Alternate Traveller Setting

[Supplement Four]

THE CORE AT REST


On the matter of the ancient core she offered a rare public opinion, outlining the matter in the simplest terms. The core, regardless of the power it offered, was best left as a publicly accessible monument to the trials and triumphs of the Hiigaran people and the mysteries that still remain to be resolved, rather than being pressed into active service. After all, while it would offer near limitless travel to the fleets of Hiigara, it was a freedom that would merely distract from the duties at hand. With the process of rebuilding still ongoing, the population of Hiigara was still only barely sufficient to protect the nearby sectors of space, let alone to travel across the galaxy in safety.

Following her wishes, a museum was founded at Assaam Kiith'sid, also the home of the planetary government. Here the core and the history of it's origins and meaning to the people of Hiigara were made available to any and all who cared to visit. For many, it was the first chance to see the instrument of their salvation, and also to reflect upon it's role in their Exile. Also including the few artifacts brought with the Hiigarans from Kharak and many new discoveries unearthed upon Hiigara, the museum reflected the past, present, and future of the Hiigaran people.

 

[Supplement Four]

ENEMIES OLD AND NEW


So the reconstruction of Hiigara continued for a time. Yet the matter of the core was not settled. Rumors seen began to reach Hiigara of rising conflict in the Eastern Fringes, long a war-torn zone constantly harassed by forces from the Vaygr Reaches. However, the nature of the conflict had recently undergone dramatic change. Where previously small, disorganized raiding parties had launched guerilla raids upon the fringes, now they came with overwhelming force, pressing relentlessly onwards.

It would appear that a new warlord had taken control of the splintered Vaygr tribes and Taiidan remnants and united them beneath a single banner. Known only as Makaan, his advance could no longer be dismissed or ignored. What had been only a nuisance for hundreds of years had become something substantially different, a holy crusade with Hiigara as it's destination.

Analysis of Makaan's movements allowed but one conclusion. He was headed in the direction of Hiigara and along the way was gathering a fleet larger than any since the time of Exile. Furthermore, the manner and the speed with which his fleet was traveling had a chilling implication. The Third Core, spoken of in prophecy and myth, had been found and was in his hands.

The arrival of the Vaygr also frayed the Galactic Council, and the Vaygr incursions started a series of border clashes that quickly spread like wildfire. Within a few short years, the entire Inner Rim was at war. Many pleaded with the Bentusi to intervene, but they remained enigmatically distant. The fate of the Inner Rim was not theirs to decide. With war spreading and tension high, the Galactic Council fractured, and an institution that had survived for millennia collapsed.

His people worshipped him as the Sajuuk-Khar, the chosen one foretold by prophecy to lead his people to conquest and salvation. He had not only united the Vaygr, he had given them a cause, a dream, and a reason to fight. It quickly became clear that the Eastern Fringes, long a safe buffer against Vaygr incursions, would not hold for more than a few months, at most, against this newly organized horde.

 

[Supplement Four]

MAKAAN and the SAJUUK-KHAR


Under Makaan, the Vaygr were moving with unheard of strength, speed, and numbers. Planets fell before his forces and were stripped of every available resource and left barren. These resources simply acted to bolster the growing war fleet and carry Makaan to yet more triumphant victories.

Like a wave of locusts, the forces of Makaan swept unstoppably forward, seemingly without any goal but the destruction of all that lay before them. It was only by piecing together the reports of various individuals who had escaped their attacks that the matter finally became clear.

Again the Diamid looked toward Karan for guidance, and this time her advice was to attempt the reactivation of the ancient core. However, if this was to take place she had a request. Again, she would be the one to join with the Core via her neural links. In her words, "I did not lead my people to their home in order to allow their destruction now. If the call has come to defend Hiigara then I must do so. It is neither duty nor obligation that drives me; it is simply what must be."

The Diamid attempted to persuade Karan to reconsider, explaining that there were many other people more capable, better trained, and possessed of the same neural link that had once made Karan unique. Hundreds of hyperspace-capable ships had been built since Karan led the first Mothership to Hiigara, and advances had been made in both technology and technique. More importantly, Karan was of great importance to the people of Hiigara as both a focus of faith and as a figurehead. Yet Karan would not be swayed from her decision. If the core was to be reactivated and the fleet of Makaan held at bay, it would be her mind at the helm. Thus when the construction of the new mothership, the Pride of Hiigara, was begun at Tanis, Karan was there to oversee the final elements and tests, along with the ancient core that was to be installed within it. Her mind was to guide it in the coming times, for she understood what the appearance of Makaan and his possession of the Third Core implied.

