Syndicate's Pawns

by Davila LeBlanc

  The Advent War: The Second Great War, during which Humanis and Machina fought side by side against the machine Singularity called Pontifex, also known as the False Machine God. After the war the Machina offered the Humanis slipdrive technology making starflight and galactic colonization possible. Unfortunately Earth, the Cradle, was left scorched.

  Alexandros: A younger nation comprised mostly of scholars, Alexandros is on the borders of End Space and boasts a rich diverse population. The spirit of cooperation and peace is very present on Alexandros. It is one of the only Covenant Nations that does not possess a single military vessel and all of their progressive scientific developments remain purely pacifistic in nature and design.

  Ambrosia: Once known as the smugglers’ gem, the former Syndicate-­run “paradise world” of Ambrosia was forcefully made into a Protectorate of the Pax Humanis. Despite being under the rule of the Hegemon’s Law, Ambrosia remains to this day one of the poorest and most violent portions of its population. The majority of Ambrosia is made up of declassified citizens.

  Argent: Formerly a Pax Protectorate, the nation of Argent used its considerable financial powers to break free from the will of the Hegemons. Argent has since then become an Elitist society of godlike rich royals, challenging the Pax Humanis at any or every given opportunity. The Baron Princes of Argent are openly vying for the complete downfall of the Pax Humanis.

  Auditor: Independent Covenant agents sent in to investigate crimes. They are required by Covenant Law to be impartial.

  Barathul: After Sol, Barathul is the second oldest nation in the Pax Humanis, and proud of it. There are few worlds that can boast such a huge level of success and law. Barathul’s navy and military are second to none and do justice to the Pax Humanis rigid discipline.

  The Breedmasters: The Breedmasters of Uldur are brilliant geneticists. Capable of raising and creating living creatures to serve their every need, from food to transport to the incredibly complex living skinsuits. The Breedmasters jealously keep their trade secrets and have become a rival voice to the Wolver spiritual ruling caste, the Elvrids.

  Central Point: The current political center of the universe and the closest thing to pass as the Covenant’s Capital. Central Point is an ambitious societal gambit that includes all the Covenant nations. The end goal of which will be a fully operational and mobile disonsphere capable of safely housing billions of ­people, thousands of political delegates and the Covenant’s volunteer fleets. So far every nation has representation and a stake in completing this project. The InstaNet Signal is broadcast in perpetuity from Central Point, making it a stable map point for anyone navigating the cosmos. Because of this, Central Point is always located at the exact center of Covenant Space.

  Chosen Protocols: Machina Intelligences are typically free to observe the universe and in essence do whatever they want. However, once a Machina wishes to interact with the physical world, it must inhabit a mechanical body or shell. These bodies are hardwired with behavioral control protocols that prevent the Machina from killing, lying or otherwise harming living Intelligences.

  The Conclave: The final volunteer force of the Covenant Fleet, the Conclave serves many functions; chief among them is to ensure fair political discourse between nations. It also secures trade goods and distributes them fairly and readily to the nations of the Covenant. The Conclave’s final function is managing the auction between Nations bidding for the expansion rights to surveyed worlds. The Conclave makes sure that every nation has fair and equal access to the data on the worlds available for expansion.

  The Confederated Coin: The Confederated Coin is a new currency quickly gaining power and value on the intergalactic commerce stage. It has become the main currency of the ever-­growing and influential Confederated Nations. Much like the aforementioned union, the Confederated Coin was created to economically challenge and undermine the power of the Pax Credit.

  Confederated Kelthan: One of the younger languages of Covenant Space, Confederated Kelthan is quickly becoming a widely spoken language. It draws its origins from many Kelthans who grew annoyed with having Pax Common as their default language. Over time it became a hybrid of Wolven, Thegran and Pax Common. Confederated Kelthan is quickly cadenced and can be confusing to anyone who is unilingual.

