Solar Alliance/PACT Conflict World
This World follows the journey of Captain Kayto Shields as he leads his crew of colorful Ryder pilots from across the galaxy on a one-ship mission of revenge to liberate his home planet of Cera from the clutches of the sinister People's Alliance for Common Treatment, unraveling an even deeper mystery as he goes...
Setting
In 495, the New Empire formally collapsed. The figure known today only as Veniczar S. Arcadius emerged from the shadows and declared the formation of the new PACT order. As the leader of every formerly enslaved citizen of the New Empire, Arcadius soon turned to the Neutral Rim in search of more riches. Exhibiting a cult-like zeal for their leader, the citizens of PACT rallied around Arcadius. With each conquest, the people’s exuberance grew. For Arcadius, total control was easy, for a people who have never known freedom for generations could only be dominated by a new charismatic dictator who offered the former slaves wealth, power, and respect.
The year today is 503. PACT has aggressively encroached into the Neutral Rim in violation of the Treaty of Vespa. War between the Alliance and PACT appears almost inevitable. Instead of taking decisive action to stop the PACT threat, the Alliance has instead split into two parties. The Progress Party, which currently controls the Solar Congress, seeks the peace route and believes that allowing the Veniczar to control half of the Neutral Rim would safeguard Alliance interests and prevent bloodshed. The United Univeralists believe war is the only option and favor militarization. Neither party has managed to accomplish anything in the Solar Congress and the President has been powerless as to form a consensus. While the Alliance debates, the power of PACT grows by the day…
History
Very few – perhaps no one – knows how humanity began. Various theories are abound. The Solar Alliance claims humanity must have sprang from aquatic life on the surface of prehistoric Solaris. The Ryuvian Dynasty claims all life originated from the hand of God on the peak of Mount Destiny on Ryuvia Prime. Whatever the case may be, the origins of humans, and how humans came to rule the galaxy, are unknown. For as long as recorded history can tell, humans have been the dominant life form in the galaxy, and their only real enemy have been themselves. All other life forms in the galaxy have either been exterminated, domesticated, or adopted into the human diet. Some ancient fossils suggest a human-alien war may have taken place millions of years ago. Whatever the details may be, it is clear who won the war.
Likewise, nobody knows when or how faster than light travel came to be. The general consensus seems to be that the Ryuvians were the first to master instantaneous quantum jumps. They spread through the galaxy, exponentially growing in power as they exploited planet after planet of its natural resources, and wiped out any life form which stood in the way of development. For thousands of years, the galaxy was united under the singular Ryuvian banner. However, not even the mighty Ryuvian fleets could tame human ambition. Men and women across the galaxy sought to leave their marks on history and revolted against Ryuvia Prime. The Holy Ryuvian Empire fractured, collapsed, then rose again too many times that even historians lost count.
At its apex, it is said the Holy Ryuvian Empire possessed technology capable of quasi-god like powers. Obviously, the Ryuvians used this technology far too liberally to destroy its enemies, as weapons proliferation ultimately led to the destruction of most of the Holy Ryuvian Empire, and humanity in general.
Thus begins most of recorded history. Most of the history of the Holy Ryuvian Empire has been unfortunately lost, thanks to humanity’s penchant for using excessive firepower. After the downfall of the Holy Ryuvian Empire, humanity splintered into three camps: The free people of the Western quadrant of the galaxy, the New Empire of the Northern quadrant, and the remnants of the Ryuvians in the Eastern quadrant. For a time, warfare stopped, as humanity lost the power of quantum jumps, overall, the technology of the Ryuvian Empire had been destroyed or forgotten. It fell upon the humans who survived the Ryuvian Wars to rediscover the lost technology of the Holy Ryuvian Empire, and to restore mankind to its former glory.
The Alliance-Imperial War
Following the collapse of the Holy Ryuvian Empire and the near extinction of human race in the Ryuvian Wars, humanity briefly entered a Dark Age. The remnants of the Ryuvians retreated back to its core worlds and faded from power, their technology now long lost.
However, studying derelict Ryuvian ruins and artifacts allowed humanity to slowly but surely reclaim its master place in the galaxy. Ruined, but not defeated, humanity once again took to the stars to colonize undiscovered worlds. Fortune smiled upon the courageous explorers, and a class-28 paradise planet was discovered in the far reaches of the galaxy. Named New Eden by its settlers, it was said it would be the center of humankind’s revival. Overflowing with natural resources, arable land, and fresh water, news of New Eden’s discovery spread swiftly through the galaxy. The people of New Eden named themselves the New Empire, and boasted they would restore the glory of the old Holy Ryuvian Empire of the legends. Backed by the seemingly endless resources of New Eden, the New Empire quickly developed a formidable military force. Countless neighboring worlds decided voluntarily to give themselves to the Empire. Those who did not were soon after seized and made vassals. The Imperial Age had begun.
However, with power came inevitable oppression. The rulers of the New Empire became drunk with power, and soon fancied themselves reincarnations of the Holy Ryuvian Lords. They ruled their people with an iron fist. New Eden became the home of the rich and powerful, where the Imperial elites would live in lavish luxury. The rest of Imperial society lived in abject poverty, their minds brainwashed by propaganda and their livelihoods taken for the benefit of the rich.
Circa 397, the New Empire appeared destined to rule all of humanity. The decaying remnants of the Ryuvian Empire was written off as doomed, and the remaining humans of the galaxy grimly waited until they inevitably became slaves of the New Empire.
However, the free people of Solaris refused to become slaves. Under the leadership of legendary Admiral Madeline Grey, the remaining free worlds of the galaxy united under the banner of the Solar Alliance. Declaring the universal truths of freedom and democracy, Admiral Grey scrambled together a massive armada from fleets across the galaxy, and met the Imperial onslaught at the now mythical Battle of Solaris.
