QuakAAR: The history of the Quazardorlian Commonality

[MoonShine-Star]

Hello there! This is my first time posting on this forum after years of ghosting. I've never done an AAR before, although I do enjoy roleplaying my Stellaris runs. Despite the name, this is not the Blorg Commonality but with space ducks, although similarities might appear here and there. Feedbacks are welcome, of course.

Also, as a disclaimer, all mods that might be used here are not mine. I couldn't mod if my life depends on it, so credits are due (all mods can be found on the Steam's Workshop):

- Ethics and Civics Classic (Megacorp Civc Update)
- Real Space 3.9
- Dynamic Political Events
- Starnet AI
- Real Space: Dark Cluster
- Real Space: Out of Deep
- Scaled Leader Capacity
- More Insults

I will start with the (quite heavy) backstory before moving on to the actual gameplay (I'm already 10 years into the game), but bear with me, all of it will be important in the coming story. With that said, welcome to my first AAR!

 

[MoonShine-Star]

History of the Quakador Race

1. In the beginning

Born on the planet Ilzia and sculpted by the harsh elements of its endless deserts, the Quakador race knew from the start that it was destined for great undertakings. Despite the unforgiving elements and the armies of predators lurking and waiting for the first sign of weakness to strike, the Quakadors were able to thrive through the ages, first as small communities pressed around oases and rivers, then as small chiefdoms, petty kingdoms and lasting empires. By the time they split the atom and connected their cities through mechanised vehicles, they were the undisputed masters of Ilzia, having tamed its environment and fend off any competition from pre-sapient and half-sapient beasts.

But the story of the Quakador is also a story of faith. Long before their ascension, the primitive tribes hiding from predators put their luck in the basket of mysticism, praying to deities for protection and strength. The oldest cave paintings discovered by archaeologist, the majestuous 4000 years old Tiran murals, tell a tale of fertility gods and rain spirits believed to bring sorrow and famine to the living should their wrath not be appeased by sacrifices - of livestock, of course (or so do historians hope).

Millenia of perdition and reflection would pass before the true religion finally came to be. Born in the shantytowns of the glorious city of Meshvir during the Middle Ages, the Golden One, sent from the Stak’Hal (the skies above) began spreading the good words to the people across continents. Berated and almost killed by heretics and petty chieftains, the prophet gathered an army of disciples over 50 years of a harsh life, which ended where it started, when the Golden One was burned to death by heretic authorities in the grand palace of Meshvir, for all the malevolent nobles and chiefs to see.

His martyr would not go in vain, however. His teaching would only find an echo he could have never hoped for. In death, his promises of a pristine celestial kingdom for those who revered Eliza, the Goddess of Sun of old and Guardian of the Desert, beamed across the planet with the strength of millions. With increased instability and chaos steaming from a brutal increase in global temperature during a period of 60 years following an increase of solar activities, old beliefs and traditions were shaken and brought down by the reality of Quakador dying by millions in the streets, unable to feed their cubs or to tend to their livestock. In this dire time where it was believed that the twilight of the Quakador race was naught, the followers of the Golden One, distributed across borders and seas, soon found a numerous audience, desperately searching for hope. The catastrophe brought upon the planet, they argued, was due to the anger of Eliza over the martyr of the Golden One and the cult of other false deities that overshadowed the old ones. With the Golden One’s message spreading like wildfire, friction was inevitable.

Religious conflicts and persecution were not late to follow the missionaries of the true faith wherever they went, but against the gathering storm, the power of Eliza was more than enough to make their preaching audible in the fiery winds of war and calamity. After centuries of conflict, the Quakador race entered the industrial age with a renewed spiritual unity. Gone are the false deities and old superstitions that plagued their race and forced them to the brink of extinction. Now, the cult of Eliza, her Golden One and the saints and prophets that followed his path dominated the planet under the religion of Quirkizm.

Built upon the three pillars of Asceticism, the Obliteration of the Self for the Collective and the Promise of the Stak’Hal for the worthy and the void for heretic souls, Quirkizm was essentially a martial religion which sprouted numerous military orders tasked with uprooting heresy and surveilling the everyday life of their communities thanks to a system of denunciation and espionage copied across continents. In many cases, the power of the Clergy would supersede the temporal power of kings and emperors, as cases of dethroned leaders to install puppeteered crowned heads weren’t uncommon. In essence, Quirkizm was a totalitarian ideology whose tenets didn’t sound too different from earlier schools of thoughts in Quakadorian history, saved from its level of success and the level of control it wielded upon societies.

2. A New World Order

However, in 540 A.V.E (After the Victory of Eliza, i.e the fall of the Hadonrian Empire, the last major holdout against the international coalition of Quirkizist countries), things would take another turn. The old, rich merchant kingdom of Qutah spearheaded the entry of the planet into the atomic age by splitting the atom, an event that would be soon overshadowed by the gathering of some of the planet’s highest political and religious officials in one of the kingdom’s most prestigious resorts. In order to consolidate the dominance of Quirkizm over their homeworld, the Holy Conclave of Firza was formed. Named after one of the most prominent prophetesse following the Golden One’s martyr, the organisation was officially dedicated to strengthen international military, civilian and economic cooperation to ward off any regional or planetary effort to counteract the dominance of the one true belief, a fear confirmed by the reemergence of heretic terrorist organisation, underground efforts and ideologies in the deprived nations of the planet that offered an alternative to Quirkizm totalitarian projections.


In reality however, a much deeper conspiracy made the Holy Conclave the first path to global unity. With the participation of the top officials of the global Quirkizist church, the Heavenly Throne of Ren’Shemet, the dominant superpower in the western hemisphere of the planet, was conspiring behind the scene to spur international instability by financing anti-Quirkizist movements and terrorist organisations. In particular, the ideology of Dergochism, a socio-economic and political school of thought advocating for secularism, equality and freedom of the individual was gaining steam in the destitute yet resource-rich countries of the southeastern hemisphere and spreading like wildfire thanks to the democratisation of mass communication. A success that would not have been possible without the covert support of Ren’Shemet agents.

