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 Post subject: Darkfire Empire
PostPosted: 08 Dec 2005 17:46 
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Easily the most militaristic Empire, the Darkfire planets are heavily polluted. The government owns all the mines, refineries, and factories, which continually operate at greater than 100% capacity, pumping out more tanks, ships, planes, and weapons. Their only scientific endeavors relate to weaponry, and they are relatively far behind in that respect. They favor strong slow vehicles, and their ships, from battlecruiser up, have planetbusting weapons. They are in a state of perpetual warfare, currently with Earth and some independent planets. They are run by an Emperor, and their capital is the Imperial City on the planet Darkfire.

Government Type: The Darkfire Empire is an Imperial Monarchy. Power rests solely in the hands of the Emperor and his progeny, though aristocrats are capable of wielding some influence.

Economy: The government controls most of the industries, but a sizable minority are in the hands of private organizations or individuals. These groups are fabulously wealthy, while the majority of True Humans in Darkfire space lead comfortable middle-class lives comparable to citizens of other factions. Clone workers and soldiers make up the lower tiers of Darkfire society, and are essentially slaves, but without the capacity to realize it, are totally compliant.

Religion: Though religion technically isn't allowed in Darkfire space, citizens are encouraged and expected to view the Emperor as a practically divine being, totally pure and infallible. Due to extensive propaganda, this has been incredibly successful. Darkfire citizens are willing to do whatever is necessary to assist their Emperor.
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Darkfire Units:

Strategic Infantry Support Walker--Stronger than average combat walkers, the SIS Walker is four legged. This added stability allows them to mount heavier weapons. It holds a heavy plasma cannon similar to the Darkfire fighter. Autocannons mounted on the legs fire 50mm high explosive rounds. These are deployed with the standard and Heavy Combat Exoskeleton walkers to support the infantry in planetary combat. They are crewed by a Darkfire officer.

Dreadnought--The übership. The Dreadnought class ships are gigantic, the ultimate example of the Empire's power. Dwarfing even the Earth Supercarrier, a standard Dreadnought is twenty kilometers long with a crew numbering roughly 300,000. Its armor is made from Draconis composites, lighter and thinner than standard Darkfire ship armor, enabling it to have two additional hulls. Its shields are also of Draconis design, strong enough to withstand concentrated bombardment for hours. It bristles with weapons, including thousands of Heavy Laser Batteries for engagements with other capital ships, and uncountable amounts of Point Defense Lasers to shoot down enemy fighters and missiles.
Along with the secondary and tertiary weapon systems, the primary weapon of the Darkfire Dreadnought is the NOVA superweapon. A missile roughly analogous to a Minuteman ICBM in terms of size, the NOVA is capable of destroying whole fleets, or reducing an entire planet to cinders.
Its primary weapon in ship-to-ship engagements, however, is a battery of ultra-dense plasma cannons. Refining the laser-thin plasma beams used by the Draconis Empire, the UDPCs are capable of gutting even an Earth Supercarrier, with a range more than long enough to prevent a response from enemy ships. Its only weakness is that more nimble ships may be able to dodge it, as it is unguided and somewhat slow.
In addition to its already quite-deadly arsenal, the Dreadnoughts boast a massive fighter fleet inside them, numbering at least 300 single ships, as well as another various 200 non-combat ships and shuttles. Darkfire Dreadnoughts, though not able to enter atmosphere, are capable of force projection on the surface anyway, thanks to Orbitally Delivered Garrison Platforms. Dreadnoughts were capable of carrying up to five of these monolithic constructs.
Inside its massive hulls, more than 10,000 Darkfire Infantry serve, as well as several hundred vehicles. On many occasions the mere arrival of a Darkfire Dreadnought was enough to force the enemy to surrender. For obvious reasons, most Darkfire Fleet Admirals command from these behemoths.
Of special note is the Imperial Dreadnought, The Blade of the Emperor. It is twice the size of a standard Dreadnought, and carries comparably increased weapons and crew. It has only seen combat once, when it was ambushed by two Earth Supercarrier Fleets in the early days of the First Intergalactic War. After nearly four hours of intense fighting, the Earth fleets were forced to withdraw their carriers shattered, with the Blade only suffering minimal damage.

Darkfire Light Carrier--Though Dreadnoughts carried the fighter fleets in larger battles, smaller skirmishes that required the presence of fighters left the Darkfires at a disadvantage, as they lacked any carrier support. It wasn't long before the Light Carrier was created. Lacking the fighter complement of a larger carrier, it is faster than other ships, and fills the void in the Darkfire arsenal.

Orbitally Delivered Garrison Platforms--Dropped from Darkfire capital ships, these enormous structures were launched piece by piece down to the surface of the planet, and could be assembled within one week of their arrival, and could of course be fully staffed and supplied as soon as it was finished. It houses a staff of 1500 with an additional 2000 combat troops, not including vehicle crews. Each ODGP generally contains two dozen Teufel Panzers, thirty Heavy Combat Exoskeletons, and a dozen Darkfire Heavy Fighters.