The combined mettle of free people across the galaxy brought forth a miracle, and the Imperial fleet was routed. The setback at Solaris reverberated throughout the New Empire, and shook the Imperial Court. Frictions between the Boy Emperor, who had ascended the Imperial throne at the age of 14, the Imperial Consort (his mother), and the Counsel of Advisers, broke into an outright power struggle. Further rattling the Empire was the resurgence of the Ryuvian Empire, whom everyone had previously written off as the sick man of the galaxy. Emboldened by the Solar Alliance’s victory, the Ryuvians finally chose to reclaim the heritage of their ancestors and join the Alliance in its war against the Empire. Worst of all, the first signs of an internal revolutionary movement began to take form inside the Empire. Calling themselves the Compact, the citizen-slaves of the Empire began to openly question their rulers after their catastrophic defeat at Solaris.
Faced with a war on two fronts, a power struggle within the Imperial Court, and internal revolution, the Empire had no choice but to pursue peace. The Treaty of Vespa formally ended the Alliance-Imperial War and restored an uneasy peace to the galaxy.
The Alliance emerged as the uncontested winner of the war. Solaris, which was nothing more than a merchant world a mere decade prior, won territory which stretched from the hub world of Far Port to the Eastern quadrant. Far Port was a former Ryuvian world which was liberated from its Imperial occupiers by the Alliance. While the Ryuvian fleet had admittedly abandoned the world to its fate in the face of an imminent Imperial invasion during the war, most had expected the Alliance to return Far Port to the Ryuvians at the conclusion of the war. However, Far Port proved to be far too strategic a world for the Alliance to give up, as it served as the gateway into the Alliance core worlds. After having assisted the Alliance in the war, Ryuvians would never forgive the Alliance for essentially stealing Far Port. After the Far Port scandal, the Alliance-Ryuvia alliance quickly disintegrated. With the loss of Far Port, Ryuvia’s brief resurgence ended, and the old Ryuvian nation – now no longer even an empire – continued its slip into oblivion.
Over the course of the next century, the Alliance developed into a military, economic, and cultural powerhouse, and the New Empire declined further into internal power struggles and unrest. The revolutionary group Compact, now funded by Alliance covert operatives, spread the fires of unrest throughout the New Empire. The assassination of the Emperor in 494 sounded the death knell of the New Empire. After ruling most of the galaxy with an iron fist for nearly 500 years, the New Empire formally collapsed in 495.
The PACT Revolution
Some commentators have called the galaxy the battleground of human ambition. Throughout history, men and women have longed to amass power and leave their marks on history. Fleets have been assembled, and billions of souls have clashed in battle, all for the sake of leaders intent on preserving their legacy. All of this suggest that humans came to dominate the galaxy because no other species could exhibit such an unbridled desire for power and yet not destroy themselves before discovering FTL travel.
Whether this is true or not, the people of the New Empire longed to rid themselves of the oppressive hands of their Imperial overlords and forge their own course in history. No matter how tightly the Emperor clenched his iron fist, dissent formulated in the dark shadows of the Empire. The Compact was an underground liberation movement which had a vast network of conspirators throughout the subjugated Imperial colonies. While considered nothing more than a petty criminal ring by Imperial authorities during the height of Imperial power, the Compact became a legitimate independence movement with the formation of the Solar Alliance. Led by an idealistic Venassar during the time of The Alliance-Imperial War, the Compact received substantial financial and military support from Alliance operatives who sought to disintegrate the Empire from within.
The conclusion of the Imperial-Alliance War left the New Empire in a substantially weakened state. The Treaty of Vespa led to substantial loss of the Empire’s former territories and left the Alliance to dominate the southern half of the galaxy. Worse, when the Imperial Court should have been focusing on reconstruction efforts after the war, it instead fell into infighting. The former mighty rulers of the Empire betrayed themselves in a last effort to cling onto what little remained of the Empire’s bounty. Civil War became inevitable.
The New Empire was still a mighty and vast power, and its demise was gradual. However, by 490, the New Empire was on its death bed. A new Venassar emerged, and proclaimed that the Compact would liberate the enslaved people of the Empire and restore equality to all. Long had the citizen slaves of the Empire been deprived of their share of the Empire’s riches. The Venassar marched throughout the Empire, liberating world after world, and spilling open the coffers of the Empire’s elite into the hands of the masses.
The Alliance initially greeted the Venassar with welcome, and offered the Venassar a shared vision of a galaxy based on freedom. However, it soon became clear the Venassar had his own plans. The Compact finally marched on New Eden in 494 and looted the ancient Imperial capital. The elite were torn of their clothes, beat in the streets, and summarily executed, then displayed for all to see. The Emperor narrowly escaped the chaos, only to be assassinated by Compact agents shortly after fleeing the capital. The sacking of New Eden shocked Alliance space. The Venassar’s previous oath of promoting justice appeared forgotten, and the Venassar himself vanished from public view without a trace.
In 495, the New Empire formally collapsed. The figure known today only as Veniczar S. Arcadius emerged from the shadows and declared the formation of the new PACT order. As the leader of every formerly enslaved citizen of the New Empire, Arcadius soon turned to the Neutral Rim in search of more riches. Exhibiting a cult-like zeal for their leader, the citizens of PACT rallied around Arcadius. With each conquest, the people’s exuberance grew. For Arcadius, total control was easy, for a people who have never known freedom for generations could only be dominated by a new charismatic dictator who offered the former slaves wealth, power, and respect.
The year today is 503. PACT has aggressively encroached into the Neutral Rim in violation of the Treaty of Vespa. War between the Alliance and PACT appears almost inevitable. Instead of taking decisive action to stop the PACT threat, the Alliance has instead split into two parties. The Progress Party, which currently controls the Solar Congress, seeks the peace route and believes that allowing the Veniczar to control half of the Neutral Rim would safeguard Alliance interests and prevent bloodshed. The United Univeralists believe war is the only option and favor militarization. Neither party has managed to accomplish anything in the Solar Congress and the President has been powerless as to form a consensus. While the Alliance debates, the power of PACT grows by the day…
Factions
PACT
PACT is a revolutionary front that has toppled the once mighty New Empire during the PACT Revolution and is spreading throughout the galaxy. Led by the mysterious Veniczar S. Arcadius and his cult of personality, PACT appears intent on dominating every human being in the galaxy.
