Against All Comers - Theocratic Terra

[martok]

No worries. We'll still be here. [:)]

[Shadowsage]

“Majesty, we’ve a problem.” Since the coup against the Council, Constantine XIX had been swamped with work. Solving that problem was relatively tricky, seeing as the princeps had to make his position as unassailable as possible. The church needed a strong guiding hand, and his successors would need that powerful example. If he appeared unable to gather all the pertinent information and make the best decisions for the Empire, there would be countless challengers to the throne. The solution was as elegant as it was brilliant.

Brilliant as he was, John Aurellius was but a commoner. He was devout, cunning, charismatic, and devoted: all wonderful traits for a leader. What he did not have was patronage or a noble birth. In a society as rigid as the church, those things could make all the difference. The princeps wasted no time in building a deep friendship with the man, culminating in his adoption. Now John I Constantos (to mark his ineligibility as heir, his cognatus was altered), the man had the resources of Terra behind him and served as an aide of sorts to Constantine.

“What is it, John?” Moments like these reassured the princeps that despite any political ramifications brought on by elevating a commoner to such a lofty position, they were outweighed by the usefulness of a companion that not only was able to keep track of details with such unerring accuracy, but to relay them and provide significant insights that could have escaped Constantine’s own consideration. He sighed and closed out the sermon notes he was working on. Another keystroke cleared his appointments for the next two hours.

Into my free time, he thought wryly.

“Elaborate, if you would please. I can think of a dozen separate situations where ‘problem’ would be the least offensive qualifier.” Despite himself, the ghost of a smile appeared on his face. “I have the feeling that, were it anything out of the ordinary or short of pressing, you would not drop in so unannounced.”

John answered with a smile of his own, with a wince acknowledging his superior had a point. “Pardon for barging in, Majesty. I know you are most often busy of late with the faith. I will make this short so you may… get back to your scripture.” He bowed slightly in apology and missed the slight narrowing of Constantine’s eyes.

That was the other issue with John Aurellius; he held very little devotion to the faith. It had been years since the man was seen at service, and even longer since he donated to local establishments. Many thought him to be apostate, but they could not be further from the truth. He had his own personal beliefs, which demanded private worship and not systemized idolatry that so characterized the Church of Terra. He was a well-qualified, brilliant man that was out of place in the theocracy he served. That flame of faith which burned so brightly within him was distinctly his, and anathema to the princeps.

“As you know, the influx of capital from the annexation of Nurval 4 has created a situation where thousands of people wish to invest in space. Holy Terra’s space industry is swamped with demands from both the private sector and the Navy. This bottleneck is causing a huge drag on the economy as a whole: not only damping growth rates in half a dozen other industries but causing contractions of tax income from factories producing less. The lack of production capacity will significantly slow the growing space industry unless we do something about it.

“I would recommend doing so before the Guardians, or the ‘threat’ they warned about wish to test our mettle.” John finished.

“That sentiment crossed my mind almost immediately,” Constantine replied a bit dryly. After a few moments of deep contemplation, his eyes refocused on his assistant’s face. “draw up expansion plans for the orbital industry and send them to me. I’ll earmark the required funds. Let me know if there are any people who… cause problems for our plans.”

(A/N: I'm back!)

[Dracus]

It is a good read, but I have one pressing issue I can't seem to come to terms with... The church (at lest the current chruchs of earth) does not believe in aliens,that a god of man would create other beings would be impossible. Such a thing would rip the very foundations from under thier feet. How is the chruch in this story able to explain such things and still hold such a tight grip on the population? of caude I found the same problem with that movie were the church ruled the planet and drove vampires into camps.

[Shadowsage]

Thank you for reading

Essentially, the world-state of Holy Terra is synonymous with the Church (capitalized). The Church of the Apocalypse, run by Constantine I, were the only survivors of the nuclear war which cleaned Kantras Gula 4 of life. All human life on Holy Terra (renamed) descends from that enclave of several million. With that in mind, the church has had literally centuries to indoctrinate the population with the very real stories of their ancestors surviving only because of their devotion, as well as doctoring any history that doesn't really mesh with their worldview.

Hope that clears anything up!

[martok]

Dracus, to clarify what Shadowsage said:


I believe the "Church" in this AAR is entirely different from -- and in fact has almost nothing to do with -- the real-life Catholic/Christan Church here on Earth.

The Church that rules "Holy Terra" (which we must remember is *not* Earth, and is in fact an entirely different planet) has little -- if anything -- to do with the real-life church's non-belief in alien races. It is based around an entirely different, separate set of beliefs -- a set of beliefs that doesn't necessarily exclude that of alien life.

