General Backstory

Welcome to the Nishin Galaxy, in the 5th Era, Year 700. A galaxy that’s had its fair share of war and destruction, with groups all around. 700 years ago, the War of the Centuries came to a close, ushering in an age of uneasy peace and workings of multinational bodies to keep the peace between the machinations and war engines of two huge factions and ideals. In this ideal, the Commonwealth (The main superstate body) started its expansion efforts in the year 7E 200 under the Syltaran Chancellor that would serve for 250 years. This expansion plan, secret, and named Operation Dropshot, sought to offset the balance of power between the two Commonwealth factions by creating sovereign Commonwealth territory outside of their capital system of Kal’Sol. The Commonwealth thus formed the Commonwealth Department of Exploration and Colonization (DEC). Within that organization are the Commonwealth Navy, the Commonwealth Marines, and the Commonwealth Explorer Corps.

In those nearly 500 years, the DEC has colonized and expanded the Commonwealth’s domain by 200 systems; encouraging those escaping the major nations to settle in those systems. 5,099 missions have been conducted across 375 systems to determine habitability, and if so to begin the process of terraforming (if need be). Even with this feat in mind, Director-General Aleksander Stayna has said that “This Department is afforded no glory or honor by the factions.” as the major factions begin to catch on to this Commonwealth ploy. On the other hand, massive mutinies on missions 5085, 5091, and 5096 have drawn negative attention to the organization. 5096, known as the Zenith Incident, saw a station of 6,000 see a mutiny that left only 80 alive, and the Commonwealth Marines arrived just in time to save the loyalists. The current Chancellor, a human by the name of Isaac Takazani, has threatened to close down the program and the Department entirely, citing that “a great many human lives have been lost in the name of this oppressive commonwealth”. A narrow vote in the Commonwealth Galactic Assembly and later the Commonwealth High Council kept the DEC in operation. With Kalonia and Syltara outvoting the Solar Federation, the DEC continues.

What the Kalonians and Syltarans cannot protect, however, is the funding for the organization. Originally, on formation, the Explorer Corps had a budget well into the hundreds of billions of Commonwealth Credits. That has since shrunken to a measly 20.2 billion Commonwealth Credits. Only three missions can run at a time by this point.

In the Background: Commonwealth Governance
With Chancellery elections coming up this year, the party will have a direct hand in favor of the new Chancellor. The Progressive Bloc, made up of Kalonia and Syltara, is backing a Kalmer by the name of Synthia Demenkes for the position of Chancellor for her ten-year tenure. The Solar Federation, still by far the largest in terms of population, organized in concert with the Kalmeris, is backing Isaac Takazani for a second term: He has said in no uncertain terms that the Commonwealth Enforcement Act will be repealed. This would mean that any and all Departments created by the Commonwealth would be dissolved, and the original Commonwealth (A glorified meeting forum that signed the Treaty of Six Nations) would become the new system.

Also to note in the background: The factions have become agitated with one another. For many, many reasons that follow a chain of events that’s not quite public yet, the Empress of Kalonia was captured while flying to Kal’Sol for a meeting of the Council. However, she would be found lifeless floating adrift along the planned route, and her battlecruiser was nowhere to be found, presumed destroyed. Fingers all around are being pointed.

Outside the Commonwealth: Lawless Wastes and Religious Fanatics, some Good, some Evil.
The Commonwealth, as an idea, comprises the galactic Southeast, borders roughly falling between the 92-degree mark, and ending at the 186-degree mark from the center outward (using the galactic NSEW as a bearing). Three-quarters of the galaxy are not under Commonwealth control. However, the Commonwealth is by far the more “normal” of the groups that exist in the galaxy. One of the only things holding the Commonwealth together is the existential threat that the Khaganate, the Darkness Cult, and the Children of Light all represent. On the contrary, the Nighthawks, The Galactic Protection Organization, and the Order of the Rose all present as some speckles of hope in this hellish galaxy.