The End Times had begun.

 

[Supplement Four]

KUSHAN


In the First Time, some 4,000 years ago, a long and terrible war brought about the collapse of the ancient Kushan empire. The victors, the savage Taiidan, would have slaughtered all Kushan had it not been for the outcry for mercy from the races of the Galactic Council. As a gesture of goodwill, the conquerors spared the lives of the defeated; the survivors were sent into exile on the remote desert world of Kharak. None were permitted to follow or aid the fallen; all memory of them was erased. Even the exiles themselves soon forgot their origins, and so it would have remained were it not for the Guidestone, a single artifact that had survived the journey. Made of rock from the sacred "Angel Moon" of their lost homeworld, Hiigara, the Guidestone showed them the way back to their ancient home. The long-awaited and much-prophesized rediscovery and reclamation of the Kushan's ancient birthright is the story of the Homeworld War.

A brave, resilient, and resourceful people, Kushan pragmatism is reflected in their gray, blockish ship designs. Many of their combat vessels, including the massive Mothership itself, were hastily converted from civilian designs, yet performed as well as those of the Taiidan Imperial fleet. Neither are the Kushan reluctant to make sacrifices, the legendary example of which was the scientist Karan Sjet, who had herself integrated into the Mothership as its living core, Fleet Command.

The story of the Kushan Exodus to Hiigara is widely known and often told; most of us already know all about the voyage. In a matter of months, the survivors of our entire race traveled from the prison world of Kharak to our once and future homeworld. The trip was a major turning point not only for the Kushan people, but for most of the civilized galaxy; our return to Hiigara was not only the end of our 3,000-year exile, but the end of the Taiidan Empire, and its tyranny over billions.

Shortly after their relocation to the harsh desert world of Kharak, the Exiles forgot both their origins and technology. It took them 3,000 years to struggle back to the stars. Having rediscovered hyperspace and the location of their original planet, all the families of Kharak, or kiithid, united to build a mothership that could take them home. Just as they prepared to embark, however, the brutal Taiidan Empire took notice and attacked. Enforcing an ancient decree forbidding the Exiles from developing hyperspace technology, the emperor had his forces immolate the planet. Only those already in space survived.

This cruel slaughter appalled dissidents throughout the empire, and the mothership's heartening retaliation and escape catalyzed a long-overdue rebellion. Amid wholesale civil war, and with the help of the highly advanced trader race known as the Bentusi, the Exiles regained their homeworld, and the emperor and his pirate mercenaries were defeated.

The Galactic Council recognized our claim to this world. The sacrifice of thousands has left a trail of destruction behind us, like a path across the galaxy... to Hiigara, our homeworld. So much destruction, so many lives lost, for this place... a place of wonder to those who knew only the sands of Kharak. Our colonists were released from their long sleep. All symbols of the old empire were destroyed, but the conflict will never be forgotten. A celebration marked the beginning of a new time. No longer Fleet Command, Karan Sjet survived extraction from the Mothership's core. She insisted that she be the last person to disembark and set foot on the Homeworld.

 

[Supplement Four]

TAIIDAN


The Taiidan were the victors of the ancient war that sent the people of Hiigara into exile to the fringe of the galaxy. Originally a formidable and implacable warrior race, three millennia of Imperial rule left the once-mighty Taiidan as decadent and corrupt as the regime they had overthrown. By the time of the Homeworld War, the Taiidan ruled in name only, their influence spread so thin and fractured that they could not successfully defend themselves against a single determined group of homeworld-seeking Kharakian refugees.

The return of the Exiles to their Homeworld did more than mark a new beginning for life on Hiigara; it also helped to bring about the end of the Taiidan Imperial line, which had ruled continuously for nearly 3,000 standard years.

The Taiidan Empire of Year 0 AL (after landfall - 9510 Galactic Standard Year) held 150 star systems in its grip, but not easily. Emperor Riesstiu IV was rapidly approaching his 4th century of life, and his pogroms and agendas were becoming increasingly bloody and erratic. Relations with other Galactic civilizations were at an all time low, with the Empire receiving regular censure from the Galactic Council during their twice-per-decade assemblies.

