Sandbox:Sneakyranger
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| Character Starters | Getting Started · New Player Lore Guide · Character Creation · Jobs | |
| Background Starters | Interstellar Travel · The Universe · Bluespace · Technology · SCCV Horizon | |
| Faction Starters | Corporations · Main Human Factions | |
| Alien Whitelist Starters | Skrell · Synthetics · Tajara · Dionae · Unathi · Vaurca | |
This is a new player's summary to the very basics of Aurora's lore. To focus on the lore you'll need to know to create a character, move on to Character Creation.
If you want to know more about playing Space Station 13, look at Getting Started.
At the head of the Conglomerate, the 
NanoTrasen Corporation is rapidly struggling for relevance amidst the worsening shortage of the fantastically powerful element of Phoron. While NanoTrasen once dominated all other corporations and several governments with its monopoly on the element, it has recently lost its economic footing in the former centre of humanity, the Sol Alliance, and the technologically-advanced Republic of Elyra.
In a bid to solve the shortage, the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate has launched a flagship to explore the stars; the SCCV Horizon. Comprised of employees from five megacorporations, as well as other alien species that exist alongside humanity, time will tell if the Conglomerate's bid for increasing dominance proves successful, particularly against the machinations of their rival, 
Einstein Engines.
Hephaestus Industries, the banking conglomerate 
Idris Incorporated, the medical technology giant
Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals, the major arms manufacturer 
Zavodskoi Interstellar, and the Spur-spanning shipping company Orion Express. For some reason or another, you've been assigned on the SCCV Horizon by your superiors to assist the Conglomerate's efforts in their search across the Spur for a new phoron source.Your Place in the Spur
The Stellar Corporate Conglomerate's efforts are largely centered within the Republic of Biesel, a democratic state that is heavily reliant on the machinations of NanoTrasen to support its economy and military. By default, all characters originate from the Republic of Biesel and its planets. This can be changed in Character Creation. Biesel is a heavily multicultural planet that is home to not just humans, but other sentient species that have taken to interstellar travel.
These species include the Skrell, an amphibious species of technological renown, the Tajara, a feline species heavily fractured by recent wars and conflicts, the Unathi, a reptilian race caught between the reins of tradition and the uncertainty of progress, the Vaurca, eusocial, insectoid aliens settling in to the Spur after their departure from their long-lost homeworld, and the Diona, plant-like superorganisms with infinite curiosity for others' ways.
Beyond the Republic of Biesel, several other human nation-states exist. The most notable is the Sol Alliance, the birthplace of humanity and once a powerful empire in its own right. After the beginning of the phoron scarcity in 2462, the Alliance has begun to lose much of its influence except around its Core Worlds, and the system of Sol. Former Alliance territories outside of these regions are now labelled the Human Wildlands, and a variety of military juntas and warlords originating from Sol have tried to overtake their own territory in the Wildlands.
Only Einstein Engines remains to contest the megacorporate power financially, supporting a crippled Alliance whose forces have largely revolted amidst the Wildlands.
The workplace and you
You, among others, have been assigned to work aboard the SCCV Horizon, a state-of-the-art general-purpose vessel that travels across the Orion Spur with the primary objective to uncover phoron. However, secondary objectives exist at the whim of the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate. As a worker for the SCC, you're expected to have the baseline of qualifications for your occupations, which can be found at Stellar Corporate Conglomerate Occupation Qualifications.
It is also expected that your character have believable, realistic experience given their age and history. For example, a 19-year-old janitor should not be able to perform brain surgery, and a security officer is likely not a billionaire. All players, including staff, are subject to this expectation. More details on that rule can be found in the server rules, found here.
With this said, your options of career, origin, and experience are incredibly flexible. It would not be a stretch to say you can be whatever you want on the Aurora server, within reason. Get creative! The possibilities are endless.
As a character, it stands to reason that while everyone makes mistakes, your presence on a state-of-the-art flagship is subject to laws and regulations. If your character fails to follow workplace regulations or laws within the Conglomerate's definition, you are at risk of the character being permanently lost. The exception is antagonist roles, which players without a certain playtime on Aurora cannot play.
