Update 1
A new age is dawning across the galaxy. Countless worlds lay waiting in the void for a new generation of explorers to reach them. Among them are a few hidden gems; verdant worlds already awash with life, and more exotic worlds, strewn with giant crystals and incandescent mineral formations.
A few have never been visited before in the history of the galaxy. A few still bear the mark of former inhabitants, and hold secret treasures.
But there is something much more exciting, for those that watch the galaxy from afar; the offspring of the stars are starting to speak to each other again…
In no particular order
A cloud of giant, hollow metallic cylinders floats in space, slowly orbiting a nearby star. Here the
Truth Seekers linger for a while, searching for clues to the origin of the mysterious artefacts. Some of the smaller cylinders are captured and sealed to form the hulls of new ships for the flotilla, adding new shapes to the fleet’s eclectic mix of ship designs. The Minds then decide on the next course of action; most of the fleet heads off in a spinward direction, while a smaller scout flotilla heads inwards, searching for one of several faint sources of quantum noise in the vicinity. It is this scout detachment that encounters the
Doszob Orub civilization, and makes its presence known over the vibrantly-green planet of Orub.
A Truth Seeker shuttle lands near what they think is a major settlement - it is difficult to tell due to the amount of organic matter that is growing in, on and around the planet’s structures. The locals are Alaszob, hunched semi-bipedal beings with overlong front limbs, their hair and skin showing varying degrees of fungal growth. They are just one of several sentient or semi-sentient species on the planet. Facing them, emerging from the shuttle, are a variety of different-sized mechanical beings. The Alaszob show little fear in approaching and even prodding the Truth Seeker envoys. News spreads around the planet, and representatives from the different races and major settlements of Orub begin to converge on the landing site. Thus begins an initially-promising exchange, the Seekers employ their long experience of diplomacy in an attempt to charm the natives and collect any samples of culture or biology that they are willing to share, offering some of their technology in exchange. But this first contact is one of the more awkward that the Seekers have experienced; there is a sense that the Doszob do not regard the Seekers as much more than a curiosity; in their minds nothing so cold and sterile, and untouched by the fungus, can be considered a
real life form. As the Orub parliament debates its response, It is unclear what, if anything, the Doszob will be willing to share.
Meanwhile, the Doszob’s first FTL-capable vessels are already light years away, on an expedition to search for a suspected habitable and Oros-compatible world. This turns out to be Egade, the homeworld of the six-limbed reptilian Malzoi race and of the
Zasta Dynasty, the most powerful Malzoi nation and the only one with colonies on the moons and other planets, as well as a sizeable collection of spacecraft, though it has yet to master FTL travel. Zasta ships are scrambled to match orbit with the aliens, and basic communications are attempted, but neither side can decode the other’s transmissions. After making several orbits, the Doszob vessels suddenly launch a group of lander craft to the surface. With only moments to react, the Zasta commanders are not about to allow these aliens onto the surface of the homeworld. The decision is made to open fire.
Zasta weaponry, however, is not designed for such a task, and their missiles are unable to intercept the fast-moving landers, which reach the surface of the large continent of Irais, scattering amongst dense jungle cover. This continent hosts a mixture of imperial colonies, independent city-states and primitive tribal societies, living alongside vast tracts of wilderness that is stalked by highly-dangerous megafauna. The Zasta army has a difficult job in containing the situation, and efforts are ongoing, with news reports of airstrikes and heavy artillery fire in the area of the landings, though this may be due to the army running into said wildlife. The Doszob spacecraft meanwhile do not return fire, but break for high orbit, then use their FTL drives to jump to the outer system; here they linger on, staying several steps ahead of any Zasta vessels, which in any case are not equipped for combat and can do little but try to keep an eye on the intruders. The Zasta government tries to contain news of the events, as they themselves try to figure out what is happening, but this does not prevent panic and paranoia sweeping the system. The true nature of the aliens still seems to be a mystery; citizens living on Irais are asked to report any strange activity.
