Agent of the Imperium, page 30
Po Poor. Local conditions and resources are marginal or difficult to exploit.
Pr Pre-Rich. With some changes or advancement, the MainWorld can become a Rich world.
Ri Rich. The MainWorld has a pleasant, untainted atmosphere and a reasonable population.
Climate Notes:
Fr Frozen. The MainWorld is beyond the outer limits of the Habitable Zone (based on the spectral class and size of the system’s star).
Ho Hot. The MainWorld is at the inner limits of the Habitable Zone (based on the spectral class and size of the system’s star).
Co Cold. The MainWorld is at the outer limits of the Habitable Zone (based on the spectral class and size of the system’s star).
Tr Tropic. The MainWorld is Hot and has reasonable levels of atmosphere and water.
Tu Tundra. The MainWorld is Cold and has reasonable levels of atmosphere and water (which may be ice-capped).
Tz Twilight Zone. The MainWorld is in an orbit close to the system’s star (thus probably an M-class main-sequence dwarf) and is tidally locked to it.
Secondary Notes:
Fa Farming. The world (usually not the MainWorld) is suitable for agricultural production.
Mi Mining. The world is being exploited for natural resources (for the system MainWorld which is Industrial).
Mr Military Rule. The world is under the control of the military (local or imperial).
Pe Penal Colony. The world (usually not the MainWorld) has been allocated for relocation of marginal, criminal, or undesirable populations. Contrast with Px Prison or Exile Camp.
Re Reserve. The MainWorld has colony status and is restricted from general access.
Political Notes:
Cp Subsector Capital. The MainWorld is the seat of government for its subsector (or other subdivision of a larger interstellar government).
Cs Sector Capital. The MainWorld is the seat of government for its sector (or other division of a larger interstellar government).
Cx Capital. The MainWorld is the seat of a major interstellar government.
Cy Colony. The MainWorld is a colony of a neighboring world.
Special Notes:
Fo Forbidden (usually Red Zone). The MainWorld has been interdicted from trade or travel.
Pz Puzzling (usually Amber Zone). Travellers are warned that this MainWorld presents unknown, unexplained, or unpredictable situations.
Da Dangerous (usually Amber Zone). Travellers are warned that this MainWorld presents dangerous or deadly situations.
Ab Data Repository. The MainWorld hosts an archive or data repository.
An Ancient Site. The MainWorld holds one or more known ruins of the Ancients.
GENERAL CHRONOLOGY
The Millennia
In very broad terms, the epochs of modern interstellar history can be divided into thousand-year Millennia, each with a variety of overriding characteristics.
The First Millennium of Star Travel (–9000 to –8000). Following the discovery of basic Jump Drive, the Humans of Vland expand to dominate interstellar travel and trade.
The Second Millennium of Star Travel (–8000 to –7000). The Vilani continue to exploit their interstellar drive to economic advantage.
The Third Millennium of Star Travel (–7000 to –6000). The Vilani find they need to suppress the aspirations of the other intelligent species they encounter, including through significant violent means.
The Fourth Millennium of Star Travel (–6000 to –5000). Just as subject species begin to organize their resistance, the Vilani discover the improved double speed Jump-2 Drive. This provides the significant advantage needed to consolidate their hold on their subject worlds. Vilani rule is formalized as the Ziru Sirka, the Grand Empire of Stars.
The Fifth Millennium of Star Travel (–5000 to –4000). To maintain power and order, technology is suppressed; the attention of subject world populations is diverted to social and recreational pursuits.
The Sixth Millennium of Star Travel (–4000 to –3000). The Ziru Sirka becomes brutal in its efforts to maintain power.
The Seventh Millennium of Star Travel (–3000 to –2000). The Humans of Terra independently develop Jump Drive and, not knowing any better, challenge the far larger First Imperium in a series of Interstellar Wars that ultimately lead to a Vilani collapse.
The Eighth Millennium of Star Travel (–2000 to –1000). Terra and its approximately one hundred worlds attempts to rule the ten-thousand-world Vilani Empire as a captured territory. However short-lived, The Rule Of Man nevertheless imposed Terran (and Anglic-languaged) society on many Vilani worlds, but ultimately collapsed into chaos.
