Difference between revisions of "Talk:Space Princesses"

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==Aurora Citrine Alloces Ovsol-Klystron==
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=Notes=
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[[File:Aurora.jpg|thumb|I wear this expression more often than not these days, it seems.]]
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==The High Court on Luxor==
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*Virtue: Genetic superwoman, Rifter roots, Practical education
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Empress Miziuru-Saria Phoenicia-zel-Zarya I, The Phoenix Reborn
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*Vice: Clueless in high society, Practical education
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:First Minister/Guard Commandant, Duke Angus Feril
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*Rank: Head of House Ovsol-Klystron (population 1)
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:Warlord of the Empire, Tahiminah Mina bint Yasmin al-Lasalle, Hero of Luxor
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*Does not support war against the Rift
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:Her Majesty's Herald, Inspector William Victor de Brightstar
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*Atheist
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:Fleet Admiral of the 1st Capital Fleet, Sir Haile Asakura al-Mihran
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*(Upper) class traitor
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:Guard Commodore Ariana Rahel Suzanne Nisaka Zervina
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*Free marketer
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:<s>Protector of the Crown, Sir Annette Bastillet D'Arbour Marissa Sasami Cristebelle I, Countess of Chateautmagne</s> (Left in disgrace)
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*Aspirations and Goals: Find my social feet in this viper's nest
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:<s>Representative to the Patriarch, Grand Cleric Aalia St. Cyr bint Turandokht al-Lasalle</s> (Stress "heart attack")
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*Outlawed Rifter gene-hax:  Expert
 
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*Ship operations:  Professional
 
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*Streetwise:  Layman
 
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*Finances:  Layman
 
  
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===About my name===
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==The Court of the Phoenix in Flight==
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''Aurora Citrine Alloces Ovsol-Klystron''
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Hiroshi Phoenicia-zel-Zarya, The Uncrowned
 +
:Sir Aurora Alloces Citrine Ovsol-Klystron, Hero of Krill and Commander of the Blue Fleet
 +
:Sardar-Baivarapatish Ravshana Marika bint Yasmin al-Lasalle
 +
:Empress Sakura-Zel Phoenicia-zel-Zarya, Deposed Grand Duchess of Osakan Reach
 +
:Captain Michael Vanator, Commander of the Altair Dawn
 +
:The Dread Pirate Hrang, Scourge of Negal
 +
::Iolia, A poor, corrupted youth. :-(
  
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What does this tell you about myself?  Like all nobility - yes, I can be addressed as ''Nari'' but I am also ''Captain'' - my name is multipart and meaningful.
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==The Desmond Government on Haven==
 +
First Minister Jacques Desmond, Head of Government of the Jardin Republic
 +
:Irina Polikarpov, Desmond's Girl Friday
 +
Admiral Joachim Mornstein-Montfort, Commander of the Black Eagles, traitor to the Phoenix Empire
 +
:Commodore Prezan, Montfort's Girl Friday
 +
:Rifkon Tuk, token Rifter and all around science dude
  
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''Aurora'' is my given name.  That which shines brightly.
+
=History=
 +
===[[Hunt for the Star Doom]]===
 +
*[[<>'s Way Ambush]]
 +
*[[Battle of Faraday's World]]
 +
*[[Negal Massacre]]
 +
*[[Raid on Refuge]]
 +
===[[Phoenix Republican Uprising]]===
 +
*[[Spring Mutinies]] <br>
 +
*[[Battle of Minrathas Starzone]] (Records of the Stellar Heroes)
 +
*[[Battle of Desolation Moon|Fifth Battle of Desolation Moon]] (Records of the Stellar Heroes)
 +
*[[Second Battle of Freya]] (Records of the Stellar Heroes/Haile & Ackermann Introduction)
 +
*[[Battle of Randall Prime]] (Records of the Stellar Heroes)
 +
*[[Third Battle of Bastion Starzone]] <br>
 +
*[[Battle of Hestia]] <br>
 +
*[[Battle of the Broken Kybelle]]
  
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''Citrine'' is a reference to the golden-yellow eyes I had even as a newborn.
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===Road to CoDominium===
 +
*[[Second Battle of Folken]]
 +
*[[High Knowledge Raid]]
  
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''Alloces'' is derived from the family of my father, an intellectual from beyond the Great Wall.
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===Jardin Republic===
 +
*[[Battle of Rhein's Way]]
 +
*[[Elections of 5322 A.E.]]
 +
*[[Battle of XDeltaZero]]
 +
*[[Battle of the Aux Sable Starzone]]
  
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''Ovsol'' is my noble prefix, and it is noble indeed.  I hardly need to clarify that every title granted during a reign of an Emperor shares the same prefix and every Emperor's prefix is unique.  But I can see you don't recognize mine.  Is it one of those unusual ones that break this rule, such as those given to the survivors of the Siege of Bataria?  Say it out loud.  'Ovsol'.  'Of Sol'.  Sol, the star around which humans originated and all but abandoned in the Exodus.  Comprehension dawns, I'm sure.
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===Imperial-CoDominium Hostilities===
 +
*[[Third Battle of Folken]]
  
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And finally ''Klystron'' is my surname.  Would you recognize any Klystrons, you ask?  Doubtful, unless you go into the history books and find the Galtz-Sonika Affair.  We have been one of the House Obscura for a long, long time.
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===Long War===
 +
*[[Battle of XDeltaZero]]
 +
*[[Second Battle of Sweetwater]]
 +
*[[Battle of the Starforge]]
  
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===My Story===
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===Hrang's War on Jardin===
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When I was 11, my parents vanished.  The ship they were one dissapeared mid-jump with everyone onboard.  An event rare enough to make some minor headlines, but not so rare as to be unheard of.  At a stroke I was alone, the last Ovsol-Klystron.  I had relatives, an aunt and grandparents, but they were on my father's side - beyond the Great Wall.  While I did spend a third of a T-year on the far side of the Great Wall after my parent's dissapearance, this was not to be my home.  I was instead sent to school in Luxor, capital of a hundred worlds as an Emperor's Ward where I stayed for the next five years.  I have little to say about that time; I made few contacts and fewer friends.  I will grant that it was an education, if nothing else.  By age 16 it was clear that without a House or a patron I was faced with several choices; join the Fleet as an ensign and hope to one day claw my way up to some small rank, be a petty bureaucrat for a position that needed a title but little else, join the debutante scene and hope to snag someone with rank or money, join the clergy or simply flee back to the far side of the Great Wall.
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*[[Battle of Rhein's Way]]
 +
*[[Battle of the Aux Sable Starzone]]
  
