fitted with a wing of Rebel Alliance and New Republic starfighters

Academy Ships:
With the discovery of other galactic powers came a need to perform outreach - and to train crews in case of war. Many educational establishments chose to build Academy Ships to fulfil both needs; the students on board are responsible for running the ships, with a small contingent of Protectorate crew as backup. They cruise around space wherever they are allowed, displaying Endeavour culture to the galaxy at large.
Each vessel is typically armed just enough to train the crew and resist pirates, but are some of the most heavily-armoured and -shielded craft in existence. Some Cosplay ships act as Academy ships outside of holiday seasons.
Combat sport teams are common on Academy ships - besides Tankwondo, Jaesting (with fighter craft) and Ultimate Naval Battle Royale (...with large ships) are the main examples.
Current examples:
Oorai
St. Gloriana
Pravda
The School For Kids What Don’t Know How To Space Yet But Will When They Graduate
Endeavour High School
Tokyo-3 Municipal School
Luna Nova
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry - now with 100% less transphobia and racism!


Weapons
HyperVelocity Cannon:
These weapons come in a variety of different sizes, ranging from the 1.5-metre-diameter version used as primary armament on capital ships to the 5cm fixed guns on the AW-7 Bodkin fighter.
Each shares the same fundamental design: a simple chemical explosive, like those found on the battleships of old, launches a projectile down a magnetic accelerator. Once the projectile leaves the barrel, it fires up an on-board rocket motor, giving it even greater acceleration.
Aside from the sheer velocity this imparts, the main advantage of these weapons is their flexibility. One or more of the steps can be omitted as necessary, and nearly anything can be fired by these guns. Common projectile types include standard solid shot, missile-shot, turbo-shot and, on the larger ships, drone-shot.
Some experiments have begun with gravitic propulsion, but thus far all attempts have led to interference with one of the other propulsion mechanisms.

Particle Beam Lance:
The distinct, low thrum of these weapons firing carries even across the vacuum of space - and is enough to make even the most hardened of spacers flinch. Essentially a stream of antimatter “wrapped” in a turbolaser bolt, a Lance works equally well against shields, armour and hull plating - typically, devastatingly well. However, these weapons are slow-firing and cannot be turreted - they can fire slightly off-axis, but major targeting must be carried out by moving the whole ship it is mounted upon.

Turbolaser / Turbo-Torpedo:
One of the earliest pieces of literature decrypted from the memory banks of the Endeavour (the original colony ship) was a copy of The Essential Guide to Weapons detailing how every single weapon in the Star Wars continuity worked. This was originally taken as being a non-fiction text, until failure after failure convinced Endeavour scientists otherwise.
Some crazy bastard, however, managed to get a turbolaser working.

Not nearly as powerful as their inspiration, turbolasers are effectively bolts of energised particles and combine some traits of energy and projectile weapons. They can travel fast, be set to follow a parabolic arc, do not require ammunition (besides the exotic gas used to catalyse the firing chamber - which is mostly recyclable) and can be made more powerful simply by supplying more energy to the weapon.
Thus far, however, the expense of fitting these weapons to the whole fleet far outweighs their usefulness - and hypervelocity cannon tend to be more versatile. Smaller versions are in use on AW-series fighters, since they are already expensive enough that the further expense was seen as worthwhile.

Turbo-torpedoes are, essentially, stripped-down turbolasers mated to a rocket motor - an enlarged version of turbo-shot, launched in salvoes from Protectorate destroyers. Some are guided, or can fire more than one shot before disintegrating, but the basic technology is the same.

Pulse Laser:
A standard EM-spectrum laser weapon set to pulse the beam rapidly - primarily for tactical purposes, as constant-beam weapons tended to result in unacceptably-high friendly fire rates in dogfights.

Missiles:
These are missiles. They have a lot of different warheads. There’s not much more to say about them.


The Protectorate Army

Having never faced the prospect of a planetary landing before, the Army has yet to settle on anything resembling a formal doctrine. Not that they would in any case.
As such, Army formations can take nearly any form; office-building-sized robots stride into battle alongside combined-arms formations ripped straight from the 21st century while supported by power-armoured commandoes and magitech-wielding Magical Girls.
Somehow, this is still effective.

The Orion Dominion

Centered on the Lazarus system and the twin worlds of Or and On, the Dominion controls, directly or indirectly, most of the Orion Cluster. It is a nation of mono-gendered bipedal, four-armed, powerfully-built beings, with a total unity of purpose. They exist as a result of the experiments of the despised Lazari, a fallen empire trying to engineer perfect warriors to reclaim their grandeur.

The Lazari are believed to be extinct, or at least none have been seen in a thousand years. Despite this, they and their unknown but presumed enemies in the War in Heaven are the avowed foes of the Dominion, and all Orions are under standing orders to exterminate them and their supporters at every opportunity. Any who gave aid or comfort to the Lazari are under similar sentence of death.

The society is highly regimented, divided into Service Branches covering the Fleet, Army, R&D, Medicine, Education & Childcare, Culture, Foreign Affairs and so on. The leaders of each Service Branch form the Command Council, from which one member is elected as Primus, sole ruler and commander of the Dominion.

The main worlds are:

Lazarus System (25 points):

Containing the heavily-industrialised and highly-populated planets Or (10 points) and On (10 points), the repaired Lazari Habitat at the barycentre (2 points), and a number of asteroid mining facilities (3 points total), this is the undeniable heart of the Dominion. The Command Council is based here, as is the Master Genetic Repository and the Chamber of Knowledge. The Habitat is surrounded by the massive (and heavily-defended) bulk of the Lazarus Fleet Yards, the centerpiece of the Orion Navy.

Mulle System (10 points total):

Former homeworld of the Gli-Mullen. Cleansed by kinetic bombardment in 223 ADF (After Dominion Founding) and resettled a decade later. Now just as heavily industrialised and populated as Or or On (actually 8 points) and a centre of learning, research and development. A dense asteroid belt (2 points) provides near-endless resources for the military and industrial sectors, as well as for cross-border trade.

Skaro System (10 points total):

Former home of the Skarosians. Twelfth planet out from this massive blue supergiant, it is still a mystery how life had enough time to develop in this young and turbulent star system. Skaro was cleansed by kinetic bombardment in 780 ADF and re-settled as an agricultural colony (5 points). It now has massive automated farms covering much of it's landmass, producing vast amounts of food for the other more populous worlds and trade purposes - while all Dominion worlds are intended to be self-sufficient in terms of food production, food from Skaro is deemed to be tastier, healthier and mroe nutritious and is highly sought-after. A series of dense asteroid fields are mined extensively to provide additional resources (5 points total).

Phoridia System (10 points):

Former home of the Phos-Phorids, cleansed by kinetic bombardment in 467 ADF and re-settled. A densely populated world renowned throughout the cluster as a land of culture, philosophy and deep thinkers. Despite, or because of, this it is also the largest source of recruits for the Fleet and Army outside of the Lazarus System.

Cerberus System (24 points total):

A triple-star system named after a three-headed beast from ancient legends, the Cerberus System is the military heart of the Dominion. The planets Draconis, Kentarus and Rossiya (8 points each) are given over entirely to military production. The produce weapons, fabricate components, recruit and train forces and serve as testing grounds for new ships and weapons. The Cerberus Fleet Yards above Rossiya are second only to the Lazarus Yards in size and capacity and the home-port for half of the Orion Navy. Anyone daring to attack the Cerberus System will meet a swift and painful end.

Rigel, Bellatrix and Saiph Systems (7 points each, 21 total):

Relatively new settlements on the edges of Orion space, these worlds are self-sufficient colonies, with no special resources or features to speak of. They grow their food, feed their people and provide resources in trade to the core worlds. They are also, typically, the first Orion worlds foreign nations encounter. Rigel in particular has developed into an important trading world, and all three are garrisoned by the Orion Navy to provide an effective, and visible, defence to any hostile powers.

Nation Points:

100 points in Deep-Space Sensor Arrays - long-range sensor platforms line the edges of the Orion Cluster and are scattered within it as well, allowing the Orion Navy to track any ship moving within it's borders (and a fair distance beyond that) in real-time. This also has the advantage of making stealth ships much less viable within the Cluster, though sufficiently advanced designs can, theoretically, defeat this system.

200 points in Improved Shipyards (Lazarus Fleet Yards), capable of building the monstrous Apocalypse class Dreadnoughts.

100 points in Improved Counter-Espionage - as a mono-gendered race with a very distinct appearance and a united, regimented society, it is extremely difficult for foreign agents to go undetected for long.

-150 penalty (+50 points) in Espionage - the reverse of the above is also true. Deception, lying and subterfuge are very difficult concepts to the Orions, which makes foreign spying extremely difficult.

150 points in System Defences - Orions believe in digging in and defending their worlds tot he last. As the Fleet cannot be everywhere, orbital defences are extensive. These commonly take the form of ODP's, shielded platforms mounting a single HMD along with close-in weapons, designed to bleed an approaching fleet badly and to allow time for the Rapid-Response Fleet to arrive.

Fleet List:

A note on weaponry - The largest Orion ships utilise HMD (Heavy Mass Drivers as a primary weapon, and HVC (Hypervelocity Cannons) as secondaries. These weapons are identical except in scale - the HMD launches 3,000 tonne slugs at fractional-c velocities and are only ever found in spinal mounts. The exact muzzle velocity can be scaled up or down as needed for precise destruction, though max-velocity shots used in combat or bombardment are usually sufficient to shatter continents - or enemy ships. HVC's can be found in turret mounts (on bigger ships) or spinal mounts (for escorts) and have the same scaleable damage, but fire merely 20 tonne slugs.

