Note: First time doing rp so tips and ways to improve would be appreciated
The Hymonesp's Flag:
Species:
The Hymonesps are (~)3m tall hymenopterans. Although there are variations among the species, the most common appearance is one similar to paper wasps. Originally walking on all six legs, the Hymonesps have evolved into quadrupedal animals, now using their two frontal legs as arms. On their heads, the Hymonesps have two compound eyes on the side of their heads and two camera-type eyes at the center top. They also have two powerful jaws used to eat rocks and other minerals. A set of two antennae can be used to communicate and also identify rocks and their mineral composition. Their exoskeletons are incredibly durable, capable of withstanding fire from small munitions and sometimes coming out of explosions with minimal damage (although the same could not be said for other parts of their body). However, their exoskeletons struggle against intense heat. Due to the advancement of technology, their two pairs of wings have weakened over time, only allowing flight in low gravity environments. However, instead able to act as a light shield, especially when shielding against waves of heat/high energy. The Hymonesps normally communicate through pheromones but are also capable of speaking basic galactic standard. The species were originally polygynes with some factions sharing dozens of queens, but now, it was decided that there would only be one queen at a time with spares stored in stasis as backups. In the past, preferring to live on planets with high levels of oxygen with plentiful flora, they now live a nomadic lifestyle with the queen stationed on one of the ships.
Story:
In the past, the species unified under one faction after facing near extinction on their home planet. Under the leadership of a single queen, they entered a golden age of space exploration, even exploring nearby solar systems around them in the outer rim. However, an unexpected event would lead to her tragic death and trigger the splintering of her empire. As new factions appeared, many quickly became warmongers, with some even seeking the total annihilation of other factions. One faction, the Hymonesps, were constantly on the back foot. After countless losses, they were forced all the way to their original homeworld. Now only a frozen wasteland with the ruins of what once was. Out of desperation, the last remaining queen hid herself and the remaining bits of her fleet under the planet's surface. With only a few stasis chambers available, she decided to seal her last set of brood within, among them, a queen. With all but essential systems for the stasis chambers deactivated, her and her remaining crew would slowly freeze to death. As time passed, a clock would continue to click, counting, till the fateful day that the Hymonesps would take to the stars again.
Society:
Hymonesp society is eusocial. With only the queen capable of laying eggs, the rest work in service of her. Workers form most of the population, performing various tasks as needed. Nobles are created by feeding a worker egg a bit of royal jelly. Born with greater intelligence, they serve a managerial role in organizing and directing workers. They often serve as captains of larger ships or sending out commands from command-type ships. The queen sits at the peak of the hierarchy, with only other queens having higher statuses. With greater intelligence than nobles, they send out directives from their royal chamber.
Anthem:
Foreign Policy:
The Hymonesps are generally passive to other species, even ignoring the destruction of some of their smaller ships. The only exceptions to this is the encroachment of resources they deem as theirs, and the unauthorized entry into the space around wherever the queen and her brood are. With the former being a response appropriate to the value of said resource. And the latter being the attempted eradication of whatever has entered the area. This is to the extent that capital ships will even attempt FTL jumps into enemy ships while detonating their cores if deemed necessary. War is also rarely declared except against those deemed as an active threat whose very existence poses a threat to the queen and the colony.
Ships and Technology: (I'll include list of ships in another post)
Classifications
All ships are classified by Hive (Her Illustriousness' Vessels) -- [Ship type][Ship category] - [Ship model] - [Ship variation]
Examples:
- Hive--SBee-1 (Hive -- Scout Bee Class Ship - Model 1 - Original variation)
- Hive--WBee-1-1 (Hive--Worker Bee Class Ship - Model 1 - 1st variation)
- Hive--CWasp-1 (Hive--Carrier Wasp Class Ship - Model 1 - Original variation)
Ships are split up into three main categories, Bee, Wasp, and Queen. With ships generally increasing in both size and importance going up (Bee<Wasp<Queen).
Variation refers to a modified version of a ship model such as the Hive--WBee-1-1 having storage added on to it.
