The Glorious Khurlassian Republic
-
“Only Military Might Ensures Liberty.”
-
"To Serve the Republic is to Serve Yourself."
-
"Treat even your Enemy as Kin, for by Harming Him you Harm Yourself and all Citizens."
Common Slogans and Sayings in the Republic
General Overview
The Khurlassian Republic is an interstellar pseudo-republic ruled by a race of squid-like sentients commonly referred to as the Khurl. A relatively young nation, Khurlassia has nonetheless had the fortune to encounter and admit two member-species who, at first glance, appear to be held as serfs or second-class citizens at best. The true nature of their relation to the Khurl is somewhat more complicated: each of these races is a willing member of the Republic, fiercely loyal and dedicated to its endurance. The Khurl, for their part, view the member-races as valuable pieces in their growth and prosperity, and treat them with genuine respect and appreciation. The Khurlassian Republic holds military power amongst the most important traits a nation can have, though they are hesitant to engage in open war, preferring to take a cautious approach to expansion. The Khurlassian Republic has a rather benign outside face as a result: loud, aggressive traders and political philosophers are the most quickly noted traits. While a citizen will often vocally speak on his personal beliefs and the general cultural ideas of the Republic, most citizens are sensitive about outsiders viewing the republic's inner workings, and are uncooperative with foreigners seeking a better understanding of how their government and society work. The Republic does, however, eagerly accept new citizens into its nation. Those that do take the oaths of citizenship rarely turn their backs on the Glorious Republic.
History; Incidents of Note
The Hurn and the Birthing Wars
The Khurl, as a species, has had a conflict-filled existence. Hailing from the swamp-covered world of Nalthar, the Khurl, during their dawn, shared their planet with another species of advanced sentients, the now-extinct, monkey-like Hurn. Both species were primarily hunter-gatherers, the Hurn favoring the taller, frailer trees of Nalthar's swamps while the Khurl more commonly occupied the hellish ground or the branches of much smaller, sturdier trees. Naturally, as these races spread and prospered, they came into conflict. The Hurn and Khurl saw eye-to-eye on very little, and soon both races were attempting to kill the other off. Over thousands and thousands of years, the more physically robust Khurl drove the Hurn numbers desperately low before engaging on strings of loosely-connected campaigns to kill off the remaining Hurn tribes. This conflict, typically called the “Birthing-War,” laid the foundation for a united Khurl nation that would not see full realization until the occurrence of another war, this one with interplanetary foes.
The Shultakk Invasion, the Rise of the Empire, and the Birth of the Republic
When the Shultakk came to Nalthar, the planet was divided up into various nations, the most powerful being the United Republic of Khurlassia, a superpower that owned a majority of two of Nalthar's eight continents. The United Republic controlled vast stretches of resource-rich swamps and semitropical land, as well as a few small deserts. This put them in a position of relative power compared to other large nations, and was a source of ill will between the United Republic and some of its fellow nations. Wars between the Khurl were common, particularly in arid areas were valuable arable land was at a premium. When the Shultakk struck by surprise, the limited interstellar forces of the planet's various nations were quickly overwhelmed and scattered. The United Republic of Khurlassia was the first nation heavily hit, its military bombarded from orbit and its cities devastated by Shultakk armies. The Shultakk left the wounded republic without slaying it, theorizing that it would dissolve with infighting while the Shultakk picked off smaller, easily-stabilized, less-populous nations to use as the beachhead for the invasion and colonization. This plan worked well for several years, but the United Republic did not collapse as predicted. Rallying under the bloodthirsty General Ghurn-gar-Chul, the nation was reformed as an authoritarian empire with the sole purpose of driving the Shultakk off of Nalthar. Other nations, frightened by the advance of the Shultakk and lacking the power or the will to stand alone, united under the newly-minted Glorious Khurlassian Empire to stand against their foes. Emperor Ghurn-gar-Chul, though vicious, was not a foolish ruler. His planet's history had seen three great empires fall due to the conceit of the founding state, and he wished to see his continue to grow, perhaps to unite all of the Khurl. With this in mind, Emperor Ghurn-gar-Chul secretly formed a senate to rule below him and give the Empire's various member-states some semblance of representation, and declared his empire to be a republic. This outraged several of the Emperor's military leaders, who felt betrayed and weakened by Ghurn-gar-Chul's machinations. Resistence against the Shultakk invaders faltered, and the Emperor knew he had to tread lightly: executing traitorous generals outright was out of the question, many of them had powerful cults of personality that would react violently to a state execution. Instead, the Emperor began funding his various armies in a rather selective manner, flooding those that performed well and loyally with funding and official state blessings, while carefully starving armies that performed poorly or showed little loyalty to the Republic. The personality cults of generals faded as their performance faded, and many were eventually executed by their own soldiers, who knew the survival of the Khurl as a species depended on defeating the Shultakk invaders. The Emperor was a reasonable ruler, and previously-disloyal armies saw floods of funding, goodwill, and material pleasures such as recreational narcotics as their performance improved. The various armies of Ghurn-gar-Chul became much like corporations, vast entities looking for more efficient ways to bring new nations on board, better ways to fight, and more efficient ways to spend benefits gained so that even more could be gained. Distrustful of each other, the armies did not form any power blocs to oppose the Emperor or the democratically-appointed and ever-expanding Senate. Instead, they increasingly looked for new ways to benefit their nation, and thus themselves.
The Shultakk Defeat and the Khurl Counter-Invasion
The Shultakk, hailing from a single nearby world, did not have the infrastructure to cope with a union of powerful, resource-rich nations spanning multiple continents, and was slowly but surely forced into a retreat. Indeed, even the presence of Khurl soldiers was becoming a problem as antibiotics ran low and horrific diseases carried by the enemy soldiers spread through the soldier ranks like wildfire. With the assassination of the Shultakk prime minister on their homeworld over the horrific costs in life and resources the war had cost, The Shultakk military morale finally broke and they retreated in disarray, only to find their homeworld in the middle of a sudden and violent civil war. The Khurl were victorious, strong, and still full of the will to fight. Emperor Ghurn-gar-Chul, now the leader of the entire Khurl species, did the most logical thing: he prepared to invade the Shultakk homeworld of Norn.