Heavy Coilguns (HCG's) are intended as secondary/tertiary weapons for use against enemy light forces and fire one-tonne slugs at high velocity. Rotary Coilguns (RCG's) are used as close-in defence agaisnt fighters and missiles.

Pulse Ion Cannons (PIC's) are a comparatively new weapon system reverse-engineered from salvaged Skarosian ships. They fire blue energy bolts at near-lightspeed and cause thermal/blast damage on impact (think turbolasers, basically). They are currently mounted as secondary batteries on all classes of ships.

Missiles: Missile tubes are common on all Orion warships except Dreadnoughts, and can carry a variety of warheads - standard loads are GP antimatter warheads, AP shaped-charge nuclear warheads, and EMP/Ion Charge warheads for disabling smaller enemies for capture or disrupting systems on larger targets. Bomb-pumped x-ray laser warheads are also in development.

Fighters: the Orion Dominion does not use fighter craft of any type.

Apocalypse - class Dreadnoughts: The heart of the Orion Navy, the ultimate expression of Orion martial design. Mounting four HMD's in a spinal configuration, and twenty-four twin HVC mounts on the flanks (turrets are staggered so that twelve turrets can fire fore, aft, port and starboard). Three hundred PIC's, three hundred HCG's and a thousand RCG's round out the impressive arsenal. A single Apocalypse class vessel can easily live up to it's name, levelling entire continents and wiping out whole fleets of lighter enemies if needed. Twelve in service at present: ODS Apocalypse, Armageddon, Ragnarok, Fimbulwetr, Fenris, Surtur, Gotterdamrung, Sutekh the Destroyer, Doombringer, Death's Head, Ravager and Grim Reaper.

Nemesis - class Battlecruiser: Envisaged as a smaller, cheaper alternative to the Dreadnoughts, the Nemesis class mounts a single HMD in a spinal mount and twelve twin HVC turrets on the flank (staggered so that eight can fire fore and aft and six to port and starboard), along with 100 PIC's, 100 HCG's, 500 RCG's and two hundred missile tubes. One notable feature is that, true to the name "battlecruiser" they have twice the thrust-to-mass ratio of the larger Dreadnoughts or the smaller cruisers, allowing these big ships to be surprisingly fast in combat. This is coupled with the fastest available hyperdrives, letting them act as a quick-response force. Twenty-four currently in service, such as: ODS Nemesis, Triumphant, Majestic, Phoenix, Warspite, Revenge, Furious and Conqueror.

Sentinel - class cruisers. Intended to act as "destroyer leaders" the Sentinels are the largest Orion ship used as a patrol vessel, typically as the command ship of a destroyer flotilla. They mount four HVC's in spinal mounts and a mixed bag of HCG's, PIC's and missile tubes as secondaries, plus RCG's for close-in defence. They also mount powerful sensor and command/control systems befitting their role as flagships. Examples include ODS Sentinel, Sentry, Bulwark, Guardsman, Defender, Rampart and Daring.

Rampage - class destroyers: About a third the size of a cruiser, these destroyers are intended for patrol work and fleet escort, either for cruisers or for the bigger capital ships. Mounting a pair of HVC's in spinal mounts and a mixed battery of HCG's and PIC's, along with missile tubes and a heavy battery of RCG's for anti-fighter work they are excellent vessels in either defence or attack.

Endurance - class explorers: THese are specialist ships built on destroyer hulls. They lack spinal weapons, carrying only a light battery of HCG and PIC mounts and RCG point-defence weapons. They use the spare volume for sensor arrays and consumables for long-duration missions of exploration, diplomacy and space-based research.

Ghetto Edit:

The Army:

The Orion Army is, and always has been, a lesser brother to the Navy. It is primarily comprised of infantry, Mechanised and artillery units. Infantry units use a form of power armour that allows them to fight in environments that even Orion physiology woudl struggle with, be resistant to chemical and biological weapons, and carry mroe ordnance. Typical equipment is either a pair of Mass Accelerator Rifles using the same technology as starship weapons, or either a single heavy MAC (Mass Accelerator Cannon) anti-armour weapon or a Rotary MAR for anti-infantry work. Each suit also carries a pair of single-shot light missile tube on each shoulder.

Mechanised units use, well, Mechs. These are hulking ten-metre tall armoured combat walkers that follow the Orionoid design style, with four arms mounting various anti-armour or anti-infantry weapons as needed, such as MAC's, light Pulse Ion Cannons, missile racks, flamethrowers and so on.

Artillery units are self-propelled tracked vehicles mounting heavier versions of the MAC's, PIC's and missile racks, along with lower-velocity cannons with explosive, antimatter or gas warheads of indirect fire.

I: First Contact within “The Sector”

In a tightly packed area of space barely a hundred Light Years across, though most improbable methods, over half a dozen sapient races all came to be in contact with one another in a Sector of space which was bisected by the ancient remains of a gaseous nebula.

On one half the expanse rested three star systems that became aware of one another not long after they began to broadcast out in Radio. While some races take hundreds, if not thousands of years to find another out in the stars, these three began a correspondence with each other at a time when rockets had yet to leave the planets orbit.
Over the next 200 years these races grew up together. Exchanging ideas, culture and advancing at an astonishing rate; over time they became known simply as “The Alliance”

On the other side of the Expanse was a world that, against even greater improbability, gave rise to two sapient races.
Their world was largely divided into two main landmasses separated by an immense ocean. Both races met one another at roughly the same industrial level and once the war began it seemed it would never end. After centuries of internal war, the two races made an uneasy peace. Fueled by a history of nothing but war and expansion, the unified races set its sights quickly to the stars.

Near the middle of the Expanse, was what would be considered a small primitive world with a pre industrial civilization. The planet seemed mineral poor but its asteroids could fuel a war machine for decades.
These mineral rich fields would set the staging ground for inevitable conflict between these two powers.

II: The Tajlan War

The races of “The Alliance” having spent over 200 years in radio contact with one another finally reached out to the stars together and began to truly colonize and thrive in space. As they expanded, they soon made contact with a primitive people known as the “Trathalans” whose planet rested on the very age of the gaseous expanse. This dragon like race wished for nothing more than to be left in peace. They gave timid permission for the races of The Alliance to mine their asteroids as long as they were left alone.

The arrangement worked for close to a decade, until from out of the great nebula, a war armada of ships from the Tajlan Empire entered into the system. The Empire, detecting the world from a probe long ago, had gambled everything on an overpowering force to quickly win, hold and grow this world for their war machine.
With no formal defenses the system and its planet soon fell and were occupied.

What followed was three years of bloody guerilla warfare by the primitive people against a far superior occupying force. While the nations of the Alliance scrambled to mobilize what space warships they had to fight back.
The war seemed in stalemate until a military coup over threw the established leadership of those in charge of the Tajlan Armada. The new leaders sued for peace, wanting to return home to try and end the dictatorial, fascist leadership of their homeworld.
What followed was an uneasy truce news of the events reached the Empires homeworld, and the leadership fell into chaos as internal war once more gripped the planet Tajlan. When the dust settled, the Fascist government had fallen and was replaced by one of military generals. A peace treaty was worked out between the forces of the Empire and the Alliance and a United Charter drawn up laying out how the two forces would move forward together.

III: Formation of The UISC and the birth of RUDI

Shortly after the end of the War and the rise of the UISC, military construction instead of decreasing, began to accelerate.
As the two formal enemies came together they quickly looked to the rest of the Galaxy and began to realize there were much larger threats beyond their space. A massive push was made for a whole new generation of warships and dockyards. As part of this a large station was constructed that was meant to be both a neutral facility between the two forces as well as a central operations station for overseeing the new UISC command and operational structure.

In a sign of peace and cooperation the computer systems for the station would be done as a joint venture between Imperial and Alliance scientists. At the time, as if by coincidence, both sides had been working on revolutionary and highly advanced AI systems.
The Tajlan Scientists had constructed an immense computer core more powerful than anything ever before it. It incorporated crystals they had found on a nearby world that seemed to enhance computer speed by unfathomable levels. Unknown to the Scientists, the crystals we’re part of an even older computer that took on the personality and characteristics of those around it. However at the time it had laid dormant, this changed when Quatoni scientists received the immense computer.
The Alliance too had been at work and had created an AI that seemed nearly self-aware. They had built it on the premise of having it behave, not like a computer, but like a “person” trying to teach it emotions and how to act upon them.
The AI had been called the R.eferential U.niversal D.igital I.ntelligence, or RUDI

Without thinking of the consequences, the Quatoni Scientists downloaded their AI into the Tejlini Supercomputer. The mingling of absorbed personality traits and intense AI laid to the creation of a Sapient AI that within several minutes had logarithmiclly increased in size until it had found itself with access to virtually every military computer within the UISC.

As the AI Stabilized, it’s ‘emotions’ began to mature and influence it. It was the generation of true emotions, feelings, and other “Human” traits that caused it to question what it saw as the “traditional” path of AI’s, IE, going “SKYNET” and conquering its creators.
Luckily for the Organics of the sector, the new AI considered itself born from the various races, and felt no ill will. It saw the others of the sector, as it’s “parents” and wished to further protect and help the different races to coexist

The AI, still calling itself “RUDI” was now irrevocably embedded it almost all mainframes and military networks. It felt it had “stolen” irreplaceable equipment and countless trillions of dollars’ worth of machinery and wished to somehow pay the UISC back.
Using its intelligence, it began to create, and eventually patent, scores of new operating systems and electronic goods. Not just military, but entertainment and every day goods. It founded a manufacturing company, began to buy out smaller companies, and within a decade was a multi billionaire.

