User:Zeromanicus

Heaven's Reach

Historical Paths

Exploration Era

Exp-1) World Type

Hell World (Go to Exp-3)

Various reasons exist to land on hell worlds. Habitability is not one of them.

Exp-3) Hell World

Adapt (Radical Morphological Change, +100 CIP, + 100 PIP)

A normal human won't survive Chernobyl Beta. A normal human.

Exp-6) Precursor Relics

Extensive (+ 250 dust, - 50 PIP)

A few worlds have an unexpected bounty of delta dust, be in greater density to start or fortutious geology.

Exp-7) Feral Drones

Extensive (+ 2500 fleet, + 100 Fabers)

Extensive drone hives were almost exclusively found around red M-type stars.

Exp-8) Posthuman Footsteps

Data Core (+ 150 applications, +1 Global Tech Level)

Accessing data cores was a surefire way to increase technological development.

Exp-9) Location Routed (+10SP)

Colonization Era

Col-1) Axis Of Colonization

Longshot (+2,500 military, + 100 PIP, + 100 CIP +20 SP, +5 to SP limit go to Col-6)

Col-6) Leaving on a wormhole ship . . .

Inner Rim (+ 30 population, + 150 PIP, + 50 CIP, + 100 Faber, + 25 SP, + 20 transgene)

Col-6B) Prides and Prejudices

New Freedoms (+ 20 Transgene)

Col-6C) Idealism, Meet Reality

Primarily Primary Industry (+ 300 PIP, +200 Wealth, + 120 Population)

Col-6D) Colonial Demographics

Idealists (+ morale)

Some decided to go to space to make their dreams of a better society come true

Col-6E) Backing

Military Government Sponsored (+ 2,500 military)

Discharge to the Rim

Col-6F) Colonists

Fleeing Trangenes (+20 Transgenics)

As the Brazilian miracle turned nightmare, many transgenes caught a boat

Col-7A) Local Affairs

Warfare! (+2,500 military, go to Col-7C)

General Veers, deploy your men

Col-7C) Warfare! Full Scale War (+5,000 military, + doctrines)

Breakdown Era

Break-5) Longshots, Isolated Again

Go Weird (+ 40 Transgene, + 100 CIP, +4 Logistics, 10,000 military)

War Era and Aftermath

War-1) Choose Your Side

Independence! (+ 10,000 military, Go to War-9) *Must be Broken Down factional, any UN or Longshot

War-9A) Indie World Politics

Transhuman Supremacy (+ 200 CIP, + 40 Transgene, + Morale, - relations)

One or two worlds become what Stauss-Kaserists fear, a powerful and self-willed state that exposed a philosophy of transhuman dominance.

War-9B) Indie World Economics

Transhuman Resources (+ 20 transgene, + 100 CIP, + 100 applications, +2 Global Techlevel + 10 SP, SP limit increased by 5)

Having a transgenic populace can be a boon to the intellectual output of a world, with some worlds embracing this concept whole-heartedly.

War-9C) Indie World Military

Soldier, Ask Not (++++ Doctrines, + 5,000 military)

The meanest mercs to ever smash a world for a buck

Current Era

Cur-1) The Business of Government

Space Monarchy (+ 2,500 Military, + 100 PIP, +20 Transgene, + 1 SP)

National Totals

Population: 180
PIP:700
CIP:650
Dust:250
Military: 42500(2500 Fleet)
Fabbers: 200
Wealth: 200
Apps: 250
Tech: 21
SP: 56+10L
Transgene: 180
Morale:2
Relations:-1
Logistics: 4
Doctrines:+++++

SP Spending Tech:10SP 25
Apps:10SP 120
Trans:6SP 12
Pop: 10SP 60
Doctrine:10SP 20 Points

Heaven's Reach

"It is clear that our creators, the scientists, the politicians, the nations, have not the strength of character nor wisdom of ages to realise the potential of their creation. Faced with the hysteria of the public, the moral panic of those few religious and the raw evolutionary fear of our superiority, they condemn us to the stars. Well fuck them, I do not recognise the authority of the weak, of the spineless to dictate to me. Let their DNA be their shackles, their morality their prison, let them be the chains that tie them down to earth, as we Reach For Heaven."

Lt Colonel Alexia Duvochy, of the defunct Russian Federation Spetsnaz Augmentation Programme, quietly exiled to avoid a public relations disaster and widly considered to of all gone insane.

Heaven's Reach was founded by the soldiers of 5th Brigade of the Russian Federation Spetsnaz, who had overgone experimental transgenic augmentation. Coincident with the troubles in Brazil, the project was discontinued after the soldiers developed a dangerous group mentality that refused to recognise the proper chain of Command. They assigned Lt Colonel Alexia Duvochy as their leader on a almost Alpha Wolf basis and became to routinely question their civilian oversight.

What started as a colony of a few thousand, with the help of posthuman fabrication units, developed into a multi-million people colony, as clones were churned out one after the other.

Society

Heaven's Reach is a stratified society, it is modelled on a strict Hierarchy based on individual combat ability. Over time and with immigrants from across the Sphere, various Military Orders have formed, bonds of ideology, blood and valor. Each keeping their own council, they are like Regiments of other nations, though with far more freedom. On the planet of Heaven's Reach, most are sworn to an ORDER and Orders are all sworn to OVERLORD.

