MercDragons

Merc Dragon (MD) is one of the most powerful Light Alliance factions in the LvD Galaxies.  It also maintains significant forces in FRU and Brierie.
== Description ==
Despite its questionable origins as an unstable mercenary organization, Merc Dragon has a history of offering their protection to smaller and less established factions which helped shape their current culture of honor and protection.  This practice has put them into a number of conflicts with the Vaygr Empire's forced recruitment policies which have resulted in numerous conflicts dating back to 2316.  As Merc Dragon has grown, so too has its emphasis on the stability of the Multiverse both through its opposition of destabilizing factions and through it cooperation with Galactic Authorities to help identify and resolve instabilities in the fabric of reality. 
== Fleet ==
Merc Dragon's features a discrete rank based system for introducing new technologies and ship designs to its members. While its leadership encourages innovation and design from its members, nearly all "official" Merc Dragon ships are designed by Nosajimiki.
== Design Philosophy ==
The pace at which their technology has increased since the beginning of 2317 has forced them to adopt a more rectangular approach to their ship designs than they used in the past to better accommodate the constant need for retrofitting their ships with new discoveries.  These improvements include a number of variant offensive, defensive, and civilian technologies: many of which remain classified due to their superiority over commonly accepted best practices. 
In January of 2318, Napthir joins MercDragon bringing with him a number of KDI designs which are currently being evaluated and merged into the MercDragon fleet. 
== Demographics ==
Merc Dragon is one of the most racially diverse factions in the multiverse.  With no official home world, its civilian population is comprised of dozens of races from across 5 galactic clusters. Most of these races belong to refugee populations from the most war-torn regions of space, many of which are considered endangered due to the collapse of their home Galaxies.
SS Galaxies
- 15mil.  Various populations of Exiles
- 5mil.  Space Catz rebels
- 30mil.  Other Various Galactic Collapse Refugees
Galaxies Aflame
- 20mil.  Displaced Imperials
- 10mil  Displaced Rebels
- 35mil  Other Displaced victims of Vaygr aggression
- 40mil  Other Various Galactic Collapse Refugees
LvD
- 25mil  Displaced populations from collapsed Thryn Monarchy
- 40mil   Displaced populations from collapsed FCM
- 15mil  Displaced populations from collapsed but later reformed NRE
- 55mil Various other refugees resulting from the Light vs Dark Conflict
- 5mil  Normal immigration from other Light Side factions
- 220mil Charter worlds - stable independent worlds that have chosen to joined MD in their war against the Dark
Freaks
- 120mil Vassalized populations from recent expansion and military conquests into this galactic cluster.
GenX
- (Negligable) MercDragon maintains a small outpost here but, but does not control any major population centers.
          Brierie
- (Negligable) MercDragon maintains a strong military presence here but, does not control any major population centers. Instead its strength here is largely funded by mercenary contracts.
== Population ==
When MercDragon led the exodus from the collapsing Shattered Skies Galaxies, they repurposed their fleet of 5 ships to save as many people as they could.  Unable to fit even a tiny margin of the galaxy’s terrified populations into so few vessels, Nosajimiki devised a plan for genetically reincarnating the people of the failing galaxies after the long journey to a new cluster.  In all, he gathered nearly 20 billion genetic samples and neural scans from over 100 local races with the intention to clone and rehabilitate them in a new cluster.  In transit Nosajimiki, was separated from the other colony ships.  Their fate is unknown to this day.
Upon arriving in a new cluster, Nosajimiki settled on an uninhabited world which he named Dragon's Nest.  He immediately began reincarnating the 4 billion surviving samples on this new world; however, before most of the samples could be processed, Red Alert 007 piloting a Black Knight class cruiser besieged the new colony and bombarded the lab containing the remaining samples. Only about 50 million of the original 4 billion colonists ever had the opportunity to be reincarnated.  This war crime would have been a total genocide had it not been for the response of a 300k mass warship (class and faction unknown) responding to the distress call and driving off the Vaygr attacker.
When this galactic cluster began to destabilize as well, Nosajimiki refused to resort to genetic cloning. Instead he relied on a new form of FTL system similar to the void drives to send his fleet back and forth to other clusters including Freaks, LvD, and GenX.  In all, his fleets transported nearly 150 million refugees to other systems before the final collapse of Galaxies Aflame.
Since then, MercDragon's military contributions to the Light in the LvD cluster and the collapse of many neighboring nations have continued to drive desperate populations to the MercDragon cause which have bolstered their civilian population to about 650 million.  While still not a huge population by any means, MercDragon is still one of the most powerful and rapidly growing nations in the LvD cluster.
