Idans

> *'They are like an entire civilization of Zuckerbergs'*, *General Wilson*
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The **Nibelungen**, or **Idans**, nicknamed '**Little Greys**' by Earth humans in the XXth Century, are a Lactean civilization born on the misty planet Nidavellir, orbiting the giant blue star Ida. They are locked in a cold war with the Eldenheim since the Diluvian Wars and use several civilizations, including Earth, in a proxy war to achieve their goals. Despite several treaties with the Black Cabinet and the personnal bonds between several earthling and nibelungen diplomats since the mid 1950s, the collective have its own agenda and don't consider Mankind more than cattle.

## History

They were one of the three superpowers by 18000 B.C. along with Eldenheim and Numer, with whom they eventually allied under the common threat of the Eldenheim, and after a long diplomactic relation strained by border conflicts between Numer and Idan over the Zeta Reticuli binary system.

At the end of the Numer-Eldenheim War howeever, Idans negociated a separate truce with Eldenheim and abandonned their former allies in exchange for keeping their technological progress and a few of their core systems, while Numer as a civilization was destroyed and its surviving colonies brought back to Neolithic level.

## Technology

### Cloning technology

Thanks to transhuman cybernetics and bio-engineering, including cortical piles (of extremely advance microship crafting) capable of downloading their consciousness, they can live up to three thousand years. There biological reproduction is so limited that the last biologically reproduction occurred around 1,500 years before the XXIst century. Their virtual immortality kept the population to a steady number (around 126 millions) for more than twenty thousand years.

They also study human DNA in order to create more advanced hybrid clone bodies, kidnapping humans on several planets, including Earth.

### Military technology

Their directed energy weaponry, stealth, cloning and gravity-manipulation technology is more advanced than any other civilization in the Milkly Way including the rival power of Eldenheim, but their population, territory and fleet size is insignificant in comparison. The negociated peace treaty with the Eldenheim includes the demilitarization of the Nibelungen systems. By the Vth Century around, they managed to negociate a "self-defense" level defense fleet. Their warships are often requalified under different classifications. Overall, a Nibelung warship is around 3 to 5 stronger as a vanir warship of similar displacement, but the self defense idan fleet count no more than 7,000 to 8,000 capital ships.

They owns several patents for civilian (in fusion reactors) and military grade materials including the strongest known alloys nicknamed "Neutronium" and created through the use of opposing artificial gravity fields.

### Computer technology

They also exhibit a very advanced microship technology and holds a monopoly over magnetic monopoles on the galactic market (occupying a position similar to TSMC and Taiwan in the real world) and making them a major player of the galactic community despite their limited territory and population.

### Aerospace

Their spaceship are usually aerodynamics looks, sleek and silver colored. They made extensive use of drones and exoskeletons (including personnal human-like powered suits). They master waverider spaceplanes, MHD and GHD propulsion.

## Diplomacy

At first locked in a cold war and a series of border skirmishes with the Numer Republic, the Idan Technocracy joined the collective security treaty of the League before the Eldenheim-Numer war, but left the alliance a few years before the Numerian's defeat.

After the war and throughout the Pax Galactica under Elden Hegemony, they were a member of the Galactic Society, an interplanetary sort of "UN". They monitored Earth long after the Fall of Numer and supported the secretly Numerian ruled Earth in a proxy war with the Vanir, hoping to negociate a better treaty with the eventual victors of such war.

They are also known to frequently engage in internal politics intervention to favour shadow leaders on Anthropian worlds where they have interests, and don't mind being venerated as gods when they presence is a matter of public record.

## Biology

* Average height : 100-120 cm
* Average weight : 20 kg
* Average lifespan : 3,000 years

## Idan Fleet

### "Roswell" or "Silver Manta" class waverider spaceplane

A class of two-seat stealth waverider spaceplane ; 8.544 m long

### "Fairbanks" class fast attack frigate

A class of fast attack stealth frigate with ODTS (omnidirectionnal thrust system) using it's four wing-mounted five-point secondary thrusters to manoeuver, and allowing him to turn on a 360° in less than 6 seconds or easily spin on itself to avoid DEWs and missiles ; 978 m long