The main
Truth Seeker fleet has meanwhile been searching for the source of faint quantum noise coming from Malzoi civilization but has been unable to pinpoint the exact location. In the meantime, they are distracted by the ruins discovered on a scorched, caustic world that seems to have suffered a climate catastrophe in relatively recent history. Its evaporated oceans have left behind enigmatic ruins of some kind of aquatic civilization and an abundance of cultural artefacts, as well as many fossils of extinct creatures, samples of which are carefully lifted and transported aboard.
Suuf begins to understand that it has been visited by
something. For now the phenomena does not repeat itself, giving Suuf time to listen to the signals being sent from the apparatus that was left behind, before beginning to dissect it. Suuf finds intricate devices made largely of metals and other materials that would be difficult for it to synthesise. But its overall function does not seem too complicated - sensory devices and broadcasting equipment. The power of transmissions suggests that the listener must still be in orbit, or at least in the local system. While Suuf and its sister-moons continue to launch spores into space, Suuf also takes time to grow and launch a special new type of adapted spore, designed to remain in orbit and watch out for anything unusual.
The
Jhorra Authority persists on the degenerating world of Embarre, a world brought to semi-habitability by ancient terraformers in aeons past and since been left to deteriorate. The planet’s ocean may soon face a tipping point where a toxic, anoxic ecosystem takes over, killing off the undersea forests of aquatic plants that the Jhor are dependent upon. Giant storms increasingly batter the coasts of the fragmented barren landmass, sometimes whipping up toxic soils into suffocating sandstorms. The Authority has succeeded in ending inter-state conflict amongst the Jhor, and focusing efforts on technology and survival, but the task of reversing the decline of their world still seems daunting. There is a growing challenge to the status-quo from those who question the memory of the ‘Ieldra’ and the dogma of the Compact; the Jhor should, they argue, focus their efforts on finding a new home amongst the stars. Others, however, hold the Compact as sacred, and argue that the battle to save the planet’s ecosystem is not yet a lost cause. For now at least, the pursuit of FTL technology remains forbidden.
The
Miskatoni Combine reels from the shock of multiple alien contacts that occur in rapid succession over just a few years. First is the arrival of
Zövlölt explorers, and the Miskatoni are faced with their first space-faring alien civilization. Rudimentary communications are soon worked out, thanks largely to the efforts of the Zövlölt scientists, but not before the newcomers establish several refuelling outposts inside what the Combine considers its domain. The main Combine fleet is busy with anti-insurgency operations and is unable to rally any significant forces to oppose the newcomers. However, it soon becomes clear to the Naharyi that they have a technological lead over these strange, bright-eyed, upright bipedal beings, who in any case are not showing any real hostile intent, and tensions begin to ease on the outer frontier.
Next comes contact with
The Choir on the spinward frontier. This time communications take longer to be hammered out, as the Naharyi struggle to understand the melodic language of these beings; it takes even longer for the Naharyi to realise they are dealing with a rather diverse race of self-replicating war machines. The intentions of The Choir seem more opaque, and the large numbers of their vessels along the spinward frontier is a real concern for Combine leaders, especially as these new aliens seem to be more advanced than the Zövlölts.
Concern turns to a sense of crisis as ships from the
Psilomedusoza arrive on the same frontier. These aliens are even more enigmatic, and the Naharyi are currently still currently trying to establish communications with them, with only a vague idea that this is some kind of aquatic species travelling in graceful biomechanical vessels, that either display dazzling displays of light and colour, or seem to camouflage themselves against background space at will. The region is soon dotted with outposts of both Choral and Psilomedusozan origin, with the Combine unable to enforce any territorial boundaries in the area.
Meanwhile, reports filter in to Attrios of yet another alien civilization encountered in the outer spinward sector, in a region where explorers and colonists have been expanding the Combine’s borders. Alien vessels are detected exploring these same star systems in a somewhat erratic pattern. These latest contacts prove more elusive, and direct contact has yet to be attempted. The overall situation is worrying for the Combine as they have just begun to settle a resource-rich system in the area.