== Government ==
MercDragon is a Stratocractic Oligarchy (a nation governed by its military leaders). As such, its populous is bound by a strict code of ethics and perpetual martial law.  Given an initially high rate of crime caused by the intermingling of so many populations, Admiral Nosajimiki was forced to unified the people through an enduring military police presence, total abolition of privacy, and the proactive removal of dissident sub-factions.  While the early days known as the "political cleansing" are viewed by many historians as barbaric, the resulting nationalism has helped solidify MercDragon as a stable refuge for those in dire need.
== Crime ==
MercDragon utilizes the latest techniques in AI learning to study the behavior of its citizens, and can predict with 94% certainty persons of criminal intent before a crime is even committed.  As such, most crime is avoided altogether through social outreach programs and (in more severe cases) pre-emptive legal action.
== Military ==
MercDragon has one of the most technologically advanced militaries in the multiverse. They have a long history of engaging enemies when outnumbered and out massed which has put their designers under constant pressure to constantly innovate and improve. Since the final days of the MercDragon/Vaygr war, they have recruited many new charter worlds into their fold yielding an influx of new pilots and resources to round out their technological advantages.
== Foreign Relations ==
MercDragon is a leading member of the Light Alliance and is generally regarded as the chief representative of the independent light-side states.  Despite many accusations by darkside forces, MercDragon is not, nor has it ever been a member of UIS or Trinova. Although, MercDragon's position in the light has resulted in many joint military operations with UIS factions, the MercDragon code of conduct tends to run contrary to many of UIS's core cultural values.
MercDragon was a member of AEGIS, but withdrew their support of this short lived alliance following intelligence leaks conducted by Scipio of NRE.
They also have amicable political ties with OOB. They are enemies of the Dark Alliance, especially Vaygr. There have also been minor skirmishes involving Magitek Knights, Knights Belligerent, and Sentinel, but none of these factions are officially considered enemies of the state. They also maintain an active defence contract with Paxton Industries and have completed defence contracts for the Dwarven Alliance, Eagles, and Jupiter Mining Corp.
== History ==
=== 2315 ===
Merc Dragon was founded by Nosajimiki after his dishonourable discharge from Space Catz following a sleep-deprivation induced indecent of friendly fire. On the run, he formed this alliance from various exiled members of other factions in what could best be described as a "rag-tag hot mess". 
=== 2316 ===
Following the collapse of the SS galaxies, Nosajimiki fled to Galaxies Aflame where he continued this "faction" by himself. 
Within days of settling in the new cluster, he was besieged by Vaygr several times in an attempt to extort resources.  After several such sieges, Merc Dragon was forced to abandon the new home world to buy enough time to regroup and finish the construction of the Nidhog MK-I series battle carrier.  The battle carrier destroyed dozens of light Vaygr warships before being boarded by an enemy operative using a illegal technology known as "coring".  This exposed a critical flaw in the MK-I's design in that it did not have any internal defense systems for dealing with this kind of threat.  Rather than risking the ship falling into Vaygr hands, the captain of the Nidhog engaged his jump drive piloting it directing into the center of the nearest star.
In subsequent battles, Merc Dragon used the much smaller Fafnir-class destroyer to eliminate Vaygr blockade attempts.  The Fafnir defeated many more of Vaygr's light attack ships and frigates before itself falling victim to an ambush by two Vaygr frigates.
The Nidhog Mk-II was completed and fitted with proper anti-personnel countermeasures, but the Galactic Cluster destabilised before it could be used in combat; so, it was quickly repurposed in the effort to evacuate the cluster.  Merc Dragon's ships scattered to other clusters including Freaks, GenX, and LvD and remained an insignificant force through the end of 2316 while they aimlessly wandered the stars looking for a new homeworld. 
In an effort to inspire and reunite the people, they set about to design the star base Asterion.  The original design was rejected nearly 3/4 of the way through due to complications with the integrated titan shipyard. It would be later replaced by the majestic station design as it is known today.  In total, the Asterion project took the collective efforts of MercDragon nearly 5 months worth of dedicated manpower to complete.
=== 2317 ===
Early in the year 2317, Merc Dragon abandoned their assets on Freaks and GenX to focus on the LvD cluster, with the mostly built Asterion star base to call their new home.  That said, the final completion of the base's design would be postponed for several more months, due to an unprecedented escalation in the Light vs Dark war.  With their old enemies, the Vaygr, having joined the Dark, Merc Dragon joined the Light offering fire support to the then dominant light factions: FCM and Thryn.
