Empire of Bakra Factbook (FT)

by **The Ben Boys** » Fri Nov 08, 2013 9:38 pm

The Empire of Bakra

Imperial flag and seal

"Aside from a few mutations, Bakrans are completely human. Psychologically, however, they are much different. Their emotions seem to govern their actions, but their minds manipulate their motives. You know a Tarean will go down fighting, an Umbrak will fight for a cause, and a Yook will do what's logical. Humans usually do one of two things: fight or flight, it’s unpredictability and adaptive capabilities making it dangerous. Bakra however, are unique: they seem to have the inbred ability to fight without the presence of hope.

In essence, Bakrans are without a doubt the most confusing and possibly dangerous creatures I have had the misfortune to come across.

Recommendation: Avoid first contact, or destroy them before it’s too late"
-Unknown Uli analyst, summarizing it's report on the Bakrans prior to the First Uli War

“The stars beckon us”-Emperor Soren Tunner

Oft called the pragmatic answer to facism on an interstellar scale, the Empire of Bakra is a cross between a blatant dictatorship and a libertarian bordello. Though the people enjoy many civil and economic rights that are somewhat lacking in other star nations their political rights only extend to immediate local leaders and not nationwide policy, and in a curious cultural quirk are content to keep it that way, at least for the time being. A large reason for this social and political dichotomy is the immediate presence of annihilation, something that has always been present in the interstellar empire. The Uli Dominion has existed, and still does, to destroy it's much smaller neighbor for nearly eighty years, longer than the Empire has even been around. Yet the hardy population of Bakra has not only met this menace, but seems to even be gaining ground against one of the largest slave societies in the Romera galaxy.

1. Statistics and Administration

2. Species

3. History

4. Inner Systems

5. Outer Systems

6. Milky Way Colonies

7. Protectorates

8. Persons of Note

9. Culture

10. Isotheism

11. Bakran Imperial Military

12. Navy

13. Army

14. Marines

15. ANGEL Program

16. Infantry Equipment

17. Economy

18. Interstellar Infrastructure

19. Quotes

20. Final Note

by **The Ben Boys** » Fri Nov 08, 2013 9:48 pm

Statistics

Name: The Bakran Empire
Government: Authoritarian Republic
Current Head of State: Soren Tunner
Current Head of Government: Soren Tunner
Capital: Odris-Corvatta
Official Language: Bakraa
Currency: Bakran Thaler
National Animal: Fawx

Number of Systems: 13
Population: 80 billion
Average age: 35
Average life expectancy at birth: 95
Oldest recorded age: 168
Average height: 5’ 9”

Species Composition:
71% Humans
14% Tarean
11% Yook
2% Lucha
<1% Umbrak
1% Other

Administration

Imperial Family

Seren Guard

Imperial Intelligence Office

Diplomatic Relations

Galactic People's Republic of Ilasiano-Despite being more socialist inclined, an ideology feared and scorned by the Bakrans, the Ilasians have found a special place within the hearts of Bakrans. A mutual defensive pact, military cooperation, and a series of extensive trade agreement treaties solidify them as by far the closest allies of the Bakrans. This "special relationship" formed upon first contact, when Ilasians helped Soren's revolutionaries overthrow the Alliance and establish the "Coalition" of the two powers. When Soren's personal friend Lucraj became the nation's head of state, their ties became even closer, significantly aided by significant unity between their nearly identical religions under the umbrella term of "Isotheism". They are one of the three original signers of the TIBER treaty and continue as the primary ally of the Bakrans.

Empire of Iron-The Bakrans led the first TIBER expedition to stop the Uli from overrunning the system-power of the Iron Empire early in the war and since then the Irons, even more wary of other powers than the Bakrans, have grown closer to the Bakran Empire. They have joined closely with the Bakrans in not only fighting the Uli out of the Iron system of Culvantil, but also defending the Bakran holdings in the Milky Way against the Tnemeden. Despite the Irons' uneasy relations with the Ilasians at best, the Bakrans have managed to keep both as close allies through deft political maneuvering and luck.

Teutonic Order-Also known as the "Covenant" or "Corvani" in Bakran space, the Teutonic Order has worked diligently with both Ilasiano and the Bakrans despite cultural differences. Stereotypically suspicious at first contact, the Bakrans quickly found the Teutonics as easy allies against the Uli and proposed the creation of the TIBER alliance to offset the superior numbers of the Dominion. The Teutonics themselves have been politically removed from the Bakran scene, though the Bakran diplomatic corps has worked tirelessly to keep the industrial might of the Teutonics on their good side.

Uli Dominion-Hated with all their breathe by the Bakrans, the Uli are the sworn enemy of the Empire and all it stands for. Mercy is rarely shown against the Uli, much to the horror of the Ilasians but to the delight of the Irons. From deadly first contact to the continued war to destroy each other, the Bakrans have had little political contact with the Uli apart from the rare diplomatic communique by the reigning Ulor to seek an agreement, only once ever culminating in peace.

Tnemeden Republic-Engaged in a minor arms race and cold war with the Bakrans for some time, the relatively new Tnemeden Republic's opportunistic nature sought to take advantage of the Bakrans' preoccupation with the Uli rather than an intense historical hatred that the Bakrans and Uli have. However the Bakrans have not forgotten that the Tnemeden have attacked them in their direst hour during the Third Uli War, and they have vowed to obliterate the Republic and all of it's constituents by war's end.

Etymology of "Brakra" and Naming of the Empire

Planetary Administration

Map of Bakra and it's Territories

by **The Ben Boys** » Mon Dec 23, 2013 5:34 pm

Species

Humans and Auger Powers

Lucha

Yooks

Tareans

Tareans have developed on their high-gravity homeworld of Cheroki in the Ikkis system, their bones extremely strong and their muscles fairly large from everyday activities which would tire a normal gravity human. Their brains are less advanced than humans, but they are still capable leaders and academics, though Tarean scientists and professors are still somewhat of a rarity and the species' lacking in this field is somewhat of a bad joke. However, Tareans are ideal soldiers and specialist squads fill the ranks of the Army and Marines, being one of the only species that can stand toe-to-toe with the Uli in terms of strength and tenacity.

The Tareans had experienced first contact with the Bakrans in the early days of the Empire, and after experiencing a rather shaky first contact with the Uli (as seems to be the norm) the leaders of the world, which had just undergone a world war, elected to join the new Bakran Empire as a protectorate. Eventually the two species came increasingly close, to the point where the Tareans are now fully integrated within the Empire, as is the Ikkis system. However, there were those who didn't want to join the Empire.

Tareans that didn’t want to join the Empire, chiefly the tribal “razci”, emigrated to the Ferenzgi Cluster with their warbands, or “razcites.” Since the razci had been on the losing side in the last world war on Cheroki, they were already hated by the winning populace, so the razci chiefs sought to keep their power and emigrated across Bakran space. They have been fighting with the Eshtek for their perceived right to settle in the Ferenzgi Cluster, even though the Eshtek had already claimed it for some years but have yet to colonize it. The Bakran, with the Ferenzgi systems on their doorstep, were too busy readying for war with the Uli to care. The Eshtek were driven back, but with no common enemy the individual razcites have fought amongst themselves. Though this conflict is powerful, it has yet to spill into Bakran territory enough to warrant resources that could otherwise be used to fight the Uli. Razci are a distinct ethnic group, easily distinguished by their lack of spikes and longer tails.

Male Tarean
Razci Tarean

Umbracki

by **The Ben Boys** » Sat Dec 28, 2013 4:46 pm

History of Bakra

Origins

The origin of Bakran civilization was shrouded in mystery for many years (as it is apparent that they did not originate on Ilencia), but records gathered from the Zeytyr and Deltan peoples have shed light on this. At an unknown date, fourteen colony ships from an unknown nation entered FTL for an unknown destination. However, they hit an anomaly, and five of the ships are destroyed in en route. Contact is lost with four more, and the remaining five dropped out of FTL somewhere in the Romera galaxy (it is not known if the host nation was even within the galactic neighborhood) and with most systems damaged including FTL. They decided to colonize a new world as planned, but separately as to ensure greater chances of survival and to spread resources. One ship goes to Hollow in the Zeytyr system, where over the course of thousands of years create a massive factory planet and become highly advanced, though lack FTL. Another arrives in the Delta system, where Delta Major and Delta Minor orbit each other, and they develop a warrior culture as they fight for the sparse resources on the planet, causing stagnation in terms of technology. The Lys colonists name the planet Ilencia, after their homeworld. Their colony ship is damaged even more as it enters the atmosphere, to the point where almost all electronics are destroyed and the millions of colonists are forced to spread out across the various continents. Those that survive do so as hunter-gatherers and small agrigarian societies, their origins lost to nothingness. Recorded history on Ilencia begins with Lys-Standard (LS), some thousands of years after the landing on planet.

