Shimeran Interstellar Empire

Background

Shimeran Interstellar Empire
Faction:	Neutral
Homeworld:	Meridian
Capital city:	Vyatstan
Government:	Meritocratic Empire
Lifespan:	150 years x 5 “lives”
Economy
Currency	the Rio, Intergalactic Basic
Economic System	Capitalistic
Diplomacy
Current Number of Wars (Present)	1
Number of Allied Empires	N/A
Age	approximately 1 billion years

A single look at them speaks volumes about their power. The Shimerans are a tall, bright skinned humanoid race. A highly liberal and non-xenophobic people, very constructive and intelligent they possess a well-developed sense of right and wrong. In Shimeran culture it is considered disrespectful not to wear formal clothing in public - doing so would be an insult to your fellow man. Thanks to advanced nanotechnology these days everyone wears one type of clothing anyway, they just change its outer appearance when necessary. They are renowned for their honor and prowess on the battlefield as well as in peacetime. For eons they have been the prime targets of the Grox and Pirates alike. Due to these harsh experiences they developed a fairly powerful military and defense force for protecting their interests. Heavily relying on technology they developed helped overcome all possible challenges thrown at them. They are not particularly famous for their empire’s size; in fact it is smaller than most others. This is mostly because they had to change universes meaning that all they were used to changed elaborately and to establishing a foothold in a strange new environment like this one has proven particularly hard. This by no means implies they are weak and most empires that underestimated them usually faced complete annihilation. The fact that they are small gives them strength and inspires respect in their allies and enemies alike. “How can such a small race be so powerful?” is what they asked themselves. Their size also allowed them to use their space to its full extent, living in places usually considered uninhabitable, which also inspired their scientists to create a space saving method. Nanotechnology is what they had in mind, literally shrinking people to make them fit into small spaces. This represented a quantum leap, no matter how small the living space, inside it seemed much larger. [More in the tech section]

History

A simpler time 0 BE (before empire) to 1 ID [1ID=150 BE] (imperial dominance)

The Shimerans evolved on a small planet with temperate conditions, Shimera. They were amongst the first living things to gain sentience, and once they did they were split into three different sub species, commonly distinguished by eye color and skin tone: Black, Red and Green Shimeran. Although the skin tone was only slightly different, there were certain physical traits by which either of the “pallets” could be identified. “Blacks” are the strongest of the three, with dark eye color and rough bright skin, “Reds” (now the dominant species) are slightly more intelligent and usually with red or blue eye color, they are also the tallest of the three. As for the “Green“ kind, they are a different thing entirely, more like an alien race than sub species, they have bright or dark green eye color and are the most intelligent but also the weakest of the three Shimeran sub species, well known for their pacifism and honesty. It is also said the “Greens” are the purest among the Shimerans. As they gained sentience they were unsure how to explain the world around them. They went exploring and discovered that there was much more to the world than their caves, so they decided to build huts and shelters outside to experience more than they previously did. At first this was a problem as they were prey for predators and at the mercy of the elements. They banded together seeing they were stronger that way and soon enough they reached a level where they began to use technology to its full effect. They started understanding that all this natural phenomena is not the work of any god but rather the environment. After a while there was a need for someone to be “in charge” so an Emperor was chosen to rule over all Shimerans. The choice was good and he remained in service till that faithful day…

The War for supremacy 10 ID to 500 ID

The Long conflict started with the assassination of the first Emperor, who was then succeeded by his six year old son Novus Lucius Imperitos, who was incapable of ruling at such a young age, which is why his mother became the caretaker of the throne. The assassin belonged to the Covenant, a secret society of Black Shimerans with the sole intent of complete domination. Unknown to the Empire they were arming themselves and recruiting more and more Shimerans (mostly Black) to overthrow them and seize (in their opinion) what belongs to them. The Society was founded by a soldier exiled for treason and conspiracy against the Empire. He was determined to have his revenge and ordered an assassin to kill his own brother. He mastered his followers using lies and deception, telling them that the Emperor wants to enslave all “True” (Black) Shimerans, his name was Nero Septimus (the seventh son). Although he was a Red Shimeran himself, the fighting started when he recruited nearly all Black Shimerans as his army. How he managed to keep this a secret is unknown to this day. The Capital Vyatstan was brutally attacked; the army was powerless to contain a horde of merely one hundred thousand armed men. The Capital fell and the army was slaughtered, the remaining people were enslaved and so was the young Emperor…

The War for supremacy 25 ID to 500 ID

The Remaining council members and the Empress went into hiding and formed the Resistance with the rest of the Red Shimerans. They went to all the other cities and villages where they gathered all the “Reds” they could find and put them in their ranks. They found homes on the seas and beachside caves where they were hidden from the Covenant that now called itself the Dominion. All this was going well for Nero; he decided to leave the young Emperor (now twenty) and banish him as he was banished himself by the boy’s father. The now fully mature Emperor started seeking his people, wanting to help them and if need be avenge them. One day he decided to get some rest by the beachside, he was discovered and brought to his (now old) mother who recognized him instantly, and asked for his forgiveness. Novus had now succeeded his mother and was in charge of the Resistance. When the time for him to be trained came he had proven that there was no need for this and that he will begin the assault as soon as possible. He then assaulted Vyatstan taking advantage of its sewer system instead of going through the gates. He was victorious in re-taking his Capital but the Dominion had already fled…

