Among the Sea of Endless Stars(Sci-Fi Nation)(OOC/Open)

[Hahoalki]

Assuming a Kardashev 1.5 civilization (which is, based on your comments, about where we are), and that 1% of the energy produced is devoted to making antimatter at 1% efficiency, and that 1% of that can be used for weapons applications (the remainder, obviously, being used for antimatter catalyzed fusion drives), we're talking about 35 tonnes per year for weapons applications alone. That's enough for about 200 billion antimatter catalyzed explosive rounds.

Suffice it to say that I can get what I need from a fairly small investment.

Sure, sure.

Or that equivalent industrial energy can manufacture and arm ~40,000 warships of approximately 100,000 long tonnes of aviation-grade titanium alloys.

I’ve made my point. You can take it or leave it; I’m mainly clarifying it for other folks who might interact with you.

I'd be curious to see your math for that. Is it just heat of fusion, or what?

[The Audience]

Assuming a Kardashev 1.5 civilization (which is, based on your comments, about where we are), and that 1% of the energy produced is devoted to making antimatter at 1% efficiency, and that 1% of that can be used for weapons applications (the remainder, obviously, being used for antimatter catalyzed fusion drives), we're talking about 35 tonnes per year for weapons applications alone. That's enough for about 200 billion antimatter catalyzed explosive rounds.

Suffice it to say that I can get what I need from a fairly small investment.

Sure, sure.

Or that equivalent industrial energy can manufacture and arm ~40,000 warships of approximately 100,000 long tonnes of aviation-grade titanium alloys.

I’ve made my point. You can take it or leave it; I’m mainly clarifying it for other folks who might interact with you.

Monitoring the thread out of interest in joining, but curious about this focus on antimatter.

Can you explain the science behind the Starborn’s virtual immortality, the Below, or their technology in general?

[G-Tech Corporation]

Sure, sure.

Or that equivalent industrial energy can manufacture and arm ~40,000 warships of approximately 100,000 long tonnes of aviation-grade titanium alloys.

I’ve made my point. You can take it or leave it; I’m mainly clarifying it for other folks who might interact with you.

,

I'd be curious to see your math for that. Is it just heat of fusion, or what?

Sure, that's just back of the napkin math for mining and refining titanium.Relevant.

Call a Nimitz 100,000 long tonnes, convert to kg. Assume a 1.5 is kicking out a zettawatt. 1% of a zettawatt, 1 x 10^19 watts, for our equivalent energy to these theoretical antimatter usages, neglecting inefficiencies.

1 x 1^19 watts / 250,000 watts (kg Ti) = ~4 x 1^13 kg Ti
4 x 1^13 kg Ti / 91,800,000 (kg per Nimitz) = ~435,700 Nimitz-masses of Ti.

Round off 35,700 for margin of error manufacturing void-grade alloys, armaments etc.

Call it an extra four hundred thousand mainstay military vessels. I actually dropped a zero on my phone from the first post, so I was off by an order of magnitude.

Anyway, so your decision to use antimatter for propulsion/weapons slices nearly half a million ships off of any fleet sizes. Which is pretty logical, when you consider most economies only devote 1%-3% of their output into their militaries, so a 1% investment in antimatter is probably a third of your entire military budget, if not more.

[Thai Sweet Billy]

It seems we've gotten our first democracy.

Also, it seems that, for now at least, the Imperium is the only human polity (technically the Azarûnaim are human too, but they might as well be a new species). I wonder what happened to Earth itself in this TL and if there will be more human polities.

I'm going full in. Double or nothing when it comes to democracy.

[G-Tech Corporation]

Sure, sure.

Or that equivalent industrial energy can manufacture and arm ~40,000 warships of approximately 100,000 long tonnes of aviation-grade titanium alloys.

I’ve made my point. You can take it or leave it; I’m mainly clarifying it for other folks who might interact with you.

Monitoring the thread out of interest in joining, but curious about this focus on antimatter.

Can you explain the science behind the Starborn’s virtual immortality, the Below, or their technology in general?

Sure, that’s pretty straightforward. Inorganic bodies aren’t inclined to degradation in the same way as organic, as they are functionally made of 1:1 replaceable parts. Inorganic minds might be more vulnerable to that degradation, as I noted in the species description, but that’s just conjecture. Fundamentally, if we put together a computer today and regularly repaired/updated it, and maintained compatibility with that computer, I don’t know of any reason the data on that computer couldn’t persist indefinitely, if proper data fidelity was maintained. Thus so with the mind of one of the Starborn.

The Below is an abstraction I added once psionics were appended to the setting; I don’t think we can meaningfully discuss the nature of soul or heaven or hell in scientific terms.

As for general technology, that’d depend on what you’re asking about. Microscale adaptive manufacturing seems straightforward enough I don’t really need to explain it, but you let you know if you would like more words.

In RPs like this you just have to be careful how folks treat more abstract physics concepts, like strange matter, antimatter, tachyons, time-dilation, and the fundamental forces. Hence why my antimatter alarms went off from Haho.

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

Still working on the species app!

Nation Name: The Billion Year Empire
Government type: Bureaucratic technocracy
Government Description: The Zagari empire, which they generously dubbed the ‘Billion year empire’, is not necessarily governed by a single government or state. Like many societies, there are numerous different institutions and organisational structures within the empire, dealing with production, housing, transportation, research, energy generation… Unlike other empires, however, the Zagar do not recognise the difference between ‘private’ and ‘public’, meaning the term ‘government’ does not really apply. Instead, various organisations vie for power over others through regulatory bodies that gain their authority through willing or forced compliance by member organisations, and these regulatory bodies vie for more control, while people within organisations fight that same battle. Zagari society is a battleground between competing interests and factions, modelled after the natural world where everything is at the same time locked in battle and forced into cooperation.

To give practicality to this abstraction: Between 2614 and 2642, the empire was factually run by the Grand Chamber for Interstellar Travel, a consortium of space transport companies. By agreeing to cartel rules regarding worker pay, they set the empire-wide standard, and this in turn allowed them to basically run the economy by proxy, the Banking House having aligned themselves with them. Following a play by the Deep Space Mining Syndicates, however, mineral prices skyrocketed, forcing some members of the Grand Chamber to lower their pay, essentially breaking up the cartel. The banks switched loyalties, apart from the highly speculative Credit Unions Confederation, which split off and through clever manipulation of stock prices managed to break the Syndicates, finally consolidating their power in 2646, until a military coup by a number of colonels in 2678 shattered their hold over the empire.

The one constant in the empire is the University of Zandar, the one organisation that never does a bid for power and remains neutral during the struggles, and therefore serves as final kingmaker. Their collection of biological research is invaluable, and without it the empire would cease to function. Fearing mutually assured destruction, the position of the university is unassailable, to the point that even hinted disapproval by the University Board of Directors is liable to break an entire power structure. They use this power sparingly, but are definitely not above using that power for their own purposes.
Capital: Zandar
Population: 3,74 trillion
Size: 151
Species: Zagari, many others
Background: Three factors stand at the foundation of the Zagari empire: their industrial revolution, their scientific revolution, and their cultural revolution. During the three centuries when these revolutions occurred simultaneously, biological evolution was discovered. It was not discovered in the manner that it was on earth, however, where Charles Darwin postulated his theory of ‘survival of the fittest’. On Zandar, it was postulated as a ‘purge of the inefficient’. This difference of viewpoint would define the Zagari relationship to biological science. Over the centuries, it combined with certain religious dogmas to come to the hypothesis that the entire universe is just a machine, where physical forces were put in and a process turned it into an output, like a form of mechanical computer. Biological evolution was the way by which the universe gave more and more meaning to those inputs, to eventually deliver an increasingly meaningful output. Evolution purged the universe of inefficiencies, and therefore was as divine as any deity could ever be.