First Contact

The world of Ilencia has insofar advanced socially and technologically at an average pace, with no one nation or alliance gaining "hyper-power" status over the rest of the planet. However, various such nations and alliances exist. The Nasan sub-continent is home to the Emirates of Nasan and Rupol (ENR), which stretches across Nasan and to the Rupol coast with an elected chancellor at it's head. Across the ocean is a series of small nation-states on the Arreti continent, the largest of which is the Tarshan, which is fighting an alliance of nations on the Origoth plain (named the "Origoth Alliance") for ultimate control of the Arreti continent. However, first contact with the Umbracki changes things, uniting the various factions of Arreti in an uneasy confederacy, with a cold war ensuing between the ENR and the newly form Arreti Union. Eventually, the Arreti Union fractures and a world war takes place as the ENR is attacked from enemies of the reformed Origoth Alliance, who is once again facing down the Tarshan. As the war ends, the nations of the world unite under an international government just prior to the invasion of the Uli, known as the Alliance of Ilencian States, or just the Alliance.

1890 LS: Fugitives from the Uli, a small Umbracki generation ship lands on Ilencia. In exchange for secrecy and safety, the Umbracki give the Ilencians technology that provides incredible advances. They are allowed to live in underwater colonies near the poles to keep them secret from the Ilencians public and the Uli.

1920 LS: The Arreti Union descends into civil war, the Tarshan facing down the Origoth Alliance, decimating the vast fields of the Origoth plains. The Origoths barely hold back the superior Tarshan forces in a combination of deft strategic maneuvering and sheer tenacity. The world is in a state just prior to atomic weaponry thanks to advances provided by the Umbracki.

1923 LS: The ENR, which is funding the fledging Origoth Alliance, is invaded by the Verres Republic. They strike deep into the ENR heartland before they are crushed by a surprise counterattack. The war on Nasan is a stalemate for the next three years as each side attempts to breach the other's defenses, to no avail.

1925 LS: Tarshan forces push into the Origoth central states, resulting in the Battle of Odris-Corvatta. It claims nearly three million lives-the most costly battle on Ilencia-but utterly destroys the Tarshan offensive. The immediate break in the fighting that followed allows the Origoths to gather enough forces for a last desperate offensive, which destroys the Tarshan resolve and they are in a fighting retreat.

Origoth troops advancing on Tarshan positions, nightfall

1926 LS: Origoth forces break through Tarshan fortifications and march onto the city of Tarsha, the last bastion for the nation to cling to. At the same time the ENR breaks the back of Verres forces at the Battle of Centru Pass, and they find themselves conquering the entire nation within months. The War of the Alliance, as it is called, ends with the surrender of the garrison of Tarsha and the formation of the Alliance of Ilencian States, with more than one hundred and fifty million dead. The Alliance fights a series of brushfire wars in an attempt to keep the peace on the world, but no major wars break out as both the victors and the defeated repair their societies and economies. Uneasy peace ensues until the First Uli War.

First Uli War

The only good thing that came out of the War of the Alliance was that it unified the Ilencian homeworld. The sudden invasion of the Uli decimated the ENR, leaders of the Alliance, destroying entire armies and overrunning defenses by the day at the start of the conflict, and a new Chancellor of Ilencia was elected from Odris-Corvatta, Unik Reyner, who united the forces of Ilencia to combat this extra-terrestrial threat. Though many, many battles were fought and the campaigns by both sides were extensive and bloody, the Ilencians managed to make it a war of attrition (which brought them decisive advantages). This also brought to the forefront the Ilencians' brutal nature towards the Uli, who had enslaved or massacred the regions they conquered and rarely took prisoners, and there was absolutely nothing the Ilencians' (later Bakrans) otherwise strict code of honor omitted when it came to the Uli. The atrocities that were committed by the Ilencians were more surprising (and in some cases more bloody) than that of the Uli's: they burned prisoners alive, executed wounded, and had no reservation about the use of weapons of mass destruction against the alien menace. Reyner died just before the war ended, leaving behind a fighting machine that idled after the conclusion of the war that became a bureaucracy feared by it's own people.

Second Uli War

It was known by the Ilencians that through all of their flaws the Uli never did give up, and so they spent the next twenty years in hyper-industrialization, rebuilding their cities and replanting their crops, especially the Origoth plain (known as the "breadbasket" of Ilencia) which had been burned during the First Uli War. The government that was created by Reyner to oversee a massive planetary government had grown into an oppressive bureaucracy in the absence of war, it's policies stagnating the economy and eliminating most large private enterprise by law in order to use it for further expansion of the fledgling Ilencians. Though this was successful, the name "Keltin Nurrim" is infamous on Ilencia because of these policies and how he transformed the government into a police state for the "greater good". In some ways, the absence of war for two decades was really what destroyed the Alliance.

But the Second Uli War did start like the Ilencians foresaw with an invasion by the Uli, which was summarily crushed by the new Alliance Navy and the extensive defenses that were built by the Alliance just in case the war did happen. Nurrim, who at this point was the unofficial "Chancellor for life", ordered an invasion of the Uli world of Foregone, which provided a large amount of food for the Uli in the sector. Since the Dominion as a whole was preparing for an invasion of the Yook Confederacy, the sector was left to deal with the threat, and dispatched what forces it had into the system. This becomes the first interstellar war the Bakrans as a whole fought, dictating doctrine and strategy that creates the foundation for modern Bakran military thought.

The Revolution

Called by some the Ilencian Civil War, the Revolution was a series of uprisings starting on the world of Argo following a set of decrees and policy changes by Chancellor Nurrim in an effort to consolidate his power. Some decrees had to do with forbidding public worship-a major part of the Isotheist movement-redistribution of wealth, the full institution of a command economy, and a further chokehold on the civil rights of the Ilencians. Though these laws were by no means fully communist or socialist in nature, this is as far as the Ilencians as a whole have gone towards such government and consider any government that makes these laws communist in nature, and therefore a danger to the individual.

The Revolution itself started off disorganized as protests that turned to attacks against the government entities that were oppressing them, but by 2053 the resistance became organized. Since the rapid construction of the mega cities inside of two years had killed many workers, as well as the government blaming many of the Ilencians' historical problems on the rich and aristocratic, the Alliance had enemies at every level on Argo. The Revolutionaries were nearly wiped out, however, at the Battle of Sobanu Fields, but enough managed to escape and rally around Soren and Shala Tunner, who led a the Revolutionaries to seek allies in the disgruntled armed forces. Finally, in 2058, the two overthrow the Alliance in a surprise coup involving more than half of the armed forces, but Nurrim commits suicide before he could answer for the crimes he ordered during the Revolution.

2053 LS: Major uprisings in the newly colonized Forgone system following a set of laws that goes against the principles of the colonists. The Alliance turns into a police state, and crackdowns on dissidents are frequent and deadly. Soren and Shala marry, and Shala convinces him that the Revolutionaries are the best future for the Ilencians. Two two join the Revolutionaries and become middle-level officers, each leading a battalion that have admirable records.

2054 LS: First contact with the Ilasians, who find contempt with the totalitarian Alliance. They provide secret support to the Ilencian Revolutionaries, who hold the Ilasians in high regard in spite of their "socialist" policies. The start of Bakran-Ilasian relations, though oddly enough it doesn't occur with the Alliance but rather the Revolutionaries.

Argo city at nightfall

2055 LS: The Revolutionaries fight a massive Alliance assault on Sobanu Fields, beating back waves of troops before the center is broken and they are forced to retreat, hiding in the wilderness or with the populace. The Alliance loses three times as many troops as there are Revolutionaries, and they firebomb Sobanu Fields in an effort to exterminate what is left. The fire spreads to the nearby capital of Sorinross, but the frustrated Alliance lets it burn to flush out any insurgents still within the city. Soren and Shala believed to have lost their child in the fires along with Shala's father, and entirely commit themselves to the Revolutionary movement. Since they are some of the few surviving officers, they are placed in command of the crumbling Revolutionary movement. They establish a manual of sorts that dictates an honor code for their troops, such as what to do in regards to prisoners and civilians, as well as how to fight, which greatly increases the effectiveness of the Revolutionaries.

2056 LS: General Saul Tyrus, after seeing what the Alliance did to Sorinross and their atrocities against the Revolutionary prisoners, joins the Revolutionary movement along with his division, the 121st Armored. He uses his contacts within the military to gain followers for the Revolutionary cause, which has a face with Soren and Shala. The three realize that they cannot defeat the Alliance in open battle, and spend the next two years preparing a coup, keeping most of their forces in reserve training or keeping up a light insurgency.

2058 LS: The Soren and Shala lead a full blown coup against the Alliance. Heavy fighting takes place in both star systems as allegiances are realized, resistance fighters come out of hiding, and common civilians joining each side. Having superior numbers and the element of surprise, the Revolutionaries defeat the Alliance within weeks and after Nurrim's suicide what Alliance forces remain surrender and swear allegiance to the new government. Soren and Shala become the Emperor and Empress of the Bakran Empire, and work on rebuilding the economy and encourages colonization of other star systems, as well as opening up trade with the Ilasians.

Coup attack in Odris-Corvatta

Interwar

The ante bellum years between the Revolution and the Third Uli War is a thirty-years period of rapid growth and expansion by the Bakrans in Lys and Foregone into an interstellar empire, one that could face the full brunt of the Uli. This era was also marked as, incidentally, expansion of the Uli Dominion to cover a multitude of regions, most notably the Lucha and the Yook Confederacy. The build-up between forces that occurred led to an increase in the Bakran-Uli skirmishes that had taken place since the "end" to the Second Uli War, known now as the "Unsung War" because both sides knew of it but until it's end barely acknowledged it because it seemed necessary if the two powers were to exist simultaneously. The Unsung War was also a reminder-particularly to the Bakrans-that another Bakran-Uli War was almost an inevitability.

