Constructing datatree - clearance code E41daVos-calypso...
...
Identity confirmed, Chancellor Melbourne, Enclave High priest.
Processing selection - Horbus...
Selection confirmed.
Horbus - Mindleech - Cogito Parasitae
Animalia.
Arthropoda.
Crustacea.
Maxillopoda.
Pentastomida.
The horbus is a psychic parasite whose properties were first discovered, employed, and then exploited to build the confederacy, by High Vanguard Carsell.
The horbus in its larval stage, is 3 centimetres in length on average, with a chitinous exoskeleton, a long sharp proboscis, and several small and sharp hooked limbs with which it moves.
In its larval stage it acts in a predatory fashion, holding smaller insects in place with its hooked limbs, and piercing their exoskeleton with its proboscis in order to inject tham with its stomach acids, once those have liquefied its innards, it uses its proboscis like a straw, drains the exoskeleton, and move on to find new prey.
Upon finding a suitably sized host, it enters through the nose, or other suitable orifice, carving a path if necessary, in order to get to the victims brain, there it latches onto the front lobes with its hooked claws and fixes its proboscis deep into the brain matter. Its legs rapidly lose function, becoming little more than anchors, and the proboscis is used to ingest blood from the host. After several weeks, the horbus' exoskeleton hardens, and gradually fuses with the skull of its host.
While in this state, it absorbs all the nutrients and oxygen it needs from the boodstream of the host, and through cogitosynthesis, uses the thought waves of the host in order to convert the nutrients into energy, much as a plant uses sunlight for the task. In this state, the horbus uses little energy directly, and stores the considerable excess within its body until enough is reached torepair itself after reproducing.
Horbus reproduction entails shedding approximately half its physical mass, and approximately half the energy it has stored, then telekinetically projecting it through the nearest orifice leading out of the skull cavity. Both then enter a state of rapid regeneration using the stored energy.
End reached, returning to datatree.
Processing selection – Horbus – Use in the confederacy – Classified psychic employment...
Selection confirmed.
All data in the following report is classified, knowingly or unknowingly revealing this information to anyone without the necessary clearance is punishable by mindwipe.
The psychic nature of the horbus was first discovered by the Pherytean research divisions, further research determined that upon attaching to its host, the horbus’ internal organs are broken down and digested by the parasite, converted into energy, and used to fuel a rapid change in anatomy. Within a matter of weeks, the horbus is little more than a highly efficient brain with a complex circulatory system and two organs used for storing energy collected from the host.
The horbus is innately psychically attuned, sending its psyche-net through the most active neural pathways in the hosts brain, effectively seeking out the greenest pastures in order for it to cogitosynthesise with the greatest efficiency.
Though effective, this system is very simplistic, and open to exploitation, by surgically stimulating specific neural pathways, the horbus’ psychic web can be used to stimulate certain portions of the brain, and by looping the horbus’ web into itself, can create a kind of psychic feedback loop, generating far more psychic energy than the horbus is naturally capable of, and in the majority of cases, manifesting certain psychic abilities in the host.
Careful manipulation of the stimulated pathways, can lead to a number of manifestations, the most common are empathy, and telepathy, those manifesting these talents are often absorbed into the Enclave, or one of its various branches throughout Horbian space.
All Vanguards are implanted with the horbus upon assuming their position as representative of their species, and receive empathy, telepathy, a permanent neural link to the Horbian psyche-net, and, without their knowledge, their minds are also stimulated in such a fashion that there thoughts are always broadcast on a subconscious level, by tapping into this subconscious communication channel, the Enclave sanctum can constantly check for rebellion amongst the Vanguards, and quash it before it reaches a conscious level.
End reached, returning to datatree.
Processing selection – Horbian Confederacy - Brief history…
Selection confirmed.
The Horbian Confederacy: Founded year 2198, began as a treaty between three species, the pheryteans, the trianthians, and the arlids, following an extended period of war culminating with a decisive pherytean victory. These two species were the first to join the confederacy, and played a large part in bringing it to its current glory. While all species have a representative: the Vanguards, the confederacy as a whole is presided over by the High Vanguard, who is always of pherytean lineage. The pheryteans have been shown as a species with compelling leadership, and diplomatic ability, as in the history of the confederacy, no Vanguard has had any more than minor complaints against the High Vanguard of their era.
The horbus parasite has been employed in the confederacy as a non-conditional clause in the treaty, three species have been eradicated since its drafting due to incompatability with the horbus, 1 destroyed due to an unwillingness to join the confederacy, 12 have been forced to join through military means, and 4 have joined through choice. The exploitation of the psychenet: a telepathic communication system, is employed by all facets of the confederacy, including maintaining constant communication channels with the elected officials of the various species: the Vanguards, in order to best serve their people, and keep them informed of social, economic, political, and military developments.
Similarly, as a point of communication to them, it is also used for the Vanguards to voice concerns, receive orders, request information, or simply to build bridges between their various species, or exchange stories.
Without this method of rapid communication, an empire as vast as the confederacy would doubtlessly fall prey to its own size, with dissent, miscommunication, and inefficient and likely nonexistent coordination, the confederacy could not support itself without the horbus, thus, implantation is mandatory amongst high ranking officials, and any species incompatible would cause far more trouble than they could ever do good, and thus, must be destroyed for the good of the confederacy.
