STGOD 2k8 background thread

[Academia Nut]

Oh man, you know what would be hilariously ironic? If we eventually get a sequel set in the future of this galaxy when the Enclave's back-up arrives, and the two factions immediately get into a fight because the isolation and loss of civilian has caused a warping of the culture into an overly militaristic ideal with the addition of an almost messianiac complex of them holding off the unwashed barbarians until salvation arrives... only when the reinforcements do arrive they are nothing like what they expected and in a mirror of what happened to them, reject these newcomers as insufficiently "professional" to truly be the people they were waiting for.

But that's neither here nor there, simply an amusing tangential thought.

And since admitting to where you actually stole your archetypes from seems to go a long way towards understanding, my guys are like a mix of Orks and Emperor's Children from 40k, with a healthy dose of modern romantic interpretations of the Vikings with a sprinkling of Metalocalypse for flavour.

[Crossroads Inc.]

The thing about all this Insain Terran Religios Suicidal Manics is... What happens to those of us that want to play something "normal" ?

My starnation, more than likely, got its start about 100 to 200 years ago during one of the Imperiums golden ages. There was a short collpase, they get cut off and fend for themselves. Obviouslly thier culture changes in this time.

Eventually The Imperium bonces back, as it "always" does. Contact is restored... then the Enclave attack...

Im still trying to come up with the detail, exactly how they behave, what level of "Fundi" ness they are. Im hoping they won't be too crazy, and perhaps have "mellowed" off on thier own. Of course with the Enclave war, one would imagine Human pride and Nationalism to whip them up and stir thier hearts into actions.

[Covenant]

The thing about all this Insain Terran Religios Suicidal Manics is... What happens to those of us that want to play something "normal" ?

Just be prepared to do awful things when Academia's insane group of Metalheads comes headbanging against your borders. There will always be a few ideologically challenged members of society so I wouldn't depair too much that you aren't quite Imperial standard, and your people may have just been an Inquest visit or two away from becoming model citizens of the Empire. Sadly, that visit may be delayed somewhat. I wanted to add an Inquest of some sort so we can assume that there is a tendency to fall out of line, which makes it easier to explain why, now that there isn't one harassing you, you may be more likely to be unwholesomely anti-Empire.

I might make my spheres into an Inquest fleet. That might be fun. Sadly, ground units are likely to be nothing but a sack of numbers, so I won't get any benefits from my ornate ground legions. ;__;

[Academia Nut]

Oh, the extra points spent in ground combat will be useful when my boys come a knocking. Alternatively, you can just give up when I hit the ground, in which case you will be treated to the scene of the survivors looking up at the sky as the tour moves on, their homes gutted by fire and explosives, their clothing in tatters and numerous wounds and smudge marks of smoke obscuring their features.

And they only thing they will be able to say is, "That was an awesome party."

[Nephtys]

Thunderer shook as another energy blast glanced off it's sleek hull, through the visually spectacular emission of color from the ship's barrier field. Within the halls and corridors of the ship, steam spat out of broken tubes and consoles exploded in showers of harmless 'safety sparks'. Crewmembers were thrown about as the Cruiser rolled on it's side through the battle damage, bringing to bear her still-closed broadside particle beam tubes.

---

"Captain! The Pirate Death-Sloop is now in range." called back a bubble-helmeted crew member from one of the bridge's still functioning consoles. Her red-gloved fingers danced across glowing keys.
Another voice called out. "Two more on Hyper-Scan, Captain! What're we going to do?!"

Captain Bourne's bold featured boldness seemed redoubled as he took a dramatic pose, leaning against his chair. "Don't worry, guns!" he laughed in a firm baritone.
"Lay down a broadside into the nearest Death-Sloop! Lord Zargon is going to reconsider ever messing with the Concordat after this!"
He leaned forward as the ship careened in a combat maneuver, avoiding fire. "Then I want a double-broadside at the other two targets with the Wave-Beams. And recommend me for another medal while you're at it, Spaceman!"

"Aye Captain!" came the cheering reply as the crew went into action.

---

As the cruiser rolled on it's side, each of her dozen gunports popped open on the port side, before spitting out a bright and continuous beam of white light towards the evil pirates. Moments later, the starboard broadside did the same, beams bending by invisible force in a tight 180 degree turn across the glistening Cruiser's hull to smash those vile space brigands.

The dark-painted hulls of the pirate death-sloops exploded into an expanding conflagration, one by one as the particle beams blasted into them. Through the wreckage and burning plasma, only the triumphant form of Thunderer emerged.

---

"Ha ha ha!" laughed the dashing Captain, lit handsomely from off-camera lighting in his triumphant moment. "Pirates and Invaders stand no chance against heroes like me, Captain Neil Bourne, and the Crew of the Thunderer!" he boasts directly to the fourth wall. "But the Real hero is you: Sign up for service with Astro-Fleet today, and save the world!" he smiles, pointing to the screen right as his spunky cast of diverse crew members appear in the shot as it zooms out to the bridge of the ship. The screen fades out to black as credits roll.

