Imprint of Blood

by Phil Huddleston

  Aeolis (planet)

  Aeolis is a planet in the Beehive Cluster, 580 light years from Earth. It is the capital planet of the Aeolian Empire. The capital city, Aronte, is named after the founding house of the Empire, the House Aronte. Aeolis orbits a G2 type star called ‘Helios’ in the Aeolian language and is similar to Earth in size, composition and climate.

  Amasya (planet)

  Amasya is a planet in the Fringe of the Aeolian Empire. Like most planets in the Cluster, it is quite young, with an estimated age of 600 million years. Due to an exceptionally large number of comets in its system, significant amounts of water were deposited on the planet in its early evolution, as occurred in many other systems in the Cluster. This allowed oceans and a basic atmosphere to develop. Per the Machine Ship Pandora, the rogue Machine Ship Darwin elected to use these young planets as the basis for a bottleneck experiment to determine the minimum environmental factors required for sentient life to survive. Seeding at least a dozen planets with oxygen-producing microbes and plant life, Darwin moved on to other projects, waiting approximately 500 million years for the atmospheres of the planets to develop suitable levels of oxygen and plant cover. He then located sentients for his experiment, selecting humans from Earth as well as other species from the Orion Arm, abducting them and depositing them on various planets in the Cluster around 750 BC. Only the humans deposited on Aeolis survived. After several thousand years the Aeolians, having a basic awareness of spaceflight and the universe due to their abduction, developed starships and spread out into the Cluster. Amasya was colonized by the Aeolians in 1777 AD by the Rim Calendar.

  A hot desert planet with a low population, Amasya has small deposits of iron, leading to its primary industry of exporting iron and steel finished goods, including starships from the Hercules Shipyard. Amasya is also noted as the birthplace of the Fringe Rebellion.

  Antiope (Planet)

  Antiope is a planet in the Trappist system, formerly called Trappist 1-e. It is 39.6 lights from Earth. Because the planet is tidally locked to its host star, only a thin band between the hot and cold hemispheres is suitable for human habitation.

  The planet was named by Jake Hammett after the Aeolian Empress Antiope, whom he met and married while secretly visiting the Aeolian Empire. Antiope was the mother of the current Empress, Hippolyta as well as Princess Deinomache. Jake Hammett was quoted as stating he named the planet after Empress Antiope because “she had a single-minded focus on suppressing the Fringe Rebellion, to the exclusion of all other issues – like a planet forever staring at a star, while the other side freezes.”

  Antiope (Empress of Aeolis)

  Antiope Lysippe Aronte was the 212th Empress of the Aeolian Empire, reigning from 2141 to 2163. She prosecuted an intense military campaign against the Fringe Rebels, resulting in a polarized nation which struggled to understand the unending cost and destruction of the war.

  Antiope was born in 2114 to Princess Merope, the second daughter of Empress Asteria. She was raised in the traditional militaristic manner of the Amazonian nobility, attending the Imperial Naval Academy at Aronte and serving in the active fleet for three years until her first marriage, when she transferred to the Reserves. Princess Antiope first married Prince Hyginus Lysippe in 2135 and immediately gave birth to a daughter, Hippolyta, the future 213th Empress. In 2137, Prince Hyginus was killed while onboard the frigate Miletus, which was ambushed by Fringe Rebels while transporting troops to Maia. In 2141, Antiope married as her second husband the Earth-born RDF leader Jake Hammett, who had infiltrated the Aeolian Empire posing as a mercenary named Zeno. She had one child by Hammett, Deinomache. As a result of this birth, per the laws of the Aeolian Empire, Jake Hammett was banished from Aronte.

  In April of 2141, her aunt Empress Miranda and her mother Princess Merope were killed by a terrorist attack in the Imperial Palace. Per the laws of succession of the Aeolian Empire, Antiope thereby received the tiara and became Empress. In response to the terror attack which killed her aunt and mother, she embarked on a prolonged and violent war against the Fringe Rebels, a campaign which drained the treasury, created hundreds of thousands of casualties, and turned a significant part of the populace against her. By the time of her death, Empress Antiope had become increasingly unpopular with the nobility and merchant class of the Empire but was still well supported by the rank and file.