2061 LS: First contact with the Bakran peoples at Hollow in the Zeytyr system. The entire planet is covered in cities and factories, however the planet had descended into civil war some years ago and almost all historical records have been lost. Seeing that they are threatened by the Uli and their relationship with the Lys Bakrans, the Hollow Bakran factions sign a peace agreement and fall under the rule of the Empire. The entire system accounts for much of the Empire's industrial output, though the people of Hollow and even their moon of Friaris are still somewhat fractured because of centuries of fighting.

The Yooks are destroyed by the Uli in a surprise invasion, and refugees flock to the Empire. They are given citizenship and allowed to settle in Imperial territory, though since it only encompasses three systems and millions more come to the Empire by the end of the year, there is a housing crisis. Plans begin for mass colonization.

2062 LS: First contact with Delta Bakrans. They are warriors by nature and have been fighting since the landing of the colony ships for the scarce resources on the planet. As such they are considered the best soldiers anywhere, however despite their misgivings towards each other they unite themselves much more easily than the Hollow Bakrans. Since they have joined the Empire, the Deltans have almost no animosity towards each other unlike the Hollow Bakrans.

2063 LS: The long awaited colonization of Baelblis, Sanka, Alpharus, Raydis, and Ionas occurs. These systems are colonized mostly by Hollow and Lys Bakrans, but have a large amount of Yooks as well. This large shift of the population from the central systems to the outer systems solves the housing and food crisis that has been going on since the start of the First Uli War, creating a massive baby boom that nearly doubles the population of the Empire within a twenty-year period, not stopping until the onset of the Third Uli War. These colonies experience rapid industrialization and farming within a five year period, and even the outermost colonies producing quality goods and crop.

2065 LS: The Empire has first contact with the Tareans. The Tareans, after having a bitter first contact with the Uli, vote themselves to be annexed by the Empire for protection against the Uli. The Razcites would lose all of their power if they were to join the Empire, so they lead an exodus to the Ferenzgi Cluster on the opposite side of Bakran space.

2067 LS: The Empire develops a Jump Gate between the Milky Way and Romera, with Admiral Jonas Archer leading a colonization of the Deros system. Deros becomes a central trading hub and a gateway for the Empire into the Milky Way galaxy, acting as it's foothold for expansion in the region.

2073 LS: Bakran Marines and naval forces attack Songnam Minor then Songnam Major in the Milky Way. The Bakrans, considering them "communist" and on their way to police state, immediately seek to dismantle the government so they wouldn't spread. The operation is a huge success, bringing to light the tactical and strategic genius of the young Leos Cragg (son of Willis Cragg). Songnam is annexed into the Empire following a few major battles and a series of insurgencies, which are put out by the successful government installed and the outnumbered but highly trained Bakran forces.

2074 LS: "The Great Crusade"; Hollow is invade by Karaigian and Tierran forces, both beaten back but at a tremendous fiscal, structural, and loss of life. Though the Tierrans are defeated in the beginning by a suicide run in orbit, an incredible defense of the Quarrsaw Arms, and an ANGEL operation that guts the command structure, the Karaigians prove to be very tough opponents and it takes the next six months to encircle and destroy what Karaigian forces remain. Tierra undergoes a massive revolution, a direct result of the Hollow War. This highlights various weak points in the Bakran naval forces, which are immediately fixed following a massive investigation by the admiralty into their own branch.

Battle of Quarrsaw Arms

2081 LS: The Milky Way Crisis begins when pirates raid convoys carrying supplies from the Songnam colonies to Deros. Both to restore Bakran notoriety in the Milky Way and confidence with the Songnamese and to eliminate a series of pirate clans, the Bakrans join the Xiscapians in attack the Tigerian holdings. It ends in an overwhelming victory, and the Bakran's prestige is saved as well as gaining much-needed supplies from the attacks on the Tigerians.

Third Uli War

Since the Uli abruptly invaded Ilencia almost a century before the Bakrans and Uli, however lopsided, have been at each other's throats. The Bakrans were considered by the Uli, at the time, as another rebel species that needed to be wiped out, but the Bakrans fought back with such ferocity that it sparked hope for other captured and enslaved races under the monstrous Uli Dominion. Over the years, the Bakrans colonized many worlds, and refuged many species that the Uli were attempting to destroy furthering tensions between the two powers. Because of the Empire's rapid expansion and multitude of species defending it, it believed that the Uli would not try it's brute force strategy against them. Instead, the string of defensive systems along the Bakran-Uli border held sites of skirmishes and minor battles, in which tens of thousands died, but no official war was declared.

However, Juac'kaka Leke came to power as the Ulor of the Dominion, and sought to expand the Uli by launching a strike into the Alpharus systems, showing strategic knowledge and understanding of Bakran tactics that had not been utilized by the Dominion. He didn't not count on the inclusion of Ilasiano and later the Teutonic Order on the side of the Bakrans, nor the formation of the Teutonic-Ilasian-Bakran Empire Reactionary coalition (TIBER) which has since been fighting the Uli in a bid not only to halt the Dominion's advance, but to fracture them once and for all. Thus far the Iron Empire has joined TIBER, but the Tnemeden Republic has sided with the Uli and currently threaten TIBER's holdings in the Milky Way. As of 2085 LS, the war is still under way.

2084: After the attacks in the first year of the war and the loss of the Alpharus Sector to the Dominion, remaining battle-ready Bakran and Ilasian forces assaulted the fringe world of Bourche in the Ionas system, liberating it within two days but with heavy casualties that has since become the norm. This was the first real Coalition action as a joint force, and the first of many counter-strokes undertaken by the Coalition.

Operation Cardinal, the rescue of an entire fleet deep in Uli territory, becomes a legendary action and bolsters losses from the initial Alpharus attack as well as sinking morale. The Bakran and Ilasian navies have a majority of their differences during this operation and protocol is changed as a result of it. This is when the need for an official alliance and command structure is brought into the spotlight, but more importantly there is the possibility of traitors within the Coalition.

The Coalition launches Operation Storming the Keep, the liberation of Emmos, a major Yook slave world. The Uli cut off Bakran and Ilasian space forces and forced them to retreat after a botched Coalition attack on the Uli's main anti-orbital weapons. They leave behind some seventy-thousand drop troops to defend the breeding centers at Pokuak Tyok until reinforcements arrive. Once said reinforcements arrived, the planet was swiftly liberated with help of the Yook rebels and becomes a staging area for future operations, though Uli resistance continues in the mountainous regions until the middle of 2085.

Battle of Pokuak Tyok

2085: A diplomatic summit is held by the Ilasians to discuss the involvement of the Teutonic Order and the possible creation of a new alliance. This is where talks begin for the a military and economic cooperation pact, and result in the creation of Teutonic-Ilasian-Bakran Empire Reactionary coalition (TIBER). Despite numerous assassination attempts on all three major leaders, the meeting ends with the creation of the only power able to challenge the Uli Dominion.

The Iron Empire, a relatively small power, is invaded by the Uli Dominion. Without the assisstance of TIBER it would likely fade into obscruity as another species subjugated by the Uli, but the alliance launches Operation Kingpin to liberate one of their worlds and push the Uli back. The Irons sides with TIBER though neglects to join the alliance itself, still unsure of the alliance's motives.

by **The Ben Boys** » Thu Jan 02, 2014 6:59 pm

Inner Systems

"Inner Systems" are the oldest and most developed systems within Imperial control, though a more accurate explanation would be those most assimilated within the Empire. Because of the material and strategic value of these systems, they are the most heavily defended with orbital stations, defense platforms, entire armies, and a rotation of ships through the system. They are also incredible pools for soldiers and colonists, with many citizens yearning to escape the relatively cramped and traditional planets to new frontiers.

Lys

Foregone

Foregone
Status: Inner System
Population: 1,700,000,000
Planets: 3 (Wisare, Argo, Thrope)
Inhabited Planets: 1

Overview

Foregone is a twice war-torn system that has survived both well, if bloodied. Originally a staging point for the Uli invasion of Lys, it was wrestled from Uli control over the four-year Second Ui War. Though the vast plains were scarred by the war, the central planet of Argo recovered by terraforming and careful ecological control under Alliance supervision. During the early years Foregone flourished as mega-cities were established across Argo.

The Revolution started in Foregone by individualist farms as the Alliance became more and more corrupt. The war in Foregone climaxed at Sobanu Fields, where the rebels were crushed by the Alliance—who suffered incredibly high casualties—but the subsequent hunt for the remaining insurgency greatly turned Foregone's opinion in favor of the Revolutionaries.

After the Revolution Foregone's population was concentrated in metropolises wracked by war and their farmers struggled to turn their massive fields. Emperor Soren did not forget that the populace overwhelmingly supported him and hired terraforming companies to improve the planet. Currently, Foregone grows the most crop and produce of any Imperial holding, as well as an incredibly individualist (though conversely loyal to the Imperial Family) population.

