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authorStijn Buys <ingar@osirion.org>2016-03-05 23:26:08 +0100
committerStijn Buys <ingar@osirion.org>2016-03-05 23:26:08 +0100
commit691136ea46b7ac59108402970cd61e157e3f292c (patch)
treedb846cfe6e14e5bbb74f0874ea97e937a18db3c9 /developer/STORYLINE
parent44405ef0f1b811cc0c2f18bbe24c34f37f288388 (diff)
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-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- The Osirion Project - STORYLINE
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- This file contains ideas for the universe background, the factions and
- the storyline.
-
- SPOILER ALERT!
-
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
- PLACES AND FACTIONS
-
-
- HOUSE LINDBLADE (protected by the Lindblade military)
-
- - Lindblade system
- planet Lindblade
-
- - Burton system
- planet Burton
- Trent outpost
- Lindblade shipyards
-
- - Dover system
-
- HOUSE PRAETORIA (protected by the Praetorian Guard)
-
- - Praetoria system
- planet Praetoria
- planet Lovanium
-
- HOUSE DAGON
-
- - Dagon system
- - Ashir-Dan system
- - Zensunni system
-
- COUNCIL CAPITAL (protected by the Ordinators)
-
- The seat of the Council and the capital of the central planets.
- Location of the Allied Intelligence Network headquarters.
-
- - Council Capital
- planet Corona /find a better name/
-
- INDEPENDENT COLONIES (protected by the Colonial Militia)
-
- An alliance of systems independent from the central planets.
-
- - Ghant system
- planet Ghant
- Alexandria outpost
- Battleship custodian
-
- planet Seymour
- Regula station
-
- - Brogha system
- planet Brogha
- Cantor observatory
-
- - Antwerp system
- planet Antwerp
- starbase Helianthos (guards the border)
- Buccaneer's Den pirate base
-
- - Kronenbaden
- planet Baden
- planet Krone
-
- - Khorsand system
-
- - Warsaw system
-
- NEUTRAL SYSTEMS
-
- - Finnmark (Joint Miners Association headquarters)
- planet Finnmark
- mining operations
-
- - East End
- Trident core
-
- ORGANIZATIONS AND CORPORATIONS
-
- - Micron Corporation
- - AMTEL Tech Conglomerate
- - Joint Miners Association
-
- BORDERWORLDS (not claimed by any lawfull faction)
-
- Worlds destroyed during the war.
-
- - Kor Glaven
-
- - Kor Telos
- planet Andros
- planet Corthio
- battlefield remains
-
- - Anarian system
- Anarian nebula
- Galileo research station
- battlefield remains
-
- - Karelian system
- no Planets
- Karelian nebula
- border station
-
- TSU-KHAN EMPIRE
-
- - Kiana system
- Kiana Prime
-
- - Alpha Kosiya
-
- - Beta Kosiya (dissapeared and/or destroyed)
-
- - Gamma Kosiya
-
-
- DERELICTS
-
- The Kadriant
-
-
- Note on names:
-
- Before the war, the systems controlled by the Great Houses were
- referred to as the 'Colonies'. The term 'borderworlds' was used
- to refer to independent systems.
-
- Since the war, the term 'Borderworlds' is used to indicate
- systems destroyed during the war, while the term 'colonies'
- is generally used as abreviation for the 'Independent Colonies'.
- The Protectorate and the systems controled by The Great Houses
- are usually referred to as 'the central planets'.
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
- TIMELINE
-
- Exodus 0 AE (After Exodus)
- The Year of War 480 AE
- The Karelian Incident 510 AE
- Today 545 AE
-
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
- HISTORY OF THE YEAR OF WAR
- from the House Lindblade historical records
-
-
-Reaching for the Stars
-
- History of mankind is a tale mostly written in blood and fire. Although
- there are few written accounts of the events before the Exodus, it wouldn't
- be hard to imagine why the Homeworld would have been abandoned in the first
- place: wars for power, territory and resources would be commonplace
- for almost five centuries to come.
-
-The Year of War
-
- For the Tsu-Khan, this war was no different. About a century ago,
- The Empire had depleted most of its natural resources and had launched
- an ambitious project to find a suitable new homeworld.
