Betel Recyclers

(NOTE: Major reconstruction is needed on this page, and should hopefully be done soon. Some stuff needs to be remade, as some qualities of the Betel are from the original Betel design which doesn't fit with some things.)

The role of the Betel in the Galaxy is that of trash processors. They live in worlds covered with junk and make their living off of the mounds of garbage. They are respected for their resourcefulness in dire situations and their skills as multi-talented mercenaries/engineers.

The Recyclers are in theory are working for the greater good of the Peacekeeper alliance, but corruption, greed, and selfishness is far from unheard of within their society. Ensuring Recycler interests at the cost of even allied interests is unofficial political policy. Some question them and contemplate whether they should really be on the Peacekeeper's side.

Betel are regarded as the galaxy's underlings, the impoverished. However, poverty would be the wrong word to describe the Betel. While most live in the equivalent of glorified slums, those slums are built upon metal piles miles deep, which when processed contain vast wealth. As recycling efforts increase, so does the status of the Betel as a resource rich nation.

Biology
In the past, mutations from exposure to toxins, radiation, and other harmful substances have warped the organic form of the Betel, leaving parts of their bodies deformed and useless. Betel have adapted towards this, as well as to the hostile environment they live in by installing "systems" in their now decreasingly organic bodies that help them survive or perform certain tasks. Their heads and much of their bodies have developed something of an immunity that dragged them up out of the dark ages when their brains had degenerated from irradiation and other harmful effects.

An important part of their biology is their filter mouths. They take in the air, leaving out the chemicals that would kill them, and pass it through a gland that generates energy for the body by "burning" the air, gaining much more energy by burning certain chemicals, then sends out of the body all together by exhaling the few remaining particles. Breathing is [AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH-phoo-...-AAAAAAAAAAAAH-phoo]. With the increase in chemicals in the air, Betel become extremely hyper. This can be easily treated by attaching an energy bypass system that takes the extra energy and sends it through the other systems that rely on energy such as lasers or drills. Too much energy taken out of the loop, however, can lead to depression or even suicide. A negative effect of this treatment is that when attached to an endorphin generator can become a dangerously addicting drug. The energy allotted for the "EnJoy" system, when increased, exhausts the user, to the point that the addict will collapse with exhaustion with a wide grin upon his face. Hundreds of thousands of Betel die this way each year, and it is a priority for the government to control its abuse and the proliferation of EnJoy labs.

Betel have an innate fear and hatred of water. The reason behind this is in their biology. Since Betel bodies are partially composed of cyborg parts made from less than high quality materials, many Betel will find that rust can become an issue. Similar to arthritis, joints will seize up and make moving or dexterous tasks challenging. Water or dampness can also damage internal electronics systems, which can be a massive danger to all Betel. Synths are at an especially high level of risk for water damage because they contain a higher concentration of mechanical parts. Betel colonists exposed to new and not fully terraformed atmospheres and landscapes are known to have a lower working life expectancy. For higher class Betel, special waterproofing is possible but limited due to its cost.

Reproduction
The Betel have a singular gender, each Betel has the ability to give birth to a new Betel child. However, Betel generally don't give birth unless associated with another Betel who can support them financially. Betel are spawned from a gland in the parent. The birthing process is initiated by a concentrated arsenic dosage. A week after the dosage, the parent will need to prepare a bed to rest in, as it will be stuck there for two weeks. The parent will be fed by a significant other. A new Betel starts to start growing from the abdomen (bud-like) and in the last three days the parent slips into a coma. The child separates, and a day later the parent wakes up. The child will have its purpose chosen, and the proper systems surgically attached. The systems have an expansion capability that ensures the child does not outgrow certain necessary systems. Many of these parts can be removed and replaced with others. A Betel can only spawn but 4 children each, as the Betel carries 4 spawning glands that do not regenerate. Often working class Betel that wish to have more children can arrange for the production of Synths (see below)

Since the process is so simple and fast, it can be replicated to grow Betel synthetically, but it does require brain samples from another Betel. The child will gain the necessary skills acquired in the first year automatically, then will need to be mentored. "Synths" as they are called, are predominantly more mechanized than normal Betel, and suffer from negative syndromes. Facilities that perform these procedures are held under a strict monopoly by the government, further enforced by financial support provided since High Chancellor Visas's reign to support his Military Proliferation Act.

Gender and Personality
There is only one gender for Betel. While some might believe this requires them to have characteristics both masculine and feminine, that is not true. Betel do not in any way resemble the female style of personality seen by other races, and are more aspected towards the male side of the spectrum. However, they do not exactly meet all of the criteria that defines a masculine character. Because they don't have to prove themselves to the opposite gender to attract mates, they are generally more lax in how 'manly' they may seem. It is not unusual for a Betel to boast flamboyant characteristics in their attitudes for example.

This singular gender had an effect in their early years (animal stages prior to the Fall of Iron) that differentiated them from most other races. Since there was no competition for mates, the concept of alpha males and any form of animalistic hierarchy was an alien idea. Generally things functioned with all the early Betel helping the survival of their 'pack', with no one being on top of a pyramid. This mindset, however, did not completely survive the catastrophic events of the Fall of Iron, the first apocalypse. Following this event, there was need for leaders to organize what they could from the anarchy in the following series of generations. This leadership is perhaps distinct from others in that your typical Betel still does not have the desire for individual power and is content with a collective security and meager personal wealth.

In all situations, when it comes to pronouns, please refer to Recyclers as he, just to avoid confusion.

History
A long time back in Betel's history, the planet was normal and a civilization inhabited a large portion of the planets. However, Betel had the misfortune of being in close proximity to some ancient warlord-like empire that history has forgotten. This empire was involved in many wars, and Betel was zoned as a trash world. The citizens of Betel at that time were constantly bombarded by tons upon tons of military refuse crashing down into their world. Both Society and the ecosystem collapsed, and still the junk rained down as the years dragged on. Small pockets survived by rigging up primitive ballistic shields around enclaves, but every person had suffered such brain damage they became slobbering primitives. This time was known to later historians as the Fall of Iron. Eventually the empire ceased to exist and Betel was free from the deadly precipitation for many generations, during which it began its slow rise to civilization once more. Soon, something of civilization emerged, and thus the Old Betel was born. Old Betel at this time began to adopt the blue and gold colours since most metal plating found from the ancient original dumping race was that colour (their empire's colours). Old Betel collapsed after a great battle took place in its atmosphere and destroyed the Capital, and a few days later a recovery team from an empire known as the K'thruk Naal landed to retrieve an important artifact from a crashed transport. Old Betel Remnants ambushed them and demanded answers of the galaxy. Soon, Betel became recognized as New Betel in the (now long dead) Galactic Council. The term "Recyclers" did not emerge until a well known economist visited the planet (in a haz-mat suit) and helped the very much survivalist society build up their economy to the point where they were able to expand into two new colonies, making them an official empire known as The Recyclers. The name came from the economist who gave them it to help boost morale in their role in society.

Proto-Betel Era & The Fall of Iron
Almost every shred of information from this time is lost. This encompasses the original, pre-Fall-of-Iron periods, a time when Betel was a fertile and relatively unblemished planet, if somewhat sparse. Pre-civilization Proto-Betel saw Betel form into packs, although the utility of this was unknown. Civilization in this time was very shallow in government, with no real leaders but more of nations united under manifestos. It is believed that this was not necessarily a peaceful time, and at least one great and horrendous war was fought leaving behind mass graves for archaeologists, although some schools of thought believe this may not have been war but rather the results of some form of holocaust. Proto-Betel civilizations never fully united, but had reached sophisticated levels of technology, before the Fall of Iron took it away.

The Fall of Iron, unlike the Fire Sky Period, was not a short affair, lasting decades. The apocalypse was not sudden, it was a slow and crushing tragedy. Efforts had been made by the powers of the time to safeguard themselves against the onslaught of refuse, but by the end nothing remained but anarchy and small pockets of survivors. The population plummeted. When the Fall of Iron finally ended, there were none left from the time before, only successive generations. The life span was dramatically shortened in the hostile environment of Betel. Primitive attempts were made to re-establish civilizations known only by vague second-hand stories. Eventually they too failed as mental deterioration became ubiquitous as a result of the poisonous chemicals the Fall of Iron brought with it. Betel was home to naught but animalistic denizens before long.

In time the Betel would adapt and re-evolve back into sentient beings, but this was a long and difficult process and next to nothing before this time would survive

Old Betel Era
Records of this period are lacking, but at least exist, whereas the Proto Betel Era is almost completely unknown. Old Betel was a completely autocratic system, led by small numbers of Sovereigns. Sovereigns functioned like a warlord that fought against the world itself. Eons had passed since the Fall of Iron, and there was not a zeitgeist of restoring former glories, but rather a great effort to create security and safety. Sovereigns were motivated by a desire for change at first, and felt constant pressure from their subjects to see that change which sustained their Mandate through successive generations. The single-parent biology of Betel lent itself to hereditary government, as change between generations was minimal. Sovereigns would occasionally fight other Sovereigns, but such conflicts were short affairs focused on personal and not national motivations. War was immensely unpopular at this time, and seen counterproductive to the Sovereign Mandate. War would need to be conducted by those directly in service to the Sovereign, usually managed by his Executive Cabinet, and not the common people in levies. Sovereigns who demonstrated remarkable dedication to their Mandate often experienced mass defections from more questionable ones, which over time led to the consolidation of power under a single Sovereign.

The modern position of High Chancellor takes its roots in Old Betel administration, where the High Chancellor served as an appointed regent by the Sovereign's Executive Cabinet. Instruction could not come from an assembly, where discord could create indecisiveness, so the High Chancellor would be delegated interventionist power alone by the Sovereign. This does not mean the Executive Cabinet was powerless, as they would have the power to elect this dictator-like individual and were held responsible for any shortcomings, developing a culture of thorough grooming of candidates for the position as a full-time mission for the Cabinet. While the High Chancellor was considered infallible as an extension of the Sovereign's will, the Executive Cabinet was not, and any member could be subject to ejection by the Sovereign (or indeed the High Chancellor, should he be tasked with auditing them). The Executive Cabinet also served an advisory role to the High Chancellor, outside of the Sovereign's circle of advisors. The Sovereign could in theory overrule the High Chancellor, but this power was seldom exercised, as it undermined the legitimacy of the office of High Chancellor. The Sovereign was embodiment of directorial vision and guidance with an ultimate Mandate, while the High Chancellor was a pragmatic enactor of policy and specific intervention. Notably, the semantics of the position of High Chancellor did not come under as heavy scrutiny of the Sovereign when it came to upholding the Mandate, giving the High Chancellor more flexibility in enacting his will under the guise of necessary evil steps to achieve a loftier more noble goal as outlined by the Sovereign. The Sovereign was also seen as a constant and long term due to the hereditary nature of the office, while the High Chancellor was seen as dynamic and adaptable to more current affairs. Two technically very similar positions, but practically quite diverse.

Despite all the elements of autocratic power, the government could not be described as fully absolutist. The Sovereign's government was a system that did not fully incorporate the common people. Instead, it served more as a protector guaranteeing the safety of the common people. Compliance was expected, but notably not enforced, by the government. Dissent was not suppressed but did not flourish where all the power of protection that civilization provided depended on everyone playing their part. Incidents where large scale resistance appeared were quashed indirectly by the government, who would cut them off from the complex ecosystem created as part of the Sovereign's Mandate. Citizens under the Old Betel Sovereign experienced a degree of freedom and autonomy that would seem remarkable to other races, although Old Betel aspirations were humble given their situation and did not chafe as much as they otherwise might have.

Fire Sky Period
Hardly worth the title of "Period", the battle which so names the time "Fire Sky" lasted a month perhaps. Nevertheless, this month or so and the following chaotic tumult bears little semblance to either the Old Betel or the resulting Pre-Doisu Era. This was the time of the great battle over Betel, which would bring to an end many of the structures of Old Betel and bring about massive reform.

Just prior to the events of Fire Sky, Betel would find itself united under a single Sovereign. Large, dense settlements had been raised in a haphazard manner. Old Betel technology was advanced enough to produce the necessary components to augment the mangled bodies most Betel were born with into function beings via the use of biomechatronic parts. Space flight was achievable but not fully understood, salvaged spacecraft could be recovered to make journeys out into the blackness of space. There were expeditions to the nearby planet of Votu within the solar system, where explorers found the remains of the old Taweri operations. Expeditions were small and unable to bring back anything large of value, but shuttles frequently ferried intrepid scientists and scavengers alike back and forth between Betel and Votu. A small colony was established there to support these efforts. Times were generally peaceful, the imaginations of non-working class Betel captured by this discovery. It had been a few decades since the Sovereign had consolidated four separate Sovereigns under a single dominion, and efforts were still being made to integrate the administrations.

Fate would have it that the Old Betel would find their progress shattered...

Notable Conflicts Prior to Epic War
In recent history, The Recyclers have just overcome a small war with the city-state of Doisu 40 years back, who were experts in artificial intelligence. They now pay intellectual tribute to the Recyclers as their subjects, working with them with high level technologies and AI. Later the Recyclers would be menaced by Xeverran raids, which sought to seize their resources to fund their own projects.

Military Activity Prior to Doisu Wars
Long prior to the military's expansion during the Doisu Wars, Betel had little in the way of combat. Squabbles were settled using basic melee weapons like spears and weapons found amidst trash. Unlike what would be imagined, however, modern melee weapons were a more rare, but more efficient, means of settling scores. Projectile weapons were owned, but as a means of fights they were not used.

War was not part of the Betel's development, unless you could describe their war against their environment as such. You could almost say that they were a peaceful society, for peace did reign with its unfitting bride, Chaos.

When the first large wars came about between fellow Recyclers, the stockpile of projectile weapons was far beyond what it should have been for their stage in development and spears were being used alongside heavy plasma rifles. This time of war was shortly over, though, as too many were dying and the machines of war were exhausted. These military weapons were eventually broken down into their valuable components, as everything other thing was, to be sold at interplanetary markets on a small scale.

However, those wars had taught them to be wary of conflict, and to seek out more peaceful means of accomplishing goals, which led (down the road) to the Betel's passion for Economics that went hand-in-hand with their philosophy of industry.