This would eventually become the foundation of what can only be dubbed a ‘biological empire’. Like any racist ideologue, the Zagari believed themselves, as progenitors of this theory, to be the natural-born leaders of their planet. And when culturally their science fiction and astronomical research caught up, they began to imagine themselves as natural-born shepherds of the galaxy. They viewed all life on their planet as endowed with certain biological talents, which led to the logical conclusion that the entire planet could be sorted according to those biological talents. For the first century this system was adopted, it led to all the worst elements that sentient species are capable of. Their theory, while working in practice, was but into practice for the benefit of those in power to expand it, both in political and economic sense. The result were slavery, genocide and apartheid. The bloodshed was immeasurable. It led many to the conclusion that no part of evolution could be expected to lead evolution. The political structures of the Zagari nation-states were seen as culpable, and during the decades of revolution, these solid power-structures were replaced with more fluid ones.

Similarly, the view that the Zagari were ‘shepherds’ of evolution, and thus herdsmen trying to gain from evolution, was replaced by a view that the Zagari were humble guides, as much subject to evolution as the rest of the universe. This coincided with the discovery of genetic modification through lab research, as an addendum to selective breeding. It was these discoveries that would define the Zagari during their stellar ascendancy.

As many scientists had theorised, when the Zagari first stepped onto the galactic stage they were not alone. Life had evolved on many different planets, with the Zagari homeworld of Zandar being situated in a particularly well-inhabited part of the galaxy. And the more living planets the Zagari found, the stronger their beliefs became, and the more they learned about the nature of life. In time, these planets were conquered, their inhabitants scanned for useful talents, and incorporated into the empire as part of the machine. Not only that, but travellers from other stars would find themselves abducted, their genetic code copied with them being put into reservations. 50 individuals are needed for a population to have a chance at survival. 500 breeding individuals are needed for a population to grow healthily. Thus were born the reserve planets, where alien species were housed in order to be researched, probed, dissected and eventually cloned into the imperial work force, to fill a specific niche.

As the empire conquered, its belief in its own superiority grew, and so did its belief in the inherent value of conflict. After all, conflict is how evolution thrives. Over the last century, the Zagari have grown an appetite for blood sports, sometimes on planetary scales. They do not recognise the concept of ‘invasive species’, a species that unbalanced a ‘natural’ eco system. If any creature loses the fight to survival to another, it is merely because that creature, or group, or empire, was better adapted. Better to learn and move on than to call something ‘unnatural’. As a result not much remains of ‘nature’ in the Zagari empire, what nature remains having been turned into a battle ground between alien species for the purposes of research.

Economic Info
Economic Ideology: Corvee system
Economy: Depends on who you ask. The Zagari, as leaders of this New Order, are contented and receive the majority of boons from the economy. Those who do the actual labour, however, forced into a profession based on their biological traits alone and underfed just to ‘cull the weak’, don’t receive the benefits. They are only kept in line by fear and by a ‘divide and conquer’ strategy employed by the Zagari among its dominated subjects.
Manufacturing: The Zagari empire managed to produce primary and secondary goods efficiently. Its service sector, however, is incredibly underdeveloped. The bio-factories run smoothly, but the workers are always on the brink, and this is by design. This has led to numerous inefficiencies in the system.
Agriculture: Agriculture is where the Zagari excel. Centuries of biological research and devotion to the process of selective breeding and genetical modification have made Zagari crops incredibly nutrition-dense and productive, while livestock basically farms itself. However, the rest of the galaxy looks at the Zagari with disdain regarding agriculture, mostly because the Zagari make no distinction between sentient and non-sentient species in agriculture, both in who works the plough and who is served up as dinner.

Military Info
Military Population: 1 billion
Branches: Internal Security, Void Navy, Landbound Forces
Standard infantry: There is no such thing as ‘standard infantry’ to the Zagari. That kind of uniformity does not lead to sufficient conflict for dominance, and is ill-suited for the rigours of combat. There are two kinds of infantry to the Zagari – communicative and non-communicative. The communicative species are employed when more complex goals are sough after: the intact occupation of a planet, a prolonged siege, garrison duties… Non-communicative soldiers are used when simple objectives have been set out: search and destroy. Both forces employ a large number of clones. The communicative species are generally capable of wielding weapons, and are therefore armed and armoured according to their specific needs. Non-communicative soldiers are more biological weapons: species either bred or designed to be vicious killers, that can be dropped into a situation from orbit and be expected to cause maximum damage. Examples range from nigh-invisible Death Stalkers, prowling on twilight planets and killing quietly in the night, to vicious Howlers that hunt in packs and pick out enemy platoons with ease, to arthropodal hives that turn agricultural land barren for generations. The breadth of cloned armies at the disposal of the empire is unimaginable.
Standard weapons:
Standard ship: The bio-ships of the empire come in various shapes and sizes, but they all share a basic design concept: they are built more like organisms than machines. Their designs are modelled on biology, the walls pulsing with artificial blood vessels filled with genetically engineered blood that transports energy packets throughout the ship. Less and less crew are needed as more and more tasks are taken over by bio-components, and the more of these components are used, the more one can wonder whether these ships should not qualify as actually alive.
Ship weapons: The preferred weapon of Zagari ships is the boarding party, made up of biologically enhanced species designed to eat either metal or the biological crew of a ship. While these are the preferred weapons, Zagari ships are also equipped with a complements of more conventional weapons, like rail guns and explosive warheads. More and more, Zagari ships have been deployed as carriers, carrying space fighters designed to fit around certain species with natural abilities that make them perfect of piloting duties.

[Hahoalki]

,

I'd be curious to see your math for that. Is it just heat of fusion, or what?

Sure, that's just back of the napkin math for mining and refining titanium.Relevant.

Call a Nimitz 100,000 long tonnes, convert to kg. Assume a 1.5 is kicking out a zettawatt. 1% of a zettawatt, 1 x 10^19 watts, for our equivalent energy to these theoretical antimatter usages, neglecting inefficiencies.

1 x 1^19 watts / 250,000 watts (kg Ti) = ~4 x 1^13 kg Ti
4 x 1^13 kg Ti / 91,800,000 (kg per Nimitz) = ~435,700 Nimitz-masses of Ti.

Round off 35,700 for margin of error manufacturing void-grade alloys, armaments etc.

Call it an extra four hundred thousand mainstay military vessels. I actually dropped a zero on my phone from the first post, so I was off by an order of magnitude.

Anyway, so your decision to use antimatter for propulsion/weapons slices nearly half a million ships off of any fleet sizes. Which is pretty logical, when you consider most economies only devote 1%-3% of their output into their militaries, so a 1% investment in antimatter is probably a third of your entire military budget, if not more.

That assumes that nations will continue their present course of decreased military budgets into the far future. During the Cold War, 5-7% was more typical worldwide, and the great powers were spending as much as 10%. Given that most of the nations so far described would be somewhat hostile to the Empire of Holkai, I feel justified in using a figure closer to that of the Cold War great powers, 6%. Which paints an entirely different picture.

Consider that, if you're using a fusion drive with sufficient thrust to be militarily useful, you're going to either need antimatter, or you're going to need big lasers that can produce an output equal to 10% of the drive's thrust power. Think about the power generation, the massive radiators to get rid of the low-temperature waste heat of the lasers, and equipment required to generate the lasers in the first place...

You can get rid of at least 90% of it if you have a bit of antimatter.

An antimatter-initiated fusion drive is going to be much lighter than comparable fusion drives without antimatter. Which will make the warships more capable.

Finally, I'd like to note that antimatter is hardly "exotic." Not compared to FTL travel, energy shields, and artificial gravity, which seem to be ubiquitous. What sort of tradeoffs do you think our nations will need to make to accommodate those technologies?

[Theyra]

snip

Okay so after reading your app and reading the exchange with you and G-tech had about the antimatter. I am going to say no to the antimatter weapons. Just not wanting something that major in the rp at the moment.