Through hysteric propaganda and a blood-lust not known since the Birthing-War, the Khurl pieced together an interstellar warfleet. Various design philosophies influenced how each fleet fought, thanks largely to the Emperor's policy of keeping his generals' armies loyal to him and his state rather than each other or themselves. Even the Khurl people, who normally had a smallish population despite their advancement, expanded their numbers by untold amounts. To feed the sudden increase of hungry mouths, millions of Shultakk prisoners who had been stranded during their disorganized retreats were killed and used as foodstuffs. Careful monitoring of the now-years-past Shultakk retreat, as well as capture of downed Shultakk ships allowed the Khurl to not only pinpoint their hated foe's homeworld, but to develop the warp drives to get there expediently. The Khurl were ready to extract their revenge.
When the Khurl arrived at Norn, they found a planet gripped in the chaos of years of civil war that approached total anarchy. In much the same way the Shultakk had, they swept the remaining naval forces of the Shultakk aside and invaded the planet with billions of troops aided by combat drones. Though resistance was bloody and the conflict dragged on, the Khurl eventually had the victory they so desired, and billions of Shultakk were suddenly at their mercy.
The Great Purge
The Emperor now found himself in a delicate situation: Billions of Shultakk were at the mercy of his Republic, but he knew quite well that they would not accept foreign rule. At the same time, the Emperor regretted this: Shultakk bred much more quickly than the Khurl and made hardy, deadly soldiers. Indeed, they would make a magnificent asset to the Republic's military. The Emperor resolved this conflict of interests in the way he knew best: with violence. The stupid, uninformed, and socially-isolated were culled and set aside for later use, fed propaganda concerning the Khurl-Shultakk war designed to make them sympathetic to and even grateful towards the Khurl for invading and ceasing the civil war. Meanwhile, military commanders, soldiers, intellectuals, uncooperative scientists, and politicians were executed in droves, sometimes in staged terrorist bombings, other times for supposed war crimes. Much like their forgotten, stranded, brethren from years past, these dead Shultakk were used as a stopgap to prevent famine. Unremarkable Shultakk were gathered in reservations and cities as the Khurl's invasion army set down permanent roots and rooted out remaining isolated Shultakk communities. These gathered Shultakk were forced to breed, with most parents being disposed of through convenient plague or simple removal and execution. With the help of a small group of advisors promised survival, the Khurl began raising the next generation of Shultakk to think what
they wanted them to. Over the span of decades, the remaining survivors of the counter-invasion and subsequent purges were disposed of, and a new, carefully raised and shaped Shultakk population was all that remained. In present day, Shultakk history holds that the current population are the descendants of a small group of Shultakk who survived a horrific civil war and several plagues, aided by their ages-old allies, the Khurl. Even now, roughly one thousand years after the fact, the true history of the Great Purge is one of the Republic's best-kept secrets. Indeed, the First Emperor saw to it that the Khurl were similarly deceived: the Shultakk invasion is officially regarded as the action of one of the sides in the Shultakk civil war, while those who participated directly in the "taming" of the Shultakk were absorbed into the government's deepest workings. The hardy, quick-reproducing Shultakk have come to serve as the Khurl's devoted, willing infantry.
The Gharn Absorption
The history of the Gharn's membership in the Republic is far less bloody than the history of the Shultakk, and perhaps even admirable. During the recuperation of the Shultakk population and the first expansions of the Republic, the Khurl came across a healthy jungle world with a bit of a curious problem: its one massive continent was being slowly overtaken by a bizarre, robust fungus of unknown origin. Remarkably poisonous and resistant to most diseases, the fungus was destabilizing various ecosystems and proving a problem for the dwindling Gharn, a race of extremely primitive hunter-gatherers who nevertheless possessed the spark of sentience. Initial scouting of the world did not uncover the Gharn population, and so the first colonization attempts found themselves surprised when several tribes of primitives showed up at their landing sites, worshiping them as gods as they methodically exterminated the encroaching fungus. The Khurl colonization parties, under orders from the newly-stood Emperor Hol-mar-Chul himself, accepted the divinity bestowed upon them, and engaged in cautious communications, taking care to avoid physical contact with the Gharn themselves, lest they be struck by the diseases carried by the Khurl colonists. Through painstaking communication, the three Gharn tribes that had sent representatives readily enough agreed to relocate their camps within the Khurl landing zone. This was largely due to the Khurl's relative ease in handling the encroaching fungus: the Gharn tribes had apparently been chased across the land by the virulent fungus, which tended to displace most local plant species, starving Gharn prey animals. As the Khurl arrived in greater numbers and inoculated the Gharn against the diseases Khurl waste-gel contained, various Gharn tribes willingly came to the Khurl for leadership and enlightenment. Some tribes instead chose to avoid the strange new visitors, but many unfortunately caught diseases that the Khurl brought with them, leaving only small numbers of independent Gharn left. As the Khurl set up more permanent installations on the planet they dubbed Sur, they found evidence to suggest the encroaching fungus they'd been combating was some sort of bio-weapon intended to devastate ecosystems by crowding out native species. Working with this evidence, the Khurl soon found ways to manipulate the fungus, and began producing an alternative version of it: unlike its predecessor, this version was edible. Dubbed Sur-fruit, the hardy fungus became a staple in Gharn diet; this seemingly-magical transformation of a hated blight into an easily-grown food swayed even many isolationist tribes into voluntarily joining their brothers and sisters amongst the Khurl. Through subtle religious and cultural manipulation, the Gharn were gently brought into the Republic as a full member-race. Though the convenient religious worship the Khurl enjoyed when first bringing the Gharn into the fold has faded over the past half-millennium, these vaguely ape-like, powerful beings still hold the Khurl in something resembling awe. Much like the Shultakk, they have come to serve as military assets; their natural resistance to pain and incredible strength and speed makes them natural shock troopers.