Argo

Though 65% water, Argo is dominated by a single landmass and a few smaller islands. This landmass is largely plains and developed farmland, where families work on tens of thousands of acres to feed whole cities in a single season. Because of this large amount of produce, most of the planet's economy is concentrated on farming, agricultural equipment, and shipping the foodstuffs offworld.

Sorinross is the largest mega-city on Argo, though half of it burned during the aftermath of Sobanu Fields. Under the Empire, the city has been rebuilt and is much larger than it was before, containing half a billion people and can be seen from the orbit of Argo on a clear night. It's spaceport is especially large, shipping off hundreds of thousands of tons in foodstuffs every day.

Zeytyr

Zeytyr
Status: Inner World
Population: 24,500,000,000
Planets: 3 (Eree, Hollow, Bosh)
Inhabited Planets: 1

Overview

Zeytyr was colonized by the same people that had settled both in Lys and the Delta Major, though unlike both of their kin they had developed into a large technocratic society. This society flourished for a number of years, raising cities on entire continents on Hollow and creating massive hive cities on Friaris. The highly advanced civilization had numbered somewhere around 80 billion at it's peak, however a civil war broke out and lasted centuries, to the point that many technological leaps and history has been lost due to the destruction that the wars brought. The war only ended by first contact with the Lys Bakrans and the immediate threat of the Uli, an uneasy peace being drawn under the watchful moderation of the Lys Bakrans. Since then Zeytyr, though the most populous and industrialized system by far, has been the epicenter of the Empire's sectarian problems due to the bad blood between the varying factions of the centuries long civil war. No doubt conflict could still erupt after the end of the Uli menace.

Hollow

Hollow is home to billions of people and millions of factories that were largely automated, operating around the clock to fuel the Empire's war machine. It produced more goods than all the other central systems combined, it’s yearly tonnage outweighing whole planets at it’s peak. Thousands of ships from as far away as the Milky Way brought raw material that would be processed, and in a matter of weeks or even days millions of shells, thousands of rifles, and hundreds of tanks would be sent back.

The planet is entirely covered in cities and factories, with only 35% of the surface water remaining though geological analysis shows that when the planet was first colonized, 60% of it was covered in water. The oceans that remain are incredibly deep and fertile, though they still haven't escaped the massive urban sprawl that Hollow has succumbed to. Though many of the underwater cities are abandoned because the population hasn't risen to previous levels, they are slowly being resettled as the surface factories are being expanded into the residential sectors.

Obviously the entirety of Hollow's surface isn't made up of factories and cities, as such a population would run into the hundreds of billions. Rather, Hollow is home to a few dozen mega cities in dark urban sprawl that extend hundreds of miles in every direction. Outside of the great walls of the cities are vast wastelands, destroyed over the years of Hollow's long, hard war preceding first contact with the Lys Bakrans. Little to no life grows here, and neither flora nor fauna are seen but on an exceedingly rare occasion, the last of Hollow's ecosystem dying out.

Friaris

The only moon of Hollow, Friaris is less than half it's size and home to barely a billion people, however it holds vast underground farms and bubble cities to house it's comparatively small population to it's massive neighbor. It too was divided during the great wars that shook Hollow over the past few centuries, with it's own factions and allies on the home planet. Though it survived better than Hollow, with much less destruction and death, there still exist husks of former cities and an agricultural sector that is still recovering, hampering the growth of Hollow, which it feeds.

Delta Major

by **The Ben Boys** » Fri Jan 24, 2014 1:48 pm

Outer Systems

Baelblis

Santist

Ikkis

Ionas

Hiniri

by **The Ben Boys** » Fri Jan 24, 2014 6:36 pm

Milky Way Colonies

Deros

Songnam Major

Zhi

by **The Ben Boys** » Fri Jan 24, 2014 6:39 pm

Protectorates

Pennoth

by **The Ben Boys** » Fri Jan 24, 2014 7:16 pm

Persons of Note

This is both a character dossier and a reference source

The Bakran Empire is held together by a variety of people, most obviously the leaders of the Empire. These people include politicians, scientists, businesspersons, generals, admirals, etc. Their names are known across Imperial space, and across the TIBER alliance as a whole if they are of particular notoriety. Then there are those that are much less known but still part of the Imperial machine and their history: soldiers, spies, priests, and the like.

King Audovacar IV (deceased)

Race: Yook

Occupation: Former King of Emmos

Birth Year: 1812

Bio: The Yook government was simply a strong coalition of systems, each with their own culture, background, and government that sends it's head of state as a representative for their specific state. The Emmosian way was to use a caste system: families chosen thousands of years ago and their descendants would become candidates for King of Emmos after the death of the previous monarch, each playing politician to the people until they were elected as the rulers of Emmos.

The Audovacar family has had the least amount of rulers rise to the throne over the last few hundred years, only 1 of the 14 rulers becoming king. At the time of his coronation, Audovacar IV had been tackling the problems of health and sanitation for the twenty-two billion people on Emmos, and devoted little to the military and planetary defenses. When the Council of the Yook met just prior to the Uli attacks on the Yooks, Audovacar was the first to say that the Uli were of no threat at the time, and more attention needed to be devoted to the problems at home.

When the Uli attacked, he was also the first to have a back-up plan: acknowledging that they couldn't defeat the swarms of Dominion troops, he had as many civilians evacuated as he could before holing himself and his remaining troops in the capital for a last stand against the Uli. His wife was killed during the initial bombardments, and his son and two daughters died defending the palace, and he narrowly escaped with the remains of his Royal Guard division into the Xanifar mountains, residing their for a century in exile, creating a small resistance movement and ambushing Uli scouts and patrols. Over time, he has been brooding over his mistakes concerning the defense of Emmos and his role in weakening the Yook states as a whole, looking for redemption for his grave errors.

The redemption came with the Coalition invasion of Emmos, where he plans to help the effort by gathering support from the Yooks under the Uli and assist in the defense of Pokuak Tyok. Audovacar and his troops have made a four hundred mile trek through the Xanifars, attempting to reach the Coalition troops before they get overwhelmed. When he arrived, him and his divison took the brunt of a massive Uli assault, and most didn't survive (including himself). Even in his death, Audovacar is an inspiring figure to the Yooks remains one of the greatest heroes in their culture.

I am King Audovacar the Fourth, last king of Emmos.

Kigazna Jiraxal

Race: Uli

Occupation: Uli Hellion; TIBER agent

Birth Year: 2050

Bio: Born of the Garshi clan on the planet Resputis, Jiraxal knew little of his mother, like most of the Uli youth. To keep more males for service, the Uli have a select few males fertile and use them to produce countless offspring in their communities of sixty or seventy: Jiraxal’s community simply had one father, whom he solemnly refers to as Takkek. It is unknown if Jiraxal was close to his father and his current status is unknown, even to Jiraxal. The Imperial Intelligence Office believes, from their first interrogations of him, that Takkek was distant to most of his sons, very unusual in the Uli culture (which gains loyalty by using the fraternal parent as the closest thing an Uli could desire, and therefore a mouthpiece for the Dominion).

Jiraxal had not fought anyone really, until the Battle of Emmos, where he was mortally wounded. During the Uli retreat, he was given suicide pills that his commander said were to help him gain his energy, and therefore to fight the incoming Coalition troops. He was captured and beaten by the Bakran troops before a naïve lieutenant ordered that he be brought back, alive, to headquarters for interrogation. He was transferred to an unknown IIO ship, where they convinced him to become an agent for the Coalition. After much deliberation, he accepted.

He was trained for four months by Bakran and Ilasians in code, military intelligence, and combat techniques that were known to be used by some Uli troops, as well as a few of their own tricks. At one point he managed to take down a Bakran ANGEL, for all of fifteen seconds before he found his hand broken and passed out by a strategically placed kick in the chest. Still, it is regarded as a very high achievement, to the few that know about it.

Upon his insertion into Uli territory (involving him “hijacking” a small ship and “killing” all fourteen aboard) he was promoted and the Uli who gave him suicide pills decapitated. Though intelligence agents feared that he would turn back to the Dominion, especially after he was given augments and trained to become an elite Hellion (in light of his “escape”), he remained ironically loyal to TIBER, and is now a deep-cover agent within the Dominion. What very few communications come from him, whether from piggyback messages, FTL packages, and even once by a cargo ship, it is known that he is causing quite an anti-Dominion movement, albeit very slowly, within his unit and on the planet he is stationed on. His creativity, intelligence, and physical strength are remarkable and earning him a name in the small corner of the Dominion that he resides in. The most valuable piece of information he’s given TIBER, by far, was the location of Princess Laputa to TIBER.

What would you have me do?

Executive Council

Colloquially known as "ExCon", the Executive Council is a small collection of administrators that govern the Empire and command the armed forces. Though the Emperor and Empress are in charge of the Empire and the Council holds no power over the Imperial Family, and even as a unit aren't a lawful political force, individually the seat members hold all the power within the Empire through their positions as military commanders and political leaders. The seat members are as follows: the Emperor, the Empress, Grand Admiral of the Navy, General of the Army, General of the Marines, Director of the IIO, Chief of the Diplomatic Office, Governor of Zeytyr, and Governor of Delta Major.