The Khaganate isn’t just pirates. They’re certainly called that by many detractors, but the Khaganate makes pirates look like some ants stealing your sandwich while a behemoth picks up and steals your house, and puts your wife and children into various forms of slavery (each more degenerate than the last). The Khaganate is a scourge, in it for the money, prestige, drugs, slaves, and thrill of conquest. Terrifying yet still, no one knows where the Khaganate even comes from. Theorized they are a group of angry Elfoney rejects (From the first era) that were cast out and forgotten. Others believe they’re a homegrown organization. What is known, however, is the list of their crimes. Operation Citadel, which took place for the last 200 years, was an outside-the-commonwealth operation led by the Empire of Kalonia to disrupt the Khaganate from the Commonwealth’s borders. This 200-year war, seeing the Khaganate finally abandoning the Citadel, saw 300 million dead, and nearly 600 million enslaved. The Turgik Fleet, the main fleet of the Khaganate, contains over 1,900 ships of various classes. These are not something to trifle with, and the Commonwealth states know this. For context, this is the first time since the beginning of the War of the Centuries that the Kalonians openly worked with the Solar Federation on anything.

Then you have the Darkness Cult. The twisted, vile, hateful and all-encompassing bastards of the center of the Galaxy. They believe in staunch gene modification, turning their adherents into scary tentacle demonic monsters that infect any living creature they come into contact with. They are weak to fire, and clearing their hives is a job the Commonwealth Marines have become accustomed to in recent years. They still raid the Commonwealth from time to time, looking for captives.

Finally, for evil, you have the Children of Light. They are best described as worshippers of the Supernova. Not so much evil as chaotically neutral. They blow up stars for fun, as part of a religious belief that each supernova creates a new universe, and then they try to enter that universe to continue their duty of creation. They’re not known to attack people intentionally, but they have wiped out systems before. They are not to be trusted.

The good factions are nearly all the same with different approaches and origins. The Nighthawks are a splinter group of the Darkness Cult, who believe in voluntary conversion and seek to protect the downtrodden in the Northwest of the Galaxy. They act as protectors, givers of rights, and traders that run into the Commonwealth from time to time. They’re a small group, very technologically advanced, and functionally immortal. They are locked in a bloody, eternal war with the Darkness Cult, seeking to destroy their vile ways. Rumor has it that Nighthawk Enforcers have been seen operating inside the Commonwealth voluntarily to attack Darkness Cult raids. The Chancellor denies this.

The GPO and Order of the Rose are two allied organizations, that do anti-piracy and medical assistance to all those in need. They operate in the Galactic Southwest, on the other side of the Khaganate, and regularly run aid to Explorer Corps in need. They’re a welcomed ally in this time of need.

An Explorer Corps Station: It’s on the Ground, not in Orbit
Yes, yes. We know it’s called a station. We know the things that zoom around above the Karman line are also stations, but not in Explorer Corps nomenclature. Stations (Which are numbered by mission) are installations on the surfaces of planets, operated by a Major, and that exists to research a planet that’s seemingly right for colonization. The individuals in a Station all have a specific duty to the good functioning of the mission. Each mission is separated into various departments, led by Captains.

The first Company is the Core Company, which is directly overseen by the CO (Major) and an XO (Selected by the CO). The Core can be described as the all-around company. The Core consists of, normally, the Medical Staff, the quartermaster and requisitions, Communications, the Mess Hall staff, and such. They’re there to help the crew do their mission.

The second Company is the Science Company. They are the main focus of the mission itself. They conduct experiments, gather samples, research the flora and fauna of a location, and a whole host of other science-based duties. Most, if not all, members of the Science Company hold Doctorates. They normally operate out of Section 02 and have various labs there.

The third Company is the Security Force. They keep the peace, enforce rules and laws, and escort teams out into the wilderness on collection missions or scouting. They’re the only troops on board who are permitted to openly display weapons on the inside. They also enforce lockdowns and have the authority to act on the Staff’s (The Captains who make up the Command staff) orders to detain a CO if they’re acting dangerously.

Finally, there’s the Engineering Company. They fix things, keep the reactor running, run general maintenance checks on the station, and generally help with the maintenance of equipment for other departments. They work hard, keeping the station up and running.

Every person on board a station must take shifts off and also are required to rest for at least six hours every 24 hours unless emergency conditions occur. Pay is distributed every Saturday and is based on rank and position. The CO will designate one day per week to be an off day, where people take lesser shifts or are relieved from duty entirely. Otherwise, individuals are expected to work for the completion of the mission. Continuing off of that, the Security Force is responsible for enforcing most of these infractions, and most who commit a minor infraction will receive a punishment based on the EC Code of Conduct designated by the CO. Higher crimes, such as murder or sabotage, will be handled by the entire Staff. They have every authority to execute anyone considered a danger beyond a reasonable doubt. If the situation is massive but not too dangerous to keep the individual on board, they will be discharged upon the next shipment and sent to stand trial in front of the DEC Tribunal.