[Shadowsage]

‘With the ongoing expansion of the church, the only real course of action is to begin a program advocating a large Imperial Navy. The structure of such is to be centered around our destroyers: however antiquated the Titan class may be it is still more well-armed and independent than our Minotaur class frigates. Once again I would like to indicate my reservations about both classes combat ability. Attached is the specifications for a prototype ship class that would be the first studied warship design in the navy. The new class, if implemented would allow for a Task Force oriented navy, where lighter escorts and most frigates are assigned autonomous patrol duties across the realm. The larger ships, supported by a small reserve of Minotaurs may be kept in nodal positions for specific operations. Troop ships are to be held in reserve until being loaned out to task forces for offensive operations. The lack of troop-bays in the proposed destroyer class makes the troop transports a necessity against independent populations.
- Report compiled by Nikolais Komnenos
- Technical information provided by Leontios of Isauria

Manuel grimaced slightly. Only a few years after being deployed, the design flaws for the Albany and other ships of her class had come to the fore. The designs were more civilian than military, with few fail-safes and redundancies. They were relatively easy to build and that blocky, modular design sported several glaring weak-points for other ships to exploit. Looking over the newer design submitted by the Commodore showed an entirely new design philosophy with sleek lines and recessed laser turrets along its sides. It was apparent that expense had not factored into the design, but the headaches being suffered by the navy maintaining the Titan line offset their financial benefits.

‘That, and I want a strong navy at my back when the time comes.’ The thought brought a slight smile to his face.

“Send my recommendations to the princeps. Begin message: I recommend a promotion for Leontios to Master Researcher. My own belief is that he should be assigned his own lab… oh how about the one in orbit around the Dark Vortex? Skunkworks could always use another researcher, especially one that knows how to keep his mouth shut. Additionally, attach the design specifications for the new type destroyer. I cannot stress the importance of this new design for our navy, it solves so many problems at once. After that… I would like to meet with His Majesty to flesh out the details of the report so far. There is a proposal I have in mind that should give us some additional security against any threat.”

-

“…and that is why, my children,” Constantine preached, “I have ordered the construction of an additional two destroyers of the new design. Henceforth christened the Kronus class, these will be the sword that defends the faithful by striking against all threats, no matter how far. But it is my duty to plan for all eventualities, much like my predecessor… as such from henceforth, in order to be licensed for operation all new mining facilities must be equipped with at least one weapon. This will ensure defense in depth, my children, against even the might of the mechanoids.”



‘On May 21st, 2756, the orbital facilities supporting Holy Terra completed a massive renovation which effectively tripled the yard space available to the Church. Immediately orders for freighters flooded in.

[martok]

Still riveted, Shadowsage. Keep up the good work (and good writing)!


Love your naming conventions, by the way. They really help the story feel more "authentic". [:)]

[Shadowsage]

Thank you martok! Always good to know someone other than me is reading.

---

“We’re making the connection now, sir.” The transmission came in distorted from interference.

Marcian Valerius nodded slightly. He keyed the shipboard intercoms and spoke to the crew. “All hands, this is the captain speaking. Rendezvous at the port side airlock and prepare to see off the away team.” Unspoken was the implicit order that if the team bit off more than they could chew, the rest of the crew would have to defend the ship. What better way to do so than concentrating against the only point of egress?

The Pathfinder was a sister ship to the Ardent Wayfarer: it was laid down and completed before the reign of Constantine was a month old. The crew of the ship, a scant 70 men and women (and aliens) were some of the finest adventurers of any age, and the whoops of excitement at boarding a derelict ship echoed throughout the exploration craft. They finally had an achievement to stick in the face of the Wayfarer!

Marcian smiled ever so slightly at his crew’s enthusiasm. “Helm, unfurl the scanning array and solar energy collectors. If we’re sitting here I want to know everything about this system. And Scanning,” the officer snapped to attention, “begin active analysis of the unknown ship’s hull composition. I want to know what it’s made of and how to blow it up.”

‘Nevermind the fact that we have no real weapons.’ He grimaced slightly. Thankfully however, Commodore Komnenos had listened to both his distant cousin Alexios and Marcian himself on that matter. The next class of ship going through design phases was impressive: as nimble as a surveyor and armed better than a Minotaur. It was hoped that the new class could fight their way out of any situations rather than rely on stealth and speed.

His thoughts turned to the ship orbiting silently around Aar Prime. There was one nearby rock that was christened Etoseny by the crew, approximating the sound one made when slamming their foot in the door. There was very little that the almost-moon had to offer the Church, and compared to the countless billions of other rocky bodies out there it was perhaps even more puny than most. But why did that ship orbit so close?