The oligarchy, already in the grip of political intrigues, now faces severe pressure to invest in the fleet and army. With aliens roaming at will through Combine frontiers, the news can only be partly censored, and there are waves of public paranoia. During this time the Combine’s main battle group has been providing artillery support for counter-insurgency operations, it’s heavy firepower ensuring that any rebels are pushed underground, but a Combine army weakened by chronic attrition has struggled to mop up the survivors. Damaged industrial facilities on several major worlds have also yet to be rebuilt. The military leadership seem embittered, especially as the Combine itself has no lack of resources; there are rumours of vast stockpiles of materials, and its cities are awash with consumer goods of all kinds. Indeed, the imperialist ethos seems to be fading in favour of materialism and science; the recent years have seen great strides in the area of medical and bio-technology in particular, with Combine soldiers able to recover from grievous injuries, and its citizens living longer and healthier lives. Nonetheless the political atmosphere is now highly charged, and seems ripe for a violent showdown between factions if the oligarchy is not careful.
Zövlölt society is gripped by the shock of encountering an entire alien civilization, especially coming just a few years after the first experimental FTL flights. Some scientists had even publicly downplayed the chances of finding intelligent aliens. There is now immense curiosity about the Naharyi race and their culture, but also genuine fear of the strange four-legged beings, and of their clearly superior technology. Other Zövlölt scientists had already made a head-start on deciphering fragments of Combine communications, in the process spawning a whole new industry of FTL comms and signals intelligence back on Nüür. For now, diplomatic contacts are limited to a few Naharyi colonists and engineers found in the frontier systems, though these Naharyi seem somewhat nonchalant in their attitude. Now as a ‘ten year plan’ for industrial growth reaches a fairly successful conclusion, aided by new mining outposts in nearby systems, the Zövlölts look to the great expanses of unexplored space that still surround their homeworld.
The Choir is not surprised to encounter alien life - they have scattered memories of their creators from thousands of years ago, and still more fragmentary memories of other races besides. They take an open and friendly attitude towards the Naharyi, yet it seems the sudden appearance of so many Choir ships has caused the aliens to take a defensive posture. Close to the porous frontier with the Combine, Choir ships find a struggling terrestrial world that seems to be caught in the onset of a severe ice age, with dying forests and expanding glaciers, with native species dying off at a rapid rate. Some amongst The Choir wonder if they can rescue this world as they did with their home garden. In the surrounding systems, Choir ships dance with the graceful bio-mechanical vessels of the Psilomedusoza. The more inquiring minds of the Choir begin to uncover a visual language hidden in the flashes of light and colour emitted by these vessels, and rudimentary communications are established. The Psilo’s also take an interest in this freezing world, building outposts under the planet’s seas, while The Choir establish a base amongst the withering autumnal forests, there being no immediate conflict.
The role of the
Psilomedusozan homeworld is now diminished, as colonies become more powerful in their own right, and outposts are settled further and further from the home system. At the opposite end of their expanse, the local Psilos encounter
The Krell, hyperactive rodentoid beings with an innumerable population. Psilo vessels reach the magnificent ancient ringworld that forms the home of the Krell race, a vast ancient construction several thousand kilometres in diameter. The Psilo vessels are hard to track on Krell sensors, but are seen to linger over the ocean sections of the ringworld in particular. Krell ships eventually close in, and haphazard attempts are made at communication, with Krell using all the apparatus at their disposal in an attempt to replicate the intricate light displays coming from the hulls of the alien vessels. It seems some progress is made, but all too soon the Psilo active their FTL drives and retreat back to their frontier. The shock of contact spreads quickly through Krell society before dissapaiting in the space of weeks; thoughts soon turn to how they may learn to profit from these mysterious aliens. All is not well with the Krell besides; despite the colonisation of several border-line habitable worlds, there is an ongoing overpopulation crisis, and some clans in the outer systems are turning to piracy and extortion. There are also rumours that previous fixes to the ancient systems of the homeworld have not been as successful as hoped, and that there is the potential for catastrophic failure in future. Though not lacking in resources, the chronic lack of stable government makes it hard for the Krell to focus their efforts.