The Ninth Millennium of Star Travel (–1000 to 0). The demise of The Rule Of Man leads to the Long Night which isolates worlds. Many die back to barrenness; others regress in technology.
The Tenth Millennium of Star Travel (0 to 1000). The Sylean Federation re-established the Vilani Empire as the Third Imperium and expands to re-absorb many of its worlds.
Imperial Dates
Dates reflect the standard Imperial Calendar.
Simple Calendar Conversion. A rough date conversion equates the Imperial Year Zero with the Terran date 4518 CE. For example, the Imperial year 633 is roughly 5151 CE; the Terran 2015 CE is roughly Imperial –2503.
Rigorous Date Conversion. Convert the Imperial Date (with days as a decimal of 365) to the Solomani (Terran) date in the following process.
Solomani (Terran) date = (yyy.ddd * 1.0006644) + 4518
Convert resulting fractional day to a calendar reference.
For example, convert Imperial Date 111-633 to decimal.
Day is 111/365 = 0.3041 = 633.3041
633.3041 * 1.0006644 + 4518 = 5151.72488
Day is 0.72488 * 365 = 264
264 (–31–28–31–30–31–30–31–31) = 21st day of the 9th month = September 21, 5151 CE (or consult a Julian Date calendar).
Days Of The Week
The weekdays of the Imperial Calendar are named in sequence Wonday, Tuday, Thirday, Forday, Fiday, Sixday, and Senday, often abbreviated 1day, 2day, 3day, 4day, 5day, 6day, and 7day.
Although practices may differ, Sixday and Senday are the accepted days of the weekend for a five-day workweek.
Day names can be calculated from the day number using Modulo(Date-1,7).
The Progress of The Third Imperium
The history of the Third Imperium is easily divided into eras:
• Dawn of the Third Imperium (0 to 119)
• The Antebellum Years (120 to 474)
• Imperial Disarray (475 to 621)
• Imperial Recovery (622 to 767)
• The Stumbling Years (768 to 939)
• The Solomani Crisis (940 to 1102)
• The New Millennium (1003 to 1084)
• The Golden Age (1085 to 1106)
• Fifth Frontier War (1107 to 1110)
• An Uncertain Future (1111 to 1115)
Alternatively, Imperial history is divided into centuries, as in First Century explorations, Third Century art forms, Sixth Century troubles.
Dawn of the Third Imperium (0 to 119)
“Why a Third Imperium?”
Cleon Zhunastu was a man of great dreams, and the wealth and power to make those dreams happen. Our Third Imperium is what it is today because of the decisions he made based on those dreams, and the decisions his successors have made, for good or ill. By choosing the name “Third Imperium,” any contacted Terran or Vilani colony would immediately make the connection.
What is also obvious is that he had studied the failures of the past empires, and their strengths—and he attempted to incorporate all of that into his vision for the Third Imperium. Cleon Zhunastu, Artemsus Lentuli, and Zuan Kerr built an Imperium based on personal honor; not that their hands were totally clean—empire building is a messy business. But the policies they developed did not involve nuclear strikes against populations or pocket empires opposed to their vision. Their Quarantine policy of “until you see things our way, you don’t exist” was extremely effective.
What happened? The fallout between Emperor Artemsus and Zuan Kerr over what would become the Pacification Campaigns was very public; and the fact that it required Emperor Artemsus almost a decade after Kerr’s death to convince the Moot to follow his path says much for the nature of the changes. This break in Cleon’s dream would become a noose around the Imperium’s neck, leading first to the Non-Dynastic Emperors and then the Emperors of the Flag. The ghosts of the sterilized Lancian worlds haunt us as visions of a dream unfulfilled, or worse yet, a dream betrayed.
From the lecture “Cleon to Artemsus: What Were You Thinking?” 301-1114.
The Antebellum Years (120 to 474)
“Ah, today I’d like for you to skip Chapters 17-34 in your books, and we’ll start talking about the Imperial Civil War.
“What? The Antebellum Years? Nothing happened. Forget it.
“Fine. Emperor Artemsus decided to ignore Cleon’s vision and instead force worlds into joining; bombing the ones that refused. And what ‘successes’ might be claimed from it don’t balance against things like the sterilization of the Lancian worlds. However, his son Martin I decided to go one step better, and actually create an implacable foe for the new Imperium.