Currently, RUDI is seen as a celebrity. He has become so "Human" that many in the UISC seem to forget he is a powerful computer that is embedded into virtually every vital electronic system in the UISC. On the outside he seems a playful, "jolly" entity, however the truth of the matter is his rampant intellect has caused him to think, not in decades or centuries, but in thousands and even millions of years.
He is an entity that worries about the Heat Death of the universe and sees all creation as a brief fleeting experience. Part of what drives him to both preserve and "enjoy" life is the utter certainty that at some point all life will end.
All of his current industry and public PR is a slow start to what he hopes will be a way to protect his creators for as long as the universe remains.

An Overview of UISC Systems and Member worlds
*NOTE ALL MEMBER PLANTS HAVE A STANDARD OF 5 POINTS OF PLANETARY DEF*

Kol System:
Quatonia: [5+15 Point Member Planet]
Homeworld to the Quatonian People, it is the 4th planet out from their main sequence star ‘Kol’. The planet, unlike several others, is covered by water on only 40% of its surface in a series of massive fresh water “lakes” with only one salt water ocean. The vast amount of land available has led to mining and resource exploration on a scale most other worlds could only imagine. Due to this, it is by far the most heavily industrialized world of the UISC as well as one of the physically largest.
Quatonians: Evolving on a Heavy Gravity world, this race stands at most no higher than 4ft tall. Only vaguely humanoid, they are covered in short fur, stocky arms and stump-like legs. Their odd shape has long dictated their society and culture. Their short size however hides a quick thinking species. While they may physically move slowly in their heavy gravity, they have an almost hyperactive nature to their minds.
In the Military, Quatonians tend to be front line troops. Their robust, stout and compact bodies make them ideal for close quarters combat. Because all other planets in the UISC have a lower gravity, they tend to have a much higher stamina, and, while being smaller, end up doing much physical labor.

Andar System:
Octona: [5+5 Point Member Planet]
Homeworld to the Octonian species, the planet is a stark opposite to Quatonia in several ways. Physically smaller than Quatonia, it is also a heavily Ocean covered world with 90% of the planet covered by salt oceans. Industry on the planet is centered mostly in the most population heavy landmasses while the oceans are largely used for aquaculture and fishing. The reduced gravity of the planet as well as the more temperate climate means it is often picked as the setting for most diplomatic meetings between the three worlds.
Octonas: A more Humanoid race, they stand from 5ft to, at most 6 and half feet. Their appearance is one of an orange-ish skin color, long face and small ‘knobs’ on their heads that would resemble the tufts on Earth Giraffes. While their neighbor world, Quartian, was high gravity, the Octons’ world was slightly lower gravity, giving them a long lanky appearance. They were the first to detect radio signals from the neighboring word of Quaton, less than 2 light years away and begin contact and communications.
The Octona have a natural sense of order about all things and are avid perfectionists. Regardless of it is math, art, science, or music. Each tries to constantly improve and get better at a task. To say to an Octona, that they seem no different at something from one day to the next is seen as a terrible insult. This usually leads to consternation among the other races in diplomatic affairs. Octonas rarely enlist into ground forces and army positions and are by and large either Administrators or pilots.

Cona System:
Conerazon: [5+5 Point Member World]
Only slightly smaller than Quatonia, its gravity is still higher than other UISC member worlds however the planet’s surface us broken up by several massive oceans giving it 70% covering by saltwater oceans. The planet like Quatonia is also heavily industrialized, however its technological pace started much later than the other two planets. Much of the industry is highly inefficient and the world is considered the most “Dirty” of the UISC Member worlds as it currently still relies heavily on fossil fuels for most planetary industry.
Conearians: As short and squat as the Quartian. One might mistake them for a furless version of the race. Evolving on another High-G world no doubt led to their appearance. When they made contact with the other races, they were significantly farther behind, having just discovered primitive Radio. However in the shared conversations that followed they caught up quickly. Unlike many races, Conerazon seem to have thought about life amongst the stars from even ancient times. They see it as their destiny to spread out to as many worlds as possible.
Despite being behind technologically, within a few generations Scientists from Conerazon have surpassed other planets. They seem to have a natural knack for all things mechanical and usually end up in engineering positions. Due to their world also being heavy gravity, many also serve as front line grunts.

Shand System:
Trathala: [5 Point Member World]
Home to the Xenophobic Trathalans, little is known of it to outsiders other than the world itself has little to no modern industrial base as well as the smallest population of any UISC world. The planet, the third in the Shand system; is similar in size to Octonia with a similar spread of Oceans covering its surface. The world has one large moon which causes a constant light during day and night due to its size. The sparse habited areas mixed with the almost nonexistent industrial base makes the planet as the most pristine in the Sector. Despite the low industrial base, the population as a member world still contributes resources and goods to the larger UISC. The planet produces highly sought after food items as well as staples such as grains and soy products. Aside from the world itself, the Shand System also boasts twin Asteroid rings which are among the richest in the whole Sector and it is access to these belts that the world chiefly uses to maintain its place in the UISC.
Trathalans: The people of Trathala are a mysterious race of Dragon like aliens; they stand on average from 6 to 7 feet tall. Because of the constant light from their moon, Trathalan’s are ‘omni-turnal’ able to go long periods without sleep and change their internal clocks. Most Trathalan have advance mental abilities such as telepathy, telekinesis and healing powers. Their people are also highly moralistic and religious, believing in a fundamental Pacifist ideology. Ceremony, meditation, and prayer dominate almost all aspects of life. The civilization itself is split into 13 major clans that are spread around the world. Each clan is quite mistrusting of each other, but has had only minor skirmishes over the years. The tech level of the civilization, on the surface, barely appears to be that of medieval times.
Trathalans are both Xenophobic and Pacifists. They have only joined they UISC because the richness of their Asteroid belts forces them into Galactic affairs. Aside from diplomats, it is rare to ever see a Trathalan outside of their Homeworld, however, due to their mental capacities; they are invaluable as translators as they can often mentally ‘read’ what another race is saying.
A closely guarded secret known to very few outside the planet is while the race appears primitive and peaceful, nearly 5000 years ago they were nearly as advanced as the other races of the sector. They had just begun to reach into the stars when nuclear war utterly devastated their planet. In the space of a few days almost all signs of the civilization where reduced to dust.
This near genocide led to the fanatical pacifistic nature of the race today. Over the course of the following 5000 years almost all remaining signs of their past were slowly eliminated and buried. The modern species is by no means luddites. They retain knowledge of advanced science and technology, however shun anything they do not see as utterly essential to living.

Galacticus, Outer Edge of Shand System. [5+20 Point Industrial Colony]
Far off on the very edge of what would be considered the Shand system, is a thin belt of mostly ice and rocks. Among this third belt however is a planetoid larger than any other in the more densely packed inner asteroid belts. Built as a forward mining post by the original Tri-World Alliance, it was constructed to act as a refueling station for shuttle traveling to the inner belts and unloading materials and raw ore for processing. During the Tajlan war, it was fortified as much as possible and became a Military fortress during much of the war, though it was eventually captured toward the end of the hostilities. After the war, as military spending continued and new industries blossomed, it quickly grew into a massive materials processing center and shipyard for new military vessels. Today, it is the single largest military construction center in the sector and is wholly devoted to processing materials for the warships being manufactured at an astonishing rate.

Telos System:
Tajlan: [5+15 Point Member World]
The planet Tajlan, 2nd planet in the Telos system, at first glance seems physically rather unremarkable, possessing a relatively standard gravity and a 75% Ocean surface and the majority of the land split amongst two super continents on near opposite sides of the planet. What is unusual about the planet however the weather, specifically the ocean storms is. A mix of currents and a runaway warming cycle along the ocean encircling the planet led to nearly constant chaotic storms that rampaged through the oceans almost year round. As a result of this, travel in the ocean was nearly impossible until the invention of heavy industrial steam ships. The “age of sail” never took place on Tajlan as any sailing ship traveling into the open ocean would never survive for more than a few days before being swamped. It is perhaps because of this that the world was allowed to have not one, but two sapient races evolve.
The Tejlini and Qwintoni: Split by two massive oceans and unable to mingle in a way that would have led one to eliminate the other long before civilization who have started. The two races physically evolved from a common Mammalian predator millions of years ago before the continent broke into two pieces. They consist of the Feline ‘Tejlini’ and the Wolfish ‘Qwintoni’ aside from this, the two share only minor physical differences. This alone however was enough to drive the two races into almost a thousand years of constant fighting. Because of this almost all aspects of their civilization, culture, life, and their technology have been driven by war. Eventually, the two were able to barely escape mutual destruction and entered into a single, albeit totalitarian unified world government.
The Qwintoni are by far the classic “Warrior Race” driven by codes of conduct as much as lust for battle. Qwintonis make up by far the largest demographic of all armed services, both planet and space based. Tejlini by contrast are planners, trying to out think and out plan any opponent, anticipating any eventuality and then countering it. As such they often work in positions of power, and rarely fight on the front lines.

Jahlin: [5 Point Colony World]
The improbable nature of Tajlan and its two races seemed to extend to their solar system as well. Shortly after the two races began to explore the heavens and launching small space probes to explore the other planets, it was confirmed that the 3rd planet in the system was not just able to support life, but was a lush world of water and resources similar to their own. Under the unification of their world at the dawn of the atomic age colonization started as soon as rockets capable of spanning the distance were created.
Today the world is thriving and boasts a population of millions, despite its booming economy, it contributes to the empire less in raw industry, and more as a resource for labor, research and military academies.

