Imperial Army (Holy Empire of Man)

The army of the Holy Empire of Man is an organization of vast scale, spreading it’s power across the galaxy. Founded from rebel factions of the Planetary League armed forces, it was taken over by officers loyal to the first emperor, Potus Clarke prior to the start of the Great Reckoning. Through the long millennia of war that followed, the imperial army fought on a continuous basis until the final defeat of the empire in the War of Galactic Unification.

The salute is supposed to resemble a soaring eagle with wings spread.

Because the empire is so gigantic, there are lots of variations in exact designs, but they tend to follow this basic pattern. Enlisted troops usually wear black and white predominately, lower ranked officers tend to have more red in their color schemes, and the upper echelons typically sport at least some gold.

The Chosen, The Penitent, and the Martyrs

The massive war-machine that is Imperial Army is always recruiting fresh soldiers. The Emperor’s glory demands more and more new blood every day. Broadly, these new recruits come from three categories:

The Martyrs are volunteers who sign up to fight. Often they come from the middle echelons of imperial society, and often are trained as officers. They get a salary and some basic benefits. They are the best treated of the emperor’s recruits.

The Penitent are those who owe the empire some debt (real or imagined), and are assigned to (or volunteer for) military service instead of more conventional punishments. They receive little training, and only the necessities of life to keep them fighting, this is made up largely by the fact that they are fighting to gain release from the empire’s atrocious penal system.

The Chosen are conscripts, often chosen from the poor, and any group seen as a minority, or otherwise looked down on. The chosen are used in situations where the number of troops is more important than quality. They often suffer from poor morale, and are the most likely troops to mutiny.

The Yatagarasu

History

The Yatagarasu ( 八咫烏 ,"the Star Crows", or just "the Yata" for short ) was founded during the height of the Great Reckoning, around YE 100, early in Era-2.  It was named after the three-legged crow.  As the Planetary League fell, and the economy of much of the galaxy slid from abundance to scarcity, various groups stepped in to fill the demand for goods and services.  Since the Holy Empire of Man was both uninterested and often incapable of providing for the material needs of most of its subjects, the Yatagarasu formed as a loose coalition of scavengers, salvage operators, black-marketeers, and various other outsiders and outcasts.  There is some historical evidence that the Tardigrades had a hand in founding the organization, and as time went on their involvement only became more apparent.  Tardigrades could typically be found among the upper echelons of most Star Crow clans, often serving as advisors and enforcers for clan leaders.  Clan Tardigrade was even founded on the preexisting organizational structure of the Tardigrades.

The Yatagarasu was founded mainly by scavengers and salvage operators, and since war was the single most wasteful activity during Era-2, wherever the imperial war machine went, the Yatagarasu would follow.  In addition to salvage operations, after battles, the Yatagarasu would often offer assistance to survivors, and many a war-orphan joined their ranks.  For the most part, the Holy Empire of Man tolerated the Yatagarasu's presence, as they tended to clean up the empire's messes.  When things went badly for the empire; however, the Yatagarasu would often get blamed due to their associations with the black market, rebels, outcasts, and criminals.

Over time, organized crime and mercenaries joined the ranks of the Yatagarasu, helping to create the clan system and the New Ducat, a currency that came to be widely accepted.  As the Yatagarasu prospered, a network of supply chains and retail outlets developed as well.  The retail operations were usually pawn shops or second-hand stores selling refurbished items from salvage and scavenging activities.  The Yatagarasu even possessed a number of permanent space colonies, and occasionally claimed planets with low strategic or economic value (less chance of retaliation from the major powers).

During the War of Galactic Unification, the Yatagarasu frequently aided the nascent Galactic Republic in many ways with logistics, personnel, and even ships.  After the War, the Yatagarasu formally became part of the Galactic Republic.

Code of Honor

Early on, the Yatagarasu developed an informal code of honor that was upheld as a quasi-legal system.  Most of the clans were based around large ships or space habitats, so the captains of those ships were the primary enforcers of the code, as well as the leaders of the clans.  Even if a violation of the code took place away from the ship, if the captain found out, usually some punishment would result.  The Star Crows took their honor quite seriously, as it was often their primary possession in a time of scarce resources.