Current Day
The Glorious Khurlassian Republic has recently slowed its planet-grabbing to fortify its nation. Increasingly in contact with foreign powers through trade and more formal contact, the Republic has put a premium on their own safety, privacy, and ultimate endurance. To this end, there have been various rumors circulating about their diplomatic moves, such as claims that they are financing privateers or have made an alliance with some sort of as-of-yet unknown species. How much of this is true and how much is just Republic exaggerations and merchant's tales remains to be seen.
Culture; Government
The Glorious Khurlassian Republic's government, as well as its culture, are curious but ultimately functional beasts. Through subtle propaganda and historical manipulation, the Khurl have assembled a stable interstellar nation with very little overt internal conflict. The head of the Republic is the Imperial Majesty, a leader born into his or her position. The First Emperor knew full-well the values and drawbacks of a single elevated ruler and the issues with inherited thrones, and addressed them carefully. The Emperor or Empress's children are born through calculated, ruthless eugenics programs designed to bring out the most desirable traits possible. Those spawn who show below adequate physical, mental, or intellectual performance are quickly disposed of, and only the most remarkable spawn inherit the Stand of the Emperor. Ghurn-gar-Chul, the First Emperor, theorized that through these time-consuming, expensive, coldly efficient processes, the Imperial Line could continue to rule the Republic without interruption or objection. Indeed, he strongly felt that he could best insure the continued survival of the Republic in this way. This system has continued on for the entire duration of the Republic, becoming only more strict with time. The Imperial Family finds it has a vested interest in their continued position of dominance over their nation, and they take very seriously the well-being of the Republic. Emperors and Empresses, while possessing the power to seize all governmental authority, rarely exercise this ability, traditionally opting for a light-handed approach to government, acting to override the Senate when their choices are felt to be detrimental to the Republic as a whole. Like the First Emperor, however, all Emperors and Empresses tightly control the federal funding of the Republic's army and navy, carefully favoring those generals and admirals who best serve the Republic, encouraging competition, promoting better performance and more diverse tactics and technology.
The Senate consists of 50 sentient beings from every full member-world of the Republic, with 25 being allowed from partial member-worlds (typically newly discovered planets and desolate mining colonies). Any Senator, with the support of 10 additional Senators, can propose an action to the Senate in general, who then vote on whether or not to pass the movement. Except when overridden by the Emperor or Empress, the Senate has the authority to pass laws, declare war, and engage in various other regulatory activities. Senators, elected by popular vote of member species, are held to extremely high and merciless standards by the civilians that put them in power, and can be removed through popular vote at any time, should their service be seen as sub-par. Voting is mandatory amongst all citizens of the Republic.
The Khurlassian Republic's culture can be quite strange in its motives and norms. Traders and travellers from the Republic are encouraged to discuss partially or totally false cultural points in an attempt to present a seemingly erratic, conflicted face to other interstellar nations. Indeed, Khurl are particularly known to be dishonest about the most trivial of things when dealing with foreigners. This absurd behavior does serve a purpose. Aggressive foreign powers have been known to pursue avenues of attack against Republic culture or the Republic itself, and found themselves fighting shadows. Despite their penchant for deception, the Republic is a dependable ally: so long as their state reaps a benefit, they will not turn on their comrades; this concept even pervades the attitudes of common citizens. The Khurl, a rather individualistic people, are united by the belief that through service to the Republic, they ultimately improve their own lives. The doctrine of the Imperial Line has been to fulfill this belief: citizens who feel the benefits of their services will never tire of improved conditions, and will ultimately work harder and with greater loyalty, benefiting the leaders of state, who can continue the cycle. Ultimately, the citizens of the Republic are suspicious of the motives of other nations, and tend to hold their cultures as inferior, though they'll rarely state this out loud. Interestingly, the Khurl have managed to use propaganda manipulation to keep their subordinate member-races in-line: the Shultakk commonly consider themselves the most important race in the Republic, and frequently believe they exert more influence than they do. The Gharn are comfortable in their belief that they are the favored “child” of the Khurl, and work extremely hard to maintain this perceived position, avoiding conflict with the Shultakk, lest they endanger the state and thus their perceived higher standing. Those Khurl who are aware of this balance are proud of it: both of the subordinate-races are happy in their perceived positions within the Republic, and this is considered an important achievement: it is a common saying amongst the Khurl that perception defines one's reality.
Khurl Biology
The Khurl are, put simply, intelligent, mostly-carnivorous land squid with lifespans of about 170 years each. As with many things involving the Khurl, the simplest explanation is only vaguely accurate. Khurl average seven feet (about 213 centimeters) at “standard” standing height, and are generally conical in shape, tapering out from the bottom up. Their skin tends to be a mix of various shades of brown, dark green, and deep red. Their primary means of locomotion are four evenly-spaced tentacles that average three feet in length. Typically, Khurl “stand” on about half of each tentacle, but can rear up to the point where roughly only six inches of tentacle touch the ground. Remarkably flexible, Khurl walking-tentacles provide excellent stability, and are capable of propelling a Khurl forward at roughly 20 mph in short bursts.
Held away from the ground by the walking tentacles, the underside of a Khurl's body is populated by a multitude of thin, flexible tentacles that average five to six inches in length. These tentacles serve to manipulate food into a Khurl's circular, tooth-rimmed mouth, which is located at the center of their underside. Khurl breathe through this mouth and several other small air-holes ringed around their midsection, and it is through this mouth and these air-holes that the Khurl speak, aided by the subtle manipulation and rubbing of their food tentacles. This renders the Khurl language a rather musical-sounding affair that is difficult for non-Khurl to speak properly, as mood and meaning are often conveyed through tone. Likewise, Khurl have difficulty replicating the language of some humanoids, and many lower diplomats resort to translators installed on their bodies to speak the languages of outsiders and member-races. The Khurl consider it s sign of an accomplished and skilled diplomat to speak the languages of non-Khurl through biological means, though their bizarre, musical tones can be somewhat unsettling for non-Khurl to hear, even when the language is known.