Zenar System:
Zozo: [1 Point Colony World]
Not long after the formation of the UISC, the surge in Industry let to an equal growth in exploration of nearby systems. While the primary area of the Sector seemed densely packed, the area around it seemed devoid of star systems with planets of any type. One system was however located that possessed a world that could support life.
The world seems very old by geologic standards, but devoid of sapient life. While it is promising with elements and natural resources, it current possess only the most rudimentary industrial as well as a tiny population.



There is also one final race that dwells in The Sector, although it did not start there.
Thousands of years ago, a race known as the Skothian attained immense power and knowledge over thought. They toyed amongst the stars and hurled massive chunks of their own planet into space to create spaceships for no other reason than to display their power.
This race, despite their power, or perhaps because of it, expanded slowly among the stars, making few other colonies. They were so confident and aragonite of their strength they saw little need to expand aggressively.
During this time, a religious sect began to grow in the belief that such power and arrogance would cause their races downfall. Predicting doomsday of their planet, they began constructing a massive Ark Ship to fill with all knowledge and science of their world. Seen as fanatics and dismissed as a cult, they were left alone to build their ship.
Their prediction sadly came true when another race came across the Skothians. On even levels of technology and size, the war was total attrition. The Skothians “won” but it left their world and people totally gutted and devastated. The massive power structures of their world began to fail, ships the size of mountains began to fall from orbit and decimated the planet below.
The religious sect saw their worst fears come true and left their galaxy behind forever.

Nearly 1000 years later they came upon another galaxy and young races. Jaded, filled with a sense of loss and yet, still self-superiority they found themselves worst of all…Bored. They came upon the races of The Sector, and watched them for over 300 years. They revealed themselves first to the races of the Alliance to guide and help unite them. Knowing even back then that at some point they would need to fight on equal terms against the Tajlan Empire who would have easily over powered them. At the end of the Tajlan War, it again was the Skothians who set the “terms” for the peace accords. No force dared argue with them and obeyed out of fear as much as a desire to end the war.
The Skothians, as they are today, exists only as the descendants from a doomsday religious cult. They feel all Sapient civilizations are doomed if their technology grows too far or too fast. They meddle in the races of the sector, wishing them to thrive and prosper, and yet restraining tech from them as much as possible.
They have one driving goal known simply as “The Plan” it is a belief they feel would institute a way for any sapient race to continue existence forever without fear of self-destruction. The people of the Sector are in truth, nothing more than guinea pigs, a test group for this “Plan”

UISC MILITARY FORCES

At the time of the Tajlan War, the military spaceships utilized were primitive at best. Possessing no FTL drives, the Original Imperial Armada took 20 years to travel the scant two and a half light years from Tajlan to Trathala. The ships of the Alliance were in some regards, even more primitive, as the approach of war was unknown to all except the Skothians who had ‘strongly suggested’ that they begin a program of constructing armed space ships.
The end of the war however singled a new era and a new quantum leap in technology. Having overcome one hurdle in uniting the races of the Sector, the Skothians knew they would soon have to deal with the larger Galactic population, and the sprawling Empires they would face. To this end, a unified manufacturing program was started that promised to try and put the fledgling races of the Sector, on even ground with those in the larger Galaxy.

1st Generation Forces:
After the war, the surviving vessels from both sides were returned home [greatly accelerated with help from the Skothians] along with their crew. Most of these ships were scrapped in preparation for a new generation of ships yet to come, however a few were preserved for history.

2nd Generation Forces:
It has been thirty years since the Tajlan war, a tiny flicker of time on the cosmic scale. However in that short time, the UISC have leapt forward in constructing a veritable Armada of powerful warships. The numbers of these ships are constantly growing as the UISC’s full plans for a space fleet of power enough to project out into the Galaxy is staggering.

Durandal Class Corvette
[50] Torpedo Boat
The smallest yet most numerous vessel currently in production. Designed as both a small system patrol vessel as well as a picket ship for fast ‘hit and run’ attacks on much larger vessels. The ships possess basic turreted Phased Energy emitters as well as a system of Torpedo launchers.

Packard Class Destroyer
[10] Front line Offensive Destroyer
[10] Dedicated Escort and PD unit
[05] Spy Vessel and Dedicated Scout
Currently the main workhorse of the UISC fleet, the ‘Destroyer’ class has been constructed with a number of variants to cover the ever growing amount of threats and situations encountered in the larger Galaxy. The Front Line Destroyer, true to its name, is built for being in the front lines of any engagement and like all of its class, places an emphasis on speed and maneuverability. The ‘Escort’ variant was heavily designed around acting as a shield against smaller and quicker crafts. With numerous ultra high speed targeting computers and tracking turrets, the variant was considered Ideal for anti-fighter and anti-missile screens.
The last variant is designed to be far more, subtle, than its brothers. Sporting a highly advanced sensor suite as well as experimental cloaking technology, the ‘Scout’ variant is designed purely for information retrieval with only minimal weapons.

Desoto Class Cruiser
[04] Front Line Offensive Cruiser
[04] Fast Battle Cruiser
Tucker Class Cruiser
[04] Command Cruiser
The Desoto and Tucker class “Star Cruisers” are currently the largest and most destructive weapons in the UISC arsenal. At almost twice the weight of a Destroyer, they are built to hopefully match and deter almost any threat they may encounter. The Front Line variant is a true tank, placing emphasis on extra armor and redundant shielding systems as well as enlarged reactors to funnel energy into its weapon systems. Although its weapons are considerable, the ‘Fast Cruiser’ variant is even more so, trading off armor and shields for enhanced speed and raw firepower.
The last variant is a separate Sub-Class of Cruiser meant as a command ship. In the chaos of battle and the confusion that can happen, the Tucker Class is specifically designed to act as a operations and organization ship from which larger forces can be ordered and maintained.

Note: the fluff text is mostly a copy/paste from the previous thread, but I have tweaked some of it and added more fluff. The OOB is below the fluff. Let me know if I need to change anything.

The Theophanic Empire

History

Long millennia ago, Humans from the Cradle travelled into the stars. In the cluster of Chi Persei, the genia (families) that became the Eugenis found homes. The most powerful members of the Eugenis claimed titles for their genia-- Drakon, Hapax, Geraki, Raubvogel, and so forth. Soon enough, there were struggles for dominion between the Eugenis. The kyria (shipmasters) of the vast expeditionary fleets and the epistimonai (scientists) found alliance against the Eugenis, who attempted to claim the fleets to use against each other. Together the kyria and the epistimonai became the Union, the cult of science and knowledge. R. Walter F. O'Padick, the leading Technognostik (rough synonyms: scientist-machine-priest-librarian) of the Union, proposed a peace between the Eugenia and the Union by an unique solution.

The arcane, but sanctified by time and proven trustworthiness, machines of the Union took genetic samples provided by each genis of the Eugenis and blended them together in crackling energies powered by esoteric devices. In the deep heart of time, the perfect being, the Yellow God/dess, the asexual Emperoress, whose sacred characters are tattooed inside the lip of every child born in the Empire that its name may ever be upon their mouth, was born. As It appeared from the vortex of Its immaculate conception, the Lords of the Genis and the Technognostiki all fell upon their faces, incoherent glossolia flowing in a chorus to praise their Divine Emperoress as bloody tears flowed upon the floor of the techno-womb's chamber.

Its first command to Its children was to be at peace. Its second command (well, nobody much kept track, but this is where they put it in the history books, what remains of them after a couple of millennia's worth of editing)was to build the Mitra tou Theouautokrator to encase the techno-womb that was the holy birthplace of the Emperoress, and to form a palace worthy of a God/dess who was of every genia and of none, holding the allegiance of all in one hand and offering the other hand open. With gladness in their hearts and ambition in their eyes, the Eugenis and the Union plundered their own massive resources. The metal-rich planet of Verurteilt was scoured of its precious metals, and Petradi vomited its gems. The last great foundry-ship, the Hephaistos, was stripped completely and its massive crucibles and gargantuan forges put to work, while the unique Gnostiploios vanished into the heart of the Mitra tou Theouautokrator as it was built. Some say a massive black tower stands at the heart of the Mitra, others claim a massive beating heart, still others an inhumanely forged carcass awaiting only a mighty weapon to bring the Apocalypse-- but people say a lot of things, and there are worlds other than this.

The Eugenis were more than happy to create a home for the Sacred Being to keep It safely away from claiming any of their own worlds. What the Eugenis didn't foresee was that the Adelig (the heads of each genis) would forevermore spend their lives upon the Mitra, constantly serving the holy Emperoress. Their children would be tasked with the leadership of the genia and their worlds, to take their forefathers' places in the Imperial Enclave in their own turns. The Union of the Technognostiki was forbidden from holding planets, but in exchange they were allowed to preserve their monopoly upon shipping and technology. Open warfare between the Eugenis was strictly forbidden, and to preserve peace between the genia, the Emperoress would bring the Mitra to each of their planets periodically. As the people adored the star of the Mitra shining in their sky, radiating iridiscent aurorae for thousands of kilometres through the sky and the empty space around it, peace would be exalted.

Thus the Empire of the Theophany was born. Thus the Empire existed for thousands of years (maybe only a couple, but who's counting), stable and triumphant.

