The goal of this document is to detail the different factions of the Vaiyra, their histories, culture, sociology, military structure, and their relations.
(WIP)
- Pacific
- Atlantic
- North Atlantic
- Mediterranean
- Southwest Asia
- East Asia
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Pacific
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Leader:
Sub Leaders:
CV-58, Verdun
[Typhon CGN USS Maine]
Local History:
Serving as the social, political and economic capital of the Vaiyra, the species was quick to recover from their initial state of disrepair and begin colonizing the surrounding region.
Much of the Pacific Vaiyran history consists of expansion and resource gathering. Unified by their mission of colonizing the planet, the Vaiyra eventually used probes, including UUVs, to survey the planet, exposing them to human civilization for the first time - and with how widespread humanity was, a code of secrecy became mandated until the species had the strength to impose its power globally. A rapid stage of globalization began once the Vaiyra started coming into contact with other Ctistes states that had been formed during the descent into Earth.
As the most powerful, most numerous and most developed state, the Pacific imposed central control over other states one by one, viewing the colony ship as sacred ground and a source of authority.
By the year 1950, the colony ship had begun to enter more wakeful stages of consciousness, leading to the use of more facilities, fabricators and technical capabilities, the most important being the VR system. The VR system relies on the colony ship’s facilities, further cementing the Pacific’s authority.
The Ctistes population booms and human wars of the 1900s led to a rapid fanaticization of society which began pressuring leaders to take dramatic action in order to meet human growth. This radicalization was not a unipolar movement, with the much younger and human-connected Tier Two Ctistes becoming isolated within society. Fear and anger became the norm from the thought that humanity was growing too fast and the Ctistes was becoming too “tainted” with human influence.
Apparently separated to placate both populations, the Tier Twos were used offensively in scouting positions, infiltration missions and more. This arrangement helped to isolate and polarize each group, but most importantly, put the Ctistes on a crash course towards war.
Culture:
Humans were not present in the area when the Vaiyra first landed. As such, they were not influenced by human civilization until the first humans arrived sometime between 900-1000 CE. Pacific society is remarkably traditional and extremely resistant to change, living the same way as their ancestors did on their homeworld as closely as possible. Society is built on supporting authority and the tier system.
With an absolute lack of a young population, the Ctistes value deepening self development through embodying a “warrior philosopher” character. There are no children or youth cultures. There are also no schools outside of challenging personal development courses run by military leaders, who are also prized as local leaders. “Becoming the best you can be” is a core value shared and upheld by society.
The supremacy of a collective Ctistes civilization is a strong motivator for individuals, especially when compared to humanity. Long lifespans and inflated egos also affect the way people behave.
Apart from its importance as a resource & production base and military staging ground, the pacific state served also as a hub for cultural exchange between the two oceans, they would generally open up to other states’ individuals, but an actual “integration” would be hard (at least compared to Atlantic-North America or Atlantic-Mediterranean relocation) for outsiders.
Extensive access to geothermal energy along tectonic plates presents an abundance of energy, promoting a digitized society, especially after the rise of the VR world and augmented reality.
Development
This region is home to the “capital” of the Vaiyra. From the site of their crashed colony ship, an extensive array of structures line the ocean floor in the form of domes, towers and other habitation modules. Geothermal vents supply a majority of locally sourced energy and give life to hypotonics, manufacturing and cultural buildings.
The lack of a sizable population in Ctistes civilization allows each individual to achieve an exorbitant standard of living in the capital, dependent on their social status.
Resources:
The Rano Rahi Seamounts became the most developed region due to the use of the colony ship’s manufacturing facilities and stored resources. Geothermal energy, along with the colony ship’s reactor, supports the vast majority of the Ctistes energy needs.
Assets:
United States Strike Group: CVA-58 United States, Typhon Escort Flotilla
Verdun Groupe Aéronaval: PA-58 Verdun, 2 missile frigates
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Atlantic
Leader:
Eris
Sub-Leaders:
CVA 01
Local History:
From the Bermuda Triangle to the mythical city of Atlantis, the Atlantic branch of the Vaiyra has a close association with humanity in the years since it first landed. Quick to take a posture of secrecy, the Atlantic state struggled to expand due to a lack of resources and energy.
Exposed to humanity from the beginning, the Atlantic Vaiyra incorporated human influence without exchanging much in return. The expansion of human civilization prevented the colony from developing onto land in order to avoid contact.
Easily the weakest of the Vaiyran states upon rediscovery by the capital, the Atlantic has needed to receive a lot of support, giving the state a bad reputation. Despite this, the colony is critical due to its proximity to major European powers and served an important role in surveillance. Only after the population booms of the mid-1900s did the region grow, making it both young and modern.
Culture:
Sparsely populated, the Atlantic chiefly serves the role of a military base. A majority of denizens assume military roles but are influenced by European cultures, giving them an appreciation of arts and other European values.