The War for supremacy 70 ID to 500 ID

The Resistance enjoyed a calm period of peace. Not much was going on other than the search for Nero and his forces. The Emperor grew old tirelessly searching for the one person that ruined his life. One day he was too old to continue the search and instead devoted himself to science and discovering new phenomena. He raised a family of eight and taught his six sons and daughter the ways of war. Years later he passed away satisfied with his life…

The Great Pause 340 ID to 700 ID

The “sitting war” as it was called was now at different times of peace. The old Nero, still holding on to his life after so many years, started re-arming with new technology such as ballistics and explosives, and had installed operatives within the Cities of his great enemy. Unaware of this, the Empire started to invest in science and built the first aircraft of their time. They found use for it in military, trade and even mass transit. Internal combustion engines were also invented, industry thrived. This Golden age would soon end…

The War for supremacy 345 ID to 700 ID

Nero wired explosives in all Shimeran major cities and ordered for them to be detonated. Thousands of lives were lost instantly. Among them were five members of the Imperial family, leaving only the dead Emperor’s eldest son (Thaddeus) and his sister (Eve). Shortly after this, Vyatstan was attacked and almost destroyed as well as many other cities. The Dominion was re-instated and the old Resistance was reformed with all of the Empire’s people and military. There was intense fighting; nearly half of the Dominion forces were destroyed. But this time there were new weapons of war to be used. Unlike the Dominion, the Resistance had tanks and aircraft, as well as an advanced navy. The Dominion took full advantage of Empire science and built up to equal strength with the Resistance. Then the new Emperor Thaddeus lost his mind and did something that is questionable to this day: he launched WMDs (580 ID) on all the cities owned by the Dominion, and then stormed them with troops. This act made most of Shimera uninhabitable, living space was now the most precious resource around. Seeing how there was nowhere to go, the remnants of the Dominion went to space followed by the Reborn Empire…

The War for supremacy 580 ID to 700 ID

The three moons as well as the closest planets were soon colonized by Shimerans, their homeworld now completely uninhabitable. Thaddeus was accused and executed for killing off the Shimeran homeworld and his sister took his place at the throne. Soon enough she decided to end the war herself and started building ever larger starships and even dreadnaughts. Warp drive was soon invented to help chase the vile Dominion now with only 10 percent of them remaining. Seeing as there was no more hope after being battered in ferocious space battles and orbital bombardments the new leader of the Dominion surrendered with all of his followers. This bloody conflict was a crippling blow for all Shimerans, Black, Red and Green, now becoming separate Empires.

A New Hope 700 ID to 800 ID

The Black Shimerans were now endangered and were cloned to preserve their existence, the Red nation proposed an alliance with the Green and Black nations in hopes of unification. This was accepted by the Green nation only, as the other side still believed in the lies spoken long ago. Soon they vanished without a trace. A great period of peace ensued, there was an abundance of new technologies for all purposes, the most renowned probably being psyche transfer which allowed one’s reincarnation as a clone, post mortem. The Emperor, the son of Eve reached maturity and would rule to this day. This is due to the fact that he is one of the 10 Shimerans to be preserved in mechaincal bodies allowing their "intellectual" immortality.

The incursion 800 ID to 1000 ID

The Fifth Emperor (Pious Marcus Coriolanus), as he was called, ushered in a new age. Starships, advanced Nanotech, advanced genetic manipulation; he was at the forefront of all these technologies – a true technocrat. Unlike the Emperors and Empresses before him, he was born in peace time and instead of developing armies and strengthening defenses he devoted himself and his work to science and economy. His Empire grew and attracted the attention of greed and gluttony. There were certain Shimerans who wanted all this for themselves. They went into hiding, giving people the impression that they were searching for a new life. They came back led by the infamous mercenary Tyrannis and started a wave of raids and abductions. Chaos reigned. This sort of aggression was unknown to the new Emperor. Still he did not fail to act, he assembled the ABO (Anbo Black ops), an advanced fighting force with one purpose: protecting the Shimeran Empire and its interests. They began training on a harsh barren planet, Anbo, as the name implies. The Situation was stable but the “Pirates” were still out there, in force…

First contact 1000 ID to 1200 ID

While searching for the Pirates an ABO survey fleet discovered something unexpected; this was the first sighting of intelligent alien life by the Shimeran Empire. The world where they were sighted was known as Aurelia and it was thought to have life long before the space age. Coincidentally, the fifth Emperor was with the survey fleet and due to his understanding of advanced science and mathematics he was capable of communicating with these “Aurelians”. This inspired Shimeran scientists to devise translators for easy communication between them and their new found allies. It turned out that they were also hit by the Pirates, despite their explaining that they are a peaceful species and even giving gifts as a token of peace. The Emperor explained that the Pirates do not understand peace and that they are blinded by their greed. The Aurelians were a huge help to the Shimerans’ effort to find the Pirates, as well as a Great ally and trade partner. Soon after they became the first member nation of the “Coalition” (an anti-piracy group formed by the imperial council for protecting trade routes between the two nations) and even started producing weapons for the Empire…