Name: Avaran (plural Avarans)
Appearance: The Avaran are a humanoid amphibious species harboring multiple mammalian and amphibian traits, though seem to have adapted most efficiently to aquatic environments. They possess human-shaped eyes that typically vary in hues, ranging from reds, blues, greens, and violets. Any hair is usually dark and straight and somewhat vestigial. The skin is usually in a monochrome bluish, almost white or gray tone, with various markings visible varying per individual, such as markings along the eyes, face, or other extremities. The ears are usually long and pointed, angled backwards to reduce drag while swimming. Fins tip each ear, elbows, knee joints, and heels, and the hands and feet are webbed.
Height/Weight: Usually 5 feet 4 (~162cm), 55 kg (121 lbs), though this varies per individual.
Lifespan: ~100 years, with proper health and diet.
Culture: Although a mostly peaceful and open race, the Avarans still are no stranger to war, but are quicker to shy away from open warfare than outright fighting. Many of the old tribal mindsets have since weaned away in favor of a more cosmopolitan and modern worldview, although this has also led to a veritable increase in individualistic pride among the species. The Avarans are a very philosophical race by nature, having cast aside most of the prehistoric concepts of gods and goddesses in favor of a deep, metaphysical understanding of the world and their (supposed) synergy with the universe. To an Avaran, death only truly occurs when one is forgotten.

At the homefront, Avarans live somewhat communal lifestyles, and it is not unfamiliar for multiple families to share the same dwelling.
Biology: Being a semi-aquatic species, the Avaran possess various features allowing them to thrive within aquatic environments. They possess hard, yet sleek fish-like scales over their entire body, which are protected in a thin mucous layer to help retain moisture while above the surface and wade off parasites and other critters, giving them a "wet" or "slick" feel to their skin. The Avaran possess pointed teeth and are cold-blooded. They also possess a unique and difficult to understand circulatory system which has adapted to function as a sort of dual-purpose mechanism, with a set of gills on the sides of the neck functioning only while underwater, while a regular set of lungs and nose function above the surface.

Avaran young have a gestation period of six months and are birthed in a manner similar to humans. Avarans typically begin showing psychic potential at the age of six, and most other information is transferred psychically. The Avarans breathe a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen, similar to humans. Although amphibious, they do not fare well in environments without humidity, which will induce feelings of nausea and disorientation if not rectified by the introduction of moisture.

Avarans possess a natural hardiness to radiation, although this is not a resistance at all — Atris' proximity to 1 Myrtilus' rather unexpected solar activity has meant that most life has simply adapted to harden itself to radiation.

Avaran brains are highly complex, comparable to human brains, although an as yet poorly understood gland in the frontal lobe separates them from humans drastically. The purpose of this lobe is unknown to most scientists outside of Atris, but is believed to be connected to the species' psychic ability.

Psionics: Very much so. The advancement in psychic theory has been an important impetus in the development of the species and the civilization. The average Avaran is an ESPers able to instantly transfer information between themselves through telepathy, but more intense training and meditation are required for more advanced offensive and defensive techniques, like telekinesis, pyrokinesis, electrokinesis, precognition, etc. Avarans also are capable of conducting psionic activity while in groups; the effect and scope of their abilities are increased relative to the number of individuals active in the working.
Other Info: N/A

Name: Eruszir
Appearance: The Eruszir are a six-legged terrestrial species native to Atris. They possess dark, blubbery skin and long necks and heads, tipped with four eyes and sensory antennae. The mouth splits open four ways to reveal a teeth-filled mouth and long feeding proboscis.
Height/Weight: 6 feet 3 (~190cm), 90 kg (200 lbs), though this varies per individual.
Lifespan: ~82 years, with proper health and diet.
Culture: The Eruszir have grown symbiotically alongside the Avarans, with the latter having domesticated them roughly in the prehistoric period. They have been used to assist with hunting, labor, and warfare, but in more recent years have become pets and companion animals, and also sources of livestock for farmers. In the wild, they live in large herds for protection against hunters.
Biology: The Eruszir have dark, blubbery and water-resistant skin. They possess six legs which can easily fit into grooves in rocks and mount obstacles like trees and rocks. The Eruszir are capable of galloping up to 50 miles per hour and can swim decently well, but cannot dive. Their sense of hearing, taste, and smell are top notch, with an Eruszir able to sense blood and contaminants from a mile away.

Eruszir can understand the Avaran language, both in the pictogram, telepathic, and spoken form. Eruszir young are born by eggs, with freshly birthed young able to keep up with the rest of their pack or herd.

Psionics: Yes, among other Eruszir or when addressed telepathically by Avarans.
Other Info: N/A

Nation Name: Avaran Union, or simply The Union
Government Type: Self-Determinate "E-Democracy"
Government Description: By default a stateless society, the Avaran Union's "government" is more or less comparable to an "E-Democracy" functioning primarily through the transfer of information, both on the OmniNet (a sort of Internet analogue) and on the Noosphere, an umbrella term for the psychic sphere of information developing Atris. While most local decision-making is handled on an ad-hoc, almost familial nature, the more frequent broader decisions are put to a vote which all Avarans are expected to take part in.
Capital: Atris Ecumenopolis, Atris, 1 Myrtilus System
Population: 8 billion
Size: 1 system, containing 8 planets, two of which (Atris and Pelops) are habitable. Pelops is currently being explored by expeditionary teams.
Species: Avarans and Eruszir, a terrestrial domesticated species used in roles analagous to dogs and horses.
Background: The Avarans can draw their history back to primitive cave paintings within the underwater caverns dotting Atris. Most stories tell of a great fish-shaped being of pure metal descending from the sky one day, using its body to plant all life seen on Atris. Much of these myths are still able to be seen in a number of vast and elaborate temples built all over the planet, most of which survive today amid the expansive underwater ecumenopolis that has grown to consume Atris. For some time, the Avarans remained in relative peace with one another, save for the occasional world war, but thanks to their naturally pacifistic nature and increasingly interconnected society, advancement was not difficult. Advancements in technology occurred alongside advancements in philosophy, and by the 20th century on their calendars, the Avarans had achieved world peace.

Signals from outer space, mostly drifting broadcast messages from other powers within the Orion Arm, were detected by primitive (in the galactic sense, at least) satellites approximately six months before the start of the events of the roleplay. The Avarans immediately initiated a vote for how first contact would be made if another species entered the 1 Myrtilus system. This vote has been left inconclusive for the past six months...

Economic Info
Economic Ideology: The closest real-world analogy to the Union's economic theory is socialism, where all citizens of the Union equally share economic resources. Inequality is aggressively combatted and a combination of careful mathematics and pragmatism is utilized to ensure the most efficient distribution.
Economy: Trade is almost completely nonexistent, save for the transfer of ideas, knowledge, and menial services. Drafts for ideas on how commerce would be performed with hypothetical extraterrestrials are still underway.
Manufacturing: Decent. Given production is made to ensure the equal distribution of resources among all citizens, Avaran manufacturing is surprisingly efficient in an interstellar sense.
Agriculture: Average. Most agriculture at this point is automated, although it is not uncommon to see individual Avarans running farming operations with their Eruszir.

Military Info
Military Population: Technically 0, although there are ~250,000 Avarans composing the so-called "Union Peace Corps", the closest analogy to a military or police force in the Union. The UPC was a completely self-organized vigilante operation created at the advent of the so-called "noosphere age," although its legitimacy outside of any vote within the Union is still up for debate. Its authority and jurisdiction extends throughout the entirety of the Atris ecumenopolis, and, theoretically, other Avaran settlements.
Branches: None, save for the UPC.
Standard infantry: A typical UPC Peace Officer is a well-educated and well-respected member either from a community, or a volunteer who believes themselves to be worthy of the position. Training can take upwards of seventeen weeks due to the strict physical and psionic requirements for the UPC. There is a roughly equal split between psionic meditation, physical training, and proficiency training with weapons and Union laws. Typically a UPC Peace Officer in training (known as a Cadet) is assigned to a Peace Officer whom he or she will grow a close bond to. The UPC Peace Officer and their Cadet will work alongside each other until the Officer retires or dies, even after the Cadet graduates.

