CURRENT CHARACTER BIOS:
-Ue_Carbon, High Paragon of Combat Divisions of Unified Explorers Corporation ( -Ue_ ) . Paragon of the 5th 'Carbon' Division
When the Advent first invaded Trader space, their vanguards and first waves destroyed most of Unified Explorers' systems leaving the corporation and partners in a desperate fight for survivial. Most Combat Divisions were recalled from the Vasari frontlines along side a call for aid from fellow members of the Trade Order/TEC. The first Combat Divisions to make it back to Unified Explorers( -Ue_ ) the 2 systems still controled by -Ue_ was Gold, Xenon, and Carbon. The High Paragon of each Divsion were as varied as the elements they are named after. Through the determination of the 3 Divisions they were able to save what remained of -Ue_. Despite the effort it seems the lines would not hold for permently. A drastic plan was needed.
For some time -Ue_ researches have been testing new colonization methods and equipment in the various anomolies found near the edge of Trader space.. One such anomoly was a wormhole classified as: Xccc783, which lead to a vast region of space far from any know planet or stars. It was unsure if the Advent who controled the system Xccc753 was located in knew of the distant stars the wormhole lead to and if they were already tapping into the resouces found in those systems.
It was decided that -Ue_ needed to relocated and take hold of those systems for the survival of the corporation and Traders elsewhere. So began the surge into now Advent controled territory.
Unprepared by the sudden sugical assault the Advent withdrew the bulk of their forces to new defensive lines, leaving Xccc783 open to begin the influx of colony frigates, cargo ships, and Divisions to the new systems.
And now so...the battle for the Distant Stars has begun...
The strategies used by the Carbon Division involve a heavy hand in support ships. Akkan, Dunvo, and Hoshikos make up 55% of the Division ships. With other Divisons requesting most of the hard hitting ship that usually make up the bulk any TEC fleet, High Paragon Carbon has forged his makeshift Division into slow yet steady tide of war. While many commanders perfer the bring as much firepower and Capital Ships they can get into every conflict. High Paragon Carbon pefers hordes of frigates and support cruisers to do the heavy lifting. Usually only fielding 2-3 Caps at any given time. Usually the sheer numbers of ships is more than most fleets can handle.
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Alexander Draakjacht, Fleet Admiral of the David's Lions.
Symbol: Yellow Star of David
The Lions are a religious branch of the Judaic people from Earth's earlier history. This connection to an older religion allowed the Lions to evade religious persecution during the exile of the Advent. In spite of this, many eyes are kept wary by their presence and the Lions have responded with a degree of social isolationism. Against the Vasari, the Lions have provided what little numbers they have to fight off the alien force, garnering a reputation for supressing passion for the sake of good judgement and numerical preservation. Since the resurgence of the Advent, the Lions have come under fire for their mixed reactions. Although never unwilling to provide defensive forces for the TEC, they hold little ill will against the Advent and even sympathize with them because of the similarity of their histories and so they hesitate to take the offensive.
Their strategies rely heavily on capital vessels and starbases. They use mobile, defensive tactics to engage the enemy in a sometimes slow, but relatively low caualty advance. Kols provide half of their capital forces, with a blend of support capitals escorting the Kols in equal numbers. Offensively, strikecraft are used for fighter cover only, but the recently fielded gunship is becoming more prominent in defensive arenas.
Behind the frontlines, the Lions are a heavily economic people, their hands being deeply entrenched within almost every economic sector. As their forces garner territory, massive refitting takes place in older territory, battle ready stations being stripped down and converted into economic hubs. Although costly, the long-term gains offset the cost and the foresight to focus on orbital refineries keeps the converted starbases from producing the trade congestion that would occur if trade hubs were too numerous.
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Lord Ryat Arnoldt, Baron of the High Gryphons System
Lord Ryat is known for his deviousness in battle and high understanding of the enemy, sometimes seeming to show sympathy for the Vasari much to the dismay of others. There are even rumors that he is in constant contact the pirates that roam the stars, giving them many new weapons and tactics. Yet his almost brutal effeciency in destroying the Vasari and Pirates seems to cast doubt over these issues. None though doubt his hatred for the Advent being that his system has boarded the space of the Advent for so long and had lost most of his family and homeworld to them in the inital opening attacks. His solid defense and some fortunate pirate attacks on the flanks of the Advent held them off long enough for the massive industrial complex on other worlds of the High Gryphons System to build a massive attack fleet mixed with many capitals and support cruisers that allowed him to thrust the Advent back, though it was too late to save his beloved homeworld.
The strategies applied by Lord Ryat involve a heavy use of capitals mostly of the Kol and Sova mix with supporting capitals in the mix. Kodiaks, Hoshikos, and Light Carriers make up the rest of his fleets providing him with a flexible, fast, and hard hitting fleet that sends the enemy reeling. And he always seems to hit just when the pirates are doing their worst to the enemy.