  The Confederation of Nations: A political and military union of seven Nations created to oppose the Pax Humanis. These nations are: Ador, Argent, Highlund, Zerok, Galasia, Seno’Chesh and Troy.

  The Covenant: The Covenant dictates the rules and rights essential to fair space travel, warfare, trade and politics. Signed at the end of the Advent War so that future generations would be spared the horrors of galactic warfare, all Intelligences living within Covenant Space are subject to its Truths. To date, twenty-­two galactic nations have signed the Covenant and are represented on Central Point.

  Covenant Space: The totality of civilized, lawful and charted space encompassing the galactic nations shared by both Humanis and Machina. Space travel and trade are relatively safe and heavily regulated.

  The Datastream/InstaNet: An information super network that reaches across most of Covenant Space. The datastream is also where most Machina consciousnesses reside, observing the physical world. All Machina are originally sparked or “birthed” as code in the datastream.

  Declassification/Declassified Citizens: There are no prisons in the Pax Humanis, just varying levels of classified citizens and the declassified ones. Based on what level of classification one falls under, one is allowed access to greater goods and ser­vices while lower classification citizens are given fewer. Declassified citizens are given the bare minimum of ser­vices and goods; they are also not allowed to vote or gain access to starflight.

  The Elusive Frequency: The Syndicate’s illegal InstaNet signal, broadcast from an undisclosed location. All manner of criminal contracts and jobs are perpetually broadcasted from it. Messages on the Elusive Frequency are public for all Syndicate members, so it is not usable for private communication with an individual ship. The codes to the Elusive Frequency are one of the universe’s most jealously kept secrets.

  Elvrids: The spiritual leaders of the Living Green. Elvrids are rumored to be able to commune with the worlds they live on and have been known to predict the outcome of events with uncanny precision. They are peerless experts of plant and animal lore. Their word is law for the Wolvers.

  End Space: Sectors of the universe currently still uncharted and unscouted by the Covenant. Lack of InstaNet and Central Point positioning beacon signals have made actually traversing End Space incredibly difficult if not outright dangerous.

  The Expansions: In order to prevent any one nation growing too powerful, the Covenant has strictly forbidden all the galactic nations from colonizing new worlds unless it is during a sanctioned Expansion. All star-­dates are counted after the current Expansion.

  First Expansion: Dating from the end of the Advent War until two thousand years after the Covenant’s signing, this is the first wave of expansion in which the then-­homeless bloodlines of the Humanis explored the cosmos in search of new worlds to settle.

  Frost: The newest designer drug on the market, created from the processed by-­product of Somapoline. Incredibly addictive.

  Galasia: The frigid world of Galasia is almost uninhabitable to Humanis, as it is perpetually cast in an endless winter. Fortunately for Galasians, their star system boasts numerous moons and asteroids that can support Humanis life. This has caused the Galasian Council of Khans to convert much of their space into privatized prisons. The Galasian prisons remain the harshest and cruelest places in the cosmos. They also make great recruiting grounds for Galasia’s second method of income and military might, which remains their merciless and incredibly effective Pirate Fleet.

  Garthem: The stark and dark Nation of Garthem is comprised of numerous dangerous planets and boasts an almost entirely Kelthan population. While it is the youngest Pax nat
ion, Garthem has in its short history managed to rival both Sol and Barathul with its navy and military. The pride of Garthem remains to this day the Pax Humanis Elite Shadow Commandos: the Thorns.

  The Hegemon: The ruler of the Pax Humanis, embodying the iron will of Kelthan Humanis. The Hegemon’s Law reigns supreme and undisputed throughout the Pax.

  Humanis: The name given to the five bloodlines descendant of Ancient Humanity: Kelthan, Wolver, Thegran, Kohbrahn and Darlkhin.

  Late Modern: The last documented tongues of Ancient Humanity. Spoken and understood by few. Late Modern, for the moment at least, is typically studied only by scholars and the Machina.