The incursion 1200 ID to 1400 ID

Tyrannis was furious due to the fact that he was defeated so quickly, so he began cybernetic experiments on the captured civilians, weaving them into his army of mindless brutes. With this army he struck at the Heart of both the Shimerans and Aurelians, almost destroying them. As they always do, the Shimerans rebuilt but their allies were not so resilient. Aurelia was now uninhabitable and its inhabitants were forced to leave forming the “fleet of the wind”. The Shimerans offered them safe haven from other possible threats and they gladly took the offer. The Pirates’ victory came at a cost: with only a handful remaining they went into deep space…

Tampering with science 1400 ID to 1410 ID

Shimerans everywhere were protesting on their short “second life” as well as the fact that some could have more than a single second life. They failed to understand the Emperor’s wise words and continued anyway. They were unsure of the limitations of their genetic sequence. Things had to change or there would be consequences. An unexpected figure rose to the occasion. This figure was renowned geneticist Antharus Veil was stretching the limits of genetic manipulation and on the verge of success something went terribly wrong…

The Plague 1410 ID to 1500 ID

Once he made it possible to “have a third life” he enjoyed a kind of folk hero status, but once people actually got to their third life they noticed certain changes. The clones themselves were not supported by a fully functioning mind and had begun rotting. A fourth of the population was had died instantly and half of the living had been driven insane by the genetic plague and went on maniacal killing sprees. Many argue that Antharus got what he deserved because he too was in his third life…

The Plague 1500 ID to 3000 ID

The army was struggling to defeat these “zombies” as they were now called due to the fact that they could not bring themselves to fire on their own people rather imprisoning them for a hope of a cure. Finally the Fifth Emperor devised a cure, but with it also a way to safely have even more than three lives based on analyzing Antharus' mistakes. Though this was still not over, there was also the matter of rebuilding.

The Journey 3000 ID to 20000 ID

In the time after the plague the Shimeran Empire enjoyed centuries of peace and prosperity allowing them to advance further in technology and expand their territory. The came to a point when they conquered half of their galaxy and their population numbered 7 trillion. This eventually lead to overpopulation and chaos in the fringes. For this reason the infinity council was made obsolete and it's members retired to be replaced with the regency. A new council consisting of six regents and the Emperor ruled at that that time. Each had a single region of the Empire under their control and free reign within it. One day the Empire decided to expand further into their galaxy into the unscouted regions. Even with conventional warp drive the journey would have taken years so a new type of interstellar drive was invented. The so called quantum singularity drive essentially allowing the starship to use a shortcut existing outside of normal space. This allowed the vessel equipped with Q-sig to get anywhere in exactly 14 minutes. When the drive became mass produced a colonization fleet with the Empire's best and brightest set sail for a brave new world. The flagship of the Empire, the Crimson heart with the Emperor and the regent the largest section accompanied the initial fleet. For protection the ABO's flagship, Deus ex Machina was deployed as well as cruisers, dreadnaughts and battleships. Altogether the fleet carried over 20 billion people. When they were supposed to return to realspace something unexpected happened.

Stranded 20000 ID to 30000 ID

WIP

Apex 30000 ID to present day

Meridian was much larger than Shimera; it was also further away from its star making years longer and days colder. These conditions were good for economy but not as much for people, but Shimerans did what they do best; they adapted. Soon after colonization there was a high demand for raw material, because cities can’t be built on air. This influenced the further exploitation of the new world. Not long after the Shimeran Empire was in full swing, trade routes were up and running, economy was booming and cities rose. Xenophobia was practically eliminated because there wasn't much left to fear, so being the curios people they are Shimerans decided to go and find some…And that’s where EAW comes in.

Timeline

(Will also cover events not specified in history)

WIP

Culture

Morals

In Shimeran culture there is only one primary principle, which might be the reason for their non-Xenophobia: respect the person before you regardless of his/her appearance. Due to them lacking an actual Religion all understanding of good and evil comes from personal experience as well as a kind of innate logic telling whether something is right or wrong. As with all sentient beings there are always exceptions, and when their acts become too much to bear the hammer comes down.

Law

The Shimeran law system is simple and effective: for murder there is death, for theft there is slavery and for minor crimes there is prison. Crimes that are alcohol or drug related are virtually impossible today thanks to nanotechnology. A consistent stream of nanites that courses through each Shimeran’s bloodstream cleans all traces of unnecessary chemicals. In other words a Shimeran cannot get high or intoxicated. There is however a ban on tobacco because the majority considers its smell repulsive. If someone would attempt to resist the nanites inside him they would send a distress call resulting in swift action of the Shimeran police.

Government

There is a single all-powerful Emperor in Charge of all actions taken by the Shimeran Empire. His age and wisdom are the primary reasons for him alone to rule over the Shimeran people, not that he is complaining. Regardless of all his power he still does not consider himself the wisest of all Shimerans; this is why the infinity council is in place, with limited power over important decisions. During wartime he fearlessly leads Shimeran armies to victory, and when his adversaries see him with columns of infantry behind him they just think a single thought: That just isn't fair.