“Mark Etoseny for construction of a sensor outpost once a construction ship becomes available.”

The away-team’s crackling communications broadcast instantly had his attention. “Captain Valerius, we’ve found… Maker, we’ve found a lot. This is a colony ship, sir…” Almost as one, the bridge crew stopped what they were doing to listen. Nobody had ever found a colony ship drifting among the stars before. It was a macabre fate; doomed to the silence and inhospitable conditions of the void for all eternity.

‘Horror books have been written about less…’ He thought wryly to himself.

The transmission continued. “According to the computer systems we’ve been able to bring online and translate, this ship is crewed by the ‘Zenox’ people. As far as we can tell, it translates to ‘One Who Knows’ in our language. The ship has thousands… maybe even millions of these aliens frozen aboard. We don’t know where the crew has gone or why the ship is on standby power yet, sir. Orders?”

“Begin searching for a ranking officer amongst the cryo-pods. I want to know what this ship is doing here and where their people come from. In the meantime, concentrate on coming up with a suitable translation protocol for the new aliens.”

As the crew scurried around working, the Captain allowed himself to wonder.

‘Are these Zenox the threat which has Constantine so worried?’

[martok]

Ah, yes. Gotta love abandoned colony ships! I find they're quite useful, especially when they're of a different race.

[Modest]

Thank you martok! Always good to know someone other than me is reading.

Oh... Shadowsage... You do not need to worry about that. I can assure You takt I am reading this as well, and I did not missed even one part So You may be assured of at least two readers - martok who is kind of active reader and me - I am more passive But know that I am as well reading Your story (AAR) I am also sure that there are a lot more of us

[martok]

There generally seems to be far more "silent" followers/fans of AAR's than there are "active" ones, so I'd say this is par for the course. [:)]

[Data]

Here, here...I strive to keep up but don't make my presence felt as I usually just have time to scan the forum these days
But I certainly appreciate the effort put by a brave gamer on the AAR section, this section is kept alive by some brave souls
You'll never walk alone, Shadowsage [;)]

[Pipewrench]

Many watch on the sidelines.

have fun and keep up the good work.[:)]

[Shadowsage]

A lonely trail of plasma drifted its’ way from the Maw Research Station. It arced gracefully for several hundred kilometers before detonating silently. The bloom of light and energy expanded, then wavered. On one side it had crossed the event horizon of the Dark Vortex. Within seconds, it was over. The rest of the explosion had dispersed. The part of the blast wave which had fallen into the hole was, as far as any observer could tell, locked in place above the Vortex. Without light escaping to reach sensors, it was as if the energy was frozen in time. Thankfully, the station’s sensors had gathered enough data from the detonation to significantly further their understanding of the reactions taking place. A quark-gluon mass held within fields of energy sufficient to separate them from the universe as a whole. When the missile detonated, a blast front shattered this quarantine and simultaneously heated the particles up to the point where a miniature creation event self-initiates; the quarks within shed gross amounts of energy and radiation.

“Fascinating…” Leontios commented, looking over the raw data. The reaction was capable only under specifically induced circumstances, but when it was… The massive warhead employed was the entire production capacity of the research base for a month. A single missile of that magnitude was capable of erasing any of the Church’s ships from existence, and perhaps causing grievous harm to her space installations. It was hardly practical to produce a single missile per month for the entire navy to use.



The researcher worked quickly; he modified production ratios and tinkered with safety devices for several minutes beneath the soft blue glow of the holograms depicting the firing test. The data for mass-produced missiles capable of being mounted on destroyers would be sent to Fleet Admiral Adolphus and, just to be sure, a second copy would be going to Tannenbaum, who headed the princeps’ guard force. Drafts of the report, recommendations, and schematics were all sent to both.

‘There is no telling what Manuel would do with sole knowledge of weapons of this magnitude…’ Leontios thought with a hint of distaste. Engrossed in his work as he was, he could still feel the political currents pushing him gently about. And if there was one thing that he could not stand, it was being treated as a trophy for the victor. At least the princeps had not done such!

“John Aurellius should know about this project…” he murmured. “Computer, forward messa-“

The garrote coiled tightly around Leontios’s neck.

(A/N: Sorry about the wait, I've been engrossed in Dwarf Fortress the last week or so. -.- )

[Shadowsage]

EDIT: Doublepost

[lordmoore]

/me Has watched from the sidelines in these forums for a year at least.