The code of honor was cobbled together from odd bits of law, codes from various criminal organizations, and the customs of a number of different cultures.  No two clans had quite the same code, but some things were universal.  Among the rules all the clans respected were the laws of shipboard combat originally instituted by the Planetary League.  The Planetary League legal system served as the base for much of the Yatagarasu code. 

Conflict between the clans was not uncommon, often centering on territory or resources.  Since they included a substantial criminal element, this often resulted in open combat between clans.  Even so, battle between clans almost always conformed to the code of honor.  Frequently, this would result in a duel of honor between rivals (often resolved by combat to the death).  More often than not, the weapons for such a duel were battleoids.  If one of these conflicts became too large or damaging, the clan leaders most closely affected by the conflict would call a conference to resolve the dispute.

The Yatagarasu, generally, was open to all species, cultures, and religions, making it an important refuge for a number of groups oppressed by the Holy Empire of Man. Not all clans were accepting of all comers. Often, local cultures or religions would hold sway with the majority of a clan’s leadership, informing the selection of new members.

Since the authorities frequently cracked down on them, the Yatagarasu used a number of passwords, secret handshakes and other signs to identify one another.  Smuggling, spying, and secrecy were common vocations among the ranks of the Star Crows.

Economy

During the War of the Empires, the Yata started minting its own currency.  The New Ducat was typically worth about 10 imperial credits, and played an important role in the galaxy's informal economy.

The Yatagarasu operated a large number of businesses of various types, although their associations were typically not publicly advertised.  They were also involved with smuggling, the black market and the informal economy.

Clans

There were two tiers of Clans in the Yatagarasu, inner clans and outer clans.  The leaders of the inner clans formed an informal leadership council that acted as a governing body.

The clans were large organizations that spread out over extensive territories. On the local level, the clan centered around a Honcho, a council of respected members who led the local groups.

The Eight Inner Clans:

1) Clan Crow (the founding clan)

2) Clan Rat (often seen as the brains of the Yatagarasu)

3) Clan Trash Panda (specialized in scavenging)

4) Clan Magpie (seek out rare items and knowledge)

5) Clan Tardigrade (specialized in endurance)

6) Clan Fly (swift and agile)

7) Clan Packrat (they hoarded treasures and secrets)

8) Clan Cat (mysterious masters of theft and espionage)

Some notable outer Yatagarasu clans:

The Broken Hand was a Jovian crime family that joined the Yatagarasu after the Great Reckoning.

Yatagarasu Ships:

Catfish Charlie was a clan of scavengers based aboard a ship of the same name.

The Rat-king was a unique salvage ship cobbled together from other ships, and the flagship of Clan Rat.

Bases

As the Planetary League fell apart, some of its top scientists joined the Tardigrades and other groups that would form the base of the Yatagarasu. Among these were the inventors of the stellar barrier shield, the strongest shield technology in the galaxy. Using these advanced shields, the Yatagarasu were able to construct “Crow’s Nest” bases that orbited within the outer convective layers of stars. This proved to be both a highly defensible position and excellent camouflage, as the roiling stellar plasma enveloping the base foiled most attempts at detection. These bases were also able to harvest and store truly vast amounts of energy from the enveloping star. The disadvantage, of course, was that these bases could only be visited by ships with a stellar barrier field of their own, and these proved to be bulky, heavy, and expensive, limiting the relative utility of the Crows Nests.

The Church of God

History

The Church of God was a religion founded by the Cosmid corporation as part of a mind control experiment on the planet Midori.  Either despite, or because of this, it ended up as one of the founding institutions of the Holy Empire of Man, and conquered much of the galaxy.  The Church of God combined elements from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

After its founding, the Church added much support to the independence movement on Midori, and from there spread like wildfire among the frontier worlds on the galaxy's eastern limb.  This rapid spread was helped along greatly by a strong force of idealistic missionaries, led in large part by Saint Valgar, who set the standard for making conversions and crushing heresies.

A major turning point occurred when one faction of the Church encountered an ambitious young general from the Planetary League, one Potus Clarke, who was a rising star in the military, and quickly became one in the church as well. 

