Scattered Stars

GM's Note:

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This is a reboot of a game on the Chocolate Pi forums! If you're coming from over there, not much has changed, except for a few little changes:

- I've brought over some of the space-nations from the previous game!
- There's a map of the gate system now!
- Players are Highly Encouraged to start in Sol. This is to allow more player interaction and generally keep things running smoother!

Scattered Stars

In the aftermath of a great war over the remaining resources of Earth, Humanity became for the first time united under a single banner. The Earth Union, founded by people tired of war, quickly encompassed all the nations of Earth and ended generations of conflict. The discovery of the warp drive which “folds” through higher-dimensional space to reach new destinations has finally opened space to us. What were before months-long journeys by chemical thrusters have become a few minutes’ jump. Humans expanded, colonized the solar system, and then the stars. Over time, the rechristened Sol Union became more authoritarian, and people chafed under its dictates, especially in the colonies. Tensions were rising, but nobody thought it would change as Earth controlled the network of jumpgates that made once-expensive travel safe and reliable. Solar fleets patrolled all the colonies, extending the long arm of Earth over the galaxy.

Everything changed two months ago. In a surprise attack, the colonies breached the jump perimeter, seized the jumpgate network and pushed back the Sol Union fleets to the solar system. The government collapsed suddenly, and it all looked like the war would end then and there. However, without a strong force to oppose them, the Colonials turned on each other instead of finishing off Earth. As they fought, Earth, Mars, and the Jovian moons formed a temporary alliance to kick out the colonials from Sol. They reclaimed one of the gate hubs, and since then chaos has ensued. The colonies have been quick to declare their own governments, while the Solars are trying to reunite humanity under their banner.

You have been caught up in this conflict, whether you like it or not. There is no escaping the war, for the war has reached even the most far-flung of stations. Neutrality is not an option – as many unfortunates have learned at the end of a plasma rifle. How you deal with this war is in your hands. Will you fight? Will you run for survival? Or will you seek to broker a peace between the warring factions? Only time will tell if you succeed…

Timeline of Recent Events:

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2020: Global warming continues, and massive unrest starts across the globe.
2022: Wars over food begin in South America as drought and pests destroy large amounts of crops. Food aid helps, but it only delays the inevitable.
2023: China invades North Korea, citing recent developments in the nuclear program.
2025: US government collapses in a stunning blow to democracy around the world.
2026: European Parliament declares an EU-wide state of emergency, member states contribute their militaries to form an EU army.
2027: World War 3, as it is colloquially known, begins with Indian invasion of Pakistan. Nuclear bombs are exchanged before China and Russia invade to stop them.
2029: Ethiopia conquers Somalia and Eritrea, a member of the Solomonic dynasty declares the Ethiopian Empire restored. The West African states move to oppose. Tunisia and Algeria join forces, invade Morocco and Libya, and declare Maghrebi federation.
2030: Movement begins in Australia and New Zealand, called "People United for the Salvation of Earth". Unionists are elected to government, begin sending missionaries to the pacific islands and Indonesia.
2031: Japan joins the Union movement. Brasil begins peace talks with its neighbors, and logs much of the Amazon to provide cropland.
2032: In a stunning coup, the Chinese government is toppled by a clique of Unionists. The east joins the Union, the west erupts into warlords. An increasingly isolationist EU repels a Russian invasion of Ukraine and Ukraine joins the EU.
2033: South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya join Union movement, move north into Central Africa and clash with the expanding Ethiopian empire. The Maghrebis move south into West Africa and seize Mali. Brasil finishes peace talks and joins the Unionists along with Argentina and Chile.
2034: The fractured US states join the Union. Surprisingly, so do Iran and Israel, both citing peace as their reason. The Middle-east is almost stabilized, with only an angry Saudi Arabia holding out. India's new government capitulates to the Union as it pushes west.
2035: A combined Russian-Turkish offensive cracks open the EU. Maghrebis join the Union and in joint operation crush the Ethiopian Empire. Russia and Turkey, surrounded by the Union, also join, and the last pockets of resistance are crushed. Earth Union assumes power as sole government, and declares year 1 Post-Unification (PU).
6 PU: Nuclear fusion finally viable, brings clean energy to rebuild the ravaged Earth.
9 PU: Fundamentals of Warp Drive discovered at CERN.
10 PU: First jump test.
13 PU: Moon colonized by helium miners.
14 PU: Terraforming technology developed.
15 PU: Mars colony established.
22 PU: Jupiter and Saturn colonized.
24 PU: First habitable planet outside the solar system landed on.
28 PU: Mars atmosphere becomes thick enough to walk without a pressure suit.
30 PU: First plants on Mars.
32 PU: First extrasolar colony, Sol Union declared.
37 PU: First jumpgate built
50 PU: 50th anniversary of unification, jumpgates begin being a "network" rather than just individual gates.
77 PU: An investigative journalist reveals that the Sol Union has been secretly breeding supersoldiers. She is imprisoned and sent to a deep space asteroid prison.
83 PU: Protests in Groombridge 1618 violently suppressed.
95 PU: Rebellion begins, Earth Government and Sol Union fall shortly afterwords.