Approaching the years before the Doisu conflicts, Betel had established a small defensive force to guard against external threats that these days they were more aware of. This force, christened "Home Braves", was involved in very few and very small squabbles with local pirate rings and minor fledgling empires. Again, these small conflicts led to the lasting importance. The Military Engineers were first formed in this time, who made their specialty inventing, altering, fixing, and duct-taping together weapons of the Betel's Home Braves. A sect of the Military Engineers would over time form the foundation of the South Arm.

Doisu Wars
The Doisu Wars 40 years ago was the first major conflict with another space power. It taught the Betel much about the importance of a military force at a high cost of many lives. The Doisu Wars led to a new attitude towards the rest of the universe; heavy warfare was a necessity that the Recyclers would need to learn to adapt to in order to survive.

Dawn of War
Doisu, which while dubbed a 'city state' because of its origins, was a small empire spanning a solar system in relatively close proximity to the Betel Recyclers. Following a dispute involving dumping rights, the Doisu issued threats against the Recyclers, claiming that if Betel did not surrender and pay tribute it would destroy and exterminate them. The High Chancellor at the time decided that the small nation of Doisu could not possibly back up their threats. Indeed, all reports came to that conclusion. War was declared, and the 2nd Home Braves Company (This was before the term 'Grip' was applied to military groupings) launched an assault on their main communication station in their system. Backed up by the 1st Fighter Company's space vehicles, the Home Braves, armed with an odd assortment of weapons ranging from electro-spears to heavy energy repeaters, but mostly machine guns, boarded the station. The station was captured, at a cost of 20% of 2nd Home Braves. However, enemy soldiers would not be as coordinated because of this loss, so the Home Braves were convinced of their success. The 2nd then received reinforcements from the 4th, 5th, and 6th (The 1st and 3rd were preoccupied defending Betel), and marched on Doisu's homeworld. Oddly enough, the Home Braves landed without hardly any contest other than a handful of Anti-Air turrets, which were avoided easily. Landing on a beach, the Home Braves advanced to the nearby city. Upon reaching the walls, holes in the sand opened up by means of hidden trap doors. Racks of what appeared to be mechs, or then dubbed "Warbots", rose out of the ground. Surrounded, the Home Braves pumped rounds into any they could see, but were overwhelmed by their sheer numbers. The Home Braves, outnumbered, tried to break from their entrapment; only a quarter escaped, the rest were slaughtered by the merciless rapid fire cannons of the Warbots. The remaining Home Braves managed to board their transports, only to have many shot down by anti-air turrets they could have sworn weren't there when they had first arrived.

Some Betel had parachuted down into the city, and by some records it indicates that guerrilla operations were carried out for weeks after the Beach Bloodbath by surviving Home Braves. Eventually all were rooted out, however.

When the transports docked with the transport carrier, only a third of the transports remained, and a mere twentieth of the original assault force survived. Survivors were debriefed, and most were psychologically damaged for the rest of their lives. Those who were left helped aid 1st, 3rd, and newly formed 7th Home Brave companies train for war. All of Betel came together to try and save what could be a doomed empire. It was then that previously unrecognized inventors like Arthur Visomian rose to the spotlight, inventing new ways to wage war. The first Betel tank was immensely primitive, more of a glorified armoured humvee. This tank, given the name Judgment, had been armed with EMP-laden spikes around the exterior and had two adapted heavy plasma rifles. The Judgment was ineffective against armour, but could charge into enemy Warbots and rip them apart.

Invasion of Betel
However, the advantage was still the Doisu's. Following many weeks of conflict and the loss of the 1st Home Braves in another incident chillingly similar to the Beach Bloodbath, transports were sighted over the skies of Betel. While the 2nd Fighter Company tried to engage the transports, they were forced to pull back after they encountered the power of Doisu AA turrets, and their descent was hardly contested. Lower towards the ground, anti-air emplacements were hastily brought online and managed to knock out a few of the transports, yet still Warbots landed. A cautious invasion of the planet commenced, and again Betel were forced to use guerrilla tactics in small bands of Home Braves left over from the initial battle at the landing. It was at this point Arthur Visomian shined. Forced to hide out amidst the guerrilla bands after the storming of Helm's Hold, Visomian observed the Home Braves at work and tried to develop a solution to the problem. The Warbots seemed to move closer together because of the treacherous footing outside the Capital's floors. Taking advantage of their clusters, he created a type of grenade based on magnetic and EMP principles that would easily cripple Warbots for a minute at a time. Soon, Arthur's band had distributed the munitions amongst the other bands roving about, and the Doisu Warbots had to rethink their strategies, but with significantly reduced numbers. Judgment tanks were salvaged from the wreckage of military storehouses and used to harass the main base, while home brewed anti-air cannons fended off new transports. When the Capital was surrounded, the bands formed a more organized military presence and sought to put it under siege. Taking advantage of the safety of their position, the 8th Company of Home Braves was recruited from the surrounding area and armed with whatever then could find or make. EMP-based weaponry that was similar to artillery but without the concussive damage that would be unacceptable in their own Capital was employed to damage internal Doisu command operations and reserve Warbots.

The final push was made with a large swarm of Judgment tanks, and the Doisu broke. A retreat was called, but the transports didn't make it out of the thick atmosphere. All of Betel rejoiced as word spread of their victory, perhaps there was hope for this war? New volunteers poured into recruiting stations around the planet, and it seemed the same was happening on most of the colonies, widespread though they were. However, the war was far from won. They had proved they could best Doisu Warbots on their home turf, but in the Doisu's environment things were not the same. War continued, new technologies emerged, and many were killed.

Redemption Program and the End of the Doisu Wars
The war with the Doisu had reached its horrendous climax, and both sides had been bloodied. Unfortunately for the Betel, however, warbots don’t bleed the same way. The bleeding of Betel took an immense toll on the population’s manpower. Volunteers were becoming scarce, and everyone was feeling the burden of war. During this time, life expectancies were low and social cultures deteriorated. The High Chancellor felt this pain also, and was hard-pressed to find a solution to the Betel Manpower Crisis (as it was soon dubbed). The then-Head of the Betel’s Home Braves Alacastur Ersin sought the answer on behalf of the High Chancellor amongst a veritable cadre of chief scientists. The forum lasted for a week, but it was decided that Doctor Sysvan and Doctor Caspar, both experts in the field of cyborg biology, would head up an effort to create soldiers. While the idea of fighting robots with robots was put forth, it was quickly dismissed because of the vastly superior AI technologies and expertise of the Doisu. While Betel had the metal, their robots would be ineffectual and perhaps dangerous to themselves. Even should they obtain the technology, Doisu assets would still have an advantage. No, the source of their manpower would need to come from a biological source, or at least half of one.

Fairly recently there had been some skirmish between two unknown races on the ice dwarf Eccon near Betel territory. Normally, scavenging crews would have already have sent ships to scour the planet, but with the war going on most scavengers were busy serving military roles. It was to this planet that the cadre travelled on their mission. Upon landing amongst the wreckage of the battle, they emerged from their shuttle to find everything preserved under a thin veil of ice induced by the planet’s frigidity. Drawing their cloaks tighter about them, they summoned a waiting transport team from Betel carrying equipment. Within the day, the two Doctors had set up their lab and the corpses from outside were loaded into mass cryostasis tanks for storage. Over the next few weeks, Sysvan and Caspar developed a blueprint for re-animating these corpses utilizing systems found in the Recycler’s own bodies to create cyborg soldiers to bolster their ranks, under the codename of “The Redemption Project”. They implemented this plan on three hundred corpses, and restored all three hundred to perfect health...except they were still quite dead. Much discussion was held about how to remedy this without losing muscle memory and basic thought processes. They came to the unfortunate conclusion that the Betel did not possess the necessary artificial intelligence technology to properly join machine to body efficiently, nor were they anywhere close to that level. The technology for the Redemption Project would have to come from an outside source, a source that every expert agreed as the only viable place to get the technology: The Doisu.

With their target found, Ersin together with High Chancellor Vestid organized an elite team of Helmites to infiltrate a Doisu advanced warbot factory, upon one of the Doisu’s few planets, Ferranon. The team, led by the infamous Zion (who was not himself a Helmite), made their way by transport to a mining outpost, where they snuck about the large ore freighters located there. Zion and his team waited until they arrived at the factory, then crawled out and hid in a storage chamber. As night fell, the team spread out into the factory, planting explosives and searching for the engineer barracks. Once the team had readied the bombs and found the barracks, Zion and his men broke in and in a flurry of activity grabbed engineers, gagging them and dragging them off to a small transport. Quite suddenly, they were spotted by a Doisu patrol and fell under heavy fire from their warbots. Many of the team fell, but Zion and a couple survivors managed to get on board with their engineer quarry. Still under fire, they swung the transport up into the air, just barely escaping the deploying anti-air turrets. The engineers were delivered successfully to the hands of Ersin and the doctors. In the aftermath of the raid, Zion formed a new branch of the military, consisting of only the most elite of Betel troops. He oversaw the training of more disciplined training programs amongst a small number of soldiers. This new branch was to later become the North Arm.

With their newfound technology, the cyborg aliens of the Redemption Program successfully received AI chip implants, and were thawed for testing. It was an astounding success. The cyborgs were capable of independent thought, but fiercely loyal to their Recycler creators. The first generation of these were fairly unremarkable as weapons, since they merely were re-animated, and were only more expensive versions of Betel with bodies that were ready and capable of battle. This first generation helped the Betel push the war into a more neutral situation, along with help from new tank designs. The second generation took their work to a much higher level, consisting of cyborgs designed for the sole purpose of warfare. Grafted with heavy weapons and AI linked tactically to Betel commanders, this generation overwhelmed the Doisu despite the superior weapon technology of the Warbots. The Doisu surrendered within the year.

In the next couple decades following the Doisu war, there were no major conflicts requiring anything near the measures taken by the Redemption Program. Their only major war was handled by the Betel regular army of Home Braves and their eventual successors. The doctors went missing some years later and hadn’t been heard from since.

The Organization Beneath Helm's Hold
The Helmites are acolytes of a secret, unknown Betel organization. They dwell beneath Helm's Hold, in the deep catacombs that were once the innards of an incredibly large battlestation, perhaps of Luminarian size, perhaps even greater. Not even the Helmites have gone to the bottom. Only the leaders of the organization dwell at the 'Bridge'. The meaning of the description Bridge has two rumoured theories. One theory, which is the most commonly accepted, that the Bridge is the bridge of the crashed battlestation, with ancient terminals salvaged to bring new life to the battlestation. Most of the internal turret systems and surveillance cameras are believed to be online, even three mech factories and a tank-factory. Rumour even has it they have external turrets online and could launch the battlestation at any moment (though any such launch would only occur as a final measure since it would surely destroy the homeworld). The second theory reaches back to one of the more ancient texts, that the battlestation has protected an area of the original planet, allowing a majestic garden to grow somehow without sunlight and fertilized by the the fallout from the battlestation's core. Spanning a small river of water, there lies a bridge from the old times. This bridge is believed to be from the ancient story told to children " The Listening", about an old Betel who was about to drift out of life, and somehow put his soul inside the bridge, and heard and remembered all events that occurred on his bridge for a millennia. It is almost certain the second theory is false, but were it true the stories of the bridge could reveal all of Betel's past. See 'Helmites' in unit descriptions for more information on the Helmites themselves.

Empire Layout
Unlike other empires, the Recycler's holdings are not set up as a single mass covering a swath of territory. Instead, it bears more semblance to scattered clusters. There are many such clusters across the local galactic area, usually set up near other empires. The size of the cluster depends on the size of the neighboring empire. A large empire such as the Aeveria Confederation would likely produce a very large cluster of systems, or even multiple clusters. They are formed as a result of garbage collection operations, which retrieve the large quantities of waste and dump them on a nearby world, where colonies are set up and an area hub is set up. As operations continue, the trash planet sets up more colonies in the area, seeding the new cluster. Generally the original world, after gathering unto itself a host of planets, will become the center for communication and governance, often seeing the planetary leaders constructing headquarters upon it.

These clusters seem isolated, with holes perfect for enemies to penetrate. For the most part this is indeed true, and has been exploited by the Repzork in recent times to assault the inner mass and outlying clusters. However, recently colonies have been attempting to link their areas via new colonies and rapid-travel infrastructure. There is a huge swath of outposts of varying strength also set up to deal with incoming threats. These outposts may not present much danger to invading forces, but can keep them busy long enough for the first waves of support to begin arriving.

Depending on other empire's policy and relationship with the Betel, there may also be worlds emplaced within others' borders. Trash processing is offered at a cheaper price for this option, which is why many small nations may decide to allow them access. In some cases, a cluster may build around its small territory, effectively enclosing it within Betel territory. This can be received multiple ways. Some nations see it as a threat to their safety and attempt to remove their presence, which ends up being futile in most cases, resulting in the military capture of their nation's assets on the grounds of hostilities. However, many nations see them as a buffer to larger threats that may be more likely to prey on them. They may also take note of the cheaper cost to produce things with the abundance of processed metal.

Around planet Betel, the empire is set up in a more traditional manner. A massive area is controlled with much of it colonized and terraformed. This main cluster is the central hub for production, government, communication, and trade. It is not nearly as heavily defended as other empire's home systems, but makes up for it in the sheer number of planets which bog down any advance.

Junk Worlds
Junk worlds are the most common of Betel worlds. Essentially a junk planet is as one would expect: a planet covered in garbage. Junk worlds are created either when Recycler junk barges dump massive quantities of refuse upon a planet from neighboring planets and empires, or when Betel take residence in an existing disposal-designated world. A curious note is that often Betel will settle trash planets that have outlived their creators, where the race who dumped the garbage has long since passed away to history.

Colonies initially emplaced on junk worlds are usually very robust and have many ballistic shields scattered across buildings to protect from falling junk. They are extremely hostile environments to live in, with terraforming efforts causing environmental cataclysms, junk falling from orbit, dangerous gases, widespread fires, and desperate local animal life. However, many Recyclers will flock to these new colonies in large numbers due to the adventurous spirit of many Betel and the free reign of creative engineering. Manufactured infrastructure eventually follows to replace the home brewed designs of citizens.