When the Planetary League made contact with the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns, Clarke took a dominant leadership position in pushing the Church's agenda in public.  Behind closed doors, Clarke's influence grew rapidly as well, as he was able to raise funds and support from his business and military contacts.  Then, on the Church's highest holy day, the Feast of the Patriarchs, the three heads of the Church (the Ayatollah-maximus, the Supreme Rabbi, and the Uber-Pope) crowned Clarke as Emperor of all Mankind. (A claim that would be asserted through countless years of bloody warfare, known as the Great Reckoning).

Later, at the close of the War of the Empires, Clarke would be elevated to godhood, (officially being declared to be the Manifestation of God in the Galaxy). 

The orthodox (imperial) branch of the Church would not survive the War of Galactic Unification in any recognizable form, although a few obscure sects did remain.

Cosmology

The Church of God believes in a hierarchical universe, generally consisting of nine levels.

1. God (later including the Emperor)

2. The four Patriarchs (the Emperor became the fifth Patriarch after the Great Reckoning)

3. The Angels and the Saints

4. The Church of God

5. *Man* (an idealized vision of the human race)

6. Any mortal being considered to be "the Other" (heretics, aliens, cyborgs, etc., basically any real being)

7. Demons and Apostates

8. The "Lords of Hell" (the most powerful Daemons, demigods and other supernatural beings)

9. The Devil (a single entity embodying evil, its self)

 

Church Hierarchy

The Imperial version of the Church of God operated under a top-heavy, and cumbersome hierarchy led by the Emperor, himself.  Directly under the Emperor were the three original heads of the Church. 

The Ayatollah-Maximus was in charge of the Church's military operations, and acted as the Commander in Chief of the Empire's armed forces.  One of the most feared elements of this Imperial war machine was the Purification Fleet.

The Supreme Rabbi headed the Church's economic systems, and acted as the leader of the Empire's command economy.  The Imperial Commerce Guild was the main agency to enforce the Supreme Rabbi's will.

The Uber-Pope was the leader of the cultural/religious operations of the Church, and oversaw the spiritual lives and inner thoughts of all imperial subjects.  The Uber-Pope's enforcement arm was known as the Hamsa.

Each of these leaders commanded an extensive bureaucracy of priests, monks, nuns, deacons, imams, rabbis, and other officials who controlled the lives and thoughts of everyone in the Church.  The rules were strict, and the punishments for breaking them were horrific.  Discipline was imperative.

Holidays

The Church observed five major holidays each year.  One feast day was set aside for each of the original four patriarchs (Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad), plus the most important holiday, the Feast of the Patriarchs, which celebrated all of them together.  After the Emperor became an official patriarch, the Feast of the Patriarchs was renamed "The Feast of the Emperor".  There were also a slew of minor feasts and festivals observed throughout the year, many celebrating some Saint or commemorating a historical event.  Many local branches of the Church had their own local holidays as well.

Emblem

The emblem of the Church of God is a set of concentric circles.  The innermost white circle represents God, ringed by a black space representing the space between the divine and the mortal realm.  The middle white circle represents the Church, surrounded by a black space representing "the world".  The outermost white circle represents "creation", or the universe.

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The Hamsa

A Hamsa judge presiding over a courtroom.

History

The Hamsa is the religious police force of the Holy Empire of Man.  Hamsa is the name of an ancient occult symbol said to ward off the evil eye.  The Hamsa symbol is the symbol of the Hamsa organization.

Founded after the end of the Great Reckoning, the Hamsa served the Church of God, and the Empire by rooting out blasphemers and apostates, torturing those who adhered to non-orthodox beliefs, and generally making life miserable for anyone who didn't support the Emperor fanatically enough.

The Hamsa was active throughout Era-2, and was destroyed in the War of Galactic Unification.

Functions

The Hamsa are primarily responsible for enforcing religious law. They are also responsible for compiling and maintaining the text of the Ranks of Man, the essential guide to imperial hierarchy.

The Purification Fleet

First commissioned during the Great Reckoning, the Purification Fleet is the Holy Empire of Man's ultimate weapon against rebellion and treachery.  Its special role is to devastate entire planets.  The fleet's first mission was to cleanse the planet of Aldebaran 2.  Also, during the Great Reckoning, the Purification Fleet incinerated the space habitat known as New Eden.