Tier Three individuals hailing from this region have an attachment to the European power they are most closely associated with, even without a ship link.
Development:
This site is made up of a series of military installations and resource bases. As a key stopping point from the rest of the world to the North and to the Mediterranean, the Atlantic’s development was shaped around supporting military endeavors.
Resources:
Lacking resources, this region supports others in gathering and transportation.
Assets:
Queen Elizabeth Strike Group: CVA-01 Queen Elizabeth, Bristol Escort Flotilla (~3 Type 82 DDGs)
Undersea infiltration squadron: USS Scorpion, USS Thresher
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North Atlantic
Leader:
Aithon
Sub-Leaders:
Local History:
The climate of the far north made expansion difficult for the fledgling Ctistes community. Facing serious hardships and a challenging upbringing, this state grew through enduring resource shortages and sacrifices, shaping its people to be both hardier and more isolated than others.
Expansion was an exponential process, with encountering humans early on forcing development to occur under arctic ice at the same time as the civilization pursued military countermeasures against humanity, none of which were put into practice. Despite a firm opposition to humanity, this state’s stance on isolation permitted individuals to embed themselves with humans in secret, which, over time, blurred the lines between human and Ctistes, and over hundreds of years, the Ctistes identity of certain individuals may have been lost.
As society breached the arctic, material resources and alternatives to geothermal energy, to include oil, were able to be processed and used to expand local projects.
The Northern state was one of the last, if not the very last to be assimilated by the capital, and as such has a unique identity below the ice. This state specialized in subterfuge and secrecy due to proximity to urban human settlements, making cooperation with the capital difficult, along with the distribution of resources to other states.
As the world passed the 50s and the population boom occurred, this state militarized its newfound population and was heavily inspired by Stalin’s Soviet Union, despite the capital’s opposition to human influence.
Culture:
A lifetime of secrecy and hardship below the arctic made this state uniquely influenced by humanity rather than the Vaiyra. With its assimilation into the greater Vaiyran body occurring too late to maintain its alien identity, this state took much inspiration from the local human warrior cultures of the far north and built its civilization around the hardship faced in this region.
More reliant on action and violence in secret rather than the traditional, technology centric Vaiyra, the North’s warrior culture is truly spartan in design. Luxuries and consumer goods have always made way for the “greater good” and upholding the authority of the state. A strong sense of identity makes assimilation with the central government impossible, as this state takes the values of the Vaiyra to the extreme.
With the rise of fascism and other authoritarian systems in the 1900s, the North drew close to the Soviet way of life, despite opposition from the capital. This state was subsequently structured similarly and easily, considering how alike they were already.
While easy to mistake for one of many united Vaiyran states, the North’s unique perspective and militarized upbringing isolates it from its peers. The state is eager to take as much as it can from the central government and uses its relationship for self-gain as best it can.
The embedding of technology with life is seriously resisted, further isolating this state from the rest of the Vaiyra. A notable absence of VR facilities keeps this state in the past.
Development:
This region is impossibly militarized. Listening posts and an extensive security apparatus overshadow any “civilian” infrastructure, especially the closer one gets to the North Pole. Civilian and military infrastructure are intimately interconnected, with the distinction between civilian and military nonexistent.
Human incursions into the arctic have an impact on the state’s resource collection efforts, and it is only through the waning authority of the central government that this state holds back from destroying the humans who defile their sacred grounds.
In light of heavy human involvement in the North Atlantic section (outside the Arctic circle), this state would mostly rely on the Arctic section on resource processing and manufacturing efforts, their infrastructure beneath the polar ice would be vital for the “surge” production efforts the central leadership envisioned for their war plans, compared to the other manufacturing bases such as middle Pacific and Antarctic region, this one is the most heavily monitored, yet at the same time most readily available source of combatants.
[Rick's Note]:
Considering their position so close to the frontlines of both blocs, peacetime actions carried out would be mostly limited to undersea and covert warfare, with possibly a handful of auxiliary cruisers and oceanographic vessels operating under civilian disguise in the waters close to humans’ spheres of influence, they would maintain closely in touch with the local cells infiltrated into government and maritime traffic sectors, as well as provide a direct tie with the European and Soviet military-industrial complex (the NorLant section would be in charge of the European side while the Arctic section’s focus is on the Soviets). At the outbreak of hostilities, they would most likely conduct a strategic pincer offensive in cooperation with the Atlantic and the Mediterranean states, strangling the Western Europe theater with merchant raiding efforts, as well as carry out the majority of missile salvoes directed against targets inside Soviet soil. Their vulnerable position would make them a focus of retaliatory strikes from both blocs however, so they’ll need reinforcements and materiel support secured from Pacific and Mediterranean regions, or at least ask for their help to tie down human forces from zeroing in on them, to prevent a total wipeout by superior NATO and Soviet naval forces. In worst case scenarios they will retreat into the Arctic circle and the rest will spread out into the West Atlantic after finishing their job at the opening stages, and the center of gravity would move to Pacific(especially South Pacific) and Mediterranean regions.