Recieving it's acronym from "People's Alliance for Common Treatment", PACT originated from Compact, a resistance movement from within the New Empire that started at New Eden. Originally lead by an idealistic Venassar, Compact was at the beginning nothing more than some guerrilla fighters and rebels that protested against the New Empire ambushing Imperial Nobles, and in general stealing from them and similar low-key acts. However, at the end of The Alliance-Imperial War Compact managed to swell it's ranks with thousands of discontents thanks to the defeats at the war and the financial support of the newly formed Solar Alliance. Due to this and the perennial infighting of the Imperial Court, the Compact started becoming a dangerous threat to the Empire's survival. At 490, Arcadius emerged as Venassar of the Compact, promising to finally end the Empire. After almost 100 years of infighting and constant losses, the empire couldn't do anything while Arcadius liberated world after world. The end of the Empire came the year 494, when the betrayal of the now Veniczar B. Cullen let the Compact Fleet successfully launch a surprise attack on the remnants of the Imperial Fleet, destroying them and leading to the Sack of New Eden (ironically, despite being the origin of the resistance movement, New Eden was the last planet to be liberated due to strong Imperial defences on it's capital). Until that moment the Compact had been an intergalactic association with the only purpose of ending the Empire, but after this victory Arcadius decided to formally unite the territories under Compact as a nation with a new goal. After finally reforming Compact as PACT in 495, Arcadius set the capital at New Eden, and proclaimed PACT's aim: to successfully unite all the galaxy and build a new order where every person is treated equally. Using national pride, the idea that the Alliance was corrupt to the core, that it was dominated by the lobbies that only aimed to enrich themselves, and that the Neutral Rim was a group of planets either puppets of the Alliance or oppressed by dictatorships and corrupt governments, Arcadius managed to unite all the former Compact behind himself. Aiming to fulfill that objective, PACT launched an invasion on the Neutral Rim, violating the treaty of Vespa, conquering half of it by 503. At that year, PACT finally made a full scale attack on one of the remaining main powers on the Neutral Rim, Cera. Achieving a complete victory at the Invasion of Cera, PACT used it's momentum to complete the Neutral Rim conquest 2 months later. Days later it occupied Ryuvia, after betraying a diplomatic treaty they had with them, and using Ryuvia Prime as a starting point they tried to launch a full scale invasion of the Alliance. The latter however, was completely defeated at the Battle of Far Port.
PACT's hierarchy is strict and lineal, with all power centralized in the hands of their sumpreme leader, Veniczar S. Arcadius. This power is executed through the Veniczar office, which can probably be described as the most similar thing PACT has to a government's body. Overall, PACT can be easily compared to a totalitarian state, with restricted space voyage, no separation of powers, and other numerous similarities. Most high ranking officers (civilian or military, though PACT mixes both branches) have the title of Veniczar, with the letter next to the tittle signifying their ranking. So, Arcadius is Veniczar S. Arcadius, while his right hand man is Veniczar B. Fontana. Arcadius chose the name Veniczar as a spiritual successor the name of Venassar used by the leader of Compact.
PACT Space Force
Since Arcadius became their leader, first Compact and later PACT have pursued an expansionist policy through heavy use of military power. After finally destroying the New Empire, the newly proclaimed PACT absorbed the remaining imperial forces (including deserters at the last moment, like Cullen) into his own, and started using the famed resources of New Eden and the former planets of the Empire to rearm and strengthen even more their military power. The result is a fleet that can be only matched by that of the Solar Alliance in all the galaxy.
The PACT fleet is a strange mix of new technologies and cost-cutting measures. PACT ship designs are very different from the ones used by other factions such as the Solar Alliance or Cera, tending to have a knife or speartop-shaped, asymmetric prow that can be characterized as 'a collection of odd angles and flaring modules, giving the entire ship the geometry of a particularly unusual crystal shard.' On one side, every ship bigger than a frigate is equipped with the latest Shielding technology, with the one in carriers and battleships being especially formidable. It's missile and rocket capacities are also top-notch, with Bombers able to carry standard rockets and Battleships a nuclear warhead, besides storage space for two powerful missile salvos, and its frigates sacrificing the capability to launch rockets for a extremely large supply of missiles which works as a perfect support, and makes coordinated salvos especially deadly. However, all of it's ships are generally heavy and slow, and, despite it, not as sturdy as their Alliance counterparts. While equal in laser, they also show some deficiencies in their Kinetics cannon.
In general, however, the biggest problem is their logistics. While nominally a massive force in it;s own right, a big part of PACT's fleets are units either absorbed from surrounding worlds or that have fought for several decades. Being only 10 years since the end of the New Empire, their formers planets have had barely any time to recover, and the planets absorbed from the Neutral Rim have either been devastated by a PACT's invasion (like Cera) or had all their whole political, economic and legal system changed to that of PACT in a hurry, naturally destroying most of their economy (which relied on a liberal or auto sufficient models ). Due to this, PACT's production rate is very much inferior to that of the Alliance in every aspect, which limits any possibility of victory against the Alliance to evading a war of attrition and managing to defeat the enemy quickly and decisively in the field.
Nonetheless, PACT's still has one edge over the Alliance in particular: being a totalitarian state, the nation it's able to pool most of it's resources towards its military without sparing sacrifices. The Alliance, being a democracy, it's a lot less keen on long wars and maintaining absolute militarization. Due to this, even if a swift attack failed, PACT still would be able to simply turtle on their fortress worlds and use hit-and-run tactics, while awaiting for the Alliance population to either tire of the war or force their military to launch a reckless attack (the decisive action on the field which PACT's seeks). However, this in turn assumes the Alliance leadership fragments easily, whereas if they have a strong and steady united front and lasting rallying points they could likely then force their way through PACT's defensive lines without giving PACT the opportunity they seek. Additionally, this plan depends on the unity of PACT itself, which, while assuredly stronger then that of the Alliance's leaders, is thus more of a dependent factor for PACT - and if broken will consequentially splinter PACT far more severely and instantaneously then the Alliance, costing them any victory. In short, victory for PACT against the Alliance relies upon either striking swiftly and decisively and upon remaining wholly unified against their enemy - if either of these things fail, PACT will be on the defensive.