“Why do I blame Martin for the Julian War? Do you blame Julian? After all, Martin set his house on fire, and Julian was just trying to put the fire out, while Martin kept trying to relight the fire. And Julian was a better strategist and diplomat.
“That brings us to Emperor Cleon III. A true reformer and radical with a vision. After all, he only shot politicians.
“Seriously—this episode demonstrates a fundamental problem with not determining a successor in advance. From this point in Imperial history until after the Civil War, the Third Imperium begins walking down the same path as The Rule Of Man, although without the bureaucratic collapse The Rule Of Man suffered, largely due to the Vilani influence on the bureaucracy.
“The final significant event of the Antebellum period is the solution to the Aslan Border Wars. Interestingly, negotiations with the Aslan required that honorable paths be followed. The Duel War and the settlement are interesting studies showing that had cooler heads prevailed, perhaps history might be different for the Lancian and the Julian conflicts in the first part of this study.”
From the lecture “What if Cleon III had been a Better Shot?” 073-1115
Imperial Disarray (475 to 621)
“All that is necessary for evil to triumph is that good men to do nothing.”
“Cleon IV uses the right of assassination because Nicholle is too weak to govern. Or maybe it was her brunette hair. Or maybe hearing that ‘one-man fire brigade’ frontier story one-too-many times about Cleon II made him snap. Regardless, the Moot let him stay Emperor. At least the later invention ‘Emperor by right of fleet control’ sounds more commanding beside Cleon IV’s explanations. Better yet, Cleon IV’s best idea for dealing with the Vargr turns into the so-called ‘Hidden War.’ At least Cleon IV has to wait 80 years before someone kills him. He must have so terrified the Moot that they waited until he was on life support, and Jerome unplugged the machine.
“Admiral hault-Plankwell ends the farce by bringing his fleet to Capital. The fleet commanders have become so disgusted with the nobles playing Emperor that they finally take matters into their own hands. The most striking difference between the Civil War and The Rule Of Man is that the fleets fight amongst themselves, and the Imperium is never a target. No one drops nuclear bombs on worlds that provide food and fuel to enemy fleets: ‘we’re all Imperial Navy, ignore us while we kill each other.’
“However, the Sylean worlds decide they aren’t going to put up with it. They go their own way; then the Zhodani start a second Frontier War. And Cleon V has a choice to make: defend and keep the Imperium unified, or defend his throne. As a man of honor, he could only make one choice: he appointed Admiral Alkhalikoi in the Spinward Marches, and used his remaining forces to reunify the Sylean worlds with the Imperium. His reward: his opponents in the Moot aided Joseph, and because Cleon V has spread his forces across the Imperium to defend it, he is unable to defend himself.”
From the lecture “What if Cleon V Had Chosen Emperor Over Empire?” 127-1115.
Imperial Recovery (622 to 767)
Arbellatra Alkhalikoi, Grand Admiral of the Marches. A name recognized by every educated Imperial citizen.
“She would have a place in history regardless: Captain at age 16, then the highest rank possible in the Navy by age 29, and defeated an enemy empire in a war thought unwinnable by age 33. Where could she possibly go from there?
“Yet, she did more in the second half of her life than the first. Regent, literally savior of the empire, and then Empress. Arbellatra set out to rebuild the Third Imperium based on honor and duty; she carefully chose those around her to do just that. But for the unfortunate aspects that some of her closest advisors toyed around with the nascent Solomani movement, and others were openly anti-psionic, the history of the Imperium might be radically different.
“The nobility and the military embraced the expectation of honor and duty and served the empire well: expeditions to the client-states to champion technology and promote commerce; efforts to build and expand. Two groups long suffering bias in the Imperium—the Geonee and the Vargr—advanced immensely in the years after the Civil War. We see just a hint of how the Julian War might have been different in how Humans and Vargr work together to build in Antares. Even as the Solomani Movement is insisting that they are superior to other Humans, the Vilani are being brought closer in than ever. The Third Imperium is finally seeing Cleon’s true promise: all sophonts, Humans, minor races, major races, are welcomed into her dream of a cosmopolitan, eclectic society.
“Alas, it didn’t.”
From the lecture “Visions of Empire: Cleon I, Cleon V, Arbellatra, Gavin, Strephon” 237-1115.