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I chose none of these.
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=Historical Timeline=
 +
==Myth & Legend (? A.D. to 1000 AE)==
 +
*The Celestial Spheres are discovered by the crew of the [].
 +
*The King leads the other six Celestial Spheres in a war against the Overculture. The AI-driven warships of the Overculture prove particularly vulnerable to their Song.
 +
*Six enormous colony ships with the Celestial Spheres installed are constructed and launched in secret. Three head to the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds respectively.
 +
*Heavy Combat Unit (Long Range) ''Hrang'' sent in pursuit of the Arks, engaging the group
 +
*The Queen, Warlord, and Philosopher successfully fend off the ''Hrang''.  
 +
==Dark Ages (0-1000 AE)==
 +
==3[] AE==
  
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The Klystrons had some wealth stashed away; savings and survivor's pension. That, plus my small stipend I recieved as a Ward was enough for the down payment on a (frankly usurious) mortagage; by age 17 I was the owner and sole proprietor of a cargo ship older than myself, the 413 Rampant Phoenix (a certain subset of Imperial shipping concerns have shockingly limited creativity). Hardly uncommon - many ships are owned by individuals, even if many more are owned by Houses or large commercian firms - but mine was a rare case indeed. As a noble, I could rightfully call myself not just Shipmaster, but ''Captain''. A minor distinction, but an important one in a very specific way - as ''Captain'' I could bid on various shipment contracts for the Fleet, even ones to the front lines.  These were, of course, the most profitable and I was up to my eyeballs in debt. All was well for five years, just me and as few crew as I could manage moving all manner of military supplies from reaction gasses to flowtanks to livestock to garrison troops (I paid out of pocket to have my ship cleaned after transporting livestock.  I paid out of pocket to have my ship cleaned ''twice'' after transporting garritroops - never again!).
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==52[] AE==
 +
*Guilter Offensive begins.
 +
*Imperial forces suffer catastrophic losses at the Battle of Three Princes. Prince Alzonio is the only survivor.
 +
===5222===
 +
*Fleet Admiral Philipe Le'Rienne reveals the purported Guilter Plot. Normal constitutional government is suspended under a state of emergency.
 +
*High Admiral Guilter is arrested at the front by Military Police on charges of conspiracy to overthrow the elected government. 
 +
==5223 AE==
 +
===March===
 +
*Coronation of Emperor Alzonio III.
 +
===April===
 +
*1 April 5223 - April Offensives begin across the Red-Blue Lines.
 +
*4 April 5223 Lord Fischer's ersatz 30th Fleet (nicknamed "Revenants" or "Zombie Fleet") attacks the Jardini [], initiating the Battle for Hubert's Folly.
 +
==5276 AE==
 +
*Joachim Benedikt Aemilius Mornstein-Montfort is born on Luxor.
 +
==5282 AE==
 +
*Political agitators attempt an overthrow of Imperial government but are successfully suppressed by security forces in the Esfahani Incident.
 +
*First Prince Sebastien seeks asylum in the Jardin Republic, fleeing from charges of High Treason.
 +
*A number of high noble families are punished in the aftermath of the Esfahani Incident, such as the Safavis.
 +
==5291 AE==
 +
*Imperial forces forced to retreat at the Third Gravette Encounter with heavy losses.
 +
==5292 AE==
 +
*Ravshana and Tahminah al-Lasalle are born on Sakastan.
 +
==5288 AE==
 +
William de Brightstar is born on Piedmont.
 +
==5306 AE==
 +
William de Brightstar becomes the student of Hector Bermudez-Wu.
 +
==5321 AE==
 +
===August===
 +
*Princess Aleida Saegusa Macbeth Phoenicia-zel-zarya is granted a commission as a Starforce General Officer of the XIX Royal Star Lancers, with permission to recruit from the Krillian March.
 +
===September===
 +
*Aleida Phoenicia-zel-zarya and the cadre of the XIX Royal Star Lancers, picked from Bannerguards, arrive at the Krill Sector.
 +
===November===
 +
*Insurgents on Faraday's World detonate a taboo Rifter-based Gravitic Weapon.
 +
*Black Brethren motherships ''Star Doom'' and ''Bastion'' infiltrate the [[Krillian March]].
 +
===December===
 +
*1 December 5322 - Winter's Fest begins
 +
*[[Hunt for the Star Doom]] begins when the ''Star Doom'' ambushes the Krillian March Demesne navy at the mouth of the Negal Starway.  
 +
*''Stellar Conquistor'' and escorts defeated at the [[Battle of Faraday's World]], but not before closing the wormhole to Bastion. Cosmo Cannon salvaged from the wreck.
 +
*The ''Star Doom'' bombards the planet of Nergal from orbit, killing almost all of the planetary population in the Negal Massacre.
 +
*Attempted assassination of Princess Aleida while the XIX Star Lancers are in transit to Refuge. She is rushed into emergency stasis.
 +
*All Black Brethren warships operating in the Krillian March accounted for after the [[Raid on Refuge]], ending the Krill Campaign.
 +
*XIX Star Lancers leave the Krill Sector for Luxor under orders from the Imperial Guard.
 +
==5322 AE==
 +
===January===
 +
*XIX Star Lancers and Imperial Navy 5th Fleet elements under Admiral Ellison Mugombe's command establish contact in backwater territories while in transit to and from the Krillian March.
 +
===February===
 +
*XIX Star Lancers arrive at the Capital District to be debriefed and turn over the Princess's stasis tank to the Imperial Catacombs.
 +
*XIX Star Lancers are disbanded, reformed as the 8492nd Starforce Combined Arms Brigade ''Miziuru's Own''.   
 +
*[[Spring Mutinies]], start of the [[Phoenix Republican Uprising]].
 +
*Trapped Imperial forces destroyed by a detachment of the Jardini 5th Fleet at the [[Battle of Randall Prime]]. (Records of the Stellar Heroes) 
