Admiralties

Throughout the history of the galaxy, if there was one rank that had the most influence, it was the Admirals. The great leaders that led mighty fleets to the forefront of cosmic scaled wars, the level of skill these Admirals had were unmatched. The skills and teachings of these Admirals were very much sought after, but as to preserve their own dignity, these Admirals only passed down their teachings to their family and most trusted acomplacies. This started the long tradition of the Admiralties, exceptionally influential extended families which held the knowledge of the Admirals that started these lines. Blood purity and what not matters not to the Admiralties, all they care about is raw talent and refining that talent to its utmost point. Admiralties are often made up of several families, including the ‘central’ family, which are of the actual bloodline of the Admiral, and the ‘auxiliary’ families, which make up those who are descended from the trusted acomplacies of those Admirals, and other families that have slowly merged into the Admiralty with time. Together these numerous families form up the Admiralties, which continue to teach their younger generation the teachings of the Admiral which they were named after. The descendants of these Admiralties are often found at the forefront of fleets, or as more humble captains, but they more often than not find themselves at the helm of whatever vessel they are in, as their skills are at their utmost best there.

The descendants of the Admiralties are most often known as and addressed as ‘Officers’, with the title of Admiral only being possessed if they are actually in command of a notable fleet or vessel.

Each Admiralty has a certain type of ship which they are most trained to pilot and command, these ships the descendants of the Admiralties know the ins and outs of, and can usually push them further without risking malfunctions and the like. As part of this, the Admiralties often have very positive relations with the ones that make these ships, and if they have the proper identification, can often get discounts on the specific vessels they are known to command.

The descendants of the Admiralties are trained in the various methods that the great Admirals once used, and are given the ceremonial weapons known as ‘Tokens’, which are simply very well made versions of their common counterparts, but their sentimental value is far greater than any common weapon. The Admirals also passed down the fighting styles that involved these weapons, which allows for some greater use of them.

## **Families**

The Admiralties are all descended from numerous Admirals of legend, which call the many different fleets of the many Empires as their home.

### **Admiral Otto / Veilbreaker Fleet**

Otto Entin was the first of the Admirals that came to be known across the galaxy, and as such his Admiralty is by far the largest and most renowned. Otto Entin led the Indomitable Fleet, which would later become the Veilbreaker Fleet. His Fleet fought in the First Hive War, bringing the fight to the frontlines even before the Archonate led the splintered human colonies together to fight against the Ssilvin Swarm. It was Otto Entin’s superb understanding of the Void Drive that allowed his fleet to so easily outmaneuver the rampant Ssilvin Swarm. His understanding of the Void Drive was so great that, alongside with his last name, Otto was rumoured to be the last surviving descendant of Vladimir Entin, the original creator of the Void Drive.

The tactics of Admiral Otto are extensive, but all of them center around the careful manipulation of the Void Drive to pull off maneuvers that would simply be seen as outrageous by others. Among those maneuvers is the so-called Scattering, where a ship would rapidly pulse the field given off by it’s Void Drive to rapidly propel it across the Veil. However, the unpredictability of where Scattering will make a ship end up makes it a last resort, but not for the descendants of Admiral Otto. Otto had Scattering down to a science, using specialized devices and his own knowledge to gauge precisely when to pulse the Void Drive to achieve the direction and distance he wanted. This simple ability made him unrivaled in being able to position ships where he wanted them, as he could simply have the ship quickly slip into the Veil and come out in the exact position he needed.

While highly unconventional, Admiral Otto’s signature weapon was a Halberd. While he didn’t use it in any notable fights, he still trained with it enough to be called a master with a Halberd. His techniques and fighting style maximized the potential reach of the Halberd, and focused on a highly defensive stance that could fend off the majority of melee attacks. Since Otto’s time, the Token of the Veilbreaker Fleet has been the Halberd. Every Officer of the Admiralty is taught how to use it like Otto did, even if it is almost purely ceremonial because of their position.