A Note on FTL:

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The warp drive is based on the fundamentals of higher-dimensional space, or hyperspace for short. It turns out that there are six spatial dimensions, not three, but in most circumstances we see only three because the other group of dimensions are parallel at all times to our own. This creates the illusion of three dimensions, though now we know ways to detect and manipulate these extra spatial dimensions. It turns out that gravity is the main force keeping the dimensions parallel, and thus with a localized concentration of energy in a particular configuration we can overcome the gravitational binding force and “fold” through the other three dimensions. The more energy put into a jump, the farther we can diverge the dimensions from parallel. This leads to a vital trade-off: for a fixed amount of energy, we can either fold a short distance a lot, leading to fast travel time, or a longer distance less, giving slower travel. Additionally, gravity will disrupt a jump, depending on the amount of energy we put into it. To be able to jump through a planet takes a lot more energy than making multiple jumps to go around, for example – though again the tradeoff is speed. Finally, jumps can be disrupted by adding additional energy to pull the dimensions back together; this is the basis for the jump inhibitor perimeter that kept Sol isolated from the rest of the galaxy.

It is theorized that in some parts of the universe, gravitational anomalies could result in natural folds in space-time. We call these folds “wormholes”, though none have been discovered so far. On the basis of this theory we developed the jumpgate – a pair of space stations which pull each other together through the parallel dimensions to create a semi-permanent fold. Jumpgates require a lot of initial investment, but once they have been established they are much less expensive to operate than long-range jumps. Most civilian transport is done through the jumpgate network, as it speeds up transit between far-flung reaches of human space.

Jumpgates are fairly reliable, though they occasionally require maintenance. As they usually cover longer distances, both gates must be active to be able to travel through them. If one of the pair is shut down, the other will go into a standby state, waiting for the hyperspace fold from its pair. Gates are usually arranged in hubs, protected by a military and administrative station which serves as a warp interdictor as well. Thus, gates are not well-suited for frontline action, as it is risky to transit warships when you do not control both ends of the gate. Still, they are an important piece of civilian infrastructure and are thus a valuable strategic target.

The era of mass communication that predated the warp drive sadly did not continue. Once it was perfected, the warp drive allowed ships to outrun their signals, making EM-wave communications obsolete for anything larger than planetary scale. As we colonized more of space, we became more isolated. Like in the ancient past, news takes days, even weeks to cross from one end of space to the other. Though many have tried to crack hyperwave theory and create an FTL communicator using various methods, none have succeeded. Until that hurdle is climbed, we are stuck with ships carrying information across space, with all the risks that entails.

Warfare was also changed dramatically by the warp drive. Suddenly, the old doctrine of long-range detection and engagement no longer applied – no matter how good your missile’s tracking is, it won’t be of much use if the enemy can see it and warp out of the way. Similarly, most of our sensors data became useless, as ships’ light-echoes still persist even after they’ve jumped. This has led to combat becoming much shorter-range, where laser communications and visual targeting are fast enough to not be affected by warping away. Ships will close in to where their warp interdiction fields meet and then engage, as anything farther-range is a waste of ammunition and power. One interesting consequence is the new reliance on fighters and on mechanical armor, or mechs. As short-range battles change the balance of power away from heavy firepower, the smaller target profile and larger maneuverability of small craft becomes attractive. Battleships are even more expensive than before, requiring huge warp interdiction fields as well as their long-range weaponry to be effective. However, this has made them far more deadly – able to stop a smaller ship from jumping while outranging its weapons. This has created a polarization in ship types – small and maneuverable versus large and powerful. Mid-sized ships are usually either highly specialized in their roles or simply produced by people who can’t afford large battleships.

One such specialized medium-hull ship is known as a punchthrough. This was the colonies’ secret weapon that allowed them to so quickly break through Sol’s defenses. A punchthrough is a ship consisting of three things – a huge warp drive, a lot of heavy ordinance, and a single pilot seat. They jump with as much power as possible, trying to get as close to the interdictor station as they can, and then fire the heavy weaponry to take it out and clear the path for allied ships to jump in. Of course, this is often deadly for the pilot, as the punchthrough has no maneuvering thrusters or defense weaponry. All sides have adopted these ships for attacking fortified positions, and work is being done on removing the pilot altogether. The best defense against a punchthrough is defense in depth – mobile interdictors with point-defenses fare much better than the old static stations with warship patrols.

App Template:

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Name: What do people call you?
Description: What do you look like?
Homeworld: Where are you from? (It is Highly Recommended that you start in the Solar System (Sol), even if your homeworld is colonial)
Affiliation: Who are you working for?
Occupation: What do you do?
Bio: What’s your life story?
Resources & Contacts: Who do you know, and what do you have that can contribute to the war?

Polity Template:

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Name: What’s the group call itself?
Systems, Planets, Stations: What does it control?
History: How did it get here?

CODEX:

Known Polities:

Name: Solar Federation

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Systems, Planets, Stations:

-Sol: Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, various stations and mining colonies
-Gate Hub S-1: The oldest jumpgate hub and the closest to Sol, situated just outside the former inhibitor perimeter.

History: With the collapse of the Sol Union and the Earth Government, things looked bad for the cradle of humanity. The colonials were approaching quickly, having breached the jump inhibitor perimeter and occupied Titan. The remaining Solar planets decided that standing together would be better than dying alone, and so they formed a federation. From the ashes of the Earth Union arose the League of Nations, a resurrection of an old name for a new and more democratic purpose. The Central Martian Authority had always had a good grasp of the Red Planet, and it joined with much enthusiasm. Finally, the inscrutable Jovians joined piecemeal, each moon with its own groups independently contributing to the Solar cause. With these planets united, and the Colonials in disarray from infighting, the Solar Federation pushed them from the solar system, and reclaimed the nearest gate hub. The Federation is currently focused on defending itself from vengeful colonials, though who knows if they’ll try and reestablish the old order once more.