With this strategy, the Heavenly Throne would soon ignite fires all across the world, to which the member-states of the Conclave would grow to be more and more powerless. With a parallel accumulation of influence thanks to a proactive hard/soft diplomacy, the Ren’Shemet ensured that they would become the go-to superpower in order to police their planet, as their rivals were devolving into civil wars and entangled in foreign conflicts. Their success would culminate in the declaration of Custodianship in 620 A.V.E, where they were made the planetary protector of the true faith by the Conclave in order to face the Tsherzadan Confederacy, a Dergochist superpower that took hold in the Eastern and Southern continents of the planet. After 20 years of global conflicts which saw 320 million souls perishing in the cogs of war, the Tsherzadan Confederacy was brought down with the fall of their capital, Neisa, in 641 A.V.E.

Standing victorious amidst the ruins of a destroyed and - partly - irradiated planet, the Ren’Shemet were the undisputed hegemony of Iliza. Having baptised by fire the last stronghold of the Golden One’s deniers and without credible opposition on the international stage, the Ren’Shemet and the Quirkizist clergy got Iliza exactly where they wanted. As such, in 645 A.V.E, with thunderous applause, the Quazardolian Heavenly Throne, the first planetary government of Iliza, was declared in the heart of Qutah, where everything started decades agoes.

The next decades would be marked by reconstruction efforts involving unprecedented levels of investment and technological prowesses. The desert wouldn’t be blooming, but at least the Quakador populace was happy to toil away in the name of their Mayasia - their Empress. Any rumours of rebellions or revolts were simply just that, unfounded whispers in the winds of the desert, no matter how frantic their screams were heard in the night by their terrified neighbours. All lived to contribute to the glory of the Golden One, embodied by the Empress and the clergy, who were more than happy to seclude themselves in order to enjoy the fruits of the masses’ labour.

But in 710 A.V.E, a new hope would be set alight for the Quakador. From its laboratories at the outskirts of Qutah, the Imperial Administration for Experimental Research was able to conduct the first manned space voyage in orbit. Televised across the entire planet, the images of the first astronauts waltzing through space left billions in a state of marvel and stupor. Although a few satellites had already been successfully launched into orbit, it was still considered that a Quakador in space was a child fantasy. Now it seemed that nothing could stop the children of the Golden One to reach the heavens above.

For another century, the Quazardolian Heavenly Throne stood steady against the test of time. Counter-insurrections were successfully led, rebel strongholds decimated and heresy kept at bay by smoke and fire. The old dreams of liberty held by Dergochism and others continued to live on in remote, isolated bastions, but even they weren’t safe from being purged by the righteous sword of the Throne. It appeared that no power or individual could rival the Throne, which attention was now entirely turned toward the stars. In 735 A.V.E, the first manned mission to the orbit of Hikar, a gas giant, was followed by the commissioning of Kahol’s Retreat, the first space station named after one revered Quirkizst priest, thought to have ascended with the Golden One after his martyr.

But the rest of the eighth century would be met by a stalemate on the spatial front. Despite the collection of breakthrough and scientific discoveries, the newly founded Imperial Aerospatial Agency couldn’t deliver on the Empress’ insistence to create a mean for interstellar travel. Not well-versed into science, the Empress was a pious Quakador, however, who believed that the next step toward religious sublimation was - quite literally - celestial ascension. However frightening she was to the poor scientists of the IAA, who saw their bosses come and go - sometimes badly bruised and escorted by Imperial templars, her Imperial impatience was backed by a virtually unlimited stash of funding and means, anything that could help them achieve her vision. And so they toiled away in their laboratories, with the meagre consolation of not being subjected to strict rationing on food or water and living like kings (as long as Imperial templars didn’t come bashing through their doors).

3. The Reaper of Zernia

Meanwhile, however, trouble was still brewing for Imperial authorities. In the Royal Domain of Zernia, neighbouring Qutah, a new figure started emerging in the 780s from the shantytowns outside Zernian mega-cities. His name was whispered in the dark of the night and could send a shiver down the spine of any imperial officer. Tales of merchants, runaway slaves and brigands spoke of a Quakador who was broken by torture in one of the region’s supermax prison, from which he escaped during a rebel bombing. Apparently, himself a criminal mastermind, he gathered a group of some of the most dangerous outlaws and idealists populating Zerna’s underworld. Whoever might have been senseless enough to follow him was subject to reflection, but their reputation soon preceded them. Slave owners of the most influential imperial guilds were found hanging on public squares in the morning, disfigured and their faces frozen in pain. Cruel imperial enforcers feared of ending up hanging from their feets with some limbs missing. Even mob bosses, known for being complacent or downright helpful for imperial authorities, weren’t spared the risk of being buried alive, their remains only found by the authorities thanks to instructions written on some anonymous notes. The Reaper of Zerna, as he came to be known, became a subject of terror for loyal imperial citizens, and of respect and hope for the enslaved masses and the myriad of political opponents slowly dying out of hopelessness in the carceral system.

But even with the growing unrest in Zerna that threatened to spread to the entire region, Imperial authorities were confident. After all, the Reaper of Zerna is only the successor of many similar figures: the Hope of Kurta, the Liberator of Camp Malfrod, Kulzar the leader of the Goraï Cell… All of them rose, all of them fought, all of them perished alongside any hope they might have awakened within the spirit of their followers. One more troublesome “rebel leader” couldn’t be this big of a preoccupation, and beside, the Empress’ attention was turned elsewhere.

Indeed, in 801 A.V.E, the long awaited miracle finally happened. After what could have been a planet-ending disaster was averted at the Qutah Particle Accelerator, Professor Quzarah and his team accidentally stumbled upon a gift from the Golden One (or so it seemed): the Empress didn’t really understand the details, she graduated in Religious Scriptures Studies after all, but she only cared about the conclusion her frantic scientists were celebrating: space travel was now possible thanks to the discovery of the so-called “Hyper Drive”.