The fighting in the LvD cluster was on a much grander scale than MercDragon had ever seen with enemy fleets including numerous Titan class warships (Hammers, Drakas, and Despoilers) with the largest light side ships being only a fraction of that size.  Even the mighty Nighogs were dwarfed by the opposition, so Nosajimiki ordered a refit to replace the drone bays on the Nidhogs with massive shield banks and additional weapon systems effectively doubling their firepower creating the MK-3 series Nidhog battleships.  The MK-3s won numerous battles against the dark by destroying 2 of their massive Soul Taker battle stations, and eliminating over one hundred drones, frigates, and destroyers in a series of attacks against the dark's many fleets.  The latter MK-4 series even became the first ship to defeat one of Event Horizon's Hammer-class Heavy Titans in one-on-one battle.
While the war against the dark went well versus Event Horizon and Infinite Legion, things took a turn for the worse for Merc Dragon around the battle of Vou when Vaygr entered the fray in full force.  Merc Dragon lost 3 Nidhog class battleships and 10 Torik destroyers to Vaygr during a series of battles that revealed a key flaw in the Nidhog's design.  While these losses were costly, the newly appointed Commander Lightspeed was key in revitalizing Merc Dragon's industry and rebuilding the factions wealth in preparation for the launching of the far more advanced Jormongandr-class Titan and Ddraig-class Cruiser.  By the time Merc Dragon was prepared to relaunch its war on Vaygr, the Red Uprising caused Vaygr to fall apart from the inside.
In October of 2317, MercDragon returned to the Freaks cluster to rebuild their long abandoned outposts in pursuit of rumors of a Vaygr presence being re-established there. Shortly after re-entering the cluster, I Kinda Crash Alot attempted to intimidate Merc Dragon by blockading the outpost with the new Deathwing Variant Despoiler which is estimated to be about 20% larger than the original Empire design. Less than 24 hours later, UIS's intel network revealed the besieging ship's location which they shared with Nosajimiki enabling him to destroy it using a freshly built Ddraig.
Following this, MercDragon abandoned their old outpost in favor of a replica of the Asterion-class starbase built in a more favorable part of the galaxy.
From the time of the Red Uprising til present, Darkside forces on LvD have slowly regained some of their former strength resulting in numerous minor skirmishes. Particularly with We Have Cookies, the Dominion, and certain other minor factions.
On November 26th 2317, Joint operations with Trinova resulted in two major battles. The first was a proposed fleet battle between the light and a joint neutral/darkside fleet.
In the first battle, Non, BigDude, and Destroyer of Worlds engaged a joint force consisting of Nosajimiki, Gantry, Squiggles, and Lighspeed. Although the total dark/neutral forces actually out massed the light (aprox 2:1), they failed to attack as a united force. Non arrived first with a single battleship that was quickly destroyed before any reinforcements could arrive. BigDude arrived very shortly thereafter with a Molach and a fleet of drones. He retreated almost instantly realizing that his ally had already been defeated. Destroyer of Worlds who was struggling with lag caused by his massive drone fleet (totaling well over 1m mass) did not arrive until after the battle was over and all of the player flown ships already left the battlefield catching nothing but a single squadron of Komoto fighters. Debris fields also suggest the dark deployed and lost at least one Crystal Entity-class spaghetti ship. Destroyer of Worlds later confirmed that the MercDragon fighters were nearly killed it, and that he had to pull it back in destroy the fighters with a larger more traditional force.
Later that day, Destroyer of Worlds attempted to redeploy his drone fleet by trying to lure Lightspeed into reinforcing an allied base; however, the trap also drew out Nosajimiki and Flying Debris of Trinova for a total ship mass of about 850k. The second battlefield became so unstable due to LAG that both fleets were forced to withdraw with only minor damage being sustained by either side.
On Dec 6, 2317, A MercDragon lead ambush at the Light Colony in the LvD cluster would result in the destruction of a Vaygr Deathwing Deathstalker. Despite the destruction of the Vaygr vessel, MercDragon leadership expressed disappointment in the result of the ambush since its goal had be to draw out the heavier darkside capital ships that had been performing active operations that day.
On Dec 7, 2317, Lightspeed piloting an Ananiel and Inquisitor in a Seraphim of Merc Dragon respond to darkside aggression. Their combined efforts destroyed an enemy Astaroth and Moloch; however, the arrival of 3 additional darkside ships led to the destruction of the Seraphim. Then outnumbered 3-1 Lightspeed was forced into retreat resulting in a pyrrhic victory for joint darkside forces.
On Dec 15-17, 2317 MercDragon begins attacks against the Potestas Empire in response to a military contract signed on behalf of their enemies. The Merc Dragon offensive results in the elimination of many Potestas drones, an 80k ship of unknown classification, the genocide of multiple colonized worlds, and the assassination of one of Potestas's officers. Despite these afronts against their holdings, Potestas refused to commit any major military assets to defend themselves.
