Kyburg Dynasty

"O Shah, live forever! Though such is thy might and majesty that the vault of heaven alone should be thy throne. All the world is submissive before thee, and I can bethink me but of one thing that is lacking unto thy glory.
Then Kai Kaous questioned him of this one thing, and the Deev said:
"It is that thou knowest not the nature of the sun and moon, nor wherefore the planets roll, neither the secret causes that set them in motion. Thou art master of all the earth, therefore shouldst thou not make the heavens also obedient to thy will?"
-The Shahnameh

Imperial Flag

The Empire

The Empire is an expansive and ancient realm of inhabited worlds and highdwellings that have been united under the Great Charter since the nearly forgotten days of early human interstellar settlement. At its height under the rule of the Norouzi Dynasty, it spanned across known space and extended its reach into the Deep Beyond and even into the Outside. But that era of glory and power has passed into memory, the endless Long War against the alien Outsiders and the brutal rebellions within its borders have sapped the Empire's strength and eroded its once vast territories. The invincible soldiers and wondrous technologies of the Golden Dynasty are now little more than myths and legends inherited by the remaining inhabitants of its dwindling constellations.

But though it has receded from so many regions it once ruled, and lost so much of its past glories and wonders, the Empire is not yet a wholly spent force. What the ruin of the Golden Dynasty left behind, Farzad Kyburg and his better descendants worked to save. Knowledge and even more importantly institutions were preserved and the Great Charter upheld even as the Long War dragged on. The apocalyptic defeat at Mimosa might have been the blow that at last doomed their stubborn rump state, but the Event intervened. And amongst the new arrivals of the Nexus, the Empire is a mighty power.

Defeat at Mimosa

The Kyburg Dynasty

Founded by Farzad Kyburg after the collapse of the Golden Dynasty's rule, the Kyburg Dynasty has fought against the Empire's decline for all of its existence from the new capital of Sankt Andra. Empress Terzea I took the throne just a few months ago following the untimely death of both Sharpur IV and his heirs.

The Five Ministries

The Ministries employ the elite scholar-bureaucrats responsible for the administration of the Empire beyond the local level. They are State and Trade, Information, War, Justice, and Rites and Ceremony. Ministry officials conduct important research, resolve interplanetary disputes, and maintain the web of communication that holds the Empire together. A sixth ministry, Arcanum, was dissolved following the fall of the Golden Dynasty.

The Military

A wide range of forces are responsible for the Empire's defense, from the warships and marines of the Imperial Navy, the neglected fortifications of Strategic Defense, to the vast ranks of the Ambient Surface Forces and the Dynasty's own Immortals. The quality of these troops varies wildly from formation to formation and between organizations, with the best typically belonging to the Navy and the Immortals.

The Planetary Dynasts

The old nobility, ancient families who rule over various worlds and highdwellings according to the guidelines set out under the Grand Charter. Although many systems are now directly ruled by the Imperial Crown via the Ministries, or even in some extreme cases the Military, just as many are old holder worlds. The Planetary Dynasts form a powerful bloc within the Imperial Diet.

National Stats

Imperial Admiral

Population: Rank 5 (7)

The Imperial Demesne and its surrounding regions are all that remains of the once vast volume controlled by the Empire at the height of its power and influence. The population of this mainland has been bolstered for better or worse by the influx of refugees from territories lost to the Outsiders.

Transhumanism: Rank 1 (2-1)

Radical genetic modification was outlawed in the Great Charter itself at the founding of the Empire, deemed a threat to the realm's stability. The association of such practices with the proscribed Ouster Movement and some of the more infamous Beyonder Kingdoms has only reinforced the idea that the ban is necessary.

Infrastructure: Rank 6 (3+3)

Although they pales in comparison to the industrial powerhouse that the Empire was at its height, as a matter of simple survival it was necessary for the territories ruled by the Kyburgs to greatly expand and maintain their capabilities for production. Although battered and depleted by the war, their Forges continue to send a steady stream of weapons and warships to the War Front.