Promotions are conducted via a board vote among the entirety of the UPC on an "as-needed" basis. Concerns of nepotism have been brought up a few times in some of these votes.

UPC Peace Officers are universally regarded as exceptional melee and ranged combatants, but are also expert criminal psychologists, paramedics, and negotiators. More often than not, they save their weaponry for dangerous situations. Their psychic abilities are generally considered the best among the Avarans, with UPC Peace Officers possessing a versatile blend of utilitarian, defensive, and offensive psychic abilities.
Standard weapons: UPC Peace Officers are well-equipped with a variety of tools for law enforcement, investigatory, and security purposes. They possess full-body CBRN-rated armor which is vacuum-rated for space activity, although while underwater the user may simply rely on their natural ability to breathe underwater. It possesses ports for reaction control system thrusters which, through the use of monopropellant fuel, allow the user to maneuver themselves underwater and in space with unprecedented agility. The armor itself is composed of a temperature-resistant ceramic-titanium composite, generally giving it exceptional protection against most conventional Avaran firearms, although its protectiveness against hypothetical alien weaponry has yet to be tested.

The undersuit is made of a synthetic climate-protected mesh, which also functions as a sort of wetsuit for aquatic operations. Moisture is capable of being captured on special traps throughout the armor. The helmet possesses a HUD linked with the Omninet and Noosphere. The helmet also possesses IR, night vision, thermal vision, and augmented reality vision modes to assist Peace Officers.

UPC Peace Officers rely mostly on non-lethal weaponry like stun batons and stun guns, but still possess an arsenal of conventional weaponry. While swords are still issued, they are mostly sidelined to a melee role in comparison to the standard Smart Gun. Smart Guns are a catchall term describing UPC-issued firearms, mostly lightweight and rugged pieces of equipment. They are sealed against corrosion, dirt and moisture, and their electronics are hardened against electromagnetic radiation, making it functional within a vacuum. The weapon uses an electronic pulse action to fire steel-jacketed and explosive-tipped smart munitions effective against foes with armor. These rounds can be programmed to explode beyond cover or after a certain distance. Most of these weapons are semi-automatic, but there exists variants for automatic support weapons and marksman rifles.

Most Smart Guns are issued in either a handheld pistol form, but use of a rifled variant is becoming more common. Smart Guns are linked to a Peace Officer's HUD, and will automatically distinguish friend from foe to prevent collateral damage. Rounds may also be programmed to not explode to prevent unnecessary damage to civilian livelihoods.
Standard ship: UPC Patrol Craft are generally small but highly-maneuverable exoatmospheric spacecraft that are launched from space stations, planetary hangars, and larger spacecraft. Most UPC spacecraft are not warp or FTL-capable, given the concept of faster-than-light travel still has yet to be introduced; although most Patrol Craft are large enough to contain mechanisms to put a Peace Officer or pilot into stasis for long trips. Propulsion is done through nuclear powered propulsion.
Ship weapons: A combination of conventional autocannons, missiles, bombs, and other weaponry. UPC Spacecraft also possess generous electronic warfare suites and surveillance equipment. The most noteworthy and powerful weapon in a UPC spacecraft's arsenal is a Casaba Howitzer-like weapon, deployed via a missile with a shaped nuclear charge. In larger vessels, a spinal mounted Casaba Howitzer is deployed.

Accepted and did not expect to see birrins in this rp.

snip

Looking good so far.

Snip

Looking good so far, barring the Standard Weapons part is empty. But I am guessing you will fill that in later.

[Hahoalki]

snip

Okay so after reading your app and reading the exchange with you and G-tech had about the antimatter. I am going to say no to the antimatter weapons. Just not wanting something that major in the rp at the moment.

Do you have any suggestions on what I could use to replace them?

[Union Princes]

Thinking of a galactic republic. Maybe a Soldier's Democracy

[Theyra]

Okay so after reading your app and reading the exchange with you and G-tech had about the antimatter. I am going to say no to the antimatter weapons. Just not wanting something that major in the rp at the moment.

Do you have any suggestions on what I could use to replace them?

Plasma-based bombs? Would that work and if not then I need to think about it.

[Union Princes]

Are Mega Corps allowed? I had an idea of a mercenary business empire.

[Hahoalki]

Do you have any suggestions on what I could use to replace them?

Plasma-based bombs? Would that work and if not then I need to think about it.

If you'll allow me to use them, they should work fine.

Anything else I need to change in my application? And are the species approved?

[Theyra]

Plasma-based bombs? Would that work and if not then I need to think about it.

If you'll allow me to use them, they should work fine.

Anything else I need to change in my application? And are the species approved?

No you are fine, make the edits to the app and you are accepted.

[Hahoalki]

SPECIES APP I

Name: Karigai (singular Karig, possessive Karigan)

Appearance: If you've ever played D&D, think "sapient owlbear," and you'll be wrong only in ways that don't matter.

Height/Weight: Up to about 3.75 meters tall and 1,000 kg for the largest/most thoroughly enhanced individuals. 2.5 meters and 300 kg is more typical.

Lifespan: 400 years on average with access to adequate biotech.

Culture: The basic unit of society is the family - a male Karig, a female Karig, united by a pair-bond, and inclusive of their children. Within each Caste are innumerable clans - extended families that may only share an ancestor nine generations back. Generally, Karigai marry outside of their clans, resulting in a tangled web of relations and obligations.

On the larger scale, there is a tripartite division of society into economic, military, and sacred dimensions (with "science" being a part of the sacred sphere, and "technology" being the application of the sacred to the economic), and multiple bio-engineered "castes" corresponding to each dimension. The "purpose" of society is to cultivate the virtues of wisdom, courage, moderation, and integrity. The tripartite division tends to place the sacred above the military, and the military above the economic, but a strong notion of complementarity - each Caste having its own dignity and role to play in society - balances out the hierarchical nature of the system.

Religion honors a single Deity, seen as the Transcendent, Infinite, and Unique Source of all that is, the Supreme Being with no equals - let alone superiors - and the standard of Justice and Purpose that will judge all intelligent beings upon death. God reveals Himself, not through prophets and miracles, but through the very existence and regularity of the natural world. Lesser spirits, not worthy of proper worship, are associated with each clan.

The existence of a set "mating period" every year, combined with the tendency for sexual impulses to override reason, results in a culturally ingrained suspicion of sex, and a highly conservative approach to morality generally. If you think about the Catholic Church's attitudes towards fornication, divorce, adultery, and other acts that will remain unnamed, you'll have a good idea of the sorts of values they hold.

Karigan music is almost certainly the best in the galaxy. They may resemble birds of prey, but their ancestors were more analogous to songbirds, parrots, or corvids. That, combined with literal millennia of genetic engineering and eugenics, means that a modestly sized Karigan choral group can mimic - or even excel - a full Terran orchestra. Art is generally designed to inculate virtue in the populace, and will vary according to the Caste of the expected consumer.

Biology: Extensively modified by a combination of eugenics and genetic engineering. Warrior Caste Karigai can lift up to 10 tonnes, can run at up to 120 km/h, and can survive multiple shots from high-caliber rounds (or one shot from a man-portable plasma cannon), though more typical members of the species are less thoroughly augmented.

Psionics: None.

SPECIES APP II

Name: Serhask (plural Sehask, possessive Serhaskite)

Appearance: Short-snouted reptilian with intricately patterned iridescent scales.

Height/Weight: Typically around 1.5 meters in height and under 60 kg.

Lifespan: up to 600. With the right biotech.

Culture: Originally shamaanistic. Due to countless generations of assimilation into Karigan society, the Serhaskite culture is more or less identical to Karigan. Due to their high intelligence and perceived "mystical powers" (actually advanced psionics), their clans are typically incorporated into the priestly-scientific Caste, though it's not particularly rare for them to be members of the military Caste.