Thank you for watching. This hyperwave broadcast was from your friendly local Concordat Recruitment Bureau. Sign up today!

[Dahak]

Well my nation has grown so comfortable with Downloading ones self into a machine that being a "Computer" for a starship is seen as a Job position. Now then it is also a non perminant thing, and a person can be "Uploaded" into any number of machines and still be able to go back to thier body if they choose.

Hm, been there, done that, bought the T-Shirt
Though my people are a bit more so

[Rogue 9]

I will tell you something right now. Nashtar (though it wouldn't have had that name until after the fall of the Empire) was about a week from an Inquest smackdown when the Enclave hit. There's about no other way for me to do what I'm going to do and still be an Imperial remnant.

[Covenant]

I will tell you something right now. Nashtar (though it wouldn't have had that name until after the fall of the Empire) was about a week from an Inquest smackdown when the Enclave hit. There's about no other way for me to do what I'm going to do and still be an Imperial remnant.

Given that we have around 10-15 years from the beginning of our troubled period until now when Earth gets vaporized, it's not a big leap to assume that about 3 years into it, you guys started getting frisky with the alternative thinking. It's possible that the Inquest was heavily tied up in combat as well--if they were like the SS, then they must have had a waffen-SS division as well for dealing with grumpy, armed heretics from time to time. They probably got obliterated with most of the other fleet units, so your heresy was probably on a To-Do list somewhere.

If I do play a sorta Inquest group, it wouldn't be some heavily armed elite. Any elites would have been in combat, and probably be killed in the Enclave war.

[Rogue 9]

Yeah, well I need enough time for a local alien race to become functioning members of society rather than Imperial slaves. Fifteen years seems a little fast, but you never know.

[Shinn Langley Soryu]

I already know the basic concept for my faction, but I just can't seem to put it all together. All I have is a bunch of disjointed thoughts concerning Chaos Space Marines, the Brotherhood of Nod, the Covenant, and Haruhi Suzumiya.

[Academia Nut]

Are you going for barbarians or remnant? The inclusion of the CSM makes me think you're probably going for barbarians, in which case I will present to you a chunk of the OOB I'm building so that maybe you can find useful. Perhaps a shared background to a certain degree? Like our groups both sprang from the same source and then diverged over time.

Religion

Religion is very important to the Könige, although the effect is a bit different from other human religions in that actual worship tends to be a bit more self-gratifying for the devotee than normal. This has led to an accusation that their entire theology is cobbled together from a bunch of schizophrenics rambling to one another while under the effects of powerful hallucinogens.

The Könige prefer to retort to such accusations with a flippant, “Yeah, and yours isn’t?”

The head Könige deity in their pantheon is, somewhat surprisingly considering their patriarchal and often excessively masculine society, is the Lady of Awesome. For the Könige, the concepts of Awesome and Fate are somewhat interchangeable, and since they often describe Fate as a “kick in the balls when you’re not looking”, the only way to reconcile such behaviour is for the ruler of Fate, and thus Awesome, to be female, since groin shots are unacceptable between males.

The Lady of Awesome is described as having ten arms, four legs, three faces, and ten thousand breasts. The arms are for playing a double necked guitar-bass, a drum kit, and a double decked keyboard, while the extra pair of feet operates the pedals to the drums while standing. The faces are so that she can accompany herself vocally while keeping an eye on her instruments. The breasts are there because that many boobs on a woman are Awesome. Some also claim that she is some sort of dragon, because dragons are raw Awesome. Those that emphasize worship of the Lady are called Powerbringers, because of their obsession with getting just a bit more power out of their songs by invoking the Lady.

At her side is the Lord of Destruction, a deity so pronounced amongst the Rückers that outsiders occasionally believe that he is the actual head god in their pantheon. If they point out that the Lord of Destruction should be the head god considering how barbaric their culture is, the nearest Könige will proceed to beat the hell out of the ignorant heathen and then clearly explain that while destruction is pretty Awesome, there are other, more constructive ways of being Awesome. Like building a huge building studded with gargoyles and such that is also a giant cannon, or possibly transforms into a robot.

In any case, the Lord of Destruction appears as a towering suit of armour wielding a flaming blade, the only bit of what is beneath the armour being eyes that burn like stars. According to Könige mythology, the Lord of Destruction is the essence of the void made incarnate, and will be there to finish the reaping of the cosmos when the last stars. Some Rückers have dedicated their lives to the Lord of Destruction, seeking to spread his message, and are called Doombringers. Most of the rest at least pay some tribute to the Lord of Destruction, usually a shrine next to the Lady’s and whatever other gods they worship.

There are countless other gods, all with some form of cult around them, and the greatest champions are often elevated to godhood after their deaths. Due to a combination of life prolonging drugs and a religious belief that the only way for a Rücker to get into the Könige heaven, Van Halla, is through an Awesome, typically violent, death, this means that there are thousands of such individuals raised to the level of a minor deity. Images and relics associated with these fallen heroes of past ages adorn the homes and rooms of all Könige, and there are entire museums of weaponry and instruments claimed as trophies in battle and passed down to the next generation.