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Paragon Xenon, High Paragon of Intelegence for Combat Divisons of Unified Explorers Corporation ( -Ue_ ). Paragon of the 13th 'Xenon' Division
Xenon is the Paragon of the intelegence devision of the -Ue_ . He is a very unusal man, and doesnt talk or give much imput to people he doesnt know. Xenon and Carbon go back to early wars and have become very good friends since then. Xenon is a tall and slinder man, he is often seen wearing trench coats, gloves and boots, and never shows any skin. His entire face has become metal, and is robotic. The only person who knows why , is carbon. He was there during the accedent. Though Xenon usually knows just about eveything that is happening with in the -Ue_ , he has many contacts that are much father than most think.
Xenon likes to use strike craft to protect himself and his allies. His favorite ship is his Sova Carrier which he dubed "Osiris"
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Roesh, Founder of the Roesh Free Traders
Roesh served along the front lines during the initial Vasari invasion into Trader Space. Like all ship captains, he was accustomed to fighting off pirates and chasing after smugglers, rather then taking on a fully armed and capable battle fleet. However, due to above average frigate piloting skills and a whole lot of luck, he always managed to stay just one step ahead of the invaders. After getting commissioned a new Dunov Class Battlecruiser for his efforts on slowing the advancement of the Vasari, he was called back from the front lines to provide battle experience and assistance in dealing with the sudden resurgence of the Advent. Knowing full well that they couldn't stop the Advent, he favored the attack and withdrawl method that he was using against the Vasari to slow their progress until there was enough fleet buildup to outright halt the advance. Having worked to great effect against two major foes, he was awarded several commendations by the TEC, commendations which he gave up in exchange for trade contracts that would take him away from front line activities. Speculation has it that this was done because his home system was captured and the TEC refused to even attempt to take it back. Further speculation has it that this move was made to personally finance his own military campaign to reclaim the system.
His personal choice of action is the feigned retreat which fools the enemy into chasing his forces out of the area, which results in the enemy being set up to be ambushed in the process. Careful and calculating, Roesh favors the use of capital ships with light frigate and cruiser support when agression is needed, leaving the bulk of his frigates and cruisers behind to defend his assets and to provide an escape route should things get out of control in a hurry. The Dunov, being a former trade ship redesigned for war, is his favorite ship and the flagship of his fleet. It reminds him of himself. Due to his humble beginnings, he refuses to acknowledge his TEC rank of Battle Group Commander, and refuses to let anyone call him "sir." Most commonly you will hear people refer to him by name or by boss. Little more is known about him or his past.
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Todd Degroff, Fleet Engineer, Roesh Free Traders.
Todd trained to be a ship engineer shortly after the Vasari began to invade Trader Space. Proving to be a quick learner he was assigned as an engineering crew member on one of the first capital ships the TEC sent out to the front lines. Being on a ship that saw lots of action almost immediately out of the shipyards, he got more on the job training then he knew what to do with. Constantly making repairs to damaged systems and constantly making revisions to ship systems and total conversion upgrades based on TEC R&D, his skills became quite sought after on several front line ships. Over the next several years, he was transferred from ship to ship further expanding his knowledge on the workings of everything the TEC had put out to space. He became an expert ship mechanicand engineer, and strove to be a chief engineer someday. To his disappointment though, he was never promoted to a lead position which ultimately forced him to begin to resent the command structure that was in place. Becoming a problem for those who commanded him, he was eventually removed from the front lines to work in R&D near the core worlds of Trader Space. His opportunity for a chief engineer position eventually came when he met another person dissatisfied with the workings of the TEC also returning from the front lines.
He gave up his commission within the TEC and signed on with the newly formed Roesh Free Traders as Chief Fleet Engineer. Not only did he finally get the command position he sought all those years serving on the front lines, but his skills and knowledge of R&D projects quickly earned him the friendship of his new boss. Essentially as Roesh's right hand, he helped to build a thriving and robust trade network that was second to none. Many companies would offer credits, supplies, exclusive contracts, and anything else they could think of, just to lure him away from the RFT for a few days to teach their engineers a few tricks that he learned over the years. Still being quite young and eager to learn the art of negotiation, it's believed by most that he will be Roesh's successor for the company, and that his future is as bright as the stars he flies to.
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Henry Stolvey, Chief of Operations, Roesh Free Traders
Henry Stolvey met Roesh in the days well before the first invasion by the Vasari. Working the same trade routes, they began to get competitive in almost everything they did. Who could pilot the biggest ship, who could outrun the most pirates, who could deliver the goods faster, who could chug the largest beer... If it could be turned into a competition, these two treated it as such. This always present rivalry didn't make enemies out of them, instead it made them the best of friends. At the beginning of the Vasari invasion, Henry was visiting the core worlds on vacation. Unable to return since the the Traders banned travel to the affected systems until an effective military action could be set up, Henry had to rely purely on news reports for information on his friends. For several weeks the only reports he could get were that the systems were lost. It wasn't until a year later when he was traveling with much needed resupply ships to the Advent front lines that he was suprised to meet up with his old friend. Immediately requesting a reassignment, he was transferred to Roesh's command where they picked up their rivalry right where it left off. While hanging out and having a few drinks to forget the war for a little while, they formulated the idea that they would form a trade company together and use their ranking and all of pull with local suppliers to get themselves off to a good start.