-
- At the time, most of the human population was ignorant about the presence
- of alien lifeforms in their galaxy. The scant pieces of evidence that did
- exist were kept secret by the political leaders. The Colonies were controlled
- by several Major Houses, each with their own agenda's and changing alliances.
- None of the House Lords had the motivation to order a thorough investigation
- into a mad man's testimony of outer world creatures.
-
- The war came without warning. Near Kor Telos, on the edge of known space
- and outside the jurisidiction of the great houses, two new colonies
- had been founded. The settlers were finishing the construction of their
- hyperspace jump gate, to connect the system to allied borderworld systems.
- Unfortunatly, the Tsu-Khan Empire had located a suitable planet just
- a few parsec away.
-
- The Andros colony was the first to fall. It didn't take the Tsu-Khan
- battle group very long to destroy the defenceless setlement.
- By the time they arrived at the Corthio colony, the colony had scrambled
- any battleship it could find to fend the invasion. The Colonial fleet was
- no match for the superior Tsu-Khan ships. In a few hours, the battle was over,
- and the Corthio colony had been reduced to ashes.
-
- The story repeated itself across the Borderworlds. These independent worlds were
- usually inhabited by pacifist who had escaped the turmoil of the central planets
- or had a mutual understanding with one or more of the great houses. The Tsu-khan
- did not care, and the majority of the Bordesworlds was utterly obliterated. What
- remained was a few primitive settlements scattered across the smoldering remains
- of the Borderworld planets.
-
- The relations between the Borderworlds and the Major Houses were strained with
- conflicts of interest. The central planets usually didn't care unless some economical
- or strategical advantage was involved. Slowly the Houses got drawn into the the war,
- and after almost a year of hostilities most of the House Lords found their armies
- involved in a full-scale war. A war, they realised, they couldn't win.
-
- With the Borderworlds out of the way, and the Tsu-Khan fleet at the border of every
- Major House, there wasn't much they could do to oppose the Empire. In this darkest
- of hours a secret meeting took place that turned the fate of history. On a small,
- neutral planet, near the centre of the Colonies, a number of small ships met in secret,
- each ship carrying one of the remaining House Lords.
-
-The Alliance
-
- This small planet used to be the stage for the House Council, by then a long forgotten
- tradition, where the Lords of the Major Houses used to work out their differences
- with dialog, or discuss current events. In the years before the Great War, this
- tradition had been neglected and oposing views were usually solved with a friendly
- border skirmish followed by a royal monetary compensation.
-
- These times were over. This war wasn't about money, power or territory.
- It was about survival and it was clear by now that none of the Major Houses possessed
- sufficient strength to fight the Empire on its own. A new alliance was formed and it
- was decided that it should not only include the Major Houses, but also any independent
- system that was still capable of fighting. The Lord of House Lindblade, who's
- territory had been on the front line since the beginning of the war, and considered
- as moderate amongst the House Lords, proposed to assemble a fleet in the Lindblade
- system to prevent the Empire from gaining a foothold in the Central Systems.
-
- Within days, the largest fleet in human history had united under one banner. Out of fear,
- out of hope, but most of all, out of desperation. A news reporter from the era described
- it as ".. an overwhelming sight of the End of Times, but unlike the descriptions of
- Armegeddon in the Ancient Scripture, a sight with a sense of honour and dignity ..."
- and ended his report with the question if they really had any chance against such
- a formidable enemy. Battleship after battleship graciously drifted in formation,
- and everyone on board, from crewman to captain, knew this had to be the final stand.
-
- When the Empire's vast intelligence informed the Tsu-Khan Emperor of this unexpected
- turn of events, humanity's fate seemed sealed. The orders where quick and decisive:
- regroup the fleet and prepare to engage the humans. Once dispatched it would
- take care of the alliance fleet and end human opposition once and for all. The war
- would be over soon and the Alliance's systems would under the Empire's control.
-
- It is said that even the smallest person can change the course of the future, and in
- this case, it was a lonely scientists in the Anara system. His work involved
- the meaning of life, the universe and related subjects, and ignoring the dangers
- of the war was his way of dealing with the situation. His latest experiment required
- him to pilot a tiny and almost unpowered vessel into the Anarian nebula, where
- he could conduct measurements of the small variations in the local hyperspace field.