The Horbian confederacy currently spans an area of 13:7 sectors, approximately 1,289 parsecs volume, and when mapped, appears much like a partially flattened sphere with a bulge at the far right of the lower hemisphere.
End reached, returning to datatree.
Processing selection – Vanguard Profiles – Dorien Jacobs.
Selection confirmed.
Dorien Jacobs: Torlian. Age: 78.
Dorien Jacobs, born in sector 5.2E on the Torlian homeworld: Bawray, year 2692. Elected and implanted year 2748. Twelfth Vanguard of the Torlian species. Currently undergoing gene-therapy for a hereditary degenerative eye condition, visual acuity stands at approximately 79% of normal, medical projections predict an increase of 6% over the next year, and a halt of further degradation.
Prior to election, Dorien was a construction engineer, and political strategist. During his 12 year position as Torlian Vanguard, he has been involved in 7 military large scale military engagements, 2 border skirmishes, 1 covert reconnaissance mission, and has been involved in 4 diplomatic manoeuvres. His record is exemplary, while his diplomatic missions were not successful, his military record lists only 3 losses: tactical retreats when faced with superior numbers, losing entire sub sectors of space, but maintaining his life, and the lives of his troops.
His implant has manifested significant telepathic talent, though the stimulation of certain neural pathways has dulled his personality somewhat, analysis: He is largely without humour, lacks wit, and sees engagements, be they social, military, financial, spiritual, etc, etc, as equations, where one action tends to lead to another predictable, or likely action.
His current pastimes involve board games and cooking. He is currently deployed in sector 3.3C half a parsec from Theta-coli.
End reached, returning to datatree.
Processing selection - Fleets of the Confederacy - Vanguard Dorien...
Selection Confimed.
Fighter Class: Sparrow
Where most designers would turn to shields in order to make a craft durable, Vanguard Dorien, who is innately distrusting of the fragile nature of the deflector, turned instead to an old design for groundborne vehicles: sacrificial armour. Through overlapping plates that have no other function than to protect the fragile centre, The Sparrow is mobile, compact, and capable of taking a punch, then going back for more.
Fighter Class: Lapwing
Perhaps the longest lasting ship design in Doriens fleet, while the Lapwing has undergone minor changes as the Torlian fleet developed, it has been a consistent favourite for more than a century. Recently fitted with minor ablative plating and structurally upgraded.
The lapwing has, throughout its term of service, been outfitted with a High Density Matter Driver, or HDMD, which is essentially a ballistic missile with an extremely high density kinetic warhead, while largely ineffective against fast targets, it makes comparatively quick work of enemy capital ships. Recently, Lapwing's have also been fitted with a number of guided rocket launchers.
Battleship Class: Kalpsichore
Vanguard Dorien's personal flagship, the Kalpsichore, was largely designed by himself, though the technologies used to arm it, and to realise this gargant of the Horbian fleet, came directly from the newest research on the tables of the Horbian research division.
Armed with the dawnshine generator, one hyperbeam, 2 tachyon field projectors, and 6 anti-foghter strobe lasers, the Kalpsichore is a formidable adversary, even though it lacks point defence.
Carrier Class: Hysteria
While a lot more fragile than the majority of Vanguard Doriens fleet, the Hysteria is still capable of absorbing a staggering amount of punishment. This heavy carrier really needs support in order to perform to its full potential.
Outfitted with a multitude of drone deployment platforms, and two hive launchers, the hysteria is fully capable of launching and sustaining a miniature fleet of its own.
Cruiser Class: Hammerhead
The hammerhead was designed with the intention of maximizing firepower while balancing durablity, many craft throughout history have achieved this through broadsiding, though the hammerhead, with its wide hull, and little side armour, achieves this through focusing its firepower and its armour toward the front.
Recently refitted with an experimetal temporal stasis projector, which, while providing no conventional point defence, can stop most conventional projectiles in their tracks before they strike the ships hull.
Frigate Class: Riptide
Comparative with other ships in Dorien's fleet, the Riptide is a touch lacking where durability is concerned, though it only has a few layers of sacrificial armour, it comes equipped with point defence turrets lacking on a number of Dorien's ships, and a prototype stasis field generator, not as powerful as that on the Hammerhead, but effective nonetheless. It's design is such that it displays the smallest profile possible for the enemy to return fire onto.
Outfitted with two railguns, specially outfitted to fire three projectiles instead of one, though its accuracy is at a loss due to this, and four repeater cannons, it's effective at short to mid range engagements.
Size comparison of Vanguard Dorien's ships, compared against a Cronus.
Simulation files loaded.
Sparrow:
http://www.wyrdysm.com/battleshipsforev ... rowMk3.shp
Kalpsichore:
http://www.wyrdysm.com/battleshipsforev ... ichore.shp
Hysteria:
http://www.wyrdysm.com/battleshipsforev ... steria.shp
Hammerhead:
http://www.wyrdysm.com/battleshipsforev ... erhead.shp
Lapwing:
http://www.wyrdysm.com/battleshipsforev ... apwing.shp
Riptide:
http://www.wyrdysm.com/battleshipsforev ... iptide.shp
Access terminated. Good day Chancellor.
Critique and comments greatly appreciated, gives me something to build on, so to speak.
.