The backbone of the PACT fleet are its cruisers, which form most of the combat potential of the Invasion fleets (which tend to have at least 30 cruisers) and quick reaction forces. They are assisted by the cheaper missile frigates, which fill the line and provide invaluable support fire and the possibility of surprise and flanking attacks. However, when the objective is more important, PACT deploys its Battleships and Carriers, which, while a lot more expensive and scarce, provide a lot more projection of force and offensive power. Both are thought to fight at either long range (with missiles and Ryders) or very short range (both the flak cannons of the carrier and the forward guns of the battleship are notably inaccurate), so they can be vulnerable against enemy cruisers. For this reason, even when capital ships are deployed, cruisers are normally also used as an important support element to aide them. Bad collocation however, can result in total disaster when the elements of the fleet can't support the others such as the Battle of Far Port.
Despite its inadequacies, the PACT space force has seen decades of fighting, and so it's a lot more aware than the Alliance of the shift in military doctrine. However, with the core of the commanding officers being formed by old Imperial officers, and PACT's general policy of pushing ships as symbols of power (such as the Legion) instead of prioritizing efficiency, no push towards smaller and more agile ships has been made outside of the special Research & Development sections. Veniczar B. Fontana, the youngest commander of the fleet, has been given permission as Arcadius right hand to develop more advanced and novel designs, but this barely represents a significant part of PACT's overall fleet. It's more correct to think of Fontana's fleets as PACT's elite forces rather than mass produced designs that will replace its current ones.
On its Ryders, PACT is very much the same, relying on the classic duality of light anti-Ryder and heavy anti-ship units that have dominated War since its introduction in The Alliance-Imperial War. The first is a unit that can perform as a scout or as a support unit, where its numbers can shift the tide of battle. The second is a more armored siege unit, equipped with both missiles and a rocket-launcher system. Both are equipped with lasers, with the belief that with their main function accomplished they can still offer support fire. While their performance hasn't been bad, their anti-Ryder capabilities have been deemed as too low to fight properly against elite units so, as with ships, Fontana is also developing other units more specialized, such as a dedicated combat Ryder for anti-ship and anti-Ryder fire, and a counterintelligence unit to cripple enemy communications and systems for pre-emptive attacks.
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| Veniczar B. Cullen | Veniczar B. Fontana | Veniczar S. Arcadius | Veniczar B. Arcadius | 4L1C3 Alice |
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Cera
Cera is the name of a Planet situated in the Neutral Rim, a class 11 Habitable Planet, and that of the country which controls it.
Being class 11, its a planet with resources comparable to the Alliance's Core Planets, so it is one of the most industrious planets of the Neutral Rim and with a population of 4.5 billion. Due to this Cera has long been sought after by the galaxy's main powers. However, its distance from both the Alliance and the former New Empire (and now PACT) have allowed Cera to remain relatively neutral in galactic politics since the end of the Alliance-Imperial War.
Formerly ruled by a tyrannical regime, a puppet of the New Empire, the people of Cera are skeptics of nationalistic governance and are an individualistic lot. Because of this, they generally distrust their government, and so frown upon any sign of it increasing its power, such as increased military strength or strong ties with other nations. Thus, Cera is mainly an isolationist nation with an average military for its population and development level. Despite this, in comparison to lesser countries, Cera is certainly powerful enough to play a larger role in the galaxy, but Cerans have been content to remain on the sidelines and let the Alliance and PACT play out their squabbles - far away from them. The capital is Cera City, a seemingly coastal city which concentrates both the political and military headquarters of the nation, and has a population of several million.
This isolationist policy however, ended being the cause of its downfall. After being surrounded by PACT territory due to their conquest of most of the Neutral Rim, the accelerated rearmament of the Ceran military wasn't enough to stop its defeat by the superior PACT forces in the Invasion of Cera. The swift invasion destroyed all the Ceran civilian and military hierarchy with the destruction of Cera City, and successfully absorbed all what was left into PACT, the only exception being the Assault Carrier Sunrider.
Cera Space Force
Despite being one of the most powerful Fleets in the Neutral Rim, the Cera Space Force is still only average when compared to the resources and population of the nation. Being a democracy with a strong isolationist sentiment and a distrust for the government has resulted in the voters resisting attempts to expand the military. Despite it, the Cera fleet can be proud of the possession of at least 5 Battleships (including the Sunrider, that technically is an Assault Carrier), an unparalleled force within the neighbouring planets. The vanguard of the fleet is composed by the Ceran Battleship, a vessel with 729 meters of length and equipped with the powerful precursor of the Vanguard cannon. While its size is relatively small compared to other Battleships so its capabilities are more similar to a Battlecruiser, it is still unmatchable by any of the competitors she was designed to fight (Pirate Raids and other Neutral Rim militaries). The problem started when due to PACT expansionism the duties of the Space Force shifted from protecting shipping and trade routes from pirates and guarding Cera from other Neutral Rim nations to avoid a complete and total adhesion of Cera by the PACT. While still powerful, the fleet was completely outmatched by both the technology of their superweapons (like the Legion) and the numbers of their regular fleet. Due to this, despite some resistance from the population, the military started an important rearmament with the central point being the creation of the first Assault Carrier, the Sunrider class. This ship was to use the latest technologies, with both offensive capabilities of a Battleship and Ryder capacity like a Carrier. Despite, or maybe because, its small size, the Ceran command realized how the introduction of shielding had fundamentally changed the way wars were fought, thus requiring a corresponding change on the Military Doctrine. The Assault Carrier was the answer to that, thought for extreme tactical flexibility and increased short range capabilities to fight together with its Ryders, with the Sunrider class being a relatively small and cheap, yet still more advanced that anything else, model that the Ceran military could afford. Enhancing it's capacities were top of the line reactors, warp drive and an easily upgradeable design. There were also plans to install shielding technology, but the Invasion of Cera put an end to them. While the first one of its class was finished by the Invasion of Cera, the reluctance of the nation to strengthen its military and to form alliances with other nations still left the Ceran Space Force woefully outmatched by the PACT Invasion fleet, which resulted in the destruction of Cera City and the fall of the Ceran nation. The Cera Space Force was formally disbanded and the remaining ships were absorbed into the PACT Fleet. The only exception is the Sunrider, which refused to surrender and still fights against PACT, with hopes of one day liberating the planet.