Technology

Nanotechnology

Shimeran nanotech was perfected over eons of their existence, and finds widespread use in everything from industry to leisure. The reason for their effectiveness is their size and capability of accessing places usually unreachable with normal equipment. The nanites also find widespread use in weaponry, where they have a less constructive role. Nanites range in multiple varieties depending on size, for example the ones present in Shimeran bodies are cell-sized or smaller. They serve a medical role in this setting, scanning the body for cancers or other potentially deadly phenomena, they also help in resupplying blood and healing large wounds. Another well known variety is the so called "shaper" class of nanite, this kind is found on build sites or factories and is nearly visible to the naked eye. The smallest type of nanite is no larger than a carbon atom and is used for research purposes.

note: All nanites are independent and follow a single simple program, for instance an assembly nanite can not work in a Shimeran body and vise-versa

note: Nanites present in the Shimeran body were administered at birth and if a Shimeran is hit by an EMP he would feel pain and would be paralyzed

Modular design

In the past resources and space were much less plentiful than today, for this reason Shimerans had to adapt. Everything and everyone served a purpose in the Empire, and this was exemplified by their versatility in all fields. The most notable of these fields however is design. Thanks to nanotechnology anything can be customized to the users liking. One example would be clothing, every piece on the market comes in the same color and shape, it is meant to be the template for further customization; what the end result will look like it only limited by the users imagination. Another great example would be the very home Shimerans live in, albeit small Shimeran housing is "smart" and highly adaptable not to mention "green". Energy is gained from the photo-voltaic cells present in the windows, they can absorb nearly 90 % of sunlight and store excess energy for future use. The apartments in question usually consist of a single main room which is capable of generating any conceivable setting with the push of a button, workspace, bedrooms, a study, you name it. Additionally many components have dual purposes, for instance your bed doubles as a shower, your television as a wall or bookcase, and so on.

Wide scale cloning

Approximately 40% of the Shimeran army is made of genetically engendered supersoldiers based on the genetic templates of the ten Warmasters. With time they learn to master their skills to become more effective killing machines. Genetic repercussions are minimal due to the fact that deceased and living troops themselves are cloned for manufacturing the next generation

Subspace

The second scientific revolution since the discovery of nanites started with an omnipresent phenomenon known as subspace. It was first noticed by a scientific expedition to the Omega point, the place where the Shimeran Empire made land in Novus Omnia and as a result left the fabric of space - time in that particular location unstable. The first thing they noticed was random vessels spontaneously popping in and out of sensor range. Assuming it was due to the unstable nature of the Omega point they carried on, but when it hit them they began to comprehend the seriousness of the situation. They spent a few days in what seemed to be a pocket dimension and emerged at random locations in space however less than a second had passed in reality. Once the expedition was debriefed more and more scientists began probing the Omega point. Their findings were fascinating and stated that the expedition was trapped in an omnipresent pocket dimension called subspace. The thing that truly stupefied the Shimeran science division was that the expedition was still showing up on sensors despite the fact that they didn't exist on Novus Omnia's dimensional plain. They called this anomaly phasing. Soon the Empire exploited this phenomenon and consequently began the subspace revolution. Enormous amounts of time and resources were invested in this phenomenon and finally phasing began to bear fruit. Today it finds widespread use in everything from household appliances to weaponry. The game changer of this technology is the fact that subspace is universal in realspace if the traveler has the means of accessing it. However, like everything else phasing has its flaws, the major one being the fact that even the most powerful “void key” has a maximum range of a single system’s gravity well. This means that subspace can only be used locally and never in interstellar space as the lack of gravity creates anomalies. To correct that, the ABO’s Starlord cruiser has its own gravity well generator which admittedly requires monstrous amounts of energy. Still a void key may be reprogrammed to work as a “Phase drive” but it is inefficient and less practical than standard warp drive. Another notable fact is that subspace has much lower gravity and solely consists of dark matter. This means the laws of physics are weaker. A good example of this effect is the Deus ex Machina Titan's (coming soon) weapon system which generates temporary gravity singularities. Since it is impractical to carry a miniature sun onboard the projectile is stored in subspace and the Titan’s weapon system acts as a key to open a portal and launch the warhead from subspace. The result is catastrophic and can wipe out a whole armada if used correctly. It is also useful for storing Starships and materials and getting them anywhere within range.

Trends

Slave labor

If a criminal chooses to avoid a death sentence or if he had committed a smaller crime not punishable by death, he or she is sent to the labor camps to work of their debt to the Shimeran Empire. While working of their debt their body is controlled by who ever is in charge as to maximize effectiveness however they are fully conscious. This is known as a death debt, it lasts for the remainder of the individuals life. This way only half of the normal amount is paid for industry or anything that requires labor carried out by Shimerans. This also means that Shimerans cannot work a job that requires labor, due to the positions being taken. Slaves though do not necessarily have to be Shimerans, in fact in most cases they are criminals from conquered Empires or from client nations.

Client nations

When a nation considers itself weak and seeks aegis from the Shimeran Empire it becomes a client nation, meaning it has to pay tax and hand over prisoners to its master that will then become slaves for as long as they would usually stay imprisoned. This is completely voluntary meaning the client nation can return to its former status as soon as they feel the need.