  Empress Antiope was killed in the Great Raid of 2163 when a task force of Fringe Rebel warships managed to break through the defenses of the Helios system and bombard the capital, Aronte, killing thousands. She is buried in the Imperial Cemetery near Aronte.

  Aronte (city)

  Aronte is the capital city of the Aeolian Empire. With a population of well over 5 million, it is the largest city in the Empire. Located on the planet Aeolis in the Helios System, it sits on the banks of the Thermodon River about 4 km from the Pontus Axeinos, the ocean covering most of the western hemisphere of Aeolis.

  Atsuko Kawasaki

  RDF Captain Atsuko Kawasaki was head of the RDF Intelligence branch from 2121 until her disappearance in 2139. In 2180, it was revealed by Granada Tolleson Hammett, daughter of Jake Hammett and Teresa Tolleson, that Atsuko was a clone created by the Machine Ship Pandora prior to arrival on Earth, meant to assist in the integration of Jake Hammett, Teresa Tolleson and Dr. Kirsten Monk into an effective team for the sake of humanity’s survival. According to Granada, when Pandora made her final departure from Kamilaroi in 2139, Atsuko left with her. This has never been confirmed and her disappearance remains a mystery, but the fact that the RDF never mounted a search for her acts as indirect confirmation of this theory.

  Barcam (planet)

  Barcam is a planet in the Fringe of the Aeolian Empire. Like most planets in the Beehive Cluster, it is quite young, with an estimated age of 600 million years (see Amasya for details of the early evolution of populated planets in the Cluster). Barcam was colonized by the Aeolians in 1748 AD by the Rim Calendar.

  Barcam is a temperate world with adequate amounts of water for plant and animal life to flourish. It has little industry and primarily produces agricultural products, especially grapes and wine, most of which are exported. Like most of the Fringe Planets, it has a low population. Barcam has been a peripheral participant in the Fringe Rebellion.

  Basic Rules (RimFed)

  The Basic Rules are provisions of government which a star nation must follow to be a member of the Rim Federation. Initially adopted by the RDF Colonization Office in 2122 under the supervision of Dr. Kirsten Monk, the Basic Rules were later incorporated into the Rim Federation (RimFed) system of governance and remain the foundational government model for star nations in the alliance. The Basic Rules consist of the Rim Model of Responsible Government coupled with strong sanctions, such as ostracization, for any government which abandons the Rules.

  Bat Empire

  The Bat Empire is a star nation centered on the planet Nest, located 805 light years from Earth on a nearly direct line behind the Pipe Nebula. The Bat Empire has been notoriously involved in the genocides of an estimated 9 sentient species to date. It remains an existential threat to humanity and other races as it expands into the Orion Arm of the Galaxy. The Rim Defense Force (RDF) based at Kamilaroi continues to prepare for the inevitable meeting with this barbaric star nation by building out a fleet of warships and developing strategy, tactics and training for space warfare under the leadership of CNO Jake Hammett.

  Battle of Aronte

  The Battle of Aronte occurred in 2141 and was an engagement between the Aeolian Empire Navy (AEN) and a rebel fleet seeking to overthrow the House Aronte and install a democratic government in the Aeolian Empire. The battle resulted in the defeat of the rebel force, which retreated to the Aeolian Empire Fringe Worlds.

  In 2120, the planet Amasya became the center of a rebel force determined to institute reforms in the Aeolian Empire. Among the reforms they espoused were an end to the House Aronte's rule of the Aeolian Empire, the abolition of slavery, a dem
ocratic government based on sortition (choosing political officials by lot), universal suffrage (i.e. the male vote), and the end of laws preventing males from obtaining political office or serving as officers in the Navy. By 2139, Amasya and ten other planets had been taken over by the rebels and a respectable naval force had been accumulated from captured AEN ships and converted merchant vessels.

  After several minor skirmishes in and around Amasya, Maia and Barcam, in early 2141 the rebel fleet felt they had enough power to make a surprise attack on the capital city, Aronte, and execute a coup against the Empress. A diversionary attack was launched in the Aeolian system near the gas giant Hypnos, which tied up a significant portion of the Home Fleet. The main rebel fleet then appeared suddenly in the system and charged for the planet, advancing to geostationary orbit over the capital city of Aronte where it prepared for an orbital bombardment which would have destroyed the Imperial Palace, Fleet Headquarters at the Navy Yard, and the Imperial Naval Academy, with the intent of decapitating the Aeolian leadership. A last-ditch suicide charge by the cruiser Kleitos, commanded by Captain Ligeia Satra, was able to blunt the force of the attack sufficiently for the Home Fleet to regroup and come in behind the rebels, driving them from the field and destroying most of their ships.