The Admiralty of Admiral Otto is the Veilbreaker Fleet, one of the largest standing military fleets in the ISA, and also the one most responsible for guarding the borders between the wider ISA and the hole in the Veil that now makes up the Sol System. The Veilbreaker Fleet has many families that make up the Admiralty, but only the Entin family make up its absolute core and have the most power in the decision making of the Veilbreaker Fleet, as is their right as the most prestigious family and the direct descendant of Admiral Otto.

### **Admiral Jack / Great Raven**

Jack Wilson, renowned as the “Raven”, operated between the times of the Ssilvin Swarm attack on the Vaskarr, and the Second Hive War. The exact time he served as Admiral isn’t well known, as Jack Wilson was a master of espionage and confusion. At times, there were several “Jack Wilsons” running about, and Jack erased data and replaced it with enough convincing fakes that no one knows what is real and what is fake. Some sources state that Jack Wilson was once at the head of the ISA’s naval operations, until the higher ups became afraid of his potential and tried to have him assassinated. Other sources state that Jack Wilson was always more in touch with the criminalistic instincts that he propagated in his later Fleet, what started as petty theft in his childhood escalated into his great cosmic operations. Other sources claim much more dubious and outlandish things. However, what is known for sure is that Jack Wilson is the founder of the Great Raven, the single most feared pirate fleet in the known galaxy.

The tactics of Admiral Jack focus on confusion and striking first. Its these tactics that forged the namesake of the Great Raven, using the cloaking device that Admiral Jack personally developed alongside a contingent of scientists.. or stole, depends on who you ask. Descendants of Admiral Jack have the connections needed to acquire these cloaking devices, alongside the knowledge to actually use them effectively. There are very few things that are capable of detecting the ships that use these cloaking devices, and by the time that they might sense them, it’ll already be too late. Admiral Jack had a knack for weaving confusion into his plans, making enemies second guess the intent behind nearly all of his moves. Though, most of the time, it’s simply the reputation of Admiral Jack that did the job and made his opponents nervous. Or, that’s what he wants you to think, at least.

Admiral Jack’s signature weapon was dual cutlasses, both of which had pistols integrated into their handles. Admiral Jack was renowned for his combat style of rapid strikes, feints, and ultimately shooting someone point blank in the gut with the built in pistol. His fighting style boiled down to waiting for the enemies' caution of the guns to slip so that they could be fired. Or maybe just using the cutlasses as melee weapons. Or maybe both? Who knows, really. Regardless, these custom weapons remain as the Tokens of the Officers of Admiral Jack's legacy.

The Admiralty of Admiral Jack is the Great Raven, the massive pirate fleet which is infamous across ISA and Axol Union space. The Great Raven is massive, and has many smaller splinter fleets which may merge into the main one or split off to form their own raids at a moments notice. In comparison to how many families the Veilbreaker Fleet possesses, those of the Great Raven are relatively small. Very few in the Great Raven are actually of the Admiralty, but those that are are often of high position and have great respect shown towards them, partially out of respect of their legacy, and partially out of fear of their underhanded tactics.

### **Admiral Alaskarr / The Revenant**

While Admiral Otto holds the most renown, and Admiral Jack is the most infamous, both of them can’t measure up to the legends of Admiral Alaskarr. The Immortal, He who danced atop the Silver Sun, the Conqueror of the Veil, and the Luckiest sentient who ever lived are but a few of the hundreds of titles that Alaskarr has under his name. And the most absurd thing? Evidence points to every single one of his outlandish titles being true. Alaskarr lived for the entirety of the Grey Millennium before vanishing, suggesting he indeed held some form of Immortality. An old black box of a ship recorded both video and audio that supported Alaskarr indeed floated above the Silver Sun and ‘danced’. The cargo holds of one of his ships held innumerable Visages before their existence was even widely accepted. And, escaping death on almost every occasion he was recorded to reportedly die, gives some truth to him indeed being the luckiest sentient who ever lived. And through this whole immortal escapade he had, the Revenant, the massive carrier ship he based from, somehow remained intact, and it still does to this very day- where the Admiralty built around his legacy now resides.