While the vast majority of characters on the server are employees of the corporations beneath the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate, independent individuals or unaffiliated individuals are accessible as well through character setup. These roles include megacorporate-unaffiliated journalists, passengers, and third-party vessel teams who have found their way to the setting somehow. As a starting character, your rank in the hierarchy will be quite low. In addition, Command roles are whitelisted on Aurora.
Known Space: The Orion Spur
The setting is based in the majority of the Orion Spur, the part of the Milky Way in which the Sol System and its surrounding hundred lightyears resides. It is very open-ended and diverse in its nature, and not wholly charted yet; the deep Frontier hardly scratches the surface of the unknowable depths of the galaxy.
The expansion of humanity has reached out in every direction, only stopping in the galactic west as they border the Nralakk Federation, home of the Skrell. Otherwise, their all-encompassing exploration has given them free reign to conquer the untouched - or abandoned - regions of the galaxy.
The Orion Spur
The Starmap; expand the collapsible, and feel free to open the image link in a new tab for a closer and more detailed look! ▶
Common Sentient Species
These are common sentient species found throughout known space.
Skrell
An amphibian race hailing from Nralakk IV, Qerrbalak.
An amphibious species whose passion mostly lays in the field of the combined sciences, the Skrell are the second oldest and first most advanced known species present on the galactic stage. The Skrell evolved on a planet covered in vast swamps and freshwater seas, also being one of the only species in the Orion Spur to naturally develop psionics.
Unathi
A reptilian race hailing from Moghes.
The cold-blooded Unathi are a race of tall humanoid reptiles from their war-torn homeworld of Moghes. The planet’s history can be summarized as being dominated by various Clans of Unathi, with the strongest being the Hegemon of Moghes. Following first contact with Skrell and Humanity, there was a violent outbreak of nuclear war that formed a vast world-dominating desert called the Wasteland which has made life difficult for the Unathi. The surviving side of this war, the Izweski Hegemony, has struggled to bring a balance between expanding their empire off-world, or reconstructing their ancestral planet. Grandiose and Space-Operatic, the themes behind Unathi follow the struggle of religion, spirituality, honor, and rigid gender roles.
Tajara
A feline-like race hailing from Adhomai.
The Tajaran race is a species of feline-like bipeds hailing from the planet of Adhomai in the S'rand'marr system. They have been brought up into the space age by the Humans and Skrell, who alledgedly influenced their eventual revolution that overthrew their ancient monarchies to become a totalitarian - and NanoTrasen friendly - republic. Adhomai is currently under a cold war between three factions in the aftermath of a global conflict, and many Tajara are fleeing their homeworld to seek safety and employment in human space.
Vaurca (Vaurcae)
An insectoid race hailing from Sedantis I.
The mostly bipedal, insectoid creatures hailing from the moon known as Sedantis I, Vaurca (Vaurca in singular term and Vaurcae in multiple), were discovered after the first Hiveship contact in human space, 2456. They once had access to great technology, however they had to flee their doomed homeworld. They have a complex caste system based on three types, and use something known as the Hivenet to communicate in thoughts and feelings near instantly between themselves, and enter a paradisiacal virtual reality. They require phoron to respirate, as well as requiring a unique and dangerous fungus, the k’ois spore, to sustain them. Although barely tolerated in the known galaxy, many have found homes in the more unkempt areas of their host’s society. There are four known Hives - Zo’ra, K’lax, C’thur, and Lii’dra. The largest, and most common hive in Tau Ceti is the Zo'ra hive. The Lii’dra, unique in that they are a true hivemind, are known as a powerful and secretive force and are hostile to most other entities known - including the other Hives.
Dionae
A mysterious plant-like race hailing from the depths of space.
Dionae (D. Primis) are a rather strange, cryptic species in comparison to the rest found in the Orion Spur. They have various forms comprised of cat-sized caterpillar-like creatures with a curious, childlike disposition - called Dionae Nymphs.
Enigmatic witnesses to various events through the centuries, the Dionae are an inquisitive species with a pacifistic disposition after gaining sentience. Their origins, behaviour and functions are never alike - with each being as unique as the next. The Dionae are capable of great intellectual, biological and physical feats going above and beyond what was considered possible for millennia. Dionae are similar to both plant and animal, however, they primarily survive off of the electromagnetic spectrum coinciding with a diet of biological matter to supplement their growth. Their inability to adapt to survive without lack of radiation can lead to death, if not exposed to at least efficient lighting. Dionae have been seen across the Orion Spur, each with a unique history and personality.