Biology: Nothing of note, other than that they are warm blooded.

Psionics: Very psi-capable. Psionics is divided into four disciplines: Manipulation of the mind (including various forms of ESP), Manipulation of the body (biokinesis and healing powers), Manipulation of the physical (telekinesis, pyrokinesis, electrokinesis, and the like), and "Advanced Techniques" (precognition, various methods of physical attack and defense, mind control, and/or psionic interface with technology would all fall under this heading). The strongest of the Liz'zards (as their psions are known) are capable of astonishing feats, but are far from omnipotent.

SPECIES APP III

Name: Tlik'katsk (plural Tlik'katska, possessive Tlik'katskan)

Appearance: very arthropod-like, somewhat mantis-shaped, with four pairs of "walking limbs" and two pairs of "manipulating limbs." Plus a menagerie of mouthparts that are better left to the imagination. They are very off-putting to most humans.

Height/Weight: Generally up to 1.5 meters in height, but 200 kg on average.

Lifespan: 200 years, with extensive biotech.

Culture: Effectively assimilated into the Karigan society. Their rational nature, lightning-fast thinking and decision making, high speed, durability, and calmness under duress have made them extremely well suited to the military Castes, though some clans have been incorporated into the priestly-scientific Castes instead.

Biology: Due to the hyper-oxidizing environment of Chitek'ks, the Tlik'katska have evolved to require an atmosphere of about 10% Flourine and 30% Oxygen - a mix that would poison (or, in some cases, positively ignite) most other species. Their metabolism is much faster than that of more "conventional" life forms, and they run on temperatures in excess of 60 degrees Celsius.

Psionics: No

SPECIES APP IV

Name: Quarn (plural Quarn, possessive Quarnian)

Appearance: vaguely akin to the Kzinti, I guess.

Height/Weight: 2 meters and 100 kg on average.

Lifespan: 300 years with biotech

Culture: Highly mercantile, albeit somewhat integrated into Karigan society. The majority are members of the economic Castes - disproportionately represented among the upper and middle classes of the economic sector of Holkaian society - though some are members of the military Castes. They are responsible for a considerable majority of Holkaian trade, both inside and outside the borders of the empire.

Biology: Never actually got around to being amniotic (or equivalent). Instead, amphibian-like eggs are carried by the female of the species in a moisturized pouch until the young are capable of breathing the open air.

Psionics: No

NATION APP EDITED

Nation Name: Empire of Holkai

Government type: Philosopher-Kingdom - it's complicated.

Government Description: Okay, so remember the priestly-scientific Caste? There's a ruling council of 182 individuals of multiple species, all of "priestly lineage and undisputable virtue" who determine policy by vote. When one member dies, their replacement is elected by the remaining 181. Local governments are typically partial democracies of the sort described in Plato's dialog "The Laws."

Capital: the planet of Durgets.

Population: 4.52 trillion

Size: 192 Star Systems

Species: Karigai, Tlik'katska, Serhask, and Quarn.

Background: Karigan society took shape over the millennia it spent stuck on Durgets. Initially balkanized (as second and early third Millennium Earth was), one state - the state of Holkai - tried something that had never been done before. While the nation's around it tried to build societies that were based around liberty, equality, and fraternity (or, later, diversity, equity, and inclusion), the tiny nation of Holkai essentially forced the virtuous people who wanted nothing to do with politics to take charge - God knows that they wouldn't have gone back into the cave with the normies of their own accord - and build a society based around the notion of true virtue. Freedom and equality took the back seat to notions of justice and the common good. Accordingly, a eugenics program began - not to weed out undesirables or poor people, but rather to ensure that the diversity of roles would be matched by a diversity of persons to fill them.

By 5000 BC (according to the Terran calendar), all of the other nations on Durgets had imploded due to a combination of demographic collapse, food shortages caused by excessive environmentalism and a fear of nuclear power, and general destruction of the social hierarchies that make civilization possible. Those looking for security found themselves forced to seek shelter under the wings of the nation of Holkai.

By 2500 BC, Holkai (by that time the sole polity in Durgets' star system, and firmly in control of every planetary body therein) discovered effective Alcubierre travel. Expansion throughout the local stellar volume began shortly thereafter.

Over time, expansion resulted in contact with (comparatively) primitive alien species, each of which was assimilated into Holkaian society, and "indoctrinated" with Holkaian values. After about 180 planets had been taken, and three alien species had been discovered, Holkaian expansion slowed. The resources of this many systems were essentially inexhaustible, so there was no reason to expand further. Occasionally, new planets would be explored and claimed, but by and large, Holkai is simply interested in maintaining business as usual.

Economic Info

Economic Ideology: Vaguely Distributist? Democratized in general? Lots of guilds and worker co-ops. Definitely a major focus on concrete goods and services, rather than the financial sector.

Economy: Ehhhh... decent? I mean, the fiscal sector is basically non-existent, usury laws are extremely strict and preclude most of the financial tricks you'd find in a typical stock market. The entertainment sector is also essentially controlled by the government, as stories that glorify wealth and pleasure as opposed to integrity, courage, wisdom, and moderation are banned. As for trade, that mostly occurs within Holkaian borders - the culture doesn't need anything from the outside world. But these sorts of strict regulations mask the fact that the society is effectively post-scarcity, and will remain so for as long as the stars still burn. It's just that Holkai as a whole doesn't seek out prosperity as it's primary goal.

Manufacturing: advanced nanotech, industrial scale transmutation, and extensive antimatter production make this very strong.

Agriculture: above average, but not exceptional. Holkai has the capacity to produce about 20% more food than it consumes, so there's a sizable surplus.

Military Info

Military Population: 20 billion "Active Duty" personnel, plus an additional 70 billion "reservists" - all males in the military Castes.

Branches: the Astry is the branch concerned with void combat. For situations where boarding actions need to take place, the Espatier Corps exists. The Drop Corps are the ones who take part in battles on planets, and they are supported by the Aerospace Corps. But whichever branch is brought to bear, it's the Astry that has to get them to where they need to go.

Standard infantry: to take your average soldier from the Drop Corps, you're looking at a 300 kg Karig in over a tonne of Power-Armor.

Standard weapons: Highly variable. 1-400 GJ plasma bombs are fairly popular - fitting, as they do, in the 23.02 mm caliber preferred by the Karigan war machine. Rapid-fire flechette weapons are also popular. Energy weapons include the plasma-based "hellbore," the multifunctional pulsed laser (capable of stunning, killing, or drilling as needed), and the highly penetrative - but also highly dangerous - fusion gun, which turns a stick of lithium deuteride into a searing beam of neutrons and high-energy plasma. To a substantial degree, it depends on the needs of the mission.

Standard ship: there isn't one. There are, however, clear "types." Destroyers are for saturation attacks against defended targets. Cruisers are primarily for C4ISTAR and fleet defense. Dreadnoughts use heavy long-range weapons. And Carriers, well, carry things.

Ship weapons: Destroyers typically carry large numbers of Zubrin-drive missiles with nuclear shaped charge warheads. Cruisers can utilize their full-spectrum phased arrays to engage in EWAR, point defense, and even full-on attack in a pinch. Dreadnoughts come in two configurations: the "bombardment" Dreadnought which mounts a heavy mass driver for attacking stationary targets with k-rods and high explosives, and the "capital" Dreadnought, which utilizes particle beams for multiple effects. One and the same weapon system can fire tiny guided grains at relativistic velocities, a laser-cooled neutral particle beam, or a hard x-ray laser of stupendous range - all depending on the needs of the moment (I can provide details for how this works if required - it's basically a matter of where you divert the beam of your linear accelerator). Carriers are primarily used for transporting elements of the Drop Corps, Espatier Corps, or Aerospace Corps.

