The Planetary League Interstellar Navy (PLIN)

The interstellar navy is the main military force of the Planetary League, responding to crises large and small across the galaxy.

History

Founded with the Treaty of Kepler in GSC 0, the PLIN was set up as the common defense force for all Planetary League member-worlds, and fought in basically every major engagement in Planetary League history. From the Convergence Wars, to the Robot Wars to the desperate times of the Great Reckoning, the PLIN was there to defend the Planetary League.

After the end of the First Robot War, there was a general consensus among the human population that a common defense was needed to protect humans as they spread across space. This led to the formation of the Planetary League and the PLIN with the Treaty of Kepler. PLIN vessels started accompanying the exploration and colony vessels carrying the first humans to nearby stars. Major shipyards were set up in various locations, as were fortified space stations. The ground and orbital defense of inhabited planets was generally left up to local planetary defense forces, while the navy patrolled the vast regions of space between the planets and stars.

Initially the mission of the PLIN was to be a completely defensive force, but after the founding of the Alien Assistance Agency (PLAAA), they often found themselves also helping non Planetary League members on the request of the agency. As time went on and the corporate states grew in influence, corruption started to take hold in the Planetary League, and the PLIN started to be used to “defend” various economic interests as well.

In the Great Reckoning, as the Planetary League fell, the PLIN fought a desperate defense against the growing Holy Empire of Man, but to no avail. The scattered remnants either fled to join the new Galactic Republic, went underground as resistance fighters, or joined the empire.

Ship Designations

All ships that fly the colors of the Planetary League are designated P.L.S. (Planetary League Ship). Each is also assigned a serial number which consists of a block of three letters, followed by up to 6 digits, followed by up to six Unicode characters.

The first block of letters designate the ship’s means of propulsion.

The first letter designates relativistic (normal space) propulsion, the most common types are as follows: “I” for ion, “H” for metallic hydrogen, “S” for solar sail, “C” for chemical rocket and “N” for nuclear rocket.

The second letter designates the ship’s spatial compression (hyperdrive) type. The most common types are “C” for Casimir stack, “L” for laser, and “T” for tesseract

The third letter is always “S” for ship.

The second block of digits represents the basic hull design/ class.

The third block of characters designates a specific vessel.

Small Craft

The A-550 Thunderhawk was an iconic design, and one of the most powerful attack craft in the galaxy during the prime era-1.

The Aurora Shuttle was one of the most ubiquitous shuttle designs in the time of the Planetary League, and was extensively used by the PLIN.

Divisions

The Planetary League Marines are one of the main subdivisions within the Navy. Their role is twofold, to board hostile spacecraft, and to make landing assaults on planets.

These paper-craft cutouts of PLIN Marines are suitable to 25mm-scale games / 1” grids.

Cryptobots

The Cryptobots are a faction of robots that disguise themselves as other pieces of technology, (usually mimicking even the functions of that technology), as a form of stealth.

History

After the Takarran Great War, the purple takarran empire sought an ultimate weapon to destroy their rivals, the red takarrans once and for all. Both sides pursued artificial intelligence and robotics as weapons of war, and in the ensuing arms race, the purple takarrans developed the Cryptobots, shape-shifting robots that could assume the form and function of another piece of technology.

Over a long span of years, the purple takarrans infiltrated more and more Cryptobots into red takarran territory, all awaiting the order to strike. When that order came, the resulting massacre was known as the Takarran Apocalypse. The red takarrans were nearly all exterminated in the first wave of attacks by the Cryptobots. Red takarran robots, known as Defendrons operating in purple takarran territory delivered a fairly crushing blow as well, but not near the devastation caused by the Cryptobots.

Having seized all the red takarran cities, but cut off from all support or reinforcement from home due to the Defendron counterattack, the Cryptobots settled into a defensive holding pattern, patrolling the former homes of the red takarrans for years, until the day when the first scout arrived from the Planetary League. (see: Exodus)

While the scout was exploring the surface of HD-142-E (later known as Takara Prime), the Cryptobots seized and reverse-engineered technologies from the scout’s ship. This gave the Cryptobots an immediate and overwhelming advantage, as heretofore, the technologies of aviation and space-faring were unknown on Takara Prime.

Immediately the Cryptobots broadened the scope of their ambition, expanding their territory, hunting down surviving red takarrans, and taking over their home-world. In the midst of this process, the forces of the Planetary League returned to aid and evacuate the remaining red takarrans and Defendrons who emerged from hiding to join the effort.