Surprisingly, despite their often sinister nature, the Könige do not worship their devil figure, but that is more because their conceptions of good and evil are not based around standard human morality but “Awesome and Not Awesome”. Called Riaa the All Consumer, this creature seeks to absorb everything into itself, forcing all those consumed to labour endlessly for little benefit, sucking all the awesome out of things. Foreigners are often considered to be pawns of Riaa until they have proven otherwise.

Könige religious observances are often characterized as a bacchanalia with more sex, drugs, and weapons fire, and even simple, personal reflections often involve the imbuing of small quantities of psychotropic substances, usually hallucinogens or analgesics. There is also some debate on whether or not Könige resistance to alcohol was genetically engineered or if it simply appeared via natural selection due to the near ubiquity of the substance in all aspects, including religious rituals, of Könige life.

Finally, a note must be made about the relationship between Könige religion and their sex lives. To outsiders, the Könige seem to have no rules about sex, but in fact there is a very complex structure and religious undertones to their sexuality. Obviously, they consider sex Awesome, which actually elevates it to a religious experience, but they actually take great care about when and where it happens, primarily to control pregnancy. This is because their civilization would suffer near complete collapse if their women were to imbibe the same amount of drugs as normal while pregnant. Thus a Könige woman will usually only have children after purging herself of all toxins, which tends to interfere with religious activity, as they can’t even enter a shrine without being exposed to airborne pharmaceuticals.

All of this combined leads to extraordinary religious protections for pregnant women and nursing mothers, they are in fact considered minor avatars of the Lady of Awesome. As one scholar puts it, “They’re hormonal, in withdrawal, and they can’t even ask for strength from the gods. In a fight between a pregnant Könige woman and a Rücker warlord in full power armour with a power axe, bet on the one with the kid.”

[Crossroads Inc.]

Ah Academia Nut, you chunk of OOB is, in a word... Awesome!

[Academia Nut]

Wait until you see the rest of it. But yeah, the combination of Chaos Space Marines and Haruhi (that's going to give me nightmares) made me think of the Lady of Awesome, and I immediately figured I should post that bit in the hopes that it might catalyze final crystallization of Soryu's idea. Although from the addition of the Covenant, the Haruhi-ism is probably a bit more theologically militant than the Konige's religion. I can even see our two factions being capable of allying at times but often suffering from "different perspectives on theology".

[Dark Hellion]

I am pretty sure that my faction is going to get along pretty well with yours Academia. I have an ambassador that wears leather pants and skull and bones t-shirts. And tons of hot chicks wearing revealing dresses.

[SirNitram]

Life In The Occupied Territories.

The Occupied Territories is the common name, both inside and out, of the worlds held by the Enclave. Even the Enclave doesn't refer to them as 'It's worlds'; an Enclave world has a large number of differences, they swear, and they are implementing them as fast as is feasible. But they are upfront and honest about their nature as an occupying force.

A low-level insurgency exists, but is kept deprived of targets by limited interaction. The Enclave knows the score; anyone it works with on the ground of the worlds will be branded a collaborator and probably in serious shit. While it keeps violence against locals to a minimum, it has fostered more and more resentment to the occupiers, who have to resort to handing down edicts from above, or implementing changes themselves.

Far more common than insurgent violence are protests. Almost daily, one of the worlds, mining facilities, or shipyards is down because of protests against the actions of the occupiers. These are met with a level of measured appeasement, as long as they remain nonviolent. Those inciting violence are illuminated with the red dots of targetting lasers; the few that have persisted have been shot.

The overall situation of trying to uplift non-homogenuous societies together, along with an insurgency and common protests, means the Enclave worlds are constantly drained from their peak output. Paradoxically, they still receive a constant influx of immigration. Most is very under the table; while the Enclave legally recignizes those coming in less than publically, most of the powers remaining in the wake of the Enclave's destruction of the Empire are less than keen about empowering them. So most refugees arrive hidden, cowering, and hoping for protection.

The one absolute in the Occupied Territories is protection. The Insurgency has learned the hard way that using their battle-rhetoric to target ethnic, cultural, or religious minorities results in terrifying precision force against them, where the survivors are publically humiliated or worse, thrown into the gladitorial games taking place. Violence against the Enclave is responded to merely with force, in contrast. Even outside powers are less than inclined to attack the Enclave, given their incredible ships. But each day will increase the likely audacity of the neighbouring powers.

[Crossroads Inc.]

((some)) History of the Kushawni Imperial Province

Following the plague that ravaged the Colonists abored Teknotron-1 The Great CityMind that ran most of the Colony ship began to take on a more direct roll of leadership. It calculated that without direct intervention on it's part, mostly in the form of very liberal Breeding rules, the remaining humans might fully die out.

Having already made a massive shift in thier views with Mind/Machine interface, the colonists once more found their strict Imperial views tested as sex was encouraged on a wide scale.

By the time colonising of the first Planets in the newly established province we're under way, the population was back up to a healthy sustainable number. However from this point, the CityMinds control over Political and Civic duties steadily grew. It learned before anyone else that there had been ((yet another)) collapse in the Imperium and the assumed heavy hand of Terra would not be around for quite some time.