[Theyra]

Included your species apps just so they are all in one place.

[Hahoalki]

Fixed, I think.

[Theyra]

SPECIES APP I

Name: Karigai (singular Karig, possessive Karigan)

Appearance: If you've ever played D&D, think "sapient owlbear," and you'll be wrong only in ways that don't matter.

Height/Weight: Up to about 3.75 meters tall and 1,000 kg for the largest/most thoroughly enhanced individuals. 2.5 meters and 300 kg is more typical.

Lifespan: 400 years on average with access to adequate biotech.

Culture: The basic unit of society is the family - a male Karig, a female Karig, united by a pair-bond, and inclusive of their children. Within each Caste are innumerable clans - extended families that may only share an ancestor nine generations back. Generally, Karigai marry outside of their clans, resulting in a tangled web of relations and obligations.

On the larger scale, there is a tripartite division of society into economic, military, and sacred dimensions (with "science" being a part of the sacred sphere, and "technology" being the application of the sacred to the economic), and multiple bio-engineered "castes" corresponding to each dimension. The "purpose" of society is to cultivate the virtues of wisdom, courage, moderation, and integrity. The tripartite division tends to place the sacred above the military, and the military above the economic, but a strong notion of complementarity - each Caste having its own dignity and role to play in society - balances out the hierarchical nature of the system.

Religion honors a single Deity, seen as the Transcendent, Infinite, and Unique Source of all that is, the Supreme Being with no equals - let alone superiors - and the standard of Justice and Purpose that will judge all intelligent beings upon death. God reveals Himself, not through prophets and miracles, but through the very existence and regularity of the natural world. Lesser spirits, not worthy of proper worship, are associated with each clan.

The existence of a set "mating period" every year, combined with the tendency for sexual impulses to override reason, results in a culturally ingrained suspicion of sex, and a highly conservative approach to morality generally. If you think about the Catholic Church's attitudes towards fornication, divorce, adultery, and other acts that will remain unnamed, you'll have a good idea of the sorts of values they hold.

Karigan music is almost certainly the best in the galaxy. They may resemble birds of prey, but their ancestors were more analogous to songbirds, parrots, or corvids. That, combined with literal millennia of genetic engineering and eugenics, means that a modestly sized Karigan choral group can mimic - or even excel - a full Terran orchestra. Art is generally designed to inculate virtue in the populace, and will vary according to the Caste of the expected consumer.

Biology: Extensively modified by a combination of eugenics and genetic engineering. Warrior Caste Karigai can lift up to 10 tonnes, can run at up to 120 km/h, and can survive multiple shots from high-caliber rounds (or one shot from a man-portable plasma cannon), though more typical members of the species are less thoroughly augmented.

Psionics: None.

SPECIES APP II

Name: Serhask (plural Sehask, possessive Serhaskite)

Appearance: Short-snouted reptilian with intricately patterned iridescent scales.

Height/Weight: Typically around 1.5 meters in height and under 60 kg.

Lifespan: up to 600. With the right biotech.

Culture: Originally shamaanistic. Due to countless generations of assimilation into Karigan society, the Serhaskite culture is more or less identical to Karigan. Due to their high intelligence and perceived "mystical powers" (actually advanced psionics), their clans are typically incorporated into the priestly-scientific Caste, though it's not particularly rare for them to be members of the military Caste.

Biology: Nothing of note, other than that they are warm blooded.

Psionics: Very psi-capable. Psionics is divided into four disciplines: Manipulation of the mind (including various forms of ESP), Manipulation of the body (biokinesis and healing powers), Manipulation of the physical (telekinesis, pyrokinesis, electrokinesis, and the like), and "Advanced Techniques" (precognition, various methods of physical attack and defense, mind control, and/or psionic interface with technology would all fall under this heading). The strongest of the Liz'zards (as their psions are known) are capable of astonishing feats, but are far from omnipotent.

SPECIES APP III

Name: Tlik'katsk (plural Tlik'katska, possessive Tlik'katskan)

Appearance: very arthropod-like, somewhat mantis-shaped, with four pairs of "walking limbs" and two pairs of "manipulating limbs." Plus a menagerie of mouthparts that are better left to the imagination. They are very off-putting to most humans.

Height/Weight: Generally up to 1.5 meters in height, but 200 kg on average.

Lifespan: 200 years, with extensive biotech.

Culture: Effectively assimilated into the Karigan society. Their rational nature, lightning-fast thinking and decision making, high speed, durability, and calmness under duress have made them extremely well suited to the military Castes, though some clans have been incorporated into the priestly-scientific Castes instead.

Biology: Due to the hyper-oxidizing environment of Chitek'ks, the Tlik'katska have evolved to require an atmosphere of about 10% Flourine and 30% Oxygen - a mix that would poison (or, in some cases, positively ignite) most other species. Their metabolism is much faster than that of more "conventional" life forms, and they run on temperatures in excess of 60 degrees Celsius.

Psionics: No

SPECIES APP IV

Name: Quarn (plural Quarn, possessive Quarnian)

Appearance: vaguely akin to the Kzinti, I guess.

Height/Weight: 2 meters and 100 kg on average.

Lifespan: 300 years with biotech

Culture: Highly mercantile, albeit somewhat integrated into Karigan society. The majority are members of the economic Castes - disproportionately represented among the upper and middle classes of the economic sector of Holkaian society - though some are members of the military Castes. They are responsible for a considerable majority of Holkaian trade, both inside and outside the borders of the empire.

Biology: Never actually got around to being amniotic (or equivalent). Instead, amphibian-like eggs are carried by the female of the species in a moisturized pouch until the young are capable of breathing the open air.

Psionics: No

NATION APP EDITED

Nation Name: Empire of Holkai

Government type: Philosopher-Kingdom - it's complicated.

Government Description: Okay, so remember the priestly-scientific Caste? There's a ruling council of 182 individuals of multiple species, all of "priestly lineage and undisputable virtue" who determine policy by vote. When one member dies, their replacement is elected by the remaining 181. Local governments are typically partial democracies of the sort described in Plato's dialog "The Laws."

Capital: the planet of Durgets.

Population: 4.52 trillion

Size: 192 Star Systems

Species: Karigai, Tlik'katska, Serhask, and Quarn.

Background: Karigan society took shape over the millennia it spent stuck on Durgets. Initially balkanized (as second and early third Millennium Earth was), one state - the state of Holkai - tried something that had never been done before. While the nation's around it tried to build societies that were based around liberty, equality, and fraternity (or, later, diversity, equity, and inclusion), the tiny nation of Holkai essentially forced the virtuous people who wanted nothing to do with politics to take charge - God knows that they wouldn't have gone back into the cave with the normies of their own accord - and build a society based around the notion of true virtue. Freedom and equality took the back seat to notions of justice and the common good. Accordingly, a eugenics program began - not to weed out undesirables or poor people, but rather to ensure that the diversity of roles would be matched by a diversity of persons to fill them.

By 5000 BC (according to the Terran calendar), all of the other nations on Durgets had imploded due to a combination of demographic collapse, food shortages caused by excessive environmentalism and a fear of nuclear power, and general destruction of the social hierarchies that make civilization possible. Those looking for security found themselves forced to seek shelter under the wings of the nation of Holkai.

By 2500 BC, Holkai (by that time the sole polity in Durgets' star system, and firmly in control of every planetary body therein) discovered effective Alcubierre travel. Expansion throughout the local stellar volume began shortly thereafter.

Over time, expansion resulted in contact with (comparatively) primitive alien species, each of which was assimilated into Holkaian society, and "indoctrinated" with Holkaian values. After about 180 planets had been taken, and three alien species had been discovered, Holkaian expansion slowed. The resources of this many systems were essentially inexhaustible, so there was no reason to expand further. Occasionally, new planets would be explored and claimed, but by and large, Holkai is simply interested in maintaining business as usual.