Name: Pirate Freeholds

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Systems, Planets, Stations:

-Various stations throughout human space.

History: Less of an organized faction and more a diffuse menace, many pirates and fugitives have seized remote stations, capitalizing on the chaos of the war. Though they don’t seek to conquer anything, they are nevertheless a threat to both fleet logistics and civilian shipping. The pirates are a threat to everyone, but nobody can seem to eradicate them for good.

Name: The Tenth Crusade

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Systems, Planets, Stations: The constellation Rose of Providence, containing the star systems of Jericho (the capital and gate hub), the Star of St. John, New Antioch and the Star of Bethlehem, as well as a couple of other mining systems in the same constellation. Previously mostly cut off from the rest of the Sol Union, they have developed their own culture.

History: Originally the constellation of Providence was called Beta Surrexerunt, named for the rose-pink glow of the brightest star in it (that star is now named Jericho). It lies just outside the 25-light-year-radius bubble around Sol, and was primarily settled by private religious interests, at a location chosen to be deliberately as far out of reach as possible. It was always considered to be on the tenuous edge of Union space, and when it refused to connect the constellation's jumpgates to the network in 52 PU, it achieved de facto independence a whole 43 years before the civil war. At that point, the colonies were still young, and they had almost a half century to develop with only the occasional contact from long-jumping traders.

From this outside perspective, their spiritual leaders heard of the Sol Union's decline into fascism and sin, and declared that their own small constellation must be a shining example of morality in return. During the years of isolation, they took control of the constellation and ironically built it up into a powerful authoritarian theocratic society of their own.

Eventually, the Sol Union launched the small Expeditionary Force Laminae, whose mission was to connect the constellation to a jumpgate, allowing them to move into the constellation in force and revoke its autonomy. However, the constellation had been preparing for this, and in fact had built up a massive fleet - striking once the jumpgate was connected, they launched the Tenth Crusade, destroying Expeditionary Force Laminae and traveling through the jumpgate network to attack Sol Union space.

The Sol Union mobilized the bulk of their fleet to repel the invasion, forming Expeditionary Force Malleus to crush the Crusaders with overwhelming firepower. However, this required them moving a lot of their fleet out of position to fight a threat far away on the edge of their space. In the end, this is part of what allowed the colonies to rise up in a surprise attack, causing the Union to collapse. When Expeditionary Force Malleus got word of this, they went rogue and formed the Scions of Terra, and the Crusaders now rampage unchecked through a portion of former Union space, attempting to unite it all under their 'divine rule'.

Name: The Scions of Terra:

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Systems, Planets, Stations: Having taken control of Expeditionary Force Malleus, the Scions of Terra live in exile on their captured warships.

History: When the Sol Union was at its height, the dictator decreed that a legion of elite gene warriors would be produced. They were created, raised, indoctrinated and taught to fight and deployed, but then the Sol Union collapsed, leaving them without a leader. Bred to be stronger, smarter, faster and physically larger than their peers, these supersoldiers have seized control of Expeditionary Force Malleus, the bulk of the surviving Union navy, and now seek to restore the Sol Union under their leadership.

Name: Mechanists of Mars:

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Systems, Planets, Stations: Though not fully in control of Mars, this faction is a major part of their authoritarian government.

History: The Mechanists are a transhuman faction that believes that cyborgization is the next step in human evolution. They have access to some of the most advanced cybernetic implants and prostheses in human space, and due to substantial cyber-organ replacement options they live even longer than normal. They wield significant power in the Central Martian Authority. Their attitude towards the advancement of cybernetic technology borders on religious zealotry, spreading propaganda, shouting down rival viewpoints and suppressing them using the Martian state.

To date, they are one of the only factions that has seriously embraced the idea of connecting to systems like weapons and ship helms cybernetically, and provide Mars a cadre of elite wired pilots as a result. They also control a large proportion of Martian industry, where working conditions are more than suspect and getting fired can literally cost you an arm and a leg as they 'reclaim loaned equipment'.

Name: Luyten Stellar Republic

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Systems, Planets, Stations:
Luyten's Star

History: A colony close to Gate Hub S-1; it was instrumental in the early phase of the war against the Sol Union.

Name: Procyon Republic

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Systems, Planets, Stations:
Procyon

History: A colony that used its position as a cross-roads of travel in order to gain great wealth.

Name: Xinhai League

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Systems, Planets, Stations:
Kapteyn's Star

History: A republican colony currently at war with the Stellar Empire.

Name: Stellar Empire

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Systems, Planets, Stations:
P. Eridani

History: A recently-declared empire currently at war with the Xinhai League.

Name: The Vega Confederation

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Systems, Planets, Stations: The Vega system and its six planets.

Planets
Kibomal - An earth-like planet and the capital of the federation. It has a major focus on agricultural biodomes and hydroponic farming, but otherwise has a rich, diverse economic and industrial output.

Ramah - A barren rocky planet with no notable resources used only as a military outpost. Subject to frequent skirmishes with Chuleon.

Nawakak - A molten planet near Vega itself. Uninhabited, but used for research on planetary formation. Currently in Chuleon space.

Kuihm - A gas giant. Its two moons are used as operating bases for miners who harvest the gas. Currently in Chuleon space.

Sabah - The most economically vital planet in Vega space, much of its surface is covered in solar panels that harvest the rich blue light of Vega. Half of this world is occupied by Chuleon.

Sulb - A dead planet with a toxic atmosphere near the edge of the system that was used almost exclusively for harvesting its metal-rich surface. Miners occupy its single moon, which has been terraformed into habitability Currently occupied by Chuleon.