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| Captain Kayto Shields |
X.O. Ava Crescentia |
Asaga Oakrun | Chigara Lynn Ashada | Claude Triellio |
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| Cosette Cosmos | Icari Isidolde | Krysta Stares | Sola di Ryuvia | Sophita Brooks |
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| Maray Shields | Lynn |
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The Alliance
The Solar Alliance is the current dominant power house of the Galaxy, only rivaled by the rise of PACT.
A military, economic and research alliance between several worlds, centered around Solaris and it's surroundings (called the Core Worlds), it was the victor of the The Alliance-Imperial War, which was what propulsed the once tiny Solaris as the dominant superpower. It is unknown if it's a single or bi parliamentary system, but its main concentration of power is in the Solar Congress, on Solaris. The two main parties that form the Solar Congress are the Progress Party and the United Universalists Party, with current President Alythe pertaining to the first. Despite it's democratic nature, it's not without shades, such as the famous occupation of Far Port, where, after recovering the planet from the New Empire, the Alliance never actually returned it to the Holy Ryuvian Empire. This not only ensured the control of a critical strategic planet (Far Port guards the access to the Core Worlds), but also cemented the decline of the Holy Ryuvian Empire, after it's brief resurgence during the War. Not only that, having both a democratic system and massive size means that is in continuous political deadlock, with cases in which a single politician has to represent a billion of citizens. With the increasing power of the Alliance, the diverse lobbies that either laid at it's core or welcomed the new superpower also gained a lot more influence. Due to this and also because of the earlier misrepresentation problem of the people, the Solar Congress has become a place where any kind of direct governance has become nigh-impossible, and where the corruption and influence of the lobbies doesn't stop growing. Due to this, the planets in the Neutral Rim maintained their distances.
More than using the resources of a single miraculous planet (like PACT and the New Empire did with New Eden), the Alliance obtains it's enormous economic, military and technologic capabilities from joint development between around 100 planets of class 10 or more. While this requires an incredibly high amount of bureaucracy, this results on individual planets having superior infrastructure and technology than even planets of equal class and population like Cera
It's current head of state is President Alythe, and it's most respected military officer is Admiral Harold Grey, the commander of the Emerald Fleet. 1st Lieutenant Kryska Stares is a soldier from the Alliance, and Icari Isidolde and Claude Triello were born there.
Alliance Space Force
Being the current superpower, the Alliance also had the most powerful space fleet in the galaxy since the decline of the New Empire. Despite the militaristic and expansionist policy followed by it's rival, PACT, the Alliance force continues to be at least on par with Pact's Fleet, and is remarkably superior in it's production capacity. The main weakness of the Space Force is that, due to the federal nature of the Alliance and it's weak central government, is spreaded out in all the Alliance's territory. This limits specially it's First Strike capabilities and amplifies it's weakness to surprise attacks in a Blitzkrieg manner. It has at least 5 active fleets (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th Fleet), and it's main force is the 1st Fleet, a force of 200 ships comprised mainly by cruisers and led by Admiral Grey. When at war, it can deploy an astounding amount of ships (aside from an increased production rate) if given the time. Due to this, is very usual to see the Alliance concentrate and designate its main force as the Combined Fleet instead of using fleets as independent forces. This also allows the Space Forces to unify its Chain of Command, killing two birds with one stone.
The ship that forms the main line of the Alliance Fleet is its cruiser. An old design, it was designated as a battlecruiser, now is recognized as Cruiser by PACT and Neutral Rim space forces. An excellent design, it is a proof of its success that it still a good match to any enemy. Having the firepower equal to top of the line battleships and the agility of a cruiser, is still sturdier than a normal cruiser and has moderate flak and armour. Its only flaw is its lack of shielding due to being an old design. Despite it, precisely because of its reliability, its produced in big quantities by the Alliance with excellent efficiency (which further enhances the production capacity advantage of the Alliance) and its easy to reactivate after prolonged time in storage as a reserve.
Having been almost 100 years since its last important conflict, the Alliance Space Forces are completely unaware of the shift of military doctrine. While its love for kinetic firepower mitigates this flaw, it still remains that most of the Alliance higher military commanders are old men without much direct experience. Another problem of the military is it's absolute submission to the civilian government. With both the military budget and operations tightly supervised by the Solar Congress, and having to take into account moral and political consequences over military ones, the Space Forces feel that they fight at disadvantage against the totalitarian PACT. This has started a wave of discontent through it towards the Solar Congress, and especially the Progress Party.
The Space Force has a Spec Ops (Special Operations) Unit, and follows a standard rank system and classification of units in squads. Crew are gender-segregated between different ships.
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Ryuvia
The Holy Ryuvian Empire was the dominant Superpower of the Galaxy since immemorial ages (it is known that it existed 10,000 years ago) until the establishment of the new Calendar (Year 0). After that it also survived as an independent country until it was finally absorbed by PACT circa 503. Not much is known about the ancient times of the Holy Ryuvian Empire, only that its power reached everywhere known by man and surpassed even today's imagination. After a great disaster that marked the beginning of the new Calendar, the Empire collapsed and retained only a tiny part of it's former territory, comprising the zone between Ryuvia Prime and Far Port. For the sake of clarity, the Ancient Empire will be called Holy Ryuvian Empire, and it's successor only Ryuvia. Take into account, however, that despite the great differences of power and territory both are the same formal entity, and ruled by the same dynasty.