Dominator--Originally created as a floating spaceyard able to make serious repairs to several ships in space at once, the Dominator was quickly modified as an orbital artillery piece. By inverting the U shaped structure, with the open end pointed toward the planet, ample space was available to enable Darkfire Marine units to deploy to the surface. Augmenting its weaponry allowed the Darkfire generals and admirals to use it to shell enemy positions from orbit. Every Dominator has at least one Nova onboard.

Teufel Panzer--The strongest tank in existence. In addition to the plasma cannon that is it's main gun, there are two automated laser turrets on each side of the vehicle. Protected by incredibly thick armor the tank moves on four separate treads, two tracks on each side. It is on these that the lasers are mounted. It is very fast for such a heavy tank with tracks though, moving up to 40 mph over rough terrain.

Flayer--The ultimate anti-infantry vehicle, the Flayer is equipped with light armor by Darkfire standards. Essentially a light hover tank, the Flayer is a ghastly thing to behold. Instead of a conventional cannon, both its main gun and all three of its secondary turrets fire flechette rounds. Designed with the latest armor piercing technology, this ammo can shred a man in the heaviest armor in an instant. Below the weapon mounts, just above the base of the tank, are buzz saws that are constantly moving, designed to rip through the armor of infantry or vehicles. The most insidious feature of the tank is its ability to be driven, and detonated, remotely. Every tank is essentially an enormous frag grenade. They are sped into the enemy formations, and when they either run out of ammo or are too damaged to go on, they are destroyed.

Heavy Combat Exoskeletons--An improvement on standard mechanized combat walkers, the HCE's have a threefold increase in armor. The standard 25mm autocannons on the "arms" have been replaced by laser turrets. A rack of 4 conventional Surface to Surface missiles missiles rest on it's back, along with a pair of SAM's.

Darkfire Fighter--Not wanting to be outdone by their Earth counterparts, the Darkfire engineers constructed a new kind of fighter. The light plasma cannons remain, but an additional heavy plasma cannon was added, doing more damage against shields, but it truly shines against ground vehicles.

Nephilim-A group paralleling the Immortals in terms of genetic modification and fighting ability, they differ from their brethren in one key area. The Immortals are used in largely the same capacity as regular special forces, whereas the Nephilim have one function--the merciless destruction of any enemy of the Empire. They are unleashed on planets with large resistance groups that cannot be destroyed, or on occasion loosed on an unconquered planet. As much machine as man, the Nephilim can repair any damage immediately, even what would kill an Immortal. In their entire history they have only suffered three hundred casualties, and those were due to the use of nuclear weapons or an incredibly effective saturation with Gauss rounds. Their armor makes them appear invisible to the naked eye, with just as much sensor-defeating equipment as the Earth Black Ops, courtesy of the Draconis Empire.

Sentinels--It is of the utmost importance that the Emperor maintain his iron grip on the planets under his dominion. The Sentinels enforce his will throughout the empire, acting as the eyes and ears of Imperial authority. They are also tasked with running and maintaining the POW camps and civilian prison facilities.

Inconsequentials--Not content with simply enjoying the number advantages of thier clones and Immortals, the Darkfire take a certain perverse pleasure in twisting thier enemies to their will. Captured enemy soldiers are put into 1984esque reprogamming programs, where they are conditioned to do anything for the Emperor. This "anything" generally concerns suicide bombing. Some Inconsequentials are used for terrorist tactics against civilian populations, though most are used in the battlefield. Massive charges of Inconsequentials have brought down many a fortress of enemies of the Darkfire Empire. The explosives they use are the best Draconis technology Darkfire money can buy, and as such are quite powerful.

Dependents--Named for their reliance on the Mentat drug, the Dependants show almost as clearly as the Inconsequentals the extreme methods the Darkfire commanders to do whatever it takes to win. In the early stage of occupation on strategic worlds, the Mentat drugs are introduced into the water supply, in small enough amounts to be undetectable, but large enough to develop an addiction. The "infected" populace turn to Darkfire backed dealers to acquire more of the drug in exchange for certain tasks, most of which involve the murder of any resistance members or simply naming names. In some cases the Dependents are used as paramilitary groups, paid in drugs. The largest manufacturing plant of the drug is the planet Caladan in the Darkfire system of Pi Rho.

Heavy Artillary Platform--Satellite guided missiles fire from any of fifty launch tubes on a heavy hovering vehicle. It is reloaded by a special support vehicle in under three minutes.

