So Obsidian Void is happening.
To be clear: Ascendency and Dominion are two separate, but similar mods. Instead of developing them separately, I decided to combine them into a single, multi-component mod. That mod is Obsidian Void. An early iteration of Dominion will make an appearance in the next release.
From now on, the topic's title will have two bits of information. (ASC: B3) - this denotes that the Ascendency component is in Beta 3 stage. (DOM: Indev) indicates that the Dominion component is in development, and hasn't been released as of yet.
For those who don't want to look at the front page:
Take control of the Lemurian Fleet as an immortal admiral, and fight against the Terran Dominion for your civilization's survival.
Dominion has not been released. This component of Obsidian Void is a work-in-progress.
It was an accident. A bad call, as some might say. When the Immortal Fleet Lord stared into the maw of the Nexus, she knew nothing of what was to come. Her fleet was ripped from the Large Magellanic Cloud, and then scattered throughout its parent galaxy: the Milky Way.
She was adrift in unknown waters. There was only one thing that could be done: find her fleet, and return home.
A task of impossible difficulty.
Within days, the nature of the Orion Arm was revealed to her: the Dominion reigned like a corrupt and hateful God, crushing those below for no other reason than simply possessing the means to do so. The Immortal found herself in the middle of one of the Dominion's many fiery purges: the extermination of the Rend, another offshoot of humanity.
Weeks passed. Alliances were formed. Ships were annihilated. Countless human lives were obliterated at the hands of a nuclear holocaust spanning many worlds.
When the Immortal found that the Dominion planned on invading the Large Magellanic Cloud, she faced a decision: either to strike hard with unyielding fury, or to escape through the Dominion's Nexus at full strength to warn her civilization of its imminent doom.
The Immortal, however, transcended her more common brethren. She did not see in black and white. She chose both options.
And she succeeded. She always succeeded.
The Dominion's manufacturing worlds were set ablaze. Population centers were set ablaze. Shipyards were set ablaze. Infrastructure was set ablaze.
She made the Dominion pay for their sins against their own kind.
But it came at a price: the destruction of almost every ship attempting to return home. The guaranteed extinction of the Rend subspecies. And an inevitable war that would leave a wake of catastrophe throughout the endless obsidian void.
The Dominion cannot die, for they are the apotheosis of mankind.Spoiler
RELAY: QCS-COMM RELAY X9921-A
RECIPIENT Q-ADDR: (VERIFIED: ISDF-SCOM)
SENDER Q-ADDR: (VERIFIED: LORD ISANOA KEL EIYNAN; KEIROM STATION)
CLASSIFICATION: IMPERIAL SECURITY PRIMARY
SUBJECT: DOMINION THREAT ANALYSIS
::Decrypt in progress.
::Decrypt complete. File reconstituted. Displaying.
Forgive me if this report is a bit less formal than you’re used to, but I’m pretty pressed for time over here, with, you know, an impending invasion and all that. I’ll keep this brief, and will task one of my surviving officers with creating the statistic-ridden version in time.
The entity known as the “Terran Dominion” is the largest threat the empire has ever faced. They are more advanced than us. They have more numbers than us. They have total unity. And they have one purpose: to expand their power.
Their internal politics are a mystery, even to the Rend. Commodore Ecamen told me as much as she could once our fleets unified. They have an elite ruling class: they’re human. Surprisingly like us, apparently. Though that’s just in appearance. I only saw one. The rest of their people are slaves, and really, it would be a kindness calling them “people.” Their soldiers and ship operators are augmented with an extensive amount of cybernetic equipment, giving them superior intellect, strength, and response times. But the most interesting cybernetic “enhancement” they receive is a self-contained computational unit in place of their head. Yes, I said “in place.” Their heads are removed and replaced with some creepy-as-hell triangular computer. Whatever shred of humanity they had is totally gone. It’s easy to see how the elite class holds control over them—their subjects are machines. They can’t revolt. So these elite use them to execute their will—which, as we witnessed with the Rend’s genocide, is to kill or enslave all opposition to them. After what we did to them in the Milky Way, and almost did to their homeworld… they no doubt see us as opposition.