Despite bearing the same name, after year 0 the Holy Ryuvian Empire was barely a tiny piece of a shell of it's former self. Having lost the secrets of its famed technology, Ryuvia was basically a minor power without any possibility of expanding. While it is not known how much of their army or technology actually remained, it was still not enough to fight against the New Empire and even less to try to recover some of it's former territories (even when they remained independent and not affiliated with any kind of power). It participated in the The Alliance-Imperial War as an ally of the Solar Alliance. Despite initial heavy losses against the Empire, the Imperial defeat at the battle of Solaris marked a resurgence of Ryuvia, and in successive counterattacks it successfully recovered some of its territory. The Alliance however, stabbed the back of it's ally when it refused to return Far Port after having freed it from the Empire. Far Port was a very populous and economically powerful planet in the ancient Holy Ryuvian Empire. Now, while desolate and mostly underpopulated (less than 1000 habitants), it was a very important strategic location and symbol for Ryuvia. It's loss marked the final decay of Ryuvia. Without not even managing to recover all of it's pre-war but After 0 territory from the Empire, and losing some to the Alliance, the final nail in the coffin was the treaty of Vespa, which ended the war, but at the cost of making a buffer zone of neutral territories between the Alliance and the New Empire, the Neutral Rim. Having most of it's leftover possessions in this zone, Ryuvia was finally reduced to only Ryuvia Prime and it's surroundings, and with a level of military and economic power not superior to that of neutral worlds like Cera. With internal turmoil and court intrigues still not ceasing, the emperor focused on maintaining some sort of stability and Ryuvia became a nation isolated from the rest of the galaxy, an obscure blackwater planet with barely military power.
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| King Jaylor XII Jaylor di Ryuvia |
Sola di Ryuvia |
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Mining Union
A galactic wide conglomerate, the Mining Union was born of the collaboration between different companies and firms in the mining of low class (not habitable), yet rich with ore, planets, like Tydaria. As such, it controls every stage since the extraction of the ore to its refining into starship grade steel. Since it's origins, The Mining Union has grown to the point it's the steel provider of 50% of the ships constructed in the galaxy. As such, it is a powerhouse comparable to the Alliance lobbies. Despite it, the Union has not excessively preoccupied itself with the relations with the powers, merely maintaining a balance between all of its clients, and so doesn't have as much influence on the Alliance as it could have despite its democratic and capitalistic nature (due to this, it's influence in the Alliance politics it's less than its internal lobbies, despite severely outsizing them). However, this has gained the Union a niche with freelancers and mercenaries, being their main provider of supplies and the only way to legally purchase weapons (and it's licenses). The Union has encouraged this by offering protection and patrolling jobs (with the objective of gaining further independence of any nation), and in general being receptive to proposals whenever they can gain some benefits. A good example of this is their good reception of Asaga Oakrun and Chigara Ashada, offering the first a place among the mercenaries patrolling the mining areas despite her inexperience (recognizing her skills), and lending the second a facility in which to conduct starship reparations (and bake pastes) in exchange of her also repairing the ships of the Union (recognizing again her top skills despite being very young).
The Union in general has a policy which gives priority to money before all (though they seem to respect the law), so they don't take sides in any war. Because of that they are the ones which profit the most, as it doesn't matter which sides wins or loses, both will need more warships, either to recoup the losses or to maintain the advantage. It also maintains the biggest private army on the galaxy which they use to escort their merchant vessels and work as mercenaries when they don't have such duties. Despite its size, their fleet is mostly composed of lighter, cheap ships useful as escorts and support vessels, but not powerful enough to give the Mining Union any strength comparable to the bigger powers.
With Captain Shields essentially becoming a freelancer, the Union becomes his main provider of supplies, including rockets and repair drones. The union can also offer unique upgrades as the captain proves trustworthy and, most importantly, rich enough: shields for the Sunrider, improved repair kits and even escort ships. His contact with the Union is Sophita Brooks, the Vice-secretary of Operations. Despite being formally a Union, the structure seems to be centralized, hinting at either a long story or a member company absolutely dominating over the others.
During the Alliance-PACT War, the Mining Union initially traded with both sides, but relations between PACT and the Mining Union became increasingly strained. After PACT attacked a Mining Union freighter carrying a high-value cargo (fortunately, the Sunrider escorted the ship to safety), the Union arranged for an Alliance task force led by the Sunrider to join Union units in destroying a PACT fleet docked at Tydaria, severing its ties with the People's Alliance.
Pirates
Pirates is a broad term referring to space pirates. These pirates can commit crimes from stealing goods and trafficking slavers. The only notable pirate in the game is Cosette Cosmos. Although Pirates arent united under one leader they have been shown to work together when necessary. Such a case is when Cosette Cosmos gathered ships from over 15 different crime rings to make the biggest pirate fleet seen during the 2nd battle Ongess. The pirates working under Cosette Cosmos are strongly aligned with Pact.
Pirate Space Force
The units that the pirates deploy are weak and generaly have low hp but can be dangerous in bigger numbers. The Pirate Grunt is basically a weaker version of pact's standard ryder. The Pirate Bomber is very similar to the PACT Bomber but it has slightly less hp and armor and has an assault rifle instead of a laser. Its rocket can do good damage to any rider and is decent against the hull of even capital ships. The Pirate Destroyer is the heaviest ship in their arsenal but even that doesn't say much as still have only 500 hp. Like its name might suggest this ship is designed to either attack enemy capital ships from a distance with its lasers or preferably get in close with its kinectics. But by fare the most dangerous ship the Pirates have are there Pirate Ironhog. You can see this as a upgraded version of the Pirate Bomber in almost every single way besides evasion and surprisingly armour. They have very powerful flak that protects them against opposing missiles. However there real danger comes with its main weapon: 4 rockets which are more accurate and as powerful as the Alliance Battleship main canon. To makes matters even worse these rockets are particular flak resistant and the Ironhog can fire three volleys of these dangerous rockets. Fortunately for the player, like all the other Pirate units it lacks shielding of its own.