Junk worlds are usually designed with a focus on industry. These worlds play a huge role in both resource processing and production of military and civil machines and goods. Found most frequently on borders with other empires or regions where salvage operations are plentiful.

Gas Giants
Due to the composition of many gas giants' atmospheres, it is possible for Betel population centers to be formed within their clouds. It is no easy task to set up such a colony, and they are only built if there is another world within the system with production sufficient to construct one. Setting up a gas giant center involves the creation of massive platforms designed to float in the planets atmosphere. Each platform is hexagonal and is about the size of an enclave's hex. Once each is built it is towed to the planet and set up. From there it uses massive engines that use the air as fuel to keep it in position in conjunction with the gravitational orbit. These platforms form areas where enclaves can be built upon. Unlike most Betel planets there are no piles of metal lying around. While there are workshop areas for Betel to fiddle and engineer, these stations are not intended to be for trash processing. The Betel who live on these are more of professional workers who perform administrative or non-production based jobs.

Another style of gas giant colony resembles more of an orbital space station. These areas are defended against enemy attacks much better than the other model, and act as military centers for Betel space and air operations. While not anywhere near the standards of fortress worlds used by races such the Gronian Imperium, they are not easy targets. They support a large population composed of mostly servicemen and supporting careers.

Colonial Profile
While there are certainly exceptions, these are the types of colonies
 * Junk Worlds
 * Desert Worlds
 * Arid Worlds
 * Lava Worlds
 * Asteroids
 * Gas Giants (Fortress & Platforms)
 * Rocky, post-volcanic Worlds
 * Foreign Trade Hubs on planets more habitable to other races

Known Worlds
Betel (Planet): Seat of Recycler government, homeworld Votu: A planet in the home system Rust Train: Dustbowl backwater world, Skrey and Zaretian populations Trukkstopp: Repzork Theatre. Junk World. Umbra: Repzork Theatre Garti: Bustling, populous world built on remains of an old colony lost in a forgotten war Vedem: Passionate home of Visas, coordinates the conquered Doisu Hael: Xeverran Front, thick atmosphere with jagged rocky terrain that makes for excellent natural defense Kuldug: Repzork Theatre, junk world that used to be a scavenger hub Juast: Foreign trading hub Eccon: Ice Dwarf with a large cybernetics & AI research base. Holifar: Major trade and industry hub; original base of DeComp Rebels, but retaken Telmarul: Military Production colony, rolling hills and geothermal activity. Large impassable mountain ranges. Ergoes: Backwater colony away from the war Ikzod: Regional economic hub, near Kusheen and by extension Remusian space. Dry climate and a terrain that is easily developed Old Step: Junk world used by the Kusheen Empire, shares system with Ikzod. Fehgrov (Gas Giant): Xeverran Theatre, name is Xeverran designation. Multiple orbital fortresses. Regional hub.

Government
The government is split up into two separate structures, planetary and imperial. The two systems work together to represent the needs of Betel citizens, although its often found that minor worlds don't get much say unless they band together.

Planetary
Within planets, each legal enclave entity finds a representative by having a community debate every year. It is a great spectator sport, as the greatest minds of their enclave meet and discuss local and international issues. It soon becomes a tenuous battle of the wits which lasts for days at times. Accommodations are usually made for citizens, and it becomes something of a local festival. Live broadcasts of the debaters appear on massive holograms and screens all over the festival's grounds so that the citizens are always following what they are saying.

Many spin-offs come from this festival. There is a massive betting system on the odds of each candidate winning. These gambling operations are quite corrupt and most people realize it but it's a fun system to bet Dioni on your favourite candidate. Often there will be dozens of dueling rings set up for old-style junk duels, with each combatant representing a candidate, although its far more controlled and safe. Bets are made on these too. Election Festivals generally have a sort of cultural twist depending on the enclave. Some are known to hold invention exhibitions, races, mock wars and engineering derbies. These festivals can actually end up being a fun place to spend the weekend even for other races. There are accommodations available for said visitors at local climate-controlled hotels and imported chefs from other empires such as Aeveria Confederacy who are paid quite handsomely. What visitors like is the non-commercial atmosphere; it's not a festival built around selling things (although there is plenty of opportunity for that too).

When a candidate has found victory in their discussion, they are then presented with their cloak of office, which is usually yellow or blue and emblazoned with their enclave's symbol. A celebration then begins with a toast from the audience and the winner to the other candidates who presented good arguments, which lasts until night time. The flavoured gas taps are opened up in many dozens of bars after that as Betel split up into smaller parties to celebrate with their friends. The following day clean-up begins and the citizenry go back to their daily lives.

The winner goes to work in the local parliament buildings (which carry a variety of names)and represents their enclave in the planet's government system. Each enclave is technically weighted the same but the larger, more prestigious ones generally gather a group of representatives who usually support their decisions. Because of this many micro-parties form, and some micro-parties will join together to be larger parties while still retaining their identity as a micro-party. Important issues are resolved via a voting system, and a third-party organization brings forward said questions and issues which they wrote by taking feedback from citizens and by traveling their world. Being a part of this organization, called the Bakjao, pays well and is a lucrative position, but it is often stricken with corruption.

The planetary parliament communicates directly with the planetary representatives in the Empire's governmental system.

Recycler
Main article: Helm's Hold

The members of this group, known by their parliamentary building of Helm's Hold, are the ruling council of the Recycler government. These members are elected by the current members of Helm's Hold, who make the decision based on their previous political exploits and how they have performed in planetary debates. After finding suitable candidates, the members of the Hold debate on their abilities, and make the choice. The new member of the Hold does not find himself immediately part of the council, but actually must spend a term on either the war front or amidst a foundry being mentored by officers or engineers. It is not unheard of for elected candidates to request a second term, sometimes in a different location to get a wider knowledge, others choosing to remain in the same area to focus on mastery of the skill set. In this way, Recycler leaders do not become politicians unaware of the reality they must orchestrate, but rather informed decision makers who can effectively and efficiently solve political problems.

The High Chancellor is chosen by the Hold, who vote on his position five years before he comes to office. He is to spend these years alongside the current Chancellor, to learn his ways. Secrets are passed on from the current leader to the new High Chancellor. The third year into the five years takes a break from this mentorship, and sees the new chancellor travel about the empire, learning everything firsthand on how it is run. Then he returns to complete the mentorship. There is a sort of coronation ceremony during which a grand parade is held simultaneously on all worlds via a massive high-definition hologram of the entire procession. This is notable as one of the few times the actions of the central Hold government are directly observed by their constituents, especially among fringe worlds and those deep into foreign territory. This has a unifying effect on the diaspora. Festivities are held locally, and while not as exciting as the Election Festivals held in planetary governments, are still a time of rejoicing and celebration.

Once in office, a High Chancellor will serve for 15 years. If a candidate for High Chancellor is found significantly lacking or dies during the five-year mentorship a new one is chosen and the current term of the High Chancellor is extended accordingly. There is no way to remove a High Chancellor once in office, nor a way to resign save for death. In event of death, a replacement is chosen among and by the sitting Helm's Hold members.

Many, but not all, members of the Hold are frequently appointed to oversee the execution of Commissions on behalf of the High Chancellor, giving them executive power for the particular adhoc administrative body. Commissions are frequently temporary, but some last for decades to the point of permanence. Multiple commissions may be given to a single member of the Hold.

In order for a member of the Hold to leave office, he must be personally dismissed by the High Chancellor. Usually when members become very old, they request from the Chancellor leave, and usually spend the rest of their days as storytellers, sometimes as hermits. Working class Betel will often send children to listen to local retirees, to hear stories of the galaxy, of years gone by, lessons learned and battles lost, and teach them about what they are a part of. An unspoken rule between the retirees is to mentor only the children, a fact realized also by most Betel. They are assets to their communities' development.

The ideal and maximum number of seats in the Hold is 21. A number of members tendered resignation following the declaration of Peacekeeper alignment, most of which found allies in the DeComp rebels - combined with Visas's assassination this resulted in an unusually small Hold. Candidates have been selected mostly and are currently being trained to replace them soon.

List of named members (16/21):
 * Epson Ithigart
 * Golik Maelotumn
 * Masarch Yut
 * Noro Revomin
 * Harmi Kalodech
 * Nedor Hezeron
 * Achar Oprellik
 * Zimri Spekdech
 * Sekno Vorniket
 * Ithor Wactnelt
 * Wycho Levnechak
 * Nokro Kestoglat
 * Lerwi Fitiskel
 * Utnir Cozniket
 * Werek Virtnac
 * Eksur Paskotymin
 * Bavur Trivac (formerly, before being selected as High Chancellor to replace Visas)

Diaspora and The Magnate Unions
Traditionally, other empires have sprawled out from their homeworlds or some other location. This is primarily due to the economic, nutritional, cultural, familial, and communication limitations many other civilizations experience. The Betel have been relatively unfettered by such restrictions. Life expectancy being as low as it is combined with only single parent family relationships mean there is less relationship barriers to setting out to a new home. There is no desire for stability for the sake of staying fed, nor ecological dietary restrictions that would demand proximity for the sake of efficient supply trains. Culturally, Betel do not tend to form into communities segregated by cultural differences, and a tradition of autonomy puts the burden of self-preservation on the individual, freeing them from those kinds of bonds that might keep others close to home. Interplanetary communication technology is very ad hoc, and not deemed a necessity to most working-class Betel, so staying within range of Betel broadcasts is not a major concern. Especially potent is the Betel dependence on scrap and refuse, which drove many Betel out to seek new worlds closer to other civilizations.

As a result, Betel free-agent colonists of a sort have made their way across the cosmos. Many of these, facing the danger of discrimination or harsh climates sought the protection of Salvonism, creating multitudes of smaller, new clusters away from the main one around Betel. Small-scale trading operations would have of course been a factor in keeping these clusters financially secure, thanks to their proximity to different empires. However, not all Betel would find their place with other Betel in such clusters.

Salvonism took its roots in the need for mutual security and protection against the environment or enemies, but through financial, governmental or social means many Betel have made themselves home within the borders of other nations, some even integrating into their way of life. In especially diverse empires, such as the Aeveria Confederation, the power of Salvonism would often be next to non-existent. In more discriminating nations, faced with injustice or rejection, Betel would look to the understanding community of other Betel, forming ghettos and slums. The free nature of Betel meant that these diasporas over time became widespread. Hardworking Betel would achieve strong economic status within foreign spaces.

As the Recycler government reformed itself into a further-reaching national entity from its otherwise mostly planetary role, the affairs of all Betel became increasingly important to Helm's Hold. The primary concern was of course the explicitly Betel worlds for many generations, but as these became unquestionably under the jurisdiction of the High Chancellor's government (albeit in a very laissez-faire fashion), the question of just how far the Recycler's owned began to come into question. Tensions between influential independent Betel Magnates and their followers amongst their local diaspora communities. The Recycler government held more power, but had already shown it could not truly exert this power over even the planetary citizens, let alone protect them to the degree Magnates, local governments, and their own self determination might. Salvonism was not dead, though, and the rise of Neo-Salvonism amplified by the Recyclers called for the loyalty to the species to be extended to its defender Helm's Hold.

These worries built up heated conflict amongst Betel living abroad, both sides accusing the others of being traitors against or for the Recyclers. No action had yet been taken on the matter by the High Chancellors of this time, but even the foreign governments grew concerned. Some, fearing radical agents within their borders, expelled or cracked down on communities of Betel, usually regardless of their stance on the matter. This only escalated the matter. Betel called for intervention by the Recyclers on their behalf, and when it did not come, strong Magnate Unions began to form as a front against both the oppressive governments and the Recyclers hold. Intervention was attempted in cases, marking the final blow to Isolationism within the Recycler government. High Chancellor Wej Tarres and High Chancellor Tolu Bastil would see this as major obstacles in their terms. They could not risk losing the Diaspora to the Magnate Unions. A loss to them would proclaim the weakness of the Recyclers to their neighbours and could also inspire the fringe worlds to side with the Magnates. The Yami Trade Union incident would see the Recycler government take sides against Magnate Union powers within the Yami Trade Union, aiding the Karahotdoum in curtailing the pro-Magnate power from getting the opportunity to put its weight behind the Magnates as they intended to after bringing down the Karahotduom. Recycler involvement became something of a scandal, outraging other Magnate Unions and many pro-Magnate Betel. It did succeed in crushing many hopes of a strong united military front against the Recyclers by the scattered Magnate Unions, but ultimately only served to isolate diaspora members.

The reign of High Chancellor Pav Kordust sought to repair these relationships before the opportunity was gone forever. He was greatly successful in his aims, and warmed the icy relations. This would be the start of long-term reconciliation efforts, but it would not be until High Chancellor Visas Jorental that the diaspora heard what they wanted to hear. Visas promised a strong, defensive military in his Military Proliferation Act the likes of which had never been seen in the Recyclers, amidst a looming galactic tension as the War grew more widespread. Since this, the diaspora has seen strong support for Neo-Salvonism.

The Magnate Unions never truly disappeared, though. Visas's Military Proliferation Act was painted, perhaps not incorrectly, as merely preparation for Recycler domination over the autonomous and international Betel. In the two years between the declaration of the Military Proliferation Act and the admission of the Recyclers into the Peacekeeper Alliance, the Magnate Unions were building up their own reserves in preparation for the inevitable intervention. The Peacekeeper Alliance appeared as a backbone that would support Visas in securing diaspora fealty, opposing their independence. Magnate Unions who were not within Peacekeeper empires met at Yan'tal, a Necraal fringe world home to a significant Betel community of weaponsmiths. The Yan Front was brought into existence, and remains an influential power amongst the diaspora as a military expression of the (still existing) Magnate Unions. Along with the DeComp Rebels, they would later enjoy enjoy Warlord support.