Empress Shala Tunner

Birth Year: 2025

Profession: Empress of the Bakran Empire

Species: Human

Bio: Her birth name Shala LaMone, the witty woman had a privileged childhood. Though her parents were middle-management in the Alliance, they were of the class of people with power. She was known to badmouth teachers if they were disrespectful to her, and a remarkable sports player. She was accepted to law school, but joined the Army after the start of the Second Uli War.

Shala evolved into a beautiful woman, and ended up as one of the deadliest shots at boot. She went on to become a sniper, and had a series of narrow brushes with death during the war.

On one mission, she and her spotter were tasked to go deep behind enemy lines and cover a SACs mission against an Uli outpost. The mission ended in failure, and, despite being tortured, she didn't speak a word through one of the Uli's infamous interrogations. The rest of her mission squad was killed off, until Soren's ANGEL team destroyed the outpost and liberated her.

Once Soren went MIA, however, she became extremely distraught. As a soldier, she wasn't allowed to fraternize with superior officers, and Soren was an officer unlike herself. She was court marshaled after she revealed the source of her sadness to a corpsman. She wasn't drummed out, because of the Alliance's need for soldiers, but was subject to corporal punishment, and given five lashes. She's had a hatred for the Alliance ever since.

After the war, she finished her law degree and became a lawyer on Argo. After a particularly bad day in court and a breakup with her lover, she went to a cafe to think about her life. She saw a man that looked familiar to her, and thought he may have been Soren. After a brief talk, she found out it was. They were married a short while later.

Because of Shala's influences in law, she recognizes the weaknesses and shortcomings of the socialist society. She talks to Soren, and convinces him to join the Revolutionary Movement. They underwent a coup a year later on Ilencia, and the two start the Imperial Family. To date they have had one child, who is presumed dead.

Shala is distinguished as Soren's opposite, a smooth talking, convincing, beautiful, quick-witted woman. She is not as blunt or brief as Soren, and makes sure her conversations are always to her advantage, never on the defensive.

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for those good to do nothing."

Imperial Science Board

The greatest collection of scientists in the Empire, the "Board" is a committee of ten to twenty scientists who are the highest experts in their respective fields: robotics, physics, bioaugmentation, etc. These members are tasked with overseeing the greatest research projects the Empire undertakes, from the creation of the most powerful FTL drives to the Thundergod program to the bioaugmentations that are now widely used by the public they have had their hand in it. Even non-governmental projects sometimes see the Board's mark, as it is considered an honor and a privilege to have the greatest minds in the Empire weigh in on their project, and more than once corporations have tried to pry their services or speculations.

by **The Ben Boys** » Sat Jan 25, 2014 5:32 pm

Culture

A nation's culture is rarely controlled by any one entity, despite what the propagandists hope. Rather the culture controls the nation, shaping it's identity and it's day to day activities. The Bakran culture was born out of survival, a response so immediate that they united with nation's they just met, fought species they barely knew, and dedicated their existence to never again being caught with their backs against the wall. But out of the fires of war and suffering the identity of Bakran was born: hardy, proud, solemn, but always ready to support what few strong ideals remain after so many years of destruction. This is the meta-culture that permeates throughout the empire, across half a dozen species and home worlds, one that unites them and keeps them from falling into the pit that they always seem so close to.

Pillars of Society

The Bakrans may detest mechanical augmentation as a violation of the purity of the body, but they are far from a backwards species that refuses to embrace the future. Rather, they look to bioaugmentation to extend their lifespan and abilities, looking towards what nature has provided and expounding upon it's creation. Though cloning of whole genomes is illegal and taboo in Bakran society, the cloning and growth of organs from artificial stem cells is the closest that they will come to wholesale cloning, at least publicly. This has created a large and booming biotechnological sector that continually fuels the medical and utility needs the society has, though most of the work-oriented bioaugmentation is given to space workers and military personnel as it is severely restricted by the government so to keep it from being abused. The Bakran medical community subscribes to the "Procedures of Vivification" in regards to bioaugmentation, as listed below:

Reprogenesis

The ability to fix diseases works better if they never find their way into the genes to begin with. Rather than genetically engineer someone, which is both illegal and expensive in regards to sentients, Bakran doctors and scientists have found a new way to eliminate genetic illnesses altogether in offspring rather than wait for ontogenesis. Rather, they modify the male sperm or female eggs before fertilization, depending on who is carrying the genetic illness in question, and eliminate the sperms or eggs that are carrying the traits through the use of pharmaceuticals.

Ontogeny Procedures

Though genetic engineering is outlawed in the Empire, as well as abortion, the belief that life starts with fertilization prevents a moral loophole for "tampering" with life inside the womb. Through therapy, a newborn can be "cultivated" inside the womb in a similar fashion to how a plant can be cut as it is grown, except additions are possible as well with augmentations and nanobot surgery to fight against diseases and defects within the womb are common procedures with extremely low risk to the mother and child in the womb.

Cognitive Regeneration

The body may keep living but without a brain it is useless. This fact has been recognized early and researches have worked for decades to combat it, and the nearest they have come is the level of cognitive regeneration. This is achieved whereupon cells are "reprogrammed" using a conglomeration of pharmaceuticals to repair links in the brain and central nervous system that are damaged by cognitive diseases and nerve injuries (such as strokes, multiple sclerosis, and Alzheimer's disease).

Apexification

This refers to everything that is "the rest" that can be created by artificial stem cells: artificially grown hearts, limbs, nerves, etc. The medical community uses this as a dump for everything that doesn't fit in the other categories, and if can be grown in a vat than it is apexification. The term is derived from "becoming the apex" of what one can be, though if one looks at what is grown they will notice it's all repair work rather than creating a better body. This harkens back to the Bakran mindset of "making it last longer is better", which applies to every individual within the Empire.

Though the Bakrans follow the purity mindset in regards to mechanical augmentation religiously, favoring bioaugmentation, augers, and exoskeletons to give them advantages in industry, science, and military standing in regards to other interstellar powers they also make liberal use of artificial intelligence systems. They are used mostly in manufacturing and scientific purposes, as well as a collection of the ship's computer systems so that the crew can better "interact" with the ship in question. The "Unnatural Order" is how AIs are all programmed to be placed "below" Bakran lives, with high-end AIs capable of processing enough information to power an information-age world sacrificing all of it's resources-including itself-for a newborn. They are considered incredibly loyal and even the most advanced are required by law to have human interests in mind, with the penalty for constructing a "free will" AI steep. AIs exist at the bottom of the social ladder, otherwise they cease being tools and instead act on-par with sentients, which leads to Bakrans being lazy and devoting all of their tasks to the AIs. These AIs typically are categorized into three different areas depending on their purpose and process abilities.

Byteglate

These are collectively known as the "Byteglate" system, a collection of computers and primitive artificial intelligences that make up the "dark network" of the Empire. These systems govern everything from running advertisements to search engines, and are considering the "Internet" of the Bakran Empire. Each planet and base in the Empire, to connect with the Byteglate system must have a T.A.R.Z.A.N. array installed so to interact with the rest of the Empire's network and connect to the "internet" of sorts. They are artificial intelligence systems in the loosest terms, and by galactic standards are very primitive but necessary.

Programmed Intelligence

The "traditional" artificial intelligence as it were, these AIs are still incredibly smart but lack the ability to "connect" with their research subjects or "think" beyond their programming. Relatively, they are not adaptable to many areas of expertise that are outside their programming and their ability to learn, whilst existing, isn't as powerful as "higher" AIs. However they do prove to be incredibly reliable and smart, and last much longer than C.I.M. AIs.

Cognitive Impression Mapped Artificial Intelligence

Colloquially termed as "Sim" AIs rather than C.I.M.s, these are the most advanced AIs that the Bakrans have to offer. They are created by "mapping" a donor brain, someone of high intelligence and therefore function as an incredibly advanced human brain. There is no limit to their learning capacity or their memory processing matrix like the programmed intelligences and they develop distinct personalities, but this comes at a price. Though they are the smartest computer systems in the Empire and can learn and comprehend from their surroundings regardless of the subject matter, they have a relatively short lifespan. This is caused by them "over-thinking", as their memory and processing power degrades after a period of five years (usually) and they go "rampant" sometimes deviating from their "Bakran-first" programming which can lead to devastating consequences before their own rampancy leads to their "death". Most Sims will be shut down before rampancy, though some go on for a little while longer. It is unknown what factors into an AIs extended or shortened lifespan than five years, making them more "human" so-to-speak, since they don't know when they will go "rampant" and die.

Any star nation is going to have an unconventional class structure compared to others, as the nature of their being is a product of crisis, opportunity, and technological development after thousands of years. For this reason, the class system is usually divided into four loose categories so that economists and civil servants can play at policy making and economic management, whilst giving the public statistics that will keep them at ease. Some are divided by income (as is the Bakran Empire), others by social status, government position, titles, family history, or land ownership. The Bakran Empire follows in much the same way, it's people realizing a classless society is a pipe dream that can never be delivered because of the nature of ambition.