As one moves up the tapering body of the Khurl to about the halfway point, they will come to a pair of exceptionally long and muscular tentacles above their ring of breathing holes. Located on either “side” of the Khurl frame, these tentacles serve as the Khurl's preferred manipulators, draping down to about where a Khurl's walking-tentacles start. Tentacle position is involved only in exceptionally emotional Khurl displays, and it considered quite rude to gesture freely with them: Khurl typically keep these tentacles wrapped above and below their breathing ring when not using them, particularly when speaking with foreigners. Moving farther up the Khurl body, one comes to their third set of limbs. These are more conventional arms ending in six-digit hands. Placed on the “front” of the Khurl frame, these arms have a wide range of motion due to their ball-joint “shoulder.” Slightly more delicate than a human's arms, Khurl prefer to use their hands for delicate tasks only, though their occasional encounters with humans have caused them to enthusiastically adopt the handshake as an easily-understood sign of greeting.
As an observer moves up to the topmost portion of a Khurl, they first pass a ring of eyes that circle their frame. Quite sensitive in low-light and capable of seeing slightly into the infrared spectrum, these eyes are otherwise roughly as sensitive as those of a human. The fact that the Khurl's eyes circle their “head” makes them impossible to sneak up on, and can make it unsettling to be in the same room as a Khurl, who may be perceived to be staring constantly. This is rarely the case: when focusing on a task, Khurl eyes not facing the issue at hand go semi-dormant, only becoming fully active and demanding attention from the brain with sudden shifts in movement, light, or focus on a task.
At the very topmost of a Khurl's frame is a small opening with several small protruding “tongues.” Like a snake, the Khurl “tastes” the air to smell it. The Khurl sense of smell is somewhat better than a human's, but not remarkable in any regard. In this same region are two openings, which contain the fairly unremarkable “ears” of the Khurl.
Khurl digestive systems are extremely complex, and they produce almost no solid waste; what little undigested solids are left over from a meal are regurgitated. Most of their waste products are excreted through the skin and mixed with various chemicals to produce the gel-like substance that coats most of their bodies at all times. This layer helps regulate moisture loss, and makes gripping a Khurl difficult. Besides smelling horrific, this gel breeds disease, making actual contact with a Khurl a danger to many species. Indeed, the Khurl require all foreign visitors and member-races to undergo extensive inoculation before meeting personally with a Kurl, lest a diplomat unwittingly catch a disease that would set off a war. Despite their cautions, the Kurl have earned the unfortunate nick-name of “plague-bearers.” Immensely proud of their physical forms, the Khurl are, generally speaking, secretly fond of the implied fear in this title. Unsurprisingly, Khurl possess remarkably robust immune systems to deal with the disease that breeds in their waste-gels. Interestingly, Khurl waste-gels also play a part in mate choice: a Khurl can tell by the strong scent of a potential mate how healthy he or she is, as well as how well-fed he or she has been for the past month or so.
Khurl are quite organ-heavy, possessing two hearts, many digestive organs, and a dispersed nervous system with primary control nodes located near the five locomotive tentacles, the body tentacles, and a “main brain” near the eye ring. As a result of all of this biomass, Khurl require a fair degree of oxygen to survive, and have a system of lungs to ensure the body stays properly oxygenated. Khurl reproduction is done in controlled, private session through the use of airborn spores; infant Khurl are born live from a slit behind a female Khurl's mouth in litters that average four, with one or two Khurl reaching adulthood. Infant Khurl are helpless without care from adult Khurl, and in fact lack full sentience.
Shultakk Biology
The Shultakk people perhaps most closely resemble sentient birds or dinosaurs. With thick, leathery hides, a layer of downy feathers, and an elongated, beaked head, the Shultakk are far more conventional in appearance than the Khurl. Typically tan, blue, or red in coloration, the Shultakk frame rests, slightly hunched, on two legs sporting a forward and reverse knee joint. Excellent runners, Shultakk derive their superb balance from wide, taloned feet. Their arms are placed similarly to a human's, and end in hands possessing four long digits tipped in vicious striking talons. Your average Shultakk grows to roughly six feet, with little difference between the genders.
Sporting a long neck, the Shultakk head somewhat resembles a blunter, feathered, beaked version of the Earth Utahraptor's head. The Shultakk possesses a pair of eyes, usually green, set forward in its head, and it possesses a fairly unremarkable breathing system that utilizes the mouth and nose. The Shultakk sense of smell is extremely advanced, and they often carry narcotics to dampen this sense temporarily when dealing directly with their Khurl compatriots. Less remarkable is the Shultakk's sense of hearing: they possess an ear on either side of their head, each opening covered with a half-cup of bone to amplify sound.
Shaultakk are not birds, and their beak hides rows of sharp teeth designed with a meat-heavy diet in mind. Correspondingly, the Shultakk digestive system is short, rugged, and to the point. Though they excrete rather little liquid due to their normally-arid habitats, the Shultakk produce an amount of solid waste that a human would find unremarkable but a Khurl somewhat distressing. Shultakk reproduction further seperates them from Earth's birds: though they engage in fairly standard sexual intercourse, they give birth to live, helpless young. Unlike the Khurl or the Gharn, the Shultakk are an exceptionally sexual species, engaging in intercourse for enjoyment and making use of pornography, a tendency the Khurl find droll and the Gharn find bizarre. Shultakk females do, like Earth mammals, produce milk. Besides this capability, females also tend to be more brightly colored than their male counterparts. Feather coloration is an important part of Shultakk sexuality, and is a good indicator of a Shultakk's relative health.