Many of the new Liberal suggestion made by the CityMind helped to both increase moral as well as the Growth of the new Province. It did however cause a large rift between the 'Conservatives' who felt the true ideals of the Imperium we're being watered down or corrupted.

Too overcome such ill feelings, the CityMind began to reinforce feelings of Patriotism. With only sparse contact with the Imperium, it began to build up a different view of what it "should" be while reinforcing the old views of superiority as well as National Pride. To this end it also implemented the construction of a "Kushani Imperial Defence Service" again, under the flag of Patriotism. During this time the "Buster Corps" was also created mostly as an Elite Patriotic service anyone could strive to attain.

By the time contact with the Imperium was re-establish on a large scale, the Kushani Provance was horrified to find it in the midst of a massive War.

The CityMind at last had an enemy to which it could focus its people. Ship building began in earnest as people we're warned that Once again, we must fend for ourselves It was during the war the CityMind made a choice it still regrets.

It calculated a distinct chance that The Enclave might cause enough confusion to breech the Imperial Defence and come to assault Terra. However, to placate it's people, and keep in reserve every ship it had, it assured them of Terra's safety and swift Imperial Victory.

When the news of Terra’s destruction at the hands of its own people reached them, it Crushed the Kushani emotionally. Immediately many turned on the CityMind and blamed it for not sending their forces, yet as both the Imperium and the Enclave began to collapse, it was clear they would be needed close to home.

The “on our own” feelings returned more then ever as the CityMind laid out a new goal to stir it’s people. To someday return itself to the Terra System, and rebuild their shattered world.

[Darkevilme]

3d model for Chamaran Destroyer, first draft.

As i said, not quite happy with it. oh and the arms on struts part is the bow, not the tail.

[Covenant]

Goddammit, am I gonna have to model some spaceships for the Imperial ships now? You ratbastards. Note, they should give a unique sort of feel we all sorta like and should respect, since they'll be available to all the nations who get lucky enough to find and/or choose to build them (like some Imperial Remnant forces will). They should also not look too much like the Enclave vessels, because that's just uncreative. ;D

What kind of ships should they use? Ornate, full of bitz like an ISD or an Imperium of Man cruiser? Lots of little raises ribs and panels?

Light and airy, apparently relying more on forcefields than structural integrity to keep themselves alive?

Heavily pitted and cratered, as if they were made from a single piece of weathered iron? Guns like pillboxes on the surface?

Daggers, like an ISD, or other long and thin warships?

Spheres, like Deathstars and my Gravital Sphere?

Plates, like massive flying Spartan Shields?

Radially designed, like a snowflake, or Atlantis?

Massive bricks, squares or long 2x4 shapes?

[Nephtys]

3d model for Chamaran Destroyer, first draft.

As i said, not quite happy with it. oh and the arms on struts part is the bow, not the tail.

You're doing an Atomic Rocketship style too?

[Shinn Langley Soryu]

Wait until you see the rest of it. But yeah, the combination of Chaos Space Marines and Haruhi (that's going to give me nightmares) made me think of the Lady of Awesome, and I immediately figured I should post that bit in the hopes that it might catalyze final crystallization of Soryu's idea. Although from the addition of the Covenant, the Haruhi-ism is probably a bit more theologically militant than the Konige's religion. I can even see our two factions being capable of allying at times but often suffering from "different perspectives on theology".

Your treatise on Konige theology was definitely a factor in the final crystallization of my idea, yes. I can definitely go with a partially shared background for our two factions.

A History of Haruhiism in the Terran Empire

The history of Haruhiism is long and convoluted. It is a tale of convergence, of how various unrelated parts can come together to form a greater whole. Above all else, it is a tale of how the lines between fact and fiction can be blurred and how life and art can imitate each other in the most bizarre ways possible.

Pre-Terran Empire

In 1989, a girl was born in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. She would not know it, but she would prove to be pivotal to events in a far future she could only have dreamed of. Her name? Haruhi Suzumiya.

In 2003, when Haruhi was still in junior high, author Nagaru Tanigawa would publish the first of the novels that would make him famous. She viewed these works with some manner of mild amusement, passively observing as these books snowballed into a television adaptation and eventually spawned a religion all their own. In the meantime, life went on for Haruhi herself; she graduated from high school and then from college with the highest honors the Japanese educational system could bestow, entered the work force, and generally did the best she could to live as extraordinary and unique a life as she could.

As the years dragged on, Haruhi found herself in a situation not unlike that of Kane, Connor MacLeod, or the God-Emperor of Man: She was unaging and undying. For years, she wandered the Earth, doing extraordinary things and living the unique life she had always wanted. She watched as humanity reached for the stars and beyond, spreading its influence to distant worlds. She watched as Earth united under one government to form the Holy Solar Empire of Fortress Terra. She would not foresee the role she would eventually come to play in the game that was being set up, however.