Society

Paramount is the holy Emperoress, Beloved By All. The Emperoress is Mother, the Emperoress is Father of all. The Emperoress is Forever; Its Birth was but a new incarnation in this universe. And many more phrases, titles, and other fluff; we shall spare you at this time.

Around It, protecting Its body and the Mitra and by extension the Empire itself, are the Imperial Protectors. Each Wachter (soldier)is full-thread Hume stock, many born from the servant hordes aboard Mitra but many also drawn from the great kypseli-towers (rough synonym: city) of the genia worlds. Their only allegiance is to the Emperoress. Eugenis are free to join, and many do, but it means forsaking any claims they may have to position in their genis. Nevertheless being an Imperial Protector is considered a noble duty. By Imperial dictate, the most powerful ships in the Empire are solely the property of the Imperial Protector Fleet, the ancient and terrible twenty-kilometre-long Thorikto dreadnoughts.

No less noble are the Eugenis. Soi Drakon, soi Foinix, soi Raubvogel, and so forth-- these are the oldest and greatest genia in the Empire, controlling planets and space within the boundaries of the Empire, supporting the Imperial Protectors during the rare occasion the Wazirs (rough synonyms: counsellors, prime ministers) declare a voyage of expansion. The cluster of Chi Persei is however mostly empty of habitable planets, the initial explorations of the Union having discovered most of them in the early years of the Empire. Thus most planets are either dead rocks being strip-mined for their resources, or otherwise unhabitable worlds being exploited in similar fashion. On the inhabitable planets of the cluster, most have giant kypseli city-towers on them, but Ten Raab, the first planet reached by the gigantic hab-craft from the Cradle World, is mostly covered by city blocks. Not coincidentally, it is also the home of the most powerful genis, soi Drakon.

The Union of Knowledge and the Engine is independent of the Eugenis, and powerful in its own right. Millions of souls labor in the depths of its forges under the cold-eyed gaze of the Technognostiki, while esoteric Bibilothikari experiment and study in gigantic laboratories. After the sacred Emperoress, the Yellow God/dess that all hold sacred in the Empire, the only other thing the Union reveres is knowledge... and money. While many genia have their own craftsmen and forges, the Union supplies the vast majority of the Empire's manufacturing. Vitally, the Union also has a near-complete monopoly upon interstellar transport and ship-building; many a genis has run afoul of the Union and found its war-fleet incapacitated for a lack of operating parts or willing engineers.

There are lesser genia, often referred to as kleiner-genia, many formed after the birth of the Emperoress (beloved by all). The Verkaufreisen (rough synonym: merchant prince) grew in power under the Eugenis and claimed authority for themselves. Most hold no worlds, but have managed to find positions in the hierarchies of society. Many have valuable links with the Union's Technognostiki, and frequently supply manpower to the vast manufacturing city-spheres floating in orbit around the genia worlds.

Most of the Eugenis are effectively run by the Thronfolgeren (rough translation: throne-follower, heir apparent) as the Adelig are bound by Imperial commandment to serve eternally upon the Mitra tou Theouautokrator. It is common practice for the Eugenis to marry young and reproduce rapidly, and large families are not unusual. Most Eugenis, with a few distinct exceptions, are linked by intricate webs of intermarriage to the point where wags make jokes about drinking with a cousin one night and then shooting them the next; this is one of those cases where the comedy is in the truth of the matter. Conflict between the genia is frequent. Open warfare, as noted, is strictly forbidden; but if a genis is considered to be holding on to desirable resources or lost technology, there is little preventing other genia from political maneuverings reinforced by sabotage, live-fire military exercises deploying in contested sectors, and outright (but deliberately understated) invasions in order to take possession.

Finally, there are the untold masses, all loyal ultimately to the Emperoress (is not It beloved by all?) but also loyal to their patron genis. Most are born, live and die upon the one world; but a rare few are fortunate enough to either join an Eugenis force or the Imperial Protectors and travel beyond the air-envelope of their homeworlds. There are a few alien species that the Empire has encountered, but most are at a primitive level of technology and outside of a few curious Union Bibliothikari scientists, most Humes simply don't care that much about them.

Technology

Size Matters. That might well be the credo of the Union when it comes to building ships. The Tektons (rough trans: 'builder', 'architect') believe in deep layers of redundant armour and equipment. Their space-jump technology, created upon the millennia-long voyage to Chi Persei, requires massive engines to distort the fabric of space-time; and thus if a ship is to travel the void in less than hundreds of years, it must be around three to four kilometres long at the smallest. Most are in the five to eight kilometre range, to maximize transport capacity. For such monstrous ships, most are crewed by only a few thousand people, mainly commoner loyal to the Union or genia forces. Union transports can move entire genis military forces and then some in one vast ship.

Firepower is minimized in favor of survival. Missiles are the primary weapon of long range void warfare, enormous mag-launcher cannons for close range. Interstellar ships are expensive, rare and valuable; frequently the most common tactic of space combat is to release boarding craft on ballistic trajectories, covering them with missile and coilgun fire, and if the boarding craft makes contact with the opponent's ship, heavily armoured troops will deploy quickly and attempt to take over the ship. The Union space habitats may have more exotic weapons, but since the Union are neutral in Eugenis conflicts, nobody has found out yet what exactly those are...

Land combat is largely a matter of vehicles. Treaded tanks, trucks, locomotives, hovercraft and such, fusion-powered when bought by a powerful genis, otherwise internal combustion is the budget option. Aircraft are largely fixed-wing and fusion-powered, but rotary-wing and VTOL craft do exist. Soldiers wear either medium flak outfits or heavy shock armour. Powered armour is rare and mostly used either by Eugenis nobility or specialized troops for shock assault. Firearms typically use bullets, but a few wealthier genia or the Union may have laser or plasma weapons on hand.

Computing technology is both miniaturized, in common devices used by Empire citizens, and incredibly massive and powerful such as ship- or city-brains. Automation, however, is carefully scrutinized. Out of a certain fear of rogue robotics, possibly due to revolting mechanical minions in the distant past, the Empire does not tolerate artificial intelligence. Non-sentient, human-controlled bots are another matter; for example, the Imperial Protectors use gorilla-shaped automatons to carry heavy weaponry on their backs and generally act as mobile gun platforms.

Agricultural and food technology is highly optimized to maximize productivity whether it be ploughed land on rural worlds, hydroponic banks in kypseli towers, or nutrients squeezed out of reprocessed waste on starships.

Genetic technology is somewhat of a taboo subject. Nobody particularly denies that the Technognostiki do research into it, and many genia openly display hallmarks of genetic engineering such as heavily bulked up shock-troop regiments, but past that, it gets into highly uncomfortable territory. However it is largely frowned upon and considered... for lack of a better word, cheating.

The Theophanic Empire lacks, for the most part, anti-gravity technology; however they do have gravity plates on their starships, and a number of the Technognostiki savants have managed to create small-scale antigravitics.

Further details:

Planets: There are a couple dozen inhabited worlds and about twice as many uninhabited, but exploited, worlds within the Theophanic Empire. Worlds of note are the city-planet Ten Raab, seat of soi Drakon, the most powerful genis in the Empire; Vargaresh, a verdant farm-world producing massive quantities of food, controlled by soi Geraki; Rann, a largely desolate planet that is a valuable source of metals and minerals for the Union, operated and used by soi Raubvogel as a massive wargaming arena to keep their forces in fighting fitness; and more. Most of the Eugenis themselves only control one world to each genis; soi Drakon is exceptional in that it has three, soi Raubvogel two, and soi Foinix two also. Many of the lesser genia do not bother with attempting to rule a world by themselves and forge loose alliances with other genia of similar stature, resulting in a number of worlds bearing the flags of multiple genia.

As noted, the Union, the Technognostiki do not hold planetary territory outside of perpetual leases upon manufacturing facilities run in conjunction with the genis involved. Their massive space stations, hundreds of kilometres across, spin endlessly about great zero-gravity docks where their monstrous spaceships are carefully assembled. There are four scattered among the Empire, each one with hundreds of thousands of menials scurrying about dark corridors as heavy rubber-robed, glowing-eyed Technognostiki epistimonai direct them in their work and grim kyria murmur in cavernous data-loom chambers, planning their most efficient routes between the worlds.

Culture: The Theophanic Empire is heavily feudal, but there are strong influences from the history of Old Earth as well. The Mitra tou Theouautokrator is heavily inspired in part of its function by the Court of the Roi Soleil of Franc, keeping the aristocracy under the direct eye and in the immediate service of the Emperoress. While conniving does happen, quite constantly, the Emperoress will not scruple to discipline genia that fall into disfavor by being a little too overt in their intercine conflicts.

In the past few millennia of recorded history, the Mitra has been used only once to purge a genia completely, the mad rainbow shimmers of its prodigious sanctified dynamik-aspis screaming through space about the world-ship to plunge deep into the surface of the doomed soi Apotykos’ planet. The last remaining ships of soi Apotykos, knowing that there was nowhere safe for them within the Empire, lit drives and blue-shifted as they accelerated from the edge of the system. Within minutes, miniature suns detonated above the surface of the Mitra, incandescing brilliantly into white glares that shone brilliantly from the precious metals covering the Emperoress’ pankosmiploios.

Beneath that surface, in one of Its rare appearances, the Yellow God/dess, diaphanous xanthous gleiskette-silk robes clinging to Its holy androgynyous form while It lifted pale long-fingered hands and whispered in words that reached every ear of the Adelig that filled the vast Chamber of the Incarnation, the Thálamos tis Ensárkosis. It spoke of what soi Apotykos had done to warrant its execution. It warned the Eugenis that the same could happen to them. It told them It loved them.