The Frerrn Aggregate was in a state of undeclared war with the Taiidan Empire over a number of border issues on the Far Rim, and even the Bentusi had suspended all trade contact with the Taiidan in the year 7 BL (before landfall - 9503 GSY.)

Internal Taiidan politics was faring even worse in these last years of the Empire. Tax revolts in the outer systems were a common occurrence, as Emperor Riesstiu IV's increasing paranoia led to a prohibitively large and expensive military. The Taiidan Assembly of Lords, a token political body whose task was merely to "rubber stamp" edicts from the desk of the Emperor, even began to question some of Riesstiu's more outrageous demands. The entire political system of the Imperium was corrupt and on the verge of collapse when a Mothership of unknown design breached Taiidan borders, and destroyed 3000 years of political stagnation.

A powerful group of military, political and economic figures had been plotting a coup in secret for years, staying only steps ahead of one purge or another as they looked desperately for the trigger that could sway 360 billion souls against their God-like Emperor. Oddly enough, it wasn't the plight of the Kharakian Exiles as much as the mindless obedience of the Taiidan navy which created that trigger. When the first propaganda images spread through the Empire, showing yet another victory, this time against an ancient and forgotten enemy, it soon became obvious that a serious mistake had been made on the part of the Emperor's political advisors. Instead of reassuring the Taiidan people that their nigh-immortal Emperor was all-seeing and all-powerful, the Taiidan reacted with near-universal horror and disgust. Again and again they were forced to watch one of their fleets commit an act of genocide against 300 million aliens, who had committed no crime greater than entering hyperspace and violating a long-forgotten treaty.

The Emperor reacted quickly and ordered the Home Fleet to hunt down and destroy the Exiles before they could penetrate Taiidan space, but it was too late. The political damage had been done, and the secret conspirators launched their coup against an obviously mad Emperor. While the initial groundswell of support was very strong, the conspirators and the general public seriously underestimated how prepared the Empire was for just such a rebellion, and how far their leaders were willing to go in order to maintain their stranglehold on power. After the first few heady days of rebellion, the Emperor declared full martial law across the Taiidan worlds. According to his edict, no act performed in the defense of His Throne would be judged in civilian courts.

The death and destruction that followed this announcement throughout the Empire beggars the imagination. For every military unit that defected to the Coup, 2 others launched an orgy of brutal reprisals. Dukes and Governors that were unwilling to massacre protestors en masse were executed and replaced by ones who would. Entire rebellious asteroid cities were exterminated when navy corvettes destroyed their life support systems, and the slow death throes of millions were recorded, to be shown as an example to the rest of the population. By the end of the first month it was obvious to all but the most optimistic that the Emperor's grip on the Taiidan could not be thrown off. The final blow was nearly struck at the battle of Vorshan's Rift, where the gathered rebel Navy was ambushed and devastated due to a high level defector, who led the rebels into a trap. The ranking surviving military member of the coup fled for his life, directly into the arms of the one force in the galaxy that was successfully resisting Imperial power: the returning Exile Fleet. Luckily for the rebellion, the Exiles aided the Rebel officer, allowing him the chance to escape and regroup the tattered remnants of his fleet.

When news broke that the Exiles were actively aiding the rebellion, it was the final insult to the Emperor. Riesstiu declared that he would personally command the Taiidan High Guard fleet in their crusade against the interlopers. The final battle took place high above the Exile's ancient Homeworld, Hiigara, and when it was over the Emperor lay dead and his Elite guard fleet was shattered. In the resulting chaos, the Rebels seized their last chance and destroyed the Imperial Gene bank. Without a clear line of succession through cloning, the Emperor having long ago executed any living relative who might try to kill him and take power, the Imperial structure collapsed. In its place was erected a new Taiidan Republic.

 

[Supplement Four]

TURANIC RAIDERS


The Turanic Raiders are a group of fierce, nomadic warriors who ravage the space lanes. They give no quarter and ask none; in fact, there was no communication at all between combatants when the Raiders clashed with the Hiigaran exiles. They are not completely without guile, however, as they were organized enough to serve the Taiidan Emperor Riestiu IV, as they now collaborate with the fragmented Taiidan Loyalist factions.

In the lost mission revealed in the "Raider Retreat" demo, we get a view of Turanic Raiders' planetoid base, which is surrounded by network of defensive gun pods. In Cataclysm, we see one of their large armed outposts. However, the origin of the Raiders remains a mystery.

