Aces of Space

In the TRIANGULUM GALAXY,
A distant humanity wages war,
With giants of steel and fire.
First among them and without equal,
Are those who fly the deepest sky,
In the shapes of birds.

Join now! Become an ace!

Polities:
Triangulum Galactic Empire: The dominant power in the Triangulum Galaxy; once known as the Triangulum Galactic Federation, an upstart nation which discovered and monopolized the remains of ancient overtechnology and established the international system. Two centuries ago the secretary-general used the political capital from quelling a Federation-spanning civil war and proclaimed a new empire. Aristocratic but also increasingly corrupt and prone to nepotism and political use of the military service prestige, although the old authoritarian social metrics have been dialed back under the Frang-Ume dynasty.

Septentrion: A world of tropical jungles and blue lakes, half-blanketed by a sprawling cityscape formed out of seven interlocking metropoli. As First Emperor Hito-Radam came from this world and was educated in each of the seven cities, he accorded it special rights that bring its culture much more in line with the old Federation than the current imperial regime.

Neo-Zuell: Zuell was a nation of genetic supermen conquered and enslaved by the old Hossean Empire. When the Federation glassed Old Hosse and destroyed her fleets, millions of bioroid slave soldiers were left stateless. Together with the few surviving Zuelli, they settled Neo-Zuell and now act as a march between the present Galactic Empire and the Hossean Remnant. Provide elite fighters for draft in exchange for nominal independence.

Messier Arm Coalition: A disparate, fractious network of states who are joined together for the purpose of checking the power of the Galactic Empire and maintaining sovereignty of the Messier arm. Make use of advanced silicon biotechnology in their fighters, have unmatched coordination and mobility thanks to the harvesting of dense exotics from the EN81 neutron star near the 'root' of the galactic arm, which provides elements to construct ansibles of the highest quality. In a cold war with the Empire.

MISTRAL: A mysterious anarcho-liberterian state where personal rights are unlimited and the government is an apparatus managed through network technology. The will of the people dictates the movements of a subconscious political and economic machinery. The creators of the Coalition's biotechnology.

Solomonic Kingdom: A small kingdom on the march bordering the Messier Arm and the Empire's coreward march, which has recently seen great social reforms even as it stagnates technologically. Survived multiple invasions by the Empire, which has left them embittered and heavily entrenched upon a half-dozen worlds. Famous for their arkfighters, deadly spheroids that use reactionless drives to move in every direction and generate beams from vast phase arrays crisscrossing their armored surfaces.

Hossean Remnant: The old galactic hegemon for some five-hundred years, the Hosse Empire ruled from the border of the galaxy using a force of massive automated monitors which extracted tithes and bombarded those who resisted. The Galactic Federation eventually massed a force to glass Old Hosse and beheaded their leadership, while subverting control of the monitors and sending them into suicide courses along the paths of known black holes. Still a regional power, making use of newly-designed supermonitors and bioroid slave starfighters.

Freemen: The Coreward Shoals, and most of the Spinward Rim in the galaxy is wild and untamed. A heady mix of pirates, freebooters, deserters and other scum ply their trade. Wildcat miners and others attempt to make their fortunes on the rocks of distant worlds. The rumored Merry-Khan fly the dark stars of the Galactic Verge, searching for... something.

Game Info

Mechanics

• Dogfighting in the Triangulum

World

• Starfighters of the Triangulum

Characters

The starting cast are members of the Imperial Pilot Collegiate's 14th Test Division, which is in the process of determining which fighter it will adopt for its next-generation roles. Military membership is not necessary, as the Collegiate seeks a wide variety of people to fill out ranks and provide the best possible training to starfighter cadets.

Describe the character's background, an overview of their personality and how they became admitted to the Collegiate. Other things to list:

• Virtues/Vices?
• The moment that made your career and put you on the path to being an ace?
• Your most dangerous or incredible feat as a pilot?
• Your favorite starfighter class/type?
• Your preferred position (in the deep sky, that is)?
• How you customize your starfighter (nose art, colors, kill decals, etc)?