As a planet steeped in the mythos of warriors and cybernetics, most economic activity on the planet is related to warfighting. Entertainment is found in Tournaments, where men ply their fame and honour against each other in order to rise within the ranks of society and prove themselves as Warriors.

Governmental Structure

OVERLORD

OVERLORD is responsible for the leadership of Heaven's Reach, forming the grand strategy and managing external relations. A subset of EXARCHOS is SENTINEL, the Black Ops of Heaven's Reach. It is the 'Executive' Branch of the Government in so far as there can be one in such a unusual nation.

ORDERs

A ORDER is a Mercenary Band, a Clan, a Family of warriors, a political party. They scheme, they plot and they fight. If Heaven's Reach were a Federal state, OVERLORD would be the Federal Government and ORDERs the states.

Titles

Titles are important to Heaven's Reach, they are a reward and recognition of ability and achievement. They are attained as one's Military Index rises, often as a result of duels.

OVERLORD Ranks/Titles

Exarchos (Commander in Chief) Head of Government and Head of State

Komestikos (Major Generals?) The Komestikos are Strategos chosen to serve in the Ruling Council.

GUARDIAN Ranks/Titles

Strategos (General/Admiral)

These are the leaders of a recognised Order.

Tourmarches (Colonel)

Qenturikos (Major)

Xenturikos (Captain)

Centurikos (Lieutenant)

HONOUR Titles

Honour titles are a recognition of true top tier ability and desire. While technically awarded for outstanding merit in battle, they are increasing a preresquite for advancement and placement in certain elite units. For instance, all SENTINELs are Exaltikos.

Exaltikos (Knight+)

Cataphractikos (Knight)

Planetary Geography

Heaven's Reach is perhaps known best for the black band of ash that seems to clutch the planet.

They called it the Veil, the equatorial band of dark persistent ash clouds that cling like a dark ring around the world. Volcanoes belched a dark cloud of ash year round and it hung, as it had for thousands of years, loathe to retreat or disperse. The land here is rich in nutrients, though sorely lacking in light and ironically serves as one of the principle agricultural regions on the planet. Under geothermally powered flood lamps, with the thick air, acres of crops grow in the volcanic soils.

Rocky crags and volcanic mountains tend to dominate most observers attention, lakes of fire churn continually whilst rivers of air rise towards the sky. Biota born to fire thrive here, even in absence of light, growing near boiling pools shedding vital nutrients from their frothing waters.

North and south of the Veil, separate atmosphere cells operate, fierce barriers of air that prevent the ash ring spreading north or south. Here the fiery red sun burns brightly, the planet receives an abundance of solar insurance, resulting in near white pigment plants forced to bounce much of it back to space to avoid overheating, the landscape here is dominated by scattered bands of this radiation resistance flora that rise hundreds of meters skyward, with huge stiff leaves that leave much of the forest in permanent shade. These have grown from various oasis that have developed, expanding outwards with their shade. These massive jungles are spread across the tropical band of the planet, often tracing along underground rivers.

This canopy consumes the vast majority of light, leaving the underbrush reliant on parasitic species feeding off the trees and their biological waste. The harsh radiation eventually kills off even the hardiest leaves and they are frequently replaced, the old leaves falling to the ground where they provide much of the decaying matter that fuels the undergrowth as well as temporarily allowing light to reach down into the under-canopy. Bioluminscence is common in the under-canopy, the animals and plants constantly evolving forms of it in response to selective pressures, prey using it as communication, plants using it to attract predators who will spread their pollen and eventually predators to attract prey, mimic prey or communicate in the darkness. With a wide temperature range due to the 92 hour day/night cycle , rainfall levels are considerable, during the night rains are quite common due to the cooling air.

The north pole is a crater lake, miles upon miles deep, a spear of water driven deep into the planet.

Exhuman Augmentation

Base

All Reachers share a similar base physiology, due to adaptation to the environment of Jecht.

Reachers at first glance are typical humans, if slim. But changes are immediately visible in their extremely pale colouration. They have skin that is usually perfect white with a unusual sheen. This is because the skin is in fact scales, a sheet of smooth yet tough scales forms a dermal layer to not only reflect the extreme solar radiation of Jecht, but to protect against non-visible radiation and to retain moisture. Titanium oxide makes up the majority of the scale, being an effective white pigment and screen against UV radiation.

The Scale layer itself is covered by a easily shed outer dermal layer which protects the scaled layer when not in use resulting in the pale human appearance of Outers, rather than something akin to a reptile as one might expect.

Due to the environment, Jecht is a intensely bright planet, from the blazing star to the white vegetation a normal human would become blind very quickly. Reachers have nictating membranes with reflective protection, much like sunglasses.

Due to the higher carbon content and lower atmospheric pressure, Outers have a increased oxygen carrying capacity, as well as increased lung efficiency.

While not baseline, 15% of the Outer Heaven population have no significant augmentation beyond baseline standards. They form a underclass of menial workers and hopefuls.