Unlisted: A number of military, agricultural, and research stations.

History: A socialist republic currently losing its war against the Principality of Chuleon

Name: Principality of Chuleon:

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Systems, Planets, Stations:
Wolf 1601

History: A despotic monarchy currently conquering the Vega Confederation

Gate Network: This is a map of known and operational gates as of 95 PU. More gates may exist that are either off-line or were not in the official Sol Union records. More colonized systems may exist that are either unmapped or do not have gates to them. The systems charted here should not be taken as an exhaustive survey of human space. Additionally, distances in hyperspace may be distorted - do not take the relative positions of systems to indicate distance in real-space.

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Key: Green - Major System. Red - Colony World. Blue - Minor Habitation

Name: Fife Petersen-Wells

Description: Fife is a pale-skinned blond Martian, his homeworld giving him a tall, thin build nurtured by its low gravity. He is also from a rich family of Mechanists - and as such, he has many advanced cybernetics. His face is thin and haughty, easily wearing a mocking smile, and housing (in otherwise natural sockets) a pair of advanced silvery bionic eyes inset with gold-glowing pupils. He has not a single fully organic limb remaining and is proud of the fact. He regularly ties his long blond hair back in a ponytail and is habitually clean-shaven. Usually regarded as fairly handsome by those who don't see through his polite facade to his true personality beneath.

Homeworld: Fife is Martian, born and raised.

Affiliation: Fife, as the wealthy son of a major Martian Mechanist stakeholder, largely does his own thing but is strongly affiliated with the Mechanists and their interests.

Occupation: Fife is a rich kid looking for a ride, and is willing to bring a great deal of technical knowledge and resources to the table. He wants to go out and travel the stars.

Bio: Fife was born to the Petersen-Wells family, and is a second-generation native Martian. His grandparents came to Mars in the years after the first plants were seeded on the open surface of Mars, and they managed to rise in importance so that his parents had the best chance to become as powerful as they did. His mother, Viola Petersen, was especially lucky - she inherited a major colony industrial firm. She expanded it rapidly to feed Martian construction and manufacturing needs, and prospered during the ongoing expansion of the Martian cities that has been the staple of colonization over the last fifty years. As a result, she has become extremely potent and influential in Martian politics. When she married a local politician she loved, she was able to use that influence to propel him to a high position. She is also a firm believer in transhumanism and a zealous Mechanist, and her influence, along with that of her business peers, helped turn the Mechanists from a group composed primarily of fringe scientists without the resources to make a big splash in politics into a powerhouse controlling a good chunk of the Martian government.

Fife himself, being the elder child, was groomed to inherit the business from an early age, though in recent years it has become apparent that he perhaps neither wants nor is fit to. He was a very bright child, but not a kind one. After an initially sheltered upbringing, he was sent to university where he learned a lot about what the world is really like, though he had a certain sneering superiority to it all. He ignored most of his vital business education, instead diving into the Mechanist ideology. As such Fife focused his studies on design, engineering and programming, becoming very proficient in all three fields. He acquired extensive cybernetic replacements, including a cutting-edge and very expensive pair of eyes as well as arms and legs that can outperform their biological equivalents easily. He truly became the Mechanist ideal of a transhuman cyborg, modifying his own body to better suit himself, installing a holographic projector in his right palm and adding all kinds of aesthetic modifications involving inlaid gold circuit-pattern lines and other 'cyberfashion'.

His mother is starting to look to his sister Harp to take over the business, but that's fine by Fife so long as he keeps his wealth and privilege. Plus, that decision doesn't need to be mare any time soon anyway, since his parents' augmentations are probably going to see them alive and healthy for many more decades to come. Now merely 23, he wants to go out and see the universe, travel on starships and visit far-flung and interesting places he reads about on the meta-databases. The war has barely inconvenienced him so far, and in fact the reorganized Sol government has benefitted his influential family as they can now wield influence in Federation politics rather than merely Martian politics. He doesn't want to join the armed services - he believes it would be below him to waste his life as a grunt, and he doesn't want to go to officer school - so he intends to simply travel in spite of the chaos. After all, the war hasn't caused any problems in his life so far, so why would it start now?

Resources & Contacts: Fife, though lacking a ship or underlings himself, has significant financial resources back on Mars in the form of a trust fund, stake in his family's industrial concern, and of course, his Mother, the infamous Mechanist and political force of will Viola Petersen. She is known for being determined and uncompromising, and extremely protective of her family. His father, Jacob Wells, is a Martian politician, propelled to greater prominence due to his wife's influence. Originally he was a local politician known for his compassion, and has surprisingly managed to keep some of that kindness in spite of his relatively newfound importance. His sister Harp is currently in university, studying much the same courses he did, but doing a better job focusing on the business aspect, looking to take after her mother.

this bitch seems familiar...


Name: Captain Celia Cynnings

Description: Celia is a woman of average height and average build. Her eyes are an inviting grey, and her hair is long, fluffy, and strawberry blonde. She possesses cream colored skin that is pock marked, burnt, and scarred. The most notable scar starts at her lip and curves up her right cheek, ending near her right eye. She'd probably be pretty if she wasn't who she was. It's a rare sight to see her out of her battle scared, patchwork armor, similar in coloration and assembly to the armor of pirates seen harassing Saturn bound ships. Despite that, she always has a friendly disposition and a smile on her face. Always.

Homeworld: Titan, Saturn: born, not raised

Affiliation: The Heaven Breakers - Formed and led by Celia Cynnings, the Heaven Breakers are a small mercenary group with nothing suspicious about them in the slightest.

