Nine hundred years in the future, mankind has spread to the stars, using the revolutionary technology of the Stellar Gateways. The gateways were discovered by the first humans to leave their home solar system, the closest one lying dormant and unpowered for ages unknown. Even to this day, no one knows who built them and how many exist or just where most of them lead to. This lack of knowledge often led to colonization expeditions ending up in the wrong place.
Three hundred years after the gateways were found, a massive colonization fleet was lunched for the newly discovered Dakota galaxy, were only a small military outpost was guarding the gateway. They never arrived. For some reason, the fleet emerged from the gateway into an uncharted galaxy and scattered in the confusion. For the next hundred years, the settlers slow built up societies on nearly a score of planets, in a dozen solar systems and began to reestablish communications. The gateway back to known space and the homeplanet could never be reopened, no matter what was tried.
As the years progressed more planets, in the freshly named Nova galaxy, were settled and new planetary nations arose. As within all human history, petty squabbles divided the various factions and drove wedges better them for ages to pass. Now, as the great game of politics was being played, research grants were being signed without even reading what they were for.
With this lost branch of humanity, the science community was pushing forwards in all things. One of the major research projects being worked out was gene manipulation (or gene tampering by some) and from this research came the Animorphs. Using the DNA of the various Terran animals that had been brought with the original colonists and combining it with human DNA, researchers were able to create new beings.
The first generations of Animorphs were of low intelligence and failing health. Over the years, the scientists and researchers slowly were able to increase their brain capacity and fix health problems. By the time of stability of the new race, several breeds had emerged as the most common, including: caninemorphs, felinemorphs, mustelidmorphs and leporidmorphs.
Of course, as soon as the new race was ready to join humanity, they were turned into a subservile class to all humans and taken advantage of by corporations, despite the protests of several persons that work on creating them. The Animorphs were furthered divided into three classes, depending on what function they were designed to do. In the recent pass, many nations have been pressured into giving them more rights and protection under their laws.
Standard: the basic design of Animorphs, being human sized, as average intelligence and strength. The only thing they have over a human is sense of smell or maybe night vision. They are used in everyday tasks and are found in mercenary companies.
Heavy: Lower then average intelligence with very large bodies, great strength and stamina. They are used for heavy labor or intensive farming and colony prep.
Exotic: As the name implies, these Animorphs are designed with pleasure in mind. They are further divided into two sub classes. Standard: standard exotics are basically standard Animorphs with their sex drive tinkered with and put into overdrive. Custom: Custom Exotics come in a range of size and intelligence, depending on who is placing the order. Various features are “upgraded” based on the order, ranging from extra long and controllable tongues to extra large sexual organs to (on females) permanent lactation or add ons.
Mercenary companies, which had popped up and proved to be a booming business due to the wars that always seem to pop up, were among the first to invest in Animorphs, using them as a source of cheap manpower and the fact that they were easier to train for combat then most humans. Of course, many nations had a great fear of armed servants (more slaves). To relive these fear, all officers from Sergeants up, had to be human or the company would be dissolved and it’s leaders arrested.
Animorphs are either breed on large “farms” or created in the hidden labs of the Nova Life Company. Standards, Heavies and Standard Exotics can be farm raised but they had plenty of secreted labs making Custom Exotics, which is a booming business.
Now the creation of a new race was not the only thing to come from gene research. Scientists and doctors also developed several methods to alter the DNA of a developing fetus, to improve strength or keep them from having hair loss later on in the child’s future. Such people are often referred to as Gens. Of course, such procedures are expensive and only get more so with each feature one wants their child to have. More then two alterations are uncommon, almost rare.
A far more cheaper option for those needing to or wanting to up grade their bodies is biomechanical implants and limbs. Implants can run of the natural energy found in a human body but limbs require small power cells to make them move and perform like a real flesh and blood attachment. It has been tried to attach weapons or jets to biomechanical limbs before but all attempts have ending in explosive failure or been just to bulky and unwieldy to ever work outside a lab. A few simple weapons have been attached though, all being a type of extendable blades.
Over the last century, growing movements have caused even great chaos among the torn stars. Political parties spanning across words arose, to shake these new powers effecting mankind. The greatest three were; Humanity Above, The Untainted and Purely Human, with most of the others being braches from them.
