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 Recyclers 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.

Betel 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 Betel 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.

Recyclers 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 to a twisted, useless form. Recyclers 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 practically turned to mush from the chemical radiation.

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, Recyclers 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 Recyclers die this way each year, and it is a priority for the government to control its abuse and the proliferation of EnJoy labs.

Recyclers 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 Recyclers, 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 Recycler child. However, Recyclers generally don't give birth unless associated with another Betel who can support them financially. Betel are spawned from a gland in the 'mother'. The birthing process is initiated by a concentrated arsenic dosage. The higher the dosage, the greater the child, however an overdose can cause the death of parent and unborn child. A week after the dosage, the mother will need to prepare a bed to rest in, as it will be stuck there for two weeks. The mother will be fed by a significant other. A new Recycler starts to start growing from the abdomen (bud-like) and in the last three days the mother slips into a coma. The child separates, and a day later the mother 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 necessary systems. A Recycler can only spawn but 4 children each, as the Recycler carries 4 spawning glands that do not regenerate. Often working class Betel that wish to have more children will order Synths (see below) through the mail.

Since the process is so simple and fast, it can be replicated to grow recyclers synthetically, but it does require brain samples from another Recycler. 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 syndromes. However, hidden somewhere in the recipe for creating them is some sort of loyalty program, meaning Betel clones cannot be made by other empires. The DeComps do not have Synth creation technology.

Gender and Personality
The 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 Trashpocalypse) 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 survive the catastrophic events of the first apocalypse. Following this event, their was need for leaders to organize what they could from the anarchy in the following series of generations.

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. 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.

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, working with them with high level technologies and AI. Also, they are locked in a skirmish with some race of snake-like creatures, though it is being kept fairly secret as to what is going on.

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 Armed Forces 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 ordered 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. Junk worlds, unlike gas giants, are found on the fringes of Betel territory.

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.

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
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 told from the current chancellor to the new 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 runs. 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. 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.

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.

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 socialist virtues such as free health care, 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 all.

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 "hex's", 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. Examples of other modules are military (barracks, turrets, defensible barricades), production (produces military equipment or civilian goods), light spaceport (capacity to land ships but do not possess equipment to land anything above correvette), resource allocation (mines, scavenging pit, power generators), resource proccessing (metal refineries, small distribution centers), public (libraries, emergency response facilities), terraforming (new colonies only), or decommisioned (module has been buried by a load of trash, often multiple hexes will be effected).

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. Occaisonally 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 governments.

In each Residential Module is an Intendant, who is the leader of the building. Usually this person is younger (and if possible charasmatic), 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, commander, or captain because of the leadership skills that are gained from the experience. They are chosen from amongst their module mates, and have no real legal status as such, it is merely a reccomendation.

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.

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.

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 Arms
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.

Relations with Other Arms

East: Consider inferior South: Often work with them, so positive. West: Dislike due to the fact that the North is always forced to do jobs for them like clearing AA

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 Junk Military
The East Arm is notorious for assembling vehicles and heavy weaponry from scrap found lying around. Some of the most recognizable of these is the Junk Buggy and the Scrapper Heavy Trooper.

Relations with Other Arms

North: Snobbish South: South activities often lead to the loss of dozens of East Armers because of the volatility of their work West: Admire because of the acts of bravery carried out by the pilots and the quick air support they provide

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.

Relations with Other Arms

North: Work with the North and are on friendly terms East: Take their sacrifice for granted West: The West Arm will take the traditional job of South Armers so are disliked

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 Space Corps, but there is a referral transfer process between the two that links them.

Relations with Other Arms

North: Grateful for help in making the skies safer, though the feeling is not mutual East: Revers in admiration, but is disgusted by their methods South: Dislikes the South Arm who will sabotage their ships on occasion

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
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 8 years after the resolution of the Doisu Wars, 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 Companys' 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, and were influential in the development of the Arms of the Betel.

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 commanders, 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 40 shots a minute. An auto-targeting system lets the Arthurian quickly lock onto hostiles, but it is unfortunately rather finicky and sometimes can become corrupt and fire on Betel forces instead of hostiles. This has given the name 'Treason' to the Arthurian tank, making troops wary of it. Because of this wariness, Arthurians generally aren't supported well.

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% 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

Luminarians
Status: Friendly

Recyclers have established official diplomatic relations with the Luminarians. While their initial meeting did not go as planned (Asanians stormed the bunker they were meeting in), the Luminarians and Betel have formed strong bonds of friendship between their races. Many Betel citizens who work in the metal transportation industry meet up with Luminarians and have fond times with them. Some have even taken a likely to the local's apparent theme song entitled Metal Madness.

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 battlestations and their heavily armoured vehicles and structures) and the luminarians in turn provide military technologies to better discipline Betel forces and give them a stronger army.

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.

"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

"Hopefully we will see in the future an alliance, and with that alliance we shall create together a battlestation that shoots junk buggies." -Anonymous

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 lizards. 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.

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 the fishy fishy fishies." -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 the High Chancellor in creating a military earlier. Despite this, the Zaretians nearly got a foothold in an 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 be bothered to squash the cyborgs, 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 will not be anything like the Zaretian Invasion of Betel, it will be bloodbath. Now, those Zarets could use a bath, but in this case we sure don't." -Former Betel Squad Leader who led the defence of the enclave in the Invasion, now 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)

The Gronian Imperium
Status: Neutral

The Betel look upon the Gronians favourably, as they support many of the same values originally upheld by Recycler society. The isolationism that Gronians are known for is a perfect example of the Old Betel. They believe that instead of fighting these seemingly kindred spirits, they should greet them with friendship and understanding. After a nice sit down with some relaxing beverages (that are not water!), and some gentle Kara Sax, Recycler Ambassadors believe they will bring the Gronian out of its cold, hard shell and form a bond that they will cherish forever.

"I believe deep inside, all Gronians just want to be loved. Now let's mine this sucker and get to the love" -Ravi the Clever, Betel-Gronian ambassador.

"These diplomats are fools. If I were to take the entire galaxy, hey why not the ENTIRE UNIVERSE, and shook it around, there wouldn't be naught that could best the Gronians for the title of 'Least Likely to Cuddle'. Even BioMatter enjoys a good snuggle now and then (mind you for different reasons)." -Expilor, Commander of the South Arm on the trash colony of Anglestan

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

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 Industrrial 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.

(more will be added, I assure you)

DeComp Rebels
The DeComps are not very self-sufficient. They operate a small pirating ring in some systems, but generally the source of their weapons and equipment come from donation shipped from allied Warlord factions. The actual military value of the DeComps is fairly low, they are more used for harassing Betel close to their heart. DeComps can also infiltrate Recycler society with the proper attire to cover up their DeComp Tattoos. The Tattoo is in the shape of a dragon-like creature like a Lung wrapped around a spear with four blood red triangles for each direction on the compass. The triangles represent the blood that will be spilled from each Arm of the Betel Military. Checkpoints are set up all over Betel worlds, draining the military forces. Corruption can be found amongst these checkpoint officers who find the job boring, and don't really care if someone passes them a few Dioni to skip the checking process.

DeComps do boast a rather nice space fleet for their size. For every fifteen ground soldiers, there is the equivalent of an interceptor in space capacity. It is not a very advanced one, though, as the largest non-donated ship is a frigate. Larger ships from foreign militaries are available but don't usually go above carrier class, and DeComp space pilots do not have the necessary training to fully operate them.

The increase in Pirating activities has attracted the attention of Nalstros pirates. (more on this soon)