 +
===March===
 +
*Black Brethren mount a series of destructive raids on the Rifter March in the style of the Nergal Massacre.
 +
===April===
 +
*6 April 5322 - [[Battle of Minrathas Starzone]] (Records of the Stellar Heroes)
 +
*Royal Starforce units covering for escaped war prisoners fend off an attack at the [[Battle of Desolation Moon|Fifth Battle of Desolation Moon]]. (Records of the Stellar Heroes)
 +
*Admiral "Miracle" Ackermann sends Imperial forces fleeing from the [] system at the [[Second Battle of Freya]]. (Records of the Stellar Heroes/Haile & Ackermann Introduction)
 +
*Knight-Commander Douglas's Taskforce leaves the Ventris Starzone on a secret mission.
 +
===May===
 +
*5 May 5322 - Combined Fleet under the Osakan Grand Duchess successfully breakout at [[Third Battle of Bastion Starzone]].
 +
*Miziuru-Saria's forces break concentrated Jardini and Phoenix Republican forces at [[Battle of Hestia]].
 +
*Imperial and Phoenix Revolutionary Army forces fight the [[Battle of the Broken Kybelle]], Miziuru-Saria takes the Phoenix Throne.
 +
*Notorious pirate Red Wally defeated at the [[Second Battle of Folken]] by the Blue Fleet and Royal Ventrian Starforce.
 +
*William de Brightstar is appointed Herald to Empress Miziuru-Saria and inducted into the Imperial Guard as an Inspector.
 +
*Rifter March lords launch first counterattacks over the Great Wall, Rift Crusade begins.
 +
===June===
 +
*Knight-Commander Douglas launches the [[High Knowledge Raid]]. Failing his primary objective he destroys High Knowledge station and flees.
 +
*Exarch Bhuutiliumina in command of the 5th Long Range LMC Expedition arrives in the Large Magellanic Cloud, provoking a battle with the Jardini garrison at the [[Battle of XDeltaZero]]. The Long War begins.
 +
===July===
 +
===August===
 +
===September===
 +
===October===
 +
*Imperial, SRA, and CoDominium fleet elements meet at the Kalymnos Incident. Start of Hiroshi's Revolt.
 +
*Attempted assassination of General Gadsen at the Constitutional Convention. SRA begins hunting La'Vienne Corporation assets in force.
 +
*Tahminah Mina bint Yasmin al-Lasalle given permission to raise the Imperial Army of the Frontiers.
 +
*7th Fleet ''Gardenia'' completes its rotation on the Lines.
 +
*General Gadsen carries Prince Hiroshi to the outer margins of the Rift Expanse.
 +
*Crusader leaders declare secession from the Phoenix Empire as the Kingdom of the Rift and swear fealty to King Hiroshi.
 +
*King Hiroshi assassinated. Imperial envoys are immediately rebuffed.
 +
*Fleet Admiral Clotilde Ackermann transfers to Home Fleet.
 +
===November===
 +
===December===
 +
*6 December 5322 - Imperial "Army of the Frontiers" uses a smuggled wormhole to initiate the [[Third Battle of Folken]], but is turned back when the Empress is incapacitated.
 +
*29 December 5322 - Co-Dominium leadership at Ventris receives word of the defeat at the Third Battle of Folken. Support for Piracy declared.
 +
*Aurora Alloces Citrine Ovsol-Klystron journeys to the Kingdom of the Rift.
 +
==5323 AE==
 +
===January===
 +
*5-17 January 5323 - Ur-Real Long Range LMC Expeditions 6 & 7 attack the Great Ark and the Starforge, prompting the battles of [[Second Battle of Sweetwater|Sweetwater]] and [[Battle of the Starforge|Starforge]]. Free Star League and Phoenician forces emerge victorious, though two Ur-Real Heavy Combat Units (Long Range) escape to the Rift Expanse. First sighting of the Obsidian Pharaoh.
 +
*15 January 5323 - Aurora is received at the SMS Mikado.
 +
===February===
 +
*14 February 5323 - Great Thing convened in the Kingdom of the Rift by the Regent-Queen to reconcile Rifters and Crusaders.
 +
*28 February 5323 - Transeisdzarian Commonwealth is officially ratified, Twin Shahzadas Ardeshir and Saki are born.
 +
==5324 AE==
 +
==5325 AE==
 +
==5326 AE==
 +
==5327 AE==
 +
===March===
 +
*After five years of work William de Brightstar passes a series of political reforms to Empire, mostly concerning noble-commoner relations, occupation and counter-insurgency. The "Brightstar Reforms" are well received both domestically and abroad.  For his efforts Brightstar is named First Minister of the Empire. 
 +
===November===
 +
*Tahmina Mina bint Yasmin al-Lasalle & William Victor de Brightstar are married in a lavish ceremony.
  
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It was on the eve of the 108th Gran Plemora, that greatest of all celebrations - save only coronations themselves - that marks the once-a-decade creation of another wormhole seed by the Star Forge when my life changed forever.  I was transporting a shipment of interface fighters to Ultima Thule, passenger cabins taken up by Monsignor Mornstein-Montfort - an unusual priest who made regular trips through the sector and had found my unflinching atheism a challenge - and the sisters Lasalle - the two Fleet officers in charge of the interface fighters and who were a study in contrasts and sibling rivalries - when the message came through.  Princess Zarya had been on an inspection tour and was returning to the capital for the Gran Plemora when reavers stuck her ship.  We were onboard the only ship less than a day's travel away.
+
==5328 AE==
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===January===
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The rest is, as they say, history.
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===February===
−
 
 
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I had never expected to actually go to the Gran Plemora, but there I was.  My beat up transport limping into a parking orbit, portside cargo shell still torn open from where I'd rammed the reaver across its engine deck, surrounded by gleaming, gold-skinned ships of the Guard - a Crown Yacht, the princess having paid me honor for her rescue.
 