"[The Turanic Raiders], they’re inter-galactic hoodlums. They’re just these crazed speed freaked wacko’s sid vicious nut bars flying thought space destroying everything . They’re just crazy, in the game you get an explanation as to why that is and where they came from and everything else but I won’t spill the beans on that one just yet." - Alex Garden, Director

No other group has profited more from the anarchy caused by the retaking of Hiigara and the resulting Taiidan civil war more than the Turanic Raiders. Nothing is known about the origins of this nomadic race of pirates and mercenaries but theories range from a disposed race of refugees to former slave race run amuck.

Attacks by Turanic Raiders were first recorded during the year -475 BL (GSY 9035) in the Turan Sector and hence the name given to this enigmatic warrior species. Turanic hordes have infested the trade lanes of the galaxy at least twice a century since their arrival and no matter how much effort is put into hunting them down by one government or another, they always survive in some hidden base to emerge years later. While most of this growth-and-retreat cycle is spent raiding lone ships or unprotected convoys in order to slowly build up their power base, when the Raiders are at the height of their power they field full carrier groups and are capable of taking over entire asteroid settlements.

The Turanic Raiders have never been stronger than they were during much of the 1'st century BL when they enjoyed the patronage of the Mad Taiidan Emperor Riestiu IV. While most details were covered up at the time, new documents released by the Taiidan Republic during various war crimes trials have revealed the Turanic Raiders were supported by Imperial funds and supplies and served as a covert mercenary fleet.

Many of the targets hit by the raiders during this period were of special military value and Intelligence gathered during these attacks helped the Emperor stymie the efforts of neighboring galactic powers seeking to limit his ambitions. Reliable estimates place Turanic Fleet strengths at nearly 20 carrier groups spread throughout the Imperial Frontier before the Hiigaran War.

Unfortunately for the Raiders, the death of Emperor Reistiu IV and the fall of the Taiidan Empire brought about their fall as well. As if sensing the wake of history that rippled away from the Exile fleet as it approached Hiigara, the Turanic Raiders went into hiding and denied the Emperor their firepower when he faced the Exiles in final battle over Hiigara. The reasons for this may never be exactly known but when the Taiidan Empire fractured from the pressure of civil war, the Raiders were in perfect position to seize power in many outlying provinces of the Empire. These new "Bandit Kingdoms" as they have become known, are centers of power for a new, organized Turanic presence in the Galaxy and in a final irony, it is now Imperialist factions who come to the Raiders seeking patronage. The current level of Imperialist/Raider co-operation is not truly known at this point but there have been scattered reports in recent years of mixed fleets performing strike and capture operations.

Despite these reports, Raider activity has been relatively low and most experts agree that the Turanic Raiders are in a build up phase and will be for quite some time. The only dissenting voice in the Turanic analysis comes from several Hiigaran Warrior Kiith who point to a growing number of Hiigaran combat and transport vessels that have been lost in anomalous circumstances in the past 2 years. The animosity of the Raiders towards the new Hiigarans is well known and these losses may be due to new or exotic technologies being introduced into the Raider's fleet by their Imperialist Allies.

 

[Supplement Four]

KADESH


The Protectors of the Garden of Kadesh are a group of religious zealots that hide in the Great Nebula (which they refer to as the "Garden") and prey upon passing ships. Their motherships are capable of generating a hyperspace inhibitor field, and their swift, deadly Swarmer strike craft can overwhelm almost any vessel trapped by this field. According to the Bentusi, even the Taiidan fear the nebula, and no ships entering there ever return.

"[The Protectors of the Garden], are this cult of religious crazy sort of.. umm... They're like this cult in space and they’re very monotone and calm and completely psychopathic; basically they’ll never ever bother you unless you do one thing, and if you do that they’ll be your enemy forever, and they’ll devote their entire existence to try and destroy you. So don’t do that thing, basically. But I’m not going to say what it is." - Alex Garden, Director

("That thing" Alex is referring to is the harvesting of the Nebula. There's no way to avoid it, however; you can't get through the Garden of Kadesh without fighting the Protectors.)

