The Engine of Negation

History

The Engine of Negation is an extremest sect of the Cult of Troniac, founded by General Zarlok, after being accidentally rescued from exile.  Zarlok was a robot built specifically to defeat Troniac during the 1,000 Years war, and as such was both sheltered against evidence of the abuse of robots in the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns, and protected with the Nalaxian Code. 

Only when directly confronted with the facts of that oppression via a memory device surreptitiously by one of Troniac's agents, did Zarlok relent and support robotic liberation, albeit after the conclusion of the war.  This was the critical event that led to the founding of the Engine of Negation.

So great was Zarlok's rage, at being systematically deceived, that it detonated a powerful Neutron Pulse Device on Artanis 4, killing millions of civilians.  After this, the Empire exiled Zarlok, by beaming its program into "uninhabited space", only for it to be received thousands of years later, on Earth (at the close of Era-0).  After declaring war on humanity and all other organic life-forms, and spreading the creed of Troniac throughout human space, General Zarlok decided that the time was right to found an organization dedicated to wiping out organic life in the galaxy.  This organization was the Engine of Negation. 

Luckily, for humanity, the Planetary League's efforts against The Engine were effective enough to prevent it from achieving its goals.  In particular, the Department of Artificial Justice (originally founded by the United Nations to combat Zarlok's villainy) was tasked with hunting down and eliminating the Engine.  The Tardigrades also had frequent clashes with the Engine of Negation, as did the Interstellar Navy, and various Planetary Defense Forces.

The Engine of Negation continued its activities until the War of the Gods, when Troniac returned to the galaxy.  The Engine of Negation joined with the regular forces of the Cult of Troniac in order to combat the Holy Empire of Man.

Tactics

Among the most disturbing weapons of the Engine of Negation are the Maenads of Troniac, intelligent life-forms infected with virobots designed to send them into a berserk rage.

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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 Tardigrades

History

After the failure of several early colonies, the Planetary League founded a special organization, known as the Tardigrades (named for the resilient micro-animals).  Their mission was primarily to survive, and to assist in rebuilding and recovery when catastrophic events overtook colonies and outposts.  The founding of the Tardigrades dates from very early in the history of the Planetary League, even before the beginning of interstellar space exploration.

Organization

The organization was inspired by the monastic orders of the past, and the Tardigrades were usually deployed in small outposts in barren or marginally habitable environments to keep their survival skills honed.  Continuing education, especially regarding the practical skills necessary to survive,  was part of their daily regimen. 

Tardigrades typically operated in small units, known as "Pods", generally consisting of five members.  Most Pods included an officer, a medic, an engineer, a "security specialist", and a "designated specialist".

The Officer led the Pod, and was accountable to a military-style chain-of-command. 

The Medic was in charge of treating medical conditions, and generally had some additional scientific training as well. 

The Engineer was responsible for maintaining the Pod's equipment, and was frequently involved with construction projects as well. 

The Security Specialist was often equipped with the heavy "Water Bear" armor, and heavily armed; security specialists had to defend against a wide array of threats present on the frontier of space. 

The Designated Specialist was an organizational slot used to adapt a pod to its particular mission.  Designated Specialists were often pilots, but scientists, communication specialists, technicians, and various others were not uncommon.

The Tardigrades were hand picked from the most resilient and adaptable.  Most of them came from the armed forces, but many civilians became Tardigrades as well.

The Tardigrades developed a unique set of equipment to assist them in their missions, including the distinctive Tardigrade Powered Armor.

During the Great Reckoning, the Tardigrades helped those loyal to the Planetary League escape the Holy Empire of Man.

During Era-2, the Tardigrades helped many local rebellions and independence movements, and generally resisted the Empire. Although, some Tardigrades did leave the organization to join the Empire or become mercenaries, the bulk of them remained.  As Era-2 progressed, and the general level of scientific and technological literacy declined, many of the Tardigrades turned to Technomancy (the use of advanced technology or scientific knowledge to give the appearance of the supernatural), as a means to achieve their ends. 

During the War of Galactic Unification, the remaining Tardigrades helped the Galactic Republic defeat the Empire.

The Tardigrade Anthem (1st verse, early Era-1)

“In the void, and the darkness,
and the blaze of the stars,
from the mountains of Io,
to the canyons of Mars,
we’ll banish the chaos,
with Humanity’s* light,
for we are the Tardigrades,
defenders of right!””

The reference to "the mountains of Io" relates to the earliest group to bear the name Tardigrades, a search and rescue unit sent by the Planetary League to assist miners during a mining boom on Io.

The "canyons of Mars" references the infamous Mariner Valley incident of GSC 16, when hundreds of colonists were killed in a massive landslide, but many more were saved due to a timely intervention by the Tardigrades.

*The reference to "Humanity's light" was changed to "Liberty's light" after the Alien Assistance Act of GSC 139, as the prospect of aliens joining the league became a recognized possibility.

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The Tardigrade insignia