Complete meritocracy

All your actions as a citizen of the Empire will have enormous positive or negative consequences. You would have to invest in yourself from birth in order to achieve success. If not you would become one of the Adversus exitus or failure and the only thing you would be good for is slavery, although you would be treated significantly better than the ones that are “paying their debts”.

Augmentation

Most modern Shimerans augment themselves in terms of intelligence and power. Neural implants help them advance in terms of education so it is common for students and scientists. Power implants may take a year or two to of their lives but will make them more athletic. It doesn't stop there however. Some individuals go as far as swapping healthy organs for cybernetic implants, this is uncommon and limited to a single extremist group. There are also those that want nothing to do with this type of "sacrilege" and are free of cybernetics in every perspective.

The lives system

Biologically Shimerans are capable of reaching the age of 300 if they live healthy but at this age they are usually weak and fragile and depend on an institution or a family member. Although it may seem strange modern Shimerans have nearly halved their lifespans. This is in part due to the fact that they augment themselves in an effort to make their lives better. Numerous so called upgrades are available on the market these days. This was all the result of mega-corporations playing god. At some point the death rate was so high augmentation was banned altogether, but that didn't last. Today the users know full well what can happen if they overdo it, and law permits them from swapping working organs for "auged" ones unless they are willing to give one of their lives away to more deserving individuals. These days a typical Shimeran has a single "base" life while another three are available for purchase and if he/she does something extraordinary for their duration they get the right to the coveted fifth life. Unfortunately only a tiny amount of the initial population is capable of purchasing multiple lives.

Social layers

As the pyramid shows there are five main social layers in the Shimeran Empire. The lowest representing "slaves" (see trends) and the highest layer being the ruling class, ministers, advisers, generals and the Emperor. The middle layers being middle, lower middle and elite. Since the Shimeran education system makes it almost impossible to be a failure all manual labor is done by slaves and drones. This way the citizens prosper and the Empire saves money. In other words slaves receive the bare minimum of artificial rations to keep them working effectively and drones run on renewable resources free of charge, at least the smaller ones do. This way pretty much all Shimerans have a desk job, and minimum wage is more than enough to maintain a family. As stated before all Shimerans are highly meritocratic so everyone that has a higher paid job earned it.

Economy

Shimerans are well known for their high consumption in all areas, including weaponry, industry, technology, etc. and because of this a good economy is required. Revenue is generated largely from trade and non corporate tax. Shimeran trade is more akin to selling raw material and excess food than actually trading for other substance. The Empire is conscious that their supply will not last forever so it is carefully monitored, and if any resource goes under the preferred amount trade with it stops immediately and a compromise with the trade partner is made. The reason for the abundance of raw resources in the Empire is a rather unconventional exploitation technique. A planet is scanned and if discovered rich in raw material it is marked for "processing". This is only done if the planet in question has no properties that would make it a potential colony. From orbit mining starships would rip it to shreds whilst preserving all its resources which they would later proceed to bring to manufacturing plants. Not only Empire planets are marked for dis-assembly but ones in neutral and feral space as well. In a few cases Shimerans took would be colonies from other Empires which usually spoiled relations.

Empire Size

A small Empire yet it still manages to be a galactic power. Currently it has no more than 100 systems under jurisdiction with roughly around 500 planets altogether. For maintaining the safety of these worlds a strong army is mandatory. The number of active infantrymen is currently at 670 billion of which only a small amount are supersoldiers with added servicemen the number sores to 820 billion. Current number of population is estimated to be at 1 trillion, which is rather densely packed on these 500 worlds. However a large majority of these worlds are colonies tasked with producing raw materials for the core worlds.

Law

Agent

Shimeran law can be roughly translated as an eye for an eye, for example if you were to commit a crime such as theft you would have to pay the owner the same amount as that which you stole. This is done in every case imaginable, sometimes it even poses a logistic problem...Still this is fully put to use only in the home system. The colonies that disagree are not inclined to do so as long as the systems praefector (governor) allows it. But in every case the assailant is always found if he is a Shimeran though. So to avoid the possibility of foreigners committing crime in Shimeran space the moment he would even touch something made by Shimeran hands he would be "infected" with surveillance nanites which would be disabled the moment he returns to his own nation.

Thought crime

The Shimeran police uses nanites present in the populace to monitor their activity. Sort of like a tracker and ID card that way people that have been at suspicious places are more likely to commit a crime and are therefore followed and watched at all times. In some cases the person is arrested immediately and then it is decided is he is guilty or not.

The Blacklights

Kind of like the Shimeran FBI. They work in complete secrecy and most people are unaware of their very existence. They have agents planted everywhere, listening in on telephone conversations, keeping every inch of the Empire on constant surveillance and should something threaten it they would act. They also manage diplomatic relations by making previously allied nations go to war with quiet catastrophes, for instance assassinating government officials. Though these methods are only used if war is unavoidable and a new ally would better the odds.

Combat doctrine

Tactics

Usually Shimerans tend to avoid getting their hands dirty and simply shell their enemies to kingdom come from high orbit, but at some point a ground war is inevitable. Since they are outmatched on land until the upper echelons of the Shimeran military arrive advanced tactics are deployed. A classic ABO attack pattern consists of the following: first the battlefield is blasted to smithereens, what is left is given a more thorough treatment with airborne attacks. Usually the enemy no longer exists at that point so low tier ground forces are deployed simply to secure the target. If there is still a sign of resistance the situation is analyzed by a battlefield AI and action is taken in accordance to it.