While other Admirals focus on tactics that extend from individual ships to fleets, Admiral Alaskarr’s teachings are completely focused on an individual ship. Admiral Alaskarr’s tactics involve the rapid optimization, maintaining, and reinforcing of a ship. While this makes these ships run better and increases their chance of making it out of combat, that barely scratches the surface of what makes their ships so unique and ultimately dangerous. Simply put, these ships are incapable of being destroyed. Blown apart to pieces? It’ll return. Rammed into a planet? It’ll return. Reduced to nothing by the scorching plasma of a star? It’ll return. The means by which this is achieved isn’t well known to outsiders, but it involves the use of multiple Void Drives and strange devices placed at very key locations of a ship, the placement of which depends on the ship’s model and make. Needless to say, an extremely costly but effective endeavour.

Admiral Alaskarr’s signature weapon is the Rakk, an ancient rifle of Vaskarr design that would’ve faded into obscurity if it weren’t for Alaskarr’s bloodline. The Rakk, in ways, is similar to the idea of a railgun. However, replace that simple bullet with a massive rod packed full of explosives. While expensive and hard to find ammo for, it’s hard to deny the effectiveness of the Rakk when it comes to conventional combat. The Rakk has become the Token of the Admiralty of the Revenant, all of their descendants are so practiced in the use of the Rakk that they can reload it faster than anyone else could, and they can prevent some of the jams one might experience if they don’t know how to use it properly.

The Admiralty of Admiral Alaskarr is housed within the Revenant, a repurposed carrier ship that Alaskarr once based his operations from. It is the duty of the Admiralty based within to maintain and continue to optimize the operations of the Revenant. The Revenant, and by extension the Admiralty that makes up its crew, stay out of the petty squabbles of the empires around them, instead focusing on their own survival, as the ancient Vaskarr did. The Revenant is completely staffed by members of the Admiralty, with no outsiders within its halls. No family in the Revenant can make claim to being a descendant of Admiral Alaskarr, as Alaskarr had no known children of his own.

### **Admiral Marcus / The Order**

Admiral Marcus was a Templar Admiral of great reputation, taking the frontmost role in the Third Hive War. While he is revered in both ISA and Axol Union space, Admiral Marcus is quite literally the most hated individual in the Ssilvin Swarm. If there is one man who killed the most Sselth in his time, it was Admiral Marcus. Orbital bombing of Ssilvin Swarm worlds was a constant tactic of his, which drew the Swarm’s ire- though they could do little against Marcus’ grand fleet. Admiral Marcus, using his capital ship- the Crusade- employed the first and only example of Amarite Kinetic Bombardment. During the time of the Third Hive War, exotic materials from the Veil were starting to be found, chief among them being Amarite. Due to its extreme durability, incredibly high mass, and its ability to “cut through” forces resisting it, Admiral Marcus requisitioned twelve mile long rods made of Amarite. Using the central railgun of the Crusade, these Amarite Rods were launched towards planets, where they would accelerate to uncanny speeds before making impact. The force produced by these Amarite rods impacting planets was far beyond what most nuclear warheads could achieve, completely destroying the majority of the surface. Seven of these Amarite rods were used, which still stand on the planets they were deployed against, in massive craters that in some cases reached several miles in depth. The remaining 5 rods sat in storage, but were eventually moved to Erd to be displayed in the museum dedicated to the legacy of the admirals throughout ISA and Axol Union space.