The
Resource Management Board (RMB Talis) has emerged as the supreme power among Talisite civilization, which now spreads across several planets and moons in their home system. National governments are being relegated to little more than providers of social services on the overcrowded homeworld; corporate power and influence is now almost absolute, and the resources harnessed from this one system are considerable. Basic FTL drives have been demonstrated, but the prototypes remain little more than a curiosity, as the Talisites thus far have little collective appetite for venturing beyond the safety of their home star and its riches - though there are rumours of renegade starship projects. From their towering headquarters in the sprawling megacity of Heyos, the RMB now directs further development of the home system and experiments with terraforming technology in the pursuit of long-term profit. Currently the only opposition to the Corporate order is a combination of criminals, dispossessed minorities, and citizens who have gone ‘off grid’ for whatever reason, forming a dangerous underclass in the depths of the megacities.
On the warm ocean world of
Altara, an ancient artificial island is discovered, one of only several specks of solid ground to protrude above the surface of the great waters. A few brave souls among the Altarans are able to climb onto it to begin exploring, though at first their limbs can barely cope with the strain of working against gravity, a handful seem to have a stronger natural ability for the task. A seemingly endless series of chambers is found; some collapsed or badly corroded, yet others remain intact - decorated with a vast array of symbols and many strange artefacts. It would seem that there is truth to the origin legends of the Altarans, whose humanoid biology is so very different to the other creatures of this planet’s ocean. The ‘island’ is claimed for the Emperor, and some of his most trusted subjects are sent to protect it and attempt to unlock its secrets.
Fleets of the
Zatryon Collective are on the move across their local space; some collect fresh tribute of resources from the native cultures of Xolaxif and Peurtovok, while others patrol between star systems, looking for any sign of the hostile civilization that attacked their homeworld. It would seem, however, that the old enemy has not given chase; all is quiet on the outer frontier. But to their anti-spinward, a few light years from Peurtovok, the Zatryon detect the approach of some other alien civilization; for now, Zatry ships watch from a safe distance, gathering as much intelligence as they can. A separate expedition is launched into the unexplored reaches of the outer anti-spinward frontier, and finds another system blessed with abundant heavy elements in the form of accessible asteroids, that could well be used as an alternate mining area. The natives on Peurtovok, meanwhile, after a series of border incidents, aircraft shootdowns, and growing civil unrest, are showing a rapid and worrying escalation in their cold war tensions that Collective agents are struggling to contain.
The
Celestial Mandate of Telanas gathers a large battle fleet for a determined push against the Raspid Growth. It is the greatest gathering of space-based firepower that the Telanians have yet put together. Perhaps wisely, the Raspids do not rush to meet it, instead keeping their fleets in defensive positions behind the frontier. In system after system, the Mandate fleet runs into a steady stream of mines and automated missile-pods that do little damage, but keep crews on edge; more losses are in fact suffered through accidents and friendly-fire episodes, made worse by the complexity of handling so many ships across a large front line. Nonetheless, progress is made, as dozens of Raspid outposts on barren planets are blasted from a safe distance with heavy firepower and nuclear demolition charges, before teams of elite EVA marines probe the wreckage and recover any viable biological samples. Some of the Raspid mining outposts are even rebuilt to serve the Crown. In the process, valuable experience is gained of organising large-scale fleet actions and keeping the ships supplied at the front. As yet however, the Mandate fleet command is reluctant to push too far beyond its main supply bases.
Other Telanian forces, meanwhile, continue sweeps for insurgent forces including backers of the so-called ‘true King’ - said to be a distant relative of the ruling dynasty, but also a renegade messianic figure, promising an age of greater material abundance and spiritual advancement. While government forces continue to scatter any gathering of force that the pretender’s supporters have dared to put together, the Monarchy also puts great effort into rebuilding and restoring order in areas that had seen disruption, and the security situation now improves on every major world. But there is now the fear of traitorous devotees going unseen amongst the masses and plotting sabotage from within. And while the wave of rebellion among the old nations of Ohkhak seems to have died down for now, there are fears that future Ohkhak and Esogi rebels may turn to the pretender’s cause. The pretender’s location is of course a closely-guarded secret.