One of the state’s prime targets would be NAS Keflavik,the northmost pivot of the vital GIUK gap defense line, once rendered inoperable, Vairyan forces, especially submarine forces would break much more easily into the North Sea, wreaking havoc on marine shipping and coastal targets, the siege of Keflavik might even be fitting for a smaller scale of “Halo Reach style” story, in which both sides wrestle control for this vital doorsteps with it finally falling after a disastrous struggle.
Vairyan forces here will need to face the following opponents:
The combined NATO standing forces in Atlantic (a part of US 2nd Fleet, British Home Fleet, French Atlantic Fleet, the majority of German, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish and Danish naval forces), their immediate rival would be the contingency unit, NATO Standing Force Atlantic; The Soviet Northern Fleet and a part of the Soviet Baltic Fleet
A simple glance at this grim reality would force the Vaiyran local leadership to limited choices, their main striking force which would comprise mostly of surge-production SSGNs and SSBNs must be protected until at least the opening salvoes, while their relatively small surface action force and the SSN wolf packs need to carefully choose when and where to incur into their positions. A series of carefully orchestrated diversionary and discord-prompting events are needed to bring a considerable amount of forces and focus away from this sector.
Another grim reality is the lack of land forces, there is virtually no proxies to use here, an invasion on the Scandinavian regions would be very difficult (say they succeeded in occupying those lands, there’s a strong possibility that NATO forces would counter with an amphibious assault in conjunction with Soviet armor rolling down from the east), unless these countries themselves can somehow be turned over or at least rendered incapable.
Resources:
A wealth of arctic resources are available to this state. From oil to raw materials, the arctic becomes more self-sufficient as time, and development, progresses.
Auxiliary Cruiser flotilla
SSBN squadron, SSGN squadron (possibly)
Undersea Infiltration Squadron
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Mediterranean
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Leader:
Idiglat
Local History:
This region’s history is intimately tied with human civilization. Surrounded by humanity, this Vaiyran enclave found it impossible to separate themselves from their neighbors, and inevitably found themselves discovered by humans, especially early on.
Through clever use of technology and selected interactions, these individuals abused their power to influence human development, especially when it came to religions and language. Over the course of hundreds of years, this state was known by different civilizations by many names, all of which seeming to have a common root.
Flood myths, particular godlike characters and recurring stories all have the same basis and are still regarded as truths by certain groups - in our lore, it’s more than just oral tradition, but the direct influence of this state’s interference. Too late to influence the past, the world before the rise of Christianity inspired this state to do better.
Upon rediscovery and integration, the central government demanded secrecy, ending this state’s cultural exchange.
The resulting one-way influence exchange left this state influenced by the human affairs of the 1900s, growing in fervor in response to violence and taking action to prevent themselves from fading into obscurity. With the competitions of the mid-20th century, this state pushed themselves to the limit to restore themselves to the height of power they held long ago.
Culture:
Following the story of humanity’s civilizations, the Sea Peoples and the myths thereof, the Med. Vaiyra developed a rich, intricate set of values, customs and courtesies. Formalities are built upon stories which, in turn, are built on enough history to fill hundreds of lives.
The individuals that make up this region’s population have inherited the spirits of Abrahamic gods and Roman legions. Wielding the experience of a millennia of human interaction and development, the people of this region regard themselves as gods and command respect.
While inspired by the major empires that have come and gone, authoritarianism in the form of fascism left a strong impact. Despite government efforts to encourage this style of social modernization, it is impossible to remove these seemingly immortal beings from their traditional, ancient roots.
VR technology is used less for military use and more as a means to approach the past. History, especially the shared history between humanity and the Vaiyra, is prized and sought to be treasured as the basis for their superiority over humanity. Through their guiding, godlike principles over humanity, this region holds its people in high esteem.
Development:
Had a head start with the Roman Empire in power at the time. A lot of infrastructure dates back to this age of expansion and has either been updated or neglected over the years.
Fairly typical Vaiyran state with the exception of heavy Roman, Greek, Egyptian and Islamic influence. Resource bases and habitation centers can be traced back to the age they were developed based on the architecture styles, which were influenced by the predominant human civilizations of the time.
Resources:
Having exploited humans for much of their history, organic resources come from seafloor mining, especially in the shallows. Most resources must be imported. A close relationship with the Western Asia region, with them sharing the same leader, allows for seamless integration.