Economic Info

Economic Ideology: Vaguely Distributist? Democratized in general? Lots of guilds and worker co-ops. Definitely a major focus on concrete goods and services, rather than the financial sector.

Economy: Ehhhh... decent? I mean, the fiscal sector is basically non-existent, usury laws are extremely strict and preclude most of the financial tricks you'd find in a typical stock market. The entertainment sector is also essentially controlled by the government, as stories that glorify wealth and pleasure as opposed to integrity, courage, wisdom, and moderation are banned. As for trade, that mostly occurs within Holkaian borders - the culture doesn't need anything from the outside world. But these sorts of strict regulations mask the fact that the society is effectively post-scarcity, and will remain so for as long as the stars still burn. It's just that Holkai as a whole doesn't seek out prosperity as it's primary goal.

Manufacturing: advanced nanotech, industrial scale transmutation, and extensive antimatter production make this very strong.

Agriculture: above average, but not exceptional. Holkai has the capacity to produce about 20% more food than it consumes, so there's a sizable surplus.

Military Info

Military Population: 20 billion "Active Duty" personnel, plus an additional 70 billion "reservists" - all males in the military Castes.

Branches: the Astry is the branch concerned with void combat. For situations where boarding actions need to take place, the Espatier Corps exists. The Drop Corps are the ones who take part in battles on planets, and they are supported by the Aerospace Corps. But whichever branch is brought to bear, it's the Astry that has to get them to where they need to go.

Standard infantry: to take your average soldier from the Drop Corps, you're looking at a 300 kg Karig in over a tonne of Power-Armor.

Standard weapons: Highly variable. 1-400 GJ plasma bombs are fairly popular - fitting, as they do, in the 23.02 mm caliber preferred by the Karigan war machine. Rapid-fire flechette weapons are also popular. Energy weapons include the plasma-based "hellbore," the multifunctional pulsed laser (capable of stunning, killing, or drilling as needed), and the highly penetrative - but also highly dangerous - fusion gun, which turns a stick of lithium deuteride into a searing beam of neutrons and high-energy plasma. To a substantial degree, it depends on the needs of the mission.

Standard ship: there isn't one. There are, however, clear "types." Destroyers are for saturation attacks against defended targets. Cruisers are primarily for C4ISTAR and fleet defense. Dreadnoughts use heavy long-range weapons. And Carriers, well, carry things.

Ship weapons: Destroyers typically carry large numbers of Zubrin-drive missiles with nuclear shaped charge warheads. Cruisers can utilize their full-spectrum phased arrays to engage in EWAR, point defense, and even full-on attack in a pinch. Dreadnoughts come in two configurations: the "bombardment" Dreadnought which mounts a heavy mass driver for attacking stationary targets with k-rods and high explosives, and the "capital" Dreadnought, which utilizes particle beams for multiple effects. One and the same weapon system can fire tiny guided grains at relativistic velocities, a laser-cooled neutral particle beam, or a hard x-ray laser of stupendous range - all depending on the needs of the moment (I can provide details for how this works if required - it's basically a matter of where you divert the beam of your linear accelerator). Carriers are primarily used for transporting elements of the Drop Corps, Espatier Corps, or Aerospace Corps.

Accepted

[Union Princes]

Nation Name: Soldiers Without Borders/The Terran Republic
Government type: Stratocractic Democratic Mega Corporation
Government Description: A system of contradictions in which the virtues of governance are dictated by egalitarianism and acquisition. No real ideology in the nation other than self-determination and free market entrepreneurism. On one hand, the military-industrial complex is completely unrestricted in collaboration with the politicians while political power is highly centralized in the office of the Chancellor. Yet, provided the person does not agitate against the state, the Republic is a beacon of individual liberty and basic rights of sentience.

Policing in the Republic takes the form of what could best be described as a permanent counterinsurgency: the state works expediently, often bending or ignoring the rule of law to maintain stability, but with the constant awareness that they are dependant on the goodwill of the locals to function. There is no culture of revenge, that is for ideologues, not soldiers. The defeated remnants of the insurrectionists and terrorists are often offered a fresh start in the new regime, their past crimes and ideology forgotten. The leaders are often taken out and shot, but there's no malice in it. It's just business.

The right to vote is dependent on military service. Any mercenary that joined the military and swears loyalty to his new home automatically has a vote, and natural-born persons can gain the vote for themselves and their families by enlisting. Service guarantees citizenship. Alien species are offered special status within this megacorp, particularly if they have a tradition of military service. It's another contradiction; limiting the right to vote even as they extend minority protections and rights.
Capital: Old Terra (Sol Invictus system)
Population: 5 Trillion
Size: 56 Systems
Species: Human (Majority)
Background: The Golden Age of Humanity has passed and with it, the collapse of the empire the humans have carved out of the galaxy. No doubt the consequence of too much success. In this absence of a central authority, a power vacuum emerged in the capital world of Terra though it is more commonly known as Old Terra. For several centuries, it was anarchy among the stars as competing warlords fought one another over the ashes of the old imperium. Yet in this Dark Age of Humanity, a glimmer of hope and order was found in the unlikeliest of all unifiers: mercenaries. The leader of the PMC Soldiers Without Borders, General Ivan the Whitebeard, found himself in a unique position to carve his legacy in the galaxy.

Through luck, skill, and a massive network among smugglers in black markets, the Soldiers Without Borders fought to unite Old Terra under a single banner. It seems they could not stop conquering as the neighboring solar systems fell underway. That small part of the galaxy became a new home for exiles and wanderers alike. As the decades wore on and the PMC now became the size of a megacorporation, policy shifted to consolidation and trade rather than expansionism. The period of peace allowed the mercenary company to transition into a more functioning state. Indeed, with the entire realm under one monopoly, subdivisions of the company and branches of government became synonymous.

Economic Info
Economic Ideology: Free Market Capitalism with socialist policies.
Economy: The Republic draws its wealth from two sources: arms dealing and wetwork. It is the largest producer and distributor of small arms, armor, equipment, land vehicles, and small spacecraft. Sometimes, they're willing to sell entire capital ships for the right price. Though the nation will never be as rich as other empires, it will never be poor due to the constant influx of money and resources from the mercenary contracts. Although there are dozens of ecumenopolises dedicated to the production of consumer goods and military hardware, there remain some planets dedicated to agricultural output.
Manufacturing: Due to inheriting the industrial worlds of the human empire, factories and shipyards never cease to produce every piece of war material that is endlessly consumed and traded in the military-industrial complex. This high production output allows its products to maintain a level of affordability and replicability that is seldom seen elsewhere.
Agriculture: Due to the density of the population, the maintenance and modernization of agricultural worlds are a constant priority in order to feed an ever-growing population and the demands of the military. The state enforces a level of uniformity among the agricultural worlds, making sure that output remains consistent.

Military Info
Military Population:150 billion
Branches:
The Astra Exercitus: The primary land forces and mercenary contractors of Soldiers Without Borders. Even though the codex calls for strict uniformity and discipline, the innate nature of the PMC meant that uniforms and equipment often vary between units. As long as the symbols and insignia of the megacorp remain seen and easily identifiable, soldiers can wear practically whatever they want for comfort. However, officers and drill sergeants do insist to wear additional armor and gadgets to increase their life expectancy. Additionally, individual soldiers or companies have the freedom to buy additional equipment and hardware not provided by the state, so long as they could afford them.

• Special Service Branch: The Commandos. The Stormtroopers. The Glory Boys. The Special Service Branch is a catch-all term for the various army units specialized in direct action, special reconnaissance, counterterrorism, counterproliferation, information operations, and civil affairs. Undoubtedly the most expensive mercenary unit to buy but definitely worth their weight in gold. They are the highest quality soldiers found within the megacorp. The luxuries they could afford from their high paychecks earned them some resentment and awe from the rank-and-file.
• Planetary Defense Force: Home of third-rate troops of the republic. Composed of retired servicemen and military rejects, they are the first line of defense when a planet comes under attack from a foreign invader. The quality is even more drastic but they compensate for their desire to defend their home and liberties. For practical purposes, they can't be hired as PMCs by the megacorp. It's not uncommon for children to enlist as auxiliary personnel before they become full mercenaries when coming of age.