It is during this somewhat tense time that explorers from
The United Colonies arrive in Mandate space, in spaceships that have been largely re-constructed from older wrecks found in the Utopia system. For the Lost, this is the first confirmed alien contact, but they have been preparing for this moment for decades. Nonetheless, it takes some time for communications between the two sides to be established, when it becomes clear that the Telanians are taking a superior attitude towards them, and even seem to be inviting the Colonials to subject themselves to the Divine Crown. Talks are then disrupted by an ongoing event close to the frontier; Colonial ships have discovered a promising terrestrial world, even if the atmosphere is oxygen-poor and native life is barely multicellular, there are abundant minerals and great potential for terraforming. The planet is however guarded by a giant geometric construction of some kind, hovering in close orbit over the planet, its sides almost completely smooth and featureless when seen from a distance. Though seemingly inert at first, even when approached at close range, the construction erupts with glowing energy fields as the first substantial group of colonists attempts to land on the planet below. Beams of energy hit all Colonial craft in the vicinity at once. Contact is lost, the fate of crews and landing parties unknown, white the system dubbed ‘Bastion’ is marked off limits until further notice...
Other Colonial ships have better fortunes; a separate expedition heading in the opposite direction from Utopia finds a large, mountainous, wind-blasted, geologically-active world with a barely breathable atmosphere, and limited biosphere and drinkable water, made more appealing by the abundance of heavy element-bearing minerals that have been churned up and exposed near the surface. The first among the Lost to reach this world propose to call it ‘Fortitude’. Back in the Utopia system, news of these events grips the colonies, overshadowing news of fresh discoveries among the wrecks in the system; details are yet to be confirmed, but it seems that at least one significant new find has been made, and is now being studied for any new clues about the Anomaly.
Explorers from
The Set reach out in the direction of the distant galactic rim, conducting a slow and steady survey of stars in this part of the frontier. Their efforts pay off as a thriving terrestrial world is discovered after being missed by long-range observations; the world is a large for a terrestrial world, with several times the surface area of Zan, and its climate is also a stable, warm and perfectly suited to supporting an immeasurable biomass of giant, colourful plant life which covers almost all of the land surface. However, this world also harbours many dangers; several ground team members are soon killed by severe immunological reactions to the planet’s microbes, while several more are lost to night attacks by ferocious scythe-armed, pack-hunting predators which stalk the forests; these creatures seem to have extraordinary sharp senses and may even be sentient to some degree. Compared to these dangers, the ill-tempered megafauna and giant swarms of stinging insect-like creatures are lesser concerns. It seems that an accelerated evolutionary arms race has run rampant over the planet for hundreds of millions of years, creating a severe challenge for any colonisation effort.
Meanwhile, news filters through from the Lataren Hegemony. It seems that the Lataren have made contact with two new powerful alien factions - lithoid beings of the
Trodhuk Core, as well as a cosmopolitan variety of aliens under the
Republic of Free Peoples - though it takes some time for all the details to reach the Set. The Lataren are attempting to mobilise more ships to guard their expanding domains, and to this end accept the offer of the Set to take over some of the trade and logistics routes within the Hegemony with Set-operated freighters, which allows the Set to start picking up more information from the frontiers. The Lataren insist, however, on keeping their own direct supply line to Zan, no doubt to keep an eye on the progress of the Set; it does not escape attention that Zan now boasts a level of technology equal to any of the Lataren worlds, and have emerged as leaders in the field of nanotechnology. Meanwhile there are some political reforms, with Riorappi being granted semi-independence now that their homeworld has achieved a greater level of development. The Noz Nitsi are promised similar liberty in future, though for now it seems the Lataren want direct control of their space in order to secure the spinward border.