Occupation: Technically, a Space Pirate for hire. Celia prefers the term 'Mercenary'. She hires the Heaven Breakers out to anybody who will pay up, and prefers to take jobs like gun running and 'clean ups'. The Heaven Breakers have a bit of an eccentricity, as they do not take jobs that benefit Earth's moon, due to, as Celia states, 'previous bad experiences'.

Bio:

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In the year 75 PU, a small portion of the outskirts of Sector 94, one of the cities on Saturn's moon Titan, was besieged by space pirates. It wasn't clear what they wanted or who, if anybody, had paid them to do this. All that was known was that three buildings were destroyed, two buildings were damaged, and a multitude of personal computers were stolen. The three confirmed casualties were a single space pirate, and Mr. Felix Ontar and Mrs. Joslyn Ontar, all found in the Ontar household. Their only child, five year old Cecily Ontar, was reported missing and assumed dead. Authorities, focused on other, more severe, space pirate attacks, chose not to investigate the case further.

In the year 85 PU, a plan for the attempted bombing of Iapetus was discovered on a recovered personal computer. The reasoning for it was not able to be recovered, though the Saturnine pirates that it was confiscated from were readily apprehended and brought to a prison on Titan. Among the apprehended suspects was Kellar 'Buzzsaw' Shennings, the leader of the notorious pirate gang 'Solar Scourge'. Due to that and the failure to execute it, the bombing plan was overshadowed in media reports. Shennings was reported as saying that he 'wouldn't let those piece of shit traitors get away with this shit' and that 'as long as she's alive, you'll regret it'.

Early in the year 88 PU, Solar Scourge stops harassing inbound transport ships. A few months later, their base is discovered in a remote area on Titan. A majority of the gang is dead, killed with conventional weaponry. Due to the area's status as a base for pirates, the authorities leave it mostly uninvestigated, assuming that there was a rival group that offed them. They only held a minor occupation of the base for a short amount of time, which revealed that there was no evidence of anybody entering the base before the slaughter. The only evidence left behind of the supposed attackers were the bloodied tracks leading towards the base's launch pad and a missing ship.

In the year 91 PU, a ship landed unannounced at a Jovian refueling station. Station authorities were called to the scene and arrived about an hour after the ship's landing. The crew appeared to have left, leaving the ship empty. Station security ordered a sweep of the ship, which quickly revealed the cargo hold filled with explosives. The explosives promptly detonated, and the security team was killed, along with a few station workers that were close to the ship at the time. The ship, seemingly an old Saturnian model, was destroyed, as was the loading dock it had landed in. The station itself suffered minor damage, with the only heavily damaged area being the loading dock the ship landed in. Media reports listed it as a terrorist attack with an unknown target. Jovian citizens were reminded to be on the look out for suspicious activity.

In the year 93 PU, a woman calling herself Captain Celia Cynnings formed a mercenary gang known as 'The Heaven Breakers'. They have begun accepting jobs involving fighting and transporting war paraphernalia. The group seems more keen on running jobs for the Solar Federation, though why space pirates would be allying themselves with the Solars is unknown.

Resources & Contacts:
Resources:

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• The Scrapheap - The Scrapheap seems to be a heavily customized ship that acts as the base of operations for the Heaven Breakers. While it does seem very 'cobbled together' the structure is actually surprisingly stable, and is more than capable in a dogfight, despite its size. It seems to have a small freighter as the base, with heavy modifications to the engine and weapons systems. The interior features a multitude of hidden smuggling compartments, an armory, as well as crew quarters that can comfortably house more than the current population of the Heaven Breakers, as well as captain's quarters for Celia and her lieutenants. It is also installed with a rudimentary AI that serves to help chart courses and complain about shit that Celia does.
  
  
• The Heaven Breakers - The mercenary group founded by Celia. She has handpicked the members, which ensures loyalty. It also ensures that the group isn't very big. Still, they are a capable, loyal group that listens to their leader.
  

Contacts:

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• Roy Marquez - a Latin American man and Celia's right hand man. One of Celia's lieutenants. Roy serves as the resident researcher, engineer, and programmer with the Heaven Breakers. He and Celia met during an 'off the channels' mission, and found that they meshed well, Celia's lack of morals going well with Roy's insatiable curiosity. Roy is surprisingly loyal to Celia and is usually found on the Scrapheap, running experiments and tests on things. As long as he isn't doing his research shit out in the open, Celia lets him do what he wants. Don't wanna lower morale. He is onboard with the plan and actively works to help out execute it.
  
  
• Jenna Pallen - a Jovian woman born on Io and Celia's left hand woman. One of Celia's lieutenants. Jenna is a wall of muscle and handles the heavier weapons when it comes to shooting things. Celia saved her from a band of pirates who had kidnapped her, though she left her with her remaining family on Io. Jenna later tracked Celia down somehow and demanded to be a part of whatever she was doing. Celia relented, and Jenna has served as Celia's bodyguard (not that she needs it) and heavy weapons expert ever since. She doesn't give a shit about Celia's mission and only wants to work with her.
  
  
• Tanis Verrin-Nortin - a Martian woman, a former soldier, and the Scrapheap's ace pilot. Technically one of Celia's lieutenants. Tanis and Celia met on Mars after a mission that involved Celia murdering the rest of Tanis' squad. For some reason, Celia spared Tanis, and Tanis has served Celia ever since. Other members of the Heaven Busters are worried about her nihilistic attitude and her past with Celia. Still, Celia likes her and trusts her not to do anything dumb. Celia and Tanis have a secret agreement, known only to them. If Tanis helps Celia achieve her goal, she'll take Tanis back to Mars to die where she should have three years ago.
  