Integrated Positronic Chassis (IPC)
Robotic entities making use of Positronic brains to match sentience, to a degree.
An Integrated Positronic Chassis, or IPC, is an artificial intelligence inside of a bipedal, humanoid frame. IPCs are primarily characterized by their autonomy, not being bound to a master AI or set of laws. Often built to carry out a single, career-related purpose, they come in many different chassis, with varying degrees of intelligence. Within known space, their existence is a contentious topic with IPCs being seen as property or second-class citizens, undeserving of the rights other species possess.
Synthetics, more generally
Robots in the galaxy, endlessly diverse.
The term “synthetic” refers to a broad range of autonomous machinery. Dabbled with, first by the ancient skrell, and now humanity, synthetics can be classified primarily by the method of their intelligence. They include simple machinery not out of place in the 21st century, cyborgs, autonomous robots on circuitry, and now, advanced sentient artificial intelligences stored on positronic brains.
Major Factions
These are the dominant political players in the Orion Spur that are relevant to you, the player. Any of these factions can be utilized in backstories or as origins for characters - go crazy!
Important note: These factions are only the key players in the setting. Nothing stops you from making up your own origin wherever you'd like, so long as it does not contest standing lore's canon. When in doubt, ask a lore writer!
Republic of Biesel
The core location of the setting itself. A bastion of prosperity amidst chaos.
The Republic of Biesel is an independent system within the core of Human space. It is heavily tied to the NanoTrasen corporation at every level of government, and may as well be considered as governed by it to begin with. The Republic of Biesel is the government of the Tau Ceti System, exercising authority over Biesel, New Gibson and all other settlements and installations within Tau Ceti's gravity well. It is one of the most populated systems in human space, a financial center, industrial powerhouse and one of the most prestigious systems in the galaxy. However, unrest and gridlock undermine the government, and the aggressive attitude of the Sol Alliance against its former system has made many worried of the future of the Republic. Tau Ceti is far from the limit of the Republic's boundaries, as the recent addition (post-2462) of the Corporate Reconstruction Zone have led to its size growing immensely. The CRZ, or the Zone, consists of hundreds of once-Solarian worlds which have had no choice but to fall under the Republic's banner, after their supply lines and defenses were cut off by the collapsing or defecting military.
Sol Alliance
A crumbling giant whose golden age has long passed.
Formerly the most populated singular government entity in known space, the Solarian Alliance is the first and one of the most politically powerful trans-stellar Human factions. While its reign formerly consisted of nearly a quarter of charted space in a growing sphere around Earth, it has now diminished significantly in size. Its loyal forces have recently retreated to the "Jewel Worlds," a region of space where its most treasured assets lay, not to mention its throne upon the home world. The Alliance is strangled by its long-standing reliance on Einstein Engines, a corporation that has survived almost total nationalization to become the foremost employer in Solarian space. The government and the corporation now stand as fierce opposition to the growing Stellar Corporate Conglomerate whose power contests them. Sol's jewel worlds and secure borders are surrounded by the Human Wildlands, dominated by warlord admirals who formerly served the Alliance' tremendously bloated military.
Coalition of Colonies
Freedom and independence embodied on an interstellar scale.
This loosely confederated Coalition is the largest power in the frontier, and possibly the most populous entity in the Orion Spur. It is the largest fracture from the Sol Alliance after the Interstellar War, and covers several regions with its utterly tremendous borders. The systems of the Coalition greatly value their independence and freedom. A few powerful systems dominate the politics of the Frontier, headed by the Xanu Free League - the capital of it all. Many of those in the Coalition of Colonies harbor distrust of the Sol Alliance even after the end of the Interstellar War. Humans and aliens from any and all ethnicities, as well as any combination of them, can be found in the Coalition of Colonies. In recent times, the Coalition has conquered a huge amount of territories where the Alliance formerly stood guard. For example, the tremendous Alliance Neutral Zone - a place where both sides were forbidden from entering - no longer exists, and has since been deemed Coalition territory after the Solarian withdrawal.
Republic of Elyra
Glistening utopian city-scapes and technological might.
