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Author Topic: The Kadur Remnant -- god rest the theocrats  (Read 14103 times)

Vayra

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The Kadur Remnant -- god rest the theocrats
« on: September 07, 2013, 05:00:27 AM »

Backstory notes for my Kadur Remnant faction mod.

Settlement of Kadur and Oasis (pre-c):

Spoiler
A colony of Domain settlers reaches the Mirage system, mostly originating from cultures in the Mediterranean and Central Asian areas of Old Earth. The desert planet Kadur is noted for high natural resource density, and a mining colony is quickly established on its surface. Drawn by the promise of Kadur's abundant resources, several shipbuilding corporations construct a series of orbital dockyards around it as a joint venture for mutual prosperity.

Oasis, originally a desert planet, is selected as a candidate for agricultural terraforming and transformed into a lush paradise of dense vegetation by Domain soil nanites. In an incredible gaffe by Domain settlement authorities, the settlers of Oasis are drawn from a culture historically opposed along religious lines to the mining colonists on Kadur.

Rising cultural tensions between settlers on Oasis and Kadur ensure the development of native military industries on each along with a rigid, militaristic and efficient culture heavily focused on communal defense and the continuation of religious traditions. Extremist groups gather members and political power, but peace born from mutual reliance on the other's resources remains between the agricultural colony and the mining settlement.

A detachment of Domain Colonial Security Forces is dispatched to the system, ostensibly to keep the uneasy relationship between the colonies on Kadur and Oasis
from flaring into open conflict. In reality, it is sent as much for that purpose as to keep the growing native defensive and military capabilities of both worlds in check.

The Domain CSF detachment establishes an orbital fortress circling Kadur, with integrated naval production and repair capabilities. Kadur settlers, aware of the true reasoning behind their presence, view this as an unwanted infringement on their territory. Oasis colonists are equally outraged, but see the placement of the orbital fortress as the Domain choosing sides against them. The peace remains, but political tensions strengthen between both factions and the Domain of Man.
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The Collapse (c+00):

Spoiler
The Collapse occurs. Both blaming their opposites and with increasingly extremist groups at the helm of each, the colonies of Kadur and Oasis attack each other.

A brief war is fought before the Domain CSF, panicked and cut off from their superiors to the collapse, quell it with brutal violence. Oasis leadership suffers exceptionally heavy losses, leaving their colony largely ungoverned. An insurgency movement against the Domain immediately begins on both worlds.

In an unprecedented move, insurgent groups on both colonies unite and successfully seize the orbital fortress over Kadur from the Domain. Surviving remnants surrender unconditionally. A new state is formed from representatives of both colonies, though a lack of surviving established politicians on Oasis means Kadur holds most of the power.

Before their capture, Domain workers in the naval production/maintenance facilities aboard the orbital fortress were able to destroy or jettison most factory control UACs. Left with only a few blueprints for light cruisers and various missile systems and electromagnetic projectile weapons, the Kadur immediately set to work on modifications re-purposing them for various tasks.

Seeking to capture the now incredibly valuable agri-world of Oasis, local warlords attack the system but are repulsed by the new newly christened United Kadur Defense Force with their veteran pilots and soldiers from the recent conflict against the Domain. The shared defense further cements the alliance between the two colonies.
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Reign of the Theocracy (~c+00-c+196.10.17):

Spoiler
The unification of the peoples of Kadur and Oasis by now progressed to the point where denizens of both worlds are more or less indistinguishable from each other, their religions (still deeply important to them) alloy with one another to form a new faith. The two sets of beliefs, already sharing many elements, are now more akin to two sides of the same coin than opposed factions. Followers of one are regarded by the followers of the other more as finding another way to connect with the divine rather than as heretics. The alliance becomes led by leaders of this new faith, under the name of the Kadur Theocracy.

The diligent shipyard workers of Kadur have perfected several new ship hull classes, aided greatly by the well-equipped autofacs present in the Domain orbital fortress and surviving dockyards. Many of these 'new designs' are built through partial fabrication of Domain ships, the parts of which are then cannibalized and put together by manual and robotic labor. Though many of their design elements clearly owe to their shared ancestry, they are definitively unique creations and together form a naval force to be reckoned with.

Incensed by the continued development of technology by the Kadur Theocracy, not to mention their refusal to accept the word of Ludd, the Pather sect make the Kadur a frequent target of their terrorist attacks.

Tech-trading expeditions from Tri-Tachyon are met with suspicion and fear such that the preliminary diplomatic expedition sent by Tri-Tachyon to assess the possible value of the Kadur as trade partners was captured and executed to a man. Ironically, the effectiveness of the Kadur Navy in combat against the Tri-Tachyon escort vessels only served to convince the corporation that the Kadur had technological advancement which could be useful. This leads to an ongoing campaign by the Tri-Tachyon to capture Kadur vessels and weaponry for study.