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East Asia
Leader:
Skopeo
Assets:
Shinano Mobile Fleet (機動艦隊): Shinano (heavily modernized version with angled deck and jets), Escort flotilla (comprised of cruisers from Ibuki and Tone classes, also modernized, coupled with a few post war designs)
Local History:
Proximity to the capital has made life hard for the Asian state. Strict oversight without leniency has had an impact on the state’s development, growing closer to humanity and developing animosity for the central government as a result.
This state has had ties with the major seafaring nations of the region. From Xu Fu to Zheng He, they have formed their settlements around careful monitoring of locals in admiration, rather than hostility. Ancient Chinese and Japanese maritime legends in particular have helped guide this state towards an identity unique amongst the Vaiyra. Predisposed towards tradition with their original culture, they have adapted to adhere to local values, much to the dismay of their peers.
This culture has never quite struggled due to aid from the central government, allowing them to focus on refining a martial, warrior culture inspired by humanity rather than design means to oppose or hide from them. As an act of independence against the central government, this state committed various acts in the open, to include damaging the Mongolian invasion fleets of the 13th century under the guise of “storms.”
Their appreciation of the local humans was put to the test after the Second World War, with great internal tension driven into the state from its exposure to such enormous catastrophes overhead. Reluctant to see the spirits of the defeated locals cast away, this nation assimilated the spirits of the Imperial Japanese Navy with the population boom, looking to these ships as the first extensions of humanity they were able to communicate with directly. Deeply inspired by their presence and influence on the Asian state’s society, the state grew closely aligned to the Japanese Empire of old, and by the late 90s, found their chance to correct the mistakes of the past - this time, without the flaws of human interference.
Taking increasing influence from the collectivism and co-beneficial philosophy embedded within the East Asian cultural sphere, the Pacific state coupled this with their own superiority complex to further promote a polarized and purified version of “self-development, co-benefit, unity and collectivity” philosophy. As “copium” and a thread that could “glue” individuals under different cultural influences together, they promote a “pursue the purity of the ideology, extract common values, and denounce the impure pretenders that is humanity”.
There would be no tolerance for foreign humiliation and destruction of their core values. Japan’s rise in the 80’s and near ascension to great power status must have ended because of foreign manipulation. China’s greatness, tainted by the Cultural Revolution, must be recovered - with Hong Kong existing as a symbol of weakness. Asia has been destroyed by the decadent West, and only by affirming an Asia for Asians, cooperating for prosperity, can the old ways be saved.
There are also internal differences, for instance, an exodus of a number of Chinese ships when they sensed the rise of IJN members (one of the candidates could be ex-ROCN/PLAN ship Chung King), their exodus to China founded the basis for Chinese shipsoul technologies and faction.
Unfortunately, their appropriation of local culture and assimilation of human ships has demonstrated to the central government that they have been irredeemably tainted by humanity. While maintaining their official connections, a refusal to supply natural resources, to include oil and energy, may force the Asian state’s hand.
Southeast Asian part of this state can also have a bit more of the screen time, due to their relative independence and reluctance to be “assimilated” within the IJN formations, they can have their own separate flotillas that work for the state, but maintain a pronounced line with the main IJN arm. They cooperate more frequently with other state’s fleets and can also be seen as a potential counterbalance against the deteriorating situation for Skopeo.
Culture:
Because of their strict initial assimilation into the Vaiyra, the Asian state was quick to grow resentful and look to humanity for inspiration in development. This society has since grown close to ancient Chinese and Japanese values, eager to assimilate their traditions as their own.
With resistance from the central government came reprisals, which influenced individuals to look down upon them.
The introduction of Japanese Imperial Navy ships into their population, they quickly took initiative and grew to become influential members of society. Constant calls for action by them could only be placated by constant concessions, to include the construction of modernized hulls to supplement their souls. While these hulls were eager to be uplifted and activated at a moment’s notice, it was only through the central government’s influence that rash actions were prevented. For now.
Eventually, the Vaiyran leader, Skopeo, held less influence than the Japanese shipgirls. Despite clearly losing control of the situation, Skopeo remains reluctant to lose face to both the state she fostered and the Vaiyran peers relying on her.
Development:
This state has developed alongside the central government and human nations, having taken strong inspiration from local stories and myths. With much of their values rooted in values of past and present, the drive of overwhelming western influence with the coming of the Cold War has left the region enraged and in a state of rapid militarization.
VR technology has been used as an escape for many of the Japanese shipgirls, granting them an avenue to experience a virtual Japan that retains their values, free of Western influence. This refuge deepens a yearning for a “stolen” reality.
Resources:
Due to proximity to the central government, this state did not need to develop its own natural resources nearly as extensively as other states. While they have operations in the deepest trenches of the Pacific Ocean it is not enough to sustain them alone. Their reliance on the central government’s aid may be the central government’s best means of keeping hold of the Asian state, but it may also be the catalyst for taking action.