-
- He was performing another scan of the sector when suddenly his instruments went off
- the scale. To his amazement he suddenly found himself on the edge on area where the
- alien fleet had decided to regroup and refuel before they sneaked into Alliance Territory.
- The small vessel, barely powered and only slightly larger than an emergency life
- support pod, used the high levels of radiation in the nebula to elude the Tsu-Khan
- sensors and send a warning message the Alliance Fleet.
-
- With the help of the detailed scientific information about the nebula, the Alliance
- managed to jump right on top of the unsuspecting Tsu-Khan fleet. Within minutes,
- the Imperial Flagship, primary target of the assault, had taken massive damage and was
- burning in the flames of explosive decompression. It was at the heart of the fleet
- when it exploded, and most of the heavy fighters and cruisers were hit by the shockwave
- and the massive rain of high-speed metallic debris behind it. Some managed to retreat
- to Tsu-Khan space, most fell victim to the united firepower of the Alliance fleet.
-
- News of the victory spread through the Colonies like fire, and the battle became legendary
- before the Alliance fleet had even returned home.
-
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
- PROJECT::OSIRION
- Allied Intelligence Network classified documents
-
-
-Project Osirion
-
- During the war, many great houses conducted experiments in search for
- advanced technologies to aid in defeating the enemy. One of these
- experiments was called 'Project Osirion', an experiment involving
- a new type of hyperjumpdrive, which could work independent of hyperspace
- jumps holes and cross enormous distances in the blink of an eye.
-
- The requirments on ship design for this experimental drive unit were
- outrageous to say the least. But facing imminent defeat, no effort
- was spared to gain even the slightest advantage. In less than 6 months
- a new ship was constructed and equiped with the experimental drive unit.
-
- The ship was an impressive sight: several hundred meters of neutronium-enforced
- carbosteel, thousands of metric tonnes of superconductors and optronics,
- a monument to human ingenuity and an instrument to survival.
-
- This ship was christened 'Osirion'.
-
- The ship's first test flight was a major event. Most secret projects did not
- generate a lot of attentention, but this flight was a higly anticipated by
- the top brass from all parties involved: military, political and corporate alike.
-
- The ship had left the construction yard as planned and had almost arrived at
- departure point on the edge of the star system when suddenly all communication
- was lost. Extensive investigations after the incident have never revealed the
- source of the malfunction, and everything that happened after this point is the
- result of long-range sensor telemetry.
-
- Sensors hat detected the ship arriving at the departure point and the flight continued as planned.
- A few moments later a massive energy discharge was registered, indicating
- the experimental jump drive was activated. Unfortunatly, the order
- to return to the point of departure after the initial jump, seems to be a part of
- the plan that never got executed. The ship had literally vanished into thin air.
-
- The top brass was very upset.
-
-
-The Karelian Incident
-
-
-The Tsu-Khan Empire
-
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
- PROJECT::OSIRION
- Protectorate Top-Secret documents
-
-What really happed to the Osirion
-
-What really happed after the death of the Tsu-Khan Emperor
-
-Tsu-Khan Empress and the War Generals
-
-The Empress' niece
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
- PROJECT::OSIRION
- STORY
-
-I. Business
-
- Alexandria outpost, jewel of the south, or queen of the wasteland,
- as some higher placed officials like to call it off-the-record.
- They were probably right too. The wasteland probably referred to
- planet Ghant, a lifeless chunk of rock holding the outpost in
- a stationary orbit. Unless you had some pressing matters to handle,
- this was a part of space you would rather avoid. The only kind of
- people you could find here were people doing business and people
- who needed to dissapear from public appearance. Or both.
-
- The local custom was to mind your own business, and that was exactly
- what I was looking for: minding my own business. My life on the central
- planets had become far more complicated than I had planned for and it
- was time for a change: I managed to get a loan from the local
- planetary bank and spend it on the aquisition of a small transport
- vessel.
-
- The first day of my new life as a spaceship captain. Not the glorious
- life I had gotten used to, but at least a decent one with its small pleasures
- once in a while. The small room I rented above the local bar almost felt like
- home. After I left the central planets, I ended up on Alexandria outpost where
- the local bartender was kind enough to offer me a job in his modest establishment.