Technology
Warp Drives
The Alcubierre drive, Alcubierre warp drive, or Alcubierre metric (referring to metric tensor) is a speculative warp drive idea based on a solution of Einstein's field equations in general relativity as proposed by theoretical physicist Miguel Alcubierre during his PhD study at the University of Wales, Cardiff, by which a spacecraft could achieve apparent faster-than-light travel if a configurable energy-density field lower than that of vacuum (that is, negative mass) could be created.
Rather than exceeding the speed of light within a local reference frame, a spacecraft would traverse distances by contracting space in front of it and expanding space behind it, resulting in effective faster-than-light travel. Objects cannot accelerate to the speed of light within normal spacetime; instead, the Alcubierre drive shifts space around an object so that the object would arrive at its destination more quickly than light would in normal space without breaking any physical laws.
Although the metric proposed by Alcubierre is consistent with the Einstein field equations, construction of such a drive is not necessarily possible. The proposed mechanism of the Alcubierre drive implies a negative energy density and therefore requires exotic matter or manipulation of dark energy. If exotic matter with the correct properties cannot exist, then the drive cannot be constructed. At the close of his original article,[5] however, Alcubierre argued (following an argument developed by physicists analyzing traversable wormholes[6][7]) that the Casimir vacuum between parallel plates could fulfill the negative-energy requirement for the Alcubierre drive.
Another possible issue is that, although the Alcubierre metric is consistent with Einstein's equations, general relativity does not incorporate quantum mechanics. Some physicists have presented arguments to suggest that a theory of quantum gravity (which would incorporate both theories) would eliminate those solutions in general relativity that allow for backwards time travel (see the chronology protection conjecture) and thus make the Alcubierre drive invalid.
With regard to certain specific effects of special relativity, such as Lorentz contraction and time dilation, the Alcubierre metric has some apparently peculiar aspects. In particular, Alcubierre has shown that a ship using an Alcubierre drive travels on a free-fall geodesic even while the warp bubble is accelerating: its crew would be in free fall while accelerating without experiencing accelerational g-forces. Enormous tidal forces, however, would be present near the edges of the flat-space volume because of the large space curvature there, but suitable specification of the metric would keep the tidal forces very small within the volume occupied by the ship.[5]
The original warp-drive metric and simple variants of it happen to have the ADM form, which is often used in discussing the initial-value formulation of general relativity. This might explain the widespread misconception that this spacetime is a solution of the field equation of general relativity.[citation needed] Metrics in ADM form are adapted to a certain family of inertial observers, but these observers are not really physically distinguished from other such families. Alcubierre interpreted his "warp bubble" in terms of a contraction of space ahead of the bubble and an expansion behind, but this interpretation could be misleading,[15] since the contraction and expansion actually refer to the relative motion of nearby members of the family of ADM observers.[citation needed]
In general relativity, one often first specifies a plausible distribution of matter and energy, and then finds the geometry of the spacetime associated with it; but it is also possible to run the Einstein field equations in the other direction, first specifying a metric and then finding the energy–momentum tensor associated with it, and this is what Alcubierre did in building his metric. This practice means that the solution can violate various energy conditions and require exotic matter. The need for exotic matter raises questions about whether one can distribute the matter in an initial spacetime that lacks a warp bubble in such a way that the bubble is created at a later time, although some physicists have proposed models of dynamical warp-drive spacetimes in which a warp bubble is formed in a previously flat space.[4] Moreover, according to Serguei Krasnikov,[16] generating a bubble in a previously flat space for a one-way FTL trip requires forcing the exotic matter to move at local faster-than-light speeds, something that would require the existence of tachyons, although Krasnikov also notes that when the spacetime is not flat from the outset, a similar result could be achieved without tachyons by placing in advance some devices along the travel path and programming them to come into operation at preassigned moments and to operate in a preassigned manner. Some suggested methods avoid the problem of tachyonic motion, but would probably generate a naked singularity at the front of the bubble.[17][18]
Warp drive is one of the fundamental features of the Star Trek franchise; in the first pilot episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, "The Cage", it is referred to as a "hyperdrive", with Captain Pike stating the speed to reach planet Talos IV as "time warp, factor 7". When beginning to explain travel times to the illusion survivors (before being interrupted by the sight of Vina), crewmember Jose stated that "the time barrier's been broken", allowing a group of interstellar travelers to return to Earth far sooner than would have otherwise been possible. Later in the pilot, when Spock is faced with the only action of escaping, he announces to the crew they have no choice but to leave, stating "Our time warp factor ..." before the ship's systems start failing. In the second pilot for The Original Series, "Where No Man Has Gone Before", time was dropped from the speed setting with Kirk ordering speeds in the simple "ahead warp factor one" that became so familiar from then on.
The warp drive velocity in Star Trek is generally expressed in "warp factor" units, which—according to Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual—corresponds to the magnitude of the warp field. Achieving warp factor 1 is equal to breaking the light barrier, while the actual velocity corresponding to higher factors is determined using an ambiguous formula. According to the Star Trek episode writer's guide for The Original Series, warp factors are converted to multiples of the speed of light by multiplication with the cubic function of the warp factor itself. Accordingly, "warp 1" is equivalent to the speed of light, "warp 2" is eight times the speed of light, "warp 3" is 27 times the speed of light, etc. Several episodes of The Original Series placed the Enterprise in peril by having it travel at high warp factors. However, the velocity (in present dimensional units) of any given warp factor is rarely the subject of explicit expression, and travel times for specific interstellar distances are not consistent through the various series. In the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual it was written that the real warp speed depends on external factors such as particle density or electromagnetic fields and only roughly corresponds with the calculated speed of current warp factor. The reference work Star Trek Maps established the theory of subspace (or warp) highways. In certain regions, a spaceship can fly at a multiple of the speed that corresponds to the current warp factor.
