HOMEWORLD:
Aruz is a high (3) G world on the outermost edge of the goldilocks zone. It orbits the star of Chiark.
The surface is made up of countless, snow-covered mountain ranges with small yet lush green valleys in between. The largest body of water is a belt running all the way around the equator.
[INFORMATION REDACTED]
EVOLUTION AND BIOLOGY:
The ecosystem in which the Vaiaelons evolved favoured large, muscled creatures with high reaches. (some being 20 or even 30m from front to rear)
This was to climb up to the high 'platforms' that covered the mountains' surfaces, as they often had the most abundant food.
The Vaiaelons instead evolved to climb up the sheer cliff faces leading up to them by embedding their claws into the pack ice.
Of course, there was competition for the platforms, and due to their comparably small size, they evolved to hunt in packs.
Males would go off to hunt while the females raised the young.
Male fatalities were seldom low, so Females were the ones to organize society once sentience began emerging.
This inadvertently resulted in Females being the dominant sex for much of Vaiaelon history.
They are a canine species leaning moreso towards vulpine than lupine.
They primarily walk around in a quadruped state, though are capable of rearing up onto their hind legs and using their front “legs” to manipulate objects. They find this far easier on planets with lower gravity, training permitting.
Their limbs are rather long and appear thin in relation, though are actually slightly thicker than a human’s.
Their hind legs are double jointed in a 2 : 1 : 1 ratio of length distribution. The front legs bend backwards.
They have two pairs of eyes. Ears come out pointed from the back of the head. Fur is longer between the ears, giving the impression of hair.
Their pelt colour has several racial variations. (Greyish white from most of Aruz, orange from near the equator, black (a recent evolution of sorts) from orbital colonies)
Average upright height of 2.7m.
Their tails grow as naturally as hair and needs to be shortened every now and again.
Fast breeders.
The average lifespan is currently around 170 Aruz years (~ 190 standard stellar cycles).
(Artwork by TastyCoffe, thank you birbman)
HISTORY AND SOCIETY:
Timeline:
3363PC - first large scale conflict between numerous nations emerges, retroactively referred to as AW-I (Aruz War-I)
3724PC - AW-IV concluded, sees advent of nuclear armament
3753PC-2031PC - AW-V, small scale conflicts eventually devolving into nuclear annihilation, significant portion of northern hemisphere rendered uninhabitable for centuries
4213PC - Advent of “AQP” Devices (Applied Quantum Physics), notably includes a device that completely disables nuclear fission within its area of effect
4214PC - AW-VI, combat on a previously unheard of scale and complexity, advent of space combat, first early Qunits enter combat
4251PC - AW-VI concluded, ended in truce, both sides decide it would be better to work together for the betterment of the Vaiaelon people, Vaiaelon War Pact founded, Scientists realise Chiark will reach the end of its life in the not too distant future
4254PC-65SC - large scale expansion into Chiark
117SC - early Qswitches developed, interstellar expansion begins, widespread concern at lack of suitable planets for colonisation
172SC-202SC - first contact with several other interstellar nations
210SC - requests for colonisation rights of suitable planets in neighbouring nations denied, diplomacy begins to break down
230SC - war decided as only feasible option for long term survival, Chiark will go red giant in 900 standard stellar cycles
320SC - first interstellar war concluded, population reduced to 22% of pre-war numbers. enemy nations wiped from the map, refugees are denied rights and forced to other nations
322SC-370SC - heavy industrialisation and subsequent militarisation to prevent a repeat of past events
370SC-376SC - mass claiming of uninhabited systems for mining purposes in order to satisfy megastructural requirements
402SC - first “Orbitals” begin construction as a solution to workforce shortages in frontier systems
411SC - truly self aware AIs developed after several major setbacks for octades
412SC - “Norsur Incident”, AI in command of a mining barge goes rogue and attacks an orbital, recycling it into raw resources, civilians included. No survivors by the time the VSA finally put it down, AI completely outlawed
415SC - Present day
The warlike emergence of the empire gave rise to heavy a xenophobic mindset among the general populace, bordering on kill-on-sight. However they are not beyond reason, and if proven trustworthy, you will find yourself with a powerful ally.
Most religions never got beyond the pagan stage as Vaiaelons quickly placed their faith in science.
The most prominent one to survive however, was one of pure determinism.
"Hadrii" tells that everyone's 'path' is laid out for them from birth, in other words; everything you will ever do is already decided. These 'paths' are laid out by the great guide, Hadalen.
Some would view this as depressing; the thought that free will is an illusion. However the primary teaching of the religion is to use that illusion to follow a more unique path, in other words; live a good life.
Due to their unusual planetary preference, the majority of the population live in orbital colonies, often referred to as just 'Orbitals'.
The Orbitals themselves are colossal rotating rings, though not quite on the scale of Halos.
In the hundreds of stars in the Pact, there are little more than 20 colonised planets.
(NOTE: Vaiaelons use an octal system of counting rather than decimal, do not take any values displayed at face value.)
TECHNOLOGY:
Most Vaiaelon technologies revolve around quantum physics in one way or another
The Quantum Switch: (FTL drive)
By quantum entangling every particle of a ship with an equivalent amount of coincidental particles in empty space, which in turn are entangled to particles in the desired destination, using very careful observations, one can project the states of the ship’s particles to the destination, effectively teleporting it there. Due to the No-Cloning Theorem, which prohibits the duplication of abstract information, the “original” ship is torn apart at the quantum level as a result, so take your stupid philosophy arguments elsewhere.