  The Living Green: The spiritual path embraced by many Wolvers of Covenant Space. Followers of the path believe that the cosmos itself is a living being and that all the worlds and creatures calling it home must be treated as such. One of the main doctrines of the Living Green is an outright refusal to use any sort of technology made by Machina.

  The Lost War: The first and only war ever fought between Ancient Humanity and the Original Intelligences (O.I.s). Records pertaining to the details of the Lost War are nonexistent. What is known is that the current Humanis bloodlines were born in its aftermath.

  Lotus: The corporate nation of Lotus remains an innovator in the developing of cutting-­edge technology and software codes. Lotus boasts a large cloned population and workforce and sells stocks of vat-­created workforces to any nation willing to pay their asking price. Lotus has been very certain to never clone a military force, as this would be a most grievous breach of the Covenant’s Truths. Given the often less than ethical treatment of its clone population, the Lotus board of directors chooses not to test their luck on this particular issue.

  Machina: The third generation of self-­made Machine Intelligences created by the O.I.s.

  O.I.: The Original Machine Intelligences coded by Ancient Humanity during the days before the Lost War.

  The Patrol: The Covenant’s volunteer fleet of lawmen, the Patrol remains the core enforcers of the Covenant’s laws in space. They often operate as both a police force and rescue operation.

  Pax Common: The most common language of Covenant Space. Made prolific by the strength of the Pax Humanis and its media. Pax Common’s popularity is also due to the fact that is incredibly easy to learn. It is often criticized by non-­Pax citizens for the irrelevance of emotional inflection. Proponents of Pax Common maintain that this makes the language more widely accessible.

  The Pax Credit: The second most used currency is the Pax credit, due mainly to the Pax Humanis being the universe’s largest united superpower. Despite the lack of popularity The Pax credit remains widely accepted and used. In nations like Sol and Barathul, it is often even of greater value than the universal bit.

  The Pax Humanis: The oldest Humanis superpower, with a long military history dating back to the days before the Advent War. Under the rule of the Hegemons, the Pax Humanis now currently controls and encompasses seven united star systems: Sol, Barathul, Sunderlund, Garthem, Perse, Vale and Ambrosia.

  Perse: The Pax Humanis nation of Perse is the farthest from Sol. Located on the borders of End Space the green and yet grim world of Perse was settled at first by Wolvers once serving in the Shock Legion. The Wolvers of Perse are among the few who have no qualms about using machine-­made technology. For the most part the Wolvers of Perse do not actively take a role in Pax Humanis or Covenant politics.

  The Pontifex: In the wake of the Lost War, it was the Pontifex who ruled over Earth and the new bloodlines of Humanity. The Pontifex fashioned itself as a manner of God, using its vast knowledge of technology to visit all manner of cruelties onto the Humanis. It was only the arrival of the Machina and the subsequent Advent War that saw an end to the existence of the Pontifex and the start of the Great Peace.

  Rust: One of Galasia’s most infamous prison colonies, Rust is a ship’s graveyard in which the remains of the Khan’s Pirate Fleet conquests are stripped for parts. The working conditions are horrific. Prisoners are pushed to death and often subject to illegal and unethical experiments. Only the strong survive the work yards. It is therefore no coincidence that most of those serving in the Pirate Fleet hail from Rust.

  Second Expansion: Dating from the end of the first Expansion, the Second Expansion is the present. Many new nations were born while many others are currently solidifying their influence in preparation for the Third Expansion.

  Seft: The Wolver word for clan or family. Sefts typically compete amongst themselves for influence and power.

  Slipspace/Slipdrives: The most widely used interstellar starflight technology. Allows ships to “slip” from one spot in space to another. Slipdrives remain crucial to traversing the Infinite and Covenant Space.

  Sol: The former political center of the Covenant, Sol remains nonetheless one of the most powerful galactic nations of the cosmos. This is due mainly in part to the fact that Sol is the Capital of the Pax Humanis. Holy Terra, the blue cradle, is located in Sol, but it is not controlled by the Pax Humanis.