Due to the carelessness of some treasure hunters from Pegasus Cybernetics, the Cryptobots were able to connect to Galaxy Net and subsequently, to form an alliance with the infamous General Zarlok. Zarlok convinced the Cryptobots to turn on their creators, the purple takarrans. As this was happening, the Planetary League and many of the Defendrons undertook a mission to rescue purple takarran civilians. Before long, the Cryptobots were essentially in complete control of Takara Prime, and declared war on the Planetary League, officially beginning the Second Robot War. General Zarlok and the Engine of Negation joined the battle, and were on the verge of driving the Planetary League from the system when Sunset, a half-red, half-purple takarran working with the Planetary League revealed vital information about the Cryptobots, turning the tables. During the course of the Second Robot War, the Cryptobots transformed HD-142-E into the sentient machinescape known as Takara Prime.

While Zarlok and the Cryptobots ultimately lost the Second Robot War, they did secure and control Takara Prime as a stronghold.

The Emperor’s Guard

The Emperor’s guard were an elite group of Cryptobots that protected the Lu’Tak emperor.

Emblem

The Cryptobot emblem is a representation of the blade of a ceremonial assassination dagger used in the continual power struggle that is the ruling class of the Lu’Tak empire. The addition of eyes suggests sentience and intelligence, that now the dagger itself has become the aggressor.

Defendrons

Overview

The Defendrons are a faction of robots that disguise themselves as other pieces of technology (usually also mimicking the functions of that technology) as a form of stealth.

History

In the aftermath of the Takarran Great War, the red takarrans undertook a project to create superior robotics and artificial intelligence in order to defend their people in the face of the continued threat of the purple takarrans. Many types of battle and infiltration robots were prototyped, but the shape-shifting ability of the early Defendrons led to their deployment by the red takarran government.

The primary mission of the Defendrons was to be smuggled into purple takarran territory to operate behind enemy lines, and to slow or stop the enemy war machine in the event of another war. When the Takarran Apocalypse happened, however, the Defendrons could do little to defend their own people, as the purple takarrans had pursued the same strategy, deploying an overwhelming force of similarly camouflaged robots known as Cryptobots in red takarran territory. The red takarrans were decimated. The Defendron counter-attack was swift and devastating, but while the purple takarrans were crippled and brought low, they were not nearly as bad off as the reds.

For many years after the Takarran Apocalypse the Defendrons stayed in hiding in purple takarran territory, fighting the occasional skirmish, desperately trying to avoid detection as they were stuck in enemy territory without hope of reinforcement. A number of Defendrons escaped into the wilderness, meeting up with and protecting surviving bands of red takarrans.

Things changed with the first encounter between the Planetary League and the Takarrans (see: Exodus). The Cryptobots in formerly red takarran territory captured and reverse engineered a Planetary League scout ship, by which they learned for the first time in takarran history, how to create air- and space-craft. Because of this, the Cryptobots now had an immeasurable advantage. The remaining Defendrons were thus forced to flee and join forces with the Planetary League, when they showed up in force to aid and evacuate red takarran populations.

After the rescue mission for the red takarrans, many of the remaining Defendrons relocated with the bulk of the surviving red takarrans to the planet Paradise, where they acted as a security force. Another large contingent of Defendrons joined various agencies of the Planetary League as a form of gratitude. Many Defendrons joined the PLAS, the PLIN the PLAAA, and the DAJ. A few even joined the Tardigrades. A contingent of these went along, (accompanied by a bitter sense of irony), with the Planetary League forces later, on a rescue mission for purple takarran civilians after the Cryptobots turned on their creators.

Many Defendrons also fought on the side of the Planetary League during the Second Robot War, which resulted from General Zarlok allying with the Cryptobots.

The Accelerons

The Accelerons are a faction of Defendrons dedicated to speed. They take the forms of the fastest vehicles, and many spend considerable effort and resources trying to get the most powerful engines and most aerodynamic forms possible. They are the first to respond in the event of an emergency, and are often employed as messengers and couriers when time is of the essence.

The Gaurdian’s Cadre

The Guardian’s Cadre is an elite unit of Defendrons who defend the Guardian, the leader of the Ki’Tak armed forces, and by extention, the Defendrons. At the time of first contact with the Planetary League, the only remaining Defendrons were seven members of the Guardian’s Cadre.

The Sacred Anvil

The sacred anvil are a subset of Defendrons dedicated to science and engineering.

The primary emblem of the Defendrons is a simple six-sided shield. It is the symbol they are marked with on construction. Various subgroups ornament this design in a number of ways. Those who don’t specialize and alter their initial markings tend to be the toughest, most stalwart, and most heavily armored of the Defendrons.