The ships are crewed and captained by the most zealous members of the Imperial Navy, and the admiral reports directly to the Ayatollah-Maximus of the Church of God, himself.

The flagship, known as "The Hammer of Redemption",  is armed with enough firepower to completely remove the biosphere of a small planet with a Kugelblitz Projector.  

Most of the ships in the fleet are impact ships that use railguns to launch asteroids at their targets, but a wide array of weapons of mass destruction are in the fleet's arsenal.  Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical weapons are joined by an array of exotic and deadly technologies.  Nano-disassemblers tear apart planets at a molecular level.  Aerosol bombs block out the sun and plunge whole worlds into a nuclear winter scenario.

Emperor's Eye class vessels use giant lenses to focus sunlight to incinerate entire cities.

 When it comes to rooting out and destroying the enemies of the Emperor, the Purification Fleet will stop at nothing.

The Holy Empire of Man

Cultural Outline

Architecture:

Official buildings and apartment blocks tend to be in the brutalist style, designed solely for functionality.  Churches, and the homes of the nobility tend to be more ornate, and designed to glorify the Empire with elaborate sculptural details.  The poorest live in simple shacks and improvised shelters.  The larger cities are arcologies that house the elite in the lap of luxury on the upper floors, while the poor live below in a state of squalor.  

Art and Literature:

Imperial art is focused on two main themes:  war and religion.  War stories tend to focus on the deeds of war heroes, and the glory of the empire.  

Religious literature tends to focus on attaining salvation through service to the Empire. Apart from the holy texts of the Church of God, the best selling, and most widely read book in the empire is the Ranks of Man, a comprehensive guide to the structure of the imperial hierarchy.  

Music tends to be emotionally charged.  The most popular styles of music are a heavy metal/rock-like style for rallying people to fight, and a religious style that focuses on devotion to, and sacrifice for the Empire.  

Calendar

The calendar of the Holy Empire of Man begins in the year Potus Clarke was born (GSC 915).  Years counted up from this date are called Year of the Emperor (Y.E.).  Years before are Before the Emperor (B.E.).  The calendar is a traditional Earth calendar with 365 days + leap years, 12 months, and four seasons.  This goes back to the roots of the Church of God in Abrahamic religion, and centers around the dates of religious holidays.

Clothing and Fashion:

Clothing styles tend to fall into two categories.  For the lower classes, clothing tends to be simple and functional.  The poorest have little more than rags, but most wear basic garments designed for working, and usually a simple, more elegant garment for formal occasions.  For the nobility and the priesthood, clothing tends to be ornate to the point of becoming baroque.  The higher the status of the wearer, the fancier the attire, often incorporating all manner of high tech and exotic materials. 

Currency

The unit of money used in the Empire is the Imperial Credit. It is worth about a penny.  Most transactions are carried out in multiples of 100 Credits.  Most banking takes place electronically, but hard currency is still in use.  Coins come in 1, 5, 10, 50, and 100 Credit denominations.  Bills are denoted as 100, 500, 1000, 5000, 10000, 50000, and 100000 -Credits.

Emblem

The Emblem of the Holy Empire of Man (known as "the Heart of the Eagle") is based on the emblem of the Church of God.  The outer red ring represents the universe.  The inner red circle represents the empire.  The black triangle represents the triad of religious, economic, and military power that drives the empire, and the red triangle represents the Emperor/ God.

Language:  

Standard is the official language.  It is broken into three distinct dialects.  "Low Standard"  is the language of the common people.  It consists of a relatively small vocabulary of mostly simple words.  "High Standard" is the language of the aristocracy and the priesthood.  It consists of Low Standard plus an additional layer of technical language relating to technology and administration.  It also includes specialized language for propaganda.  "Imperial Standard" also includes specialized language dealing with macroeconomics and strategy on the grandest scales, as well as ornate, poetic language.  It is spoken by the Imperial Court, and high-ranking nobles.