Assaults by neighboring factions such as the above as well as local warlords and pirates leave the Kadur Theocracy violently xenophobic and mistrusting of outsiders. They fight a continued low-intensity conflict with the Hegemony and its associated forces for their continued survival outside of its control. This xenophobia has also led them to remain independent of the Persean League, a coalition of other small factions that they fortunately have the defensive strength to exist without.

Despite their xenophobic and insular nature, Kadur leadership becomes known to grant sanctuary to unaligned spacers seeking refuge from one of the Theocracy's many enemies, so long as the refugees are willing to convert to the Kadur faith. Though the distrustful Kadur society means these converts will always be considered second-class citizens, and any hint of apostasy is met with brutal consequence, there is still a solid minority population within the Theocracy of those who have come fleeing the tyranny of the Hegemony or local warlords.

Cultures and faiths present among these minority populations integrate into the shared mythology of the Kadur religion, as does an accompanying focus on engineering process as religious duty. Maintenance routines are heavy with ritual, and the launching of each new vessel is treated with more ceremony and pomp than a wedding or funeral. This stems not from ignorance or undue superstition, but instead from an understanding that their independence from the Hegemony and other factions relies solely on their continued ability to construct, deploy, and maintain their own naval force.
[close]

Annihilation of Kadur (c+196.10.17-present day):

Spoiler
Spurred by increasing population on core Hegemony worlds and a desperation born from the hard-fought battles of the second AI war, the usually low-grade ongoing conflict between the Theocracy and the Hegemony flares into sudden intensity. The Hegemony seek the valuable agri-world of Oasis, while on their part the Theocrats seek as always to hold their territory and their continued power over the Kadur people.

The Tri-Tachyon corporation, cowed by their still-recent defeat at Chicomoztoc and embarrassment at Crom Cruach, agrees not to interfere with the Hegemony's imperial ambitions in the Mirage system and in fact compromises the Kadur comm relay through hitherto undetected backdoors to prevent the Theocracy from learning of the coming invasion. A Tri-Tachyon phase battlegroup is dispatched to the system to covertly observe the hostilities and, if possible, collect disabled Kadur vessels and materiel for tech-mining.

A Hegemony heavy attack fleet with a strong backing of armed landing vessels, ground troops, and associated support craft is deployed to the Mirage system in an overwhelming assault on Kadur and Oasis. While the Theocracy's navy is tied up in combat near Kadur, the Hegemony's heavy assault landers descend on Oasis and seize control of the planetary defense grid as well as all major population centers and infrastructure.

During the fighting over Kadur, the planet is hit with a PK-class bioweapon. The entire planetary population, some few hundred million souls, are wiped out near-instantly -- as are the Theocrats themselves. The remaining Kadur forces fight a last-ditch defensive effort around the Domain-era orbital fortress that forms the core of their polity's industry and defenses, finally managing to free it from its orbit and flee with into hyperspace. The Hegemony denies any responsibility for the atrocity committed against the planet of Kadur, citing the illegal status of bioweapons under Domain law. Scattered reports of a phase cruiser of unknown design appearing during the battle to fire the munition remain unsubstantiated.

With the Kadur navy destroyed, corporate interests are free to move in to the Mirage system, and a Tri-Tachyon ice mining and antimatter fuel production base is quickly established in orbit around Yakchal, as well as an independent ore extraction facility over the Mercury-like Burkaan.

Some of the Kadur orbital dockyards are scrapped, some fall to the surface of the toxic planet in great fireballs, and some are squatted by independent actors seeking a place to lay low and unconcerned with the apocalyptic living conditions, such as pirates.

The Hegemony, for their part, moves to secure their hold on the garden world of Oasis: A permanent garrison is quickly erected and a Hegemony occupational governor installed.

On the fringes of the system, in a refugee habitat built onto the derelict wrecks of their navy collected in one of the ice giant Yakchal's Lagrangian points, the Kadur Remnant lick their wounds and begin the long process of rebuilding their society. The surviving few citizens were mostly second-line warship crews and workers on the orbital fortress, and so with all former leadership eliminated the culture focuses more on practical matters, logistics, and problems of organization and supply than it does on the specifics of religious devotion.

The faith shared by all Kadur people is still deeply ingrained in every part of their culture, but where the Theocracy was inflexible and hierarchical, the Remnant is decentralized and fluid. Their shared beliefs have grown less dogmatic, focused more now on the connection between individuals forged through mutual hardship and less on the divine right to power claimed in years past by the Theocrats. The Kadur people remain staunchly independent isolationists, regarding other factions with -- at best -- a wary suspicion born from centuries of mutual distrust, but have begun to make some diplomatic connections with other powers in the sector.