The Terran Empire

The Lords of Metal and the Great Hiatus

The Metalkönige, or "Lords of Metal," were the descendants of the first wave of human interstellar colonization. They resisted the authority of Fortress Terra, and for that they were banished to a region of space known as the Deadlands, a dead zone carved out to shield Terran territories from potential xeno threats.

While Könige culture revolves around heavy metal, there are lots of other things they find Awesome. Take animation, for instance. Giant robots blowing each other up, stylized gun and sword fights, epic spaceship battles, and hot women are all naturally Awesome (as long as they're done right), and the Könige recognize that fact. When members of a Könige raiding party discovered a Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya anthology among the ruins of a world they had just pillaged, they immediately started spreading its gospel to their comrades. With a host of attractive characters, its humorous content, and its fair share of Awesome fight scenes, what was there to hate?

However, with the introduction of Haruhi, a few Könige took the concept of Haruhiism a bit too literally for their own good. In the distant past, Haruhiism was nothing but a pseudoreligion, a massive in-joke between fans of the franchise; now, heretical Rückers were preaching that Haruhi Suzumiya was the Lady of Awesome incarnate, among a great many other statements that would make a 21st-century otaku shake his head and say to himself, "Just what the fuck is wrong with these people?"

The deification of the SOS Brigade was only the beginning. While standard Könige religious doctrine did not call for forced proselytization, the self-proclaimed Haruhiists took it upon themselves to spread the gospel of Haruhi by any means necessary, even at the point of a gun or sword. Haruhiists and orthodox Könige soon found themselves at odds with each other, and what followed was a brief yet highly destructive civil war. Nobody knows who fired the first shot, but in any case, the de facto leaders of the Haruhiists soon decided that going to war with their fellow Könige was totally not Awesome and tried to negotiate a truce with the orthodox Rückers; when the final terms of the truce were finally agreed upon, Könige society went back to status quo ante bellum, and the Haruhiists left and did their own thing.

The exile of the Haruhiists from the Metalkönige would come to be known as the Great Hiatus. Since the Hiatus, the Haruhiists and the orthodox Könige have engaged in countless snipes and jabs at each other, with each side blaming the other for causing the schism. While they have been known to collaborate with each other against common threats, such alliances are rare and almost always rapidly disintegrate once the threat has passed; while most confrontations between Haruhiists and orthodox Könige never exceed the level of (extremely heated) verbal combat, whenever prime real estate or loot is at stake, both sides are more than willing to come to blows over these spoils.

The Corruption of the Fleets and the Path to Godhood

During the second age of colonization, Fortress Terra dispatched its nigh-infinite Battle Fleets to reclaim its lost territories, to pacify any and all xeno threats, and to prepare other planets for further colonization. Three of these fleets, the 7th, the 14th, and the 49th, were dispatched to a region of space bordering the Deadlands to confront the so-called "Data Integration Thought Entity." The supreme commander of this expedition was none other than Haruhi Suzumiya herself, now a full-fledged Admiral in the Imperial Navy; she had joined the Imperial Navy when it was first formed and soon established herself as one of its greatest officers, putting centuries of hard-earned strategic knowledge and wisdom to use against the enemies of Fortress Terra.

The 7th, 14th, and 49th Fleets arrived at their destination, with Haruhi's flagship Mystérique Sign leading the way; expecting to be greeted by a fully armed enemy fleet, she was surprised to find only a lone diplomatic shuttle waiting for her. It was then that she gave the most fateful decision of her career: she admitted the shuttle onboard the Mystérique Sign and personally greeted the ambassadors of the Thought Entity. What shocked Haruhi was that the Thought Entity's ambassadors resembled two women she knew in high school long ago--Yuki Nagato and Ryoko Asakura--and that they identified themselves as such. Admiral Suzumiya was then treated to a dry and lengthy lecture on how the Data Integration Entity had been interested in her from day one, how Yuki and Ryoko had been dispatched to observe her life as it unfolded, and how they they had been recalled when the Terran Empire was formed; instead of coming back to Haruhi, Yuki and Ryoko were ordered by their superiors to have Haruhi come to them instead, thus leading to the lecture that the admiral was being forced to sit through.

This whole experience was highly disconcerting for Admiral Suzumiya, to say the least; suffice to say that her life was imitating art (or was art imitating her life?) a bit too closely for its own good. The cherry that topped this hot fudge sundae of confusion was Ryoko's revelation that there was an entire civilization of human barbarians that revered Haruhi Suzumiya the fictional character as a goddess; needless to say, Haruhi Suzumiya the living person was intrigued by this new development. Considering how closely her life coincided with Nagaru Tanigawa's writings and Kyoto Animation's TV show, this was a golden opportunity, and she leapt at it; she had always wanted to know what it was like to be a god.

The Ascension of Haruhi Suzumiya

Admiral Suzumiya reported back to her superiors that the Integrated Data Entity posed no threat to Fortress Terra and that they would actually be of help in putting down a certain group of pesky barbarians; trusting the admiral's judgment, her superiors consented and allowed her to take the 14th and 49th Imperial Battle Fleets to the Deadlands to deal with the Haruhiist menace once and for all (the 7th Fleet was needed elsewhere at the time). Of course, the Admiral had no intention of exterminating the Haruhiists; she was going to set herself up as the physical incarnation of their god, and the Data Integration Thought Entity was going to lead her to that goal.

