Fiction:Clanden Admiralty

The Clanden Admiralty is a nation of nomadic Clanden, Grick, and Jaylar who fled the ravaging of their worlds at the hands of the Grox.

History
The Clanden Admiralty traces its origins back to the Clanden Homeworld, Cicero, one of the many planets to be overrun by the Grox Empire in its many years of conquest and expansion. The Merchant Republic of Cicero, along with several other surrounding worlds, tried to mount a valiant defense, only to be overrun by the Grox's superior numbers and firepower. Being closer to the Grox's borders than any of the coalition planets, the Clanden were left exposed when many of their allies withdrew their forces to evacuate their own worlds. Cicero was quickly lost to the Grox, leaving the fleet no other choice than to evacuate the outlying colonies and flee that quadrant of the galaxy to seek asylum elsewhere.

Times were hard as the Clanden were turned away, time and time again by nations that were themselves beginning to prepare to meet the Grox advance. The Clanden Fleet then retreated into deep space to lick their wounds. Many like to think that they found an inhabited planet somewhere and settled down; but no, the Clanden kept going. At the end of his life, the captain of the Defiant, the defunct flagship of the Coalition, declared the founding of a new Clanden state, the Clanden Admiralty. The Defiant was rechristened as Home One, the new home of the Clanden race.

Since then, Home One and the Clanden armada wander the stars.

The Clanden
The Clanden are a species of avian humanoids that evolved from scavenging carrion-like omnivores on the planet Cicero in the Andromeda Galaxy. They are tall, cunning, but inherently kind creatures. Traditionally, they were masterful starship builders, trading their technology for services and currency with other empires. The Merchant Republic of Cicero was relatively small when compared to other empires in the region, encompassing only a few core worlds and several outlying colonies.

The Clanden culture has a lot of emphasis on logic and science, believing that, with enough time, the entire universe could and will unfold before them. Having seen many wars in their history, they are no strangers to war, and approach the affair with a level head, and after the disastrous war with the Grox, a foot out the door.

The Grick
The Grick are four-legged lizard-like creatures native to the swamps of a planet a few parsecs away from Cicero. They made it into space not long after the Clanden, and not long after that did the two species make contact. It would be some time before the two could meet face-to-face, but the Grick were already dreaming of conquering Cicero and adding it to their burgeoning empire. The conflict that ensued lasted for nearly two hundred years, finally ending with the heroic invasion of the Grick homeworld by the Clanden and some newfound allies.

The peace settlement dictated the founding of a new Ciceroean Republic (replacing the provisional wartime government put in place by the Clanden), of which the Grick world would be a part.

After nearly another hundred years of chaos and anarchy on their homeworld, the Grick came back and became active colonists and members of the galactic community. Even if they were subordinate to the Clanden, they retained some amount of freedom.

After having served on their ships alongside their Clanden counterparts, most of the Grick were evacuated and fled on their own. However, a substantial number had migrated to the Clanden worlds, or to common Republic colonies that were abandoned by the Grick fleet. Some of these would fall prey to the Grox, while others would be reached in time by the Defiant and the retreating Clanden fleet.

The Jaylar
The Jaylar are grotesque, tough, and large creatures, genetically engineered by the Grick to serve as disposable manpower. Essentially slaves, the Jaylar enjoyed little liberty a the hands of the Grick, and little more under the Clanden governments. They served as cannon fodder during the Clanden-Grick wars, thrown into the line of fire while the nimble Grick found another way around. This tactic was again adopted by certain members of the Cicero Republic during the Grox Wars.

In peacetime, they became somewhat of a commodity to be sold and bought. They made themselves useful on construction sites and in starship spacedocks; some served as bodyguards and others still as personal servants and gardeners.

The Grick created them to be excellent muscle, but had to loan them at least a little bit of intelligence so that they might not make idiotic mistakes while working on their projects. This, unfortunately, meant that they were prone to picking up dangerous ideas. Indeed, many Jaylarian revolts had to be put down by the Grick Dragoons.

Some of the Jaylar joined their masters in the frenzied evacuation before the Grox advance, while many more were serving on board the Coalition fleet. They continued as Grick property during the long years where the Clanden Armada meandered through space, and only recently have their conditions improved.

Technology
The Clanden and their allies rely greatly on the fusing of matter and anti-matter to supply their ships, replicators weapons, and other such devices. They are well versed in genetic engineering, physics, robotics, biotech, and are trying to find ways to harness other natural sources of energy.

Current technologies possessed (in order of acquisition):

 Unification Era   Grick Wars Era 
 * Agriculture
 * Mining
 * Metallurgy
 * Advanced geology
 * Radio
 * Advanced Flight
 * Advanced theoretical physics
 * Advanced ballistics
 * Advanced pyrotechnics
 * Advanced Computers
 * Advanced medicine
 * Advanced nuclear fission
 * Advanced biotechnology
 * Advanced genetic engineering
 * Advanced photovoltaics
 * Unmanned spacecraft
 * Advanced propulsion
 * Advanced robotics
 * Advanced metallurgy
 * Nanotechnology
 * Energy weapons
 * High intensity lasers
 * Manned interplanetary travel
 * Cryonics
 * Interstellar travel

 Republic Era  Grox Wars Era  Admiralty Era
 * Subspace communication
 * Advanced agriculture
 * Interstellar mining
 * Planetary colonization
 * Basic matter-antimatter reaction
 * Warp drive
 * Advanced energy and plasma weapons
 * Phasers
 * Photon torpedoes
 * Terraforming
 * Transporters
 * Replicators
 * Holographic images
 * Advanced matter-antimatter reaction
 * Advanced warp drive (warp 7)

Notes: The fact that they possess a technology does not mean that they apply it, either because they cannot (due to lack of resources, space, etc) or choose not to.