- He probably did it more out of sympathy then anything else, but as it turned
- out, I'm great at doing the dishes and I always enjoyed our conversations.
- That is, until last week, when I ran into Mister Brent.
-
- Ages ago, we used to work in the same building and he must have recognized me.
- I was sitting at the bar when he suddenly tapped on my shoulder. My memories
- of him were vague, but as he sat down, I ordered him a drink. We had some chit-chat,
- shared a few memories of distant times, but it didn't take hime very long to come
- to the point.
-
- Mister Brent was the business type. "The rising star of the Regula mining operations,
- overseeing all shipments of niobium in the Ghant system", to quote his words.
- His phrases like "A smart man could make a fortune" sounded rather hollow to me,
- but he did have a point. 500 runs to Regula to pay the loan for the ship.
- Another 1500 more to get myself a ship big enough to hold a small cabin with all the
- luxuries a simple life would need.
-
- Repetetive? Boring? Perfect! Add an autopilot and this life could be more relaxing
- then a luxury vacation on an exotic planet. With this simple business but rock-solid plan
- laid out in front of me I managed to convince the manager of the local planetary
- bank to provide me with the necessary funds for my operation, which I quickly
- exchanged for Micron Corporation's latest Vector model. It's a small ship:
- the cockpit, a living compartment with a sleeping corner and a cargo hold
- just big enough to hold a few metric tons of whatever the owner had in mind.
- All it missed was a pair of blasters to shoot the mosquitos from the windshield.
-
- That would have added another 50 runs to the price.
-
- The first two runs went smooth. Nothing unexpected. Pick up supplies at Alexandria,
- fly all the way to the Regula mining operation station, exchange the supplies
- for a shipment of karpax ore and head back. I had just hit the impulse drive with
- the third load in my cargo hold when I noticed something out of place.
-
- A blip. And a big one too. No civilian vessel had an EM radar signature that powerful.
- I peered through the windows and as planet Ghant grew bigger on me I could clearly
- distinguish a second bright spot next to the familiar one Alexandria had become to me.
- I quickly requested the computer for an identification and it didn't take it very long
- to come up with an answer. Battleship Custodian. Colonial Militia registration number
- CM-2542. It must have jumped in when I was docked at Regula.
-
- Curious. While the Ghant system was officialy under the jurisdiction of the
- colonies, nobody had any real business here. Niobium was without doubt a valuable
- commodity, but since there was no real shortage of the oremy guess was that the
- military's interests would lie elsewhere. For now, I decided to ignore the matter.
- I wasn't about to meddle into military affairs and let unfortunate circumstances ruin
- my life again.
-
- Nevertheless it was hard to ignore the massive battleship looming over the outpost,
- but I docked and went straight to the bar. The bartender looked at me as I walked in
- and pointed me to my regular place at the bar. "I'll be right back", he said,
- and disappeared into the kitchen compartment. As on most quiet evenings, the
- regular customers were kind enough to leave my seat unocupied and it didn't
- take the familar surroundings long to ease my exited mind into a more relaxes state.
- "Here you are, one cup of steaming hot chocolate milk. I'm not sure how or where
- you got it, but I am sure it is the real deal. No one would get it into his mind
- to synthesize anything without having an actual market for it."
-
- As usual, my bartender was right, and that was exactly why I liked this stuff, even if it
- costed a small fortune. "But then again", he continued and turned has eyes towards the large
- space window at the other end of the bar, "life can be full of surprises."
-
-II. Surprises
-
- It was hard for him to hide his unsettledness. "I just had a talk with the station supervisor
- and the commander of that battleship floating out there". "The Custodian", I replied. "I had
- the ship computer run an ID on it". "You'd better take care of that fancy new ship of yours",
- he said. "They were here to inform me that the Colonial Militia has decided to assign a detachment
- to the Ghant system, effective immediately. All fleet operations in the system will be under the
- command of the battleship Custodian. They also dropped some kind of communication sattelite
- in the center of the system. God knows what these guys are up to."