Voivodeship
Following the initial engagements of the war, the widespread nature of outer Recycler territories created supply problems for the beleaguered and besieged Betel fighting against Repzork incursions. The Military Proliferation Act had vastly improved the arsenal available to Recycler Brave Commanders at the time, but the quantity was still meagre and had to be spread thin. Despite winning a few early victories, the organized military forces of the Recyclers crumbled. The Repzork pushes carried forward with their momentum, but partisan militias proved a much fiercer menace than the still-green Grips along the Repzork Front. The chaos of the first few months of fighting, combined with the scarcity of communication infrastructure, led such Grips to be cut off from their respective Arm’s main command structure, where they would join up with local resistance groups.

Seeing that early Recycler efforts paled in comparison to the professional, disciplined Repzork forces whose military tradition far surpassed their own, High Chancellor Visas wanted to leverage the more successful guerrilla tactics already in use and mobilize more efficient and coordinated total war in these occupied and frontier territories. The successful Brave Commander Ruusad Hasai was called upon to lead an effort to intensify this resistance and try to stem the encroaching Repzork. With command a mess and armies scattered about, Visas vested him with a unique emergency title – the Voivode. His jurisdiction would go beyond the individual Arms and include civilian resistance.

A Voivode’s position concerns all Recycler Grips and Sky Spears within the theatre he is assigned but also goes further and places him in command of the civilians as well. Planetary governments would be forced to acknowledge a Voivode as their superior, and full co-operation is expected. A Voivode acts then as a regional dictator of sorts which also serves as the supreme military commander. He does not outrank the Commander Cabals but may overrule their orders as he sees fit. A Voivode also enjoys the power of conscription but may choose instead to support organic civilian resistance or militias. To avoid disagreements, only one Voivode will be assigned to each combat theatre.

These powers, while technically law, are generally enforced by the sword rather than the pen as they fly in the face of autonomism and can be extremely taxing for worlds placed under Voivode control. Notably, Helmites and the Golden Face are exempted from Voivode jurisdiction. In the case of the Golden Face, strict clearances are enforced by foreign empires supplying technology and thus Visas could not place them under Voivode control when creating the office.

Language
Recyclers have found little use in the past for a written language. History has made the loss of ancient treasures quite common, to the degree that Betel has given up entirely on keeping written records. All data is audio based unless it pertains to trading, in which case they use the common trader tongue.

Naming

Betel names have a first and last part to them. The first name is generally a very simple one, containing usually 2 syllables, although 1 and 3 aren't unheard of. Some examples of Betel first names include Epson, Arthur, Zikti, Azel, Aran, Lud, Havilah. Usually any first names containing more than 2 syllables are shortened in friendly conversation. The last name is generally more complicated and is seldom used in everyday conversation. Some examples include Ithigart, Visomian, Rephaiah. The names of non-elite Betel somewhat resemble Human Old Testament names.

Symbols

The Betel do use a basic symbol system in which uses elements to describe things. For example, the sign for a refinery would bear the symbols for heat, metal, and sometimes the symbol for industry if it is a new plant. Residential has the symbols of life and protection. Symbols are taught to Betel at a young age. A good portion of Recycler population have an imprinting system in the left hand to make signs quickly. It is heat based, so if colour is wanted, addition upgrades are needed.

Swearing/Curses

Monetary Systems
The Betel currency is broken up into three forms: Speltz, Dioni (30 Speltz), and Jinan (300 Dioni). A million Jinan is addressed as Jinanan. While Betel society supports certain collectivist ideals, Dioni (general term for currency) is required to purchase supplies from distribution centers and upgrade Hexes as community ventures.


 * Speltz feature the current High Chancellor on one side, and the Betel chemical symbol for heat (looks like an O with two lines crossing through it) surrounded by fire.


 * Dioni feature the HC as well, with the skyline of the Betel Capital centering on the Helm's Hold.


 * Jinans feature the HC with the Hand of Betel emerging from the wreckage of junk, symbolizing a rebuilt society risen from the ashes. The Hand of Betel is a famous statue in the courtyard of the Betel Capital originally built by hand by the original High Chancellor modeled after seeing his son's hand reach out for help and his rescue igniting hope for future within him.

The Dioni is of high worth in the Galactic community because of the booming industry that never ceases to grow. It is seen as a safe investment for all empires who wish to grow their wealth. A sudden collapse of their Dioni would prove catastrophic for many.

City Structure
Recyclers live in what is called an Enclave. Enclaves are the equivalent of a sprawling city with no real 'downtown' area. There is a central communications and supply hub for distribution, but not much else to signify importance. Generally the boundaries of modern day enclaves are fuzzy unless blocked by some sort of geographical barrier (such as a downed capital ship) due to their sprawling nature. In the past, or on relatively new colonies, enclaves were very isolated from each other and culture and society would develop differently from enclave to enclave.

The Capital
The capital of each planet is a massive enclave that is built differently then all other enclaves. There is no Hex structure except at the fringes, and it has multiple levels going deep underground. Plating has been put up on the ground to create a 'floor' so to speak. Capitals act as a large spaceport. The technology, level of education, and life expectancy is much higher in the Capital and is home to most of the important figures in Betel society.

Capitals are set up so that they do not pose as a good site to conquer. Invaders will target military enclaves or resource oriented enclaves rather than the capital as the capital only possesses the advantage of being political and having spaceport capabilities. It is well defended from attack also with heavy long range Caliber AA guns to take out transports, as well as anti-space guns, hidden bunkers, underground deploy-able turrets, drone networks and an orbital tactical defense station in a geosynchronous orbit.

The Parliamentary Buildings on the home world of Betel are called Helm's Hold. Named after the helmets of an unknown race found in a case amongst the junk that each member of the Hold wore. The helmets have since worn out and have been replaced with a more Betel stylized design depicting important events in Betel History. In the courtyard of Helm's Hold stands statues that hold symbolism of Hope, Devastation, and Rebirth. None dare vandalize them and the metal gardens.

It is known simply as the Capital. Its official name is Betel City, but nobody actually calls it that.

The Hex system
Enclaves are organized into "hexes", which are a type of neighbourhood. Hexes are divided up into modules that serve specific purposes. Each Hex contains one to about five modules, one of which must be residential. Types of modules include, but are not limited to:


 * Military (barracks, turrets, defensible barricades)
 * Production (produces military equipment or civilian goods)
 * Light spaceports (capacity to land ships but typically only small freighters or shuttles)
 * Resource Collection (mines, scavenging pit, power generators)
 * Processing (metal refineries, small distribution centers)
 * Public (libraries, emergency response facilities)
 * Residential (housing)

Residential Modules possess ballistic shield generators to help protect against falling junk. The shield deflects it and the objects bounce elsewhere to be scavenged and/or melted down later. Occasionally a hex will invest in shield systems for other modules, but the construction costs for those come out of the resident's pockets as opposed to the planetary governments' typically.

In each Residential Module is an Intendant, who is the leader of the building. Usually this person is younger (and if possible charismatic), as the elderly would have difficulty getting to the top of the building where the Intendant lives. The Intendant's responsibilities include organizing module chores, relaying information from external sources, maintaining order, and leading in a time of crisis. It is generally believed that if you prove to be a good Intendant, you may have promise as a politician, diplomat, or military officer because of the leadership skills that are gained from the experience. They are chosen from amongst their module mates. The position holds no actual power.

Political & Philosophical Thought
Prevailing schools of thought and how they are manifested and affect the operations of the state and everyday life. As a note - most of these philosophies would only be held by ruling class or corporate Betel. Betel society is very apolitical, and your average Betel will not be invested enough to have an entrenched opinion one way or the other. The state has a very light presence in the lives of its citizens

Innovationism
The belief that many of the problems plaguing the Betel could be at least partially solved through the development and integration of more advanced technology. It is often believed by Innovationists that the Betel way of doing things is greatly flawed - radicals advocate for copying methods used by other advanced nations such as the Aeveria, but many criticize such proposals as impossible given the structure of Betel society and believe in augmenting the unique Betel practices to reduce the impact of their flaws.

Jingoism
The interests of the Betel must be enforced through our military strength

Corporatism
The government should focus on accommodating and delegating to the hosts of semi-private companies as a means of exercising power. This is much easier and effective than attempting to increase government control. This ideology has been present in Betel society for a long time, but found the most support under the reign of High Chancellor Pav Kordust, an ardent Corporatist. That 15 year period greatly increased the influence of its supporters. High Chancellors that followed Pav Kordust have not taken stances of opposition to the idea. Decades later, High Chancellor Corim Decutuk would renew the idea and helped mature the philosophy, better integrating government control of these companies without overtly violating their freedoms. In modern times, corporatism has found itself intertwined with Neo-Salvonism, encouraging corporations to support the Recycler government as a more important goal than securing a profit.

As an idea, Corporatism offers flexibility to the Recycler government, who are unable to exercise full control. Corporations have more logistical sway but lack the ethos the Recycler government can traditionally leverage. Corporations also can separate the government from their actions by using a corporation as an "independent" middleman. This is seen in High Chancellor Pav Kordust's treatment of primitive cultures, enacting oppressive cruelty through the vehicle of corporations. Corporations benefit from government subsidies and political assistance. Corporatism does not support the idea of free corporations with less government connections, a policy which would be closer to Anarcho-Autonomism.

Mercantilism
Foreign trade is the backbone of our economy and by extension our survival.

Infrastructuralism
Our resources should be focused on improving what we have and creating more effective (in some cases more modern, overlapping with Modernism) infrastructure. This ideology along with eventually Paci-Salvonism is what would replace Isolationism as a more moderate alternative as Isolationism grew ever more unfeasible. Infrastructuralism is a reflection of the limitations of the power of the Recycler government - it is stipulated that the state should serve as a means to maintain or create infrastructure necessary to the prosperity of the Betel people, and that in return the Betel people will seek to be prosperous, which ultimately is favourable to the state's interest. This is both in the moral sense and the economic one. Infrastructuralism implies that this is the limit of state involvement, as a powerful benefactor but not an authority beyond requisitioning the means and funds for implementing these projects. There is significant overlap with Anarcho-Autonomism in this regard, but a critical difference is that there is a mutual relationship between the people and the state, whereas Anarcho-Autonomism claims there is there is no implied default relationship.

Anarcho-Autonomism
The idea that the people are not governed but are a separate entity from the Recycler government.

Regulism
Opposed to Anarcho-Autonomism, believing in the need for the Recycler government to have stronger control in its territory.

Isolationism
The affairs of other races are of no concern to us, and we should not allow them to participate in our affairs. Fell out of favour as an idea close to a century before their entry into the Great War.

Absolutism
All the power should be in the hands of the High Chancellor.

Neo-Salvonism
Philosophy of survival of the governmental entity known as the Recyclers as an essential extension of Salvonism, the philosophy of the survival of the Betel species. A form of nationalism of sorts.

Dynamism
Radical reformist upheavals are necessary to the operation of the government, and the ability to do so is the strength of a centralized, decoupled governance structure acting through coordination and not enforced rule of law.

Paci-Salvonism
Survival of the species is unobtainable in a state of war, and the government should seek to find ways to only operate on the sidelines. Gained popularity after the horrors of the Doisu Wars, and frowns upon the pre-war policies of High Chancellor Vestid.

I'll add more.

Tactics
Because of a lack of heavy assets or high technology, Recycler forces tend to avoid direct warfare when possible, opting instead for guerrilla-style ambushes, traps, and raids to take down enemy forces. Recyclers do have capabilities to fight in a war zone traditionally, but will find their units far less efficient.

Militia
Upon the invasion of a Recycler world, citizens are more than equipped to make themselves a formidable force. With the standard advanced knowledge of engineering that all Betel are versed in, the local militia can arm themselves with a diverse range of custom weapons. Often many Betel have weapons they have been working on for personal projects or a hobby. These weapons can be extremely deadly, yet are volatile especially in the hands of untrained citizens. Some colonists even construct homemade vehicles of war to withstand enemy assault, ranging in size from a basic lightly armed junk buggy to a heavy fortress bus bristling with turrets, plated with heavy cruiser armour and jammed with friends armed to the teeth.

Traps are also common against invaders. Explosives, razor blades, turret holes, and all manner of hidden devices make the warzone on a Betel world utter chaos for both sides. An army determined to use conventional tactics in this setting finds themselves at a disadvantage and will lose many soldiers to ambushes, guerrilla warfare, and traps. Once armies have been thrown in to disarray, it is easy for the scatter civilian resistance to divide and conquer. Problems do arise for Recycler regular troops as well, who have to be just as wary of the dangers of a mid-invasion world as the enemy must be. All-in-all, it makes for a very tumultuous conflict with little organization or communication.

Weapons Usage
These are the notable differences between the Betel's and a normal military's use of various weaponry

More Unique to Betel
Shard Cannon The Shard Cannon fires unrefined metal shards that easily rip through infantry and aircraft. Used mostly on Trash Planets due to the nature of the ammunition and difficulties associated with transportation. An example of a unit that uses shard cannons is the Shard Buggy, a cousin to the Junk Buggy. The Shard Buggy engages mostly aircraft, but can be used against land targets if needed.

Pollution Weaponry

Drawing from a vat of immensely toxic waste, pollution units destroy the health of enemy soldiers almost immediately, and the corrosiveness eats through light armour. Pollution based weaponry tends to be hard to transport (a spill would be catastrophic) and requires a depleted uranium coating on the inside of the tank of toxins to prevent corrosion. Used mostly with turrets or large and slow vehicles.

A good example of toxic weaponry is the Viper. The Viper sprays corrosive liquid over armour, and is equipped with acid-resistant coating on the outside. This unit has to hover because the material in treads or tires would immediately rot away, leaving it crippled. However, the disadvantage of using toxic technology is the short range of attack. To counter this problem Vipers are usually supported by Arthurians or Junk Buggies.

Not Used by Betel
While there are exceptions, Betel will rarely use the following

Superweapons

Superweapons such as Nuclear Warheads are not used by Betel because they tend to ignite parts of the atmosphere that, depending on the weather, creates firestorms that may jump from location to location. Also, superweapons hardly fit the style of combat that is popular in Betel military Grips, so traditional tactics are employed instead. There have been incidents, however, of Recycler forces turning WMDs against their opponents, such as on the Repzork front.