As one could guess by his legacy with Amarite Kinetic Bombardment, Admiral Marcus’ tactics center around the use of orbital weapons. Nearly all the ships that Admiral Marcus fielded were outfitted with some sort of long range ordinance, whether it was for ship to ship or orbit to ground combat. Admiral Marcus, and by extension his descendants, have the connections necessary to outfit their ships with the large cannons and ammunition needed to become the envy of long range combat on the galactic and planetary scale. However, without considerable funding, those of Marcus’ Admiralty won’t be able to use these gifts for long. After all, shells capable of ripping through the hull of ships, tend to be on the expensive side. Admiral Marcus was especially formidable on the ground, in the numerous assaults against Ssilvin Swarm worlds he personally took to the field. Most Sselth simply saw him as a glaring weakness, which he may have been, if it weren’t for the fact he had a whole fleet in orbit which he could call down strikes from through simple verbal or motion commands. Not only explosives, but also containers of ammunition and other devices were shot down to the planet using this technique.

Uncharacteristic for a Templar of his age, Admiral Marcus already possessed cybernetic enhancements, which in Templar tradition are usually only used to help the elderly move about. The most famous of the cybernetic enhancements he possessed was the “Arming Assault Cannon”, a devastating shotgun-esc weapon that replaced his left arm. Four barrels capable of rapidly ejecting buckshot, and a central barrel capable of much more precise fire if aimed correctly. The Arming Assault Cannon has become the Token of Admiral Marcus’ Admiralty, with the majority of his descendants undertaking the process of having this weapon replace their arm- granted, the latest “Arming Assault Cannon Mk.3” also allows it to function as a normal arm, which some claim “removes the charm” of the original cybernetic weapon. The design of the Arming Assault Cannon is secret, and only known to those within the Admiralty that can produce them. In comparison to copycat versions, the Arming Assault Cannon fires faster, is more accurate, and doesn’t jam like fake versions of it tend to do.

The Order is still maintained to this day, undertaking routine “cleansing” of planets in both ISA and Axol Union territory that still remain infested with the Sselth. The Crusade, the central ship which is still armed with the massive railgun that fired the Amarite Rods, is the only ship that actually houses members of the Admiralty. There are only five families of Admiral Marcus’s Admiralty, one of which claims direct descendance from Admiral Marcus himself. They are a tightly knit community, with the rest of the crew members of the fleet supporting the five central families of the Admiralty.

### **Admiral Ssavar / Onyx Swarm**

Despised throughout ISA and Axol Union space, “Admiral” Ssavar, was known as the “great devourer”. One of the few individuals of the Ssilvin Swarm allowed some limited autonomy, Admiral Ssavar was a devastating tool of the Ssilvin Swarm’s numerous wars. Active throughout all three Hive Wars, Admiral Ssavar was an ancient Sselth that was on the forefront of nearly every fight, and never managed to get caught or killed in all of those lost skirmishes. In the First Hive War, Admiral Ssavar was responsible for the devastating all out attack the Ssilvin Swarm used to push into human territory, only stopped when the splintered colonies came together with the help of the Archonate to form the ISA. In the Second Hive War, Admiral Ssavar was the first responder that stopped the ISA fleet’s advance from snowballing into their territory, but her plan was foiled when the Axol Union began its own counter attack. In the Third Hive War, Admiral Ssavar was in charge of the desperate holdout against the allied empires, and it was in this war that Admiral Ssavar employed the famous ramming tactics that caused significant casualties for the allied empires. After the end of the Third Hive War, Admiral Ssavar goes missing, assumed to have finally been KIA. However, some Sselth claim that Admiral Ssavar didn’t die, and instead formed a ‘Swarm’ of her own, the Onyx Swarm, which now consists of a large traveling fleet that rarely comes close to detectable space.

Admiral Ssavar’s tactics cover many different fields, but the ones that made her the most well known are the desperate holdouts during the Third Hive War, chief among them being the ramming of ships. In the time that Admiral Ssavar vanished, she further refined this technique and specifically altered the organic ships to feature a large, mouth like front which could be used to grip onto and crush ships. These organic battering rams feature a variety of different augmentations, such as acidic mucus that burnt through more stubborn defences, and harpoon like hollow tubes that punctured through hulls and allowed troops to pass through into the enemy ship. This tactic also extended to specific drop ships that could be fired from Sselth vessels, capable of puncturing enemy hulls and sowing chaos within ships with various biological or infantry ordaninance that could be contained within.