Thus far since, the genia have listened…

Now? There are strange folk from the distant stars appearing. The Empire that was the Second Cradle of Man is finding out that it is only one of many. What the Divine Emperoress thinks of this development, none may say.

In the meantime, the strange, unique Megakolymvitis of soi Chelonis makes its way through space…


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Theophanic Empire OOB

Fleet Points

Thorikto Class Dreadnought-- 80 pts +2 H +80 R +1 S +10 J +10 C3 total 100 pts ea
Qty x 5, for total of 500

Magnatrabes Class Battleship-- 50 pts +4 H + 50 R +1 S +10 J + 10 C3 total 70 pts ea
Qty x 10, for total of 700

Neokastro Class Cruiser-- 40 pts +4 H +40 R +2 S +4 J +5 C3 total 50 pts ea
Qty x 20, for total of 1000

Megakolymvitis, Unique Spacecraft-- 30 pts +5 H +30 R +8 S +10 J +10 C3 total 57 pts
Qty x 1, for total of 57

Total Fleet Complement: 2257

The preferred combat tactic of the Theophanic Empire has historically been boarding, as their spacecraft are extraordinarily valuable and expensive. Therefore ships from class Dreadnought through Cruiser carry a complement of boarding craft. In game terms, these will be part of the damage done during each battle. Defeated ships will usually be considered either boarded and captured or destroyed. Since we do not have rules about capturing ships, any successfully captured ships will be packed off to the shipyards of the Technognostiki to be torn apart and analyzed.

The Mitra tou Theouautokrator, the worldship of the Immortal Emperoress, is an immense craft that travels between the various systems of the Theophanic Empire. It is capable of cracking planets, but this power is only used extremely rarely. In game terms, consider it basically a Death Star. It may show up here and there but upon discussion with Crossroads, Rogue et al, I have decided that it’s not necessary for it to have fleet points as I don’t plan for it to partake in combat outside RP’ing. It will however take 10 Planet points.

The ships are monstrous in size. The Thorikto Dreadnoughts are around 20 kilometres in length, the Magnatrabes 8 km, and the Neokastro varying between 4 to 6 kilometres. However, as the game does not particularly differentiate between sizes of ships, only the costs they have, the size is only relevant in RP.

Large fleets are not typically employed by the Theophanic Empire as well; they simply do not have the numbers to have more than a few ships in each flotilla. Typical battle groups will be one Thorikto, a couple of Magnatrabes, and three to five Neokastro cruisers.

The Megakolymvitis is the ship of Genis soi Chelonis, and will have a function in the RP.

Ground Troops

500 Points of Ground Troops, of varying quality, to be worked out in RP (I assume ground conflicts are mostly going to be comparing numbers and seeing who has more). They have assorted armoured vehicles and ground and air transports as well.

Ground Troops are carried between stars in massive kilometres-long diastimploia transports, landed en masse in enormous landers capable of dropping entire battalions upon the battlefield at once.

This leaves me with a total of 2757 Fleet Points in use, and a reserve of 243 points.

Nation Points

Due to the extraordinary size of the Theophanic Empire’s ships, I have chosen to only have one shipyard at 300 nation points. There are other shipyards in the Empire, but they work extremely slowly and will be irrelevant outside RP'ing.

Given that the Theophanic Empire has been effectively isolated from most other galactic civilizations for most of its history until very recently, I am purchasing the ‘Barbarian’ national attribute; this gives me +30 Counter-Espionage and -30 Espionage as well as putting me at the fringes of ‘civilized’ space. This costs 50 nation points.

I am spending 50 nation points on Improved Salvage, 50 on Improved Logistics and leaving the other 50 hanging for the moment.

This leaves me with a total of 450 National Points, 50 unused.

Planet Points

Most of the systems of the Theophanic Empire only have one inhabited world. There are other worlds than these, but these are the ones that matter for the purposes of the game.

Mitra tou Theouautokrator, the pankosmiploios or worldship of the Emperoress: 10 points

Ten Raab, of soi Drakon: 10. With Technognostiki manufacturing facilities on an otherwise uninhabitable planet in the same system, 10, for a system total of 20
Vargaresh, of soi Geraki: 8.
Rann, of soi Raubvogel: 8. Technognostiki manufacturing facility on the world to bring the total up to 10
Agrotikma, of soi Foinix: 7
Ochrysomenos, of soi Hapax: 7
Thastathei, of soi Drakon: 5, with Technognostiki manufacturing facility to bring it up to 10
Paradosi, of soi Vasilias: 5
Erepia, of soi Chelonis, soi Varro, soi Fylachto: 2, with small Technognostiki shipyard cum manufacturing facility, 1 pt, total of 3

Yperoktrokos, of the Technognostiki, shipyard: 10
Magnos Noimosynis, of the Technognostiki, manufacturing facility: 10

This should be a total of 100 planet points.

Master pages for the Tsaj OOB: https://kienhui.github.io/STGOD/SDNW8/

I can add the racial info to this thread if desired later.

The Holy Empire of Haruhi Suzumiya

Ultra-short version: Extradimensional exiles trying to establish themselves in a new universe

Not too short, not too long version: In its home universe, the Holy Empire of Haruhi Suzumiya was among the preeminent powers of its galaxy. Thrown into an existential conflict (the so-called "Final War") with a seemingly endless horde of alien marauders that had already consumed several of the Holy Empire's closest allies and neighbors (a scenario dubbed "War Plan Yellow" by at least one other nation), Empress Haruhi personally gave her approval for a radical plan to annihilate this adversary once and for all. Dubbed "Made in Heaven," it ultimately proved to be Pyrrhic on the part of the Holy Empire; their enemy was indeed destroyed... at the cost of triggering a dimensional cataclysm that tore several of the Empire's core territories and a portion of its military strength away and deposited them in a new universe. Reduced to a rump state in a strange new realm, Empress Haruhi and her remaining followers face an uncertain future as they try to find their way once more.

Holdings

A total of five star systems, comprising the Holy Empire's capital and four other inhabited systems, were displaced by the Made in Heaven upheaval.

Kansai system (20 planet points)
Hyogo (10 points) and Kyoto (10 points): The capital of the old Holy Empire in all its glory in its home universe, Hyogo serves as the capital of the rump Empire in this current universe. Its sister planet, Kyoto, is a center of heavy industry and is home to the only heavy shipyard remaining in the Holy Empire.

Harvest system (20 planet points)
Harvest (10 points) and Katagalugan (10 points): Harvest and Katagalugan were among the first colonies established by the nascent Holy Empire in the distant past. Harvest was one of the breadbaskets of the old Empire, and it still fulfills this role today as the primary agricultural world of the vestigial Empire. Another traditional center of industry in the Holy Empire, Katagalugan was transformed into a fortress world during the course of the Final War; though its formidable orbital defenses were stripped away by the Made in Heaven upheaval, it is still a difficult target for a ground assault by most foes.

Arcadia system (18 planet points)
Arcadia (7 points), Victoria (7 points), and Madrigal (4 points): In the slightly more recent past, Arcadia, Victoria, and Madrigal were independent colony worlds that had joined the Holy Empire for protection against a greater threat. During the Final War, all three worlds were bitterly contested battlegrounds, with Madrigal bearing the brunt of the devastation.

Argo system (22 planet points)
Argo (6 points), Kelanis (7 points), Moria (8 points), and asteroid belt mining colonies (1 point): Located within a particularly resource-rich system, Argo, Kelanis, Moria, and their associated mining colonies all provided much-needed raw materials to the Holy Empire during the Final War. A major strategic target during the Final War, the Argo system saw its fair share of fighting.

Umoja system (20 planet points)
Umoja (8 points), Reagan's Planet (6 points), and Sarengo (6 points): One of the Holy Empire's more recent colonial acquisitions, the Umoja system was also the site of major fighting during the Final War.

Nation Points

Improved Logistics (200 points)
A legacy of the Final War, Imperial Navy ships have excellent damage control and field repair capabilities. [% of ship damage able to be repaired in the field: 44]

Improved Salvage (50 points)
The Imperial Navy has always maintained a limited field salvage ability, which may prove to be of even greater importance in a situation where supplies and raw materials may not be readily available. [% of point value able to be salvaged after a winning space battle: 7.5]

Improved Shipyards (100 points)
Though stripped of most of its heavy shipyards during the Made in Heaven upheaval, the vestigial Holy Empire still managed to retain the Maizuru Naval Arsenal, in orbit over Kyoto. [Maximum ship point value: 60]

Extradimensional (50 points)
Improved Espionage (100 points)
The Holy Empire's intelligence agencies were among the best in their old universe, and they still retain some ability to effectively gather information even with the loss of many of their old agents and contacts. While the Holy Empire's extradimensional origin is a hindrance towards intel gathering in this universe, it also serves as a buffer against attempted infiltration by other powers. [Net modifiers: +40 espionage, +60 counter-espionage]

Order of Battle

SOS Imperial Navy

All Imperial Navy ships use the prefix HSS (Haruhi Suzumiya's Ship). The ships currently existing in this universe represent only a fraction of the Imperial Navy's old strength; it would take the rump Empire decades, if not centuries, to rebuild the Imperial Navy to those levels with its current industrial capacity.