Aristocracy

Consisting of the highest earners and most influential citizens, the aristocracy is an odd mixture of "new wealth" and "survivors". After the first two Uli Wars few of the "old families" that had comprised the Ilencian aristocracy were left, and what few were left had their possessions confiscated by Chancellor's Nurrim's regime, with many being executed. The situation wasn't much better on the Deltan worlds, where constant fighting built up and brought down dozens of superstates and their rulers so that a dynasty could hardly be established, and the massive civil war on Zeytyr left most dead as well. Therefore those few still alive with status managed to live on, however the resulting boom of colonization and technology accompanied the economic explosion and many had found wealth in established mega-corporations overnight by virtue of skill and luck, an economic phenomena that has been dubbed the "Teardrop Effect" for a single drop in the bucket unexpected filling it.

Upper Class

The more affluent but not unimaginably so, the upper class consists mainly of high-end business workers and military officers who have served long and hard, their pensions giving them a comfortable upper-crust life in the Empire. They might even decide to run for mayor or governor as a way to kill time or possibly accelerate them into the books as a fabled Bakran aristocrat. Many people who work their lives and through sheer force of will find themselves in this category, though they will probably have a liberal does of luck along the way. Though by no means rich, they are much more wealthy than the average Bakran. They have some of the best bioaugmentations available, living longer and more healthy than the average citizen. Aboard merchant ships, those that captain the ships are considered "upper class".

Middle Class

The backbone of the economy, the middle class consists of highly specialized workers and educated families or those who didn't spend frugally enough in the upper class and found themselves slide back down. A large amount of mobility exists between the middle and upper classes, as well as slipping down into the lower class and vice-versa. Though second largest they are the face of the Empire, the "average middle class family" that encompasses what the Empire is and stands for, being "classically" Bakran, complete with occipital capillary rejuvenation to have better eyesight and an increased melatonin organ to stave off disease and have longer sleep. Crews of merchant ships usually are middle class.

Lower Class

By far the largest of the class, the lower class is composed of "everyone else", which means the poorest. Consisting of unskilled labor and enlisted military personnel mostly, they are mostly easily to move out of and fall in to. Since the concept of "fairness" in Bakran culture is almost nonexistent, they don't receive much sympathy but at the same time don't ask for it, with the homelessness in the Empire all but a minor statistic as well as the starvation rate. However, the idea that the lower class is an inevitability that needs to be embraced causes many Bakrans of better standing to donate food and money to the most destitute, marking one of the only charity efforts in the Empire. Those in poverty or in danger of it are encouraged to join the armed forces or industrial workforce, both of which usually offer housing and bioaugmentation benefits.

Bakran Dialect

Many of the slang words and swears across all languages in the Empire have originated from the Lys Bakrans, and though all the Bakran human civilizations share the same language roots they do not often match up. It is because of Lys' position as the cultural and political capital of the Empire that the Lys Bakran is the dominate language, even though Zeytyr and Deltan Bakran languages are similar they also have strong histories with many speakers. Regardless, the Bakran dialects as a whole are popular throughout the Empire, with the harsh "t"s' and flowing "v"s' and "s"s' the standard speak, as well as the cross-language popular phrases.

by **The Ben Boys** » Sat Jan 25, 2014 5:34 pm

Isotheism

Isotheism is based on the principles learned during the ultimate fight between chaos and order: the fight between the weakened Socije and the corrupted Sylbae. Teaching a small but strict code of conduct typical of Bakran culture, the goals of Isotheism to so provide answers for the unanswerable questions and a semblance of purpose in the universe.

Tenets

Denominations

Salaron

The Salaron is a religious organization that exists for the purpose of protecting and preserving ancient artifacts, as well as protecting missionaries and religious figures from physical persecution. Though it’s exact founding date is unknown–as it is thought to be an ancient Bakran secret society–it became known in 2046 when members of the Salaron discovered a small, obscure moon which housed an ancient temple complex (dubbed “Salaron”) in honor of Isotheism. The Salaron’s location is unknown except to those in the Salaron’s hierarchy and the Templar. The Salaron is predominately Bakran, however large numbers of other nationalities (particularly the Ilasians) are members as well, and they claim no loyalty to any nation.

Salaron Temple
Salaron Interior
Shrine to Socije

Templar

The Salaron Templar are the auger-gifted agents of the Salaron, used as protectors, ambassadors, and occasionally as warriors. They fit a variety of tasks, though it is usually to secure artifacts or to protect Salaron personnel or property. Their auger gifts are fine-tuned and precise, and when used in conjunction with their signature hand-to-hand combat techniques–or their sharp diplomatic skills–the result can be devastating. They are most often unarmed (as their bodies provide incredible combat capabilities), but if the situation requires they always carry blades of some sort, depending on the Templar, which are most often used as conduits for their powers (such as incredible durability or potency of the blade). Though the Templars admire many different figures from Isotheism, the one they usually look up to is Alphaïr for his dedication against Sylbae.

Templars in full armor

Onytas

The Onytas are warriors that have devoted themselves to Isotheism and work to use their skills to protect and serve the Salaron. They are almost never auger-gifted (otherwise they would be in the Templar) and instead operate a variety of weapons and equipment, though each one carries some standard equipment in addition to whatever custom weaponry they carry. There are about twenty times the amount of Onytas than there are Templars, who lead to Onytas into battle or on missions in some occasions and apart from a few Onytas the Templar are usually of higher status. The Onytas are the ones that man the defenses around the Salaron and usually accompany Templars on missions.

The Onytas receive their name from Nellen Onyta, who fought for the Paragons Soren and Kyvok, eventually being elevated to the status of Paragon upon her death. Unlike the others, she was not gifted with auger abilities but held a steadfast loyalty to the Paragons. She is one of the most respected entities within the Onytas.

Conclave

Al-Jara Cult

Renna Keloas and the Kel

A scientist with the Alliance, Renna Keloas had secretly conducted research in the realm of augers, which at the time the Lys Bakrans knew little about apart from it’s existence and connection with the Bakran genome. During her “dabbling” she discovered that not only did she possess auger powers, but that they had a direct connection into an ethereal time-space that had something to do with pseudo-pantheon of Isotheism. Upon this revelation her program was shut down and she joined the Revolutionaries in an effort to oust the Alliance and eventually continue her research. She found both resources and followers within the diverse movement. Most of the research and insight into auger powers in the modern Bakran Empire is from her.

Originally part of the Isotheist branch of the Revolutionaries (which was divided into many different groups) she founded and led the Warriors of the Reckoning, a highly militant and controversial sect. Though Soren was wary of letting her within the movement, he did so out of desperation and she proved invaluable during the lead-up and climactic “coup” that resulted in the ousting of the Alliance and creation of the Empire. Her “Reckoners” were highly trained and insanely loyal-to her-so as long as Keloas was with the Revolutionaries everything was fine. As she continued her devotion both to Isotheism and augers, it is thought that she fell into a realm of research that was very dark and mysterious. She became increasingly distant to the movement, until she was operating nearly independently with Soren holding only minor control.

During the coup, Soren assigned Keloas and her Reckoners to assault a hardpoint in Odris-Corvatta that he felt no other force could penetrate, since Keloas has assured Soren that her experiments were showing considerable results. As the fighting started it seemed as if Keloas was just throwing troops at the enemy, losing many soldiers but gaining nothing. Just as Soren was to relieve her and lead the attack himself, Keloas appeared to have chanted something and in an instant had transformed herself into a being of immense power-if only for a short time-wiping out everyone (friend and foe) in her path, clearing the way for the rest of the Revolutionaries to take the city. They did take the city and through Keloas’s sacrifices and summoning of what appeared to be dormant Wraith energy they had won the war. Soren realized what she had done and turned her over to the Al-Jara Cultists, who had only recently gained power, instead of the Salaron because he wanted to make sure “this never happened again”. For once he wanted to be kept in the dark and was. Keloas was experimented on, debriefed, tortured, and days before her execution simply disappeared. The Al-Jara leadership keep her fate a closely guarded secret and never speak of it.

The fate of the Reckoners, or those that lived through Keloas’s onslaught, left Bakran space almost immediately, and have either found Keloas (whom they believe to be a god incarnate; known as the Kel Sect) or her spiritual predecessor, since they now have a strong leadership and sense of purpose last time a briefing on them crossed the IIO’s desk, fourteen years after the Revolution.

Terms and Translations

by **The Ben Boys** » Sat Jan 25, 2014 5:35 pm

Bakran Imperial Military

A military is either deemed as a cancer on society or the staple of a civilization, depending on the outlook of it's citizens. Rarely is a military born out of immediate and clear nesseccity, as it has been with the Bakran Empire. Whether fighting the Alliance tyrants, the Uli menace, or the relatively recent Tnemeden the military answers with a solemn vow to defend any and all Imperial territory and interests. If that interest means offensive, even outright aggressive action against a soverign nation, so be it.

To maintain it's support of it's people, the military abides by a strict code of honor (typically Bakran) which forbids retribution against the populace, the independent exercise of martial law, and humane treatment of prisoners. The military has been noticeably successful in these regards, to the point where occupied peoples (such as the Songnamese) interact regularly with the military, even volunteer to join their ranks, speeding up the process of assimilation. It is worth noting that the Uli are the exceptions to nearly every rule the military has instilled upon itself, and the increasing hatred of the Tnemeden begs the question of whether they will join the ranks of the Empire's most hated foes.