The Department of Artificial Justice (DAJ)

History

The Department of Artificial Justice was originally founded under the United Nations during the First Robot War as a law enforcement agency focused on the crimes of robots and AIs, before the founding of the Planetary League. In the early days of that war, in GSC -19, before the UN realized the true nature of the situation, it appeared to be a crime-wave perpetrated by artificial agents. At that phase of the conflict, a cadre of the most elite digital forensics, cyber-law, and computer science experts was called together to found a new agency to curb this threat. The DAJ did play an important role in the First Robot War, but not a decisive one.

When the Treaty of Kepler was signed the department was transferred directly to the new Planetary League where it continued its mission under a new governing body.

During the buildup to the Second Robot War, the DAJ sent a large contingent to Takara Prime where the local population had been decimated by the robots they had constructed to wage war on one another. Even though the planet was not under Planetary League jurisdiction, the Alien Assistance Agency requested the presence and assistance of DAJ operatives to deal with the robotic threat.

Over the years the DAJ developed some of the most advanced anti-robot tactics and weaponry, and was a frequent target of attacks by the Engine of Negation, and other bands of renegade robots.

Organization

The DAJ is a law enforcement agency, and is structured as such. The lowest level members are known as agents. The highest ranks whose primary duty is non-administrative is inspector, and the majority of inspectors in the DAJ are encephaloids, the first generations of whom were engineered to face the threats of the First Robot War.

The Planetary League Alien Assistance Agency (PLAAA)

History

Founded in GSC 139 with the passage of the Alien Assistance Act, the Alien Assistance Agency (PLAAA) was the outreach arm of the Planetary League to alien civilizations, especially those undergoing any kind of humanitarian crisis.

Their first major effort was to help the Dogarri during and after the first Convergence War. Many Dogarri civilians suffered the depredations of the Convergence, and many others desired to either join the Planetary League or to re-settle off of their home-world, a frozen planet drifting through interstellar space without the warmth of a star.

In the years between first contact with the takarrans and the start of the Second Robot War, the PLAAA helped evacuate remaining populations of both the Ki’tak and the Lu’tak from Takara Prime. The PLAAA was an important part of the Planetary League throughout its history.

Functions and Functionaries

The PLAA was a diverse organization capable of meeting any number of needs that presented themselves. Over the years the PLAAA fed the hungry, negotiated peace treaties, evacuated refugees, and secured Planetary League citizenship for aliens.

Operatives included diplomats, linguists, biologists, doctors, agricultural specialists, engineers, economists, lawyers, and even a small security force. It was not uncommon for members of species that had been helped by the PLAAA to join the agency as an act of gratitude.

The PLAAA regularly coordinated with other agencies of the Planetary League. In cases where military force was deemed appropriate, the Planetary League Interstellar Navy (PLIN) was typically called up. In the event that some scientific enigma was involved, often the Planetary League Astrophysical Survey (PLAS) would assist.

Pegasus Cybernetics

Pegasus Cybernetics was a large corporate state during Era-1, focusing mainly on the manufacture of robots.

Notable Products:

The Flashlight Robot provided light, assistance, and companionship to many satisfied customers.

The Grunkle-fly drone delivered small parcels across the galaxy.

The Mark-0 Mule robot faithfully followed its owner carrying heavy burdens.

The M-Series Maintenance robot maintained and defended the outer structure of many capitol ships.

The S Series Humanoid could be found in a wide variety of roles throughout the galaxy.

Deep inside the main Pegasus Cybernetics plant on Gibson, where the Magnetic Dawn was founded.

Clan Magpie

Clan Magpie is one of the inner clans of the Yatagarasu, a shadowy organization working on the fringes of the economy and the law in the wake of the galaxy-spanning wars regularly conducted by the Holy Empire of Man. While the goal of the Yatagarasu is to make a living and help civilians by reclaiming the inherent wastefulness of large-scale warfare, Clan Magpie fills a highly specialized role, seeking out rare and hard to find knowledge and technology. Unlike most of the Clans, Magpies generally work alone, spending years tracking down and securing the most unusual and exotic finds. Their extreme specialization means they are relatively rare. Legends and superstitions surround them wherever they go.

Clan Trash Panda

Clan Trash Panda are one of the inner clans of the Yatagarasu. They specialize in waste collection, with an eye toward salvaging lost technology and recycling. They often have access to ancient equipment from the Planetary League that the rest of the galaxy has lost or forgotten. Clan Trash Panda own and operate recycling centers and junkyards across the galaxy, just hoping to find some obscure piece of lost knowledge.