With no societal will (nor, now, the requisite population) to conquer or expand to new colonies, the remaining space-based forces of the Kadur are very aware that they lack a large pool of potential recruits from which to draw. Because of this, the combat style and equipment they have developed emphasizes tough, heavily armored ships and long-ranged combat to minimize any loss of crew. They also feature massive rear-facing engines, which give them unparalleled speed at the expense of anything approaching maneuverability. This hyper-focused technological doctrine is not without downsides -- the Kadur shipbuilders have long since lost the capacity to construct efficient shield generators or any energy weapon or phase cloaking device. Only now are they rediscovering some of those technologies thanks to tech-trades with the few forces in the sector that they feel they can trust.
[close]
« Last Edit: November 15, 2018, 03:20:49 PM by Vayra »
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Kadur Remnant: http://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=6649
Vayra's Sector: http://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=16058
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im gonna push jangala into the sun i swear to god im gonna do it

mendonca

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Re: The Kadur Theocracy -- A backstory in bullet points.
« Reply #1 on: September 07, 2013, 07:46:55 AM »

Very cool, and interesting :)

Look forward to seeing the mod in action.
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"I'm doing it, I'm making them purple! No one can stop me!"

Vayra

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Re: The Kadur Theocracy -- A backstory in bullet points.
« Reply #2 on: September 07, 2013, 11:31:17 PM »

Thanks! It's definitely nearing completion here, just a few features (ships and weapons, mainly) that I'm planning to add.

I updated the OP with a general overview of the faction, as well.
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Kadur Remnant: http://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=6649
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im gonna push jangala into the sun i swear to god im gonna do it

Vayra

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Re: The Kadur Remnant -- god rest the theocrats
« Reply #3 on: June 22, 2019, 09:56:39 PM »

Figured I'd bump this, since I edited it back when I revived Kadur and now there are missions in the mod to further flesh it out.  :)
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im gonna push jangala into the sun i swear to god im gonna do it

mipen

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Re: The Kadur Remnant -- god rest the theocrats
« Reply #4 on: December 06, 2019, 04:25:17 AM »

I'm glad you bumped this, it was a good read! Nice to find out the backstory behind the faction - I thought they were some form of pirate group haha
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Cyber Von Cyberus

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Re: The Kadur Remnant -- god rest the theocrats
« Reply #5 on: December 17, 2019, 02:25:06 AM »

Really well made, the Kadurs are honestly one of my favourite factions even if I didn't get to play much as part of them (Kadur start is hellish when there is Hegemony detachments/pirates chasing you nonstop, although that ridiculous Caliph is amazing for ramming)
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Diktat Admiral:"What do we have here ? A dissident ? A pirate ? Or maybe a degenerate ?"

Me:"Yes, I'm all of those."

Vayra

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Re: The Kadur Remnant -- god rest the theocrats
« Reply #6 on: December 21, 2019, 08:42:52 PM »

Hegemony Technology Recovery Team Epsilon-05 Report : Kadur Interceptor
Date: 198-[REDACTED]
Team Members: [REDACTED]


Abstract:
"In the aftermath of the Kaduran Subjugation, a significant degree of recoverable Kadur tech was made available to the Hegemony and its scientists. While much has been locked under the toxic clouds of Kadur, more were located on Oasis or in-system; battle debris fields were useful in this regard. Recordings and testimony made by Hegemony personnel confirm a technological control of certain mass properties (gravitational, mass-energy) inconsistent with previous assumptions of Kadur technology. Research is ongoing to replicate this in Hegemony hulls, resources permitting.

--document intercept broken--

-nofficial remarks, made by [REDACTED]:
"We have no idea how it works and it's crazy the Strategoi expect us to dissect this tech before the next potential war with Tri-Tachyon. Coding problems aside, it seems the Kadur had a very specific knowledge base from the Domain they optimized... in areas the Hegemony are presently unable to exploit. Hell, I bet the [REDACTED] couldn't make a fighter slip through an Onslaught and shoot the command deck from the inside. It's nuts.

My two cents? It's density control, but that's breaking mass-energy equivalence and the First Law of Thermodynamics. Do they have a mass shunt? Do they have a hyperspace rift? No idea; we slapped a spare Kaduran unit on a Broadsword and it just exploded.

I need a smoke."
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Kadur Remnant: http://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=6649
Vayra's Sector: http://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=16058
Vayra's Ship Pack: http://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=16059

im gonna push jangala into the sun i swear to god im gonna do it

Cyber Von Cyberus

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Re: The Kadur Remnant -- god rest the theocrats
« Reply #7 on: December 21, 2019, 10:13:24 PM »

Oh ? Is this a teaser for a new update ?
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Diktat Admiral:"What do we have here ? A dissident ? A pirate ? Or maybe a degenerate ?"

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Vayra

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Re: The Kadur Remnant -- god rest the theocrats
« Reply #8 on: December 22, 2019, 02:53:21 PM »

In part!  ;D
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im gonna push jangala into the sun i swear to god im gonna do it

SCC

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Re: The Kadur Remnant -- god rest the theocrats
« Reply #9 on: December 24, 2019, 08:46:02 AM »

There's no hot Jangala on Corvus action. This still isn't it.

DistressBeacon

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Re: The Kadur Remnant -- god rest the theocrats
« Reply #10 on: January 05, 2022, 03:54:11 PM »

Oh damn, this lore is next level.
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