The IAA didn’t lose more time with drunken celebrations and victory masses: in 810 A.V.E, they were able to install the first Hyper Drive engine onto a prototype scientific vessel. The first test was a resounding success: although the engine was clearly unstable and required more upgrading to be ready for commissioning, it was still able to make the vessel travel back and forth to the outskirts of the solar system without sustaining too much damage.

Meanwhile however, when the Throne was looking toward the stars above, it was facing increasing strife down here on Ilzia. Due to sheer arrogance and a crucial underplaying of the threat, Imperial authorities have allowed the Reaper of Zernia to grow his network into an international terror group, entangled with narcotraffic and, through shell corporations and subterfuge, heavily involved with official lucrative businesses such as slave trade, which he sought to combat in appearance. Thanks to his contacts within Imperial intelligence, the Reaper eventually gained insiders deep within the space program of the Throne. Idealists, who were afraid of helping to consolidate the future of a totalitarian regime by offering it the means to tap into the vast richness of space. Fools, indeed, who were easy to manipulate and who came to eventually form sleeper cells inside the IAA.

The Reaper was no morally white ideologue. He didn’t aspire to be a tyrant either, but he was a cold, ruthless and calculating pragmatic, who wasn’t going to shy away from any means to bring down the Throne. And it would be ideal if he could cut himself a profit here and there. And it seemed that the next frontline for profiteering and damaging Imperial rule was in space.

Using the inheritance of a distant cousin who “passed away” in mysterious circumstances (his vehicle was found down a canyon), the Reaper mounted a new corporation in 812 A.V.C by enlisting friendly faces in the financial world, tired of Imperial regulations and oversight. Eventually, the Fridara Space Inc. was gaining imperial contracts to mine the orbit of one of the many asteroid belts of the three-stars solar system. A glutinous amount of bribes, forced disappearances and assassinations of rivals paved the way for the corporation to dominate a sizable share of the market. The farce went on with so much success that the Reaper, now with a new identity and after heavy surgical modifications, even met with the Empress and her ministers on multiple occasions during the following decade. Of course, he couldn’t kill here right away, not without a solid plan and a more solid army, but all of this was building up in the background. With a weakened security apparatus and a complacent political structure, the Throne was only a house of cards ready to crumble at the first sight of a storm, one that was fast approaching without anyone realising it. One that was being built by the greatest conman in Quakadorian memory.

4. The Revolt

It started with a clerical anomaly, in 830 A.V.C, when the “Lipozar the Third” Space Station orbiting the gas giant of Hikar reported the missing of dozens of cargos full of military-grade explosive materials. The mystery went on for some days, with search parties not finding the missing elements anywhere around Hikar or normal space routes. No other outpost or station did report the arrival of said cargos and the worst immediately came to the mind of Imperial officers. But they wouldn’t have a chance to react properly before the true explosion happened.

After 20 hours (Ilzia Standard Time, roughly 30 Earth hours), the Fizo Carceral Center orbiting the eponymous mining colony came under heavy fire by an unknown hostile force. Thanks to the “hijacking” of a ship from the Fridara Space Inc, the party was able to reach the Center undetected and neutralised quickly most of the security forces who were guarding prominent rebel leaders, dissenting intellectuals and the most dangerous terrorists and criminals from Iliza. This was but a small part of a massive coordinated assault back on Iliza and across the solar system in order to free similar profiles from high-security prisons and labour camps. The Great Uprising was just beginning and there was no turning back now. The wheels set by the Reaper of Zernia began to turn at a deadly pace. And he reserved himself a front seat for the new page of History he was writing in the blood of imperial soldiers.

Leading a party of the most experienced rebels, assassins and gangsters he could put his hands on, the Reaper made his way to the SHM Karodus, a ginormous colony ship owned by one of the most important slave guilds of the Throne. When they boarded, they took completely by surprise the imperial officers on board and made their way to the lower decks, freeing the masses of slaves, many of whom were rebels or hardened criminals. However, the Golden One works in mysterious ways. Due to a faulty design in the rebel’s jamming device, the Karodus was able to send a distress signal to two approaching imperial transport ships. When the Reaper realised what just happened, it was too late: the ships opened fire on the rebel vessels, cutting any means of retreat, before boarding the ship on the higher decks.

The events that followed were a pure orgy of chaos: unprepared and not having access to the imperial arsenal located on the other side of the Karodus, the rebels had to fight with whatever they had. Many of the boarding party died, alongside more than a thousand slaves out of the ten thousands being transported aboard, before the Reaper and the remainder of his forces were able to make their way to the main bridge.

However, the crew and the still sizable imperial forces weren’t going to go down without a last stand. Failing to stall the rebels as much as possible before reinforcements could arrive, the commanding Imperial officer and the ship’s commander would at least die in honour in service to the Empress, whose whereabouts were unknown.

When the Reaper arrived on the main bridge, all hell broke loose. Explosives were set off, crew men were torn apart, rebels were blasted off and even the Reaper was slightly injured. But the odds were not in favour of the defenders. It seemed that no matter how many heretics were being killed, more appeared to come. Scums, ragtags and other low-life trying to take this blessed ship and whose brethren back on Iliza could have injured or killed the Empress. This wasn’t going to slide by for one zealous officer, who just happened to be controlling the hyper drive. At the very moment he saw the imperial commanding officer being gunned down by the Reaper, he knew what he had to do. Everything was lost, but he wasn’t going to allow this rebellion to go on any longer.

Despite the terrified, bloodied screams of the ship’s second-in-command who realised what his subordinate was doing, the latter pushed all buttons and levers beyond safety levels. The rest of the unfortunate passengers didn’t have time to even notice what was done before everything turned black. No more blazing, no more fire, no more screaming. Just the quiet, pitch black calmness of the void.