IDENTIFYING SHIPS
The primary ships of the Navy are called Capitals: variously called Battleships, Battles, Dreadnoughts, Ships-of-the-Line, or Primaries. Each is designed to attack any adversary; to withstand any attack. They are marvels of armor and armament.
While Capitals have universal missions, naval architects are constantly specializing them for specific purposes, allowing some vulnerability here for some benefit there. These distinctions give rise to the plethora of mission codes that identify Capitals and that tell the initiated what to expect from them.
Primary Classifications concentrate on Capitals and the relationship of other ships to Capitals.
The Ship Identifier
The first letter of the Mission Code is the Ship Identifier, conveying a basic understanding of the ship and its intended activities.
B. Battle. A Battleship, Capital Ship, Dreadnought, or Ship-of-the-Line. A fighting ship with the strongest of armor and the most powerful of weapons.
V. Carrier. A naval vessel intended to transport, launch, and support other vessels which participate in a conflict. Carriers typically operate at a distance from the main battle.
S. Siege. Siege Engine. A naval vessel intended to launch ordnance against a stationary target (a world or an installation). Like Carriers, Siege Engines operate at a distance from the main battle.
C. Cruiser. A fighting naval vessel (other than a Capital) created to operate independently and project power against non-fighting ships.
A. Minor. An Auxiliary. A naval vessel intended to support, refuel, repair, re-arm or communicate between other ships, especially Capitals. Auxiliaries typically have no place in an actual battle, although some may be Armored.
The Mission Modifer
The second (and sometimes third) letter of the Ship Code is the Mission Modifier, conveying specific tactics, strategies, or abilities included in the ship’s design. Some of the more important codes are:
R Rider. The ship is designed to be carried by (to ride) a Carrier. The design typically omits jump drive and associated fuel.
F Fast. The ship has drives that provide acceleration greater than typical within the fleet.
S Slow. The ship has drives that provide acceleration less than typical within the fleet.
K Strike. The ship is designed to attack world or immobile targets.
M Missile. The primary weaponry is missiles.
B Beam. The primary weaponry is beam weapons.
O Orbital. The ship is designed to operate from orbit. Typically applies to siege engines.
Pr Pre-Rich. With some changes or advancement, the MainWorld can become a Rich world.
Ri Rich. The MainWorld has a pleasant, untainted atmosphere and a reasonable population.
Climate Notes:
Fr Frozen. The MainWorld is beyond the outer limits of the Habitable Zone (based on the spectral class and size of the system’s star).
Ho Hot. The MainWorld is at the inner limits of the Habitable Zone (based on the spectral class and size of the system’s star).
Co Cold. The MainWorld is at the outer limits of the Habitable Zone (based on the spectral class and size of the system’s star).
Tr Tropic. The MainWorld is Hot and has reasonable levels of atmosphere and water.
Tu Tundra. The MainWorld is Cold and has reasonable levels of atmosphere and water (which may be ice-capped).
Tz Twilight Zone. The MainWorld is in an orbit close to the system’s star (thus probably an M-class main-sequence dwarf) and is tidally locked to it.
Secondary Notes:
Fa Farming. The world (usually not the MainWorld) is suitable for agricultural production.
Mi Mining. The world is being exploited for natural resources (for the system MainWorld which is Industrial).
Mr Military Rule. The world is under the control of the military (local or imperial).
Pe Penal Colony. The world (usually not the MainWorld) has been allocated for relocation of marginal, criminal, or undesirable populations. Contrast with Px Prison or Exile Camp.
Re Reserve. The MainWorld has colony status and is restricted from general access.
Political Notes:
Cp Subsector Capital. The MainWorld is the seat of government for its subsector (or other subdivision of a larger interstellar government).
Cs Sector Capital. The MainWorld is the seat of government for its sector (or other division of a larger interstellar government).
Cx Capital. The MainWorld is the seat of a major interstellar government.
Cy Colony. The MainWorld is a colony of a neighboring world.
Special Notes:
Fo Forbidden (usually Red Zone). The MainWorld has been interdicted from trade or travel.
Pz Puzzling (usually Amber Zone). Travellers are warned that this MainWorld presents unknown, unexplained, or unpredictable situations.