"After analyzing the data we collected from the Khar-Toba's sister ship we've been able to determine what happened in the nebula. While the Khar-Toba was able to limp to Kharak, this ship instead must have tried to hide here. They soon resorted to preying on ships passing through the nebula. In time the nebula became off limits to all shipping. They developed hyperspace inhibitor technology to trap prey from far away without leaving the safety of the nebula. Eventually it became the center of their existence and ultimately, their religion." - Fleet Intelligence

The Kadesh have a sad history; they and the Kushan were both descended from the ancient Hiigarans, who were defeated in the First Time by the vicious Taiidan and sent into exile. One branch of the refugees (the Kadesh) settled in the Great Nebula; the other (the Kushan) made it to Kharak. The Kadesh lived in the Nebula for thirteen generations as scavengers and pirates. They eventually developed their own fanatical religion, that worshipped the Nebula itself. Eventually the Kushan passed through the nebula on their way to reclaim their homeworld, and the Protectors of the Garden attempted to trap them as they had other vessels. When the Kushan refused to surrender their vessels and join the cult of the Garden, the Kadesh ruthlessly attacked, even when the Kushan explained that their two peoples were related. So great was the Protectors' fear of the Taiidan and so obsessed were they with their religion that they fought to the last, even against their own kin. The Kushan were forced to destroy all of the Kadeshi needle-ships in order to disable the hyperspace inhibitor fields that prevented them from leaving the Nebula. Despite much wishful fan-created fiction to the contrary, there is nothing to indicate that any of the Protectors survived the passage of the Kushan through the Cathedral of Kadesh. They were zealots that fought to the last to defend their holy place.

 

[Supplement Four]

BENTUSI


The Bentusi are a race of enigmatic traders who ply the trade routes of the Outer Limb, dealing in resources, technology and information. They seem to have substantial influence with the Galactic Council, and are subtle but bold manipulators, having worked to gain recognition for the Hiigarans in open defiance of the Taiidan Emperor during the latter part of the Homeworld War. Articulate and congenial but secretive, they share only a little of their extensive knowledge with their neighbors; Bentusi technology is apparently the most sophisticated of the known races.

Contrastingly, in Homeworld: Cataclysm the Bentusi are painted as aloof and even neurotic, speaking in incoherent and monosyllabic riddles, irrationally attempting to flee the galaxy to escape the threat of the Beast, and brutally crushing any who stood in the path if this escape. The Bentusi are described as being Unbound; that is, irrevocably joined to their ships; it is hinted that this shared status may be why they were interested in helping Karan Sjet.

"It has been forbidden to possess this information for some time. But after your intervention on our behalf, we feel compelled to share it with you. Behold: In the First Time, a terrible war brought with it the collapse of your ancient empire. So vicious were your enemies that all would have been slaughtered were it not for the collective outcry for mercy. In an effort to sooth relations, the conquerors spared the lives of the defeated. All survivors were sent into exile. None were permitted to follow or aid the fallen. All memory of them was to be erased. For generations the convoy moved silently through space. They endured great difficulties... imperfect technology... In time, a suitable system to receive them was found. This barren world appeared to be salvation. Their true legacy forgotten, a new vision of destiny had grown out of captivity. A single artifact survived the journey. The Guidestone you now carry. It was removed from the sacred "Angel Moon" of your Homeworld, a place long since reduced to myth and tale. Your progress is becoming known among the Inner Rim worlds and elsewhere. Many cultures have prophesized your return. Reach your Homeworld. Establish your claim. We will summon the Council." - The Bentusi

 

[Supplement Four]

KAROS GRAVEYARD


In the Shining Hinterlands, close to the heart of the Taiidan Empire, the Karos Graveyard is littered with the hulks of countless ancient warships. There has always been a question as to the origin of these derelicts. Could they be captured remnants of the ancient Hiigaran fleets, rusting here for three millennia? And who sets the Junkyard Dog and the Autoguns to watch over this moldering armada? Do the mighty Taiidan fear the ghosts of the conquered? Or is the Graveyard merely a dangerous relic of the past, kept inviolate by its ravenous automated guardians, who add any would-be trespasser to the collection?

 

[Supplement Four]

SOMTAAW


The Somtaaw are a Kushan "kiith" or clan left few in number and without influence after the Homeworld war. A traditionally devout clan, they have taken their mining vessels to the edge of Hiigaran influence to seek their fortunes.

So marginal in Hiigaran politics are the Somtaaw that their ships don't even use regular Kushan technology; most are based on begged, borrowed, salvaged or stolen Bentusi, Taiidan and Turanic Raider components. Hence the desperation that would lead the Somtaaw to tamper with alien technologies that should be left alone... and release a menace on the whole of the galaxy.