Seeing his friend's distaste for how the TEC was running the war, he convinced Roesh that it was time they started their business. Using Roesh's name since it was recognizable on both fronts, they set up resupply lines that quickly moved goods from the core worlds to front line positions. Having a lot of battle experience, they weren't afraid to venture into enemy held systems to resupply TEC ships that were badly in need. These actions alone garnered them much favor from many worlds and allowed them to sign exclusive contracts and expand rapidly. Having a keener sense of business, Roesh easily agreed to let Henry take control of the company's operations, where he's happily been at ever since. Every once in awhile Henry takes the time to mentor Todd when he's not too busy, to not only teach him how to run the company some day, but to also put him in constant contact with shadier business people that Henry himself cannot be seen associating with.
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Casey Tahira, Head of the Mining and Salvage Division, Roesh Free Traders
Casey is a child of the Advent. She spent her whole life learning the ways of her people, yet never wanting to achieve greatness. She was more then happy to take a little more time for herself then that of the unity. As this was an unpopular thing to do she didn't have many friends, nor did she care. She spent much of her time studying the history of her people and how they came to be, as well as learning about geology and rare metals. Her knowledge guarunteed her to be an outcast until the descision to reclaim their rightful place in Trader Space was made and plans were set into motion. Next thing she knew, she was being sent out with expeditionary forces to set up resource collection operations to ensure the fleet's survivability if the war proved to be long and drawn out. It didn't take long for the Advent to push their way into Trader systems and take them over. Each time the call was made to expand, Casey was sent along with the advance forces. During one of these pushes, the TEC set up a fairly hearty defense and held the line against the Advent assault. Unfortunately for Casey, in the beginning moments of battle her ship was shot up and destroyed. Doing as she was taught, she remained in her escape pod maintaining inner peace waiting for pickup. That inner peace turned to rage when the fleet she was with turned and left as soon as Vasari forces entered the system, leaving several dozen of them stranded floating in space.
The Vasari and TEC clashed with little reguard to the Advent lifepods, destroying most with stray weapons fire. Casey lucked out when her pod was gathered up by Roesh and the crew of his resupply ship. Understanding that she now owed her life to the captain of the ship, she struck a deal with Roesh to turn over everything she knew about the Advent in the local systems, in exchange for protection from being turned over to TEC intelligence officials. Roesh, took the information but couldn't promise her safety, so she worked out a new deal to ensure her survival. With the promise to never use her mental talents on anyone tied to his company, he smuggled her away from the front lines and to the core of his operations where he'd allow her to work as a crew member on his trade ships. Eventually, as his business grew and he needed to find new ways to hide her, she developed the mining and salvage division of his company so that she could conduct her life away from the planets and the people who were too closed-minded to accept her for who she is, not by where she was raised. At least in mining and salvage, you got judged by how much effort you put in, rather then by where you're from. As an added bonus, she got all of the peace and quiet she wanted, whenever she wanted it.
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Thenos
A 28 year old charismatic leader, who swiftly rose through the ranks of the Advent navy due to his immense psychic talent, soon becoming captain of a Radiance class battleship that would become known as the Revenge. He played a major part in consolidating the Advent's hold on their territory in Distant Stars. He is known to have fought the -UE_ only a few times, and so is unexperienced against their tactics. However, soon on his Distant Stars career, he was expelled from the Unity by the High Psintegrat, and was taken away, prisoner aboard his own ship. However, as a precaution, the High Psintegrat cut off the crew as well in the Daros system, a small area of space near to the TEC's territory in Distant Stars. Having taken control of the ship once more, and recruiting a small Advent patrol to his cause, Thenos founded what would become known as the Garran Collective, a seperate group of psychics, who had their own network of minds outside of the Unity. This civilisation was based on the desert planet of Rebirth in the Daros system, but soon expanded, and came into contact with other major forces in the Distant Stars sector.
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The High Psintegrat
Supreme Commander of the fleet of the Flames of Vengeance, a militaristic subdivision of the Advent forces, the High Psintegrat was the first high ranked Advent to reach Distant Stars, and is arguably the discoverer of it. However, this title is hotly disputed. In the Distant Stars sector, the Flames of Vengeance have spread to cover a large portion of the sector, and it is suspected that they may control uncharted worlds beyond the view of TEC scouts. They have a strong military presence at Kyrene, but are suspected to have an even better defended fall-back point, possibly near a wormhole into Advent space. The High Psintegrat is well known for her incredible psychic talent, which has proved itself to have an equivalent strength to the combined psychic abilities of two Rapture crews. Obviously, this woman is a priority target for the TEC.