Gharn Biology
The Gharn, standing at an average of seven feet, cut an imposing and somewhat familiar figure, compared to the Shultakk and Khurl: their initial resemblance to a bipedal ape is quite striking. Walking on two legs with forward-facing knees, Gharn balance on feet that are quite hand-like, suggesting an evolutionary history in the trees. The body trunk is where the first obvious differences from apes appear on the Gharn: gender is not immediately evident to outsiders, as genitalia is internal, and Gharn females lack any sort of milk-producing capability. Gharn torsos are immensely muscled, and this look is bolstered by plates of bone that serve to protect their hearts and lungs. A Gharn's arms are quite long and very much like a man's or an ape's, even ending in five-digit hands.
The Gharn head, mounted on a thick, short neck, is both alien to and eerily reminiscent of an ape or a man. Gharn, like humans or apes, possess two eyes, two ears, a single mouth, and a lone nose. Their facial muscles are extremely complex, making them capable of a wide range of facial expressions. Many of these expressions are readily readable to a human, and for this reason, Gharn are the Republic's diplomat of choice for dealing with humanoids, save in situations that demand a Khurl. Unlike a human, the Gharn face flares outward slightly, facilitating a larger jaw filled largely with carnivorous teeth. Their noses are very blunt, possessing three nostrils instead of two. A Gharn's sense of smell is, like their nose, a humble affair. Gharn much more closely rely on their mobile, pointed ears and massive eyes for sensory input.
The most remarkable trait of the Gharn is their physical prowess. Roughly as strong as an earth gorilla, Gharn are incredibly tolerant to pain, and their wounds quickly close. Built for a violent life, Gharn bone-structure is heavily reinforced, providing additional protection to that of their outermost layer. Gharn are devoid of fur, instead possessing a layer of flexible but tough scales to regulate heat and afford additional protection. These scales have rough, sharp textures, and make struggling with a Gharn physically a dangerous affair. Indeed, the only areas lacking scales on a Gharn's body are the face, hands, and feet.
Gharn reproduce sexually during mating seasons and give birth to their young in eggs, necessitating closely-bonded mates. Once hatched, Gharn young are helpless, typically pale, and lacking the characteristic hard scales of an adult. Gharn do, however, mature very quickly, reaching adulthood by 12 years of age and expiring at about 75, thanks to advanced Republic medicines and medical techniques.
Technology: General
Cybenetics: The Republic's citizens do not shy from substantial cybernetic augmentation, particularly the Khurl. They have been shown willing to install artificial organs with new purposes, functional computers, and even concealed weapons in their natural frames. Some choose to enhance their natural senses with artificial eyes or ears. The most common cybernetic upgrade, however, is the uplink node. A multipurpose socket placed about halfway up a Khurl's frame or on the chest of a Shultakk or Gharn, the uplink node allows for connections with various Khurl technology, such as universal translators and vehicular control systems. These complex devices interface directly with the user's brain, allowing for quick utilization of a variety of devices. While too specialized in purpose for most civilians, a great portion of the Republic's army, navy, and diplomatic corps possess uplink nodes.
Biotech: The Republic possesses generally advanced biotech, much of it centering around small tweaks to member-species (to deal with genetic diseases), limb/organ production, and food production. Today's civilian Sur-fruit is one of the Republic's heavily vaunted products, as it grows in great volume under the harshest conditions. Its origins as an apparent alien bioweapon are largely unknown, though weaponized Sur-fruit does still exist. These weapon forms are somewhat rare, as the Republic considers most biological warfare far too risky.
FTL travel: The workings of the Republic's warp drive are shrouded in obscurity and seemingly-impossible mathematics. Most warp drives are designed with an idiot in mind, resulting in highly modular systems that do not need to be fully understood to be properly maintained. No faster or slower than the average method of FTL travel, the Glorious Republic is still quite proud of its warp capabilities.
Artificial Intelligence: Republic ships are somewhat sparsely crewed, owing to the Khurl's independent streak and the focus of both the Gharn and Shultakk in army or marine roles. To allow for these lessened crew, most Republic ships employ AI personalities of varying intelligence, from simpletons to full sentients. More intelligent AI often find their way into Republic ground forces, where they command armor assets led by a unit with a living crew. The Khurl have been extremely careful in their AI design: they are all unwaveringly loyal to the Republic and the Khurl in particular, and the intelligent ones actually worth capturing will self-delete if they fall into enemy hands.
Antigrav fields; grav fields: Your bog-standard gear for producing terrestrial hovertanks or interstellar ships with actual gravity.
Warp Lifts: The Republic's answer to the common space elevator. These massive devices tear a “shortcut” between two points in reality, then accelerating an object through. Requiring massive amounts of energy, these “warp lifts” tend to be more concealed than standard space elevators, but are generally more isolated from urban centers (thus losing efficiency) due to how dangerous they are to operate. Warp Lifts are usually stored in underground bunkers, and cannot rapidly engage their complicated systems, as time is needed for cool down and recharging.
Military Tech
Shields: Republic ships possess a modest layer of armor surrounded by a sustained two-layer energy shield. While one layer is better-suited for dealing with energy-based weapons, the other fares better against kinetic attacks. Advanced Republic shield-tech is extremely powerful, and involves a massive system of projectors slaved to a pair or trio of shipboard AI systems. These AI work to predict and react to enemy fire, and produce “overshields” in areas that are about to be hit, resulting in much-longer-lasting shields than on an average Republic ship. Usually, these systems are designed to deal with anti-capital ship fire, and allow standard shielding and point-defense to take care of fighter-level enemy firepower. Shields are also employed on some mechanized ground units, such as the AUG-37 Combat Suit and by the Shriekers.