Da Dangerous (usually Amber Zone). Travellers are warned that this MainWorld presents dangerous or deadly situations.
Ab Data Repository. The MainWorld hosts an archive or data repository.
An Ancient Site. The MainWorld holds one or more known ruins of the Ancients.
GENERAL CHRONOLOGY
The Millennia
In very broad terms, the epochs of modern interstellar history can be divided into thousand-year Millennia, each with a variety of overriding characteristics.
The First Millennium of Star Travel (–9000 to –8000). Following the discovery of basic Jump Drive, the Humans of Vland expand to dominate interstellar travel and trade.
The Second Millennium of Star Travel (–8000 to –7000). The Vilani continue to exploit their interstellar drive to economic advantage.
The Third Millennium of Star Travel (–7000 to –6000). The Vilani find they need to suppress the aspirations of the other intelligent species they encounter, including through significant violent means.
The Fourth Millennium of Star Travel (–6000 to –5000). Just as subject species begin to organize their resistance, the Vilani discover the improved double speed Jump-2 Drive. This provides the significant advantage needed to consolidate their hold on their subject worlds. Vilani rule is formalized as the Ziru Sirka, the Grand Empire of Stars.
The Fifth Millennium of Star Travel (–5000 to –4000). To maintain power and order, technology is suppressed; the attention of subject world populations is diverted to social and recreational pursuits.
The Sixth Millennium of Star Travel (–4000 to –3000). The Ziru Sirka becomes brutal in its efforts to maintain power.
The Seventh Millennium of Star Travel (–3000 to –2000). The Humans of Terra independently develop Jump Drive and, not knowing any better, challenge the far larger First Imperium in a series of Interstellar Wars that ultimately lead to a Vilani collapse.
The Eighth Millennium of Star Travel (–2000 to –1000). Terra and its approximately one hundred worlds attempts to rule the ten-thousand-world Vilani Empire as a captured territory. However short-lived, The Rule Of Man nevertheless imposed Terran (and Anglic-languaged) society on many Vilani worlds, but ultimately collapsed into chaos.
The Ninth Millennium of Star Travel (–1000 to 0). The demise of The Rule Of Man leads to the Long Night which isolates worlds. Many die back to barrenness; others regress in technology.
The Tenth Millennium of Star Travel (0 to 1000). The Sylean Federation re-established the Vilani Empire as the Third Imperium and expands to re-absorb many of its worlds.
Imperial Dates
Dates reflect the standard Imperial Calendar.
Simple Calendar Conversion. A rough date conversion equates the Imperial Year Zero with the Terran date 4518 CE. For example, the Imperial year 633 is roughly 5151 CE; the Terran 2015 CE is roughly Imperial –2503.
Rigorous Date Conversion. Convert the Imperial Date (with days as a decimal of 365) to the Solomani (Terran) date in the following process.
Solomani (Terran) date = (yyy.ddd * 1.0006644) + 4518
Convert resulting fractional day to a calendar reference.
For example, convert Imperial Date 111-633 to decimal.
Day is 111/365 = 0.3041 = 633.3041
633.3041 * 1.0006644 + 4518 = 5151.72488
Day is 0.72488 * 365 = 264
264 (–31–28–31–30–31–30–31–31) = 21st day of the 9th month = September 21, 5151 CE (or consult a Julian Date calendar).
Days Of The Week
The weekdays of the Imperial Calendar are named in sequence Wonday, Tuday, Thirday, Forday, Fiday, Sixday, and Senday, often abbreviated 1day, 2day, 3day, 4day, 5day, 6day, and 7day.
Although practices may differ, Sixday and Senday are the accepted days of the weekend for a five-day workweek.
Day names can be calculated from the day number using Modulo(Date-1,7).
The Progress of The Third Imperium
The history of the Third Imperium is easily divided into eras:
• Dawn of the Third Imperium (0 to 119)
• The Antebellum Years (120 to 474)
• Imperial Disarray (475 to 621)
• Imperial Recovery (622 to 767)
• The Stumbling Years (768 to 939)
• The Solomani Crisis (940 to 1102)
• The New Millennium (1003 to 1084)
• The Golden Age (1085 to 1106)
• Fifth Frontier War (1107 to 1110)
• An Uncertain Future (1111 to 1115)
Alternatively, Imperial history is divided into centuries, as in First Century explorations, Third Century art forms, Sixth Century troubles.