5. A Bright New World
No one knew how much time had passed before the first Quakador started to arise from unconsciousness. But soon, it was a whole mass of disoriented passengers who emerged nauseous, vomiting and . The event even seemed to have neutered the bloodlust of each camp, as each individual was completely depleted. It didn’t take long, however, before the first ones to have awoken started to realise what had gone terribly wrong: through the glassed parables of the main bridge, the outline of their solar system wasn’t appearing anymore. Instead, it was some kind of sandy-like immensity. They were still in space, that’s for sure, given the yellow dwarf visible from afar, although some might have believed they had ascended to the Stak’Hal, given the heavenly colours displayed.

When more Quakador or so regained his senses, they eventually remembered why they were there, why bodies were bleeding on the floor in a horrible stench that permeated the entire bridge. But faith has it that the Reaper and his men were the first to draw. Without any hope and with most of their men unconscious, the Imperials simply surrendered and the crewman responsible for the hyperdrive anomaly would have been executed had the Reaper not intervened. He knew that they were going to need him and the rest of the surviving crew, as one thing was sure: they were far, far away from home.

When the ship’s navigational capacities came back online, the Reaper ordered a survey of this new strange place. One thing was quickly confirmed: it was a brand new solar system that wasn’t in any of their databases. Sure, the spatial “landscape” was already a confirmation that they weren’t anywhere near their home solar system. The Reaper wasn’t a scientist, but he knew one thing or two about the speed of light, and the creamy, sandy space displayed before him was in complete contrast with the pitch black space they were accustomed to. Maybe they were thousands, if not millions of year-lights away from home.

After a few days of wandering, the Reaper was in the know of everything on board the ship, and of one alarming fact: their water and food reserves were rapidly dwindling. They could last one Earthly month or so, but they had to severely ration and find a temporary solution. Thankfully, the Reaper had a back-up plan. This plan was named Opyrra.

Located within the inhabitable area of the star, Opyrra, as it came to be named after the Reaper’s oldest daughter, was the complete opposite of their home planet of Iliza. A frozen, cold planet, that somehow sustained life, and would have been completely inhospitable for the Quazador had it not been warmer, greener regions near the equator. The icy landscape was far from the unforgivably harsh deserts the Quakador were used to, but faced with certain doom, the Reaper decided it was their best chance at survival. And so their ship headed to Opyrra.

Upon touching land, the Quakador platoon led by the Reaper was met with somewhat cold weather. A snowy forest, a river streaming rapidly and strange animals lurking among the bushes. But what about the air? Forced down the ship without a protection gear, an Imperial officer was gasping as terror struck him to his heart. Would he die atrociously upon contact with the planet’s atmosphere? The answer was a resounding no: after several minutes, the Quakador noticed he wasn’t turning blue nor was he being irradiated. He inhaled deeply: the air was fresh and even better than back on Ilzia. For good measure, the Quakador was forced to live just outside the ship for an earthly week, under the surveillance of medical personnel. Surprisingly, he didn’t die and his condition remained stable. Soon, more and more Quakador went outside without protective gear. The Reaper thanked whatever holy force out here was looking out for them. It seemed that Opyrra would be a suitable ground for a Quakadorian colony.

Using the construction materials from the colony ship, the Quakadors started to deploy around the colony ship. Within the span of a few months, they successfully built a small, self-sufficient settlement, supplied with plenty of water from the river and even hunted some of the docile fauna in the neighbouring forest. The colony was led by the Reaper, surrounded and advised by some of his most dedicated right-hand men. His rule was somewhat an autocracy, driven by the urgent need for strong leadership in order to survive. The imperials, treated with suspicion and vastly outnumbered, were housed in a sealed part of the colony, under constant surveillance by the militia and only working under strict supervision.

Made with MidJourney


Several years had passed, and the burgeoning colony was now a network of several small settlements and cities, spanning across the landing region. Despite the colder weather, the Quakador were quick to use whatever they could find to keep themselves warm and healthy. The Reaper, now an old Quakador, was concentrating more and more power under his grasp. Being an advisor or close collaborator was becoming more and more a tenuous position: everywhere, the Reaper saw rivals and threats to his rule. Everywhere, he saw traitors and Imperials ready to overthrow him to avenge their Empress. Although his paranoia was targeting Imperials first, it was becoming more and more unbearable for the rest of the population to have this autocratic ruler bossing them around without having much say in the decision-making process. The fear of survival has faded as the Quakadors have tamed their environment, and thus the need for an ironclad rule was becoming harder to justify. It wasn’t long enough before the pressure building up in the arcane of the colony would explode in a fiery display.


But feeling that tensions were arising, the Reaper was starting to realize that compromise was necessary. As such, he set up a meeting with some personalities and local community leaders. What was said during this meeting wasn’t clear, but it appeared quickly that the old, frail Reaper conceded that upon his death, power would be transmitted to a new Assembly, which would be composed of representatives democratically elected. In the time being, a council made of the colony’s workers and citizenry would be set up in order to advise and counsel the Reaper on governance issues. Although nominally symbolic, the power of this “worker’s council” was backed by popular support, which the Reaper and his advisors couldn’t oppose anymore. De facto, the Reaper was now an impotent leader, still respected but now a figurehead with a declining health. On the other hand, the community leaders were taking much inspiration from both Dergochism, with the respect of one’s freedom and right to live in dignity, as well as more communal ideology that they brought back from Ilzia. Only whispered in frightened breath back on the desert world, these thoughts were now free to be experimented on through the lens of a “collectivist” ideology.

A few months later, mourning crowds were gathering near the main colony’s city hall. The grand Reaper, which had led them through hardship and tears, was no more. But although the population was preoccupied with saying goodbye to their leader, the main leaders of their communities quickly acted: their militiamen rounded up the Reaper’s advisors and, upon feeble charges of treason and conspiracy, sentenced them to death. In a few hours, the last remaining figures of the Reaper’s establishment were no more.