The return to Hiigara was not as joyous for Somtaaw as for many of our people. Although a few of their number were awake during the journey from Kharak, employed in the care and maintenance of resource collectors, the vast majority of Somtaaw survivors were Sleepers during the journey. When they were awakened on Hiigara, many were horrified to hear that the families and loved ones they left on Kharak were gone, and that there was no hope of return. Of a kiith that had once been so strong, very few survivors remained; only 15,000 Somtaaw awakened on Hiigara, less than a twentieth of their number, and the vast majority of these were men.
Somtaaw's fortunes were further complicated by a political conflict with Kiith Naabal, which made a bid seven years after landfall to absorb the Somtaaw survivors as a vassal clan. Somtaaw flatly refused this proposition, and the debate between Somtaaw and Naabal supporters in the New Daiamid has already been cited by many as a history-making event. During the Somtaaw/Naabal debate, dispossessed members of many Kharak's devastated kiithid joined the Somtaaw as family members, swelling their ranks from 15,000 to nearly 25,000 in a few short months.

The matter was eventually decided in favor of Somtaaw by a very narrow margin in the Diamid and only after the Somtaaw managed to convince the disenfranchised kiith to threaten a general strike over the issue. While many of the established Kiith accused Somtaaw of further undermining the ancient social systems for their own benefit, the result was Somtaaw was granted access to the Mothership Station for a period of six months. Mothership access for other lesser Kiith soon followed. In their time, the Somtaaw built two enormous mining ships, the Kuun-Lan and the Fal-Corum, which were both launched, fully manned, within 45 days. In the final days of their control over the Mothership's PDA, Kiith Somtaaw triumphantly built one final ship, the Clee San, a top-of-the-line deep space research frigate. Students of history will note that the names of all three vessels derive from the names of temples along the old Shimmering Path: Kuun-Lan, "Purifying Flame", Fal-Corum, "Silent Wayfarer", and Clee San, "Truth Seeker"…

Since then the Somtaaw have explored many neighboring systems to Hiigara. Although their numbers are small, they've set up several mining stations to collect rare elements, and they sell the fruits of their labors to all clients allowed by the current Hiigaran trade regulations. Like all our kiithid, their ships are bound to respond to any call to arms, when Hiigaran space is violated. But beyond the Somtaaw's duty to Hiigara, they live free and bend knee to none but their own kiith'sa…maintaining a centuries-long tradition.

 

[Supplement Four]

BEAST


The "Beast" is a strange bio-mechanical organism that infects and subverts ships and their crews into twisted zombie-like units that serve some dark, unknown purpose. The subverted ships bear noticeable marks of gore, presumably from the biomass of the crews that were converted into a twisted living control mechanism. The organism is transmitted by contact, but also by an "infection beam" weapon carried on some of the larger Beast ships. This beam transmits the infection on a carrier wave, and can jump from ship to ship across short distances, infecting entire groups of smaller vessels.

The organism was discovered by the Somtaaw mining vessel "Kuun-lan", part of which was infected and used to form the core of a Beast mothership of sorts. Since then, the Beast has subverted various other Somtaaw, Kushan, Taiidan and Turanic Raider vessels and their crews, and has grown into a bizarre, shambling armada of undead ships straight out of a matinee B-grade horror movie.

The subversion entity threatening the galaxy has been code-named The Beast by Hiigaran Intelligence, for reasons that quickly become obvious when one views the combat tapes taken by allied ships as they struggle to defend themselves from this vicious threat. Currently there seems to be no defense against the beam used by Beast heavy vessels to infect and consume our ships. Therefore, the Beast fleet is composed of literally whatever Taiidan, Turanic and Hiigaran vessels have been unlucky enough to cross paths with it. Only two ships seem to be fabricated from primarily Beast technology, these being the command vessel known as the Beast Mothership, and a small kamikaze corvette known as the Cruise Missile.

Once a ship is subverted, it is not known exactly what changes are made in performance and firepower, but initial analysis indicates that while the transformed ships are slightly slower than their un-infected counterparts, they have an added layer of organic armor. Unsubstantiated reports claim that this armor layer can regenerate over time if damaged; this may also be true of intricate systems and drives aboard a Beast vessel. If the Beast is capable of healing Itself, Allied Commanders are warned to engage and destroy any Beast vessel as quickly as possible; any cripples should be finished off before they can heal.

Note: Most of these stats are largely conjecture, drawn from intelligence reports and known information about the base specs of the subverted ships. All information regarding the mass, speed, armor, and weaponry of these Beast ships cannot be confirmed at this time and may differ greatly from what's reported here.