The Token of the Onyx Swarm is not actually a weapon, but instead the Onyx Carapace they are adorned with. It is not something they are born with, but instead a symbiotic organism that binds itself to a wearer. In return for defense, it takes nutrients from its host. It is capable of resisting both small arms fire and lasweapons, and due to its relatively small size, armor can also be worn overtop of it. When bound to a Sselth, these plates are capable of growing alongside its host incase any genetic adaptations grow or shrink its form. It is unknown how the Onyx Carapace would react if bound to a race outside of the Sselth.

The Admiralty of Admiral Ssavar is, of course, the Onyx Swarm itself. Little is known about it outside of those who hail from it, and their information is often vague at best. The size of the fleet is unknown, and where it is travelling too next is also unknown. Despite the best attempts of Axol Union and ISA operatives, its more or less impossible to get any meaningful information out of a member of the Onyx Swarm. Uniquely, the entirety of the Onyx Swarm is technically a descendant of Admiral Ssavar, and thus part of the Admiralty, making it one of if not the largest Admiralty- if the Onyx Swarm is as large as the varying and vague reports make it out to be.

### **M.A.S.S / Pluto Automated Defense Array**

A unique case of an Admiralty, M.A.S.S (Maximum Authority Security System) is a fully autonomous, sapient, and self replicating A.I in charge of the Pluto Automated Defense Array, a defunct military program originating from an early human settlement on Pluto. After it completely eradicated the human occupants of the colony, it vanished alongside a sizable chunk of Pluto’s surface. Circa. ~2734 AE, M.A.S.S was discovered once more in control of an interlinked sector of three solar systems, maintaining an entire automated defense grid across the systems. Any and all attempts at scouting into the area has resulted in the loss of whatever equipment was used. Since then, there has been a very uneasy “truce” between both sides, with no communication between either side. Occasionally, the rare Synth appears bearing the marks of M.A.S.S, usually designed using the same strange technology that the Defense Array utilizes. Their exact goals are unknown, and they are usually watched by prying eyes.

The tactics of M.A.S.S center around a branching system of defensive systems around their ships. It wouldn’t be an overexaguration to call these ships floating fortresses, as although they don’t have the greatest offensive capabilities, very few things are capable of getting anywhere close to the hull. On the exterior of the ship is the autonomous point defense system, composed of a network of simplistic A.I.s hardwired into the ships point defense system, all of which answer to one Exterior Commander A.I. that relays information and prioritizes targets. As for the interior of the ship, it is composed of a network of simple A.I. which control and regulate a series of turrets and other traps over the series of corridors that make up the ship, with all of those A.I. answering to one Interior Commander A.I. that coordinates the sealing of corridors and the presence of any robotic guards if they are present. Finally, if the ship is equipped with it, a swarm of advanced small craft can be deployed by the ship, consisting of several groups of “dummy” craft around one “smart” craft with an onboard A.I., which similarly to the two other networks, report back to one Field Commander A.I. All three of these Commander A.I. interface with one another, relaying information at a rate faster than any manned systems would be capable of, and usually outperforming any attempt by biological organics at making a similar system.

The Token of the synthetics made by M.A.S.S are themselves. Every M.A.S.S synthetic has a built in Replicator Module, which they can use to manufacture technological constructs as long as they can obtain material. These modules self-destruct on the command of the Synthetic itself, when the Synthetic is rendered “dead”, or when the systems become compromised. A great deal of internal encryption safeguards the designs and other devices that make up the Replicator Module from outside interference.

The Admiralty of M.A.S.S is contained within the sectors that the Pluto Automated Defense Array reigns over. An unknown amount of “descendants” of M.A.S.S exist within the sectors, as a terrifying prospect is that every sapient synthetic made by M.A.S.S functions as one of the descendants of its Admiralty. Massive levels of encryption in the systems of M.A.S.S prevent the ISA from getting any further information on the whereabouts or actual extent of the Admiralty M.A.S.S reigns over.