Yuki and Ryoko provided Admiral Suzumiya with the general coordinates of the region of the Deadlands that the Haruhiists were living in. It didn't take long for the Admiral to locate a Haruhiist world, and her establishment of dominance over the local population was ensured by the mere mention of her name alone; this process was repeated for every world with a Haruhiist presence on it. Before long, Haruhi found herself in command of two full-sized Imperial Battle Fleets, two agents of a powerful alien intelligence, and an entire civilization of barbarians ready to fight and die in her name.

The Haruhi and Sasaki Heresies

Admiral Suzumiya's ascension to godhood did not sit well with either the Terran Empire or the Metalkönige.

An Imperial Admiral by the name of Sasaki covertly observed Admiral Suzumiya's conquest of Haruhiist space, taking note of the lack of bloodshed and planet-killing. Ever the eternal schemer, Admiral Sasaki convinced the Inquest that Admiral Suzumiya had betrayed the Empire and was now conspiring with the Haruhiists and the Integrated Data Entity to overthrow it. While it was an open secret that Sasaki hated Suzumiya's guts, her snitching was partially motivated by a need to divert attention from her own secret betrayal. She had been covertly dealing with the Integrated Data Entity's own nemesis, the Canopy Domain, in her own efforts to seize control of the Empire; incidentally, Admiral Suzumiya was the only one who knew of this collaboration. Admiral Sasaki hoped that the Inquest would be too occupied with hunting down and silencing Admiral Suzumiya to pay any heed to her own conspiracy.

On the barbarian side of things, the Metalkönige were obviously not pleased with their wayward bretheren pledging their loyalty to an Imperial Admiral masquerading as their goddess. Collaborating with the Imperials is among the gravest forms of treason a Könige could ever dare to commit against his/her people; the Haruhiists were now traitors twice over, and to the orthodox Könige, this was more than enough justification to go to war.

Admiral Suzumiya had just solidified her control over the Haruhiists when she found herself under attack from the Empire that had forsaken her and from the barbarians that had exiled her subjects. When the Empire and the Metalkönige each found out about the other's involvement in this fiasco, what would have been a straightforward offensive to crush the Haruhiists rapidly snowballed into pure chaos. The Metalkönige were tempted to strike at unguarded or lightly defended Imperial territories while the bulk of the Imperial Navy was off trying to destroy their renegade admiral; conversely, the Imperial Navy tried to seize on the opportunity to crush both the Könige and Admiral Suzumiya in one fell swoop. Admiral Suzumiya put up as best a defense as she could against her aggressors, turning her strategic knowledge against the navy that it once helped; even though she was vastly outnumbered and outgunned at every turn, she gave as much damage to her foes as she took from them.

Meanwhile, with the Empire's attention focused on crushing Haruhi and the Könige into dust, Admiral Sasaki saw it fit to put her plan into motion. Taking a few pages from the Horus Heresy, she virus-bombed the Haruhiist world of Harvest V, wiping out 8 billion Haruhiists, civilians, and Imperial Marines in one swift stroke; thirty-five loyalist Marines managed to escape Harvest V aboard the commandeered frigate Vengeful Spirit in an attempt to warn Imperial high command and the Inquest of Sasaki's double-cross. While the loyalists succeeded in getting through with their intel, the subsequent Imperial counter-strike at Admiral Sasaki's field HQ on Harvest III proved to be a disaster, owing to the fact that the reinforcements were actually part of Sasaki's forces.

As the Imperial contingent in Haruhiist space fractured due to paranoia over Admiral Sasaki's actions, the Haruhiists and the Metalkönige simultaneously struck back with a vengeance. While the Könige were concerned only with looting and pillaging, Admiral Suzumiya attempted to use the confusion to her advantage by trying to turn the Imperials to her cause; while the majority steadfastly believed the lies fed to the Inquest by Admiral Sasaki, a few bought Admiral Suzumiya's explanation that she was merely trying to bring the Haruhiists into the Imperial fold through peaceful means. Needless to say, it took plenty of convincing on Haruhi's part to undo the damage caused by Sasaki's fiction before she could proceed with her plans; once Admiral Suzumiya had regained their allegiance, the combined Haruhiist/Imperial force came down upon the Könige like the warhammers their own Eisengrafen wielded, scattering whatever forces they had left in Haruhiist space.

The Siege of Fortress Terra

After the threat of the Metalkönige had been dealt with, the combined Haruhiist/Imperial force turned its attention to Admiral Sasaki and her traitor Fleets, who had been making their final preparations to assault Fortress Terra with the agents of the Canopy Domain. Yuki and Ryoko relayed the specifics of the situation to their superiors, who understood perfectly and deployed a battle fleet of their own to aid in the defense of Fortress Terra, though it was mainly out of their desire to crush the Canopy Domain rather than an obligation to safeguard the cradle of humanity.