Dawn of the Third Imperium (0 to 119)
“Why a Third Imperium?”
Cleon Zhunastu was a man of great dreams, and the wealth and power to make those dreams happen. Our Third Imperium is what it is today because of the decisions he made based on those dreams, and the decisions his successors have made, for good or ill. By choosing the name “Third Imperium,” any contacted Terran or Vilani colony would immediately make the connection.
What is also obvious is that he had studied the failures of the past empires, and their strengths—and he attempted to incorporate all of that into his vision for the Third Imperium. Cleon Zhunastu, Artemsus Lentuli, and Zuan Kerr built an Imperium based on personal honor; not that their hands were totally clean—empire building is a messy business. But the policies they developed did not involve nuclear strikes against populations or pocket empires opposed to their vision. Their Quarantine policy of “until you see things our way, you don’t exist” was extremely effective.
What happened? The fallout between Emperor Artemsus and Zuan Kerr over what would become the Pacification Campaigns was very public; and the fact that it required Emperor Artemsus almost a decade after Kerr’s death to convince the Moot to follow his path says much for the nature of the changes. This break in Cleon’s dream would become a noose around the Imperium’s neck, leading first to the Non-Dynastic Emperors and then the Emperors of the Flag. The ghosts of the sterilized Lancian worlds haunt us as visions of a dream unfulfilled, or worse yet, a dream betrayed.
From the lecture “Cleon to Artemsus: What Were You Thinking?” 301-1114.
The Antebellum Years (120 to 474)
“Ah, today I’d like for you to skip Chapters 17-34 in your books, and we’ll start talking about the Imperial Civil War.
“What? The Antebellum Years? Nothing happened. Forget it.
“Fine. Emperor Artemsus decided to ignore Cleon’s vision and instead force worlds into joining; bombing the ones that refused. And what ‘successes’ might be claimed from it don’t balance against things like the sterilization of the Lancian worlds. However, his son Martin I decided to go one step better, and actually create an implacable foe for the new Imperium.
“Why do I blame Martin for the Julian War? Do you blame Julian? After all, Martin set his house on fire, and Julian was just trying to put the fire out, while Martin kept trying to relight the fire. And Julian was a better strategist and diplomat.
“That brings us to Emperor Cleon III. A true reformer and radical with a vision. After all, he only shot politicians.
“Seriously—this episode demonstrates a fundamental problem with not determining a successor in advance. From this point in Imperial history until after the Civil War, the Third Imperium begins walking down the same path as The Rule Of Man, although without the bureaucratic collapse The Rule Of Man suffered, largely due to the Vilani influence on the bureaucracy.
“The final significant event of the Antebellum period is the solution to the Aslan Border Wars. Interestingly, negotiations with the Aslan required that honorable paths be followed. The Duel War and the settlement are interesting studies showing that had cooler heads prevailed, perhaps history might be different for the Lancian and the Julian conflicts in the first part of this study.”
From the lecture “What if Cleon III had been a Better Shot?” 073-1115
Imperial Disarray (475 to 621)
“All that is necessary for evil to triumph is that good men to do nothing.”
“Cleon IV uses the right of assassination because Nicholle is too weak to govern. Or maybe it was her brunette hair. Or maybe hearing that ‘one-man fire brigade’ frontier story one-too-many times about Cleon II made him snap. Regardless, the Moot let him stay Emperor. At least the later invention ‘Emperor by right of fleet control’ sounds more commanding beside Cleon IV’s explanations. Better yet, Cleon IV’s best idea for dealing with the Vargr turns into the so-called ‘Hidden War.’ At least Cleon IV has to wait 80 years before someone kills him. He must have so terrified the Moot that they waited until he was on life support, and Jerome unplugged the machine.
“Admiral hault-Plankwell ends the farce by bringing his fleet to Capital. The fleet commanders have become so disgusted with the nobles playing Emperor that they finally take matters into their own hands. The most striking difference between the Civil War and The Rule Of Man is that the fleets fight amongst themselves, and the Imperium is never a target. No one drops nuclear bombs on worlds that provide food and fuel to enemy fleets: ‘we’re all Imperial Navy, ignore us while we kill each other.’