It would also help to list your political opinions about which direction the Empire should be going:

• Foreign Policy (Inward-looking/imperialism/hegemony/etc)?
• Class (Abolish aristocracy/give more titles for service/more serfdom/etc)?
• Economics (Corporatism/capitalism/socialism/etc)?

Archetype

First, what kind of test pilot are you?

• Insider: A member of the Imperial Guard Aviators branch with a good reputation, you are close to the pulse of power.
• Outsider: A civilian contractor perhaps a mercenary or a retired ace with good connections, with an outside perspective on things.
• Virtuoso: An incredibly popular and prestigious Navy pilot, the kind who'd be an admiral if they didn't love to fly so much.

Now, type of starfighter are you piloting?

• Standard: The Imperial Navy's preferred units are tightly-built mission-specific fighter craft, typically space planes although a number of common designs are vacuum-only.
• Exofighter: Exofighters are the odd man out, lacking conventional control surfaces such as wings and designed with non-humanoid profiles. Their chassis tend to be unusual, multi-limbed and best-suited to space combat. Some of the best Imperial bombers and heavy fighters are exofighter designs. Sometimes called 'uglies'.
• Variable: The kings of space are beautifully streamlined starfighters that can shift between a humanoid and spaceplane mode. Their appearance in either mode tends to be somewhat conventional, and although capable and adaptable there has been some level of stagnation in their design due to all innovations being earmarked for Imperial Guard-only models.

What weight class is it?

• Standard: The standard class for a typical high-performing air superiority fighter design.
• Heavy: Large fighters designed to carry large missile or homing beam payloads, they are not substantially tougher but engage more effectively from outside of standard fighter range.
• Bomber: Heavily armed and armored, but often dependent on lighter craft for support from interceptors.
• Monster: Huge and slow, and very uncommon. The Empire has been using the same design for centuries, and convincing them to replace it will take a lot.

Finally, what kind of entry are you representing in the Test Team?

• Imperial Design Bureau: Your craft was assigned to you, and you will learn its functions and report back any deficiencies. Do this, and you will be on the fast-track to promotion. The GM will design your craft, but get bonus points each cycle and more of them.
• Corporate Partnership: Your craft is a result of a partnership between the Collegiate and a major aerospace firm. Be sure to keep them posted so they can tweak it. As a benefit, you get a corporate liaison and some monetary compensation. The GM will design your craft, and you can assign the bonus points each cycle.
• Design Team: Your craft is a personal offer to the Collegiate, made of your sweat and tears. Your team is like a small family, your hangar is a second home. The GM will jointly design your craft with you.

Attributes

Assign 9 points between the following attributes, with a maximum of 3 at chargen. Each point provides a die reroll to the attribute when used or the same in free bonus die when spending Fate.

• Acumen: Education, common sense and problem solving.
• Body: Toughness, strength and ability to survive extended exertion.
• Cunning: Social savvy, getting others to do what you want without them liking you.
• Nerves: Reflexes, self-control and ability to make use of senses.
• Operativeness: Being able to do physical things fast and precisely.
• Personality: Being likeable, self-assured and confident in the face of anything.

Skills

Assign 12 points between the following skills, with a maximum of 2 at chargen. Each point is a +5 bonus to skill rolls. Can buy a specialty for 1 point on any non-starfighter skills, which is a +10 specific to that field.

• Academic: General knowledge, better when specialized.
• Bureaucracy: Ability to navigate the requisition process and make logistics work.
• Courtly: Proper aristocratic manners.
• Carouse: Improper commoner manners.
• Infantry: All the skills involved in fighting without a starfighter.
• Oratory: Public speaking.
• Plotting: Improper aristocratic manners.
• Technology: As opposed to knowing things, being able to do things of a technical or scientific nature. Better when specialized.

Starfighter Skills

• Acrobatics: Fancy flying, or footwork if your fighter has legs.
• Avionics: Use of sensors and other subsystems.
• Evasion: Avoiding damage at medium and long range.
• Dogfighting: Brawling at close range. Covers attack and defense.
• Gunnery: Attacking at medium and long range.
• Intercept: Closing to favorable engagement ranges.
• Maneuver: Escaping to favorable engagement ranges.