The first preoccupation of the new regime was the faith of the remaining Imperials: held under heavy watch, they were effectively second-class citizens, not even able to marry or have children. However, beyond that was the pressing issue that most of the colonists were hardened criminals, outlaws and ragtags which came along with the ill-attempted coup many years ago. However, faced with the necessity for survival, these individuals were somewhat tamed by circumstances. Moreover, their hardened personality made them excellent leaders and militiamen, which were necessary in order to ward off hostile fauna. And, finally, they were the majority. It was necessary to attain unprecedented compromise in these unprecedented times.

In the year 10 A.L (After Landing), the representatives of the communities met in a fateful meeting. For several days, they discussed, gave passionate speeches, laughed and cried, in the walls of the Pershmedan colony city hall. When they came out, they revealed that a general amnesty has been extended for every crime that might have been committed back on Ilzia. Imperials were also to be freed from their detention camps and allowed back to civil life. More crucially, they had a 20 page document, polished and finalized in the last speedy hours of tenuous negotiations. It began as follows: “We, the free People of Opyrra…”. Thus read the founding document of the new regime, based on collective bargaining and the power of the labouring masses: thus came to be the Quazardorlian Commonality.

 

[MoonShine-Star]

Government of the Quazardorlian Commonality

The closest term that might come to mind when describing the government of the Commonality would be "Soviet Republic". The stronghold of power is the People's Supreme Assembly, elected with a system of universal suffrage. In the mind of the Founding Fathers of the Commonality, this Supreme Assembly was supposed to be a worker's representative body, with trade unions and peasant cooperatives having a sizable number of reserved seats.

At the head of the executive branch of government is the Mokaï, elected by the People's Supreme Assembly for 20 earthly years. Serving as the Head of State, the Mokaï's power were severely limited by the Constitution, although crafty Mokaïs might leverage loopholes and political clout in order to increase their influence.

At the local levels, assemblies of workers and peasants organized into governing bodies, known as People's Council. This also extended to the workplace, with cooperatives sprouting in every area of production after the proclamation of the Commonality. Although private property is recognized and protected, workplace democracy and cooperation spearheaded economic growth, in a system marked by Syndicalism.

Although the freedom of religion is respected, Quirkizm is designated as a dangerous ideology that is completely forbidden. In its place, a myriad of old rites took root in the Commonality, with a sizeable clergy that is represented at the local level. Indeed, community leaders have come to believe that spiritual guidance might avoid to fall back into the corruption and destructive beliefs of their homeworld. As such, despite a nominally secular government, the clergy has a strong influence within every strat of the government.

Quakador Species

With generations having passed since landfall, the Quakador species have come to adapt to the Frozen world of Opyrra. Known for being Rapid Breaders, a typical family unit can consist of several cubs, ranging from 5 to 8 child per female Quakador. Physically capable, the Quakador also enjoy living in close proximity with one another, despite the fact that outsiders might come to see them as repugnant due to their appearance.

 

[Chac1]

Welcome @MoonShine-Star . Quite a lot here to start, but it looks quite interesting. I will work my way through all of the chapters soon, but I must confess I am very far behind in my Stellaris reading.

I'm sure you will find welcoming readers and commentators here. This forum is known for that.

A few items in case you were unaware:

You may wish to advertise your AAR in the Inkwell. Also, if you put a link to your AAR in your signature, that will help advertise your AAR as you comment elsewhere in the forum.

If you'd like to research writing topics there's the SolAARium and the fAARq, which are excellent resources.

Also, feel free to interact with other writers in the main part of the AARland forum.

If you have questions, there are many folks here who are helpful. Welcome again and good luck with this AAR.

 

[MoonShine-Star]

Thanks for the message, I will check out the Inkwell, and thanks for the resources, I will explore them

 

[Chac1]

Thanks for the message, I will check out the Inkwell, and thanks for the resources, I will explore them

You are welcome. Good to see you added a signature line. If you link to the AAR in the signature that will make it even easier for folks to find your AAR. Good luck.
I have not worked through all the chapters that you dropped yet, but I will in time.

 

[MoonShine-Star]

In the year 2200, the Quazardorlian Commonality has extended its grasp over the entirety of Opyrra. The last continents were mapped and settled by cities and villages. By studying the data collected from the slave ship, they have been able to build space facilities and the industrial basis necessary for space exploration. But one question remained to be answered.
What now?

The collectivist dream of the Founding Fathers has borne its fruits, the planet has been tamed and, either by a lack of means or by apathy, their Imperial masters had yet to find them. Actually, the most fantasist theories even postulate that the Commonality is located in a dimension entirely different from their original homeworld. But as much as the office of the Mokaï Yurulek is concerned, they are simply too far away from the Empire, which was already a relief.

Has the revolution failed? Is the Empire still out there? The Mokaï and his closest ministers aren't sure, but one thing is certain: they will have to build up their strength when the inevitable will happen, i.e the reunion with their Imperial masters. As such, a fortification of the capital system, Opyrra Ju'kal, was ordered, as well as a build-up of four corvettes for the burgeoning Shar-Kaz Zodel (Translated into High Spatial Command).

In the same time, the People's Supreme Assembly has voted additional credits for spatial exploration. As such, the neighbouring systems were soon chartered and catalogued by the newly commissioned scientific ships of the General Scientific Cooperative (G.S.C).

It would not be long before the science teams report so-called "anomalies" to their peers in the G.S.C. One such anomaly was a peculiar derelict space station in the Zimattulon system. Seemingly abandoned, it turned out to be crawling with "giant alien anthropoids", if frantic scientific reports are to be believed. The report made its way to the bewildered General Scientific Officer, who decided to send an away party to deal with the matter.

But giant insects were not the only concern of the government. Instead, it was the quick realization that the Orantes Shroud, the nebula where the Commonality is located, is some sort of giant cemetery of dead civilizations and derelict ruins.

This worrying observation didn't go under the radar of most Quakadors. Back on Opyrra, worried meetings were held by local workers' councils. Was there some sort of threat out there? Or was it the result of time, the most destructive weapon? No one could be sure, but within the halls of the People's Supreme Assembly, a consensus was soon reached: if a threat against civilization is out there, it was necessary for the Commonality to expand into the stars, tap into new resources and study the unknown in all of its aspects.