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What comes next is ''legend''.
 
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===The Great Wall===
 
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It should not come as a surprise that an entity such as the Phoenix Empire has its eras of strength and eras of weakness.  It was during one of the latter - the 7th century - that raiders from beyond the Great Rift were striking with unprecedented range into the Empire, tying up a disproportionate amount of the Fleet to stymie with what were, in truth, pinpricks.  All this changed with the ascension of Emperor Khartu the Younger; the 72nd Gran Plemora was a decidedly military affair.  Khartu the Younger stunned many of the assembled nobles when he announced where the new wormhole was to go; directly from the star system of Reunion - the heart of the Fleet itself and a single wormhole transit from Luxor - to the very edge of Imperial space in the system that became known as Bastion, to be a bastion of civilization against the darkness beyond the Rift.  Aggressive raids across the Rift were coupled with massive static constructions, eventually erecting a wall of blast-cannons and hyperdetectors stretching across a hundred lights.
 
−
 
 
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Khartu the Younger never saw this come to completion, of course - he died under 'mysterious circumstances' less than two decades after coming to power.  It is likely however that if those who arranged these mysterious circumstances had been forewarned the identity of emperor who would come after him, they would have wished Khartu the Younger a long reign.  I speak, of course, of Martianis the Crusader, the 'Mad Emperor' who launched a half-dozen crusades against the heretic and deviant and most importantly, those who were not paying all their due taxes to the Throne.  Dozens of Great House Domains that had become all but independent by the late 6th century found themselves very much Imperial possessions by the end of the 7th.
 
−
 
 
−
For his part, Martianis (who was completely sane his entire life) died peacefully in bed after a half-century in power.  His successor was Empress Oxianne who spent ''her'' reign reconsolidating the Empire and putting it on a course for the golden age of today.  As for those beyond the Great Wall?  The Rifters were able to evade the defenses, for a time, but eventually it became more trouble (often lethally) than any possible wealth.  And so they found other amusements.
 
−
 
 
−
Today the route from Reunion to Bastion is still under Fleet authority, with a bare handful of ships passing daily.  The Great Wall sector is poor and Riftspace is even poorer (or so it is believed, anyhow . . .) and the Empire has seen fit to leave the Great Wall as a permanent border, its massive automated fortifications cold and silent.  On ''this'' side is Civilization, on the far side is genetic deviance, faithlessness and anarchy.  For their part, the Rifters trade some and smuggle some into the Empire
 
−
 
 
−
===The Rifters and I===
 
−
My father was my primary caregiver.  He was also a Rifter.  My mother called me 'her little rifter'.  Growing up on the edge of Imperial space and cocooned by a loving family I had no idea what this would mean in the future.  School as an Emperor's Ward was difficult.  I had attitudes and opinions and habits that weren't even frontier, some were downright ''foreign''.  '''Alien'''.  My first fumbling attempts to fit in with the others were failures and I soon learned that I would be left more alone if I were weird and antisocial instead of trying to be a good little Ward.  I paid just enough attention in the various classes for social graces to avoid administrative opprobium.
 
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−
Departing school and striking out on my own was liberating in ways that I cannot even describe.  No longer was I 'that Rifter'; I was simply another cog in the Empire's vast economy, albeit one with unusual looks and an archaic noble name.  But so long as the cargo I carried or the payments I owed arrived on time, no-one saw fit to complain.  I managed to return to my distant family several times, each time returning a little bit richer than I would be otherwise thanks to what I admit were less than entirely legitimate cargoes.
 
−
 
 
−
Now?  I am to be a courtier, and not just any but a favorite of the Emperor.  Among the many, many things I am expected to do is dress up for balls.  I have barely worn anything save shipsuits for the past five years.  ''Rifter'' shipsuits.
 
−
 
 
−
==Tahminah Mina bint Yasmin al-Lasalle & Ravshana Marika bint Yasmin al-Lasalle==
 
−
'''Tahiminah Mina bint Yasmin al-Lasalle'''
 
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*Virtue: The greatest dragoon
 
−
*Vice: Ice cold martinet
 
−
*Rank: Eldest daughter of house al-Lasalle, one of the greatest in the empire
 
−
*Military Rank: Colonel
 
−
*Allies: Ravhana, Yasmin al-Lasalle, (Her mother) Ensign Beatrice al-Monad (assistant), Miranda (Her batwoman/maid)
 
−
*Enemies: Ravhana, Major al-Smythe The Royal Blue's XO, Duke Askar Michael ibn Ibrahim al-Gramont, an older man she had an affair, and a terribly bitter break up with.
 
−
*Politics: Not an emperor of merchants but an empire of conquerors!
 
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*Religion: No one is in control of my destiny but me but one must maintain appearances
 
−
*Economic views: Quality things to those of quality.
 
−
*Rival Twins
 
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*Nothing is ever easy
 
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*Dragoons of ill repute
 
−
*The Royal Blues
 
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*The Battle of Platform September (in which she won a name for herself)
 
−
*Bringing a Dragoon to a free space engagement (and winning)
 
−
*Aspirations and Goals: Do deeds worthy of her house and name.
 
−
*Dragoon combat: Expert
 
−
*Personal combat: Expert
 
−
*Imperial Officer: Expert
 
−
*Social Etiquette: Professional
 
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*Art: Professional
 
−
*Making Friends: Terrible
 
−
*Managing her love life: Terrible
 
−
*Resisting sweet things: Terrible
 
−
*Suffering fools: Terrible
 
−
 
 
−
===A Mother's Musings===
 
−
For many centuries we Lasalle have been in the district of Douai-Samarkand. We have never sought out the high domestic offices in such times of peace such as ours, being content to attend on our own affairs. Yet, ours is an ancient race of heroes, and it commands respect for martial deeds; the ringing echo of the keen cry of swords in Lasalle hands – and none alive or dead dare despise a Lasalle sabre – is a refrain of history. In the wrack of turmoil one finds us.
 