“However, the Sylean worlds decide they aren’t going to put up with it. They go their own way; then the Zhodani start a second Frontier War. And Cleon V has a choice to make: defend and keep the Imperium unified, or defend his throne. As a man of honor, he could only make one choice: he appointed Admiral Alkhalikoi in the Spinward Marches, and used his remaining forces to reunify the Sylean worlds with the Imperium. His reward: his opponents in the Moot aided Joseph, and because Cleon V has spread his forces across the Imperium to defend it, he is unable to defend himself.”
From the lecture “What if Cleon V Had Chosen Emperor Over Empire?” 127-1115.
Imperial Recovery (622 to 767)
Arbellatra Alkhalikoi, Grand Admiral of the Marches. A name recognized by every educated Imperial citizen.
“She would have a place in history regardless: Captain at age 16, then the highest rank possible in the Navy by age 29, and defeated an enemy empire in a war thought unwinnable by age 33. Where could she possibly go from there?
“Yet, she did more in the second half of her life than the first. Regent, literally savior of the empire, and then Empress. Arbellatra set out to rebuild the Third Imperium based on honor and duty; she carefully chose those around her to do just that. But for the unfortunate aspects that some of her closest advisors toyed around with the nascent Solomani movement, and others were openly anti-psionic, the history of the Imperium might be radically different.
“The nobility and the military embraced the expectation of honor and duty and served the empire well: expeditions to the client-states to champion technology and promote commerce; efforts to build and expand. Two groups long suffering bias in the Imperium—the Geonee and the Vargr—advanced immensely in the years after the Civil War. We see just a hint of how the Julian War might have been different in how Humans and Vargr work together to build in Antares. Even as the Solomani Movement is insisting that they are superior to other Humans, the Vilani are being brought closer in than ever. The Third Imperium is finally seeing Cleon’s true promise: all sophonts, Humans, minor races, major races, are welcomed into her dream of a cosmopolitan, eclectic society.
“Alas, it didn’t.”
From the lecture “Visions of Empire: Cleon I, Cleon V, Arbellatra, Gavin, Strephon” 237-1115.
IDENTIFYING SHIPS
The primary ships of the Navy are called Capitals: variously called Battleships, Battles, Dreadnoughts, Ships-of-the-Line, or Primaries. Each is designed to attack any adversary; to withstand any attack. They are marvels of armor and armament.
While Capitals have universal missions, naval architects are constantly specializing them for specific purposes, allowing some vulnerability here for some benefit there. These distinctions give rise to the plethora of mission codes that identify Capitals and that tell the initiated what to expect from them.
Primary Classifications concentrate on Capitals and the relationship of other ships to Capitals.
The Ship Identifier
The first letter of the Mission Code is the Ship Identifier, conveying a basic understanding of the ship and its intended activities.
B. Battle. A Battleship, Capital Ship, Dreadnought, or Ship-of-the-Line. A fighting ship with the strongest of armor and the most powerful of weapons.
V. Carrier. A naval vessel intended to transport, launch, and support other vessels which participate in a conflict. Carriers typically operate at a distance from the main battle.
S. Siege. Siege Engine. A naval vessel intended to launch ordnance against a stationary target (a world or an installation). Like Carriers, Siege Engines operate at a distance from the main battle.
C. Cruiser. A fighting naval vessel (other than a Capital) created to operate independently and project power against non-fighting ships.
A. Minor. An Auxiliary. A naval vessel intended to support, refuel, repair, re-arm or communicate between other ships, especially Capitals. Auxiliaries typically have no place in an actual battle, although some may be Armored.
The Mission Modifer
The second (and sometimes third) letter of the Ship Code is the Mission Modifier, conveying specific tactics, strategies, or abilities included in the ship’s design. Some of the more important codes are:
R Rider. The ship is designed to be carried by (to ride) a Carrier. The design typically omits jump drive and associated fuel.
F Fast. The ship has drives that provide acceleration greater than typical within the fleet.
S Slow. The ship has drives that provide acceleration less than typical within the fleet.
K Strike. The ship is designed to attack world or immobile targets.
M Missile. The primary weaponry is missiles.
B Beam. The primary weaponry is beam weapons.
O Orbital. The ship is designed to operate from orbit. Typically applies to siege engines.