The ABO

Although the Stormtrooper core is the most talked about they only make up a smaller part (about 40%) of the ABO while the rest is filled up by drones and "Initiates". Essentially the Stormtroopers are genetically modified supersoldiers based on the genetic templates of the 10 warmasters and are far superior in all fields compared to the rest of the Shimeran military. They carry most of the memories and skills of their "donors" effectively halving their training time. However this process isn't flawless. An average Stormtrooper lives a mere 100 years and due to the fact that his genetic template is not entirely his, psyche transfer is impossible; however memories can be passed on. Due to the price tag of this program every dead Stormtrooper is "recycled" and his memories as well as his own genetic template are used to manufacture his successor, this way genetic repercussions are much less likely. Years of bloody warfare influenced the creation of this program. At one point the Empire was near extinction and something had to be done about it. The brilliant geneticist Antharus Veil accepted the challenge and began work on a project that would revolutionize life itself. Project rebirth it was called and soon enough all its flaws had surfaced (see history). After the situation was stable it was determined that the Empire needed a standing army to replace the present one which was nearly obliterated in the plague (again see history). The Emperor took it upon himself to finish Veil's work and militarize it. He was successful in his endeavors and made the ABO we know today possible.

Initiates

Another good way to gain a "fifth" life is to enlist in the ABO as an "Initiate". However a few conditions must be met first:

he/she mustn't have a family of their own

they must be prepared to live and die for the Empire

they have to spend all of their time either training or on the battlefield

This way the whole system runs like clockwork. One must also note that an initiate has the same abilities as a regular Shimeran so they cannot wield larger caliber weaponry like stormtroopers, instead they wield light based weapons with no recoil whatsoever. Initiates are usually picked off the streets of the colonies and homeworld and are promised a better life in the ABO, that way they start young and are trained in the ways of the ABO. If they serve for approximately 5 years, the so called probation period they become part of the Shimeran regular army which makes up more than half (60%) of the Imperial armed forces. Distinguished initiates can hope to one day become Stormtroopers.

The Black legion

Made from criminals serving off their debt. There are three main ranks or tiers if you prefer the members of the lowest one are more or less expected to die, so they are given sensory equipment and a post mortem detonator, and if lucky armed with a pistol. The second one consists of lightly armed troops with a slightly better chance of survival, usually armed with assault rifles and anti-armor weapons. The third and final rank is made of fully conscious non brainwashed officers that worked off their debt but continued serving, these troops are genetically enhanced.

The ten warmasters

The emperor and his advisers in peacetime, the ten warmasters in times of war. Each of them is said to be capable of taking on an army on their own and they usually do. Masters of strategy all of them are assigned for commanding a single branch of the Army, while the Emperor has jurisdiction on all of them.

Overview

When designing weapons of war Shimerans prefer accuracy, range and effectiveness as well as technology. Rather than gunpowder or a similar propellant Shimeran rounds are propelled by an electrical impulse generated by the weapon, this mode of operation is usually enhanced by coils or rails, making the ordinance even faster. Due to these "preferences" the weapon of choice is usually a beam weapon or a missile. And that is exactly how most of the Shimeran army functions. Missiles rather than staying on a large scale found their way into small arms, to be the successors of regular bullets. Though one of the main drawbacks of this system is its astronomical price tag, so as a way around this weapon designers decided to implant nanites into each round rather than small and costly supercomputers (more in the Smart ordinance section). As for beam weapons they have been replaced by N-lances except in one field, orbital bombardment. The particles of an N-lance would burn up in the atmosphere making their damage factor minimal, where as non tangible beams would ignore it, and the effects of that would be truly devastating.

N-lance technology

Examples

The SAC Loki

(Shimeran Advanced Construction)

Loki thumbnail

Years ago a Shimeran deepspace science division was sent in an effort to monitor Stellar activity. They found that the coronas of young stars contained an abundance of Prometheum particles, which had minor anti-gravity properties. Turns out most of this new element was made of negative matter; this allowed it to be used in pretty much anything due to the fact that it was also emitting vast amounts of negative energy. It was immediately clear that if anyone else knew of this they would be a huge threat to the Empire. The precious resource was harvested in complete secrecy. When it reached the production line it was used for almost anything. Prometheum represented a quantum leap in military as well. A new breed of “N” weapons or negative matter/energy weapons had come to bear. These weapons had a clear effect on the battlefields of today, their anti-gravity properties allowed them to basically freeze enemies in space, while the kinetic force of the particles ripped their atoms apart. The Loki class light dreadnaught was the first of its kind to receive this new form of weapon. In its first stages the N lance (as it was called) was more than capable of inflicting damage on enemy starships and land installations alike, its only drawbacks were its huge appetite for energy and cooldown time (1 hour approx.). So scientists devised an ingenious method to go around them, the energy produced from it firing was used to power the next shot, and the cooldown was reduced drastically in this process to only 20 seconds. Still this created different problems; its damage potential was cut in half and its range was lowered. It was decided that the new variant of the N lance would go to mechanized infantry and vehicles, while the old one would stay in use as a battle ender for starships and possibly as a heavy artillery piece planetside.