[Castinar]

I've been one of the "silent followers" of many of the AARs --- I read a lot of AARs for various games---so I usually roll around to a game about once/week.  KUTGW!

[Shadowsage]

“…And as such, the technical data contained in the disassembled warship has advanced our knowledge of subspace currents significantly. The increased familiarity with physics (inasmuch as they apply to alternate dimensions) and improved jump calculation programs in development show promise in coaxing additional speed and acceleration from the hyperdrives. Eventually we will have to replace the actual machinery: however, until we reach that limit improved programming will be sufficient.



Leontios’s report to the princeps was unfortunate, but not entirely unexpected. The field of hyperdrive refinement was brand-new and entirely unsupported by the current budget. It would be some time before funds and research stations could be allocated towards finishing turning raw operational data and theorems into a runtime which is operable on ships equipped with the Terran Exodus subsystem.

Constantine rubbed his temples and sighed. The head researcher was assaulted shortly after forwarding a report on weapons. Thankfully, security personnel had interrupted the situation before Leontios could be murdered. However the assassin escaped into a sublight parasite cruiser and drifted into the Dark Vortex. Any knowledge about the attack’s motivation was torn apart along with the perpetrator.

Though in critical condition, he was expected to survive. Without his guiding hand for test trials, equipment was damaged and critical information lost on the project to deploy scanning arrays across the breadth of the Empire.

The princeps had his own suspicions where the attempted murder was concerned. John had put forward the hypothesis that a rival researcher had snapped under the pressure his boss had placed upon him to produce a working warhead. Publically, Constantine embraced that explanation whole-heartedly. He had even held two separate masses on the subject of mental illness and the application of sin thereof. But behind closed doors only Guderian and John knew where his true suspicions lie.

“I’m telling you John, Manuel is becoming more aggressive. In the past month alone our agents,” Constantine nodded towards Guderian, who also managed the intelligence network, “have seen a dramatic rise in recruitment for saboteurs. That combined with the Admiral’s previous intention of expanding the fleet regardless of circumstance tells me that he’s ready to escalate further. Assassinating – or rather attempting to assassinate – a vital researcher is a major step towards civil war.”

John sipped from a glass of water. “That may be, but I feel as though Manuel is becoming peripherally aware of how the fleet isn’t turning out to be completely in his corner. I’ve got reports from several captains, including,” the twinkling in his eyes only amplified the effect of his wry smile, “the Komnenos family as a whole. That not only puts Task Force 1 in our corner but gives us the capacity to drop the Emperor’s Own on any potential usurper.

“However, the crew aboard Heresies is split almost completely evenly, with perhaps a slight advantage to Manuel. It goes without saying that the flagship is strong enough to destroy any ship or installation short of Nexus itself, and even that would be a close-run thing. As such I am putting forth an emergency directive through to Licinius; he should be able to provide a construction crew to us that can keep their mouths shut. I want a dozen of the new missile magazines installed at the earliest possible moment. That should ensure Terra will be immune to threat.”

Writing furiously, John asked the princeps, “Majesty, do you want the weapons installed on Nexus base? If we do so there will be very little chance of hiding what we’re doing from spies Manuel has aboard, and even sheer gossip from the crew members ought to let him know something is up. If I may make a suggestion,” he indicated Terra’s sole orbiting natural satellite, “the moon would provide us a much better, controlled environment with all the advantages it entails. Once the construction crews have had experience handling the missiles, we can install additional tubes in Nexus much more smoothly.”

Constantine nodded. “A very good point. Make it so. What else is on the agenda?”

Tannenbaum cleared his throat. “Your son sends his regards, Majesty. He has also passed along a message that research and production facilities orbiting Nurval 4 have reached completion. Additionally,” he permitted himself a wry smile, “Ardent Wayfarer has run into some unexpected trouble with a pirate ship. They had the audacity to think that an ‘unarmed’ exploration ship would be easy pickings. There were no survivors.

“However, Captain Komnenos reports that they have recovered a set of coordinates from the wreckage which indicate some sort of Special Projects Zone; coincidentally the area has long been marked a hazard on our charts. As we speak the ship and her crew are en-route and investigating.

[Shadowsage]

A/N: Hey guys, just letting you know that my laptop is finally giving out. I've done a lot of technical stuff in college (photoshop, smart-boards, etc) that it just wasn't built to handle, and it's going. Damn thing runs really hot and takes forever to do anything. So..... scholarship means I get to order a desktop from Digital Storm! Your dosage of theocratic backstabbing will resume shortly.

[Castinar]

Ooh...new and improved!!!  Good luck..c.an't wait to see the updates.