Growth Potential: Rank 0 (2-2)

Although the Empire's dire military situation is well known, its economic one remains somewhat obscure. Swamped with refugees and badly worn by a conflict that has drained it of productive systems, the Imperial Government desperately needs new systems and their resources to rejuvinate their supply lines before the very machinery of Imperial society begains to break down.

Military Support: Rank 5 (5)

Badly taxed by the loss and abandonment of several key front-line fortresses and supply centers in the aftermath of the retreat from Mimosa, the Ministry of War remained able to mantain the Imperial Navy's remaining warships partly only because so few ships returned from that disasterous campaign.

Space Fleet: Rank 6 (4+2)

The remnants of the Imperial Navy, a collection of scarred veterans and new recruits hastily reorganized to defend the mainland.

Diplomacy: Rank 2 (2)

The Ministry of State and Trade is nothing more than a shadow of its former self these days, as the secret police and military openly use force to control subject territories that once would have been managed using a careful diplomatic touch.

Espionage: Rank 2 (2)

The Imperial Secret Police are never short of work these days, although their effectiveness has often been called into question. Other intelligence agencies find themselves shorthanded and overstreched.

General Advancement: Rank 1 (4)

The Long War and more particularly the fall of the Golden Dynasty has taken its toll on the Empire's technological base. Stringent controls on important technologies and the guarded nature of information during the Norouzi period meant that with that Dynasty's fall, many of its secrets were lost with its homeworlds.

Unique Technologies: Rank 2 (3)

Although in years past the Dynasty dabbled in Outsider wreckage and various curiosities with hopes of finding a war winning device, few breakthroughs have been made on that front. Even less is known of the stranger devices occasionally used by the Golden Dynasty at its height, the legendary secret weapons that in the end failed to save them.

Emergent Technologies: Rank 2 (3)

As much a thorn in the side of the Dynasty's attempts to maintain order as they are invaluable to its defense. Nanotech forges, a bewildering array of cybernetic implants, and powerful expert automation are and have been tools in the Empire's arsenal since practically the dawn of the interstellar era.

Magic: Rank 0 (0)

The Imperial Secret Police are tireless in their pursuit of possible espers, and the stories of ancient sorcerers in the service of old dynasties are dismissed as a mildly subversive brand of mythology.

The Navy

Imperial Cruisers

Battle Cruisers

Big heavily armed and armored warships have been the center of any human naval effort since even before the Empire's formation. Mines and other drones give them considerable reach, and potent active and passive defenses make a formation of these warships a tough nut to crack even when not supported by the usual bubble of lighter craft. Not simply naval craft, each Battle Cruiser carries with it a considerable detachment of human and robotic troops for landing operations.

Patrol Cruisers

The workhorse of the Imperial Navy, these ships represent something of a compromise between the small and short ranged Attack Ship and a full Battle Cruiser. Although lacking the latter's powerful defenses and weaponry, a Patrol Cruiser has much of its potential for utility outside the battle lines as well as its considerable endurance. Patrol Cruisers roam the trade routes and defense perimeters for extended periods alone or in pairs, updating Fleet Headquarters on developing situations and often serving as a first line of defense.

Attack Ships

Despite their moniker, Attack Ships are fully realized multipurpose warships and despite their small size relative to fleet's main combatants are more than simply a fast attack platform. During a pitched battle they support the main body's defense envelop and act as a fast mobile reserve, while at other times they serve as the fleet's eyes and ears using their FTL capabilities to scout remote areas ahead of the battle divisions.

Imperial Fleet

Total Fleet Support: 2430

Fleet Support Used: 1708

Main Battle Cruisers (15)

02 x Main Battle Cruisers (S15)

Battle Cruisers

30 x Large Battle Cruisers (S10)

29 x Battle Cruisers (S9)

09 x Small Battle Cruisers (S8)

Patrol Cruisers

143 x Patrol Cruisers (S6)

Attack Ships

266 x Large Attack Ships (S4)

192 x Attack Ships (S3)

076 x Interceptors (S1)

Auxiliary Warships

100 x CEA Cruisers (S6)

200 X CEA Destroyers (S5)

Strategic Defense

040 x Strategic Defense Nodes (S2)