The Republic of Elyra, or its more official name, The Serene Republic of Elyra, is a bustling, benevolent independent power in the Badlands. It is made up of multiple star systems, with its capital in the highly developed technological utopia of Perispolis. Its national motto is "For Greatness We Strive". It is known for its exotic culture, highly progressive - if Pro-Human nature, and advanced industrial wonders. Elyra is one of the only three factions in the Orion Spur which innately possess phoron deposits of any sort, something they have exploited to their fullest potential in recent years.
Empire of Dominia
Religious pride in the Emperor and country.
A heavily religious absolute monarchy with its capital, Nova Luxembourg, on the planet of Moroz in the Mira Sancta system. This autocratic state is ruled by His Imperial Majesty Boleslaw Keeser. The Empire of Dominia was proclaimed in 2385 by then-Emperor Godwin Keeser, unifying a colony which had been isolated for hundreds of years. Imperial society is dominated by the Great and Minor Houses under the Emperor and is very socio-economically stratified due to the so-called blood debt, known as the Mor’iz’al.
Eridani Federation
Corporation-dominated hell, personified through a terrible societal split.
Eridani, or the Eridani Corporate Federation, is an oligarchic republic in the Epsilon Eridani system dominated entirely by a council of mega-corporations that seek profit and expansion at any cost. It has no official capital - government authority is exercised digitally. The Corporate Federation is known as one of the core economic powers of Solarian space, and is technically under Solarian supervision - though the true extent of this is up for debate. Corporations, in reality, rule the gloomy landscapes of the Corporate Federation’s worlds. Its citizens are called Eridanians. Eridanians are famed for their vicious treatment of one another, distinguishing between two primary classes ; Dregs, and Suits - who in effect represent a fine line between poverty and wealth.
The Free Frontier
Whatever you want. Really.
The frontier consists of all space unclaimed by one of the major interstellar powers. The population of the frontier is difficult to estimate, but conservative guesses place it between 25 and 50 billion. The government, technological development, economy, and social systems of these independent systems vary wildly. Piracy, corporate exploitation, and smuggling are commonplace throughout the frontier. People hailing from these areas, known as frontiersmen, are known for their rugged independence and distrust of megacorporations and government alike.
Non-Human Factions
Xeno factions independently hardly parallel the combined prevalence of Humanity. However, major factions such as the Nralakk Federation - which borders the Sol Alliance directly, and exercise total authority over their controlled space, are seen as key players in galactic politics.
Nralakk Federation
An higher-up galactic player, authoritarian in its nature.
The Nralakk Federation is a centralized union of systems, ran by councillors representing Skrell interests in a clear hierarchy. Although humans have fractured heavily in their expansion, Skrell have remained in largely a singular government through strict reinforcement of education and laws, working as a democratic meritocracy. Social media is maintained by the Federation government, who gag unacceptable discussions or thoughts and instead encourage people to be like the Idols that they reward with credits, high quality housing, and fine living.
Izweski Nation
The proud Unathi Hegemony in all its glory.
The Izweski Clan is led by Clan Leader Not'zar Izweski , a Unathi who has ruled the Hegemony since his father S'kresti Izweski, the previous Hegemon, was assassinated. Under him are the Lords who rule their own subjugated clans. They live in a feudal system, with the Lords usually being clan leaders or important clan members themselves who pledge themselves to Izweski in exchange for land and protection. After the Contact War devastated the Unathi homeworld, the Izweski Hegemony has struggled to follow traditions to keep themselves in power.
People's Republic of Adhomai
The most powerful and first space-faring state in Adhomai.
Led by President Njadrasanukii Hadii, the People’s Republic of Adhomai are considered the 'loyalist' faction on Adhomai and once enjoyed galactic recognition as the government of Adhomai. It claims to be the true keeper of Al’mari’s legacy. However, the PRA can be described as a Hadiist branch of Al’marii’s revolutionary ideology - that means putting the State at the top of a hierarchy of power. The PRA is a very centralized state, but in recent years has slowly been able to start making true its promises to bring revolution to the masses. With land reform, enfranchisement of women and peasantry, literacy initiatives, and the collectivization of farms and the means of production, the PRA is struggling to hold true to its radical ideals while an entrenched upper party stubbornly tries to hold onto power.
From this point, you are again encouraged to move onto Character Creation provided you're at a loss for what to do.