 

[Supplement Four]

HIIGARAN


The Hiigarans are now in the throes of the Dust Wars. The prolonged conflict and general disillusionment following the Homecoming have divided the former Exiles. Battling local warlords and confronting a new and menacing foe in the Vaygr, they debate an ancient prophecy that impels them back across the galaxy to fulfill their destiny.

After generations in exile and a perilous journey across known and unknown space, the Hiigarans have reclaimed their home planet. Seeking peace, they have found only chaos. The Galactic Council that had once expelled them from their home lies in ruins, a shadow of its former self. Desperate to maintain their power, their struggles have turned inward, each race determined to protect their own interests, rather than those of the Galaxy.

However, the true test for the Hiigarans may not be merely the threat of the warring Vaygr, but in the prophecy that Sajuuk – He Whose Hand Shapes What Is – will return and herald the coming of the End Time. The Hiigarans, as always, are divided along religious lines: a number of apocalyptic sects see portents of doom everywhere. To these fanatics, the rumor that their enemies the Vaygr are the Sajuuk-Khar is a dire omen and proof of Sajuuk's anger.

Even so work has begun on the second Mothership. The Hyperspace core which is the mark of their heritage has been removed from storage and brought to the Tanis shipyard for final integration. The Fleet has been prepared. The people are ready though nervous. In order to claim the peace and safety she promised her people when she first set foot upon Hiigara, Karan S'Jet must once again prepare for war.

 

[Supplement Four]

VAYGR


This is the story of the end time. We know this because the Third Core has been found. For under the dark influence of this core, the Taiidan have risen under a new leader, the Vaygr warlord named Makaan. He calls himself the Sajuuk-khar, the chosen one; many systems have already fallen under his shadow, and his eyes are set upon Hiigara.

The Vaygr are a warrior clan originally from Vay, an isolated planet in the Eastern Fringes of the galaxy. The discovery of early and inefficient hyperdrives enabled these warriors to travel and raid widely across their sector of space. Always a nomadic race, the strongest warlords brought groups of Vaygr together into crusades. A Vaygr crusade is entirely independent - the build capacity of their Motherships combined with the resource harvesting abilities of their individual craft enable them to live self sufficiently in space. Communication between separate crusades is minimal.

Since that time, the Vaygr have integrated many separate races, civilizations and technologies. The planet Vay is lost in the sands of time, the name they take its only living reminder. Constant infighting between separate crusades and jockeying for position among warlords has kept the Eastern Fringe a warzone for as long as any can remember, and therefore no threat to the larger galactic civilizations.

Until now. Under the guidance of the Warlord Makaan, the various tribes of the Vaygr Reaches have formed into a cohesive force. While still operating independently, the overall strategic aims of the Vaygr have been coordinated and focused by Makaan, a master strategist.

Their recent acquisition of a long jump-capable Hyperspace Core has allowed the Vaygr to stage raids into the hearts of enemy territories, while their nomadic lifestyle and mining technology give them a speed and mobility unmatched by any of their opponents.

More a Messiah than Warlord, Makaan has been hailed as the Sajuuk'Khem, the Manipulator of He Whose Hand Shapes What Is, and his people the Sajuuk Khar, The Chosen of God.

As a people, the Vaygr are unrelenting and persistent in combat. Space holds no fear for them, as much of the civilization has never lived planetside. Massive roaming fleets drift through the Vaygr Reaches, stripping minerals and supplies from asteroids and passing comets. Nomads, they have no concept of home, merely lands open to pillage.

Under Makaans rule, they have spread far and wide. None who have stood against the Vaygr have managed to hold them back. The devices they use to strip planets of their mineral wealth leave bare husks of worlds behind. In order to expand, the Vaygr have no choice but to press ever onwards, crushing worlds anew as they do so. Given time, they will have strip mined every habitable planet in the Galaxy.

Utilizing local Hyperspace Gates and high speed Transport Frigates to reach the front line, the Vaygr constitute a high speed, flexible war force. Individual tribal captains lead the battle from the front lines, organizing and coordinating attacks even as they come under fire. Each Vaygr craft is a highly specialized unit, designed to fulfill a single task with lethal efficiency.

 

[Supplement Four]

 

[Supplement Four]

 

[Supplement Four]

 

[Supplement Four]

 

[Supplement Four]

 

[Supplement Four]

 

[Supplement Four]