Current Fleet
"All ships have been accounted for, we have confirmed 0 operational Queen-class ships, 3 fully operational Wasp-class ships, 1 barely operational FWasp class ship, and 18 Bee-class ships fit for combat."
As of now, all planetary infrastructure in the surrounding vicinity has been determined to be unrepairable due to damage/erosion caused over time. This has forced the colony to scavenge through debris fields from past conflicts in hopes of finding anything salvageable. Only Bee-class ships and their wrecks have been discovered with the most valuable parts already salvaged. This makes advanced technology such as FTL drives currently irreplaceable.
(Last updated: 2022-06-14)
Technology
Ammunitions:
SHATTER rounds: Using specialized WAX metal, the bullet is designed to shatter into fragments after penetration. Usually 20mm x 102, other sizes can be produced if needed.
WAX shells: Using specialized WAX metal, the bullet is designed to be as durable as possible, intended to shoot straight through the armour of a ship penetrating through core machinery. WAX rounds are produced in various sizes, depending on what is firing them.
GASTER shells: Using a timed explosive, GASTER shells release anti-ship shrapnel in a cone shape. Similar to WAX rounds, GASTER rounds are intended to wipe out light ships within its area of effect by disabling key electronics or systems.
EE rounds (Extreme Energy rounds): SHATTER rounds heated to (~)3,500 kelvin, they glow a bright yellow.
RH shells(Reinforced Heated shells): Large WAX shells heated to usually (~)1,200 kelvin, they glow a bright red.
IE rounds (Illustrious Energy rounds): Only produced at the peak of the original empire, the rounds are better described as a clump of WAX plasma held together by a device in the center. Reaching over 10,000 kelvin, it was given its name due to the brilliant light blue glow radiated. Devastating in battle, it could easily wipe out entire crews and destroy queen-class ships. The only vessel capable of fielding such ammunition was the empire's flagship "Her Radiance." With the production process now lost, recovery efforts are underway.
RMs (Remote Missiles): RMs is a general term used to describe any projectile that acts independently (self-guiding/detonating) after being launched. There are currently only three primary RMs used for combative purposes. Guided RMs have various targeting and lock-on systems to guarantee it strikes the intended target. Using compressed gas to help navigate, RMs capable of propulsion only have a minor heat signature.
GMs (GASTER Missiles): GASTER shells with self-propulsion, a safety switch is installed to disable the shell when pointed towards friendlies. However, this means any damage to the assistance system can either disable the shell or prematurely detonate it. The missile is used defensively to take out other RMs as an alternative to its primary use.
PMs (Plasma Missiles): Created based on IE rounds, PMs are capable of devastating damage, although only a fraction of the destruction caused by IE rounds. With a limited initial blast radius, anything caught within that is sure to be melted away. If the control device is disabled, the PM will immediately detonate. The strength of a PM can also depend on the ship fielding it, with larger ones capable of bringing more potent variations.
NFMs (Nuclear Field Mines): A large spherical mine, the NFM is utilized in various situations. Relying on fission reactions for energy, the NFM both propels and heats large fragments within it. Capable of serious damage to everything around it, it has been used as a bomb in places with significant gravity. The two triggers used are collisions and the detection of electric fields. Both are togglable. Due to their sharp, angled surfaces and minimal radiation, the mines can be hard to detect.
**EMMs (Electromagnetic Microwave Missiles): By compressing magnetic fluxes, the missile releases a high-power electromagnetic pulse. Capable of disabling any electronic within its area of effect, the EMM is primarily used to prepare a ship for boarding action. Larger vessels can usually shrug off most hits; EMMs are instead used to disable thrusters and primary weapon systems.
Weapon Systems:
REN cannons (Rapid ENergizer cannons): The primary armament for many smaller ships and serving as secondaries on larger, it rapid fires EE rounds. Used offensively and defensively, it is capable of shredding through metal and melting key components. Although the bullets can travel long ranges, the round radiates heat over time losing effectiveness at longer ranges. The high energy demand can disable thrusters on smaller ships for a short period making them especially vulnerable.