Naturally, the larger the ship, the harder it is to keep track of all particles involved, thus requires exponentially more processing power. An issue that is compounded by the multi-km warships employed by the Pact. Mistakes are also not taken well, as even a nanosecond of delay in any process can completely distort the ship that comes out the other side.
The range is in theory infinite, but in practice is limited by available sensor data. Once data is available however, regardless of distance, the “Switch” is practically instantaneous.
Qcomms:
Works off the same technology as the Quantum Switch. Changes electron states in the recipient's comm system to display messages and data. The mechanism is far smaller than the Quantum Switch due to only having to interact with electrons and not whole ships.
OPUs: (computers)
Since quantum computers are wiped as a side effect of the quantum switch, and classical computers don’t provide enough processing power, a new solution was needed. To combat this, the Pact's scientists came up with the groundbreaking OPU, a quantum computer that's organic in nature rather than mechanical. The computers survive getting wiped every jump due to an unknown anomaly that puzzles scientists to this day. The organic matter is grown from stem cells in labs.
Qunits: (supersoldiers)
Genetically engineered from birth and then enhanced further by implants, Qunits are treated as equipment rather than living beings. The genetic engineering includes a process that makes their brains into OPUs, resulting in reaction times that have to be measured in picoseconds. The implants add a small Qcomm setup on the back of the neck, which allows them to interface with technology, as well as further increased strength and speed.
They are issued with special combat power armour equipped with the bleeding edge of technology, focused on speed and offense. The current recorded max speed sits at 320km/h. Equipped with a large array of weapons designed to make short work of any target.
The main issue is that they're extremely costly to produce, almost costing more than a battleship. As such, they are only deployed to high importance missions, or against really stubborn enemies who refuse to die.
Taroka: ("fighters")
Used alongside conventional fighters, Taroka are mecha designed for use in space. The base concept is that by being able to have thrusters in any location in relation to the centre of mass, higher mobility will be achieved. Most thrusters are located on the legs and "wings" while the arms carry the actual armaments. A Qunit version exists equipped with a customised micro Quantum Switch that allows the Takora to travel short distances and leaves an afterimage when it moves.
Pack-Steel: (armour)
An obscenely high-hardness alloy created in specialised forges. Mostly Steel with a bit of Tungsten mixed in. Only a single crystal is allowed to develop when cooling, others have their dendrites disassembled. The resulting alloy has a 0.001% impurity rate. The forges themselves are built on planets with a minimum of 10G, so high density is also achieved. 1mm of Pack-Steel has 50mm RHAe.
Hardlight: (APS/shields)
In special conditions, light reflecting off an object will start imitating the properties of that object, resulting in solid structures made of light. Vaiaelon shielding systems use this phenomenon in conjunction with a specialised Qswitch. The "solid" particles are Switched into the path of oncoming attacks, massively increasing the RHAe they must get past, while adding comparatively little weight to the vehicle. Larger vehicles, especially warships, have the option of constantly projecting a wall of hardlight around the ship, acting as an additional layer of armour. The recharge rate is directly proportional to the amount of generators present within the ship. The shield is bi-directional however, meaning parts of it must be lowered to fire the weapons.
INDIVIDUALS OF NOTE:
Admiral Atra Stevnic:
Considered one of if not the best admiral at the Pact's disposal, Atra is the champion of many, many wargames against her peers. She doesn't let her successful career go to her head however, most would describe her as open and understanding, yet firm and commanding. She often finds herself at the forefront of the Pact's military activities, despite her many requests otherwise.
Kotaii:
Not much is actually known about him, other than that he simply appears whenever international developments arise, friendly or otherwise, even being reported at two places at once. If asked, he says he's a representative of the council, despite not existing in their records in any form other than {ACCESS DENIED}. He acts oblivious if any of this is brought up, though the sinister look in his eyes suggests you should stop looking into it. stop looking into it. stop looking into it. stop looking into it. stop looking into it. {UNKNOWN ERROR}
Alferii Hadraas:
Best described in the two words Eccentric and Egotistic. Alferii is a stubborn genius at the head of almost every field of science within the Pact. He is responsible for many of the Pact's more unusual weapons and systems, including but not limited to: the DashkaTM HMG, the Quantum Cascade Warhead, the "afterimage" Qswitch, and the {ERROR: insufficient clearance}. What makes him problematic however is his attitude towards everything and everyone. He speaks to others the way an adult speaks to a child, and almost always refuses to explain the science behind his inventions, simply laughing at others as they try to understand it. The Pact can't afford to get rid of him or replace him because of his unparalleled intellect, and they can't force him to do anything since he implanted an explosive device in his neck he can detonate at will. As of right now he does as he pleases, and is currently stationed at black-hole observation post DS9.
NAVY:
The Pact's ship designation is several times larger than the galactic average, with 500m ships barely scraping off a corvette designation.
Corvette - 494m
Frigate - 1.04km
Destroyer - 1.66km
Cruiser - 4.99km
Battleship - 8.03km
Dreadnought - 9.98km
Due to their large size and numbers, most VWP warships are designed to be self-sufficient, with agri-spheres, on-board factories and repair bays, even light mining equipment should worse come to worst.
The entire armed forces of the Pact were grouped into the Navy upon first interstellar expansion, so most fleets have large army carriers, with several dedicated aquaborne ship carriers.
In most invasion scenarios, Vaiaelon soldiers will be fighting in (relatively) 0.33 G, so it's not uncommon to see them leaping across the battlefield at obscene speeds.
The Navy itself is divided into several subsections with corresponding colour schemes.
(in order of size)
Red = Offensive
Green = Defensive
Blue = Reserve
Black = {ERROR: insufficient clearance, authorities have been notified}