Cyclone mech

An N lance is a weapon that uses negative energy to propel particles of depleted Prometheum at light speed, this makes it seem like a beam weapon when in fact it is more au par with an MG with a high rate of fire. This process usually leaves the barrel near melting point. The Z-5 Cyclone combat mech exemplifies this with its own N lance weapon system that fires a stream of these particles at its target. The feeling one could get if hit by one of these is somewhat similar to getting hit with a sand blaster, with nails instead of sand. The whole mech is built around a massive energy core due to the lances ferocious appetite, the more power it uses the more it gets thanks to the weapons feedback energy. When fired it can keep a steady stream on its target for five minutes, than it would require 20 minutes to cool down and fire again. That way the mech would be practically defenseless if it weren't for its shield system. In other words when ever it isn't firing it can strenghtthen its shields 500 percent making it capable of resisting most things. And if need be it also features jump jets and hydraulic legs for a quick getaway.

[I think that pretty much covers it, onward]

Smart ordinance

While other nations chose to abandon conventional ballistics, the Shimeran Empire kept upgrading them. With the advent of nano molecular engineering the very concept of a solid state projectile was redefined resulting in something completely new. Silicon nanochips became integrated into every single bullet in the Shimeran armed forces, effectively transforming them into small missiles. The offspring champion of this revolution was the Typhoon series missile. A powerful quantum tunneling nanite integrated warp propelled high explosive warhead, the Typhoon brings death wherever it strikes. However it is much more than blunt force, the amount of sophistication that goes into one is considered an art form in its own right. The anatomy of a Typhoon is somewhat similar to that of a living being as it has both a "heart" and "brain". Its heart is an antimatter fuel capacitor and its brain is the internal computing core that contains a tracking algorithm and can accept commands from the user. The Typhoon is most notable for the fact that its larger variants operate in two stages. In the first stage the Typhoon travels at sublight speeds with the help of a Subach Z-1 impulse plasmatic engine, than within close proximity to an enemy vessel it activates an on board warp drive as well as the quantum tunneling mechanism allowing it to completely ignore enemy shielding and armor, decimating its prey. The Typhoon comes in many different versions, from the miniscule Typhoon null (note that it has a single stage) to the dreadnought worthy Typhoon L. While all varieties of the Typhoon do the same type of damage they also suffer from the same weakness. Enemy countermeasures can confuse a Typhoon into "thinking" that the shield it's supposed to ignore is not there in the first place which often annuls its effectiveness. However a lot of conditions must be met for this to work. When it does hit, a complicated chain of events unfolds, first the targets hull is hit with a powerful EMP leaving it dead in space, then the missile unleashes a swarm of nanites which eat away at the vessel's hull after which it detonates leaving a gaping hole in its target.

Shimeran orbital superiority

Shimerans never liked getting their hands dirty and this is well represented even in their armed forces. They would rather sit around all day long picking people off from orbit and when it is certain that the opposing force is defeated the land army is sent. The reason they are superior to other races in space battles is that they have been mastering this skill for millions of years as well as the fact that they have advanced technologies like Point warp systems allowing them get closer to their adversaries. Prometheum is also a key player here, thanks to this element shields can be overcharged and AIs are capable of advanced tactics, not to mention enabling the use of N-based weaponry. Though the time the shields can be under the influence of Prometheum is reduced due to the fact that it can cause damage if used too long. Around 5 minutes is the maximum for shield strengthening but a skilled commander could make every second count.

Notable orbital units

Onyx tactical cruiser

Onyx Strike Cruiser

The FR-800 Onyx tactical cruiser is the most advanced ship of the ABO. Readily available at all times to go straight into the heart of battle; it can turn the tide of any war. It achieves this with an advanced sensor system allowing it to calculate the enemy’s moves from afar, which allows it to slip in silently and destroy anything in its way. This is made possible by a triple core negative energy generator which is used to power its frontal N-lance, and numerous overdrive generators mounted internally. In ABO logic a cruiser is a ship armed with missiles or some form of artillery, it is usually fast and well armored/shielded, the Onyx fits the bill on all accounts. For protection it utilizes an advanced form of “Prometheum shielding” which allows negative matter to be used as a wall surrounding the ship. The system has been appropriately named “the swarm”. Should the shielding malfunction, its armor is more than enough to make sure it survives. If a plate of armor is damaged another one from bellow replaces it, the plates are in turn constructed by nanites. Unfortunately the armor loses its strength in the process due to the fact that the nanites do not always make perfect copies of it, so most commanders use it sparingly.