After linking up with the Integrated Data Entity fleet at Alpha Centauri, Admiral Suzumiya made her move on Fortress Terra, arriving just in time to greet Admiral Sasaki, her traitor Fleets, and the Canopy Domain's own forces. What followed was Haruhi's greatest challenge yet as battle came down in the skies over Earth for the first time in ages; Sasaki was just as good a tactician and strategist as she was, and the Canopy Domain was obviously nothing to be trifled with.

The siege of Fortress Terra lasted exactly one week, during which Admiral Sasaki saw her forces get eaten away due to sheer attrition. Her attempts to land troops on Earth's surface were thwarted by Haruhiist and Integrated Data Entity raiders, and Canopy Domain soldiers and traitor Marines that managed to make it planetside were swiftly torn apart by a particularly tenacious ground defense spearheaded by none other than Yuki Nagato and Ryoko Asakura themselves. In space, Haruhi and Integrated Data Entity fleet commander Emiri Kimidori used their superior firepower, numbers, and mobility to turn the traitor Fleets and the Canopy Domain ships into so much wreckage and debris. At the end of the week, only Sasaki's personal flagship, the Wandering Shadow, and a few Canopy Domain ships remained.

The Endgame and Sasaki's Revelation

On the seventh day of the siege, Admiral Sasaki's executive officer Captain Kyouko Tachibana, former Inquest Agent Fujiwara (better known by his sobriquet of "Sneering Bastard"), and Canopy Domain adjutant Kuyou Suou informed their superior that Imperial loyalist reinforcements were en route to Terra and were due at their destination in less than 24 hours. At that moment, Sasaki realized that her gambit had failed horrendously. She did not factor in Haruhi's interference, nor did she anticipate the sheer tenacity of the loyalists; she could not carry out any further operations with the forces now at her disposal, and she was sure to be killed once the reinforcements arrived at last. It was at that point that Sasaki made the decision to drop the shields of the Wandering Shadow, hoping to draw out Haruhi into a final, personal confrontation.

Admiral Sasaki's final gamble worked like a charm. After signing control of her fleets over to Emiri, Haruhi boarded the Wandering Shadow, leading Yuki, Ryoko, and a battalion of Imperial Marines turned Haruhiists and Integrated Data Entity soldiers in their assault on the ship. After encountering fierce resistance all throughout, Haruhi finally met up with Sasaki on the bridge; she ordered Yuki, Ryoko, and the remaining Marines and Data Entities to return to the Mystérique Sign, saying that things would become too messy to handle, even for them.

Once Haruhi's companions had fled, Admiral Sasaki treated her nemesis to a drawn-out, overly dramatic speech that she concluded with the revelation that she was none other than Haruhi Suzumiya's own evil twin sister (separated at birth, of course). While Haruhi was largely unaware of her own relation to Sasaki, Sasaki knew all too well of the existence of her twin sister, of her myriad exploits and accomplishments. Centuries of jealousy and resentment had bred an overpowering inferiority complex in Sasaki, which was a probable factor in her desire to destroy Haruhi and take control of the Empire. Now that she was face-to-face with Haruhi, Sasaki threw away her pretenses of interstellar conquest and replaced them with the single overriding urge to kill her sister.

This clash of immortals raged all throughout the bridge of the Wandering Shadow for hours as Haruhi and Sasaki traded blows with one another, using whatever weapons they could get their hands upon; their martial skills and physical endurance were tremendous, and no quarter was asked or given. While details are sketchy over the exact proceedings, the duel ended with Haruhi slicing open Sasaki's chest, severing her right arm, and finally impaling her with a chainsword; in a final act of triumph and spite, Haruhi removed the chainsword, raised Sasaki's maimed body over her head, broke her back on her knee, tossed her aside, and impaled her once more with the chainsword for good measure. Haruhi obviously did not escape unscathed; she had suffered burns to approximately half of her face due to a plasma rifle blast from Sasaki during the duel, and she had also taken a bolter round directly to the chest. She left the Wandering Shadow in the company of Yuki and Ryoko, who had chosen to stay behind despite their orders. The remnants of the Haruhiist/Integrated Data Entity fleet departed Fortress Terra only several minutes before the Imperial reinforcements arrived; the remnants of the Canopy Domain fleet dispersed shortly afterwards, leaving the Wandering Shadow to drift in Earth orbit.

The Farewell of Haruhi Suzumiya

Before she left Earth for good, Haruhi left behind a brief message for the Imperials to read, which stated the following:

To whom it may concern,

It was never my intent to betray your Empire. I only wanted to bring the Haruhiist nation into your fold peacefully, but your Admiral Sasaki obviously had other plans. Thanks to her lies, while you were off chasing barbarians, Fortress Terra nearly fell to xeno mercenaries and Sasaki's traitor legions.

For one week, I fought to ensure Fortress Terra's integrity. It took your nearest forces one week to arrive. You, who branded me as a traitor for collaborating with xenos and barbarians, should, nay, must be grateful, for without me, your precious Empire would have ceased to exist.

Should you ever be in need of my services again, I'll be there to answer the call. For now, however, I've a nation to lead. I trust that the real traitors will be dealt with appropriately.