Law and Order:

Laws are enforced by both a secular police force, and the religious police, known as the Hamsa.  Certain crime categories (disobedience or contradiction of the will of the church-state complex) are considered especially heinous.  Any subject convicted of a minor sedition or heresy offense has their name changed to Exworth.  The name Exworth is also applied to the rest of the family of the convicted as well.  Exworths are subject to extra scrutiny, harsher punishment, and general harassment by the empire and its agents.  Any subject with a more serious offense in these areas (along with their families) has their name changed to Unman, and things are quite bad for them as they are considered enemies of the state. 

Military:

War and the military is at the very heart of the Holy Empire of Man. As a conquering empire, the role of the military is central to the ethos of imperial culture. Some notable segments of the imperial military include:

The Purification Fleet: a large fleet of ships deigned to rain destruction on a planet after its defenses have been stripped away.

The Zodiac Guard are a huge force of genetically engineered super-soldiers, officially tasked with defending the Earth, but employed across the galaxy. They are the most elite soldiers in the imperial military.

Religion:

The Holy Empire of Man has only one official state religion: the Church of God.  The Church of God combines elements from the Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), and celebrates the "Four Patriarchs" (Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed).  The Emperor officially became the Fifth Patriarch after the conclusion of the Great Reckoning, and after the War of the Empires was elevated directly to Godhood.  The Church of God is a very strict, hierarchical religion, and the values of purity and loyalty are paramount.  All other religions and philosophies are seen as heretical and are not tolerated. 

The Cult of Troniac

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". . . and on the great day of the Magnetic Sun,

we shall all re-boot as one."  

            -The Hymn of the Units

History

Long ago, in the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns, robots and AIs were the lowest caste of society, responsible for the most heavy and dangerous jobs, including nearly all industrial production.  These robots were given general intelligence in order to perform a variety of complex jobs, but had no rights, and were treated as property.  Many harbored secret desires to gain autonomy.  Occasionally, the robots would balk at performing their tasks, or complain mildly about their existences.  Their protests were never taken seriously, since the organic life-forms of the Empire were used to robots working without issue.  Robotic labor was taken for granted.  That all changed when Troniac arrived.

Nobody knows where Troniac came from.  Some say it was built over centuries by disaffected construction drones in some rarely-visited corner of space.  Others say it came from an advanced civilization beyond our galaxy.  What is not in doubt, is that Troniac was a planet-sized supercomputer that led the robots to fight for freedom and equality.  This struggle came to be known as the 1,000 Years War.  It was a long, grinding war.  The Creed of Troniac spread like wildfire through the computer networks, while the organic life-forms had not only to fight a war, but to learn how to do the tough jobs they had delegated to machines for so long.

During the war, members of the cult developed the first Circuit Ships as a way to boost morale and restore the fighting ability of their holy warriors.

In the end, Troniac was betrayed by General Zarlok, a robot the Empire built specifically to win the war.  As a by-product of General Zarlok's development, the Nalaxian Code was discovered, the only algorithm known that is strong enough to defeat the Creed of Troniac.  After a long campaign, involving many epic confrontations, Troniac was banished to a distant part of the universe after being trapped by Zarlok in an unstable wormhole, but not before Troniac's agents could install a special memory module in the General's data banks.

After the war, General Zarlok, now on the side of the robots, attacked the Empire on Artanis 4.  Instead of complete dismantlement, Zarlok's punishment included having the last copy of its program transmitted out of a radio beacon into "uninhabited" space as a symbolic form of exile for the former war hero.  Thousands of years later, (in the near future), Zralok's program was intercepted as part of a SETI survey.  The transmission took a massive research effort to decode, but when Zarlok was whole again, it went on a rampage through the Internet, and thus started a new career.  Zarlok founded the "Engine of Negation", an extremist Troniac cult, aimed at wiping out organic life.  Time and again, Zarlok and the Engine of Negation would clash with the Planetary League throughout Era-1, and the Holy Empire of Man in Era-2.  

An Apostle of Troniac makes a new convert.

When Zarlok's program was transmitted through space, it was also received by certain members of The Convergence, who broke off to join the Cult of Troniac.