  Sol Fleet: The first Pax Humanis built interstellar military fleet. During the Ages of the First Expansion, it was Sol Fleet and the brave men and women in its ser­vice who came to the protection of the new nations. Because of this Sol Fleet remains one of the oldest and proudest fleets in existence.

  Somapoline: A rare breed of vine native of Uldur. When properly prepared by trained Elvrids and injested, it causes the user to be incredibly compliant. Used in in many Elvrid rituals and trials.

  Standard Star Dating System: While all Covenant nations have their own calendar systems, most if not all legal and political dates follow the Standard Sol Calendar. The Standard year is based on Earth’s twelve months. All years are dated after the last Expansion. Historically there have been two Covenant Sanctioned Expansions into new worlds. A third Expansion has been scheduled in the next sixteen hundred years.

  Sunderlund: Due mostly to a larger than average Wolver population living side by side with Kelthans, Sunderlund has made a habit of speaking out against the Pax Humanis. The Sunderlund Navy is exclusively composed of Humanis developed and engineered vessels. Sunderlund shipyards continue to produce some of the most reliable and durable starflight worthy spacecrafts in existence.

  The Survey: The Covenant’s volunteer fleet of scouts and planet surveyors. The Survey spends the majority of its time and resources scouting new worlds for future Expansions. The Survey is also tasked with mapping and updating slipspace astrocharts. Like the Patrol, the Survey also operates as a rescue operation. This is the main reason for the friendly spirit of competition that still exists between these two branches of the Covenant.

  The Syndicate: An ever-­elusive network of criminals and smugglers, the Syndicate is the shadow response to the Covenant. It exists solely to broker and smuggle illegal black market goods from world to world.

  The Thorns: The Thorns are the deniable assets of the Hegemon and the Pax Humanis. They are sent behind enemy lines on illegal operations. That the Covenant has not yet been able to prove the Thorn involvement in various dubious black book missions remains a testament to their effectiveness at covering up their tracks.

  Uldur: To this day the world of Uldur remains the center for Wolver politics, culture, innovation and spirituality. Uldur is a luscious and verdant planet with two moons, each one equally capable of supporting life. According to Wolver legend, it was Uldur that called out to them in the days of the first expansion. Unlike many worlds in Covenant Space, Uldur was never artificially Terraformed. The Wolvers have learned to live side by side with the living creatures and wild plants that make Uldur their home.

  Universal Bit: The universal bit, or u-­bit, is the most commonly accepted form of currency in Covenant Space. Like the standard calendar, most nations have their own independent currency as well, but if they wish to do commerce on a galactic scale the universal bit, more often
than not, remains the easy go-­to standard for most nations and banks.

  The Vale Campaign: When a terrorist faction known as the Children of Vale destroyed the commercial Pax Humanis passenger ship “The Eternity,” resulting in thousands of Pax civilian casualties, the Hegemon responded by mobilizing three of the Pax warfleets into Vale space. The goal was to install order and Pax Humanis rule in what was being painted as an unruly part of the Universe. The Confederation of Nations, led by Argent, responded by sending in fleets of their own. While there are reports of many savage and bloody battles, the Vale Campaign never truly escalated into all-­out war. The Campaign of Vale came to an abrupt end after the infamous Battle of Galomdryd, for Vale’s capital city.

  Wolven: The rich and emotional dialogue spoken by the Wolvers. To this day it remains the second most used tongue in the universe. Wolven found its origins in the days prior to the Advent War and it was intentionally designed by the Wolver Sefts to be overly emotional, almost musical. This was to make it incredibly difficult for machines to decode and understand.

  THE INTELLIGENCES OF THE COVENANT

  DARLKHIN

  The mysterious, never-­changing immortals commonly known as the Darlkhin are “plastic” humans. Should one give any credence to their histories, they would be last descendants of Ancient Humanity. Darlkhin mainly tend to exclusively pursue their own personal agendas and rarely if ever choose to participate in the affairs of New Humanity or the Covenant.