Omega Legion--Though they do not officially exist, they are among the most feared soldiers in all of Human Space. They are the right hand of the Emperor, and answer only to him. No matter what troubles plague the Empire, the Legion can be counted on to steadfastly and unwaveringly support the occupant of the Darkfire Throne. One of the very few Darkfire outfits who do not wear incredibly heavy armor, their power armor is utterly unique. Forged from a combination of purchased Draconis schematics and stolen MacroHard blueprints, the suit itself is incredibly thin compared to standard Darkfire armor, and is much more resilient. Cloaking devices and jump jets are standard, naturally.
Formed after the emergence of the Empire, they were initially the bodyguards of the Emperor. Over time, their influence grew, as did their ranks. The Legion is composed of men handpicked by the Emperor, and are fanatically devoted to the sovereign. In more than five hundred years of history, not a single Legionnaire has betrayed his emperor. To be picked, the man must be a True Human, a commissioned officer in the Darkfire armed forces, and he must have won at least one of the three highest awards for personal bravery. Only members of the Omega Legion are eligible for the Order of the Sword, the highest possible medal for performance above and beyond the call of duty. The award is, as its name would suggest, a sword. Cut from a single piece of obsidian, one of the most common stones on the highly volcanic Imperial Center, the sword is the most visible badge of honor any Darkfire soldier can receive. The swords are very individualized, with the name of the officer and the date of the award being etched onto the blade with a laser. Though one could reasonably expect the resulting weapon to be extremely brittle, the Darkfire have a chemical compound that is capable of giving it strength comparable to the highest quality steel. All blades are treated with this compound before being presented to their recipient.
Men of the Omega Legion are answerable only to the Emperor. A second lieutenant of the Legion can countermand the orders of a field marshal if he believes it to be necessary. Technically, there is no limit to the authority of a member of the Legion, save the Emperor himself. Though the members of the Legion rarely exercise their right, they are universally feared and mistrusted throughout the Imperial Armed Forces. Should a Legionnaire overstep his bounds however, the penalty is always summary execution. For this reason the Legionnaires use the authority vested in them only in the most dire of situations, and they are very rarely wrong.
They are the only branch of the Armed Forces who never bow or salute the Emperor, as they are required to be attentive at all times to be aware of threats to the monarch. They have a longstanding rivalry with the Nephilim and the Immortals, the other special forces groups of the Empire. They are the scalpel to the Immortal's hammer and the Nephilim's dagger.
The most celebrated moment in Legion history was during a proxy war the Darkfire fought with Earth a decade before the Third Interstellar War. Both empires were supporting opposing sides in a planetary civil war, and the reigning Emperor sent a century to train and command the indigenous forces. Earth got wind of it, and sent their Special Ops "advisers" and their charges to catch them at the spaceport. As soon as the shuttles carrying the century landed, the Earth forces laid siege to the spaceport. Supported by only 200 local soldiers, the century was able to fortify the spaceport and hold off more than 10,000 soldiers led by Earth Spec Ops forces. After three days the Earth forces broke through, pushing the century into a corner. The leader of the century ordered the locals back to the ships, and held the field long enough for all the civilians and locals to be shipped out. With Earth forces overrunning their position and all the civilians evacuated, the Legionnaires called in a nuclear strike on the spaceport. The Legionnaires held their positions, refusing to give ground, and by all accounts still held most of the spaceport by the time the nuke detonated, completely devastating the Earth forces. Even without the Legion's guidance, this event broke the back of the resistance forces, and the faction backed by the Empire was able to turn the tide and win the war. Every man in the century was posthumously awarded the Order of the Sword. The likeness of every single man in the century was made into a statue cut from volcanic glass, and they now stand at attention forever outside the walls of the Imperial Palace, reminders to everyone who visits of the undying loyalty and unshakable faith of the Legion.


Darkfire Immortals--So named because they are mutated humans who heal at an incredibly advanced rate, the Immortals are the Darkfire's special forces. Relying more on brute strength than the other faction's special forces, the Immortals are equipped with black-market Draconis weapons and armor.
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Darkfire Infantry Weapons:
Army:Laser Rifle, Gauss Rifle, Plasma Rifle, Pulse Rifle
Marines:Laser Rifle, Gauss Rifle, Plasma Rifle, Pulse Rifle
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Specialized Tech:
Super Ship Technology (Dreadnoughts)
Armageddon Technology (Supernova Missile)
Heavy Armor Technology (See Thier Vehicles...I Mean, C'mon!)
Cloning Technology (Clone "Farms" on most planets)
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Armor:*

Darkfire Combat Armor:Darkfire Combat Armor is heavy and slow. It is the strongest of all the Combat Armors, and is equipped with average sensor capabilities. The Combat Armor is not shielded, something quite unique in this day and age. It relies instead on the design to deflect or disperse energy, and it's all but impregnable to ballistic weapons. Against Gauss or Rail weapons however, it's on even footing with the other armors.

Darkfire Power Armor:This armor is shielded, but is otherwise almost identical to the Darkfire Combat Armor. The shielding is as heavy as Earth's Advanced Power Armor's shields. An additional two centimeters of armor have been added as well.


Darkfire Advanced Power Armor:With advanced shielding and incredibly heavy armor, the Darkfire Advanced Power Armor is the strongest in the galaxy. This is the armor worn by the Special Forces of the Darkfire, The Immortals.

Darkfire Omega Legion Armor: Jet black and lighter than almost any armor in the universe, the Omega Legion's armor is nonetheless among the strongest. With integrated stealth systems making the user totally undetectable, and shielding stronger than any other armor in use, the Omega Legion are more than equipped to exercise the will of the Emperor wherever they are needed.

*Darkfire Armors are equipped with climate control devices and carry internal water reserviors of about two liters.
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Fleet Order of Battle:

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