On Dec 17, 2317 Merc Dragon engages a number of the Dark's lesser factions destroying 1 50k mass claim station, multiple clam worlds, dozens of drones, and a Moloch named the SNS Big.
On Dec.19, 2317 After a 5 hour siege against allied faction: StarFleet, MercDragon responds by deploying a single Scylla destroying the joint darkside blockade left by Fighting Shells and Dominion. The blockade consisted of several dozen light fighters and a Moloch named NaStral.
On Dec.29,2317 MercDragons received a distress signal from the Phantomhive that was being sieged at the moment. Commander Lightspeed was dispatched to reinforce the beligered CielTheKitten. Piloting the MDS-Randgriz [Ananiel-Class], he was able to destroy the blockading pilot SVT13 in a single volley
Later that day, Nosajimiki assaulted Dominion territory killing BigDude while he was out in a heavily burdened mining ship. LoneBlueWolf of Litho Union attempted to reinforce the Dominion with a fleet of Hornfel MK4 drones (total mass of ~96k), but the entire drone fleet was quickly dispatched.
On December 31,2317, wargames were held at the LvD cluster. Out of the 5 battles, the MercDragon design nicknamed Prismatic Skink was able to win three out of the four times that it was deployed at the command of Lightspeed.  In the end, it took multiple enemy ships engaging it at close range in a locked sector to take the ship out.  The ship proved to be so resilient that one of the other combatants, Non , accused it of using hidden "spaghetti" technology which was officially banned in the rules; however, side-by-side screenshots of the Non's and MercDragon's ships proved that Non's ship was in-fact far more spaghetti like.  MercDragon's official response to the accusations were that the Skink utilised a number other little known semi-exploitative & hard-counter technologies which together gave the ship near spaghetti like endurance. As such, the event organisation staff did not agree with accusations of it being against the rules.  
===2018===
On January 8th, 2318 a force consisting of 2 Merc Dragon ships (an Ananiel and a Scylla) and one Trinovan McKinley, prepared to engage large scale battle vs a joint Darkside force comprised of 3 Baals.  Timeh of Infinite Legion attacked ahead of the other darkside forces before the Scylla could rendezvous with the other ships; however, LAG effect of jumping directly to the engagement zone was devastating.  The result was that Timeh's Baal was destroyed before it could finish the reality integration process following his jump.  The Scylla arrived shortly thereafter and the remaining two Baals fled before attempting to engage.
On January 16th, 2318 Valana of the Dark faction Citadel Challenged MercDragon to a duel between his Svalinn-class battleship and MercDragon's Scylla. Both ships were of approximately 500k mass. The Svalinn was destroyed and its pilot killed. The Scylla's shields stayed above 70% for the entire duration of the battle.
The January 20th, 2318 update sparked an unprecedented era of peace in the Outlands where nearly every major faction simultaneously evaporated from existence. MercDragon remains one of the only major factions to continue any level of activity; however, their total presence has been drastically reduced and their normal focus on military technology has withered back to their pre-imperial era levels. Most of their new efforts have been focused on improving civilian infrastructures and aiding galactic authorities in repairing the massive desolation that ensued from this event.
In May of 2318, as the dark ages caused by the January update continues, the MercDragon's intelligence network begins reporting an escalation in aggression from The Grand United Holy Intergalactic Dovanic Neo-Romanic Imperial Ordained-Confederation and its liberated Ducal Realms... which MercDragon promptly decided that they will henceforth refer to as the Dovan Alliance.  Continued observation of events reveals that the dark ages have caused these once idealistic factions to degrade into a theocratic monarchy who worship the God Emperor Mirack, and lead an inquisition against all other religions.  Seeing an opportunity for defence contracts, MercDragon begins to re-establishes themselves in Briere.
On May 20-23, 2318, The Dovan Alliance demands compensation from MercDragon for its involvement with its previous military contract against the member state, the Potestas Empire.  Nosajimiki contests that Dovan leadership failed to inform MercDragon of Potestas's allegiance when he first inquired about them in shared channels.  Having come to an impasse, The Dovan Alliance and MercDragon political tensions quickly escalate resulting in a cold war of espionage and assassinations.
On May 25, 2318, Nosajimiki attacked Lord Latterous in Potestas space. Both ships take moderate damage before LAG becomes so heavy between the ships that battle is forced to end in a stalemate.
On August 15, 2018, Nosajimiki attacks Moose Herd to test out the new DawnBreaker-class warship. Their mining colony and the small fleet of defense frigates guarding their home system are destroyed.
Category:Factions