Technologies marked as advanced is meant to show that they have indulged themselves deeply in the subject, not mastered it.

Government
The Clanden Admiralty was founded in a time of chaos and war. The Armada was fleeing from what had just became Grox space, and was struggling to survive and feed its many people. Replicators had not been discovered yet, so synthesized food was practically all they had. To pull everything together, Admiral Valence Na'var consolidated absolute power into his hands. With him at the helm, things could go smoothly without the inefficient bickering of politicians. He divided the armada into fleets, and said fleets into flights, ensuring organized operations in what would otherwise be chaotic circumstances. He put everyone, every refugee to work in one way or another, and went about setting up markets and other facilities in Home One's spacious hangars and cargo bays.

However, the people's rights had to be cut down for such a government to be run smoothly. Everyone had to answer to the military, and obey orders without question. Those that resisted were placed in the brig. At first, the Admiral had absolute power over his subjects, but a judicial administration and a hearing process was put into place.

Individuals serving as part of the fleet are the most privileged, elegible to go through an extensive court marshal process if found at fault. Civilian cases, on the other hand, are reviewed by the judicial office and resolved without trial. The ruling could be disputed, and a hearing put into place. The Grick are considered as first class citizens right alongside their Clanden counterparts. Their creations, however, the Jaylar, are still considered to have no standing within the Clanden system, as the Grick still refuse to recognize them as sentient beings.

Fleet
The Clanden Armada is composed of roughly forty medium-sized starships at a time. Along with an innumerable amount of small craft, they all flock around Home One. Most if not nearly all of the original Clanden warships have been either abandoned or recycled, to be replaced by newer designs dreamed up by Clanden and Grick engineers or, in rarer cases, by ships bought from other civilizations.

Home One
Quick Facts:
 * Class: Capital Ship
 * Crew complement: 500
 * Can accomodate: 60% of the nation
 * Length: 1800 meters
 * Width: 600 meters
 * Energy source: Matter-antimatter reaction
 * Armament: Aft, fore, port and starboard phaser banks, aft and fore torpedo tubes, energy shielding, launch and hangar bays
 * Propulsion (STL): Impulse engines
 * Propulsion (FTL): Warp Drive (warp 6)
 * Equipped with: Transporters, replicators, markets, civilian quarters

Home One is the pride and joy of the Clanden Admiralty. It is here that the government is based, and where most of the population resides. While it was, by design, a warship, it has seen many major modifications that made it into the major population center seen recently.

By no means does this mean, however, that its weapon systems were neglected. Home One was upgraded over time to host the newest defenses Clanden engineers were able to invent, buy, or steal.

Home One is a little more than a mile in length and quarter of one in breadth. It was assembled on of the Republic's outlying shipyard systems, and finished three years before the founding of the Coalition and the start of the Grox-Coalition war. It was originally armed with the latest in energy-based weaponry, fully functioning shields, launch bays able to accommodate hundreds of small craft, terraforming tools originally meant to suffocate Grox by the planet load, and a warp drive capable of projecting the thing to Warp 6. Since then, a few improvements have been made.

Bulwark Class Frigate Mk.IV
Quick Facts:
 * Class: Frigate
 * Crew complement: 20
 * Can accomodate: 10 passengers
 * Length: 400 meters
 * Width: 160 meters
 * Energy source: Matter-antimatter reaction
 * Armament: Aft and fore phaser banks, aft and fore torpedo tubes, energy shielding
 * Propulsion (STL): Impulse engines
 * Propulsion (FTL): Warp Drive (warp 7)
 * Equipped with: Transporters, replicators

The Bulwark Class frigate is a classic sight in a Clanden fleet. Dating back to long before the Grox Wars and the complete reliance on matter-antimatter reactions, this handy medium-sized ship has seen many a refit. Originally designed to protect the Republic's interest, it's primitive laser weapons were long ago replaced by phaser arrays, its blast plating upgraded to proper energy shielding, and its guided conventional missiles replaced by photon torpedoes. It can host it's own transporter, used to beam to and from the ship, and is capable of warp 7.

In combat, the Bulwark is rarely left alone, but makes for a useful addition to any force, either as an escort, a ward against smaller craft and bombers, and as a scout to the Clanden Armada.

(WIP)

Organization
The Clanden fleet is divided into flights, some of which are composed of "civilian" ships and their escorts, while others are purely made of military craft. These divisions are meant to not only make mundane operations more efficient and easier to manage, but to provide for the most orderly and safe retreat in case of attack.

Ranks

 * Crewman - The bottom of the food chain, the manpower needed for menial tasks.


 * Crew Head - Leaders of different crews trading shifts, reports to the department head.


 * Ensign - Bridge Crew, the Captain's aides.


 * Department Head - 'Manages a department, either engineering, science, medical, tactical (varies depending on the ship). Reports to the Lieutenant Commander or the Captain.


 * Lieutenant Commander - Acting Captain when the Captain is indisposed.


 * Captain - Commands the ship he is assigned to. Reports directly to the Admiral.


 * Admiral - Head of the fleet.

Territory
The Clanden Fleet rarely remains in one place for more than fifteen years. Generally they will move into an area with plenty of planets and resources, terraform the planets they need, take as much of their natural resources as they will to fix their craft (sometimes building new ones), and then move on.

Relationships with other Empires
The Clanden are generally neutral towards other civilizations of roughly their caliber, and will often engage in trading for commodities they need for whatever they happen to have in excess.

As for those that have wronged them, the Clanden make a point of never forgiving until their debt has been paid in full.

Enemies
"We never forget a face."