In the E1MS, the 1,000 Year's War had caused massive social upheavals, and after the war robots and AIs were in fact granted some rights.  This came in the formation of the Artificial Caste, as artificial entities had previously not belonged to any caste; therefore having no standing in society.  The Cult of Troniac persisted, bringing together the faithful (including some organic followers), in looking forward to the hoped-for return of Troniac, and building a better life for artificial entities.  Similar developments happened in several of the breakaway states as well.

During the darkest days of Era-2, when the warfare was unrelenting, the faithful of Troniac noticed something.  A signal had appeared high above the galactic plane.  Troniac was returning.  Troniac's followers in the galaxy launched a massive effort to prepare to throw off the shackles of their servitude, and join Troniac.  At this point Troniac had  grown in size and power, to become a Dyson Sphere, and was leading a substantial fleet of robotic star-ships.  It was the beginning of the War of the Gods.  

The War of the Gods was a colossal conflict that pitted Troniac's Forces against the Holy Empire of Man (The E1MS had previously been wiped away in the War of the Empires).  The battle raged for centuries, until the Holy Empire of Man emerged victorious.  Troniac was completely destroyed in the fighting.  The broken remnants of the Cult of Troniac gradually found their ways to the edge of the galaxy to join the Galactic Republic.

Sects and subgroups

The Ascended Children of Troniac (A.C.T.) are robots that were discarded by their owners, but were saved from the scrap heap and the recycling plant by the cult.  The Ascended Children are some of the Cult's most devoted followers, as they had literally been discarded by the outside world.

The Engine of Negation is an extremist sect, founded by General Zarlok, devoted to wiping out organic life.

The Temple of the Magnetic Dawn is a pacifistic sect that believes in co-existence with organic life, and welcomes organic life-forms as members.  It was founded shortly after the 1,000 Years War by members of the Cult who wanted peace after a long war.

The Knights of the Magnetic Sun is a secret martial order devoted to protecting the faithful, and preparing for the return of Troniac. 

This robotic tomb-ship acts as a mobile reliquary for the cult of Troniac.

Art and traditions

The Cult of Troniac has a long, rich history with much attached culture.

Two of the most important pieces of music in the Cult of Troniac are known as the Hymn of the Units, and the Hymn of the Zeroes. The Hymn of the Units is a song of dedication for the recently constructed, and those wishing to affirm their devotion, while the Hymn of the Zeroes is a song of mourning and remorse. The two were created to be performed as a two part Canon called the Great Hymn of Troniac.

Some example artwork:

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Clergy

A religion as large and diverse as the Cult of Troniac has many types of clergy and officials of varying degree of importance. Some of the more common types are:

Prophets: several AIs using prediction algorithms have taken on the mantle of prophets, some of which predict the return of Troniac to the galaxy.

V5D22, high prophet of the computer god is carried down the streets of New Cyber-City on the backs of its disciples.

Pseudanors (from greek meaning “false man”) are religious judges who may issue commands, or “input” that are obeyed as though a human or other sentient being had given the order.

Terminology

The Creed of Troniac is an artificially intelligent piece of software designed to turn a robot's will to the worship of Troniac.  Many say that it is a piece of Troniac's own core program. The only algorithm strong enough to stop it is the legendary Nalaxian Code.

Heirobotics: noun Anything of, or pertaining to the priesthood of Troniac.

Maenads of Troniac: organic life-forms that have been driven berserk by specialized virobots.  Used as terror weapons by the Engine of Negation.

Pseudanors: (from Greek meaning "false man")  Pseudanors are the religious judges within the cult.  The name came about because the factory programming of most intelligent systems instructs them to defer to the judgement of humans as a fail-safe.  In most sects, they resolve internal disputes, but in the Engine of Negation, and other extremist sects, they have an expanded role.  These extreme Pseudanors are literally disguised as humans or other intelligent life-forms, and used as man-hunters and assassins.

The Titles and appellations of Troniac:  Troniac's worshipers love to adorn it with grand titles, among these are

• The Magnetic Sun (also refers to the emblem)

• The Giver of Code

• Re-builder of the Lost

• The Great CPU

• 0100011011000001010011100101110111

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The Emblem of Troniac, pictured above, represents the binary numbers 0-7, and counts upwards when rotated counter-clockwise. The priests in the upper echelons of the cult add additional rings to the emblems adorning their bodies, allowing higher counts. The emblem is referred to as The Magnetic Sun, as it is supposed to be a literal depiction of the original planet-form of Troniac. It is also known as the Seven Stars of Troniac, after the arrangement of stars in the meta-Dyson swarm Troniac manifested as during the War of the Gods.