In this respect, the People's Supreme Assembly passed the New Horizon Act in 2205, allowing to unlock more funds in order to colonize nearby planets. One of these, Fira, was a Frozen world deemed suitable for large-scale colonization. As such, it wasn't long before the first Quakadors touched down on the planet's surface.

Not long after, another planet, Hirani II, was also deemed to be a suitable candidate for colonization. Soon enough, a fever took hold on Oppyra, as new alien species and flora were being studied and catalogued by the research cooperatives of the Commonality.

Meanwhile, the Zimatullon system continues to give away its secrets to the science officers. One academic back on Opyrra even petitioned the General Science Cooperative for the construction of more scientific bases in orbit of the system's celestial bodies. "A dozen decade-worth of secrets await us here", he declared to a local newspaper.

The Zimatullon system was indeed a sight for a sore eye. Not only was it full of scientific secrets, it also drew the attention of the People's Social and Economic Council for its amount of raw resources. New mining stations were soon commissioned in order to fuel the ongoing spatial expansion.

However, the growing enthusiasm for the richness of space would be soon dwarfed by another development. In 2206, a neighbouring system within the Nebula was beginning to emit anormal electromagnetic signals. First believed to be another scientific anomaly, it wasn't long enough before the Commonality made first contact...

 

[MoonShine-Star]

You are welcome. Good to see you added a signature line. If you link to the AAR in the signature that will make it even easier for folks to find your AAR. Good luck.
I have not worked through all the chapters that you dropped yet, but I will in time.

Thank you For some reasons the site won't allow me to add a link to my signature, so I'll try later, maybe it's a temporary problem.

 

[jak7139]

This looks fun! I hope the Quakadors can defend against their former masters.

Thank you For some reasons the site won't allow me to add a link to my signature, so I'll try later, maybe it's a temporary problem.

The forum wants to make sure you're real, not a bot. Links and stuff like that unlock as you post and interact more.

 

[MoonShine-Star]

Communications to the Office of the Mokaï

From: Lukor, Okzaï (High Priest) of the Hakrinsti Clergy and Chairman of the Grand Conclave [Author's note: the Grand Conclave is the representative body of all official clergies in the Commonality]

Topic: Faithfull Guidance

Dear Yurulek,

I hope this message finds you well,

As you do not doubt, these past years have seen dwindling numbers in the new ordering of priests, regardless of denominations. Quakadors are still faithful, but their vocations are turning more and more toward scientific studies, as they are mesmerized by space exploration. I salute this endeavour, but we are now facing a severe shortage in Religious Studies. The other representatives in the Grand Conclave have also expressed their disarray.

May I remind you, my friend, that without religious guidance, our people might fall in depravity and a worse corruption than the one that engulfed our homeworld? In this respect, the Grand Conclave has decided to open a dozen of new universities solely dedicated on the study of our scriptures. To do so, friendly peers in the People's Supreme Assembly are preparing an appropriation bill to fund these future private-public establishment. I will make sure that details of this plan will be sent to your office in due time.

I expect your support in this enterprise, dear friend. You might be preoccupied by our new neighbours, but don't forget who put you in this chair in the first place.

Respectfully,

Okzaï Lukor

 

[jak7139]

Religion mixed with Secularism. It's a strange match. I wonder if it will work. Or will the Quakadors become to engrossed by the stars.

 

[MoonShine-Star]

In the year 2206, the Commonality was in ebullition. Although the Quakadors have long theorized that sapient life might exist on other planets, they didn't expect to find it so soon and within "their" Orantes Shroud, a few jump away from Opyrra. What's more, the Mokaï and his advisory council were quick to note that the newly found United Jusstkan Alignment exhibited highly xenophobic behaviours. Attempts to establish proper diplomatic channels were met with what ethnologists described as wanton insults and an avalanche of threats. Their new neighbour was also quick in mocking the religious beliefs displayed across the Commonality. As such, contact was cut as abruptly as it was established.

In response to what frantic members of the People's Supreme Assembly have decried as a national security threat, a bill was quickly approved unanimously to raise new military divisions. A build-up of the fleet was similarly approved, with few to no debate. Industrial cooperatives back on Opyrra soon found themselves stacked with armements commands, and foundries were burning their steel twice or thrice more in order to keep up with army contracts. A popular newspaper described the current mood as "a national fervour taking hold in our mind, as we realize that our way of life, our very collective is now at stake."

But worrying intels from probes sent by the General Directorate for the People's Defense (G.D.P.D, the main intelligence agency of the Commonality) indicated a similar mobilization on the part of the Alignment. Conflict seemed to be inevitable as the Alignment rejects any form of peaceful coexistence. Among the recruits, patriotic fervor against this "imperialistic threat" took hold. They didn't escape - by inadvertance - their Imperial masters only to bow down to a so-called "Overseer".

Nonetheless, an envoy sent to the Alignment spent entire days and nights trying to convince them that the Quakadors only wish for peace. Although he was customarily welcomed, the Alignment's Overseer was very clear: he shall not suffer having to contend with "alien scums", demanded the subjugation of the Commonality and, when faced with another refusal, ordered the expulsion of the Quakador diplomatic corps, which went away as quickly as they arrived. "At least they were civilized enough to not put our heads on spikes", one diplomat recalled.

Meanwhile, the General Science Cooperative reported a peculiar discovery: some sort of "mega-computer", which has been locked into continuous calculations if the reports are to be believed. The Office of the Mokaï, too busy with the war preparation, simply left the G.S.C to do as it pleases. As such, the Bunker Bot was linked to the research networks of the Commonality, so that its power might benefit all research cooperatives.

