Roving Sun Fleet

The Roving Sun Fleet at an unknown location in deep space.

Overview

The Roving Sun Fleet is a nomadic, haphazard collection of Anahi cruisers, vessels, and colony ships. It is currently under a perpetual state of martial law, though much of the actual decision making is made by the remaining Anahi researchers. The Anahi homeworld of Tor'mir was lost several generations ago when their system's star began to die. Forced to abandon their planet and take to the stars, the Anahi living in the Roving Sun flotilla have spent the last several generations searching for a new home where they can set down roots. Currently, the Fleet is somewhere exploring the uncharted regions as it surveys uninhabited systems; its location is only updated when some of its mercantile vessels re-enter the known galaxy to barter and trade for spare parts or raw materials.

General

Capital: ACV Homeward Bound, Capital Ship

Leader: Wayfinder Aerias Sor'uul

Demonym: Sunniites, Sun Chaser

Official Language(s): Anahian

Population: 11.2 million (approx.)

The Anahi originally hailed from Selia, a world that was described as beautiful and full of life. Anahi texts indicate that their homeworld was trapped in a state of everlasting twilight. This perpetual gloom was a result of a unique star system - Selia orbited bright, scintillant binary stars, and on the other side a tributary star kept Selia's dark side permanently lit as well. Thus, their world was forever stuck on that precipice between night and day. Much of Anahi history did not survive the supernova that destroyed their homeworld, however, and the race only has fleeting descriptions of what life was like and fragmented records of their escape to remember their origins.

The Roving Sun Fleet was hastily constructed when renowned Anahi astronomists and astrologists noted that the two suns that made up their binary star were drifting closer and closer together. A clashing was inevitable, and the Anahi assembled as many ships as possible to evacuate their brightest minds from their homeworld. Unfortunately, at this point in their history, the Anahi were but a young spacefaring race and had to leave behind a majority of their population to be swallowed by the supernova that would inevitably follow when their suns collided. This mishmash flotilla of military, civilian, and specially constructed vessels fled Selia's system and left their people behind to a certain death. A majority of this fifty-thousand ship strong fleet remains to this day, many still operating on original parts that are hundreds of years old.

Records left from the days of their evacuation describe the supernova as a blinding flash of beautiful light, an incomprehensible orchestra of dazzling luminescence that could be seen even from a great distance. While both of their binary stars and their homeworld were swallowed by this explosion, it is understood that the third tributary star was destabilized from its orbit and flung into the darkness of space; thus, the Roving Sun Fleet earns its name from this event as the Anahi search for this lost tertiary star. Many have come to believe that upon discovering this star, they will find a new homeworld in its orbit waiting for them to claim what is rightfully theirs.

Where other races took to the stars to expand their horizons, the Anahi were forced to do so to keep themselves alive. Thus, the nomadic Fleet scours the uncharted reasons in search of a specter from its past, not even sure if their star survived as it plunged into the void. Hope is really all they have; multiple generations of Anahi have died without seeing the day their children could finally touch down on solid ground, and it is this motivator that keeps the Fleet going even now.

Demographics

There are no alien species as part of the Roving Sun Fleet - non-Anahi are not even privvy to its exact location. On the whole, Anahi are extremely distrustful of outsiders and harbor intense anti-xeno sentiments. While they might trade with other galactic empires, as they have no home planet and are restricted heavily by the lack of space on their vessels, no outsider has been permitted to dock with or live as part of the Fleet. The Anahi are entirely focused on finding a new world to rekindle their race, as compared to other galactic superpowers they are considered to be on the brink of extinction. While many species have offered to assist them, including the Rokhandans and the might of their technological empire, the Anahi have rebuffed every overture. They do not want the help.

Conversely, however, while the Fleet has a very small population of just over ten million, there is another 1 billion or so Anahi spread throughout the universe. They have a tenuous relationship with their ship-bound brethren; some view them as traitors or people who have abandoned the cause, others welcome them with open arms. Most of these Anahi are individuals who grew tired of the conditions in the Fleet and returned to galactic space to integrate with other societies. The White Belt Administration and the Rokhandian Directorate are especially welcoming of Anahi immigrants, but their low numbers make them a rarity still.

Politics

The military vessels of the fleet handle most security situations, from engagements with pirates to disagreements and fights between crew members. These military officers are also in charge of navigation and handle the day to day tedium of everyday spaceflight. When it comes to complex decisions, however, a council of crewmen is convened to address these problems. This council is made up of high ranking officials from the flotilla's largest ships - chief engineers, chief medical officers, vessel captains - because they typically have the most experience when compared to other Anahi.

This decentralized government has served them well so far. These positions are inherited; a chief engineer may take a few apprentices and teach them how to run the ship, repair it, show them the ins and outs of its ancient architecture - and then choose the most worthy candidate to replace them, and thus they are by position made part of the council of crewmen. The authority of the council is only kept in check by the captain of the ACV Homeward Bound, a position irrevocably entwined with the title of Pathfinder. This lone Anahi dictates the course the Fleet will take in the search for their missing star, and by extension their new homeworld. Promises were made to return to the democracy that once ruled the Anahi homeworld, but until such a time as they find a new planet to claim as their own, this council of crewmen has become the new norm.

Military

Every single ship in the Fleet has a position in the order of battle, even vessels that are unarmed or defenseless. The Fleet's overall number of ships was even beyond the size of the Coalition's navy in its prime, however it has never actually been tested in active combat and as a result Anahi military maneuvers are entirely theoretical on paper. The most conflict the Fleet has ever seen is the odd pirate on its tail or accidentally navigating into a meteor storm. It is not a solely military fleet, and was never designed to be one.

Every single ship, no matter how small, has an onboard contingent of military personnel to both serve as defense in the case of an attack or boarding attempt, as well as to act as a local security force. Many ships in the fleet are old and antiquated, running nothing more than a wing and a prayer. Even military personnel are trained to perform basic engineering when necessary to help repair their vessel as need be.

Economy

Much of the specifics of the Fleet are unknown to outsiders; it is rumored that some terrarium vessels keep a small population of plants and animals that were once native to Selia, and these creatures are cared for not to eat or use for raw materials but to conserve them. As such, the Fleet has to deal with alien empires to resupply and regularly sends a small flotilla of mercantile vessels back to known space to trade with certain governments, like the Onk Conglomerate or the Coalition. What the Anahi have to offer as compensation is less monetary and more strange finds that they bring back from the unknown regions. These types of scientific discoveries are obviously of high value to many governments, and the Rokhandans are consequently one of the largest trade partners for the Anahi.

Ore, minerals, rocks, food, and other materials are necessary for the upkeep of the Fleet and its vessels. While their supply ships are suspected to have a stockpile of treasures carried from their doomed world, the Anahi would sooner die than trade away these priceless relics, opting instead to barter with the weird and strange things they dig up from unexplored, uncharted planets. Luckily, most of their vessels are powered via solar panel, leaving fuel the only necessity they trade for. Some strange luxury items for Anahi may be things like air canisters since the ships use recycled oxygen that has grown stale over centuries. They are willing to pay a high price for these seemingly normal objects.