  
• Rhys Malcoran - a man hailing from Titan, like Celia. The last of Celia's lieutenants. They have history together that few are aware of, and the two seem to trust each other first and everybody else second. Nobody is quite sure exactly how they're related, but they seem to be. In truth, Celia and Rhys both served in Solar Scourge at one point, and may or may not have worked under Kellar Shennings himself. Whatever their past, Rhys has been there since the formation of the Heaven Breakers and is almost as respected and listened to as Celia herself. His work with the Heaven Breakers is mainly maintenance and (when needed) modification of the Scrapheap, as well as working as an engineer if Roy isn't available. He is well aware of Celia's goal and, while he has his own reservations, assists her without question.
  
  
• Gerald Wellinshaw - a high ranking member of the Solar Federation. He is a frequent contact, and often has jobs of questionable morality for Celia to run, which are the best kind of jobs. He seems to greatly dislike employing Celia's help, but even he cannot deny that she is useful to complete tasks for the Solar Federation that look better blamed on space pirates than the Solars.
  

Name: Dick Villin (E-S-461159)

Description: 6 foot 4. Short cut black hair at it's longest, buzz cut when short. Dark blue eyes, and brown rough skin. Is well built, but seems more to keep himself in shape rather than reach any kind of peak performance. Wears a black cowboy hat, dirt brown trenchcoat and an iron grey shirt, and a light purple tie with a smiley face on it. Keeps himself shaven apart from a neatly trimmed Magnum P.I moustache, has a dented nose and some scarring and dark patches on his hands.

Homeworld: Earth-born, currently located at Space Station 12

Affiliation: Fairly open-ended, does private contract work, he does get sent work from the Solar Federation or hired on by them at times.

Occupation: Detective, been active for a couple of years now after doing a few years of minor police work. Claims to be a private eye, but maybe closer to an odd jobs company, working on word of mouth around the station to try and keep things orderly and himself busy.

Bio: Dick was born on earth, 59 PU, as part of the Sol Union super-soldier breeding program, raised and trained in the 11th military station on earth, the 46th candidate for training there. He was a fairly average soldier, but had trouble following some of the more bloody commands and taking to the military social structure, prone to melancholy and stress, which led to insubordination, hesitation, etc. After the whistle-blowing in 77 PU, Dick found himself increasingly curious about the world outside the program, but it wasn't until a few years later that he was put out on duty that he began to get glimpses of it. They were brief, reflections of the world seen from violent and ugly times, the S-soldiers typically weren't deployed for routine guard. During the Gloombridge protests in 83 PU though, he came across an escaping group of protesters, and in a wild moment, instead of either reporting or opening fire on them, discarded his weapons and gear and joined them, passing himself off as one of them to escape. Thankfully, no one looked too closely at him in the group, the group escaped and he slipped off himself when he could.

A few years of crime helped him get on his feet in terms of becoming aware of the world around him, and to set up a passable patchwork identity, and he'd finally gotten a sense of freedom. He was his own person, even if that identity didn't have much to it yet. He still had trouble making close bonds to others, still had funks and trouble he felt, finding value in himself, and the lack of purpose was getting to him. Being a brute enforcer didn't satisfy his personal needs, so he decided to join the police force instead, hoping that since it was a choice this time something similar to the military program would come easier. In a broad way, it helped. Dick regained some discipline, learned more beneficial skills like organisation and working with public people in a more civil manner, and helped smooth out some rough edges that had formed, but it began to feel enclosing again, and by and large, working for the guard ate at him at times. So, he requested a transfer to far out in space, away from Earth, to a space station near the gate hub, a little more wild and on the fringe, and after making himself comfortable, he took less and less shifts and finally started up his own minor business, somewhere inbetween the legal enforcers and the criminal underbelly, offering more discrete and unique services to the varied population of space station 12. It's pleasant, for now.

Resources: Has a small apartment in a back corner of the station, has a constant rumbling of mechanics. Full of old dataslates of movies, old clothes and bottles. Keeps a safe of weapon stached, some fake IDs and his cash, prefers to keep resources and information about himself out of official channels when possible.

Contacts: Captain Mulder. Resident leader of the police force on the space station. Tries to remain fairly straight-laced and legit personally, but turns a blind eye to a lot of the corruption and ignoring of proper procedure underneath himself, within reason.

Jimmy Two-fingers. Local crook and fencer, crossed a few gangs back on earth and lost a few fingers, only having 2 left on his right hand. Is unwilling to lose anymore so if fairly honourable to people with weight behind them.

Miche. Bartender at the local bar, the Black Hole. Does alright business, has a lot of regulars in the back behind a public front. Technically people are allowed to go to the back, but it's fairly subtle. Miche runs things from the back half with a fairly stern fist, and enforces a neutral zone, anyone who causes trouble is banned, or at least given a warning shot in a leg. A lady who excels at small talk and being in one sided conversations to people.

Theme: https://youtu.be/vzNcSvKCOyA

Name: Ananke Wen

Description: Ananke is a Jovian native of Europa. They are noticeably tall (6’5”) from a lifetime of low gravity. They have short, black hair and olive skin. Ananke has a fondness for parkas, scarves, and other cold-weather clothing regardless of the actual temperature. Personality wise, Ananke can be summed up as a weirdo. They are capable of initiating conversations and tolerating long periods of time in awkward social gatherings. It is just they rather do their own thing. Unfortunately, their two special interests are: 1) photography, 2) getting into incredibly more exciting and dangerous situations.