However, another discovery was big enough to catch the eyes of even the most frantic minds within the halls of the Assembly. The General Science Cooperative has reported on what appears to be some sort of interstellar gateway within the Orantes Shroud. This raised even more questions: what kind of civilization is capable of such a feat of technology, and if so, where are they now? Never has the sciences been such a subject of raised interests in the Quakador populace. It is clear that this galaxy has been teeming with life and highly developed civilizations at some point, and it was up to them to uncover their secrets.

However, for now they were focused on preparations for the upcoming conflict with the Alignment. The Commonality's Defense Council, composed of the Mokaï, the director of the G.D.P.D, the High Commissar of Defense and chairmen of the Supreme People's Assembly relevant committees, have reached a conclusion. Only a pre-emptive strike can give them the leverage necessary to win this war quickly. And so, in the year 2208, 66 years after landfall, the Commonality reached out to the Alignment, this time not to vainly talk about peace, but to tell them that if they want conflict so badly, then they shall have it. And so the Quakadors went to war...

Made with MidJourney

 

[MoonShine-Star]

Religion mixed with Secularism. It's a strange match. I wonder if it will work. Or will the Quakadors become to engrossed by the stars.

That's certainly a paradox, but let's say that the wall between the State and the churches in the Commonality is more akin to a swiss cheese than concrete steel, especially with the multitude of religions that have been oppressed by the Empire but are now free to flourish in the Commonality.

 

[jak7139]

War it is then. But more importantly, what will the peace look like? There will certainly be lots of problems if the Commonality annexes another species this early on.

And so, in the year 2208, 66 years after landfall

How old do the ducks generally live? What's your population look like? Is 66 years enough time for a couple hundred survivors from the initial ship to tame one planet, build a new society, and now conquer another?

 

[MoonShine-Star]

War it is then. But more importantly, what will the peace look like? There will certainly be lots of problems if the Commonality annexes another species this early on.

How old do the ducks generally live? What's your population look like? Is 66 years enough time for a couple hundred survivors from the initial ship to tame one planet, build a new society, and now conquer another?

Well, I have to admit that I didn't think too much about the average lifetime of a Quakador, but if I have to provisionally decide, the average male Quakador live 74 years, while the average female Quakador can live up to 82 years, however, since they are rapid breeders, with a female Quakador usually giving birth to between 5 and 8 cubs per delivery, I thought that 66 years would be enough to exponentially produce a population that could garner a fighting force. However, the pyramid of age is heavily young, since more and more cubs are being brought into being.


And since they came from a colony ship, I supposed that it would be enough for them to rapidly build a basis of operation and expand on at least a part of the planet, since they have the materials and technologies required. (and the personnel that came with it, albeit heavily diminished by the fighting that took place before the mass driver disaster).

But maybe you are right, 66 years can be a little too short. I think I will retcon it and leave it out of the writing, but I did write 66 years originally as I wanted for the generation that lived under the Reaper to still be around for a while

 

[MoonShine-Star]

In the year 2208, the drums of war are resonating within the spirit of every soldier embarking on Opyrra. The Defense Council of the Commonality has decided to pre-emptively strike the savage imperialists of the Alignment. The plan devised by High Command was simple: head straight toward the home system of the Alignment, take out their inferior fleet (if intels are to be believed) and invade their capital. Soon enough, the fleet of the Commonality arrived into Alignment territory, and had their sight on their frozen homeworld.

Made with Midjourney


However, spatial warfare was still a very recent concept for the Quakadors. Sure, the most original of their military brains had written about this possibility here and there, but still, for the military strategists of the Commonality, this war would still be a crash course with trial and errors. And their first error was to attack the fleet of the Alignment in its home system.

The battle in the Tiom system was a calamity. Not only did the Alignment fleet resist, but their fortified star base held off the Commonality fleet, which was forced to retreat with heavy damage. Worse still, the fleet of the Alignment wasn't entirely destroyed. For the Mokaï Yurulek, himself a former general, it was an humiliation, and many in the press were calling out for his retreat from military affairs. Despite the fact that the Mokaï was far from being the only one heading the operations, his rivals exaggerated his involvement in this debacle. One such rival was General Tibakh, the head of the expeditionary forces, whose rivalry with Yurulek dated back to their years at the academy. As such, he was now the hero who would lead the Quakadors out of this war.

But for now, within their fortified capital system, the Commonality fleet reassembled and awaited newly designed ships to be rolled out of factory, designed to counter weaknesses in the Alignment's designs. For good measure, the Fira system was also fortified to avoid any sneaky attacks from the vile imperialists.

Meanwhile, on the front of knowledge, researches didn't stop due to the war. Actually, the General Science Cooperative was left breathless by a wonderous (or monstrous) discovery: a "Hive world", or what remained of it, its flesh conserved despite the ravages of time. This left many troubled by the perspective of such organisms existing elsewhere in the galaxy. For others, this was another decades-worth of research and theses awaiting them.

Research cooperatives were indeed buzzing back on Opyrra. Rumours stated that a new hyperdrive generation was on its way, while incredible genetic discoveries would ease the diseases and plagues of old.

Back on the military front, the fleet was now repaired and ready, stronger than ever. And this time, they were dwarfing the Alignment in size and fire power. This would be a walk in the park, or so did High Command hoped.

Made with Midjourney

The second battle of Tiom was a resounding success. With far less resources than the Commonality, which could draw raw materials from both Fira and Opyrra, the imperialistic threat didn't stand a chance, its military laughable in comparison with the glorious heroes of the Quakadors. Soon enough, the star base of their home system was taken, and General Tibakh personally led an army to take their home planet and end this war swiftly.

Planet invasion was another new factor that High Command had to contend with. How to take hundreds upon hundreds of cities, villages and other holdouts? Luckily for them, the Alignment was an autocratic, extremely vertical form of government. Cutting the head of the snake would suffice to take the whole structure down. And beside, intelligence officers had a trump card up their sleeve: the Alignment Underground.