Their spacecraft had may as well be invincible. In small numbers, they’re manageable, but their total number of ships is estimated to be in the tens of thousands. Sensor logs from the Fury detected at least nine hundred individual combat-capable spacecraft, and we had only visited a small fraction of their territory.
Dominion weaponry is mainly energy-based. Their ionic particle slugs dent the armor on impact, and then proceed to melt it away. Tungsten plates layered into our spacecraft’s armor is a must against these weapons. Fortunately the Fury had some. Most other ships did not.
As for Dominion defenses, the armor on their larger ships is at least seven or eight meters of layered metals. Internal hulls aren’t as difficult to get through, though. The only reason we were able to do well against them in combat was the Rend’s long-range beam weaponry—it would melt off the armor, and let our railguns and missiles hit deep. Recommend immediate reverse-engineering and salvage of Commodore Ecamen’s surviving vessel.
The best tactic I can recommend against Dominion ships is to simply stay as far away from them as possible. Their weaponry isn’t accurate at long ranges. Softening them up at a distance and then moving in for the kill is generally the best way to disable their ships.
Truly, though, I can’t stress enough how absolutely f--ked we are if they come through that Nexus with guns blazing, in full force. We need the Thiians. Anasi told me that he would do his best to convince the council to prepare for war. He could use the help. Even with them, I still don’t think the outcome is too promising. We either need some sort of superweapon that can give us an edge, or we need to start thinking of a mass exodus from our galaxy. I prefer the former. So tell IRD to get on it.
Also, I need a new ship. My list here shows that the next Cordelphia-class is almost completed at Hijtu. Paint it red. Name the ship “Retribution.” Crew it with the best and brightest. And then send it out here.
I hope my less-than-stellar reputation within the ISDF won’t lessen the impact of this message. Time to see if you’re really the best of the Defense Force, I guess.
Welcome to wartime, kiddies.
::Isanoa Kel Eiynan; Immortal Lord of the Fleet; IDN: ISDF-IL-01
::Message end.
::Self-deletion protocol enabled – 1 day
The Dominion component of Obsidian void takes place approximately 20 years after the Ascendancy War in the Eskel domain. There are four major players:
The Thiian Confederation:Thiiei was able to assume control of the Sovereign system through brute force, deception, convenient alliances, and careful diplomacy. Their victory in the Ascendancy War did not result in the brutal, totalitarian regime many expected. Instead, the four worlds were given a surprisingly large capacity to self-govern, and a ruling council was formed that consisted of officials from each former government. In the year following the war, contact was made with the Lemurian Empire--humans whose homeworld was several hundred light-years away. A strong relationship was built between the two over the next twenty years. Without a hint of animosity, the two powers are proud to call themselves allies.
The Lemurian Empire:The Empire has existed in one capacity or another for thousands of years. One political faction would rise up, take over the planet, and declare themselves the Lemurian Empire. The cycle continued until interstellar travel was perfected. At that point, the victors of the last planet-wide war held on to power for a long stretch of time. Only one major rebellion broke out as the Empire expanded outward. It was crushed. Lemurians, as a people, embrace the power of human reason. They prefer facts over emotions, experiences over simulations, and aren't afraid of their technology's rapid advancement. They live in a socialistic environment with an extremely strong government and military presence.
The Rend:The Rend are natural warriors, hailing from the Milky Way. With dark grey skin and green eyes, their powerful muscles and a frightening agility make them exceptionally fit for physical activity. The Rend, due to their aggressive nature, weren't fortunate enough to expand to the stars under a single government. Independent colonies struggled to survive, and those that did offered a life that mirrored hell. Through the centuries, though, they pulled through, and came out with an impressive population and a powerful combined space navy. It was about this time that they met the Dominion. All they could do was watch as their planets burned.
The Dominion:Coming from a planet called Earth deep in the Orion Spur of the Milky Way, the Dominion are a cybernetically corrupt offshoot of humanity. An elite ruling class presides over a population of literal drones, controlled by computers. With only the will of the elite coursing through the silicon pathways of the population, the Dominion was able to expand and advance themselves at an alarming rate. In 2472, the former Terran Union extended about sixty light-years. By 2821, the Dominion had expanded to almost three-hundred light years.