Artillery

On Betel-controlled worlds, artillery can dislodge piles of junk the size of mountains unpredictably, sometimes just from the vibrations. Avalanches can wipe entire enclaves off the face of a world. Betel do use artillery on non-Recycler planets, just not as frequently and with more primitve equipment which is often assembled from whatever they can find. The most Betel muster when they are in need of artillery is the Betel Ultimatum, which is simply a tank that fires in an arc for longer range. This is used on trash planets from time to time, but doesn't satisfy the need. The Karahotdoum have tried to introduce artillery doctrines to the Helmwehr.

Jets

Jets use a propulsion system that objects to the atmospheric qualities, or can ignite the atmosphere easily and cause engine explosion. The high speeds of jets can also cause the vehicle to be ripped apart by drag caused by the density of the air around it. For this reason, Betel employ mostly gunships in their air fleets.

Naval Vessels

Because of the Betel's fear and hatred of water, and the lack of large bodies of the liquid to launch boats in, Betel craftsman have never invented boats to deploy. Some military commanders believe that naval warfare is highly inefficient, and is a thing of the past. In any case, Betel rarely take up lodging on planets covered with water, so attacking a colony with boats would not be possible. And everyone knows, a junk buggy can avoid most heavy fire from ships far out at sea.

The Recycler Helmwehr
Main article: Recycler Helmwehr

The Recycler Miltary consists of four separate divisions, or 'arms'. Each arm has a specific role that it specializes in. Of course, such division amongst the ranks results in mixed feelings towards the other arms and their techniques. Each arm is named after a direction on the compass that symbolizes the different paths

North Arm
The North Arm is the elite of the Recycler Military. North Armers carry out the special operations that cannot be simply solved by sheer numbers or massed forces. They carry state-of-the-art weapons and usually own speeders that allow for quick travel. As the military has grown, this also includes more well-equipped non-special-forces professional soldiers.

East Arm
Largest arm of the military. It consists of the rabble of soldiers, lightly armed with spears, weak carbines, or light RPGs. They present a large threat to infantry, but against anti-infantry weapons their light plating is useless. East Armers are logistically inept, as all the educated commanders don't risk commanding potential cannon fodder. The East Arm is notorious for assembling vehicles and heavy weaponry from scrap found lying around. Some of the most recognizable examples are the Junk Buggy and Shard Buggy.

South Arm
The demolitionists of the military. They contain heavy weapon specialists, siege engines, and most notably combat engineers (sappers). The South Arm helps to eliminate defensive installations like anti-infantry guns, fortifications, and fortresses. Sappers of the South are very protective of their explosives and will hoard them for use at their discretion. Squads have been wiped out from explosions caused by fights over explosives.

West Arm
The Air Force of Betel. They have numerous gunships with repulsor bombers (bomber launched from cannon that glides using repulsors and drops payload before landing safely elsewhere). The West does not extend to the Sky Spears, but there is a referral transfer process between the two that links them.

Arm Organization
The North, East, West, and South arms are organized into the following hierarchy. With the creation of the Voivode rank, all Grips from all Arms are subject to supreme Voivode command when operating in their territory, otherwise each Arm operates separately and must negotiate between themselves to accomplish their goals.

Arm

Led by a Commander Cabal, a group of veterans from each arm. Ultimately reports to the High Chancellor, but enjoys a high degree of autonomy.

Grip

Led by a Brave Commander. There are 3 to 5 Digits under its jurisdiction.

North, South, and West Grips are created as permanent grips barring catastrophic losses and replenish manpower. These grips are flexible in where they are stationed and fewer in number because of the cost, training and equipment involved, so may find themselves transferred around between engagements. East Grips are more numerous, and constitute the bulk of the main forces. Under a regional system these grips are created, disbanded, and raised more than the others. East grips are disbanded or even merged if casualties of any substance are taken or if they cease to be cohesive or useful. Even if a regiment is created in a given region, this does not guarantee they will see their action anywhere nearby.

Grips are identified by their Arm and a numerical identifier. For example, the 2nd North Grip. The exception to this is the East Arm, which is identified by their Arm and the planetary government the manpower was raised from, plus a numerical identifier if a planet is large enough to accommodate more than one Grip. For example, the 2nd Juast East Grip, or Trukkstopp East Grip. For East grips raised from the homeworld of Betel, the "Capital" name is used, such as the 5th Capital East Grip.

Digit

Led by a Cord Officer. They oversee a number of Squads which can vary.

Squad

Led by a Squad Leader. Group of squads unofficially called a Band. Size of a squad varies, North and South Arm squads are usually small, East Arm squads are usually quite large. West Arm squads are generally uniform at 7 members each.

Golden Face
Main article: Golden Face

The purpose of the Golden Face is to have a military branch devoted to scientific warfare. They work with experimental technology and new technology received from races such as Kastalians or Luminarians. While they do perform in-lab tests, this method allows the Betel to deploy new unit designs in a practical setting to see how they perform. For example, the heavy Recycler tank schematics developed from the designs of standard Luminarian armour and heavy weaponry schematics might be deployed in the war against the Repzork as a means to handle heavy Repzork Xarvoks and Kavrass. While it is not as secret as some races would like their technology, generally it adds to the war effort. Unlike other empires the Golden Face deploys large quantities of their tests via massive production facilities dedicated to experimental military production. These companies of experimental units, small and large, are often deployed in the most chaotic of situations to try and hide them from organized observation. However, some cannot be employed as such and are revealed to the enemy. The general opinion is, however, that it is best these technologies get to the front as fast as possible, to make sure that they deal as much damage to the enemy as possible.

The Golden Face also employs many veterans of the South Arm in their operations. A major part of the Golden Face includes field engineering taken to a radical level. Munitions of new and untried proportions are put into the hands of these skilled sappers. The designs of the experimental weaponry may also be faulty when applied in out-of-lab excursions, and require masters of field engineering to ensure the test weapons work or are re-purposed for full effect if their design becomes useless in its original purpose.

Sky Spears
Main article: Sky Spears

Deriving itself from the Fighter Companies of the Doisu Wars, the Sky Spears act as the space forces of the Recyclers. The Spears were created 23 years after the resolution of the Doisu Wars by High Chancellor Nol, as a more organized form of their predecessors. The original Fighter companies had been created some time before the Doisu wars as a collection of primitive misfit combat fighters. These ships were transported by essentially freighters retrofitted with hangar equipment in the cargo holds and with landing bay doors cut out. These transports were extremely vulnerable and never were deployed near combat. The purpose of the Fighter Companies was as a response force that would be available to fight off fledgling space states or pirate outposts, and prior to the Doisu Wars only a handful existed. However, the Doisu Wars demanded the creation of more and more ships, overloading the Fighter Companies' administration with increasingly large numbers of fighters. This resulted in Fighter Companies not showing up to battles and generally being utterly unorganized. The lesson taught by the Doisu Wars and the relative calm that followed brought about efforts to create a better way to manage the way the Recyclers waged war in space. The Sky Spears, while in appearance bearing many similarities to the Fighter Companies, were much better structured and managed.

The organization of the Sky Spears is much more admirable than their tactics. Despite their coordination, the Spears employ much of the same ideas originally used by the Fighter Companies. In most cases fighters are still deployed far off away from the action, leaving them vulnerable to flak weaponry and other anti-fighter weapons. The addition of heavier ships is a new concept to Company Bulwarks, and are often used improperly and without adequate support. This weakness is often exploited by more advanced races with sophisticated strategies in space and generations of experienced space commanders.

However, the Spears are not entirely at a loss outside of the atmosphere. Even though space combat is a new concept, Recycler civilian pilots have been around much longer. Betel pilots are generally very brave and take risks. Their reliance on fighters, bombers, and gunships in space has trained Sky Spear pilots to be excellent in maneuvering and small scale combat. On larger ships, Betel crewmen feel very comfortable in EVA operations, otherwise impossible repair tasks, and adaptability. Recycler ships need to nearly completely destroyed to make them useless, since the crewmen will re-purpose and adapt to keep making their damaged ship a force the enemy must be aware of. To manage this, crewmen always are outfitted with EVA-capable suits and breathing apparatus when entering combat operations, along with a combat toolkit with basic parts.

The Sky Spears generally recruit directly from the West Arm, but also recruit from the civilian space pilots that make their living across the galaxy. As for the crewmen of large ships, these ones are generally trained from new recruits or from combat engineers.

Unit Descriptions
Below are the descriptions of Betel Military Units. Be aware this is a work in progress as I add units.

Drones, Mechs & Infantry
Units made in the creature editor.

Warmonger Mech
The Warmonger is a medium class Mech. It has light armour to protect it from conventional weapon attacks around its central cluster, but has fragile legs that prove to be a major weakness. The lightness of the limbs allows for speedy travel from position to position and over difficult terrain. The Warmonger has a built in fallback routine if it should lose the use of one of its legs by rotating the remaining legs to create a tripod position that, while considerably slower and more awkward, does let the Warmonger continue to move. For navigation, it has a gyroscope on the interior of its cluster surrounding the control and generator systems, and a multi-faceted 'eye' so that commanders can receive both infrared and normal visual information. As for weapons, the Warmonger carries a single pulse cannon that can fire at a fairly decent speed, but not recommended for use against swarms. The pulse can can be quickly switched over to fire the Recycler Riot Buster Missile (RRBM) that does damage to a crowd of enemies by launching shrapnel in all directions upon impact.

The Warmonger is deployed as an escort for light infantry and heavy tanks. It itself needs to be supported by at least two anti-infantry soldiers or light vehicles to protect against the common strategy for killing them used by enemies (two soldiers running up and planting explosives on the two front legs making it collapse and break its gun). If a Warmonger is simply crippled and its turret remains intact, it can continue to target hostiles via a backup control cluster that handles weaponfire. Warmongers do not fair well with flame-based weaponry, as it overheats the fluids used to lubricate the joints around the cluster and causes an explosion that sprays the burning liquid in all directions.

In adventures, scale to smallest epic size.

Sentinel
The Betel Sentinel is one of the more common soldiers found in the Recycler military. They carry light atmospheric armour to allow for operations in thick idustrial-induced atmosphere conditions, but will choke to death on less developed planets (let alone pristine environments). The armour is reflective so it can deflect light pulse blasts, though not back at the shooter. The Sentinel is armed with a Anigen Carbine that can fire heavy anti-vehicle pulse blasts that take a while to recharge. There is also a rocket-propelled frag grenade launcher installed on the gun. To allow for melee attacks, the Sentinel also carries a standard-issue metal blade that can prove deathly.

Sentinels are often deployed as the main force, with heavy weapon support and Anti Air. Against rapid fire ballistic weapons, they are cannon fodder. They can be positioned in situations that require prolonged combat exposure because of the more efficient siphoner system and Gaseous Cushioning System (GCS) to prevent dehabilitating bruises from heavy shockwaves.

Sentinels don't have too much of a place amongst the army after the Arm's Divide. They act as almost mercenaries, as there are sentinels in every arm besides the West. The registry on Sentinels is rather fuzzy.

Helmite
The acolytes of the organization beneath Helm's Hold. Helmites are sworn to a vow of silence, they are physically incapable of actual speech. Helmites are children chosen from the homeworld who cannot speak because of some defect. They have no childhood, from the time they are born they are trained to kill, beginning with the mutant 'animal' life that dwells beneath Helm's Hold. The have no sense of mercy, no sense of honour and have no emotion. They have many prototype systems installed, including a minor terraformer cartridge launcher that can make a landing area safe for Betel troops. Helmites have various specialties that vary from each agent.

The role of Helmites is to study the enemy through subterfuge, and act as master assassins in some cases. Other helmites will be used as highly elite units in battles. (more info once I make the it in the editor)

Vehicles
Units made in the vehicle editor

Arthurian Tank
The Arthurian was named after renowned chemist Arthur Visomian for his discovery of Hyperliquid fuel tanks as both a fuel advancement and a military explosive. It was made to fill the close range fighting ability gap left by its counterpart, the Ultimatum. The turning ability is greatly reduced, however, because of the use of wheels instead of repulsors, but repulsors simply do not provide the speed needed to get close to the enemy so it can fulfill its purpose. The rotating turret allows for quick targeting of hostiles. This turret needs to be separately manned with a gunner and pilot. The pilot has access to seven smoke screen cartridges that can be deployed in case of emergency, and three flare salvos to protect against heat-seeking missiles. The armour plating in the front of the turret helps defend it against all but the heavy fire, though enough medium level damage can rupture the hull. The main body's frontal plating is a heavy six-inch flat shield with an external vent that takes in air for the crew members (after thoroughly treating it). The grille actually helps to protect the main body by absorbing shock waves. The top is well defended,but has a small crumple zone. There have been stories of Recycler turret pilots having the roof collapse slightly, but enough to give them a concussion.

The weapon system of the Arthurian tank is a heavy, thin ballistic AP shell. It easily slices through light and medium armour, and slow infantry are as sitting ducks. Light infantry can easily evade the tank. The rate of fire is exceptional, with 30 shots a minute.

Arthurians get dropped off by dropships specally built for Arthurians and vehicles of similar classes (HVT-Series). They need to get close, fast.

Epic War Involvement
Their entry into the War itself began when High Chancellor Visas created the Military Proliferation Act, which stated the governments decision to manufacture a sizable military force. Agents of the Warlords attempted to disrupt this effort, but they were caught and held for interrogation. An expeditionary Zaretian force failed to land in several locations across the planet and tried to rescue a lost agent and conquer the race from a military-oriented Hex, but were held off at the defenses and were cornered and slaughtered by the forces of two squad leaders. After these events, a vote in the Chancellor's Hold resulted in 70% in favour of joining the Peacekeepers, 12 % in remaining neutral, and 18% preferring Warlord capitulation, eventually declaring themselves enemies of the government.

These rebels, know as the DeComps, hold enclaves on at least three known asteroids: Knosu, Evo, and Ignatium. The militants receive immense funding from other Warlord factions. They seek to gain control over the vast raw metal and components to construct warships to fight against the Peacekeepers.

