Vaeus

Vaeus
Species Info
Dominant Species		Hexian
Government		Imperial Vae’hex Dominion, The Federation
Capital		Arium-Kall
Moons		none
Star System		Tyrant
Population		10 Bil.

Geography

A tidally locked moon around a massive gas giant in the “Tyrant” System. It’s location keeps its temperature somewhat steady along it’s polar equator, winds are generally calm along the Capital City “The Golden Ring” [Arium-Kall]. The majority of the people who live in the city proper, and overall are or have been enlisted in Vaeus’ pervasive military forces. Covered later in social Hierarchy, Service allows families to move out of their sectors, specialize in science and engineering, and move away from farming or agriculture as a career choice. Most Hexians are enlisted in the Military in some way or form, or have family in the Military.

Social Hierarchy

The Dominion is broken up into Castes which the lowest absolute rung of the ladder, so to speak, are “Civilians”.

Civilians makeup a broad minority of Hexian populations, (Though a physical of planetary populations). Civilians are those who have not enlisted in any military branch, nor have direct family in the military. They are often considered simple and lazy by some of the more detached Hexian Citizenry, however that couldn’t be further from the case. Civilians have very limited rights related to career and travel within the Dominion, but work in farming and ranching, simple factory work, and some are even recognized as talented chefs. It is very likely that a Civilian Hexian will be born in, and die in the same medical center.

Citizens are Hexians who have some role to play within the Hexian Military. This includes those who were enlisted from birth in the Military Academy, or are family members of officers and ensigns. As a Citizen you’re welcome to pursue more advanced and fulfilling careers, or even pursue art as a passion so long as your duties within the Dominion are tended to with the expected, exacting diligence that the Emperor requires. Despite the high expectations that Citizenry comes with, it’s considered to be a privilege that families are oft happy to continue through enlisting first born children and encouraging siblings to do the same.

Scientists are highly regarded in Hexian Society. Like Citizens, Scientists are always tied to the military in some form or fashion, however military run think tanks and corporations are rampant through Dominion and Allied space, developing new technologies in consumer electronics, personal devices, environmental control, and military hardware.

Officers make up the middle and upper rungs of the Dominion’s Society. The Term “Officer” is used interchangeably through the Military Branches, but also corporations founded on Hexian principles. With a higher rank comes higher risk and lesser reward. Military Officers are very often promoted on the death of their superior. This death is recognized even if the cause of death was mutiny, as whatever order that was being given at the time of said mutiny was very likely to lead to the death of the squad, the destruction of the ship, or a severe infraction of the Purity Mandate. The fear of failure, however, acts as a deterrent as well. The violent exchange of power is often a last ditch effort to save a ship or a military engagement; something that rarely is personal, and leaves few eager to put their necks on the line for.

Inquisitors are one of Six individuals that hold the life-crushing burden of upholding the ever important Purity Mandates. Three Defensive and Three Offensive Inquisitions, each with their own fleets, military forces, and a signature Dreadnought act as the first and last bulwark against Invasion, Subversion, and Insurrection of what continues to be the fundamental principles of Hexian Society. Their names are known through the lower classes, spoken with fondness, reverence, fear, and occasionally revulsion. But they hold absolute sway over colonies and balance populations on their fingers. It would be easy to mistake an Inquisitor as a despot or a dictator. But many of them do their jobs with a heavy heart and a burning passion for their Empire. The Inquisition forces are capable of horrific deeds such as glassing planets and public executions, but are also the first to respond to planetary emergencies, and often offer wide support and coverage for planets that have fallen under desperate times.

The Emperor and Merchant Families are the upper class of Hexian society. The Emperor governs in a totality across the Dominion. The Throne is a seat that is rarely coveted, but traditionally volatile, with the longest reign in recent history lasted only a decade. Assassination of an Emperor ensures the Throne to the Assassin, having lead to hundreds of years of rotating heads to place the crown upon. This volatility is balanced by the almost indomitable Merchant Lords of Vaeus, who, while never holding true power; very often have the Ear of the Emperor. They are often seen as being at odds with the ever present Inquisition, and the almost pervasive Hexian Intelligence Academy, the Shul-Mahul. This tentative balance has lead to a seemingly chaotic ruling class that regardless has stood the test of time.