−
 
−
So many victory titles decorate our genealogy, as though the span of man’s endeavors were nothing but a roll of battle honors to our name. I could not speak of all them even were I limit myself to the years of the Phoenix Empire! Was not the very Shahrbaraz, right hand of the first Phoenix herself, a Lasalle? Naudar the Marshall Who Overthrows the Caitiffs, Shayhrara the Verethegna, Ozra the Admiral Who Plucks Out Odin’s Eye, Shirin the First of Pehlivas, Malala one of the five Tiger Admirals...fufufu, we are still not past the first five centuries!
 
−
 
−
Have you ever been struck by the thought that you had been to some place, seen something, carried out the same motions before, though you recall nothing of the sort? What an eerie sensation! Our ancestors gave that moment a name, ''Déjà vu''. It comes from the Ancient French, from which our name springs as well, meaning literally ''already seen''.
 
−
 
 
−
Don’t frown like that - patience, the change of topic has relevance - your face will get stuck that way. Remember what I said, it is important.
 
−
 
−
Oh, the ''taeguk'', you recognize it of course? The ''“Great Polarity”'' is one of the Phoenix’s symbols: a circle, red on one half, blue on the other, like comets chasing each other’s tails, and inside them a little point of the opposite color: red in blue and blue in red. It is a swirl of conflict, a spiral describing Heaven and Earth, Yin and Yeung, Light and Darkness, Right and Wrong, Unity and Division, the universe itself. Remember this too.
 
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−
I first learned I was parturient not from a doctor, but from a traveling Mubid. I happened across her – or perhaps it would be more accurate to say she sought me out – in a walled garden. Having forecast from the stars, she drew for me three symbols: the comet, the sword, and the taeguk.
 
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−
From them I was to take such a meaning. I would have two children in whose time the Phoenix would be perturbed by awful calamity. If divided in their will the Empire would be riven in twain, but whosoever held both their loyalties would rule the world.
 
−
 
−
I laughed in her face, even as I thanked her.
 
−
 
−
Why? I expected that question. Think ye, how many of my ancestors heard similar portents? What else was I supposed to feel but Déjà vu!
 
−
 
 
−
===Crossing Swords===
 
−
 
 
−
Today I, Captain Ravshana, will duel my sister Tahminah. The Regiment expects it. Honor demands our fifth duel.
 
−
 
−
I see her standing on the other end of the clearing in the garden, resting a hand on the hilt of her spadroon, as I flourish with my sabre, flowing between guards with twirling moulinettes, turning and wheeling about the green sward as if shadowfighting multiple opponents. She’s staring into a point of space over my head with a slight little frown and a schooled expression that plainly said she sees absolutely nothing of interest. It’s one of the many tiny things she does that pisses me the fuck off. We’re twins, we look so exactly alike that the only way our mother would tell us apart was the ribbons she put in our hair, but one day I woke up and found Tahminah - responsible, studious, perfect, Tahminah - was the elder sister and I was the troublemaker, the little hellion who had to be looked after. Everyone started addressing her first, deferentially, respectfully, while I fidgeted at her elbow like a shadow. How does this shit even happen?
 
−
 
−
I still don’t understand why she chose the dragoons, with their doldrum uniforms and bad postings, but it sure worked for her. Tahminah is the Model Officer, on the fast track. She’ll be granted permission to raise her own regiment soon enough. I'm behind, always behind. It’s a struggle to keep up.
 
−
 
 
−
I conclude my flourish with a few cute little bows, legs crossed at the ankles. Our audience applauds. I hope the weather improves for them, because there’s stormclouds moving on the horizon, and it’d be a shame for anyone to get drizzled on.
 
−
 
−
My second lifts his eyes from the blue cast of his pocketwatch, “It’s time.”
 
−
 
−
I snap to attention and kiss the guard of my sabre. Across the little island I can see Tahminah mirroring the gesture with her spadroon. I wink at her. Her green eyes reflect nothing, but her lips turn ever so slightly at the corners.
 
−
 
 
−
*
 
−
 
 
−
Today I, Captain Tahminah, will duel my sister Ravshana. The Regiment expects it. This will be our fifth duel.
 
−
 
 
−
The garden is beautiful around me. I like gardens. A green space like this is one aspect of perfection. When I go to heaven the angels will greet me with green lawns and countryside, with ice cream and sweets and a truly fast jet cycle. I can rarely indulge such things. I am the elder child of the Lasalle family. I have a responsibility.
 
−
 
 
−
I expect her to be late, late or hung over. That, I think, is how I won our second duel. My damn sister, how effortlessly she does all this. My opposite and my twin. She winks and me, I try not to smile and almost succeed. My sister, my easy sister who never seems to have to work at anything. While I practiced at command, the sword, piloting, she drinks and carouses and still somehow manages to match me every step. She won the honour of a red and gold hussars uniform through skill and temperament, while I became a dragoon, a lower class of warrior, beneath my name, so she always tells me.
 
−
 
 
−
That uniform could have been yours if you’d wanted it. You didn’t. You swore you’d carve the universe with the weapon you love. Stop thinking and fight.
 
−
 
 
−
Our blades cross, and we begin to play the familiar tune.
 
−
 
 
−
===In the Cradle===
 
−
 
 
−
''The thunder in my ears, the flicker of blackness at the edges of my vision.'' <br>
 
−
''In my chair I am naked against space, stars all around. Not even the comfort of a planet below. The stars race crazily in my vision, like windblown snow''<br>
 
−
''My sister, my family, they wonder how I can do this. Proper little Tahminah, why does she fly a dragoon of all things? Such a low class of fighting.'' <br>
 
−
''There is no up, there is no down. There is only infinity. I am suspended between two points in the void. My ship and the enemy.'' <br>
 
−
''To take into battle only yourself and your rude mechanical servants. To fight in atmosphere, without even the honour of seeing your opponent. Almost helpless against the large vessels of the enemy. An outmoded form of war, not fit for true noble spacers. A dragoon delta. Too small to be a space ship, too big to have even the primitive pomp of a lightweight. Hybrid troops. The worst of all things'' <br>
 