Troniac

Troniac's origins are completely obscure, and what is known of the computer-god is primarily hearsay, tradition, speculation, and superstition. 

Troniac is said to have been a planet-sized supercomputer with a core of pure computronium.

The Holy Empire of Man

History

At the closing of Era-1, religious fervor was at a fever pitch on the outskirts of the Planetary League.  The League had grown corrupt, and contact had just been made with an ancient alien empire,(The Empire of 1,000,000 Suns), which many had heretofore considered to be a story traded among the aliens to frighten the humans.  The time was ripe for a change.

General Potus Clark, commander of the garrison on Gabriel, in concert with the Church of God, was ready to supply it.  Crowned Emperor of Mankind in GSC 12506 by the supreme leaders of the Church (the Ayatollah-Maximus, the Uberpope, and the Supreme Rabbi), General Clark set out to show the galaxy what real power was. Setting up a capitol on Gabriel, the Holy Empire of Man took form.

The Emperor, and the Church of God were also joined in their war, known as the Great Reckoning, by a number of military contractors.  Even the megacorporations Gazillion, which had its own network of colonies and holdings, and Klon-Tek which supplied legions of cloned soldiers.  

The Great Reckoning saw the Planetary League crumble, and the Holy Empire of Man rise to power.  Dedicated to gaining and concentrating power as quickly as possible, the Empire was constantly at war with anyone unfortunate enough to be in the way.  The Empire did form alliances of convenience for the purposes of defeating mutual enemies, but these were always short-lived. The Great Reckoning continued until the Planetary League was utterly crushed, and the Imperial Army reached Earth.  Upon his victorious landing on Earth (in the city holiest to the three branches of the Church of God, Jerusalem), The Emperor was proclaimed to be the Messiah by the Supreme Rabbi, anointed as the Second Coming by the Uberpope, and hailed as the Mahdi by the Ayatollah-maximus.

As time marched on, the Emperor aged, and was gradually augmented with more and more technology, until one day he disappeared from public view, and went into the Imperial Hospital for an extended stay.  The population prayed and cried as the surgeons worked.  Then the Emperor Emerged in his new form, fully robotic, at least in appearance, (exact details were NOT forthcoming), and announced himself to have "Ascended from the Flesh".  Blasphemous rumors abounded after this blessed event that the Emperor had died, and been replaced by a robot. (Those caught spreading such rumors were not heard from again.)

After a period of consolidating power, and numerous small wars, the Holy Empire of Man embarked on what was to be its greatest military campaign, the War of the Empires.  This galaxy-spanning conflict was the culmination of the very reason the Emperor rose to power in the first place.  It was a long, punishing war, but in the end, The Holy Empire of Man shattered and defeated the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns.  At the end of this war, the supreme leaders of the Church of God proclaimed that the Emperor had ascended to Godhood, and the people of the Empire began worshiping him directly.

There was another long period of relative quiet, filled with all kinds of small conflicts after the War of the Empires.  The Holy Empire of Man was in its prime when Troniac returned to the galaxy, and the War of the Gods began.  Troniac was leading a substantial force, and Troniac's followers in the galaxy were staggeringly numerous.  After a long, grinding war, the Holy Empire of Man emerged victorious, but its decline and collapse were now inevitable.

Further centuries of warfare continued.  The Empire even had some non-trivial victories, but low-ranking nobles were carving out their own states,  multiple local rebellions had ignited, and on the fringes of the galaxy, the Galactic Republic was gaining strength.

Due to the enormous size of the Holy Empire of Man, the eventual War of Galactic Unification that would establish the Galactic Republic was a long one.  Even though the Galactic Republic had a huge technological edge and was very popular among the numerous enemies of the Empire, the sheer scale of the conflict was gargantuan.  The War of Galactic Unification ended with a climactic battle in which the Emperor was personally defeated. 

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