Species and Factions

Humans

Home Planet: Earth, Sol System
Average Lifespan: ~110 years

Immediately following the implementation of a unified government, humans began to consolidate their efforts into the conservation of planet Earth using cleaner energy methods in addition to mining resources on distant planets. However, as the planet’s population grew, so did the overall cost of living, causing many humans to seek more affordable homes on the various UEC colonies scattered throughout the Milky Way. Over time, the human population has continued to grow and they currently outnumber any of the other dominant species.

United Earth Coalition

In 2078, humanity made the commitment to implement a unified government across all nations in order to deal with the vast depletion of the planet’s resources and the restless state of its population. The UEC has three branches, the first is political, which manages the people of Earth and their daily life. The second branch is military, which works to defend Earth from any hostile forces and to protect the interests of the UEC. Lastly, there’s the security branch, which acts as a police force protecting human civilians both on Earth and on UEC colonies throughout Earth’s territory.

The UEC was initiated with the best intentions, to unite and protect humanity as they began to venture out into the galaxy. However, during its 230 years in power, corruption began to grow internally with its politicians and high ranking military commanders. This has resulted in under-protected colonies and the formation of work camps for impoverished colonists and aliens being labeled as alien ‘integration’ colonies. Most of Earth’s citizens have the false impression that the UEC is a force of strength and goodwill, when in reality, the organization is bloated, overreaching and has become a monumental roadblock towards peace in the galaxy.



Eden Industries

Eden Industries was founded in 2039. The company’s original goal was to aid humanity with artificial intelligence, while also leading the way with much of the early research and development of spaceships capable of interplanetary travel in the hopes of colonizing some of the other planets and moons in Earth’s solar system. Eden Industries thrived for well over a century, making great strides in several technological fields, from robotics to terraforming, founding several of their own colonies under a joint project with the UEC. Medical advancements made under CEO Jacob Eden’s leadership also served in expanding the human life by an average of 30 years, cementing humanity’s trust in the company and the Eden name.

After the start of the First Contact War, Eden expanded the company’s focus into weapons manufacturing and planetary defence initially in support of the UEC, though in recent decades the company has invested more heavily in their own private military, known as ‘Seraph.’ Publicly, the company appears to support the UEC’s efforts in the war, but ultimately Eden believes it to be pointless posturing, claiming the real threat to humanity is the Vareliens, with their closed off system and threatening nature. In recent years, Eden has put all his effort into finding what they know, citing they are keeping their technological advancements secret from the rest of the galaxy in in effort to remain superior to the other sentient species.

After over a century spent crafting a careful image to the public, Eden Industries continues to be viewed very positively by humanity. Though behind closed doors, its CEO routinely leverages his own power over others to pursue his own agenda, from selling weapons to warlords to bribing high ranking UEC officers, Eden has his hands in everything. His ultimate aim being control, over technology, over the galaxy, over mortality itself.

Asurians

Home Planet: Asura, Tau Saevorum System
Average Lifespan: ~300 years

The Asurians are a humanoid species from the planet Asura in the Tau Saevorum system. The Asurian people are a proud race of warriors, scholars, scientists and artisans who have built their society on a foundation of traditional values. Their futures are decided at a young age, as all youth must undergo a rite of passage (a test of wits, survival, and/or knowledge) before they can pursue their desired career. Upon completion, the Asurian youth is given their first individual marking about the right eye, signifying their initiation into adulthood. Any other markings are optional, usually given after they have served in the military for a given amount of time. For males, five years of military service is mandatory, for females it is voluntary.

Origins and Early Life:

The Asurian people originally started in small tribes of around 100-200 individuals. Like humans, they had small skirmishes in their early years, but due to the hostile nature of the wilderness on their home world, the Asurians were forced to band together to survive. Eventually society began to form, they were able to tame their wild planet and as their technology improved, their civilization was formed.
Many Years of peace of prosperity followed until the exploration age, which lead the well established Asurians of the southern region to the harsh, undeveloped continent to the north, a place they thought to be completely barren. Once they arrived at the frozen wasteland, they came across several tribes of more hardy, acclimatized Asurians (northerners can be identified by their more robust stature and facial hair on the males). The exploration of the north took several years, which much of that time being spent integrating the northern tribes with the rest of Asurian society. The north brought new philosophies and unique, albeit slightly more crude, technology. The two continents integrating initially cause a fair amount of contention between the different societies, but over time they learned to work together towards building the Asurian Empire that continues to govern their planet to this day.

Spiritual Beliefs:

The Asurians follow a set of a beliefs that are influenced by their history and their home world. Their beliefs circle around six deities, each representing a different aspect of the universe. Their primary deity is Asura (also the namesake for their home world), and represents energy that governs all life in the universe. Asura is without form, it is simply the energy of all living things. The five other deities represent war, peace, honor, knowledge and compassion, each represented by a specific symbol. In modern times, the deities are seen more as concepts or virtues, rather than literal gods, though many Asurians continue to live their life by the teachings of their ancestors and still value their spirituality as an important component of their society.

Six Dieties:

1- Asura /Energy
2- Azaru /War
3- Do’jal /Honor
4- Kahru /Compassion
5- Neuvos /Peace
6- Nakir /Knowledge



Asurian Empire

The Asurian Empire has ruled over the planet Asura for thousands of years. The Empire is lead by the Sovereign, a figurehead who is elected and advised by the tribune (a group of three elder Asurians who must have a great degree of military experience), and finally the consuls, who represent the Asurian people. Despite the longevity of the Empire, the First Contact War has managed to shake the very foundation on which it stands, with different members of government at odds with how to best fight the war, the younger Asurians focused on integrating new ideas and technology whereas the older Asurians are more entrenched in tradition and their narrow-minded concept of honour.