The
Trodhuk, recently awoken from their slumber, are now busily re-igniting their ancient magma-powered industries, and there is much work to do after several millennia of decay. The idea of exploring the nearby stars is something of an afterthought, but after some deliberation, the recently-repaired starships are sent on a voyage in a rimward direction. The Trodhuk are sedentary by nature and are not natural explorers; progress is slow, but eventually their fleet encounters colonies of the Riorappi, a somewhat crustacean or turtle-like species with radial symmetry, and one of the subject races of the Lataren Hegemony. Meanwhile, seeing that the Trodhuk are at the point of venturing beyond their home system, the Republic of Free Peoples decides the time is ripe for making open contact with the Trodhuk, and send one of their fleets to the volcanic world of Ilnion. For the Trodhuk, the galaxy has suddenly become a much more populated and complex place. Initial diplomacy with the Republic in particular is promising. Still there is no sign of the legendary Zurreons, the original mentors and guardians of the Trodhuk race...
The
Republic of Free Peoples is now perhaps the most complex polity the galaxy; no other civilization has the same mix of idealism, optimism, mutli-racialism, political divides, and deep-rooted psychological trauma from the events of millenia past. The revialist project led by the crustacean Shink species may well be stumbling; the simultaneous challenges of maintaining political unity, restoring ancient infrastructure, and reaching out to other space-faring races, all while maintaining their ideals and defending their coreward frontier against powerful nomadic fleets, combines to put a severe strain on the resources of the Republican project. The enigmatic nomad raider fleet known as ‘Brave Tungsten’ continues to pillage and destroy Republic outposts closest to the galactic core; the Republic does what it can to organise a determined resistance, but efforts are hampered by political deadlock on Cribos. A powerful Republic fleet is eventually gathered together, but receives no orders to advance against the raiders, and instead takes up a defensive position some distance from the frontier. However, on other fronts, there is cause for more optimism, as contact is established with the Trodhuk and the Lataren Hegemony; initial diplomacy with these aliens seems promising.
The
Ieldra Imperium begins to stir into action, sensing that the time has come to expand its gaze outwards once again, to recover and rebuild what has fallen into decay, and to spread enlightenment to a new generation of intelligent races. Initial focus is on the spinward frontier and the star system known as Arraneth; explorers examine ancient ruins floating in space throughout this system, and a forward base is established here, the first such station the Ieldra have constructed in thousands of years. Meanwhile, efforts are made to increase production of essential components, in preparation for the years to come. In practice, it proves easier to construct new fabrication plants than to restore decayed ancient facilities, even if the workable technology is not quite as elegant or efficient. And from the shrine world of Urghaal, contacts with the Scytari and Dharmanel are intensified, with both receiving technical help towards constructing their own FTL devices; the civilization of the centipede-like Scytari shows the most progress.
Alarm now spreads through the Imperium as a mysterious alien fleet is sighted on the coreward frontier. Unlike the sporadic nomadic fleets that have been encountered in previous centuries, this fleet is both larger in number and seems to be led by a gigantic capital ship of clearly ancient origin, its hull scared with impact craters and marks of high-energy beam weapons. Hovering over a small Ieldra outpost on an unremarkable icy planet, it opens communications only once and briefly to give its apparent callsign, using two symbols from an ancient language that the Ieldra have not seen used in living memory: ‘Dead Thulium’; it is not clear if this is a mistranslation, a double-meaning, or perhaps the language has changed in intervening centuries. Nonetheless, the Ieldra scramble their own warships to meet this new threat. Days pass before a concentrated force arrives in the system. The Ieldra, thinking that they may still be outgunned, do not press an attack, but the alien fleet maintains its orbit and is unresponsive to any communications. Days later still, with no apparent prompt, there is a sudden surge of energy from the alien fleet, its capital ship soon surrounded by a vast glowing halo...
[to be continued...]
Link to Empire Stats (beta)
OOC: just a point about stories, this came up in chat. Just to repeat, I’m not doing a story bonus as such, as I don’t want anyone to write from a sense of obligation or need to stay competitive. I prefer the system where all you *need* are orders or even just guidelines. But stories will help everyone understand your faction more, and help me to make better decisions.
The galaxy is spinning anti-clockwise on the map. For most people, ‘spinward’ refers to a southeast direction, ‘anti-spinward’ is northwest, ‘inward’ (towards the core) is northeast and ‘outer’ is southwest.
!Stats are being worked on - will be updated within 24 hours!