HEN cannons (High ENergizer cannons): Boasting higher firepower than standard REN cannons, the HEN cannon trades a high rate of fire for a more powerful projectile. Firing RH shells, it can shoot through smaller ships and cause significant damage to larger ones. The cannon has a short charge-up time but has a much longer effective range.
TB HEN cannons (Twin Barrel High ENergizer cannons): A modified version of the HEN cannon, the TB variation, is capable of firing significantly hotter RH shells. With a longer charge-up time and greater energy demand, this weapon is only outfitted on ships intended only for ship-to-ship combat.
CHBs (Charged Hydrogen Beams): Based on mining beams, the CHB was designed to counter heavily armoured targets. Shooting high-energy protons, the weapon is easily capable of melting through standard WAX armour. Although somewhat ineffective against maneuverable targets, even smaller ships equipped with it pose a threat against Queen-class vessels. The main drawback of this weapon is the minimal damage unless focused on a small area on the enemy ship.
ALS guns (Anti-Light Ship guns): Firing GASTER shells, the ALS gun was the solution developed to deal with swarms of light ships. With a moderate fire rate, the GASTER shells tear through ships. Although proven to be incredibly effective against small vessels and even able to take out RMs, a massive drawback is friendly fire. With a large area of effect, the ALS gun has proven to be too effective at its role.
LEA gun (Linear Electro Accelerator gun): It's a rail gun. Charged WAX rounds go whoosh and then BOOM. Another WAX round release small WAX balls during BOOM. Plasma version underway. Some shoot Bees.
SL tubes (Steam Launcher tubes): The standard launcher on most ships, it utilizes steam to propel the loaded RM out.
Miscellaneous Technology:
WAX armour: The standard armour plating used, WAX armour, is durable and has low thermal conductivity. The plating comes in various shades of yellow dependent on the coating. The coating helps to dissipate energy along the surface and remove heat from within the ship. While reasonably efficient at resisting fire from EE rounds, it is prone to shattering from large RH rounds. The plating also fails when exposed to large amounts of energy focused on a small area.
WAMAD array (WAve Manipulation And Detection array): The WAMAD array serves essential functions within HIVE fleets. Originally only used to organize swarms of ships, the WAMAD array can issue basic directives/commands to individual or groups of ships. Further developed at the empire's peak, the array had access to more complex forms of telecommunication and could now communicate more efficiently with other arrays. Another advancement was cloaking detection technology. Due to the near completion of cloaking technology, larger ships were retrofitted with a countermeasure. Able to observe abnormal wave behaviour, it could detect moving cloaked objects. However, there are limitations. The array is unable to detect stationary objects. Nor is it able to observe anomalies masked by large gravity wells.
ANT drones: Small unmanned drones, they use six arms and micro thrusters to help navigate. Primarily serving a supportive function, they are used for construction, repairs, and reconnaissance. All ships are equipped with at least two for reconnaissance and repair.
FF reactors: The standard power supply on most ships, the FF reactors utilize nuclear reactions to generate energy. Coming in various sizes, the FF reactor is the most vulnerable part of the ship. With a single lucky shot capable of disabling it, or worse, detonating it.
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Ships and Fleet Tactics:
Bee-class ships form the backbone of any fleet. It is not unusual to see battle groups solely encompassing them. Due to the variety of Bee-class ships available, a small swarm can easily take down a Wasp-class ship. Usually designed with high maneuverability in mind, they push the limits of both their pilots and their engineering. This, however, comes at a cost. Combat Bees are seldom fitted with FTL drives. Instead relying on other ships to tow them long distances. Another issue is their lack of telecommunications. Often operating on simple commands. Without a command ship present, complicated coordinated tactics are simply impossible.
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Resources:
Other than the various minerals and ores obtained from mining, there are only two other resources of notable value in their possession. Firstly, is their WAX metal. A tungsten nickel iron alloy, with a little bit extra added, the Hymonesps have mastered metallurgy around it and are capable of producing it with relative ease. Used for both their ships and ammunition, it has become their staple metal. The second is the royal jelly produced by the queen. Capable of extending life, the jelly is considered sacred to the species and is reserved primarily for the queen.