Ananke is agender and goes by they/them pronouns.

Homeworld: Europa. Europa has long been rendered habitable for mankind but some of that pre-terraformed wildness remains. Settlements on Europa mostly consist of shielded cities built on islands of high-tech plastic, ceramic, and metal. Like other Jovian colonies, Europa has strong science, with biases towards genetic engineering and select interdisciplinary/applied physics of ice and water variety (oceanography, glaciology, cryogenics, et cetera).

Affiliation: Solar Federation (Jovian).

Occupation: Investigative journalist for the Cadmus Inquiry.

Bio: Ananke was born third of five children to a family of marine farmers. Ananke was unsurprisingly considered a bit of problem child. Their insatiable curiosity landing them in more trouble than an average kid should face. Only in post-secondary education did their impulsive streak got direction. A direction for ferreting out the truth – the truth everyone should have the right to know. Isn’t that noble?

Only time would tell if this sentiment would still hold true during the war.

Resources & Contacts:

Nieves Penitentes – aerospace vehicle capable of functioning as aircraft in atmosphere and spacecraft in the vacuum of well, space. Nieves Penitentes was designed to be a more affordable version of a spaceplane brand from Mars. In fact, the design is suspiciously lawsuit-scraping-by similar.

Nieves Penitentes is moderately armored (thanks to Ananke’s paycheck). It is packed with cameras, datapads, and other journalism-appropriate equipment and technological extensions.

Cadmus Inquiry – the only newspaper endemic to Europa. The Jovian moons already have an interplanetary periodical publication called the Jovian Journal and other just-as-prestigious newspapers from Earth, Mars, and other members of the Solar Federation. This breeds a sentiment that assumes there is no need for individual Jovian moons to have their own independent periodical publications. Consequently, Cadmus Inquiry occupies a strange position where they are not exactly a tabloid, but they are definitely not well-respected at all.

Carme Metha – the editor-of-chief of the Cadmus Inquiry, the man who Ananke gives their photos and articles to, so they can get paid. Carme is a curmudgeon with a preoccupation with deadlines and coffee but mostly deadlines. Carme is strict but not overbearing enough to be unpleasant. Secretive. Might have secrets, might have plain old anxiety. Somehow has a happy marriage.

I'm going to put a deadline on applications to be December 1st. Please, get yours in by then!

Name: Sarom Maset
Description: Fairly average looking sixteen year old. Short auburn hair, brown skin, and green eyes. Stands at about 5'6", but has plenty of room left to grow!
Homeworld: The Saturnalian Principality of Titan.
Affiliation: The Anti-Jovian Revolutionary Union of Titan.
Occupation: High school student!
Bio: Sarom's life story isn't too terribly uncommon for a child on Titan. Living is a struggle, but it's one he distracts himself from with delinquency, street-brawling, and unabashed teenage rebellion.

Born to a single mother under the military dictatorship imposed by the strange oligarchical systems which controlled the Jovian planets, Sarom has never known much aside from poverty. Though he was a bright and curious child by nature, his mother was forced to take a second job early in his childhood, causing him no small amount of confusion and giving him a sense of resentment - not just toward her, but toward society as a whole. His only source of stability was, after all, upturned, and all that was left to comfort him was the cold, brutal harshness of life under the Principality.

By the age of twelve, he was acting out in school. By thirteen, he was getting into fights, often starting them. By fourteen, he was a full-on delinquent. While his teachers saw it as a terrible waste of a bright young mind, Sarom couldn't be bothered to stew in despair - he was doing what he wanted, how he wanted, when he wanted to do it. In his eyes, that afforded him more freedom than most of the bastards on this planet, tied up in the invisible chains of labor, family, obligation, and fear.

Things on the moon have been getting worse, though. The folks at the top responded to the resource drain of the new anti-colonial wars by cutting wages rather than lowering their own profits. Whispers echo across Titan of a movement for liberation, independence, an end to involvement in wars of empire, and an end to the dictatorship. Sarom has paid it little mind, but will soon find himself at the center of the struggle for independence. Revolution brews on Titan, and when it emerges, it will cut through the Sol system with a gleaming sword named Seutmec!

Resources & Contacts:

Mobile Armor Seutmec - An experimental mechanized armored-infantry unit that the Revolutionary Front has sunk almost all of its resources into researching and developing. While most of the Revolutionary Titanic arsenal lags behind in modernity, with what up-to-date ships they have being stolen from the Jovians and thus few and far between, this armored unit is advanced far beyond the current capabilities of its contemporaries. Heavily armored, maneuverable, and fast, as with most mechs, it is not made for planetary bombardment, but instead for versatility and effectiveness in both stellar and terrestrial combat. It is the Front's last hope for survival, though no pilots have been successfully trained for the role (primarily due to the thin-spread and secretive nature of the Revolutionary Front at this point.)

Yomoba Yazura - Leader of a band of delinquents, and known as the best fighter at Sarom's high school. Loud mouthed, brash, proud, but exceptionally loyal to his gang. Sarom challenges him frequently, and they've formed something of a not-altogether-unfriendly rivalry. Probably the closest thing Sarom has to a friend.

Ritsna Woniran - Childhood friend. A skilled engineer and one of the top minds of their class. Still worries about Sarom, even though they've grown distant in recent years.

Arimi Maset - Mother. Works in a munitions factory. Has a rocky relationship with her son, and feels like a failure of a mother.