Humanity Above mission is to keep the Animorpths firmly under the heel of mankind. They feel that any rights or liberties granted to them by a government are an affront to humans as a whole and nearly a blasphemy against whatever creator one believes in. Some of their views are shared with Purely Human, in the fact that Purely Human is also against Antimorph rights or existing at all.
Purely Human’s beef is mostly with biomechanical enhanced humans. They feel that adding machine parts to one’s body is dehumanizing the population. A big fear is that the different governments will use the DataNet to control the gearheads or that the reverse will happen and the biomechanical enhanced will control everything.
Both groups have ties into The Untainted. This radical and racist political group hates, fears and mistrusts anyone who is not one hundred percent pure and unmessed around human. They were among the first to openly attack Antimorphs and the government officials that supported them.
Okay, this role play will focus on a force of mercenaries, who while out in space, learn that their company has been destroyed. What should they do? Complete the mission to build their collapsed company a new, fully operational base and find new employment or start a brand new company? First a little information about their old company, weapons and then profile sheets.
The Kinglington Protection Agency was a small outfit, as mercenary companies go, only being able to field a small army at any one point in time and only one base, that was found on the small planet of Haven. Most of their money was put into buying a small fleet of space ships, to save money by not having to pay a transport company to move their forces around to each deployment. Another money sucker that force the company to stay small was their exotic program.
Like almost all other mercenary companies, the KPA had a large number of exotics to keep their troops happy and healthy. This on it own was not consuming much of the company’s funds. The real money eater was their program to make custom exotics to be used in battle with biomechanical implants to control the harmonies into two modes. The first was combat mode and the implants would keep the exotic in the same state of a standard. The second stage allowed the exotic to function like an exotic should.
Like most of the planetary militaries and mercenary companies, the troops of the KPA are armed with semi-automatic, laser rifles and side arms. The same power cells that run biomechanical limbs power these weapons and could be used interchangeable.
The only fully automatic weapon systems based off the laser rifle can be found in the hands of heavy weapons teams or mounted on vehicles. Each heavy weapons teams is made of five soldiers: an officer, two gunners, two troopers and a trooper armed with an RPG. Each gunner carry a heavy laser and troopers are armed a carbine version of the laser rifle. Both them and the gunners carry backpack-sized powerpacks for the heavy laser.
The other place automatic laser weapons are found are on ground vehicles and space ships. While tanks have been set by the wayside (mostly because of their weight) the lighter APCs are in their golden age. Being easier to transport then tanks, they are the favorite of mercenary companies, who form the bulk of most militaries. Space going vessels are also armed with batteries of automatic lasers but they are mostly used for clearing a landing zone not space combat. Missiles and missile countermeasures are played as the space weapons of choice and most space ships have batteries of both.
Character Sheet
Name:
Age:
Race: (Human or Animorph)
Type: (Gen, Bioenhanced, Normal, Standard, Heavy or Exotic)
Appearance:
Rank:
Call Sign:
Bio:
Other:
Mine
Name: Alex Drake
Age: 36
Race: Human
Type: Gen
Appearance: Lean but muscled, Alex is tall, somewhere around 6 feet, nine inches tall, maybe taller. His frame is normally covered in the standard uniform of the KPA, Black pants, olive green tee shirt, combat boots and olive green military blouse when on a mission.
Rank: Captain
Call Sign: Dragon
Bio: When his parents wanted to have a child, they went to Future Children INC and had them modify an egg and some sperm in the lab. His father’s side of the family was prone to having Cardiovascular disease and Diabetes mellitus and he was determined to keep his children from having the troubles they bring. His father also broke the bank, paying for his child to be very tall.
Over the years, his medical files have gotten Alex kicked out of schools and fired from jobs. Giving up on having a “normal” job, he joined KPA at 26, serving as a sergeant for one year before getting promoted. After his platoon got cut off from the main force on the planet Camelot, he lead them behind enemy lines and to hold a position on a road that block enemy reinforcements, which allowed the KPA forces to crush an early The Untainted revolt. For this action, he was promoted again, to captain.
Known for his loyalty, Alex was chosen to head the company of KPA troops send to guard and set up a second base on the rim world of Mjolnir
Other: he happens to be addicted to Carlia, a tobacco like plant that’s five times more addicting. While not illegal or cancer causing, its effects differ from person to person and it has been know to cause sever allergic reactions in some.
I envisioned the laser rifles somewhat like this:
and the pistols like this(with out hammer) :
=< hisssssss lol