Ragnarock Superdread

Ragnarok

The Ragnarock class superdreadnaught is the second largest ship in the Shimeran grand armada. It is the pinnacle of Shimeran engineering and probably one of the most feared vessels to date. Countless worlds fell to this stellar monstrosity and it has even been banned on one account by the (Pre-dates EAW) Coalition war council [though the ban was rather short lived – only 5 days]. It proved itself in the Shimeran-Rinnagan war bringing an almost instantaneous victory. Its size unfortunately is both a blessing and a curse mostly due to the fact it has to be assembled in space and its habit to collect space debris due to its natural gravitational field. Measuring up to a staggering 5k kilometers the only thing compatible to its size is a Titan (or perhaps a small planet). When it activates its warp drive a small quantum disturbance is caused which can wipe smaller ships out of existence; for this reason any ship smaller than a destroyer is advised to stay clear when a warp jump is imminent. It has the role of line breaker due to its amazing durability and firepower. It comes equipped with a single TAU-Y7 heavy N-lance cannon that makes short work of anything smaller than a Titan. It is also armed with a multitude of siege turrets for prolonged assaults on enemy installations and worlds as well as a large compliment of planet shattering Typhoon H missiles.

Only five were ever built

G-111 Dart

Dart

The G111 Dart is an advanced interatmospheric fighter capable of extreme speed. At first it was designed as fast ways to get civilians from one spot to another, but then some genius decided to add armor and guns and call it a fighter. Before you know it was at the frontlines. When designers were working on ways to actually make it a fighter they noticed that there was little to know room for weapons (not kidding) without compromising armor and shielding, the ARODS (Advanced rotating ordinance delivery system) was the solution. It was mounted on the belly of the craft for maximum efficiency. Essentially the ARODS is a missile launcher; accept the way of firing the missiles is different. It functions a lot like a minigun, for every rotation a single missile is “dropped”, giving it a solid 3 rps (rounds per second). The whole process runs like clockwork, but the warheads have to be just the right size to prevent deformations or worse.

Low effectiveness on land

On land Shimerans have a disadvantage and this is especially noticeable at close range. Their land vehicles usually depend on shields due to their paperweight armor, and their high precision shells are not as effective at small ranges. After all there is good reason that their MBT is a drone, the Hammer being one of the rare units capable of taking the fight to the enemy with armor decent enough to take some punishment. Although it bares one of the many similarities of other ABO vehicles, it is heavy hitting at long range.

Notable ABO land units

Hammer Drone MBT

First in a new era of Shimeran armor, the Hammer. Originally it was conceived as red zone (commonly used to describe places devastated by war) clean up drone, its true potential was discovered in its ability to survive anything thrown at it. Soon enough the military got involved and decided to get themselves a shiny new tank. Later on it was given additional armor and armament which would put it on the path of becoming a weapon of war. Since no one was quite willing to drive this beast due to it being horribly uncomfortable the Hammer is fully autonomous and can be controlled remotely if the need arises. Comes equipped with a wide range of technology and Prometheum enabled devices it has secured its place among the top of ABO machinery. When it comes to raining death nothing is quite as skilled as the hammer. Armed with a single 120mm autocannon that will tear armor like cloth and a Heavy high precision railgun with firepower envied by dreadnaught crews, as for long range combat it features an advanced artillery missile battery firing heavy hitting typhoon L missiles. For protection it utilizes an advanced Adamantium-carbon compound capable of deflecting even the heaviest of ordinance.

[Note the hammer is not invincible]

Stag urban assault mech

Shimerans were always famed for their elegance in designing weapons of war, the HEX-11j Stag urban combat mech being a perfect example. Crafted by Darrow Pegasus himself, the Stag features a "frame system" mimicking a living creature as much as possible. This method was the best way to help it cope with the threats of modern battlefields, whilst maintaining mobility and aesthetics. The main body is constructed of a lithium-tritanium superalloy capable of deflecting most rounds smaller than a refrigerator. The Stag comes equipped with AI fire control radar mounted above the cabin with which it can coordinate ordinance from its weapon systems. Main armament consists of two large missile pods capable of flattening a city block in less than an hour, two suppressed HMGs as well as leg mounted CIAS (close in airburst system) for soft targets.

Assasin

During the time of the fifth Emperor the Shimeran nation was at its climax. (before EAW) The best scientists and thinkers from all over the known universe were flocking to this newly formed economic superpower and with them numerous ideas awaiting realization. Technologies previously thought impossible were taking root. Among them was the idea of merging flesh and machine, not physically but through synthesis allowing for self-controlled evolution. Some centuries and many experiments later this technology was standard issue. When the ABO R&D division got its hands on this new technology their capacities for developing it further were limitless and develop it they did. When the new “augmented” troops were seen on the battlefield the Empires enemies were petrified and any present wars were over almost instantly. The prime example for this sort of augmentation is considered to be the ABO Assassin battlefield sharpshooter. Wielding a single bolt action HVX-1000 anti-material railrifle with neurospectral sights (direct interface between the user’s brain and the rifles scope, allowing for extreme precision) a 25mm shoulder mounted close quarters autocannon with an attached laser painter (for orbital strikes) and short range burst radar, also comes equipped with two combat blades if things get rough. For protection they wear G-9 Onyx carbon-silicate dropsuits with advanced stealth capabilities (in other words all visible light is absorbed making the suit invisible). The user is immersed in his/her armor and is equipped with microchip ports allowing for large amounts of data to be stored and an implemented retinal HUD (which can be toggled on and off. The armor also features a single triple optic helmet which allows the user to zoom in at a modest five miles which also happens to be the effective range of most ABO sniper rifles. [Assassins make up roughly 5% of the Shimeran armed forces)

Regular units

WIP