Magpies

Inspirations

Armored Core 4

Armored Core For Answer

Armoured Core 6: Fire fo Rubicon

Gundam UC

Gundam 00

Project Landsword

Japanese History

The late Roman Republic

Timeline

Late 21st Century: Earth's astronomer witnesses a space battle between alien vessels in near-earth space. In the aftermath, both ships are destroyed by ancient weapons hidden deep in the Earth. Debris causes large-scale destruction across the earth. In the aftermath, nations begin to struggle over the alien wreckage and ancient sites. Technologies drawn from these sources, called 'extra-technology' begin to accelerate human technological development.

After Contact 1: Large scale war breaks out between the major powers over control over extra-technology and sites.

After Contact 4: First recorded use of humanoid robotic weapons by Japanese SDF in the Battle of the Hokkaido Extra-technology site. The technology spreads rapidly.

After Contact 8: The first "Red Zone" declared, areas so damaged by the war that no attempt at reclaimation is possible. These areas increasingly become home to outlaws, bandits and anti-Federation forces.

After Contact 10: All involved powers decimated by warfare and environmental degradation brought on by climate change and space debris

After Contact 12: With no power able to continue the war, the Earth's surviving major states, led by Japan, the African Union, Germany and Thailand form the Earth Federation, with the goal of both repairing the Earth's environment and defending from potential attack from space.

After Contact 20: First Space colony completed a mere 8 years after its construction

After Colony 21: Work begins on the Halo Solar energy system and Torus Station

After Contact 24: Lunar Colony construction begins

After Contact 25 to After Contact 70: First Golden Age of the Federation sees free expansion into space. Hundreds of orbital colonies are constructed, and large amounts of the planet's working population is lifted into space to make their homes in the stations or the Halo. Numerous Extra-technology derived humanoid systems are made use of in industry and combat. Large scale interest in human augmentation to meet continued needs to explore both space and extra-technology ruins.

After Contact 32: First permanent settlement constructed on Mars

After Contact 33: The all female Seraphim Culture begins in the Halo, and begins to become highly successful.

After Contact 40: First permanent settlement around Jupiter

After Contact 42: First permanent settlement around Saturn: Large scale HE3 mining around the gas giants commences.

After Contact 50s: The Golden 50s see continued expansion of humanity's economic and social life under the mostly benevolent rule of the Federation. With a few exceptions this is the first decade completely without war. However class, racial and regional conflicts continue to simmer under the surface. Low level violence between different factions in the Federation and against remnant non-Federation areas see the first deployment of independent mercenary contractors known as Magpies.

After Contact 62: Human settlements now expand all the way to the Oort Cloud.

After Contact 71: Profession Richard Burkley propounds the "berserker probe" theory of first contact, suggesting both the alien craft that entered the system and the extra-technology sites discovered on earth are remains of an ancient and now long vanished war, and further contact is unlikely. The theory causes widescale political problems in the Federation government and is largely seen as the end of the first golden age of the Federaton.

After Contact 75 to After Contact 120: Small scale wars with anti-Federation Forces expand across the world. Much of humanity's economic power shifts to the Halo and the high orbit stations. The Seraphim come to dominate the Halo as their willingness to use mass cloning and ability with mind state remixing allows them to rapidly build additional population.

After Contact 125-135: The First Magpie War. Largescale rebellion against the Federation starts across Europe and Russia. Magpies are deployed in large numbers on both sides. The revolt is eventually crushed after the disappearence of its leader, the mysterious Vladimir.

After Contact 140 to 194: Second golden age of the Federation. Art, literature and prosperity surge as war damage is made good and development of the outer colonies continues. The Federation government becomes increasingly relient on Seraphim Factions of the Halo for political, military and economic cover. Magpies used extensively in the shadow games between factions and against Bandits, Red Zone forces and small rebels.

After Contact 194: The Moorland Affair. Federation Minister of Justice Moorland, as well as top members of the Magpie Guild are found to be cooperating with rebel groups within several of the Red Zones with the view to taking over the Federation government. The resulting warfare sees large scale fighting across much of earth as red zone forces attack more civilized zones in a coordinated way. The Magpie Guild, riven with infighting is unable to respond.

After Contact 198: The Defense and Order Act is promulgated, allowing smaller units of the Federation to raise their own armies for local defense and public order.

After Contact 199: Seraphim Troops from the Network Feather faction find and kill Justice Minister Moorland while Inorganic Angels and the Federation space army bombard red zones, smashing rebel forces.

After Contact 200: In the wake of Moorland Affair, the Federation Central Government at Dakar is increasingly weakened and relient on the Seraphim factions that rule Halo for solar energy, political and military support. Outside the centres of Federation power, the Defense and Order Act has seen local bodies, corporations, local, national and subnational governments and even powerful magnets legally raise their own armies. The use of violence to settle disputes is common. The Magpies, once the swords of the factions of the federation government are now little more than ronin mercenaries, cast adrift to find what employment they can.

You are one such ronin warror, the last of the Magpies

Factions

The Federation

The overall government of the Federation, ruled from the great capital at Dakar, the Federation maintains a government that stretches from the Sun to the Oort cloud. The Federation is primarily concerned with the avoidance of large scale wars between its Cantons, the creation of common trade and economic relations, the issue of regional currencies and most important the preparation of defenses against a potential attack by hostile extra-terrestrial beings. The last end has historically consumed the majority of the Federation's time and effort, and even after almost two hundred years the spectre of attack from outside still looms large and consumes the majority of the Federation's budget.