Name: Amira Mihrimah 'Miri' Al Khalifa

Description: Miri has a wiry build, with some noticeable muscles though her weight has a tendency to fluctuate. Her hazel-green hair and irises were bioengineered by her father, who liked the colour green. There is further evidence of meddling that hints at the multiple failures during the attempt to create the 'perfect' daughter. While eerily beautiful by most standards, at little over five feet she is far shorter than most people on Sol - despite the lower gravity of Hadi. Her light brown skin is smooth but prone to outbreaks of eczema in the polluted environment of Sol. While the mods placed significant emphasis on traits that would hinder assassination attempts (eg; poisoning), it has also given her a stupendously large sweet tooth, to the dismay of her yellowed, but otherwise intact teeth. They have been subjected to multiple treatments to prevent decay but her waist has ballooned multiple times after high-stress glucose binges.

Homeworld: Hadi

SpoilerShow

Name: Hadi Emirate

Systems, Planets, Stations: Epsilon Eridani (3 planets; 2 gas giants with mining stations and Hadi; an oceanic Earth analogue with a large orbital platform) Entry and exit gates are a highly-guarded state secret.

History: Established by an unauthorised colonisation program from the Arab Peninsula, the Hadi Emirate is a freeheld monarchial colony named after the ship Al-Hadi, which was eventually turned into an orbital space station. It has limited contact with the rest of inhabited space, primarily through a network of operatives and emissaries. Al-Hadi remained in orbit for almost half a century during an elaborate terraforming process to consolidate land mass and encourage tectonic activity on the only planet within the system's Goldilocks zone. Its relative poverty due to this immense expense has limited development and prompted a reclusive response to the ongoing conflicts.

Affiliation: Hadi Emirate Ambassadorial Mission (ostensibly) / various Sol rebel movements

Occupation: Diplomat / Student / Barista / Princess

Bio:
A daughter of Emir Yunus II's second wife Rufaida, Miri was sent offworld with her mother to 'oversee' a 'secret diplomatic mission' (ie; exiled) as a result of both familial machinations and a doomed attempt to sign a protectorate deal that would bring the Emirate out of poverty. Instead, the Union attempted to gain access to the planet's gate and the rebellion began sweeping the planet mere months after entering University. Sympathising with the rebels, Miri has bounced between various groups under multiple pseudonyms, repeatedly leaving either due to having her cover blown or various forms of infighting.

While Hadi's scientific advances are mostly stolen in some shape or form, her family had significant access to genetic manipulation. Her unique appearance is the result of extensive genome engineering, though errors in the process left her with a number of quirks. This quickly set her apart from siblings that didn't receive the procedure and later, more successful attempts. Her childhood on Hadi was frustrating as a result and she found the best way to deal with bullying from the other children of the Emir was to fight back. Being an 'imperfect' daughter, she felt both judged and estranged despite an awareness of her status.

Rufaida was assigned to Sol while Miri was twelve and her childhood education was a mix of private tutoring and private schooling. She was mostly oblivious to the rebel underground until her teen years, after they infiltrated her highschool. For three years, there was increasing tension among the staff and students alike, thanks to families both for and against the movement. She spent a month in detention (among other recriminations) after one such incident where she masterminded the graffiti of the entire school in slogans and breaking the nose of the son of a General. She became bold and highly energetic, with a seemingly limitless curiosity that can be trying on the patience of others when something has her undivided attention.

Working part-time at a coffee shop to supplement her allowance, her studies have been divided between her interests. Pressured into pursuing biological sciences ahead of social science, she stubbornly fitted as much political theory as she could in her schedule. With conflict emerging, she saw an opportunity to make a name for herself and possibly return to Hadi one day with more than just a chip on her shoulder.

Resources:
Exosuit - Custom-built for her size, this powered exoskeleton was a gift for her 18th birthday, designed for terrestrial and limited zero-G use. While not as powerful or bulky as combat suits, it has been carefully looked-after and is far less cumbersome.

Bioengineering - Outside of the advantages and disadvantages previously stated, she is hypermobile and has superior senses of smell, sight and taste - the latter being responsible for her unfortunate sweet tooth.

Railgun - Learning to shoot at a scarily young age, Miri is a skilled marksman though lacking in formal military training. The gun isn't technically hers, but 'loaned' by members of the Mission for her protection and kept in multiple pieces for greater concealment.

Safehouse - Left behind by the colonists, a large compound in Oman serves as the hidden base of the Mission with access strictly limited to its members.

Contacts:
Rufaida Yunus - Miri's mother, leader of the Hadi mission on Sol and a trained physician; outspoken in private, but an efficient political operator in public. Rufaida's influence has encouraged her daughter to be assertive and confident and while prone to bouts of passive-aggressive friction, they still get along rather well. Her resources have been exploited numerous times to bail Miri out of trouble, usually through agents monitoring her actions and generally without her noticing. There have been slip-ups however and Miri's increasingly aware of the limits to her freedom.

Roy Robertson - Best friend and co-designer of her exosuit, Roy has been in contact with her for several years, though they were separated for many of them due to her family's travels. They were reunited at high school and have been mostly inseparable since His obsession with engineering and robots and related familial connections (plus Rufaida's covert funding) resulted in the suit. Despite multiple attempts to help him find a boyfriend, Miri has had little success.

Maryam al-Rashid - Undercover agent and part-time teacher, responsible for Miri's safety and assisting her education. Strained at times by Maryam's high expectations and Miri's antics, they nonetheless have some rapport.

It's fine, I was being a big furry anyway.

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