The Astra Classe: The naval arm of the megacorp. Even though they are eligible for mercenary contracts, their high price meant that clients opted to buy army units instead to get more utility out of their services. As such, Navy traditions are noticeably more strict and loyal to the megacorp with many admirals becoming shareholders and sailor-politicians in government.
Standard infantry:
Recruitment for the Astra Exceritus is for ages between 18 to 45 according to federal law. However, many recruitment stations are willing to lower standards to 16; whether out of negligence or sympathy for the young aspirant is irrelevant. For adventurers and outcasts of alien origin, the only two requirements for joining are shooting a gun or any kind and being able to speak fluent Terran. Other than that, the nation of origin and background checks are secondary concerns. Literally, anyone who wants to join can join if they have the will to fight for pay. The result? What they lack in orthodox military traditions, they make up for in sheer experience and wit.
Standard weapons:
There are two primary firearms in the military: kinetic autoguns and lasrifles. Combat philosophy entails that equipment needs to be as ubiquitous as possible in order to make sure that each soldier is armed and ready at all times, especially when selling to foreign markets. Even though the body armor and guns are lambasted for being much weaker than contemporary designs, the easy manufacturing and distribution costs ensure that the price tag always stays low for rapid replacement and repairs.

The armored vehicles of the megacorp follow the same principle as all designs are derived from three main chassis. The commonality in components allows for quicker repairs, easier logistics, and rapid transportation for the army.

Whatever high-quality gear, such as power armor, is available, it's usually given to the SSB while the surplus is sold off in soldier markets for the common rank and file to bid on.
Standard ship:
Nicknamed "Flying Bricks" due to their thick armor and slow speeds, Soldiers Without Borders starships use FTL engines to travel across the galaxy. The classification includes fighters, bombers, transports, merchantmen, cruisers, and battleships.
Ship weapons:
"If it can go into space, put a torpedo inside it. If it's a torpedo, send it into space." The most common armament in the navy is torpedoes and missiles while kinetic and laser weapons are relegated to point defense. The smallest torpedoes are only 20 ft long while the largest can go 200 feet in length. The fighters themselves have developed only the lines of the "hornet nest" strategy in which they are all built to carry at least one missile or torpedo but have at least 8 autocannons to shoot down enemy spacecraft.

[Sao Nova Europa]

Union Princes, since my empire is human and descended from human colonies, you should check out the history. I deliberately left the origins somewhat vague to give creative freedom to anyone who wanted to join as an Earth-based empire

The origins of the Imperium go centuries back to the colonization of solar systems by humans. Due to an unrecorded event, communication between a number of those colonies and their homeland ceased. Now independent polities, the many human colonies in this part of the Galaxy engaged in a number of brutal conflicts until a powerful human kingdom under the rule of the Theodosian Dynasty managed to unify all the human colonies into a single Imperium circa 2500.

[Union Princes]

I was about have my version that the human space empire collapsed like the Roman Empire. Being too large and decadent to handle the stresses of ruling over a large area. And then have my Mega Corp move in to rule the ashes

[G-Tech Corporation]

A MegaCorporation desecrating the hallowed worlds of Ancient Sol? Bold stance for someone within crusading distance.

[The Eliksni Unity]

Name: Eliksni
Appearance: Spider-like humanoids, with 4 or more arms, standing on two legs. 4 glowing blue eyes. Skin is purplish grey.
Height/Weight: Average is about 6', although some can reach 10', Weight is around 200 lbs, although you can reach 600 if you're an absolute bodybuilder.
Lifespan: 80 years, some live longer than others.
Culture: The Eliksni are subdivided into their Houses, a centuries-long division that has reaped war and distrust. It has not been until very recently that the Houses reunited. Life is spread out among the Milky Way Galaxy. Many Eliksni can be found in the ruins of other civilizations, mining away for raw materials. Not entirely a nomadic society but not bound to just one planet. Go looking in the wretches of abandoned cities and most likely you'll find us. Law is led by the barrel of a gun, and the Houses, of course. There is a large respect for the Kell (leaders) of the House to which you belong, some are even held sacrosanct.
Biology: There are practically no distinctions between male and female, besides tone of voice, and the hidden genitalia. The Eliksni are reliant on a magical substance known as Ether, which they consume and use in their prosthetics. Size varies on the parents, and those who are bigger usually become leaders.
Psionics: (Are they psi capable or not): Most leaders and famous warriors are psi-capable, being telekinetic, in an inferior way.
Other Info: There are those who do not pledge their allegiance to the Houses, but rather to the Spider. He is the backbone of the Eliksni Black Market. He leads his own House, although it is not really a House, but rather a corporation, just one not following any laws whatsoever. He is a businessman and understands that war just isn't good for his business, but he knows when to fight, especially when his business is at stake.

Nation Name: The Eliksni Unity
Government type: Confederation of the Houses
Government Description: A union of the Eliksni Houses. Each Kell (leader) retains power in their own House and also meets with the other Kells to discuss matters of the inter-house law.
Capital: There is no capital besides the Kells' interstellar Flagships.
Population: (No greater than 5 Trillion): 3 trillion
Size: (How many solar systems are under its control, 200 max): none, we are practically in 20 systems. Each system is not under direct control, a frontier. But there is heavy Eliksni traffic and presence within the area. The most Eliksni presence is within the Earth System (if possible under these RP conditions)
Species: Eliksni
Background:(Min two paragraphs): On their homeworld, there was peace. No Houses. No war. And then the Traveler came. it gave us more powers than even Ether could have given us. But with the idea of power, corruption came. Betrayal and sabotage made the Eliksni fight themselves over who would receive the Traveler's powers. In the end, the Traveler left the Eliksni and abandoned them. Years of order finally collapsed, and the Eliksni fell into the Houses, fighting for centuries. A story arose about the Kell of Kells, who was the strongest leader of all. It was thought that he would unite the Houses, but his story died in the wars. We still do not know who the Kell of Kells would be.

After centuries of war, many Eliksni had grown tired. No one knew why they were fighting anymore. The new Kells were losing their people, and some had begun peace talks with the other Kells. After centuries, the Kells all met on Variks' Flagship to discuss the future of our people. Days of arguing and jolliness rolled into the fury of the mixture until finally, the Kells decided on the unification of the Houses under a confederacy. Many rejoiced. Some were skeptical, and many were angry. But the war was finally to pass. Many Eliksni who had never been in the Houses had rediscovered them, and the Spider played along, hoping to find business opportunities within the Confederacy.

Economic Info
Economic Ideology: Fervent Capitalism
Economy:(How good is it): It's strong, not the best, but it's got capabilities. The black market dominates the economy though.
Manufacturing:(how good is it): Excellent.
Agriculture:(how good is it): Not the best, we are not good with the environment.

Military Info
Military Population:(no more the 3% of your population): 3%
Branches: Each House maintains their militia
Standard infantry: Conscription into the House militia
Standard weapons: Tracer Rifles, Pulse Rifles, and Rocket Rifles.
Standard ship: Flagship, Battle Ketches (just star cruisers), and Interceptor Ketches (starfighters)
Ship weapons: Laser Cannons and Rockets.

[The Eliksni Unity]

Interested in this, thinking about making a brain-worm empire.

The Hive moment...

[G-Tech Corporation]

Interested in this, thinking about making a brain-worm empire.

The Hive moment...

A question - is the Ether in your species backstory a real substance? Or something else which occurs across the galaxy, but is fictional?

I'm also trying to wrap my head around how to meaningfully interact with a race which holds no planets, but is distributed across the entire Milky Way. Are the Eliksni very ancient then, to have spread so far?