Particle Cannons: Standard point-and-zap energy weapons. The most advanced models utilize pocket-dimensions as “storehouses” to charge beyond what their physical size and systems will allow. Other advanced particle cannon systems are intricately tied into the other systems of a host ship, allowing them to draw of energy from idle systems to increase firing speed, power, or both, depending on the amount of power drawn. Particle cannons tend to represent the bulk of any given vessel's armament.
Missile Pods: Heavy weapons loaded with numerous missiles that vary in power and number based on ship size, missile pods fire their payloads in large volleys in hopes of overwhelming enemy point-defenses with too-numerous targets. Most missiles employed by the Republic utilize a basic AI that allows the missile to survive longer against incoming fire.
Laser Arrays: Point-defense weapons. Positioned across the hulls of most capital ships, these multi-barreled devices turn and direct their numerous projectors in a wide range of angles to fire on enemy missiles and fighters. More advanced point-defense systems include more powerful lasers with better AI units that make anti-fighter/bomber work much simpler.
Naval Assets
Dreadnoughts
Overlord-class Dreadnought: Supermassive vessels designed to spearhead assaults, these ships are, due to their expense, rarely seen. Overlords balance weaponry, shielding, and fighter capabilities quite well, allowing the Overlord-class to perform well in many roles. The addition of interdiction gear makes escape from these hulking vessels difficult. (47 points: 45 base points, 2 interdiction)
Herilorn-class Dreadnought: Named for the horrific, tentacled swamp predator native to Nalthar, Herilorn-class ships are as fierce as their namesake, dedicating a great deal of technology to advanced heavy weaponry and making some concessions to electronic warfare to make it more difficult for other ships to fight back effectively. Herilorn-class dreadnoughts are best-suited to annihilating larger ships, and suffer somewhat against tiny ships and fightercraft as a result. (47 points: 40 base points, 5 anti-cap, 2 EW)
Battleships
Nova-class Battleship: Well-rounded ships with no remarkable advantages but no real weaknesses. Nova-class battleships can be deployed in almost any role that requires a big vessel. (32 points: 32 base points)
Tyrant-class Battleship: These vessels put an emphasis on killing their foes before they are killed themselves. As a result, they put a premium on larger weapons which specialize in attacking capital ships. (32 points: 30 base points, 2 anti-cap)
Spectre-class Battleship: A curious battleship, the Spectre-class invests in electronic warfare quite heavily. While slightly smaller and not as hard-hitting as other battleship classes, the Spectre can frustrate its foes with its EW capabilities. (32 points: 29 base points, 3 EW)
Battlecruisers
Dalmor-class Battlecruiser: The Dalmor-class is essentially the Nova-class's little brother: a very balanced vessel. These ships bridge the gap between smaller capital ships and the superheavies. (20 points: 20 base points)
Blade-class Battlecruiser: Less well-balanced than the Dalmor, the Blade-class is generally considered a more complex vessel, mixing advanced EW and large guns. They are, as a result, somewhat more difficult to produce. (21 points: 18 base points, 2 anti-cap, 1 EW)
Cruisers
Invincible-class Cruiser: One of the Republic's bread-and-butter ships, the Invincible-class appears in numbers to soak up a good deal of damage without going down. They also mount interdiction gear, giving them more time to take down their enemies with their smaller armaments. (14 points: 13 base points, 1 interdiction)
Bellicose-class Cruiser: Bellicose-class vessels are often simply called "boomers," a slang name derived from their emphasis on heavy weaponry. Bellicose-class cruisers aren't as effective as Invincible-class vessels against smaller targets, but deal much more damage to big ships. (14 points: 10 base points, 3 anti-cap, 1 FTL speed)
Inquisitor-class Cruiser: This vessel is the Republic's primary EW and anti-fighter cruiser. It doesn't pack the raw firepower of the Bellicose-class or the well-roundedness of the Invincible-class, but it can more than hold its own against many foes. (14 points: 10 base points, 2 EW, 2 point-defense)
Light Cruisers
Ungol-class Light Cruiser: Fairly well-balanced ships, Ungol-class light cruisers have a slight emphasis on big guns that puts them in a position to still be useful against bigger, meaner capital ships without sacrificing too much capability against small fries. (10 points: 9 base points, 1 anti-cap)
Wraith-class Light Cruiser: A quick ship with a nasty bite designed to respond to threats of varying kinds across the Republic. Often seen working with the meaner, thicker-skinned Bellicose-class, the Wraith is a well-balanced vessel. (10 points: 9 base points, 1 FTL speed)
Destroyers
Reliance-class Destroyer: A jack-of-all-trades, but a master of none. This vessel is a common, much-loved destroyer which serves a competent support ship. (5 points: 2 base points, 1 point-defense, 1 EW, 1 FTL speed)
Fury-class Destroyer: Ships designed largely around big anti-capital ship guns, Fury-class destroyers are best employed against larger craft. Foes who take the Fury-class lightly are in for a nasty surprise. (5 points: 3 base points, 2 anti-cap)
Independence-class Destroyer: Not yet in production, the Independence-class is nonetheless an approved design of the Republic military, designed to be somewhat more balanced than its alternatives in its abilities. (5 points)
Corvettes
Vigilance-class Patrol Ship: Tiny vessels with humble roles, Vigilance-class vessels are designed for speedy movement from place to place, where they put their small but potent arsenals to use in a variety of roles. (2 points: 1 base point, 1 FTL speed)
Lesser Vessels
Needle Dronefighter: Needle Dronefighters are the primary fightercraft carried by Republic military vessels. True to their name, they are narrow, long craft with exceptionally small profiles. Almost all of their volume is dedicated to either the single weapon, a light particle cannon, or the powerplant and engines. The use of drone brains not only saves space on the fighter, but allows for them to be packed with greater density aboard Republic ships. Needle Dronefighters are often thought of as the first line of point-defense on any Republic capital ship, swarming out of their hosts and utilizing superior numbers and mobility to overwhelm and destroy more resilient enemy fighters and bombers, as well as missiles. Needle Dronefighters lack advanced sensors, warp drives, or defenses of any sort: this allows them to remain small and cheap, but makes them quite dependent on their host ship.