Love,

Haruhi

Haruhi had indeed won the day, but the victory she had won for the Empire ultimately proved to be Pyrrhic. The Haruhiists had suffered the heaviest losses in proportion to the other involved parties, with approximately 75-80% of their entire population lost to enemy action. The 14th and 49th Imperial Battle Fleets, which had remained under Haruhi's command since the start, had been all but decimated. The Integrated Data Entity fleet present at Terra lost one-fourth of their ships to enemy action.

The Haruhiists eventually resettled in another region of the Deadlands, far from Imperial or Metalkönige influence; under Haruhi's guidance and with the assistance of Yuki and Ryoko, they started to rebuild their civilization. Meanwhile, Haruhi began the long process of recuperating from her injuries.

The End...Or Was It?

On the other hand, Admiral Sasaki's traitors were decimated themselves; those few who had survived the final push towards Fortress Terra were promptly tried and executed by the Inquest for treason. The Canopy Domain had thrown its entire military strength behind the attempt to take Earth, and it suffered severely for its aggression, losing all of its ground troops and approximately 90% of its space fleet in one fell swoop.

When loyalist Imperial Marines finally boarded the Wandering Shadow, they were astonished to find no trace of Admiral Sasaki or her minions. Unbeknownst to them, Admiral Sasaki was a bit too much like Kane in that she had somehow, inexplicably cheated death by surviving her duel with Haruhi; Sneering Bastard, Kuyou, and Captain Tachibana evacuated their superior from the Wandering Shadow, took her to a waiting Canopy Domain ship, and promptly fled to Canopy Domain space.

The Present Day

Haruhi Suzumiya has long since recovered from the injuries dealt against her by Sasaki; in fact, some would say that she's stronger now than ever. With Yuki Nagato and Ryoko Asakura alongside her, Haruhi presides over the civilization that bears her name with a firm yet benevolent hand. She has done much to shape Haruhiist society as it is known today.

Former Admiral Sasaki, on the other hand, has not fared so well. Whereas Haruhi still looks much the same as she did in the 21st century, Sasaki's flawless face belies her severely mangled body; she is largely dependent on cybernetics to maintain her life. While the Haruhiists and the Data Integration Thought Entity have accepted Miss Suzumiya's leadership with unrivaled devotion, the Canopy Domain has not been as kind towards Sasaki; they still remember how she had led them to defeat long ago, and as such they are mostly distrustful towards her. Captain Tachibana and Sneering Bastard are still around, albeit encased within Canopy Domain-manufactured cybernetic prosthetic bodies; Kuyou, on the other hand, still has her original organic body.

The destruction of Earth and the subsequent disintegration of the Terran Empire has brought up new challenges for both Haruhi and Sasaki. Both are interested in conquest, but for different reasons; Haruhi wants to spread her gospel and reestablish the Empire under her own benevolent rule, while Sasaki wants to carve out her own corrupt niche in the galaxy one remnant at a time. There can only be one.

[Crossroads Inc.]

Goddammit, am I gonna have to model some spaceships for the Imperial ships now? You ratbastards. Note, they should give a unique sort of feel we all sorta like and should respect, since they'll be available to all the nations who get lucky enough to find and/or choose to build them (like some Imperial Remnant forces will). They should also not look too much like the Enclave vessels, because that's just uncreative. ;D

What kind of ships should they use?
<snip>

I vote "Big ships of Death"
They should look like Empire ships in so far as when you see them, you should go "I am SO fcked"

They should be substance over style, Function over form. They should also be big, larger then any of our standard ships.

[Darkevilme]

3d model for Chamaran Destroyer, first draft.

As i said, not quite happy with it. oh and the arms on struts part is the bow, not the tail.

You're doing an Atomic Rocketship style too?

Uh no it just sorta turned out that way, i've decided to redo it later. Though i suppose i could knock out something for ya in this style seen as i seem to fall into it without trying.

[Covenant]

I vote "Big ships of Death"
They should look like Empire ships in so far as when you see them, you should go "I am SO fcked"

They should be substance over style, Function over form. They should also be big, larger then any of our standard ships.

Any shape in particular? Neph told me she liked the idea of big, creepy spheroid ships with a cluster of engines at one end and weapon holes elsewhere. And trenches. I love trench guns! We'd be able to do phaser strips in a way that'd make Kirk cry, or cannons, or lots of drons.

[Crossroads Inc.]

you know? Giant orbs of DOOM sound rather good, perhaps something akin to the Perryverse ships. I could envsion thier surface pockmarked by decades of old battles.

[Covenant]

you know? Giant orbs of DOOM sound rather good, perhaps something akin to the Perryverse ships. I could envsion thier surface pockmarked by decades of old battles.

What's the name of the perryverse series? I'm tinkering with a design at the moment for a smaller vessel, but I'd love to hear of some inspiration. Plus! If we go with spheres, and I keep my love of spheres for ground units too, we can make this some sort of Earth/Sol/Luna naming convention and tie it into their Earth/Solsystem worship. Their version of a statue of a holy mother could be a perfect sphere.