The Recycler standing in the galaxy still remains fairly neutral as far as philosophies go. However, with the recent emergence of conflicts between them and the Repzork they have been put into a more active role. Recycler forces are engaged fiercely with the Repzork, devoting much of their military to the effort. However, the old conflicts with the Xeverra have forced them to pull some troops from the front lines of the Repzork war to hold back the now-Warlord-allied Xeverra, who have intensified their attacks to another level. The Margan also play a part in the war, with the Golden Blade Dynasty supporting Repzork operations in response to the new support from the Peacekeepers. Other minor incidents with other Warlord races have occured, but nothing to the scale of official war.

The Peacekeepers have also found themselves intertwining themselves in Betel metal supplies. Like a drug some smaller empires are already showing signs of reliance on their copious resources. The Betel themselves also are currently relying on the Peacekeepers as a crutch against the onslaught of a superior disciplined military. Hopes are that with their help they can hold out long enough for the Recycler's production capabilities to start pushing back the Warlords and begin taking back the worlds lost to the Repzork Blitzkrieg.

Diplomacy with other races
The Betel stance on diplomacy is an aggressive one. As an emerging galactic power, they have little in the way of allies. However, there is a dire need to acquire said allies because of the large amount of enemies that simply wish to crush what may become a potential threat down the road.

Recyclers hold the benefit of trading partners and a source of immense raw material. At least four of their 'planets' are massive balls of metal that have originated as garbage dumps with their own junk planets (See Metal Systems). Analysts claim that there is more than enough metal possessed by Betel in a raw unprocessed state to construct enough weapons to demolish even the Warlords, however this outcome is highly unlikely due to the immense amount of effort required to harvest, process, and shape this goal.

Non-Militaristic Involvement
The Betel present a potentially huge economy to be aware of. There is a lot of galactic metal corporations that want in on this action, creating competition to hold the most influence over Betel exports, to the point of sabotaging each other's operations. Mercenary companies find good work with these companies. It is very attractive due to the high fees paid by the wealthy corporations.

Recyclers can be found all over the Galaxy working as mechanics. Seen as one of the best at the job, they attract some prestigious clientel. However, unknown to many races, these humble mechanics also act as spies, gathering intel on important projects of other Empires. They can also execute subtle sabotage, a slight malfunction that may make a piece of equipment fail at the one point in its life that it must succeed, and making it easy to blame on natural causes.

Relations With Other Races
Below is the opinions of the empire and populace on the other races of the Galaxy. Be aware some races have yet to officially establish relations

Luminarian Rebels
Status: Friendly

Recyclers have established official diplomatic relations with the Luminarians. While their initial meeting did not go as planned (Asanians infiltrated the bunker they were meeting in, killing the Luminarian delegation), the Luminarians and Betel have nevertheless continued to build up practical relationships between their races. Many Betel citizens who work in the metal transportation industry meet up with Luminarians and have had positive experiences.

In diplomatic terms, the Betel Recyclers are engaged in a resource/technology trading agreement, where the Betel provide the Luminarians with metal (which they use in production of large-scale military projects) and the Luminarians in turn provide limited military technologies to better modernize Betel forces. The Luminarians work with the Betel with high levels of suspicion. Knowledge sharing or advanced production facilities are supervised by Luminarian engineers and security, and the 9th Battlefleet recently has been assigned to Betel space.

Some analysts believe that the Betel Recyclers and the Luminarians will engage in a military alliance down the road, although this has yet to be seen. This can be blamed on the Bunker Incident being traced to a leak of information. Trust has never fully recovered, but cooler heads prevailed and conflict between the two was avoided. If direct military cooperation were to occur in the future, one can imagine it would be chiefly practical in nature.


 * See also: Betel-Luminarian Diplomatic Ties

"For a people so small, they build incredibly large pieces of military hardware. I can't wait to see what new secrets they will share with us. And as we always do, we'll somehow find a way to make it better." -Arthur Visomian

Asanian Syndicate
Status: Neutral, mixed feelings

Betel has not had much interaction with the Asanians to make diplomatic suggestions, however there are many unofficial and official feelings towards this Warlord empire. One party, which refers back to when Betel were trying to establish diplomatic relations with the Luminarians, distrusts and dislikes the Asanians for their intrusion of a Luminarian bunker and hostile actions that occured within. For them, any conflict with a race that turns hostile is an unofficial declaration of war. Others point out that statement is not entirely true. After all, the Zaretian Monarchy had engaged in conflict with them earlier, but it was best for the Recyclers to not engage the superior foe directly. They reference the odd relationship between the Repzork and the Margan, where after fighting each other the two parties were on good terms with each other. Some believe the Asanians would be a valuable ally. Asanians are very consumerist, and would benefit from Betel metal, and Asanians can provide valuable military support. It would be highly controversial if an alliance or even a non-aggression pact were signed.

Nothing is official, but hopes are that no widescale military conflict break out unnessarily.

"The Asanians attacked us once, I don't see any reason why they wouldn't do the same after they've taken our metal. Besides, they happen to be Warlords, which is precisely what we are fighting in this war. I advise against any diplomatic relations with their kind." -Raswar, minor diplomat under Masarch Yut.

"I see the Asanians as an opportunity to gain allies that will give us a significant advantage. Why waste Peacekeeper lives fighting your enemies when you could be sending your other technical enemies to fight your enemies?" - A somewhat well-schooled Junk Buggy driver.

Zaretian Monarchy
Status: Unfriendly and hated, but not at war

The Zaretians, known for their slavery, attempted to enslave the Betel for their dexterous qualities and environmental tolerance, as well as eliminate any threat they may pose by developing their empire. A very small military force of Zaretians attempted to invade their homeworld of Betel, but were not aware of secret efforts made by High Chancellor Visas in creating a military earlier as part of the Military Proliferation Act. Despite this, the Zaretians nearly got a foothold in a key military enclave, but were repulsed by heroic efforts there and at the Capital.

However, Betel military assets are not anywhere in the range of causing the Zaretians any harm in the name of revenge, so the fighting ended there. In any case, the Zaretians cannot spare the manpower to invest in a full Betel campaign, and don't see them as a threat, merely a potential nuisance. Both empires have been happy to leave each other as is, and it will likely stay that way despite the feelings of dislike towards the Monarchy.

"These are some of the most vile lizards I've seen yet, and believe me, I've seen a lot of lizards. Fighting them in a real conflict would not be anything like the Zaretian Invasion of Betel, it will be bloodbath." -Former Betel Squad Leader who led the defense of the enclave in the Invasion, now Brave Commander of the 4th Grip of the North Arm.

"Many look at the Monarchy as something to be hated, but in a way I thank them. They awoke us to the necessity of war in this galaxy, and we have been better prepared for it." -Arthur Visomian, Chief Engineer and Inventor of War

Sauran Solidarity
Status: Tense

Sauran and Betel are natural rivals. Sauran work at reducing pollution and the proliferation of nature, Betel render planets un-inhabitable by most races and breath the noxious gases that the Sauran hate. Some have even inappropriately dubbed the Betel "The Margan of the Peacekeepers". Many small incidents have broken out between Betel and Sauran citizens, but the military of both races have been restraining their soldiers, as an additional front is the last thing the Recyclers or Solidarity need.

Recently, Sauran environmentalists have demanded sanctions against Betel activities, for the most part without official consent of their government. These threats, if carried out by higher powers, would threaten Betel industry and by extension the military of the Recyclers and their clients which they supply. Some analysts have suggested that many Peacekeeper races (especially the minor militaristic ones) who have been supplied by the Betel have purposely turned a blind eye to any or all environmental repercussions of the Betel for fear of being cut off and crippled.

With the induction of the Sauran into the Peacekeeper alliance, Betel authorities have instructed their citizens to not under any circumstance engage the Sauran, and to keep their differences to themselves. Disgruntled, most Betel have obliged, but there are still problems between the two, and the situation has changed to a cold dislike rather than a potential for war.

"It's only a matter of time before the tensions break in an ever-so-small way that escalates to all-out warfare that could see the end of one or both parties." -Masarch Yut, Head Diplomat of the Betel Recyclers, prior to the Sauran admission

"Saurans seem to have no potential for an efficient society. Instead, they continue to stumble over their petty environmental concerns, and that may well be their downfall." -An un-named Betel Inter-Empire Analyst

Repzork Empire
Status: At War

The Repzork have emerged as a new Warlord Power, and threaten to cause serious damage to Peacekeeper assets if left unattended. While there was no trigger event for Betel-Repzork relations, the war that soon broke out between them was quite explosive. Betel military assets had been setting up a strategic position on an un-inhabited planet, when a nearby Repzork contingent, eager to prove their worth to the Warlords as well as claim the immense Betel metal resources, decided to take advantage of the weak state of the base, and sent troops down to engage Betel troops. The Betel, also eager to prove THEIR worth to the Peacekeepers, met them with their own infantry and tanks. The battle was bloody on both sides, although the Betel managed to hold on to planet.

This conflict led to further, more personal hostilities between these two. There was evidence of misconduct on both sides, which did not help. The Betel introduced this threat to the other Peacekeepers in the United Empire Assembly in hope of get further resources allocated to keeping the Repzork under control. The Recycler diplomats were able to gain support from three empires: the Karahotdoum to train their forces, the Aeveria Confederation to protect the skies, and military support and co-operation with the Kastalian Survivors, who also have engaged in a auxiliary program with Betel soldiers.

In response to the Recycler's allies joining to help fight the Repzork, the Golden Blade dynasty of the Margan has agreed to aid their allies against these new Peacekeeper threats.

Many worlds have been lost to the Repzork forces, and their wave continues to overwhelm the Betel. The issue presented to the Repzork however is the issue of occupation. In order to control captured worlds, the Repzork require immense amounts of troops to keep the citizens under control. Guerrilla warfare continues on all worlds, slowing down efforts to continue their push.

It is not expected these hostilities will end, and neither party wishes them to.

"They have immense amounts of troops, and are far more disciplined than us. Frankly, the Repzork pose a serious threat to the Recyclers, and I advise investing as much of our assets as possible into this menace. We act as the shield against them, stopping them from catching the Peacekeepers off guard." -Ruusad Hassai, Military Commander

"We were the little boys playing in the yard. Now, the big boys with the death rays and huge armies have come to play. That escalated quickly" - Un-named Sentinel stationed on Rust Train

"Our military is vastly different than theirs, and time will show which method is the most effective." -Anonymous (Common Statement)

Kastalian Survivors
Status: Friendly, Co-operation

Following diplomatic engagement in the United Empire Assembly, the Kastalians and Recyclers entered into a time of co-operation between the two races. One of the core elements in their treaties together includes an auxiliary program where Betel soldiers work with Kastalian forces on fronts where chemical warfare or hostile environments make fighting difficult for most races. Due to the nature of Betel biology it is a simple matter for them to work in these situations, making them excellent assets in drawn out conflicts which have seen the destruction of the local environment or poisonous by-products of weapons released. The Kastalians return the favour by assisting the Recyclers in military settings.

The feelings of the Recycler populace are warm towards the Kastalians. They are to be one of the Recycler's most helpful allies, and the auxiliary program acts as a good method of training soldiers in the discipline of heavy soldiering due to the nature of Kastalian infantry. The Kastalians also employ a variety of tactics which are wildly unlike Betel ones, verging on the cusp of polar opposites.

The diplomatic view of the Kastalians is hopeful from the government. With threats knocking on their doors and prompting burning said doors to the ground, the Recyclers appreciate any help they can get from this empire of veteran-like birds.

"The Kastalians help illustrate our motives for taking up the cause of the Peacekeeper Alliance; mutual co-operation and support that leads to a stronger alliance as a whole, focused solely on finding the most efficient means of fighting back the blood-red tide of the Warlords." -Masarch Yut, Head Diplomat

"This idea of preservation of every soldier makes sense, although employing it on the larger scale that is the Recycler Military may prove difficult should command decide it works better for our heavy troops than what we are currently using or have learned from the Karahotdoum." -Betel Siva-Partisan Squad Leader

Karahotdoum Empire
Status: Friendly, Cooperation

The Karahotdoum and Betel have enjoyed long term positive relations after the Betel backed the Magistrate against foreign Betel Magnates within the Yami Trade Union. This has fostered substantial trade relations between the two. Durragoen is even popularly used as a written script in the parts of Betel space close to Karahotdoum outposts for the purposes of international commerce.

When it became clear the Repzork were pressing for an all-out invasion, the Karahotdoum were the first to emphatically pledge support for the Betel cause. Pulling from a proud military tradition as well as experience training alien auxiliaries, they took on a training role among parts of the East, South, and North Arms.

As the Repzork pushed further into Betel territory, many Karahotdoum training officers and their subordinates were trapped on occupied Betel worlds and fought alongside Betel militants against Repzork occupations.

DeComp Rebels
The aggressive, but hopeful ways of High Chancellor Visas Jorental may have had an overwhelmingly positive effect on the Betel, but in the face of Warlord invasion, many feel as though the Recycler government is not placing the lives of their citizens as the highest priority. Some too see the growing power of the High Chancellor and Helm's Hold as a threat to planetary autonomy, a right which has been slowly eroding. The outrage of the nationalizing of the Recyclers may have long since faded, but that does not mean trust is widespread.

Dissatisfaction would eventually bloom into unrest and defiance of Recycler rule. It was not long after the Peacekeeper Alliance was joined that high-ranking, educated, and influential figures that did not agree with the direction taken by High Chancellor Visas Jorental would defect to become opponents of the government. While a good number of these would pursue their politcs peacefully outside of government, some saw armed force as the only course of action before Visas consolidated power with the support of Peacekeeper protection. DeComp, a powerful trade company which had relied primarily on trade with the Zaretian Monarchy would organize a summit on Hoilfar, a planet far from the home cluster and home to many dissidents. Along with old veteran officers from the Doisu Wars, planetary politicians, industry tycoons, demagogues and militants, the DeComp Rebels were formed, with the intent to overthrow the Recycler government and install a Confederation, with the emphasis on preserving the rights of the Betel against central tyranny. Visas would crush their forces initially with the new Recycler military force, even retaking Hoilfar. This would change in the face of war.