Technology

Hexians are behind the curve when it comes to their tech. They are also classically stubborn, refusing outside help from their allies in an effort to keep in line with their age old purity mandate. Their weapon systems rarely consist of anything more advanced than missiles and cannons, however boast sophisticated engineering designs that result in sleek, utilitarian designs that last for hundreds of years of service. Their ships are rarely controlled by AI, a ship’s crew consists of almost double that of other races’ ‘standard’ capacity, and over sixty percent of that crew are often engineers and technicians. Their shining achievement is their medical technology. Hexians are gifted from the advent of their empire with a supreme understanding of Biology and Genetics. They have an entire map of their genome that allows them to make repairs to their genetic structure and detect mutations early on.

FTL

The vast majority of Hexian Ships do not have any form of FTL Drive equipped. The Hexian FTL is based on a damaged vessel discovered in Hexian Space, far before they achieved system spanning space flight. It’s theorized that this drive is damaged or somehow incomplete when the Hexians reverse engineered it, and is inherently dangerous, releasing massive amounts of exotic, ionizing radiation upon activation. Due to the cost, the danger, and the harsh medication required to preserve the crew’s genetic integrity during jumps, these drives are only installed on the six Inquisition Dreadnoughts. The rest of Hexians travel often on non Hexian Vessels, or in Stub-Vessels that latch onto FTL capable ships, often (but not always) as a mutual contract between the captains of either vessel.

Weaponry and Warfare

Hexians are very rooted in conventional warfare. Melee combat is still alive and well in Hexian formations, shield walls being used in conjunction with lightweight SMGs and heavy striking batons used in confrontations meant to be ‘less than lethal’. Most Hexian weapons are modular, are made of materials that are easy to produce but impossible to repair, allowing weapons to be replaced in short order but are very hard to service. The concept of a ‘favorite gun’ is entirely alien to a Hexian Soldier, though this is a generalization and not the rule.

Language

Hexians use a language based on inflection and context, their words are often gutteral and end in hard stops like ‘T’ and ‘K’ and ‘KT’ with a few exceptions such as “UL” or “OH”. Hexian Sentences are very brief, consisting of three or four words that, when translated, is often lacking in explanation. An example is the word “Shul” that means to strike, to order, to give a command, to follow a command, to attack, to pursue, to follow, and following.

Hexians, however, have very little problem taking up the languages of other species. They do however think all languages that aren't hexian to be ‘Too Flowery and full of Prose”

Laws

From the inception of the modern day Dominion, The Vae’Hex stood firm with a set of governing laws built to ensure the continued ‘inner perfection’ of the Hexian People. They’ve been updated, added to, and enforced through the last millenia through hundreds of emperors and tragedies abound. While the full Mandate is long and exhaustive, the condensed version that covers what is immediately important is genuinely thought to be the rule of law within Hexian Space.

“The Genome Must be Preserved” - Hexians sacrificed countless lives to ensure your heritage and health. Under no circumstances should a Hexian’s health, physically or genetically be neglected. Societal health is non-negotiable. “The Genome is Paramount” - Perversion of the Hexian Genome is a grave crime, punishable by death or sterilization. The crime holds the same weight regardless if the perversion was due to accident, neglect, or intention. “Our Society’s Discoveries are Sovereign” - Technology, history, and our stellar geography are a birthright to every Hexian. Our borders should be maintained, fought for, and we will perish for them. “Our Path is Only Our Own” - As we expand our influence, we must respect the laws and rules of other sentients across space, so long as those laws do not breach ours. An outside force attempting to influence us through force will be considered an Act of War.

From here the laws related to Hexian life becomes further and further specific and are generally only enforced by only the most stringent of Inquisitions.

The Purity Mandate is Enforced by several branches of office.

Local Healthcare Offices: Healthcare is a right given to Hexians located on sovereign worlds. Sickness is investigated and constant physicals and reviews are always enforced. Most issues are found at this level of office. Hexian Intelligence Agents: Subversion is not unheard of within Hexian Society. The Academy deploys agents outside of Hexian space to observe the more disconnected fringes of society. There are rumors of individuals being spirited away, never to be seen again, but these rumors are unsubstantiated. The Six Inquisitions: Inquisitors are the last line of defence for large scale subversion. It’s more likely that their forces are deployed in defensive and offensive movements related to minor wars (Both Civil and Intergalactic) and to bolster emergency efforts when disaster strikes (Pandemics, Meteor Strikes, Natural Disasters, etc). The scale in which a dreadnought can exert its dominance is massive, however. One such case being the “Glassing of Oldeholme” in which the Red Inquisition Dreadnought destroyed a sovereign planet, successfully stopping a stain of a genetic altering retrovirus, a somber reminder that, even that was a drop lost to the ocean that came before it.