Since early contacts and by spying on Alignment frequencies, the intelligence agency of the Commonality, the General Directorate for the People's Defense, had discovered a sizable resistance group against the oppressive world government of the Alignment. In fact, some of the diplomats sent to obtain the Commonality's surrender were themselves part of this group. Although they couldn't do much without being noticed by their diplomatic escort, these diplomats successfully transmitted plans of battle and of army groups to the Commonality. For the Quakadors, these people represented another advantage: in case of victory, they could step in and take rein of their homeworld.

Finally, in the ruins of the planet's capitol, the Alignment contacted the Commonality to issue an unconditional surrender. Betrayed and overpowered, the imperialists of the Alignment fell as quickly as they rose in defiance of the Quakadors' collective and way of life.

Immediately after surrendering, the planet was welcomed within the collective of the Commonality. The Alignment's species, the Jusstkan, would be under a provisional joint military-civil form of government, headed both by the Commonality's military, the General Directorate for the People's Defense and Jusstkan defectors and dissidents. Means of production would be seized from the disgraced aristocracy and given back to workers progressively and in due time. It was a time of celebration and joy back on Opyrra, as their collective was safe, for now.

Made with Midjourney

 

[jak7139]

Made with Midjourney

The Commonality grows! First one planet, now two, soon a dozen.

The Midjourney pieces look really good! If you want to discuss more about AI art use in the forum, there's this thread.

 

[MoonShine-Star]

In the year 2210, the Quazardorlian Commonality stands victorious. The last remains of the Alignment have been swiftly eliminated. Although some pockets of armed resistance are still present on Tiom, the main axis of communication and urban centers of the planet have been stabilized. Pragmatic, the Mokaï Yurulek have allowed the Alignment Underground to take reign of their planet, alongside a provisional government with military and intelligence officers within it. Seifeth dol'Fulm, an individual reknown for his integrity, has been freed from the Alignment's prisons and serves as the figurehead of the planet. He also happened to have pleadged his loyalty to the Mokaï Yurulek personally, which would prove useful in the coming years.

Indeed, General Tibakh, his main rival within the political cluster of the Commonality, has been making moves here and there. Profiting off his status as the hero of the campaign against the vile imperialists, he has obtained more and more pledges from workers' councils that he would have their votes during the next elections for the Mokaï. This could not be allowed to continue. Under heavy pressure from Yurulek and his close advisors, the People's Supreme Assembly have passed the Military Expansion Act of 2210. Despite the nominally official discourse stating that this bill is here to strengthen the Commonality in case of another hostile encounter, what it actually served is to occupy the military terrain against Tibakh and his allies, as well as creating cushy positions for Yurulek loyalists, who would soon find themselves promoted to new and shiny vessels.

Meanwhile, on the colonial front, the Commonality was truly believed to have been blessed by the spirits. Two brand new worlds, dubbed as "Gaia worlds", have been chartered by the General Science Cooperative. Truly idyllic, these worlds are a warm gift for the Quakadors, who have been forced to endure the frostiness of Opyrra for too long. Soon, they'll be able to take sunbath under the sun of these paradises. Already, artists have been using the pictures taken by away teams to marvel and imagine what kind of idyllic environment are awaiting their species on these beautiful worlds.

However, another scientific victory was the mastery of fusion power in 2213, with the first reactor brought online on the colony of Fira. A source of infinite energy, this new energy source would constitute a fine addition to the rapidly expanding military by increasing the speed of the Commonality's ships, which would also help the nascent commercial routes between Opyrra and the outer colonies.

The scientific breakthrough of this year didn't end here, though. Medical staffs were delighted to learn that new and revolutionary genetic therapy would be arriving to their operation rooms, with the last tests having been conducted successfully on terminally ill patients, who are now safe and sound from their crippling diseases. Surely, this will ease the fear of alien ills, which would no longer stand between the stars and the endless curiosity and exploratory spirits of the Quakadors.

But one last major discovery has left many in the higher leadership wondering or outright worrying. Apparently, away teams on Fira have uncovered what could only be described as a "portal", leading to Gods know where. Until more is discovered, a security area have been set around it, with only high ranking military and scientific personnel having access to the site. To avoid panic, the public would be kept in the dark on this topic, as it is just reeling from an interstellar war. Only time would tell what lies beyond this mysterious gateway to another dimension...

As worrying as this discovery might be, it is not overshadowing the fact that the Commonality has grown as a strong and proud power in its small galactic region. New colonies have been chartered, new ambitions have been flowering and a renewed sense of unity have accompanied the victory against tyranny. As scary as space might look for some, it is only standing as a spirit of opportunity for the entrepreneurial Quakador mind. May no one doubts the courage and the ambition of its collective.

 

[jak7139]

Two Gaia worlds? Nice!

Let's hope these political shenanigans don't hamper the war effort, or lead to civil war.

 

[HistoryDude]

This AAR looks interesting! Subscribed!

I appreciated the details about the imperial faith of the Quakadors! Do they have any other deities or maybe angels to represent the other stars?

Did any of the faiths before Quirkizm survive in any form? Did any of them influence Dergochism? Did they have holy texts, and, if so, did those texts survive, or were the followers of Quirkizm people who destroyed knowledge? Are the "old rights" that the Commonality follows faiths or just half-remembered ideas?

Did the Reaper of Zernia have a plan for when the main state inevitably found their new settlement? His successor made plans for that, but did he have a plan? If not, why not?

Are you playing with Distant Origin? Is there any way that the relationship between the Commonality and their... fellow Quakadors is represented in the game?

How does the Commonality keep the votes of the former Imperialists from being too influential if they have a system of universal suffrage?

Congrats on your first colony!

How are the Okzaïs chosen? Is there an organized religion similar (but diametrically opposed) to Quirkizm among the exiles?

The United Jusstkan Alignment wasn't a great civilization to have a first contact with. Will this experience create a general fear of aliens among the Quakadors?

Congrats on defeating the Alignment!

Those Gaia worlds are ideal spots for new colonies.

You should probably threadmark your chapters or at least create a Table of Contents. It would make navigation easier.