The DeComps gained further support in the midst of the Repzork Invasion. The first factor in this was the Recycler military being tied up fighting on the Repzork and Xeverra fronts, rather than putting down the DeComps for good. The second was the policy of brutal resistance which in the minds of the Rebels confirmed their suspicions that Visas cared only for victory and not the preservation of the people, thereby making him Anti-Salvonian.

While they have yet to pose an existential threat to the Recyclers, they are an uncomfortable looming problem that only grows more powerful the longer it is allowed to continue relatively unimpeded.

The DeComps take advantage of the Warlord Lendlease Program, despite being backed by industry powers their numbers are small enough they need the force multipliers. While the Recyclers may struggle with supplies against the Warlords, the DeComps have a glut of fighting equipment at their disposal.

Notable Figures
Will write more on individual High Chancellors soon

High Chancellor Bavur Trivac
Predecessor: Visas Jorental

Successor: None, currently in power

Bavur Trivac is the current High Chancellor of the Recyclers. He came to power inheriting a nation at war, as the Recyclers had entered the Great War and fought for years now under Visas's leadership. Notable for inviting foreign (mostly Karahotduom) officers into the military and his successful resistance efforts that have inflicted untold amounts of attrition on Repzork invaders. He subscribes to similar ideas as High Chancellor Visas Jorental, but his perspective diverges in the historical memory that shaped his approach to war. Visas had led military efforts during the Doisu Wars, but Bavur Trivac had no similar experience. His reign has been entirely during Great War.

High Chancellor Visas Jorental
Predecessor: Nol Byervid

Successor: Bavur Trivac

Visas began his reign as High Chancellor 31 years after the end of the Doisu Wars. His political career began after he demonstrated astounding leadership as an Intendent in a military Hex on the planet of Vedem, which bordered the Doisu City State but managed to hold off a smaller invasion force intending to use Vedem as a resupply base for the main assault on the planet Betel. In the following years he would successfully obtain the seat representing his enclave Gattel in the Tollgar, Vedem's parliament. Gattel was an influential enclave on Vedem even before the Doisu Wars thanks to wealth generated by robust infrastructure efforts initiated just over 25 years before the outbreak of war, and so Visas enjoyed wide support from most other enclaves. This control let him enact drastic reforms fueled by valid fears of Doisu uprisings and future foreign invasions, which were now a much more real threat in the eyes of the public and government.

Visas's leadership and control were exactly what Helm's Hold was looking for in their next High Chancellor candidate. There was a strong desire for reform following the last two High Chancellors who focused on rebuilding and overall peaceful expansion, as six years into the reign of the last High Chancellor, Nol Byervid, the Xeverra began raiding fringe worlds, igniting self-preservational militarist sentiment augmented by the still-fresh memory of the Doisu Wars (a mere 26 years ago) amongst the Recycler leadership. Visas was billed as the solution to this, he had shown prowess in the art of defense, he could control the decentralized machine that is Betel society, and he was willing to make drastic changes for the well-being of the state and its people. Upon receiving the offer from Helm's Hold, Visas gladly accepted, and began his mentorship under High Chancellor Nol.

Nol stressed the importance of military preparedness and reform upon Visas, a lesson that Visas the militarist easily accepted. Just as he had before, Nol didn't much care for the mentorship process all of the time, although he respected Visas enough to spend some of his time with him. Visas took the opportunity to learn from the Recycler Trade & Expansion Commission, and became intent on renewing Corim's vision and using that power to full effect.

Visas's ascension was an exciting one. Visas had invested plenty of time preparing for his term to begin, and was determined to be prepared for the Xeverra threat should it show itself in full. The first four years were a flurry of much-needed yet non-disruptive reforms to Betel society that built on traditional chaotic structures of Recycler economics and social communities. He encouraged a collectivist mindset on a rare tour of major Recycler worlds by delivering rousing speeches relating survivalist philosophies to a responsibility to defend the collective Betel hegemony. He built up the fears of the Xeverra, who had been growing bolder but remained only a regional threat at this time. Visas invited community leaders of the diaspora back to Betel to discuss sponsoring their lifestyle, creating stronger power bases abroad and unfairly subsidizing Betel industries in foreign territory. Diaspora industries flourished, choking out native competitors in places.

All this paled in comparison to Visas's grand plan. Five years into his reign, he declared in a rare empire-wide broadcast the Military Proliferation Act. The MPA billed itself as not just a defensive measure as analysts predicted from Visas, but the formation of Betel as an immense military power fueled by their rapidly growing economy. Fears of the Xeverra amongst the young and memories of the Doisu Wars amongst the old quelled opposition. The Betel felt collectively excited at the premise of becoming a great power in the region. The new pseudo-nationalist sentiment bred by High Chancellor Visas over the past five years was going to pay off. Non-military production was still encouraged, as trade was seen as a means to fund the gargantuan task of building the Recycler juggernaut.

Part of why Visas was so successful is his management of the internal politicking of Helm's Hold. The Xeverran conflict had bolstered the number of jingos (notably Achar Oprellik whose strong personality dominated his peers) in the assembly, which Visas easily brought into his plans. Innovationists (such as Golik Maelotumn), seeded from Nol's influence, had a small presence and little personal ambition - these too were co-opted into Visas's strong forward planning. The fresh and uncertain Epson Ithigart was brought under Visas's wing, and performed the legwork to provide convincing arguments to most of the personable but important mercantilists and industrialists like Utnir Cozniket. Finally, Visas impressed the influencial Eksur Paskotymin enough to gain his trust, who kept at least some of the old guard neutralized, even if they were not keen on all his plans. The rest either were not invested in personal agendas enough to oppose him, or would eventually defy Visas and resign, some later throwing their lot in with the DeComp rebels. Only Nokro Kestoglat stood his ground to continue openly challenging Visas within the Hold.

For two years, the MPA pursued its goals successfully. New, huge factories and refineries were built. Volunteer rates for the military soared and the North Arm particularly trained drastically more professional soldiers, and the East arm swelled. High Chancellor Visas offered fantastic grants to Betel parents to have children, extending the sponsorship even to Synth children. The program was widely taken advantage of.

New vehicles of war were designed by Inventor of War Arthur Visomian, former High Chancellor Nol, and schools of engineers under them. The Arthurian Tank, Photon Gunship, and Viper Tanks were notably created and produced in massive quantities in just the first two years. The new, powerful equipment of war was becoming ready at an alarming pace. High Chancellor Visas encouraged Ingenuity and Resourcefulness as two distinctly Betel qualities that would be the means of arming the nation. Production and contributions were chaotic, but thanks to Visas's reforms that built on traditional operating procedures the plan fell together smoothly.

Visas's success was not to last. The threat of a new rising power worried Peacekeeper, Warlords, and Neutrals alike. Two years into the MPA, a small but elite Zaretian deep strike force plowed through Recycler space and attempted to bring down High Chancellor Visas's regime. The intervention was a failure thanks to Visas's mobilization of all citizens to his cause. The Zaretians were unable to get a foothold on a planet that was collectively preparing for militarization combined with the chaotic and alien landscape of the the junk world Betel. The attempt on the Visas Regime strengthened his legitimacy and allowed him to join the Peacekeepers with the full support of nations economically controlled by the Recycler Hegemony thanks to High Chancellor Corim.

Visas would lead the Recyclers for another X years during the war, but would find his Military Proliferation Act bogged down following the Repzork invasion and the costs of actively waging war. Despite his efforts at reform, the Betel system was inherently inefficient and the technology lagged behind. Visas did not have the time, resources, or veterans necessary to train his troops, and it showed as the Betel faced defeat after defeat.

High Chancellor Nol Byervid
Predecessor: Corim Decutuk

Successor: Visas Jorental

Nol Byervid was a friend of Arthur Visomian in the post-war period. His designs for the Razik Fighter, MG Walker, and Ultimatum Tank (alongside Arthur) revolutionized Betel warfare, giving it a level of sophistication the older Judgment tanks and buggies lacked. He also dabbled in politics, holding the representative seat of the second largest enclave on the planet of Betel. Nol was a successful member of Betel society, but was not initially a candidate for High Chancellor. Arthur Visomian, one of the few ubiquitous names across the empire and even diaspora, publicly endorsed Nol as a future candidate, and Nol began issuing bribes to members of Helm's Hold. These two factors were enough to lead the Helm to concede to his nomination.

Nol partly defied established process by skipping out on his apprentice duties under High Chancellor Corim, who Nol disliked for his apparent inaction. Following the tense mentorship period and Nol's ascension, he would distract himself with personal projects, taking an interventionist approach to governance, with average success. Not caring for trade, he delegated matters of foreign economies to a new government body, the Recycler Trade & Expansion Commission. This national company would ironically become crucially important in accelerating Recycler economic hegemony, following Corim's vision. It was ultimately a dismissive action, though, and it would be inappropriate to credit High Chancellor Nol with the resulting benefits.

True to his nature, Nol preferred to improve the sophistication of the Betel military. Alacastur's Arm reforms were still fresh, but the Fighter Companies that made up the space fleet were a chaotic mess. The Doisu Wars were primarily fought on the ground or in small craft, and the need for robust space fleets was not as apparent. High Chancellor Nol was better versed in the reality of galactic warfare than most thanks to his focus on modernization, and sought to remedy the relic of the Fighter Companies. Under his direct guidance the Sky Spears project was developed, drastically reforming every inch of space warfare and devoting new industry to large scale production. While the tactics had yet to evolve, by the end Nol's reign the Sky Spears had become the most modern and sophisticated branch of the military.

The rapidness of the Sky Spears reforms could be explained by a looming threat on the fringes of Recycler space. A race of snake-like beings, the Xeverra, had begun raiding Betel Worlds. Those brought in to testify on the attacks impressed upon High Chancellor Nol that the Xeverra were testing the waters for a full commitment of forces, the likes of which would dwarf anything the Doisu had thrown at them. If the war would be fought on the widely spread fringe worlds that shared a border with the Xeverra, a fast-response space fleet seemed the only solution. Nol provided.

Chancellor Nol's reign was not exactly disliked, but there was a feeling that he was unorthodox and mismanaged his term. His work reforming the Fighter Companies often redeems him in the eyes of some, but it seems like a vibrant spec in an otherwise dull performance. Xeverra threats were a constant after they first appeared six years into Nol's tenure, creating a sense of anxiety and worry that would influence the choice of the next High Chancellor and his future policies.

High Chancellor Corim Decutuk
Predecessor: Vestid Waestik

Successor: Nol Byervid

Corim Decutuk was selected for the position of High Chancellor in the midst of the Doisu Wars, just as the Manpower Crisis was looming. Helm's Hold had recognized his efforts to keep the warfront supplied through imported supplies in his position as chairman of a shipping corporation partly owned by the Recycler government. Not only did he efficiently bring in new equipment, but he also struck deals with dozens of bands of Scrapper Crabs who agreed to pledge military assistance, a line of action that was considered outside of the box at the time. This alongside his excellent record of management led him to stand out amongst other candidates. His mentorship period familiarized him with the horrific realities of war, and he spent extra time in Betel homefront factories becoming familiar with the culture there.

Upon his accession, a weary Vestid was glad to hand over the responsibility of rebuilding the still-smoking Recycler empire. This was Corim's time to shine, and he did an admirable job at fixing the situation he was left with. Economic supply lines were strengthened and put to work in an export economy. High Chancellor Corim used wealth generated by foreign trade to fund infrastructure via government grants to Hexes across the empire.

Corim's reign saw sweeping reforms to the military structure, but the military was not his strength. Instead, Alacastur Ersin, head of the Home Braves during the Doisu Wars under Vestid headed up the project under the authority of the High Chancellor. The creation of the North, South, East, and West Arms and their hierarchy was the brainchild of Alacastur.

The problem of the annexed Doisu state was of great concern to Helm's Hold. Revolt was brewing, and hidden Warbot caches were believed to still exist amidst the ruins of the City State. Former clients of the City State, such as the Wolnch Authority, were suspected to be supporting the rebels. Corim sent a clear message by breaking apart the communities of Doisu and scattering them amongst the empire, where they would work for the Betel in developing more technological weapons. Harsh treatment was exacted on militants and dissidents, suppressing any attempts to consolidate. His efforts were successful, and as the years have gone by the Doisu have become more accepting of their yoke, although in recent memory Warlords have tried to open up old wounds.

Perhaps the most important aspect of Corim's fifteen years was his duplication of his success with the Scrapper Crabs. He set up the longer term goal early in his term to gain economic control over Recycler trade partners, most of which would find themselves part of the Peacekeeper alliance decades later. This would not begin to be fully realized until the reign of High Chancellor Visas, but would be critical to the survival of the Betel and eventually would bring them into the greater War at hand. Contemporary sources would have described Corim as a mediocre High Chancellor compared to pre-Doisu Wars, but his long term planning is seen by modern scholars as crucial.

High Chancellor Vestid Waestik
Predecessor: Duth Yektiul

Successor: Corim Decutuk

Known for being High Chancellor during the Doisu Wars, pre-war he subscribed to the ideas of Duth Yektiul and focused on building on what he started. He placed too much faith in the mostly untested Home Braves, and his invasion of the Doisu City State was based on principles outlined by former High Chancellor Pav Kordust (who began his reign 30 years before Vestid's began earlier) that were intended for primitive societies, not the advanced civilization of the Doisu. These blunders led to the tragedy of the Doisu Wars, but his leadership and openness to co-operation with his subordinates led him to solve the Betel Manpower Crisis with the help of Alacastur Ersin, head of the Home Braves during the war. Vestid was very harsh and thorough following Recycler victory, crushing the remnants of the Doisu and subjugating them. Vestid is remembered as one of the more brutal High Chancellors in recent memory, but it can be argued it was a product of the Doisu Wars and the direction of High Chancellor Duth prior to his Reign

High Chancellor Duth Yektiul
Predecessor: Pav Kordust

Successor: Vestid Waestik

Known for building up and organizing the Home Braves, and escalating Betel expansionist policies. Success of Pav Kordust in continuing subjugation of primitive races as essentially slave labour was an influence on his policy-making

High Chancellor Pav Kordust
Predecessor: Tolu Bastil

Successor: Duth Yektiul

Pav Kordust made his appearance on the political stage as a popular representative for an enclave focused on manufacturing transports in the planetary assembly of Garti. The industry had picked up considerably under the reign of High Chancellor Tolu, and so Pav had access to resources that let him furnish his peers on Garti with new infrastructure, earing him favour amongst them. Pav did not assume a dominating position within Garti's assembly, but his influence made him a valuable ally. He served as a mediator between opposing factions.