Asurian Military Rank Structure:


Recruit: Starting Rank in the Asurian Military, equivalent to that of a private on Earth.
Marshal: A rank given after three full years of satisfactory service, Marshals have a small amount of leadership and responsibility.
Veteran: The highest of the “grunt” ranks, Veteran is a rank appointed after five years of satisfactory service. Veterans are generally in charge of small sections composed of 8 Recruits and 3 Marshals.
Centurion: Centurions are the first of the officer ranks. They are second in command to the Sentinels and are responsible for relaying orders to the lower ranks.
Sentinel: Sentinels are in command of a squad consisting of four sections of warriors.
Paladin: Paladins are the highest ranking members of the Asurian Military. They are in charge of entire cohorts of warriors, and oversee all the command decisions made by the Asurian Empire. It is mandatory that each member of the Asurian government (be it the Sovereign, a member of the tribune or a consul) is to be selected from the Paladin or Sentinel ranks.

Warrior Classifications (Ground Forces):

Soldier: basic ground trooper
Elite Warrior: special forces equivalent
Berserker: heavy weapons and explosives specialists
Hunter: stealth specialists

Shadow Cabal

Founded in 2285 by Solus Kalar (son of Sovereign Northazul Kalar), the Shadow Cabal is an extremist group that stands in stark contrast to the traditional, honourable ways of the Asurian people. The group primarily acts as Solus’ private army and is comprised of several especially brutal Asurian warriors, as well as a large number of mercenaries. The Cabal make their profits through the trafficking of other sentient species, including humans, using their earnings to obtain alien technology and weaponry. Though he was originally against his son’s sinister organization, Sovereign Northazul Kalar has had to rely on the Shadow Cabal many times in recent years in order to equip the Asurian military with more advanced weaponry, giving them the extra edge they needs to fight against the UEC.

Vareliens

Home Planet: Varel, Sigma Aeterni System
Average Lifespan: ~800 Years

Vareliens have existed for over a million years. They are a solitary race, known for their beautiful appearance and slender stature. The vast majority of their race possess empathic abilities, while a rare few (mostly female) have limited psychic capabilities as well. Their home world is a blue planet covered with immense oceans and very little land. The early Vareliens were peaceful and were able to coexist without war, resulting in a prosperous relationship and the birth of their civilization. In Varelien culture, science is reveered above all else. Their fascination with the universe has led them to make giant leaps in technology, particularly in space travel and medical research towards ensuring a longer lifespan. However, this technology is restricted to Varel, as they wish to maintain their neutral stance on the war. This has led to further alienation from the remainder of the galaxy who believe the Vareliens think themselves superior.

Belief Structure:

The Vareliens are generally an atheist society, but still have the same questions about their existence as other sentient life. They were one of the first (known) species in the Milky Way to develop jump gates giving them access to interstellar travel. At first, they acted as observers, cataloging several species at difference stages of development (including humans and Asurians early in their history). Despite their curiosity and reputation as explorers, Vareliens have remained extremely elusive and do not generally engage with the other species in the galaxy.

Contact with an Ancient Race: A Paradigm Shift:

The biggest shift in Varelien society came nearly 100,000 years ago when they intercepted a message from a mysterious alien race, thought to be at least several million years older than their own. The more gifted Varelien empaths were able to discern the race’s intentions as peaceful but were not able to interpret the bulk of the message. After several years of attempts only the most gifted empath of the group, a female named Arlia Tok, was eventually able to use her limited psychic abilities to successfully unlock the secrets of the message. The data the Vareliens obtained from the elder race was able to advance their technology thousands of years, allowing them to transition from jump gate travel to warp technology.
Contact with the elders has been limited to the initial communication, but that has not stopped the Vareliens from tirelessly searching for them throughout the vast reaches of space. In charge of this search is the Order of the Lost, a group of the most skilled empaths on the planet (called ‘handmaidens’) , who are lead by an elected female Varelien known as the Oracle. It is said that the more advanced empaths can extend their ability over great distances or even manipulate the emotions of others. Together the Order of the Lost continue to scan the galaxy for any signs of sentient life, but the lack of contact with the Elders has led the Vareliens to believe that the race are also observers, choosing not to get involved with the matters of less evolved species.
The other sentient species in the milky way have no knowledge or record of an elder race, as the Vareliens have kept it a closely guarded secret for several thousand years.

Horizon

As the First Contact War raged the UEC and Asurian territories continued to expand, resources were spread thin and the less prosperous colonies began to become more neglected with each passing year. Many of the other sentient species, such as the Shintari, were forced from their home worlds to make room for colonial expansion and relocated to work camps to mine resources for the two warring factions. In an effort to escape such a horrid existence, several of these aliens began to band together, fighting back against their oppressors and forming their own inter-species colonies. As a result of their actions, different anti-war resistance movements began to gain momentum throughout the outer colonies, in 2280 these groups united under the leadership of a compassionate Varelien citizen representative named Vox Arlia, along with his long time friend, Asurian Consul, Argo Varus. The group called themselves “Horizon” in an attempt to invoke an image of a brighter future for the Milky Way. Their goal: to end the First Contact War and institute an inter-species alliance that represents all sentient life in the galaxy equally.

Since its inception Horizon has grown considerably in both size and strength, mainly due to the large amount of soldiers and colonists that have been displaced by the war. Though they cannot compete with the firepower of the UEC or Asurian military, Horizon makes up for it with their agents, highly trained assassins that specialize in taking down the corrupt, dangerous individuals that profit from the war and its victims.

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