  Brush War

  The Brush War was a short, sharp conflict involving Australia, Canada, China, Indonesia, Japan, North Korea, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States in early 2115. Triggered by a minor brushing incident between ships of North Korea and Japan in the Yellow Sea on January 2nd, 2115, the conflict soon involved China and the U.S. as they came to the aid of their allies; within two weeks, the war had escalated, other military forces were involved, more than three dozen naval vessels had been sunk, and full-scale air battles had occurred over China, Japan, North Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan.

  After the initial burst of hostilities, the combatants withdrew most naval forces (due to the high attrition rates of ships lost) and resorted to long-distance bombing and missile attacks, primarily against military targets. During the first three months of 2115, over four thousand missiles and aircraft were shot down on all sides, but at least two thousand missiles and thousands of bombs decimated military installations in all combatant countries. By May 2115, all sides were basically out of missiles and front-line aircraft. The combatants then resorted to the use of reserve aircraft and even civilian models to send on bombing missions.

  At this stage, Russia intervened diplomatically, offering to broker a cease-fire. By the end of May, a cease-fire had been agreed and the unofficial war came to an end, although the final peace agreement was not signed until November 21st, 2116.

  As a result of the Brush War, further non-aggression pacts were signed in 2117 and 2118 between the major combatants; Japan accepted 2 billion dollars U.S. in reparations from North Korea and China; and the U.S. withdrew its objections to a future, phased annexation of Taiwan in return for a similar future recombination of North and South Korea (both effected in final form by 2174).

  Charter Debt

  Charter Debt is the debt accrued by a colony in return for legal title to a planet or other colony location (e.g. a moon or asteroid), along with the cost of transportation, resources and support required to initiate a new colony in the location. Charter Debt was a concept introduced by the RDF Colony Office in 2121, when Jake Hammett, Teresa Tolleson and Dr. Kirsten Monk formed the RDF Colony Office. The concept of Charter Debt was established to ensure that the resources involved in starting a new colony could be recouped, with interest, in order to build RDF defenses and prepare for the future war with the Bat Empire.

  Basically, Charter Debt required the 2nd generation colonists (e.g. the children of the original colonists) and the 3rd generation colonists (e.g. the grandchildren of the original colonists) to construct two starships for use by the RDF (or one battleship or fleet carrier). A typical pattern was that the 2nd generation delivered one small starship (e.g. corvette, destroyer, scoutship), while the 3rd generation built upon that expertise and infrastructure to deliver a larger starship (e.g. frigate, cruiser or carrier). Upon delivery and acceptance of the starships by the RDF, the Charter Debt was expunged, and the colony was free and clear.

  In some cases, the RDF allowed substitute payment, e.g. in raw materials, finished goods or labor, to take the place of a delivered starship. For example, the Jovian colony on Europa satisfied their Charter Debt by becoming specialists in low-temperature microelectronics and providing advanced AI cores to the RDF for military use, remaining even today as the preeminent AI factory in the Rim.

  Cold Bay

  Cold Bay is a prison planet established in 2125 near Eudora, half-way to the Beehive Cluster. Criminals who would otherwise receive a death penalty in their home jurisdictions or who have been designated repeat violent offenders are sterilized and exiled to Cold Bay. Once dropped on the planet, individuals are left to their own devices. The technology on the planet is held at an early primitive level (Earth, 1750's) to prevent any chance of escape.

  Compressed Learning

  Compressed learning is a technology provided to the RDF by the Machine Ship Pandora in 2121, when she visited Earth to provide a technology boost to humanity.

  Compressed learning allows the direct transmission of knowledge into the brain of the recipient during sleep, with few side effects. This allows most languages to be learned in two or three nights of sleep. It is routinely used by the military forces of most star nations but is shunned by most educational institutions for philosophical reasons.