−
''I am not alone. No one else was foolish or qualified enough to come out here with me. Around me are my weapons, automated combat systems slaved to my fighter. One is ahead, two are behind. Fire reaches out from the reaver craft ahead. The lead drone dodges frantically then explodes. It dies to get me close. I jink, right, jink left, jammers filling space with electronic ghosts, decoys trailing away. DSM leave the racks and spiral ahead. I pour in behind them, angling my ship for the shot on pirate's forward turret.''<br>
 
−
''They don't understand. They don't understand the feel of a fighter under you. Of knowing your life and your death are in your own hands. They wonder how good little Tahminah can do this. They should ask why she does anything.''<br>
 
−
''I squeeze the firing stud. The fighter vibrates to the beat of the guns. "Enemy point defence destroyed! Phoenix, You're clear!"'' <br>
 
−
''This is only part of my life where I am truly in control.'' <br>
 
−
 
 
−
===Cavalry and Dragoon ships===
 
−
 
 
−
In space combat there are really types of combat ship. The ships of the line, cavalry ships and dragoon ships.  Ships of the line are the ones people are most familiar with, the large battleships of the empire's main fleets of war. They are fierce fighters but suffer when they are asked to fight against raiders and pirates, or when they are not arranged in the proper formation, when asked to scout or to protect commerce, to hunt down bandits or raiders.
 
−
 
 
−
For these tasks the Empire calls upon Cavalry and Dragoon ships.
 
−
 
 
−
There is no higher honour than to serve upon a ship of the Imperial Cavalry. Riding through the space lanes, defeating raiders from beyond the wall, guarding merchants and in battle attacking enemy ships before they can deploy into line, the cavalry are an independent and flexible arm. There is no higher honor than to serve among the Empire's cavalry, and no finer fighting force among the stars.
 
−
 
 
−
Dragoons are a second type of rapid response, one far less well regarded. They are small STL battlecraft, ostire in their quarters and amenities, carried by larger ships into system to be dropped and fight. Often used for internal security policing, but also to rapidly deploy forces to hold a defensive line, Dragoons have a rather bad reputation, often being the dumping ground for the worst crews, worst quality supplies and worst transports. They are a strange hybrid breed, with the glamour of neither starships nor atmospheric fighters. Rather they are court in between, doing work from holding defenses to carrying out ground strikes, from ICBM interception to boarding work and customs patrols.
 
−
 
 
−
==Major William Victor de Brightstar==
 
−
*Virtue: Excellent Staff Officer
 
−
*Vice: Alcohol
 
−
*Minor Nobel Family (Baron)
 
−
*Third in line for the title (So unlikely)
 
−
*Allies: Lt Colonel Roger Eric de Brightstar (brother), Cadet Victoria Philippa de Brightstar (sister), Major General Hector Bermudez-Wu (mentor)
 
−
*Enemies/Rivals: Colonel Henry Humphries de Brightstar (brother), Admiral Mugombe, Major Katherine Marie Melio
 
−
*A strong Empire is a healthy Empire
 
−
*Aspirations and Goals: Ensure the advancement of Colonel Lasalle and by extension myself, obtain position in Grand Imperial General Staff and rise to top.
 
−
*Mixed Economy (the Empire must ensure a steady flow of resources to the military to ensure its safety)
 
−
*Space Easter/Space Christmas Space Catholic
 
−
*Bureaucracy: Expert
 
−
*Imperial Officer: Professional
 
−
*Politicking: Professional
 
−
*Protocol: Professional
 
−
*Range Weaponry: Professional
 
−
*Strategy/Tactics: Professional
 
−
*Streetwise: Layman
 
−
*Intelligence Gathering: Layman
 
−
*Culture/History: Layman
 
−
 
 
−
I am William de Brightstar, third son of Baron Humphries de Brightstar. My family was ennobled some five generations ago in thanks for a service performed by my ancestor to empire.  While the service wasn’t of great importance to the history of our eternal empire but did much for my family and since then we have dutifully served the throne.  Of the current generation both of my brothers serve in the Imperial Cavalry and my younger sister is a third year at the Academy… As for myself, well, while my siblings took to the Line Officer track, I found a real talent for the planning and administrative maneuvering that are the hallmarks of a true Staff Officer. While my brothers look down on me for becoming a ‘mere paper-pusher’ I have found that the true power within the Imperial Navy lies with those controlling the flow of resources and information more than any dash or élan. While some considered me to be 'nosy' and 'officious' few disagreed with my ability to find and make the best use of resources and was considered on track for a position within the Grand Imperial General Staff on Reunion itself.  I’ve served as a Staff Officer for six years with a promising, if methodical, climb before running afoul of the corrupt Admiral Mugombe who promptly assigned me to Tahminah Lasalle's unit.
 
−
 
 
−
''And that is when everything changed…''
 
−
 
 
−
==Princess Aleida Saegusa Macbeth Phoenicia-zel-Zarya, 8th Princess of the Phoenix Empire==
 
−
"Ultima Thule Sector. Fewer than five reaver related incidents annually on average for over seventy years. Then, a significant rise over a period of three years starting six years ago. Repositioning the Imperial 8th Fleet home base in response to the threat was your proposal. I'd thought for a while that you were just creating a bit of busywork to polish up the veneer on your job, Admiral, but it seems you are more sophisticated than I originally suspected. Was I already hated enough for plots against my life to start by the time I was sixteen?"
 
−
 
 
−
The princess inspected the pistol, working its action and even peering, childlike, down the end of the barrel before removing the magazine and leaving a single bullet in the chamber.
 
−
 
 
−
Admiral de Newerth did not reply immediately, mouth hidden behind gloved hands and ample beard. Then he said, "the clerics fill our lives with storied lies and meaningless trivialities. But hidden within the Book are fundamental, undeniable truths. I hold your position and my service to it in the greatest honor, your highness. But though you may not know, there is a curse that flows within your blood. Your very existence is-"
 
−
 
 
−
"-a mistake," Aleida sighed. "You mean that I am the 'Tin Princess'. Because I was not born from the womb of my mother."
 
−
 
 
−
"So you knew..."
 