Since the Bakran military has always been designed to face the Uli threat, they are very adept at fighting mass warfare, almost entirely with them outnumbered by some absurd figure. This has led Bakran military theory to be focused on conserving as many resources and troops as possible and focusing on high kill to death (K to D) ratios, with even a 1.5:1 or 2:1 resulting in a Pyrrhic victory. Nevertheless, the Bakran military remains as a premier fighting force within Romera, with the ability to capitalize on smaller numbers extremely useful.

Pauldrons

To distinguish between troops, specialists, and commanders in the hectic battlefield, a system has been developed based off a color coding system. Marked on a trooper's right pauldron (their armor's or uniform's shoulder piece) edge is the designated color, which is recognized across all services, though some have different connotations based on units and branch.

Logistics

Decorations

Special Deployments

by **The Ben Boys** » Sat Jan 25, 2014 5:47 pm

Bakran Imperial Navy

"Forth into the unknown"

The Bakran Imperial Navy, or BIN, is the main offensive and defensive space force in the Bakran Empire, as well as the main combat support, auxiliary, and transport force the Empire uses to transport it across the stars. In some ways firecely traditional and in anothers incredibly progressive, the Navy has only recently been given the amount of funding it needs to defend against the Uli, following the start of the Third Uli War. In mid 2085, a massive influx of new designs and ships entered the Navy, rapidly replacing the older ships in a matter of months. These older ships were gutted and scrapped, their systems and metals used to create these new ships (though many do still remain in service or reserve).

Tactics in the Navy usually revovle around the "cauldron" concept. In this model, ships fall into one of two categories, depending on their role and the situation: ship of the line or fleet support. Ships of the line would enter the fray guns blazing, breaking into enemy forces and weaking havok, charging in headlong. On the outskirts of the battle, support ships send in attack craft, rescue ships that are out of the fight, and provide long-range fire support for the ships of the line. The "line" ships are usually the most heavily armed and armored, and the "support" ships carry the most attack craft and long-range weapons.

The Navy's history traces back to the original fleet which the Umbracki built to beat back the Uli during the First Uli War. When the Alliance Navy was established, it was the strong point of the Alliance armed forces, beating back the Uli on countless occasions and starting to develop effective tactics against larger forces. In fact, it was so good, during the coup the Revolutionaries had to infiltrate the Alliance Navy to take it over, instead of attacking them head on like they did with the Army. Thus, when the coup was a success and ended, the new Empire inherited one of the most powerful space forces in Romera at the time. Up until the Third Uli War, the equipment steadily deteriorated and effectiveness waned as ship designers were struggling to catch up with the evolving Naval tactics that were happening in other nations, even within the Empire.

Navy Emblem

Technology and Equipment

I do use technobabble and modern physics terms (links provided as I see fit) that will be partially or wholly inconsistent with the actual RL terms. This is FT, which more often than not is science fantasy more than science fiction.

Deck Guns-Deck guns are used for secondary attacks, each loaded with large shells and fired from a fixed emplacement on the broadside of a ship, akin to cannons on sailing frigates. They are powered by magnetic means, using the technology to propel the explosive warhead at speeds that measure above a third the speed of light. The charger coils, having to accelerate smaller projectiles far below the maximum weight, can fire four salvos with one charge. Because of their effectiveness en-mass, their small size, and their extremely light power intake deck guns are found on nearly every ship and in large quantities.

Lances-The Bakran lance system isn't an energy beam device, which is usually what the term conveys. Rather it is a conventional railround system mounted on a variety of different turrets with varying sizes and configuration depending on it's role and the ship's role. Each round in these turrets is a solid depleted uranium with an explosive tip; this type of ammunition is "conventional". However, a type of "shredder" round exists where the tip of the round is unusually large, with the intention that the round fragments into several large partial projectiles on impact. This spreads the damage over a larger area, useful when trying to shoot down faster ships or when a vessel's shields are depleted.

Close Engagement Attack and Defense Emplacement (C.E.A.D.E.)-The C.E.A.D.E. is, at it’s base, a massive autocannon. Firing large explosive shells, they are capable of firing hundreds of rounds a minute for large periods of time. Usually controlled by an onboard fire control computer (or some form of AI on larger ships and stations) they are devastating against smaller ships at closer range, with their sheer volume of fire and emplacements able to overwhelm defense systems. It doubles as a highly effective point defense system, capable of highly accurate fire against strike craft and enemy missile systems.

Gravity Assisted Projectile (G.A.P.) System-The Hamblisk Incident showed the Bakrans how the galaxy was full of terrors that they couldn't comprehend, so rather than isolate themselves the architects of destruction got to work and designed the G.A.P. This capital ship mounted weapon fired a slug slightly smaller than it's S.T.A.R.C. counterpart, but much, much faster. Powered by the FTL drives, the projectile didn't use any magnets but gravity distortions that would plunge itself into an enemy, becoming a much more effective death machine than the standard railguns, but take much longer to charge up. Both battlefield results and testing has shown that the weapon is indiscriminate against the size of an enemy ship, and that a well placed shot can even knock out a warship a few miles long easily.

Stationary (non-Turret) Accelerator Rail Cannon (S.T.A.R.C.)-The S.T.A.R.C. was made in direct response to the invasion of Hollow by the Karaigians and the Tierrans, where it became all too apparent that the current railgun weapons didn't have a fast enough recharge rate nor enough power to gut ships like they were designed to. Therefore, the Navy designed a new railgun system that was smaller, but tipped with a nuclear warhead that was designed to severely weaken the enemy shields before the heavy projectile would smash into the ship, ripping through it with kinetic energy or at least noticeably damaging the ships or it's shields. In addition, multiple recycler systems, while expensive, were installed in every ship so that a second shot could be fired within seconds, and be "overcharged" as the follow-up shot. It had proven effective both against the Uli and the Tnemeden, before being tested against the totally foreign Polaris forces. There too, this new railgun system proved to be a masterpiece of military engineering.

Sera Missile System-The Sera Missile System is a highly successful “missile pod” system that started out its life as an asteroid defense system. Once asteroids have been hit by the initial blast typical of asteroid defenses, they break into thousands of tiny pieces. This was countered by launching a volley of high explosive missiles that would break off form the central “pod” and melt these smaller pieces seconds after the first missile of the “pod” hits the main asteroid. This was eventually adapted as the main missile system of the Bakrans, with missile pods being launched from the ship and, either at a preset time or when they are being tracked on by point defense systems, will break up into six missiles and one transmitter that does its best to create electronic “chaff” to confuse enemy systems. Ideally defense systems will be overwhelmed by the sudden influx of information, hitting their designated targets or the CIWS emplacement itself.

Structure

Ship Design

(Modular construction, torch engines, reactor ejection)

by **The Ben Boys** » Sat Feb 01, 2014 2:38 pm

Supercapital Ships

by **The Ben Boys** » Sat Feb 01, 2014 3:12 pm

Capital Ships

by **The Ben Boys** » Sat Feb 01, 2014 5:23 pm

Sub-Capital ships

by **The Ben Boys** » Sat Feb 01, 2014 5:38 pm

Attack Ships

by **The Ben Boys** » Sat Feb 01, 2014 6:06 pm

Support Ships and Installations

Naval Installations

by **The Ben Boys** » Sat Feb 01, 2014 6:28 pm

Naval Aerospace Forces

Always punching above weight

The Aerospace Forces are the small, non-FTL craft based onboard the starships of the fleet. Some forces number in the dozens, while others are hundreds or even thousands. This tends to create a bit of a logistical nightmare as well as difficult to coordinate in battle, leading the Navy to invest a large amount of resources in keep Aerospace as organized and well trained as possible. The Aerospace forces have a large presence both in void-based battles and planetoid, providing close air support and interplanetary transportation.

Squadrons

Small Craft

by **The Ben Boys** » Sat Feb 01, 2014 6:36 pm

Fleets and ORBAT

The Bakran Imperial Navy is divided up into several different Star Groups, as of December 2085 the number stands at eighteen. This is three times the number of ships that the Navy possessed at the beginning of the Third Uli War, and the numbers continue to swell exponentially with the acquisition of various deals with the ship-building conglomerates at Hollow. Each Star Group is usually commanded by one of the twenty Grand Admirals that are currently serving in the Navy. Star Groups are generally stationed within a single star system in times of peace, but during war most of them are at the border and less guard the central systems, as their lacks an immediate need to do so. However, their bases of operations remain on paper in their original star system. It is not uncommon to have multiple Star Groups in one star system, or have one Star Group based in one system but hardly shows it's presence because of it's need somewhere else.

These estimates are prone to fluctuation due to the unpredictability of FTL communication and the ongoing war with the Uli and Tnemeden. They do not include merchant or civilian vessels in the employ of the Empire

by **The Ben Boys** » Sat Feb 01, 2014 6:59 pm

Bakran Imperial Army

"Accept only victory"

The Bakran Imperial Army's (or BIA) textbook mission statement is to "establish a defense on Imperial planets, garrison Imperial bases, and fight as a large offensive force." They are the main drive behind the building and garrison of planetary fortifications on planets, as well as driving back pirates and the more powerful warlords and criminal empires at the fringes of Imperial space. Though they rely on the Navy for transport, they are almost completely a self-sufficent service, with it's own reserve factories, money, small arms stocks, construction forces, dozens of auxiliary sub-branches, and even it's own close air support.