This kind of reconciliation was on the wishlist of Helm's Hold following concerns that the Recycler government would lose respect from the diaspora. A worrisome trend of diaspora losing interest in the unity of the Betel under the Recyclers was present and very much on the minds of the strategic thinkers of the time. High Chancellor Tolu had exasperated tensions further during his reign in the Yami Trade Union Incident, a mistake Helm's Hold was keen to not repeat.

Pav Kordust had since expanded his operations and set up an impressive trading outpost outside of foreign space, and used the profits from the trading hub to place subsidies on Betel products. When Helm's Hold approached him for his economic and diplomatic policies he accepted the responsibility humbly. His mentorship under High Chancellor Tolu was a quiet one, but he learned much from his predecessor on the functions of international politics. Ideologically they were divisive on who should be allowed economic power, but true to his nature Pav was the diplomat and no conflict arose.

Upon his rise to power, Pav spent a few years of relative inactivity but introduced well developed policies of subsidizing Betel non-nationalized companies. Independent trade flourished. Pav gained the opportunity to extend influence over many of these companies, generating good relations and numerous contracts. High Chancellor Pav also introduced some reforms of the Hex system, after consulting with foreign urban planning advisors, whose presence was notable enough. Pav would often invite government officials of neighbouring nations to advise on matters of policy. This concerned Helm's Hold, who still distrusted foreign interference after the events of Tolu's reign, and would lead to them choosing Duth Yektiul as his successor for his contrasting viewpoints. Trust with the Diaspora was allowed to renew though as Pav would make attempts to influence them with trade opportunities under the Recyclers. This was made possible by his corporate partnerships and appeasement of foreign nations housing large populations of Betel.

Pav's openness towards involving foreign peoples had another side to it. Believing in getting outside help through economic partnerships, he would establish trading outposts on worlds within the sphere of Recycler influence but unfit for Betel to live permanently, contracting out local primitive races to perform the manual labour. They seldom understood the relationship as he did, and made life difficult for the companies he contracted out to run these operations. Outpost companies would bring their concerns to High Chancellor Pav, and Pav offered subsidies to get them in line, justifying it through a juxtaposition with the gauntlet the Betel people had to run in order to achieve their current status. The result was essentially government-subsidized slavery that would leave planets ruined by ecological devastation. The majority of these worlds still remain under the thumb of the Recycler government. Those who would be released from their chains (usually only by outliving their usefulness) live in a broken, dysfunctional society. The policy was moderately prosperous to the Recyclers at the time, but as it has come under greater international scrutiny the demand for otherwise unavailable-to-Betel natural resources has risen in turn, making modern abolition a difficult subject.

He was an excellent mentor during his last five years to Duth, convincing him of a number of his ideas.

High Chancellor Tolu Bastil
Predecessor: Wej Tarres Successor: Pav Kordust

Fiery. Centralization, The Yami Trade Union Incident, Education, the last gasp of Isolationism (which had been long on the decline). (Will write up at some point)

Zion the Infused
Background

Following the events of the Doisu war, Zion founded the North Arm division. While he was extremely talented at his line of work, he gained a reputation as a butcher of his own troops, leading to his demotion down to squad leader.

Recyclers are known for being cyborgs, and are constantly seeking ways of improving themselves by creating 'systems'. The experimentation process is often quite fatal, so volunteers are rather short in number. To fill this gap, scientists receive soldiers that have fallen into a state of inability to fulfill their positions and are in constant pain, with only drugs and heavy equipment keeping them alive. They modify the soldiers' systems, install new ones, and generally create supersoldiers. A full 85% of these soldiers perish within the month, of the survivors, only 5% of the originals can create a life for themselves and emerge uncrippled.

Zion, then a squad leader of the North Arm, was brutally cut in the face by a wild animal upon the Sauran outpost of Gnu'Faccan (The reason for his being there remains undisclosed). His squad dragged him through the entire mission, during which Zion got caught under a heavy blast door as it closed. The squad was forced to remove his legs from the knees down to save his life. He was fortunate enough to have been evacuated by a Betel transport carrying a shipment of stasis tanks which kept him alive on his trip to a neutral medical outpost. Five days later, a black hooded and robed force stole into the station, murdering the medical staff that they happened upon. A handful of the staff survived by hiding in the scanner machines. When the soldiers had left, the body of Zion had disappeared. No-one could prove that the Recyclers were responsible, but a year later, a new, massive cyborg commander had emerged from the vaults of the elusive Golden Face who went by the name of Zion.

Description

Zion's upgrades are mostly combat oriented. His siphoner has been equipped with a fusion surplus generator to provide for his extra systems, and if he dies a core meltdown will destroy all near him. He is gifted with servo enhancers that use all excess energy to increase brute force. A small fireball launcher has been equipped to his cranium to allow for ranged attacks. He carries a blade similar to the ones used by Betel Sentinels with a longer reach and lower energy costs. A more primitive choice for defense, his shield protects from melee and ranged attacks with a limb-based neuro-targeting system to catch attacks automatically. The most recognizable upgrade is the wing systems installed. While the wing shape is for show, a magnetic field allows for jump-jetting across the battlefield. There is something truly terrifying about a huge hulking commander smashing down into the ground right next to you and proceeding to pluck your limbs from your body...

Commanding Experience

Zion has had experience leading covert operations, and has been successful, although often at the cost of his team's lives.

As a commander of non-elite troops, he is relatively untried. He led a brief invasion on a non-space age race to use it as a training outpost, but their conventional weapons were useless against the superior Betel so it was not a good example of his military competence.

Zion has been relocated to the Repzork war front in an attempt to hold the line and psuh back the invaders.

Arthur Visomian
Background

Arthur is currently a very old Recycler, although the Ministry of Personal Improvement has extended his life through medicinal technologies. At the start of his career, he was a worker in an iron refinery. He had been recognized for his good attitude by his overseer, and was promoted to Senior Technician. There, he worked on the refining process and designed a superior model. Again, his overseer was impressed, and sent his designs to the Industrial Committee. They were astounded by his work and requested he take a seat on their council. He served there for a year, but found he was not tinkering enough with his hands. With his apologies, he resigned from the committee and sought a job as an inventor. Eventually, he managed to set up his own agency for inventing with a handful of people on staff. While he came up with some good designs, his business was not viable and was disbanded. Some years later, Visomian took up lodging in the Capital, where he soon found a job in the government designing useful infrastructural and utility-based inventions. It was during this time he perfected his condensed fuel cell design, which later led to a tank being named after him. When war became a concern, Visomian was promoted to the Weapons Department. He worked on many creations of the larger name inventors of his time, and headed up his own project, the Judgment tank (see Doisu Wars). The Judgment was his big break, and he was promoted to Senior Military Specialist. Still refusing to take an office job, he worked in the shops with the Junior technicians and together they continued to make breakthroughs. During the Invasion of Betel, Arthur was caught in the midst of the the Storming of Helm's Hold. The heavy shield was deployed over the Hold in time thanks to acts of bravery on the part of elite Helmites and veteran Home Braves, and it was in this chaos Arthur escaped with a couple of Home Brave bodyguards, and retreated into the surrounding area. Soon after, he joined up with a roving Guerrilla band that had survived the failed relief of Helm's Hold, and helped to turn the tide against the Doisu (See Invasion of Betel). Following his efforts there, he was recognized for his work and became the Chief Inventor of the Betel Recyclers. Some of his more recent well known works include the Ultimatum, the Viper, and the Shard Buggy. Some claim he was involved with the designing the Junk Buggy, but nothing has given proof to this.

Description

An old Betel, he carries with him a cane to aid his walking after an injury from the Doisu War returned in his older age. However, he has not let this hinder him and instead has modified it to have numerous utilities stored inside. This way he doesn't have to carry a toolbox wherever he goes. Usually he dresses in a swirling thick wool substance that wraps about him for when he is performing diplomatic or administrative duty, but when he is in the shop he dons a metal coat with dozens of pockets with a composition similar to chainmail but far more stylish and light. On top of this he has a synthetic cloth shoulder pauldron that is fireproof. If he is working in private, he'll just wear casual clothes with thick wrappings.

Current Position

Currently, Arthur is serving a diplomatic term at the United Empires Assembly. He hopes to unite races using technology, and to collaborate to create new ideas using technology previously inaccessible. He also plans to catch up on all those naps he missed over the last few years.

Masarch Yut
Head Diplomat of Recycler External Affairs Commission (REAC)

Epson Ithigart
Leader of Recycler Trade & Expansion Commission (RTEC)

Alacastur Ersin
Dead? Head of Home Braves during Doisu Wars and reformer of the military.

Brave Commander Faer Kollerbas
Faer had been born in the area that would later be subject to Xeverran assault. When the first attacks came, he organized resistance to the land invasions that followed. His efforts were unsuccessful, and many were killed, but he gained valuable experience in fighting them. Recycler recruiters convinced him to continue his leadership position in the Recycler military. He served as a squad leader for a time in the 2nd North Grip fighting against the Xeverran invasions. Following the death of his superior, Cord Officer Nayum Pokrifed, in a Xeverran raid on the outskirts of the capital enclave on the planet of Hael, Faer was promoted to take his place. As with all Xeverran battles, the conflict was short and Faer was allowed respite. Brave Commander Ruusad Hassai took the opportunity to hold regular meetings with the staff of the 2nd North Grip to share experience and flesh out defensive plans. Faer among other young officers sought the counsel of the more experienced and senior Ruusad during this time.

When Voivode Yodd Wikrix took command of the Xeverran frontier, Faer Kollerbas had been serving as in his position as the Cord Officer for 3rd Digit of the 2nd North Grip (N2-3). As part of the rapid-response plan, N2-3 was involved in numerous battles all across the Wikrix Wall. By then, Faer had gained plenty of combat experience.

Voivode Ruusad Hassai
Ruusad had spent time as in private corporate armed forces as a soldier and eventually officer (check terminology, mercenary) in the post-Doisu Wars peacetime, during Corim Decutuk’s term, when trade was considered a priority by the government. While Corim’s reign was known for its focus on peaceful means relative to High Chancellors Nol and Vestid who bookended him, it was not devoid of military action. Ruusad’s teams were involved in multiple state-sponsored hostile trade activities. This include activities such as supplying front-line foreign militaries, breaking blockades to relieve sieges, and removing rival trade companies through force. Ruusad would later spend time as a military consultant for the Recycler Trade & Expansion Commission following its creation under High Chancellor Nol Byervid. When the Xeverra threat appeared, there was a shortage of modern officers available to lead defenses against their raids, and so Ruusad was recruited to serve on the Xeverran front. Ruusad proved a competent but reserved Brave Commander and led the 2nd North Grip forces to victory on a number of occasions. Ruusad would support the Military Proliferation Act out of practicality and was frequently called upon to give testament in support of High Chancellor Visas Jorental’s vision but did not independently rally support for the Act. His service outside Recycler forces had not left him with strong Neo-Salvonist tendencies and has remained more Corporatist politically.

Ruusad continued to serve against the Xeverra for several years, mentoring a handful of younger officers including Faer Kollerbas & Yodd Wikrix, the latter of which would succeed him in his position on the Xeverra frontier when Ruusad was called up to Helm’s Hold. The Zaretian expedition against the capital had been crushed when he arrived, but the mood was brooding and reminiscent of the early years of the Doisu Wars which had ended around forty years earlier. Fearing a second, stronger retributive wave by the Zaretians, Ruusad was reassigned to the 4th North Grip, an anti-Zaretian force designed to block their approach. This second wave never came, but the state of readiness hadn’t faded when the conflict against the Repzork broke out. Ruusad and his fellow Brave Commanders were able to relocate their forces well enough to keep the new front from completely collapsing but their haste and their soldiers’ relative inexperience threw the front into chaos. Most semblance of co-ordination fell apart. Ruusad was able to deflect some attacks or delay them by deftly micromanaging the operations of the N4 and some rogue elements of South and East Arm troops that had been separated.

Ruusad's flagship, the Virulent Router, is a rebuilt Zaretian Galaxy-class ship heavily modified to suit his needs.

Voivode Yodd Wikrix
Assigned as a Brave Commander to command the 2nd North Grip fighting on the Xeverra Front after Ruusad Hassai was pulled away to deal with the Warlord threat. Was promoted to Voivode when the title was created. Younger and bolder than Ruusad, he took full advantage of his new responsibilities and shut down incoming and outgoing trade to the region of space he now held voivodeship over. Yodd’s intervention in trade and similar actions have resulted in squalor and poverty for those in the “Wikrix Wall” as the oppressed zone has come to be called. When the dangers of living in the Wikrix Wall became apparent, some citizens tried to leave. Voivode Yodd spread rumours that those that escaped were killed by waiting Xeverra ambushes.

Yodd’s methods seem harsh but have focused an otherwise fringe colony upon the necessity of defense. With no other way to make a living through exports, those living in the Wikrix Wall frequently pick up Yodd’s otherwise unsavoury military positions. Yodd has managed to get them to realize the threat on their doorstep through what might be called propaganda, encouraging fervent Neo-Salvonism in its audience. There has been an uptick of Infrastructuralism in the forced absence of Mercantilism, a result the voivode is happy to see as the infrastructure projects being funded by zealous intendents only serve to smooth the administration of his subject state. Yodd genuinely cares for the well-being of his constituents but is easily frustrated and the great friction he faces in its day-to-day operation.

As a commander, Yodd is careful in general. Note however that his cautious nature only serves to pave the way for a few well-planned surgical strikes to cripple the enemy. The tarpit of militia can be relied upon in the hard lands of the Wikrix Wall in case the Sky Spears under his command fail to hold the line. As such, his primary focus is the Sky Spears and the relatively small core veteran group of regular soldiers of the 2nd North Grip, with high strategic mobility that serves as a pillar for local defense forces.