At one time, the Earth Empire ruled the galaxy. Eventually, the Empire grew so large that it became fragmented and consumed by civil war that stretched across the galaxy.
Three distinct factions—the United Earth Federation, the Aeon Illuminate, and the Cybran Nation—emerged from the chaos. Unable to coexist peacefully, they spent the next thousand years fighting for control of the galaxy.
Dubbed the Infinite War, the conflict claimed billions of lives. It only ended when an even greater threat appeared, an invasion by an alien race called the Seraphim. Faced with extinction, the three factions put aside their differences and formed the Colonial Defense Coalition to turn back the alien menace.
After the Seraphim were defeated, the Coalition became the governing body of the galaxy. Its first act was to tear down the Quantum Gate network, the primary method of traveling to and from distant systems. It was a largely symbolic act: by restricting the ability to move armies nearly instantaneously over large distances, it greatly diminished the chances of another intergalactic war. The cost was greater isolation for distant colonies, but most saw this as a perfectly reasonable trade-off.
Because of this isolation, each planet has its own governing body, and each colony has its own governorship. The individual factions remain in name and maintain their own military forces, though they're all bound by one set of ruling law.
The United Earth Federation—or UEF—was formed with a simple goal: reunite the galaxy. It was largely successful.
The average UEF citizen desires stability and order, and they have a strong sense of brotherhood and community. Its leaders are aggressive and driven to ensure galactic order.
After the defeat of the Seraphim, the UEF asserted control of the Coalition through its ability to leverage its citizen's strong factional identity to present a unified front on all issues. As a result, the UEF is the economic, political, and military machine that drives the Coalition.
In general, UEF military units are larger, more aggressive versions of 20th Century military hardware. UEF Commanders go through rigorous psychological screening for loyalty to ensure that each believes in their duty to maintain order in the galaxy.
Commander Dominic "Migraine" Maddox
Age: 31
Dominic Maddox was born on the UEF Prime World Seton. A military brat, he followed his father George Maddox and his mother Susan through various deployments across the galaxy. His parents were staunch UEF supporters, with a strong dislike of the Cybrans and Illuminate due to their growing up during—and in his father's case, participating in—the Infinite War.
Dominic ranked extremely high in the military aptitude tests given to all UEF citizens and joined the military when he turned 18. After basic training, he attended Coalition Commander School on Altair II, a former Aeon core world that had welcomed UEF settlements after the Coalition was formed.
After school, Dominic met and married a moderate Illuminate teacher named Annika Koenig. While the Coalition had no policies against cross-factional relationships, most members of the UEF still frowned upon such things. While Annika's parents welcomed Dominic into their family, Dominic's parents felt betrayed, and disowned their only son.
Two years after their marriage, Dominic and Annika had a son. They named him George, after Dominic's father. On hearing the news of their grandson's birth, Dominic's parents broke down and apologized for their previous bigotry. Unfortunately, they were tragically killed in an accident shortly after George was born.
Though Dominic's direct superiors are vaguely aware of his marriage and family, they are unaware of his wife's religion and factional status. He's less concerned about people discovering his wife's religion than he is with how it's affecting her to keep it a secret. Because of this, Dominic is looking for a way to gracefully exit the military so they can raise their child in a more welcoming and open environment.
The Seraphim were first discovered during a deep space exploration mission. The aliens passed on their philosophy called The Way to Dr. Jane Burke, one of the members of the expedition. She formed the Aeon Illuminate to spread the word and avoid what she believed was a future full of warfare and destruction. The Aeon Illuminate fulfilled its own prophecy, first defending itself against Earth Empire incursions and eventually waging all-out war against the UEF and Cybran Nation.
When the Seraphim invaded thousands of years later, a large percentage of the Aeon Illuminate population sided with the Seraphim and formed the Order of the Illuminate. They fought against the Aeon and its leader, Princess Rhianne Burke. The Princess was lost when the Seraphim were defeated, and the Order was effectively dismantled. However, its members remained in the populace.
The newly elected Aeon Illuminate leadership placated the remaining fundamentalist Order members by renaming the faction to its common, shared name: The Illuminate.
While the UEF flourished, the Illuminate struggled. Its members previously led an ascetic, communal lifestyle; the Coalition imposed a UEF-style capitalist system. Those who struggled pined for the days when The Way was the guiding force.
Multiple splinter groups formed within the faction, the largest and most influential being The Royal Guardians. Its stated goal was to restore the glory of the Illuminate when it was led by Princess Burke. While it gained significant traction, it was eventually consumed by scandal. The movement was tainted by association, so the pendulum of control swung back to the moderates who supported the Coalition.
Commander Thalia Kael
Age: 28
Thalia Kael was born on Cathedral, one of the primary illuminate planets. Named after one of the freedom fighters that fought against the Order of the Illuminate during the later days of the Infinite War, Thalia also had distant ties to Evaluator Kael, the cruel leader of The Order.
Thalia's father, Jeremiah Kael, was a businessman who, post-Coalition, became a wealthy power broker that moved freely between all three factions. His high profile, however, made him a target for anti-Illuminate groups within both his own faction and the UEF.
Thalia's mother, Jane Kael, died of a degenerative disease shortly after Thalia's birth. With her father frequently away on business, she was mostly watched over by her older brother Jaran.