In The Original Series, warp factor 6 was established as the common speed of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701. In some cases, the starship traveled at warp 7 or above, but with risk of damaging the ship or the engines. Warp 9 in The Original Series was the "never exceed" speed for the hulls and engines of Constitution-class starships, equivalent to the aircraft VNE V-speed. Warp 6 was the VNO "Normal Operation" maximum safe cruising speed for that vessel class.[3] Only five stories in the original Star Trek series involved the Enterprise traveling beyond warp 9. In each instance, it was a result of the influence of alien beings or foreign technology. The warp 14.1 incident in That Which Survives was the result of runaway engines which brought the hull within seconds of structural failure before power was disengaged.[4]
Later on, a prequel series titled Star Trek: Enterprise describes the warp engine technology as a "Gravimetric Field Displacement Manifold" (Commander Tucker's tour, "Cold Front"), and describes the device as being powered by a matter/anti-matter reaction which powers the two separate nacelles (one on each side of the ship) to create a displacement field. Enterprise, set in 2151 and onwards, follows the voyages of the first human ship capable of traveling at warp factor 5.2, which under the old warp table formula (the cube of the warp factor times the speed of light), is about 140 times the speed of light (i.e., 5.2 cubed). In the series pilot episode "Broken Bow", Capt. Archer equates warp 4.5 to "Neptune and back [from Earth] in six minutes" (which would correspond to a distance of 547 light-minutes or 66 au, consistent with Neptune's being a minimum of 29 au distant from Earth).
Ryders
The specific origins of mechanized humanoid space superiority vehicles remains unknown. Ancient artifacts suggest that ryders have been used in space combat up to 3000 years before the re-recording of history. The exact purpose and functionality of ryders during ancient times is speculative. However, the current dominant theory is that ryders were used for ceremonial as well as military purposes during Ryuvia's time, with all soldiers donning highly elaborate frames depending on their social status and military rank.
Commentators have noted that Ancient Ryuvian technology (Lost Technology) intentionally sabotaged their own effectiveness. As the power of the Ryuvian Empire grew and the resources and knowledge of thousands of worlds were gathered through instantaneous warp travel, the destructive power of humans increased ever exponentially. Ultimately, the Ryuvian Emperor mandated various forms of arms control for fear that humanity would destroy itself with its near limitless power. Ceremony replaced function as the driving force of military life. Tradition and Emperor worship were tenants of Ryuvian society, and thus much of Ryuvian life was centered around religion and rituals. The ultimate goal was both to limit the development of galaxy destroying weaponry, as well as to promote loyalty to the Emperor.
But not even these rituals could prevent the amassing of war weapons and the Ryuvian Empire destroyed itself in a massive war of succession to the throne, taking much of humanity's technology with it.
To be sure, some form of ryder technology still survived, and even immediately after the Ryuvian Wars, there are indications that some ryders were in use by the few survivors left on Ryuvia Prime. However, these ryders were weapons of desperation constructed after centuries of warfare, and were mere shells of their ancient forms.
In the centuries following the collapse of Ryuvia, humans scrapped together whatever steel shells they could muster to take to the stars once more. Most initial starships were aerodynamic in design, as humans lost their once vast space manufacturing centers, and most ships had to be constructed and serviced on land.
The modern ryder truly came into existence some time near the year 398, when a band of Alliance explorers discovered a fully functional Ancient Ryuvian ryder by accident. Armed with ancient technology far more destructive than anything the Alliance had seen before, the original ryder was hailed as one of the most important lost technology discoveries of the modern era. Facing a desperate war against the New Empire, Alliance scientists quickly replicated the original ryder without much understanding of its functions. Once the tide of war turned against the New Empire, Imperial scientists quickly stole and copied the Alliance ryder designs as well. From there, the ryder design proliferated throughout the galaxy, until it was adopted by galactic powers and crime lords alike.
By the time the story of Sunrider opens (circa 503), nearly every faction in the galaxy had adopted ryder technology for over 100 years. The ryder's functions are now better understood, and various refinements have been made to the ryders which were used during the Imperial-Alliance War. A century of training space pilots using ryders, as well as the substantial expenses which were expended to even understand ryder technology have made switching to another form of space superiority vehicle untenable for most governments. The vast majority of the best pilot instructors are experienced in ryder combat, and most scientists and engineers have dedicated their lives to understanding the original ryder design, and so substantial political, financial, and bureaucratic forces stand in the way of abandoning ryders.
To be sure, ryders are not without their disadvantages. Ryders are almost exclusively space superiority vehicles, and even grazing a planet's atmosphere is considered suicidal by most ryder pilots. Ryders are uniformly manufactured in space to reduce manufacturing costs, and most never set foot on a terrestrial environment during their operational cycle. While a modern ryder could theoretically survive atmospheric re-entry, ryders do not carry enough fuel to operate on land and would most likely be flatted on the ground upon impact. Carrying ryders on landing ships for land operations have seen various fiasco as well, ranging from ryders toppling over, bursting on fire, fuel shortages, and mold interfering with delicate electrical systems. Some criminal rings have been reported using ryders to terrorize isolated human settlements on land, but aside from the fear factor, a well placed human bazooka will cause a ryder to topple over spectacularly and/or burst into flames. Some experimental land based ryders involved strapping enormous jet packs containing tons of fuel to allow it to fly in a terrestrial environment... but the fiery end result of that experiment was so tragic that all the scientists involved were thereafter blacklisted from every reputable research academy in Alliance space.
Trivia
There is a lot of backlog for this series about boning space mecha pilots.
- A lot of the info here is hodgepodge (the War Drives are unexplained so we're going with the Star Trek concepts).