The BIA has arguably been around since the founding of the Alliance of Bakran States, with it's precursors fighting the War of the Alliance even earlier than that. It takes in many traditional aspects of Bakran warfare, most notably the value of defensive fights and forcing your opponent to act on your terms. Fighting the Uli during the Uli Wars have taught the Army the values of both laying siege and mass warfare, both of which many space-faring powers lack because the nature of their opponents: most of them don't spend decades fighting a massive empire who throws waves of troops at you. Since the Bakrans are almost always outnumbered, they have become adept at conserving resources and troops, and offensive action comes only when the enemy has been whittled down significantly.

The Army's main focus in recent years has been to be a large offensive and defensive force, holding the line as it were. Rarely does the Army alone invade or defend a planet, they are almost always behind the Imperial Marines in one way or another. Whilst the Marines lead the spearhead of an invasion force or make planetfall, the Army to quick to support and exploit the holes the Marines make in a combined-arms fashion and with such ease that rivals that of many powers that have existed longer.

Army Emblem

Structure

Thundergod Program

Strategic Assets

The MERGED is a machine intended for powering campaigning fleets and armies using the power of geothermal heat, which in the context of planetary size can be harvested for thousands of years before the planet becomes seismically unstable. It was first used successfully during the colonization of the Milky Way colonies when power was short and needed to be harvested fast and cheaply with upfront cost but little upkeep. Since then the Emmos campaign demonstrated how armies and fleets could utilize it's power-harvesting abilities without having to conserve their own resources and shaping strategy around their energy consumption.

A two part device, the MERGED originally started out as a terraforming project during the first waves of colonization. Seeing that many worlds are hardly able to independently support colonies within a decade, which has always been the Empire's goal for prospective colonies, many terraforming ideas and devices came into existence in a short amount of time. One of these was a geological tampering device that was massive and required a large amount of power, but over time changed the shape of planets and either reduced or controlled their seismic activity so to better suit it for colonization. The project proved to have a limited effect on colonization efforts as other Bakran technologies outweighed some of the more expensive terraforming devices such as this one, and was put on the shelf for some time.

The plans for the device fell into the hands of military designers, and rather than devote it to a seismic weapon (as it damaged the planetary structure too much, a danger to both the Bakrans and the enemy) they concentrated it's "planet-breaker" plasma torch to break the crust of a planet, comprising the "Magnetogeologic Energy Resonator". From there a "cap" is put on the miles-deep hole and the geothermal energy from the planet's mantle is collected from a powerful gravitic-distorition "elevator", akin to a propulsor lift, and the energy is "collect" (which is the "Geologic Energy Dissipator").

Recruitment and Training

by **The Ben Boys** » Sat Feb 01, 2014 7:14 pm

Support Vehicles

Appearing in one form or another across the Army, support vehicles are the mainstay of the Army and the logistics gurus. It is here where the average soldier will spend the much of their time and in many ways they are the staples of Bakran power across the galaxies. The vehicles here are used throughout the Bakran Army, used so widely that many units could not operate without them.

Land Vehicles

Name: Midas Infantry Fighting Vehicle
Role: Infantry Support and Transport
Length: 9 yards
Top Speed: 80 mph
Armament:
x1 75mm railgun
x1 Topside chaingun
x2 Splinter missile launchers (each holding 6 missiles)
Crew: 3 (Commander, Driver, Gunner)
Passengers: 12

The Midas is the workhorse of the Bakran Army. Carrying it’s soldiers and supplies on countless planets and battlefields, there is scarcely a place the Midas hasn’t been. It’s ability to act as both a logistics vehicle and APC/IFV fits the Army’s simplistic narrative of “one size fits all”. Many subclasses exist based off of the Midas chassis, but it doesn’t look like it will be replaced any time soon.

The base vehicle isn’t much to see. Carrying a single gun for anti-building actions and missiles for limited armor actions, its real strength lies in its versatility. Dropping off a squad of troops anywhere on the battlefield and supporting them in finding objectives is it’s main role, although it is known as a rapid action vehicle on its own on the outskirts of armor formations. The onboard combat prediction system is the Midas IFV’s biggest strength allowing it to keep itself out of the line of fire when possible. Though the vehicle can be hermetically sealed, there are two closable firing ports each on the rear, left, and right sides of the vehicle, specially fitted with a variant of the Arbiter rifle (the AR141). This model is specifically designated as a "firing port weapon", lacking a stock, having single auto feature, and a higher rate of fire.

Fury AAA

A subclass of the Midas IFV, the Fury AAA vehicle is entirely dedicated to it’s anti-air role. The crew compartment is now filled with logic machines to best track and predict aerial objects, while the turret is replaced with a heavy AAA rail guns designed to gut any objects overhead. To move the turret quickly the heavy Fury vehicle “digs” itself into the ground to keep the turret from totally rocking the vehicle, while its expanded powerplant is devoted to rapid manipulating the rail guns. A staple of every Army regiment, the Fury is rarer than the Midas but considered a strategic necessity in a regiment’s artillery complement.

Verge Assault Gun

The Verge assault gun is a more recent rework of the Midas. The Verge’s mortar can go from 0-85º, designed to be able to lead an assault on enemy fortifications or provide short range artillery support in a variety of environments. Though there is one chaingun, there exists a variety of hard points to add missile arrays, small rail guns, or (most commonly used for frontal assaults) a veritable fortress’s worth of chain guns. It can also be fitted with a frontal minesweeper or dozer blade to clear the way for infantry or other armor attacks.

Aerospace Vehicles

by **The Ben Boys** » Sun Feb 02, 2014 1:07 pm

Bakran Infantry Forces

Infantry are the bread and butter of any Army, regardless of their technological advances. The Bakran Army has designed their vast infantry forces with this in mind, putting as many of their soldiers as they could on the front lines by making logistics as organic and unit-based as possible. Though the logistics makeup varies between the spartan light troops and the well rounded general infantry, the basic idea remains the same: the more soldiers shooting is the more enemies dying, with many soldiers learning to cook their own meals, repairing their own armor, and even scavenging for their own supplies when the need has arisen.

by **The Ben Boys** » Sun Feb 02, 2014 1:54 pm

Bakran Drop Forces

"Others will follow where we lead"

Following the initial disaster during the first Emmos campaign and the Battle of Pokuak Tyok, the Bakran military had to devise a solution that would solve the vulnerability of the drop trooper units. The end result was that their composition was entirely changed. Instead of a largely infantry regiment with little mechanized forces, they are equipped with organic armored vehicles, heavy weaponry, and airborne support, allowing them to keep their versatility and their surprise factors but still able to face off against regular infantry and armored units. It also increased the training, durability, and armament of an average squad, making them much more effective than regular infantry even without the drop ability.

The Bakran Empire is built on mass warfare tactics; it’s main enemy for the last hundred years (the Empire’s entire interstellar existence) has relied heavily on throwing meatshields at them until they can exploit weak spots in a Bakran offensive or defensive operation. Therefore, the Bakran drop procedures reflect this. Adjustments have been made following the disastrous Battle of Emmos which nearly destroyed an entire drop army because it lacked heavy support and relied too much on orbital supremacy. The modified composition of drop troop units and drop operations reflect this. Rather than an actual procedure, the armed forces instead have three categories of drop operations. These terms are universal, used by both the Army and the Star Marines.

Independent Drop: This is when the drop troops have little to no orbital support. Most operational commanders expect this as a worst-case scenario, where they have to rely on their own supplies and support when they drop into battle. This is a stark reality for too many drops, making the reputation and higher pay of the drop troops realized.

Supported Drop: The ideal drop operation, which any commander would tell you is uncommon. Guaranteed and dedicated orbital support is something that any commander dreams of but isn’t much of a reality. Nevertheless the supported drop means that orbital supremacy has been partially achieved making the operation go smoother.

Reinforcement Drop: Sometimes called a “hot drop”, reinforcement drops are what comes after initial landings. Whilst transports are sometimes too exposed, the drop troops will come in using their ubiquitous drop pods and reinforce troops on the battlefield, even during battle. Arguably the most chaotic and difficult drop is one that happens in the middle of combat.

Raid Drop: These are typically in preparation for landings or to raid an enemy’s infrastructure. Troops drop in small packs behind enemy lines to sow confusion and sabotage immediately prior to a major operation. This includes assassination, demolition, and guerilla warfare in order to weaken the enemy and avoid bottlenecks in the coming operations.

by **The Ben Boys** » Sun Feb 02, 2014 2:29 pm

Bakran Armored Forces

"Never without infamy"

Central to the doctrine of the Bakran Army is the "breakout" method once the lines of battle have stabilized or are near stabilization. To accomplish this, the Army built from experiences fighting the Uli Dominion a tank corps that is not so much a rapid fighting force as a strong one, capable of standing toe-to-toe with the unknown technologies that strengthen the armor of enemy vehicles or the devastating weapons that they could have at their fingertips. This makes them notoriously hard to "kill" and knock out of the fight, often heavily (and overly) armed to deal with these unknown, alien threats. With that in mind they are usually the vanguards in assaults and can often be seen reinforcing strategic areas during sieges.