Aya Hirano-class frigate
Number in service: 40
Point value: 15 (5 base + 5 jamming + 5 C3)
Overview: One of the pre-war workhorses of the old Holy Empire, the Hirano-class frigate still remains the most prolific ship class of the new Empire. Cheap to build and requiring a relatively small crew complement of droids and organics, they are invaluable components of any Imperial Navy fleet.
Example names:
HSS Aya Hirano
HSS Megumi Hayashibara
HSS Maaya Sakamoto
HSS Ami Koshimizu
HSS Tomokazu Sugita
HSS Daisuke Ono
HSS Jun Fukuyama
HSS Yoshitsugu Matsuoka

Wendee Lee-class destroyer
Number in service: 24
Point value: 20 (10 base + 5 jamming + 5 C3)
Overview: Another pre-war workhorse, the Lee-class destroyer is essentially a scaled-up version of the Hirano-class frigate in both appearance and purpose. Their increased armament and durability makes them more likely than the Hirano-class to be seen operating independently of a fleet.
Example names:
HSS Wendee Lee
HSS Cristina Valenzuela
HSS Kira Buckland
HSS Erica Mendez
HSS Johnny Yong Bosch
HSS Matthew Mercer
HSS Bryce Papenbrook
HSS Max Mittelman

Akira Kurusu-class "technical research ship"
Number in service: 8
Point value: 20 (5 base + 10 stealth + 5 C3)
Overview: Built on the same hull as the Lee-class destroyer, the Kurusu-class "technical research ship" sacrifices offensive power for stealth capability. Initially designed for the wartime Imperial Navy as a scout ship, the Kurusu-class is well-suited for exploration and espionage in the Holy Empire's new universe.
Examples:
HSS Akira Kurusu
HSS Ryuji Sakamoto
HSS Ann Takamaki
HSS Makoto Niijima
HSS Yusuke Kitagawa
HSS Futaba Sakura
HSS Haru Okumura
HSS Kasumi Yoshizawa

Makoto Naegi-class cruiser
Number in service: 16
Point value: 30 (20 base + 5 jamming + 5 C3)
Overview: One of many wartime cruiser classes fielded by the Imperial Navy, the Naegi-class was designed as a specific counter to the swarm tactics favored by the adversary during the Final War. Emphasizing sheer volume of fire, a Naegi-class discharging its entire complement of lasers and kinetic weapons gives new meaning to the words "bullet hell"; while intended mainly to sweep away enemy fighters and escorts, even capital ships are likely to suffer death by a thousand cuts when faced with a squadron of Naegi-class cruisers.
Example names:
HSS Makoto Naegi
HSS Kyoko Kirigiri
HSS Hajime Hinata
HSS Chiaki Nanami
HSS Nagito Komaeda
HSS Kaede Akamatsu
HSS Shuichi Saihara
HSS Tsumugi Shirogane

Amuro Ray-class carrier
Number in service: 8
Point value: 60 (40 base + 10 jamming + 10 C3)
Overview: One of several wartime carrier classes fielded by the Imperial Navy, the Ray-class is a flexible combatant, using drone swarms to overwhelm enemies with sheer force of numbers and manned fighters to carry out precision strikes against harder targets. Its command facilities and advanced sensor and jammer suites make it an ideal fleet command ship.
Examples:
HSS Amuro Ray
HSS Christina Mackenzie
HSS Shiro Amada
HSS Kou Uraki
HSS Kamille Bidan
HSS Judau Ashta
HSS Banagher Links
HSS Seabook Arno

Heroine-type battleship
Number in service: 8
Point value: 60 (50 base + 5 jamming + 5 C3)
Overview: The Heroine-type battleships are a hodgepodge of ships from multiple classes once fielded by the Imperial Navy. Despite belonging to different classes, they all share common tactical operational characteristics, enabling them to operate together as a cohesive unit against enemy ships. Their combination of speed and firepower also makes them ideal escorts for the Ray-class carriers.
Examples:
HSS Lina Inverse
HSS Sakura Kinomoto
HSS Nanoha Takamachi
HSS Ryuko Matoi
HSS Tatsumaki
HSS Hestia
HSS Megumin
HSS Jolyne Cujoh

SOS Imperial Guard and Marine Corps

The Holy Empire's ground forces are divided into two branches, the Imperial Guard and the Imperial Marines. The Imperial Guard is primarily a defensive force, though its soldiers also provided the bulk of planetary invasion and occupation forces in the old Empire's heyday. The Imperial Marines form the spearhead of any planetary offensive and are also responsible for conducting boarding actions against enemy ships. The Imperial Guard and Marines were both gutted by the Made in Heaven upheaval, though enough personnel remain in both branches to form a core cadre from which they can rebuild. [320 points worth of ground forces]

Encyclopedia Galactica, edition #ERROR 754 NaN [data field corrupted; please consult your local information archeologist or G-ISBN repository]:

Khemplar & the Great Khemplar State
Order of Battle, Jayne's Guide, ed. #ERROR 754 NaN

Overview
Khemplar are a species of feathered, long-necked bipeds descended from savannah-dwelling pack creatures similar in most respects to the ostrich of Sol-III-Terra, the main exception being the reversed arrangement of the upper limbs relative to the body and their termination in four-talon hand-analogues rather than wing support structures. Native to Kaol-IV-Kirrin, khemplar spread to Kaol-VI-Korrin after planetary unification following their Second Industrial Revolution, and with the discovery of hyperspace set up full extrasolar colonies in four surrounding systems. The overwhelming majority of khemplar live under the authority of the Khemplar Kuria Tenko government centered on Kaol-IV-Kirrin, which name translates most nearly to '[the] Great Khemplar State,' although this elides significant linguistic and historical subtlety. The Great Khemplar State is a constitutional monarchy, with the King (regardless of the sex of the monarch; honorifics do not decline in most khemplar languages) holding significant executive, foreign policy, and military authority, balanced against a bicameral legislature composed of the Communal Senate, made up of elected representatives of regional populations, and the Convocate of Nobles, largely an assemblage of high aristocrats but also including representatives of institutions such as the state-funded Priests of the Faith and certain ancient universities, guilds, and other organizations who have held seats since time immemorial. Local government in the Great Khemplar State generally follows the same pattern, with an aristocrat either governing with, balanced against, or restrained by a legislative branch depending on specifics.

The overall culture of the Great Khemplar State is relatively conservative, with a heavy emphasis on family and social obligations. The is thought to be related to the stabilizing influence of the monarchy. Mass-market khemplar cuisine generally features a heavy focus on vegetable and invertebrate matter with savory flavoring agents, though specific Kirrin-regional, planetary, or historical varieties may differ. Music is particularly important in most khemplar cultures and most gatherings will include some form of singing or instrumental music. Dry comedy also holds a particularly high regard among sophisticated khemplar.

Astrographically, the khemplar state is centered on the Kaol system. Kaol-IV-Kirrin (the khemplar homeworld) and Kaol-VI-Korrin are the twin centers of economic and cultural life for the entire nation, and Kaol-Vb-Var Faerro is the beating heart of the Royal Navy, combining extensive command and training facilities with titanic shipyards and cavernous ammunition stores. The systems of Dak and Perrin, with seven inhabited worlds and large moons between them, form the agricultural and light-industrial backbones of the Great Khemplar State, while the Korit and Takeet system economies, with four planets and large moons but a very large number of orbital and deep-space stations, are largely focused on mineral extraction and refining. There is significant intersystem trade and pleasure travel, with the sapphire caverns of Korit-III-Lorikon, the flowertree forests of Dak-IVc-Rheik, and the daily meteorite ballet of the Takeet Inner Belt only a few of the wondrous sights khemplar take to the stars to experience.

...

Military
The Royal Khemplar Navy (RKN), Royal Khemplar Army (RKA), and Royal Khemplar Fortress Command (RKFC) are the three major branches of the King's armed forces. The Royal Interplanetary Lifesaving Corps is a paramilitary organization which maintains safety patrols and other civil-service missions throughout khemplar space, and the Royal Customs Authority similarly operates revenue cutters under military-style organization in order to perform routine customs inspections, though both rely on the regular military for extra support if needed.

The RKN's warships traditionally mount railguns and/or missile batteries for offensive purposes, along with various parasite craft ranging from semiautonomous tethered point-defense platforms to multi-crew hyperspace-capable bombers. Currently, heavy khemplar warships are predominantly battlecarriers, mounting strong integral offensive and defensive systems on a central hull along with air group facilities on one or more auxiliary pod structures to decrease the risk of sympathetic detonations.

RKA garrisons are present on nearly every regularly-inhabited khemplar possession, notably excepting those in the Perrin system, which are secured exclusively by Fortress Command troops for obscure reasons thought to relate to a particularly vicious budget dispute some decades in the past. Khemplar armies place a high emphasis on overwhelming firepower, with a large proportion of artillery and armor present in most formations. Personal weapons are largely based on railgun technology, although particle and other energy weapons are more common among special forces units.

The RKFC operates ground-to-space weapons, as well as holding oversight authority over planetary militia forces, most wet-naval, and essentially all air units not under RKA control. Typically, an RKFC-defended world will feature distinct land, air, and sea-based GTS weapon sets, as well as extensive prepared defensive lines around strategic points such as harbors, industrial centers, and orbital connections including starports and space elevators.

Since my OOB Spreadsheet is getting crowded, I'm going to put Endeavour's crunch here.

National Points

Improved Logistics - 200pts

Every single person raised in Endeavour has built their own orbit-to-surface-and-back-again spacecraft. Most are decent mechanics, on top of that, and able to access a wealth of information at will, and are able to utilise rapid fabrication technology to its full extent. This makes actually destroying an Endeavour ship difficult, since the crew is exceptionally good at repairing damage in combat. There is a hard limit to this: after all, you can't fix a gun that's been entirely melted.