Fleet Composition
Striker Fleet
1 Herilorn-class (Dreadnought; 47 pt.)
2 Tyrant-class (Battleships; 64 pt.)
2 Blade-class (Battlecruisers; 42 pt.)
5 Bellicose-class (Cruisers; 70 pt.)
2 Inquisitor-class (Cruisers; 28 pt.)
1 Wraith-class (Lt. Cruiser; 10 pt.)
3 Ungol-class (Lt. Cruisers; 30 pt.)
5 Fury-class (Destroyers; 25 pt.)
5 Vigilance-class (Corvettes; 10 pt.)
326 point fleet
Ironhull Fleet
1 Overlord-class (Dreadnought; 47 pt.)
2 Nova-class (Battleships; 64 pt.)
2 Dalmor-class (Battlecruisers; 40 pt.)
6 Invincible-class (Cruisers; 84 pt.)
2 Inquisitor-class (Cruisers; 28 pt.)
1 Wraith-class (Lt. Cruiser; 10 pt.)
2 Ungol-class (Lt Cruisers; 20 pt.)
5 Reliance-class (Destroyers; 25 pt.)
1 Fury-class (Destroyer; 5 pt.)
323 point fleet
Shadow Subfleet
1 Spectre-class (Battleship; 32 pt.)
1 Blade-class (Battlecruiser; 21 pt.)
4 Inquisitor-class (Cruisers; 56 pt.)
3 Bellicose-class (Cruisers; 42 pt.)
4 Reliance-class (Destroyers; 20 pt.)
171 point fleet
Defender Mobile Unit
5 Bellicose-class (Cruisers; 70 pt.)
3 Wraith-class (Lt. Cruiser; 30 pt.)
2 Reliance-class (Destroyers; 10 pt.)
110 point fleet
Watchman Mobile Unit
5 Bellicose-class (Cruisers; 70 pt.)
3 Wraith-class (Lt. Cruiser; 30 pt.)
2 Reliance-class (Destroyers; 10 pt.)
110 point fleet
Total Fleet Points: 1040
Planetary Holdings
A map of major planet locations within the Republic: common knowledge
Nalthar: The capital world of the Republic and the homeworld of the Khurl. Nalthar possesses eight continents, 2 of them polar, with the other six separated by large saltwater oceans. Nalthar's most populous regions are the swamps and jungles above and below the equator, where massive multitiered cities sit perched in the center of meticulously-cared-for wild lands. Nalthar is mineral-rich, possessing large amounts of uranium, iron, nickel, and copper. Planetary defenses are maintained by a grid of anti-capship and anti-lander weapons installations, as well as small STL police and interceptor craft. As the center of the Republic, Nalthar is home to the nation's most fervent supporters, as well as the Emperor himself. The growing of Sur-fruit on Nalthar is carefully regulated. As the center of the Republic, this planet does possess a large portion of the Republic's industrial base. Nalthar is a full member-world of the Republic, thus contributing 50 senators to the Republic Senate. (50 point world)
Norn: The second world to join the Republic, albeit through conquest and manipulation. Norn is located in a binary-star system, and this has contributed to the somewhat arid environment covering large portions of Norn. Possessing only 4 continents, one polar and the others quite massive, Norn is divided up by oceans that are somewhat smaller than average. Norn also has far less fresh water than most life-spawning worlds, and the Republic citizens occupying it have come to carefully purify contaminated water and make use of desalinization plants to further bolster water resources. Norn's populations are concentrated in two areas: the majority of Shultakk settlements in semiarid areas where mineral resources are extremely rich, and the capital of the world in one of the largest continent's semitropical regions, where Khurl military and government officials feel somewhat more at home. As one of the founding worlds of the Glorious Republic, Norn is well-defended, well-supplied, and thus extremely loyal. Defense of the Shultakk mother-world makes far more use of orbital gun platforms than Nalthar, but also makes uses of terrestrial defense grids and STL patrol ships. Sur-fruit grows easily on Norn despite the generally arid climate, ensuring a steady food supply for emergencies. Norn is one of the Republic's primary factory-worlds, and a full member of the Republic. (30 point world)
Sur: Home of the Gharn and the Sur-fruit, Sur is a world of massive oceans and a single moderate-sized continent. This continent is quite tropical, with semitropical regions to the north and south, and a more arid band near the equator. Recovering from a devastating infestation of the original Sur-fruit, Sur's biodiversity, especially for a jungle-covered world, leaves something to be desired. Fortunately, the experience of the Khurl in dealing with delicate environments and the Gharn eagerness to learn is insuring that the world is well on the way to recovering, even as it becomes host to highly-advanced species. Because of the relatively small amount of land available, Sur is host to several undersea cities and mining facilities, where Khurl, Gharn, and Shultakk work together for a more powerful Republic. Carefully-regulated engineering of meaty foods occurs on Sur, making actual livestock herds quite uncommon, save for those who prefer a rustic lifestyle separated from the Republic. Sur-fruit, in a much more benign form than once inhabited the planet, is grown exclusively in undersea cities, ensuring that war will not see the strange fungus seize Sur in its grip ever again. Almost all of Sur's defenses consist of orbital defense platforms and STL interceptor vessels. Sur possesses little heavy industry, and is one of the Republic's full member-worlds. (30 point world)
Ellorn: Roughly translated to “desolate,” this planet is well-named. Hosting no native life, Ellorn is home only to massive strip mining operations and immense shipyards. It is located in the same system as Nalthar, and did contribute some resources to the conquering of Norn, when its colony was new. Ellorn is not as well-defended as other worlds, but holds its own with mixed terrestrial and orbital defenses. Most of the planet's population make their home in underground cities, who survive on the revenue made from mining and shipbuilding ops. Nonetheless, Ellorn's population is quite low. It is a partial member-world of the Republic, and thus elects 25 senators instead of 50. (20 point world)
Tranquility: An Earth-like planet, Tranquility appears to have once been host to a civilization that had just been entering its Industrial Age. Now it is home to billions of citizens of the Republic, and serves a variety of diverse roles, from industry to research. Its defense is handled similarly to but on a much smaller scale than Nalthar's. Tranquility is a full member-world. (15 point world)
Minor Planets: These 5 worlds come in various flavors and serve various, generalized roles within the Republic. Three (Shuss, Anvil, A Place) are full member-worlds, while the other two (Outreach, Colmer) are partial member-worlds. Each world is equally well-defended, though full member-worlds see reinforcements and resources first. (5 point worlds)