-
- The military is always involved in business the common man would rather not know about, but I had
- to admit, it just didn't sound right. A battleship in the Ghant system was curious, but a
- more permanent presence didn't make any sense at all. I picked up the small metal spoon lying
- next to my cup and stirred my hot milk. "I wouldn't worry too much. They've probably discovered
- some interesting radiation in the neighbourhood and now they want to turn it into a weapon. You
- know these kind of people, if it goes kabooom, they immediately like it." "Besides", I continued,
- "the system has been quiet for months. I haven't seen a pirate in ages".
-
- The tone in my voice couldn't hide my longing for more dangerous and exiting times,
- but those days were over. I had chosen a new path, and I was not about to ruin my plans
- because of a few curious events. I emptied my cup and wished the bartender good night.
-
- I couldn't sleep that evening. I didn't know what troubled me more: the prospect
- of my new life, the memories of the old one, or the strange events of today. When a man
- is troubled, he has to start walking and with the silence of the night as a blanket,
- I got out of bed and went out on a stroll.
-
- 2 am standard colonial time. Nights in space are something to get used to: without
- the sun to rise and set, dusk and dawn become rather hollow definitions and
- only the clock dictates when it is time to go to sleep. Nevertheless, the atmosphere
- of the night still permiated the station: most of the establishments were closed and
- the sound of busy peoples voices was replaced by the quiet hum of the electrical
- installations.
-
- I wandered aimless through the empty corridors until I reached one of the large
- space windows on the upper level. It was almost like the vast, empty space
- behind it was reaching out, trying to stir something in the back of my mind.
- I wasn't sure why but I could not shed the feeling that some event was about
- to unfold. I turned around to head back to bed when suddenly felt a faint
- tremor going through the station. It was hardly noticable and most people
- would probably ignore it, but I knew exactly what it was.
-
- When a ship drops from hyperspace into normal space, it will send a small shockwave
- into the surrounding area. This is not a shockwave of something traveling through space,
- but rather a disturbance of the fabric of space itself, with a distinct rythmn
- an experienced pilot can easily recognize. I could have ignored it too and
- go back to sleep, but the intoxicating effect of the mystery dragged me back to the window.
-
- A ship had arrived, and it had to be close. Hyperspace-tremors do not travel very far
- and it would take one hell of a pilot to make a jump this close to a gravitational well.
- The slightest miscalulation would have spread out his atoms over the face of planet Ghant.
- The bright moving spot between the stars had proven he was either very good, or very lucky.
-
- The design of the ship was unfamiliar. It looked like some kind of a patrol craft,
- armed to the teeth and ready to defend itself if it were necessary. Fortunatly,
- it looked like the pilot had a more quiet evening in mind. In a gracious arc,
- he approached the station and soaring like a an eagle he started the final approached
- to the docking bay. A pleasant sight for anyone who could appreciate the finer arts of
- space flight.
-
- By now it was almost 3 am and I was almost certain I was going to regret this nightwandering
- episode when my alarm clock would obnoxiously announce the next morning. Almost, because
- by now I had also learned that having no regrets and a strong focus on the task at hand
- was usually the wiser course of action. Right now, the task was finding some sleep.
-
- I turned around, walked to the elevator at the end of the corridor and pressed the button.
- After a few seconds the doors opened with a joyfull chime and I stepped inside. "Level 3".
- The elevator seemed to consider my request when the doors finaly closed and it started
- moving down. I leaned casually against the back wall while my right hand was trying to catch
- the yawn escaping my mouth while the elevator control panel continued to count down the current
- level in large friendly letters. "5"... "4"... almost there... "3"... "2"...
-
- It took a moment for reality to trickle through the veil of sleepyness, but it was quite obvious
- the elevator had passed my level and continued its journey downwards. There was only one thing down
- there: the docking bay, and I couldn't shed the awkward feeling it was a place I'd rather avoid
- at this particular moment. I pressed the emergency stop button on the control panel, to no avail.
-
- "1"... "0" ..."-1, Docking Bay". The low, humming noise of the elevator ended abruptly and the doors
- opened again.
-
-III. The Docking Bay
-
- The warm arid air of the docking bay filled the elevator. Contemporary generator technology
- tends to ionize the atmosphere and the distinct smell of a recently landed ship was
- noticably present //..more//.
-
-Temporary notes:
-
- III about getting stunned in the cargo bay
-
- IV about waking up on Starbase Helianthos
-
- V about Linblade and 'they've hidden it'
-
- VI about the Kadriant