Empire
The Empire is one of the three major factions in the universe, the other two being the Federation and the Alliance. The Imperial Palace, seat of the Emperor, is situated on Capitol in the Achenar system.
Although a peace treaty has existed between the Empire and the Federation since 2382AD, there have never really been any peaceful relations between these two old enemies. The Empire despises the Federation and everything it stands for, and vice-versa.
The Empire is less technologically dependent than the Federation, choosing to keep and employ slaves for the work which machines would usually perform in other parts of the universe. The Empire is also a proponent of human cloning, a topic which the other factions find abhorrent and have officially banned within their own jurisdictions.
Imperial society is based on a "cliens" system - much like ancient Rome - and strictly stratified, with people being able to move between strata based on money, patronage and influence. It values both status and honour very highly. Whilst it is acceptable to flaunt wealth, treating people well is a question of honour - and this includes slaves. Having an unpaid debt is seen as utterly dishonourable - an honourable Imperial citizen would sell themselves into slavery to clear a debt they couldn't otherwise afford.
The Imperial Law is seen and enforced by Senators who themselves are above the law. They can order executions, and can even kill people themselves, though sometimes (rarely) they may be held to account for their actions by the Emperor. In the Empire very little is illegal, but many things are frowned upon, like excessive use of narcotics.[1]
Imperial design puts an emphasis on the glamorous, glorious, and aesthetically beautiful, with extravagance in abundance. Everything in the Empire looks impressive, from their cities, to their ships, right down to the clothes worn by Imperial subjects.
Ranks
Faction Ships
Permits
- For a list of Permits, see Permits/Empire.
Permits are required to access certain systems that are otherwise locked out by the computer of your Frame Shift Drive (FSD).
Such permits are rewarded by the controlling faction for that locked system, when you become friendly with that faction, by accomplishing missions such as "Imperial dispatch" and receiving ranks. You can often find that faction on a station outside the main system they control.
Once finished several dispatch quests, simply visit the Bulletin Board at any of the faction's stations to accept a job titled "Imperial invitation". Accepting the job automatically adds the permit to your FSD computer.
Pre-History
Marlin Duval, who was an architect of peace and an anti-Federation activist, circa 2300AD. She was notorious for speaking out against the harsh Federal administration which oppressed society. Such was her disenchantment that she gathered her family together, along with many supporters, and left the Federation. Marlin led them to a distant star system called Achenar, many light years from Sol, in order to start a new colony that would follow more peaceful ways.
The colony started off extremely well, and an administrative council was formed with Marlin at the head, in order to fairly distribute power throughout the colony. As the colony expanded, so did the council, with a determination that any and every situation was dealt with via peaceful methods and dialogue. This arrangement worked very well indeed and the colony continued to prosper.
Alas, a few years later Marlin Duval was killed in a shuttle accident, in which her partner and children also perished. The accident was shrouded in controversy and happened under very suspicious circumstances.
History
Henson Duval, brother of Marlin Duval, took over the existing colony's administration almost immediately after his sister's death. Henson's first act was to disband the council and assume sole responsibility for the leadership of the Achenar colony. Henson then began to fervently denounce Marlin's vision for peace, and turn the focus and motivation of the colony away from its peaceful roots. Such was his passion and power of persuasion that he succeeded in converting the capricious colonists to his doctrines in a remarkably short period of time. During this period many requests were made, to Achenar from the Federation, for the colony to join them, all of which were flatly refused. Henson's vision of an Empire was finally realised when he announced that the leadership of the colony, and any affiliated systems, would be passed down from father to son. With that mandate the Empire was born, circa 2314AD.
Some years later, Henson ordered the sterilisation of Achenar 6d, in order to make it the homeworld of the Empire, which resulted in the extinction of a sentient race indigenous to that planet. This, and Henson's perpetual attempts to convert nearby systems to membership of his fledgling Empire, enraged the Federation into sending a massive battle fleet to Achenar in order to end this new regime. The Federation surprisingly suffered a stinging defeat at the hands of the Empire.
With this victory, worlds that had previously been approached by Henson Duval, and initially refused his offers, now willingly gave their allegiance, abandoning the Federation in favour of the new, and mighty, Empire. As a result the Empire began to expand and grow, exponentially.