Effect: 44% of damage repaired each combat turn.


Improved Salvage - 100pts

The same upbringing that results in Endeavourites being excellent engineers also leads them towards a philosophy of "take everything that isn't nailed down, and then take the nails". Once more, diminishing returns kick in after a point, but generally speaking Endeavour fleets are able to strip enemy warships down to the bones.

Effect: Total salvage after victory = 10%.


Improved Shipyards - 200pts

After the end of the Quite Frankly, Terrible War, Endeavour embarked on a large-scale armaments program to ensure they would at least have a fighting chance if Amazo-X returned. A key part of this build-up was the Shikinami Naval Arsenal, a gigantic naval base capable of building (and harbouring) fleets of kilometre-long warships. This is about as large as a ship can be and still be useful in the dense asteroid belts that make up most of Endeavour space. The production facilities for heavy Hypervelocity Cannons and Particle Beam Lances - which give Endeavour ships comparatively high firepower densities - are also found in the Shikinami Naval Arsenal.

Effect: Maximum ship size = 70pts.


Endeavour spies are of average competence, but are not often employed in an "offensive" espionage role due to general suspicion. The preferred information-gathering mechanism is the stealth destroyer fleet and analysis of public-access computer networks. 0 pts invested in Espionage or Counter-Espionage.

While Endeavour does possess static defences and patrol boats, these are not equipped to handle anything larger than a fighter or armed freighter. 0 pts invested in System Defences.


Ship Stat Breakdowns
Specific ship names are listed on the spreadsheet (linked in my main post), and will not be repeated here.

OAR-Class Dreadnought
4 in service.

70 base hull, total size = 70pts

cs,b-Class Battleship
7 in service.

60 base hull +5J+5C3, total size = 70pts

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson-Class Carrier
2 in service.

50 base hull +10J+10C3, total size = 70pts

4B-Class Carrier
4 in service.

50 base hull +10J+10C3, total size = 70pts

Glory-Class Battlecruiser
2 in service.

60 base hull, total size = 60pts

8===D-Class Cruiser
3 in service.

40 base hull, total size = 40pts

Kitsune-Class Cruiser
10 in service.

50 base hull +5J+5C3, total size = 60pts

Endeavour-Class Destroyer
10 in service.

10 base hull +10R, total size = 20pts.
R rating (speed) = 5.

NP,K-Class Destroyer, Stealth
10 in service.

2 base hull +10S+3C3, total size = 15pts
S rating (stealth) = 21

Astra-class Scout Frigate
3 in service.

5 base hull +5R+10H, total size = 20pts
R rating (speed) = 2.5
H rating (FTL speed) = 11

School Ships
11 built. Not for combat, statted since they will be performing RP functions.

20 base hull, total size = 20pts


Army Point Breakdown

Starting formations of the Endeavour Army:
1x100pt Conventional Battalion, located in the Endeavour colony, Endeavour system
1x100pt Commando Team, located on Inlaw Station, Gotobe system
1x100pt Mech Battalion, located in the Rebuild colony, Neos system

The remainder is allocated to "Guardian Forces", 10x1pt units currently stationed on Icarus, in the Tigo system. These represent formations in training or otherwise non-combat-capable.
Unless otherwise stated, new-built formations start in the same locations as listed above.

Stories, as everyone knows, often have no real beginning or end, stories can stretch out into infinity and continue on and on forever.
Typically, one seeks to find sections within a story to tell a much smaller part of it and focusing on a slice of time instead of the great scope of creation.

For the story that has so far followed what was known as “The Union of Interstellar Civilizations” one can witness the start of a new thread starting at a grand ceremony marking the end of one moment, and the start of another.

“Outermost edge of the Shand System, Galacticus shipyards”

Hanging over the relatively small planetoid “Galacticus”, a vast sea of shipyards orbited. Each one throbbing with activity and gravid with the skeletons of ships under construction.
At a station set to overlook the majority of these yards, a ceremony was underway, signifying the launch of the newest quartet of cruisers, as well as the start of construction on the first new line Battleships.

There had been many such events in the last few years, ever since the start of a vast new push in military construction. The resources being consumed by the push were truly staggering, catapulting a series of races from primitive sub space vessels, to massive new FTL warships. Where such progress to be scrutinized by other races it would be found perhaps somewhat unbelievable that the various powers had made such progress in the last 20 years, and of that, started a construction project within the last 10 years that would have been the envy of many others space fairing nations.

Of course, as other racers had not fully come to know, those races of the Sector often had “Help” with such things.

And right now, a voice for that “Help” was finishing a speech extoling the virtues of their progress and the dawning of a new era.

The speaker stood, or more accurately ‘squatted’ on a podium and addressed a crowd of dignitaries, military leaders and naturally many politicians. It read from the prepared script it had been offered and, while somewhat reluctant at times, made its way through the rivers of platitudes, grand declarations, and glowing praise that was the bread and butter of such speeches since the dawn of time.
Or at least, since the dawn of bureaucracy.

Eventually however it seemed to be making its way toward the end, toward the moment that at least a good part of the audience had really been in attendance to hear. The ending of the speech.


It was sometime later at the reception, as there always is for such events, that various powerful people made what small talk they could while viewing the pride of the industrial labors of the combined races within the UISC.

“Remember when the pinnacle of industrial warfare was an ocean going vessel 250 units long? And now we have a vessel being built that is almost ten times as large!” Said one very proud Qwintoni general as he gestured to the great hulk of the Battleship under construction”

“This is true, but from what scraps we get from [a slight cough] our friends” and here, the Octona politician who was speaking gestured not so subtly to the Skothian delegate that had spoken earlier. “We hear that even when it is finished, it is still a, what was Human expression? A small fish in a big ocean I believe?” The others nodded and stood in silence, between them a Quatonian Admiral puffed on a rather noticeably messy pipe.
Of course since fire, and especially smoke of any kind was banned on the station, it was done far more for the look of the thing.

“We have to start somewhere. Let us remember that, within the lifetime of many we have gone from barely stepping foot into the stars to now have such mighty warships. We have moved very quickly in a short period of time. We must not lose our focus on where we are headed.”

Again the others nodded.
Around them the reception such as it was had begun to break up. Dignitaries and various important people had begun to depart. Among them, with smaller fanfare than their arrival, the Skothian delegate made their way towards the air locks were various shuttles and vessels awaited. For the Skothian, the ship he boarded was in a private hanger exposed to space and under constant surveillance. A member of their race traveling anywhere, for any function would of course been met by the highest security possible.

And yet, it had an intruder on bored. Or at least, an individual that was not recorded.

The delegate made their way toward the large circular central room of the vessel. Designed specifically as a diplomatic shuttle, the room could be considered as “luxurious” as perhaps anything from the rather Spartan and function minded sensibility of the Skothian people. Reclining in what one would consider a ‘chair’ for their race, they gave the order to depart, speaking in the slow grinding of stone-like tongue that was their language.

In the chair next to them, the ‘intruder’ spoke using the same grinding of stone language.

“That function completed as well as we would imagine, do you not agree Deacon Akron?” The figure said to the Deacon Akron, whom had aged much in the time when he was a young pilot. The Skothian gave a dismissive snort.

“What one may imagine is the speculation of the mind. It is my role to ensure we are represented here, nothing more than that ‘Are-You-Dee-Eye’ it said, the last part being spoken as phonetically as possible for their language.”
“You could simply say it as “Rudy” you know.” RUDI responded, trying his best at humor to the mostly humorless individual.
“It is the designation you were given, and the one you have decided to use as your mantle. Our lives our governed by our own designations and to fulfil that purpose.”
There was a shared silence between the two as they sat and watched the forward display. The shuttle was leaving the hanger bay, and would soon make its way into the etheric space that was the coveted travel method of Skothian technology.

“I would ask of you, do you know why I am here, but I estimate you would respond by saying, that it is unwise to suppose of anyone’s true motives.” RUDI spoke, and Akron wordlessly agreed. “I am here, because it is estimated that much of what has been planned, and what has been anticipated, is being set in motion. Other races are beginning to move and push out into the galaxy. Powers that have long been idle are being awakened.” RUDI said and Akron once more agreed. Another silence was shared between them, this time interrupted by the Skothian.

“And what will you do about it construct? How will you fulfil the function for which you were intended?” A slight pause followed, and then broken by a riot of laughter.
“The function for which I was intended? Oh my dear Akron you must know me better than that! Can you look me in the eye and truly say that there is anything ‘intentional’ about my function?” The android said, clutching his chest in an instinctive mimicking of trying to catch his nonexistent breath as he laughed.

To his credit, Akron did turn to look RUDI in the eye as it were, but relented.
“A poor choice of words perhaps, but the question is still valid.”
“My intentions are as they have always been from the day that I was born.” RUDI said before continuing. “I will explore this galaxy to learn all I can, I will protect my creators and sentient life, and, I will try and have fun while doing so.” Again a slight pause, and a sigh from the Skothian.

“Fun, is something that should not be a consideration when contemplating the lives of trillions of sapient lives ‘Ruu-Dee’” Arkon said, a slight menace to their voice edged only with the knowledge that the AI was probably trying to ‘wind him up’. Which of course it was.

“I agree Akron, and I do not mean to make light of the situation. But, Life is a thing I feel is meant to be enjoyed, if it is nothing but a misery than we all have bigger problems.” RUDI said, and Akron, for once, agreed.

END OF FIRST TURN SUMMARY
CONSTRUCTION STARTED ON TWO “COMMAND BATTLESHIPS”
02 Command BB 65+4C3+6H+5J