Shortly after Thalia turned 10, Thalia's father was killed by UEF nationalists. Thalia and Jaran spent the rest of their childhood being passed between family members.
Following the lead of her brother, Thalia expressed an interest in joining the military. She showed extremely strong leadership skills, and was promoted to Cadet-of- Swords, the second highest rank in the Illuminate academy, by the time she was 21. At this point, she was sent to Coalition Commander School on Altair II, where she excelled in her studies.
It was around this time that her brother was diagnosed with the same degenerative disease that killed their mother. With Jaran unable to work, Thalia left the academy early to take care of her brother.
The Cybran Nation traces its beginnings far back into Earth Empire history. In 2592, Doctor Gustaf Brackman, an unmatched genius in cybernetics, successfully "twined" the first human/AI pair, creating a symbiont. The Earth Empire effectively enslaved the symbionts, utilizing their superior AI-assisted thinking and ability to perform complex processes quickly and efficiently, to bolster their empire.
In response, Dr. Brackman formed the Cybran Nation with a large complement of his symbiont "children," and they thrived. Dr. Brackman petitioned the newly created UEF to free the rest of the Symbionts; they refused and sent an occupying force. It was met with resistance by the Cybran Nation, and the fight for symbiont freedom began.
At the end of the Infinite War, Dr. Brackman was betrayed by his greatest creation—a Quantum computer called QAI—and the Cybrans were forced to ally with the UEF and Aeon in a last-ditch attempt to defeat the Seraphim.
The Cybran Nation captured many Seraphim during the Infinite War, and Dr. Brackman has spent the last 25 years studying the alien race and incorporating its technology and DNA into his symbionts. While it's an important part of the Coalition, its members rarely mingle with the other factions.
Characters
Commander Ivan Brackman
Age: 29
Ivan Brackman is a test tube baby, brought to term in an exowomb. He is the literal son of Dr. Gustaf Brackman and an unnamed female donor rumored to be former Cybran Commander Ivanna Dostya. Ivan is also the first successful Proto-Cybran Commander, a fully-grown hybrid of human, cybernetics, and Dr. Brackman's new Proto-Brain technology.
Ivan was raised on the Haven node, with Dr. Brackman always in close proximity. (There were some concerns that his father's current condition—existing as a brain and spinal cord sustained in a specially designed oxygen-rich amniotic solution—might have been somewhat off-putting to a small child.)
Ivan was closely monitored before he was allowed to mix with others in standard Cybran society. He showed enough promise and stability at an early age for Dr. Brackman to create dozens of other proto-Cybrans. Most of Ivan's fellow Protos work at Dr. Brackman's private lab or are part of his military. Though the 3.11 version of Dr. Brackman's Proto- technology used on Ivan is still in its infancy, he exhibits more creativity and independent thought than other Cybrans.
Dr. Brackman couldn't ignore his son's military skills and agreed to enroll him in Coalition Commander School on Altair II. He was the top student at the academy, graduating first in his class. While most students kept their distance or mocked him behind his back, he made friends with a UEF commander named Dominic Maddox. Ivan found himself jealous of the closeness between Maddox and a promising young Illuminate named Thalia Kael, though he never brought it up with either of them.
After he left school, Ivan became head of Dr. Brackman's personal protection staff. Despite all that he's achieved at such a young age, he's kept on a very tight leash.
The Armored Command Unit
The most important and versatile unit in your arsenal is the Armored Command Unit (ACU). The ACU is your avatar on the battlefield, your primary construction unit, and, when upgraded through research, one of your most devastating weapons available to you.
Initially developed by the Earth Empire as a practical solution to the logistical nightmares and prohibitive mass costs of teleporting large armies across the galaxy, the ACU is now considered the most recognizable, powerful and flexible weapon in the galaxy. A low-mass high-capability unit easily transported across the quantum network, the ACU weds cutting-edge military science to the latest breakthroughs in nanotechnology to achieve a combat potential greater than any force in history. Construction
The ACU can then construct war factories capable of producing terrain-specific military units, as well as engineer units that can be assigned to create further structures themselves (at slightly reduced speed), freeing up the ACU for focus on troop deployment and executing more advanced combat operations. Command
Though in constant communication with his command structure via the onboard Quantum Communication network, the ACU is in sole command of the battlefield at all times, and even without upgrades a formidable assault unit in its own right. The ACU is able to simultaneously coordinate the movements of substantial military units and manage a burgeoning base of operations.
While like their robotic underlings they are capable of attacking and patrolling, modern ACUs can also be equipped with a variety of powerful upgrades, from jump-jets to an "escape pod" that allows its cranial control center (and the pilot within) to detach, flee to a new site, and reconstitute a fresh ACU exoskeleton back home or in the field. Destruction of the ACU
Though capable of withstanding the direct impact of a 100-megaton nuclear explosion, the ACU is not invulnerable. If subjected to sufficient stresses or the risk of enemy capture is deemed likely, the ACU's fusion reactor will automatically collapse, resulting in a massive explosion capable of decimating a large area of the planet, along with all life both organic and cybernetic in the blast radius. Please war responsibly.
不过那个死脑袋博士果然和我的多西亚有一腿啊啊 啊啊啊啊啊！！！！！[伤心啊]