Federation politics are notoriously labyrinthine and factional, especially due to the appointed nature of most high Federation officials, which leads to intrigue being the primary means of gaining power. This byzantine system is increasingly a little irrelevant however, as the powerful Seraphim factions of the Halo, especially the Black Feathers, can use their economic, military and political power to make and break Federations leaders as they will. Some Cantons grumble at this imposition of Seraphim power, but others see it as a more stable system than the previous, often violent, court politics of the Federation's first century.

Federation Defense Force

The vast Federation Defense Force is mostly kept in space at a series of huge defense bases, practicing to fight against the alien invasion that has yet to come. Some forces such as the Interior Guard are also used against Rebels, and while they're notoriously corrupt and underfunded, they're still a powerful force.

Federation Currency

The Federation has 7 different currencies which are issued to Cantons of different states of economic development and float freely against one another. Who may be in which currency is a common political battle among Cantons.

Federation Cantons

The Federation is divided into self governing Cantons, which may maintain their own systems, laws, and apperatus of state within the Federation legal code. Canton governments were once quite vestigal, but have become increasingly important as the The Defense and Order Act has allowed them to legally raise large armies without accusations of rebellion. A canton may be a geogrpahical region on earth or a single colony cylinder in orbit.

The Sardinia Free State

The Island of Sardinia is where the game is set. A relatively young Canton that only recently gained independence from the Alpine area, its president, Ginevra Amato has done much to transform the Island's economic prospects, and has recruited a powerful mercenary force to defend the island.

The Magpie Guild

The old directing agency of Magpie Operations, the Magpie's guild was all but destroyed due to the treason of its leaders during the Moorland Incident.

The Seraphim

Genetically Engineered all female clones, the Seraphim gained major prominance due to their role in the construction of the Halo ring station. Huge numbers of Seraphim clones were created, reversing much of humanity's overall population decline and powering them to the status of a superpower with control over the distribution of solar power and other technologies. They have also pioneered much Aleph networking and machine interfaces that are at the heart of much modern data networking.

The Black Feathers Faction

The most powerful Seraphim Faction, the Black Feathers dominate Segments 3 through 21 of the Orbital Ring's 108 segments, and are at the centre of a network of Federation ground and orbital Cantons, and a network of tamed corporations and Federation political and business leaders who are relient on their support. The Black Feathers are a mostly pragmatic faction, and do not care much for the esoteric investigations of Miracle Technology that some Seraphim use, but are known to make careful investigation of newly discovered Miracle-Tech sites.

The White Beam faction

The chief rivals to the Black Feather Faction, the White Beam has always thought itself second best, and chaffed under this position. Despite this, they have carved out a place for themselves as controllers of much of the Solar Power Grid, and trade routes across the orbit. They are currently scheming against the Black Feathers with various elements of the Dakar government to try to resort their influence in the Federation capital.

The Blue and Purple Faction

The third large Seraphim faction. The Blue and Purple Faction control the Indonesian and South American space elevator, and are deeply bitter than the Black Feathers control the African one.

Counter Federation Forces

Rebel groups against the Federation range from left wing liberation forces to hereidtory reactionary militia, but a huge majority of them are groups from Non-Federation settlements in the Red Zones, Bandit Kings and Pirate Princes, whose local elites have no wish to assimilate into the Federation despite the economic benefits.

The Corporations

An array of corporations, often with huge networks of clientism and corruption dominate the Federation economy.

Mystery Cults

While the old religions survive, esoteric cults are on the rise.

Technology

Armoured Frame

Created by Japanese scientists after the discovery of the Extra-Technology sites, Armoured Frame are high mobility humanoid weapon systems based around a Extra-technology core, Frames stand on average around 3-5 meters tall. Their humanoid shape allows for neurological control over the Extra-Technology systems within by a human pilot, and the projection of active protection fields, and "virtual plate." A modern Armour is equipped with a quick boost system as well, allowing a skilled and enhanced pilot to make very rapid movements and dodges.

Despite their power, the Armoured Frames is no longer the lord of the battlefield that it once was. It's dominance of the battlefield now threatened by the swarms of cheap Cavalry Gears and drones deployed by Earth based forces, and by high tech weapons the Halo like the Seraphim's Niăo and Tori, and automated HMAW (High Mobility Autonomous Weapon) such as the Valkyrie and Fury series, or Federation Defense Force units like the Syreen. Armoured Frames are still used extensively even by Seraphim special forces units however, and are the signature weapons of Magpies.

M-Generator

The M-Generators are Extra-Tech power generation systems which lie at the heart of machines like Armoured Frames. They generate a high output but are used less in modernity as powerful Solar Quench systems become avaliable, due to the polution that they produce during venting.

Cavalry Gears

A cheaper legged weapon, Cavalry Gears are used to augment more conventional tank forces. They stand 2 to 4 meters tall and usually bird or spider legged with a lot of ability to adjust their stance to maintain concealment.

Characters

You are a Magpie recruited by the Sardinian Free State as part of their attempt to build a military and restore peace in a troubled region.

Describe yourself and your Armoured Frame in general terms. There may be system a bit later.

Gremori

• During the First Magpie War, Vladmir had created elite anti-Seraph of genetically modified pilot clones based off the greatest frame rider of the age code named the Goetia to oppose the angels of space. This pink and purple hair young woman is not one of them, she and her machine definitely were not dug out of forgotten hidden arms depot for purposes unknown.

Leona

• An old soldier who has seen far too much war and the darker side of the Federation, she briefly retired to her questionably-gotten riches after the Moorland Affair, but ultimately, drinking expensive wine in her mansion surrounded by maid and deeply unhappy, she had to face the truth: she just really liked killing people.
• Hopeless wine aunt
• Still very rich, in it for the love of the game
• Her Armoured Frame is on the larger end, enough to carry a considerable set of missiles and explosives

Antonin Mazeri

• Young man, seeking adventure.