−
 
 
−
"Oh please. Nothing makes us nobility seal lips like potential scandal but you should have stopped treating me like an idiot by this point."
 
−
 
 
−
"I suppose that is true."
 
−
 
 
−
"I would never have taken you for a zealot, Admiral," the princess continued, putting the gun on the table between them. "It's disappointing."
 
−
 
 
−
"It's never a comforting thing, to be hated. My affairs are in order, your highness, and this time you have been lucky. But how long will that last?"
 
−
 
 
−
"Are you ''worried'' about me? You shouldn't be. I am a very lucky person. For example..." she leaned close. "Isn't it quite ''lucky'' that someone moved the VI carrier squadron's independently contracted shipment of interface fighters upschedule by two weeks?"
 
−
 
 
−
The admiral's eyes widened. "Impossible. You couldn't possibly have-"
 
−
 
 
−
"Let me tell you something, de Newerth. As a general thing, I don't mind being hated, feared or loved at all. However, for those things to happen because of a circumstance of birth is quite different from through one's actions. One of those I ''do'' find comforting while the other is objectionable. Unfortunately, our language has a single word for them without distinction. Just as we only have one word for 'luck'"
 
−
 
 
−
The princess stood up and picked up the gun.
 
−
 
 
−
"However, even the church has taught me at least one thing, and that is that nothing of value comes without earning it. So those things, I will earn. By the time I'm done, what exactly I am will be a question bequeathed only to academics. I'm sorry, admiral," she said, raising the pistol beyond his reach with a smirk. "I know it's rather rude, but I ''do'' need the practice."
 
−
 
 
−
==Joachim Benedikt Aemilius Mornstein-Montfort==
 

Latest revision as of 12:07, 1 January 2017

Notes

The High Court on Luxor

Empress Miziuru-Saria Phoenicia-zel-Zarya I, The Phoenix Reborn

First Minister/Guard Commandant, Duke Angus Feril
Warlord of the Empire, Tahiminah Mina bint Yasmin al-Lasalle, Hero of Luxor
Her Majesty's Herald, Inspector William Victor de Brightstar
Fleet Admiral of the 1st Capital Fleet, Sir Haile Asakura al-Mihran
Guard Commodore Ariana Rahel Suzanne Nisaka Zervina
Protector of the Crown, Sir Annette Bastillet D'Arbour Marissa Sasami Cristebelle I, Countess of Chateautmagne (Left in disgrace)
Representative to the Patriarch, Grand Cleric Aalia St. Cyr bint Turandokht al-Lasalle (Stress "heart attack")

The Court of the Phoenix in Flight

Hiroshi Phoenicia-zel-Zarya, The Uncrowned

Sir Aurora Alloces Citrine Ovsol-Klystron, Hero of Krill and Commander of the Blue Fleet
Sardar-Baivarapatish Ravshana Marika bint Yasmin al-Lasalle
Empress Sakura-Zel Phoenicia-zel-Zarya, Deposed Grand Duchess of Osakan Reach
Captain Michael Vanator, Commander of the Altair Dawn
The Dread Pirate Hrang, Scourge of Negal
Iolia, A poor, corrupted youth. :-(

The Desmond Government on Haven

First Minister Jacques Desmond, Head of Government of the Jardin Republic

Irina Polikarpov, Desmond's Girl Friday

Admiral Joachim Mornstein-Montfort, Commander of the Black Eagles, traitor to the Phoenix Empire

Commodore Prezan, Montfort's Girl Friday
Rifkon Tuk, token Rifter and all around science dude

History

Hunt for the Star Doom

Phoenix Republican Uprising

Road to CoDominium

Jardin Republic

Imperial-CoDominium Hostilities

Long War

Hrang's War on Jardin

Historical Timeline

Myth & Legend (? A.D. to 1000 AE)

  • The Celestial Spheres are discovered by the crew of the [].
  • The King leads the other six Celestial Spheres in a war against the Overculture. The AI-driven warships of the Overculture prove particularly vulnerable to their Song.
  • Six enormous colony ships with the Celestial Spheres installed are constructed and launched in secret. Three head to the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds respectively.
  • Heavy Combat Unit (Long Range) Hrang sent in pursuit of the Arks, engaging the group
  • The Queen, Warlord, and Philosopher successfully fend off the Hrang.

Dark Ages (0-1000 AE)

3[] AE

52[] AE

  • Guilter Offensive begins.
  • Imperial forces suffer catastrophic losses at the Battle of Three Princes. Prince Alzonio is the only survivor.

5222

  • Fleet Admiral Philipe Le'Rienne reveals the purported Guilter Plot. Normal constitutional government is suspended under a state of emergency.
  • High Admiral Guilter is arrested at the front by Military Police on charges of conspiracy to overthrow the elected government.

5223 AE

March

  • Coronation of Emperor Alzonio III.

April

  • 1 April 5223 - April Offensives begin across the Red-Blue Lines.
  • 4 April 5223 Lord Fischer's ersatz 30th Fleet (nicknamed "Revenants" or "Zombie Fleet") attacks the Jardini [], initiating the Battle for Hubert's Folly.

5276 AE

  • Joachim Benedikt Aemilius Mornstein-Montfort is born on Luxor.

5282 AE

  • Political agitators attempt an overthrow of Imperial government but are successfully suppressed by security forces in the Esfahani Incident.
  • First Prince Sebastien seeks asylum in the Jardin Republic, fleeing from charges of High Treason.
  • A number of high noble families are punished in the aftermath of the Esfahani Incident, such as the Safavis.

5291 AE

  • Imperial forces forced to retreat at the Third Gravette Encounter with heavy losses.

5292 AE

  • Ravshana and Tahminah al-Lasalle are born on Sakastan.

5288 AE

William de Brightstar is born on Piedmont.

5306 AE

William de Brightstar becomes the student of Hector Bermudez-Wu.

5321 AE

August

  • Princess Aleida Saegusa Macbeth Phoenicia-zel-zarya is granted a commission as a Starforce General Officer of the XIX Royal Star Lancers, with permission to recruit from the Krillian March.