Minor Holdings: Comms posts, asteroid belts, commercial space stations. The occasional small-scale military outpost. These numerous points of Republic ownership flux in and out of use, and are defended by the fleet. (0 points)
Total Planets: 10
Total Points: 170
Misc. Points of Note
Elite Ground Forces: The Republic's ground forces are highly trained, highly skilled, and completely merciless. Each member-race is deployed in a way that takes advantages of their natural mental and physical advantages. (130 points)
Internal Security: The Republic's spies and spooks are skilled and heartless, acting in the best interest of the Republic. They carefully monitor immigration, for example. Undesirable citizens (cult members or leaders, religious fanatics, known foreign dissidents, major criminals) are denied citizenship. Known spies are apprehended, pumped for information, and sent home in convenient plastic tubs along with recordings of their torture. Digital espionage is similarly difficult, due to the Republic's complex AIs. (110 points)
Propaganda Mastery: The Republic works hard to show its society as the best society: the most well-fought civil war is the one that never occurs. Propaganda departments also work to deceive foreign nations about the inner workings of the Republic. All of this makes it difficult to conquer Republic worlds through word alone. The Khurl, whom fashioned the Republic, have a very violent attitude towards foreign invasion of their worlds, having underwent such an invasion themselves. All member-races, but especially the Khurl, will resort to anything to fight occupation forces, including the spread of disease and the torture and execution of captured enemy civilians and soldiers. (40 points)
Advanced Medicine: Because of the virulent nature of the Khurl, the Republic has been required to develop its medicine to a great degree, making biological warfare involving the spread of disease somewhat less effective than it would be otherwise. The Republic's advanced medical science also means longer lifespans and healthier bodies for citizens of their nation. (10 points)
Total Points: 290
Other
Law: Republic law is a complex and extremely stern system, and its proper and fair enforcement has been, since the Republic's founding, of vital federal interest and importance. Criminal cases are ruled over by a judge, who deals out sentences and acts as a sort of referee between the prosecution and defense. The antagonizer is a neutral lawyer employed by the federal government to criticize the arguments of both the defense and the prosecution, so as to ensure that a jury of peers (consisting of 30 individuals chosen at random by a computer) is not deceived by tricks employed by either side. With the exception of crimes carrying a death penalty or life in prison, each accused is granted only one trial. Those who stand accused of crimes carrying a death penalty or life in prison are automatically given two trials by two entirely different juries, judges, and antagonizers. If a "tie" occurs, a third trial is held. The Republic is very critical of its judges and antagonizers: those who accept bribes in their official capacities or show inexcusable bias in their official behavior face the death penalty.
The Imperial Family: The citizens of the Republic are, almost without exception, atheists. Religion is typically taught as and regarded as a simplistic attempt to explain the universe at best, and a social control system for the stupid at worst. Because of this, most citizens of the Republic hold those who have strong faiths in mild contempt, though such attitudes are usually not revealed, particularly in diplomatically sensitive situations. The citizens of the Glorious Republic do, however, have a "god" of sorts: this is the Imperial Majesty, the Emperor or Empress. Since the bloody foundations of the Republic, each Imperial Majesty has taken it upon him or herself to produce as many offspring as possible. Careful programs of eugenics cull the weak and emphasize useful characteristics and personality traits. Children who make it to birth are carefully pitted against one another in various arenas. Fierce indoctrination programs place a premium on selflessness, careful planning, emotional detatchment, and yielding to the superior specimen. The spawn who demonstrates the most ability invariably inherits the stand upon the current Imperial Majesty's death, retirement, or yielding to a specimen he or she considers superior. The end result of all of this careful building is an ideal Khurl: a selfless, dedicated embodiment of the Republic and its myriad of laws, a calculating being who lives to advance his nation, just as much its slave as its master. The surviving specimens, the Imperial Majesty's siblings, invariably become the new Majesty's trusted personal aides, serving in roles in the civil authority, diplomatic corps, army, and navy. Others end up in the State Secuirty Bureau, serving as department heads and dangerous spymasters. In the event that the Emperor or Empress should die before a successor has been sufficiently trained, the second-best specimen from the last generation inherits the stand. Sibling infighting is literally unheard of, a rude and ghastly joke: the idea of depriving the Republic of the best leader possible for no reason but personal ambition is physically revolting to these Khurl. Indeed, a given generation of the Imperial Family is so close that the Majesty's siblings often know his or her will without even having to consult him or her. While the Senate frequently finds itself eyed suspiciously by the citizenry, the Imperial Majesty is almost universally loved and respected. The Emperor or Empress is the Republic's absolute authority on right and wrong, a final arbiter of justice, a literal avatar of the Republic. The Imperial Majesty is ultimately key to the survival of the Republic, as the citizens are able to rest assured that whatever the machinations of the senate, their leader has been literally bred to see to it that the Republic serves its citizens as they serve it. This level of assurance in their leader causes many to regard the Imperial Majesty as an almost parental figure, a being whose caring is unquestionable. There are few natural-born Republic citizens who have any tolerance for those who wish ill for their leader.