  Core (Galaxy Core)

  The Core of the Milky Way Galaxy is the area reserved for artificial intelligence creatures such as Machine Ships. This area is off-limits to biological beings. There have been several attempts to explore the Core; none of the expeditions have returned.

  Darwin (Machine Ship)

  Darwin is the name assigned by the RDF to a Machine Ship which visited Earth in approximately 750 BC and abducted roughly 200 persons, along with a variety of plants and animals, taking them to the planet Aeolis in the Beehive Cluster, where they were abandoned. This group of people formed the nucleus of the Aeolian Empire. According to the Machine Ship Pandora, Darwin's intention was to conduct a bottleneck experiment, but he eventually tired of his role as experimenter and departed back to Machine Space, where he was detained and sentenced to re-programming for violation of the non-interference directive of the Machine Space society.

  Deinomache (Princess of Aeolis)

  Princess Deinomache Andromache Aronte is a member of the nobility of the Aeolian Empire. Princess Deinomache was born in 2141, the daughter of Princess (later Empress) Antiope and Jake Hammett, an RDF Admiral who had infiltrated Aeolis disguised as a mercenary.

  Eudora

  The planet Eudora is a large rocky planet located 279 lights from Earth toward Aeolis, in the general direction of the Beehive Cluster, orbiting the cool M-type star Oceanus. It was initially discovered by the RDF in 2124 and is used as a forward base for observation and infiltration of the Aeolian Empire. It hosts RDF Naval Base Eudora as well as the adjoining city, Selene. With a mass 25% greater than Earth and a slightly larger radius of 7,656 km, the surface gravity is only 86% that of Earth, making it a popular place of retirement for humans.

  F81 Dagger II

  The F81 Dagger II was a hybrid jet/ramjet/scramjet fighter of the early 22nd century, used primarily by the U.S. Navy for carrier operations. The Dagger was designed as a high-altitude interceptor. It was the first three-mode hybrid in service with the U.S. and was prone to frequent mechanical malfunctions, resulting in a high attrition rate and the loss of several pilots. It was considered obsolete by the time of the Brush War of 2115 and was replaced by the next-generation F82.

  F82 Stilletto II

  The F82 Stilletto II was a hybrid jet/ramjet/scramjet fighter of the early 22nd century, used primarily by the U.S. Navy for carrier operations. The Stilletto was a sub-orbital interceptor, al
though it was also used as a fighter-bomber for such roles as tossing smart bombs from above 45,000 meters against distant targets. Placed into service in 2108, it was the U.S. Navy’s front-line fighter in the Brush War of 2115. 322 aircraft were lost over a four-month period, the highest attrition rate of any U.S. aircraft in the War, as the Navy’s carriers represented the front line of the war until the U.S. could position more land-based aircraft closer to the battlefront and withdraw the carriers to safer locations. The F82 mission profile typically involved a late-night launch, a climb to sub-orbit and a dive to attack enemy bombers as they made night bombing runs on allied territory, especially Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Although numbers can only be estimated, it is generally accepted that the F82 shot down 400+ enemy aircraft over the first four months of the war, a major factor in the eventual cessation of hostilities as all combatants ran out of airplanes and missiles.

  F90 Grumbler

  The F90 “Grumbler” was a hybrid jet/ramjet/scramjet fighter of the early 22nd century, used primarily by the U.S. Air Force. The Grumbler was a sub-orbital interceptor and fighter/bomber. It was named for its distinctive “grumbling” sound during re-entry from sub-orbit. Placed into service in 2120, it was the primary front-line fighter for the Air Force until retired early in 2145 after the tDrive was released for limited civilian use. Variants included the F90B two-seat version and the F90D attack model.

  Fringe Planets

  The Fringe Planets are populated planets in the outskirts of the Beehive Cluster near Amasya, which constitute the mainstay of the Fringe Rebellion. These planets are the farthest from Aeolis and thus considered the “backwater” of the Empire. The list of planets making up the fringe are generally considered to be Amasya, Calypso, Maia, Electra, Taygete, Alcyone, Celaeno and Sterope. All participate in the Fringe Rebellion and are in a constant state of war with the center of the Empire. Barcam is sometimes lumped with this group as a Fringe Planet but does not participate to any great extent in the Fringe Rebellion.