September

  • Aleida Phoenicia-zel-zarya and the cadre of the XIX Royal Star Lancers, picked from Bannerguards, arrive at the Krill Sector.

November

  • Insurgents on Faraday's World detonate a taboo Rifter-based Gravitic Weapon.
  • Black Brethren motherships Star Doom and Bastion infiltrate the Krillian March.

December

  • 1 December 5322 - Winter's Fest begins
  • Hunt for the Star Doom begins when the Star Doom ambushes the Krillian March Demesne navy at the mouth of the Negal Starway.
  • Stellar Conquistor and escorts defeated at the Battle of Faraday's World, but not before closing the wormhole to Bastion. Cosmo Cannon salvaged from the wreck.
  • The Star Doom bombards the planet of Nergal from orbit, killing almost all of the planetary population in the Negal Massacre.
  • Attempted assassination of Princess Aleida while the XIX Star Lancers are in transit to Refuge. She is rushed into emergency stasis.
  • All Black Brethren warships operating in the Krillian March accounted for after the Raid on Refuge, ending the Krill Campaign.
  • XIX Star Lancers leave the Krill Sector for Luxor under orders from the Imperial Guard.

5322 AE

January

  • XIX Star Lancers and Imperial Navy 5th Fleet elements under Admiral Ellison Mugombe's command establish contact in backwater territories while in transit to and from the Krillian March.

February

  • XIX Star Lancers arrive at the Capital District to be debriefed and turn over the Princess's stasis tank to the Imperial Catacombs.
  • XIX Star Lancers are disbanded, reformed as the 8492nd Starforce Combined Arms Brigade Miziuru's Own.
  • Spring Mutinies, start of the Phoenix Republican Uprising.
  • Trapped Imperial forces destroyed by a detachment of the Jardini 5th Fleet at the Battle of Randall Prime. (Records of the Stellar Heroes)

March

  • Black Brethren mount a series of destructive raids on the Rifter March in the style of the Nergal Massacre.

April

  • 6 April 5322 - Battle of Minrathas Starzone (Records of the Stellar Heroes)
  • Royal Starforce units covering for escaped war prisoners fend off an attack at the Fifth Battle of Desolation Moon. (Records of the Stellar Heroes)
  • Admiral "Miracle" Ackermann sends Imperial forces fleeing from the [] system at the Second Battle of Freya. (Records of the Stellar Heroes/Haile & Ackermann Introduction)
  • Knight-Commander Douglas's Taskforce leaves the Ventris Starzone on a secret mission.

May

  • 5 May 5322 - Combined Fleet under the Osakan Grand Duchess successfully breakout at Third Battle of Bastion Starzone.
  • Miziuru-Saria's forces break concentrated Jardini and Phoenix Republican forces at Battle of Hestia.
  • Imperial and Phoenix Revolutionary Army forces fight the Battle of the Broken Kybelle, Miziuru-Saria takes the Phoenix Throne.
  • Notorious pirate Red Wally defeated at the Second Battle of Folken by the Blue Fleet and Royal Ventrian Starforce.
  • William de Brightstar is appointed Herald to Empress Miziuru-Saria and inducted into the Imperial Guard as an Inspector.
  • Rifter March lords launch first counterattacks over the Great Wall, Rift Crusade begins.

June

  • Knight-Commander Douglas launches the High Knowledge Raid. Failing his primary objective he destroys High Knowledge station and flees.
  • Exarch Bhuutiliumina in command of the 5th Long Range LMC Expedition arrives in the Large Magellanic Cloud, provoking a battle with the Jardini garrison at the Battle of XDeltaZero. The Long War begins.

July

August

September

October

  • Imperial, SRA, and CoDominium fleet elements meet at the Kalymnos Incident. Start of Hiroshi's Revolt.
  • Attempted assassination of General Gadsen at the Constitutional Convention. SRA begins hunting La'Vienne Corporation assets in force.
  • Tahminah Mina bint Yasmin al-Lasalle given permission to raise the Imperial Army of the Frontiers.
  • 7th Fleet Gardenia completes its rotation on the Lines.
  • General Gadsen carries Prince Hiroshi to the outer margins of the Rift Expanse.
  • Crusader leaders declare secession from the Phoenix Empire as the Kingdom of the Rift and swear fealty to King Hiroshi.
  • King Hiroshi assassinated. Imperial envoys are immediately rebuffed.
  • Fleet Admiral Clotilde Ackermann transfers to Home Fleet.

November

December

  • 6 December 5322 - Imperial "Army of the Frontiers" uses a smuggled wormhole to initiate the Third Battle of Folken, but is turned back when the Empress is incapacitated.
  • 29 December 5322 - Co-Dominium leadership at Ventris receives word of the defeat at the Third Battle of Folken. Support for Piracy declared.
  • Aurora Alloces Citrine Ovsol-Klystron journeys to the Kingdom of the Rift.

5323 AE

January

  • 5-17 January 5323 - Ur-Real Long Range LMC Expeditions 6 & 7 attack the Great Ark and the Starforge, prompting the battles of Sweetwater and Starforge. Free Star League and Phoenician forces emerge victorious, though two Ur-Real Heavy Combat Units (Long Range) escape to the Rift Expanse. First sighting of the Obsidian Pharaoh.
  • 15 January 5323 - Aurora is received at the SMS Mikado.

February

  • 14 February 5323 - Great Thing convened in the Kingdom of the Rift by the Regent-Queen to reconcile Rifters and Crusaders.
  • 28 February 5323 - Transeisdzarian Commonwealth is officially ratified, Twin Shahzadas Ardeshir and Saki are born.

5324 AE

5325 AE

5326 AE

5327 AE

March

  • After five years of work William de Brightstar passes a series of political reforms to Empire, mostly concerning noble-commoner relations, occupation and counter-insurgency. The "Brightstar Reforms" are well received both domestically and abroad. For his efforts Brightstar is named First Minister of the Empire.

November

  • Tahmina Mina bint Yasmin al-Lasalle & William Victor de Brightstar are married in a lavish ceremony.

5328 AE

January

February

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