System Factions
System Factions
These are existential pressures unique to the solar system—massive forces that don’t operate like typical factions. They don’t want territory. They aren’t always hostile. But their presence distorts everything around them—causing entire colonies, corporations, and even ideologies to bend, crack, or align. Some can be reasoned with. Others must be endured.
Faction
Aegirheim (Himmelskrieger main colony)
Kōan Vesta
Eidolon Fleet
Kōan Vesta
Eidolon Fleet
Mission Statement
Founded by German engineers with dreams of building the first galactic-scale mining colony, they vanished after a mysterious deep-space incident—only to return, transformed. Now a superpower war machine, their weapons are not aimed at Earth.. but at the distant shadows of the Kuiper Belt.
Established by a Japanese company with roots tracing back to the Edo Period, this deep-space colony once supplied Earth with refined ore from the Belt. Life is comfortable for descendants of the original settlers, however outsiders often fall into the trap of Kōan Vesta’s one-sided contracts.
A lawless armada of stolen warships, crewed by criminals, dissidents, and the discarded. Fleeing Earth to escape judgment, they now haunt the void as raiders and scavengers. Infamous for their brutality and precision, their presence is a constant threat to colonists and convoys alike.
Established by a Japanese company with roots tracing back to the Edo Period, this deep-space colony once supplied Earth with refined ore from the Belt. Life is comfortable for descendants of the original settlers, however outsiders often fall into the trap of Kōan Vesta’s one-sided contracts.
A lawless armada of stolen warships, crewed by criminals, dissidents, and the discarded. Fleeing Earth to escape judgment, they now haunt the void as raiders and scavengers. Infamous for their brutality and precision, their presence is a constant threat to colonists and convoys alike.
Example Character
frigate commander, drone operator, combat engineer
colonist miner, corporate elite, indentured miner
pirate marauder, enslaved colonist, undercover abolitionist
colonist miner, corporate elite, indentured miner
pirate marauder, enslaved colonist, undercover abolitionist
Aegirheim (Himmelskrieger Colony
Once a German-led colony expedition, the Himmelskrieger became the most formidable among the fleets that fled Earth during the Exodus. They were the first to breach the Kuiper Belt, the first to carve new territory beyond it, and the first to return. Without warning, they recalled their forces to the Sol System, transforming it into a vast network of defensive fleets and fortified stations.
Hulking, fortress-like frigates clad in idealist iconography drift like omens across the void. Their sonic weaponry, capable of bypassing conventional armor and crippling bionics, is feared across the settled worlds. Yet for all their overwhelming power, the Himmelskrieger show little interest in conquering Earth itself. Instead, their fleets face outward, their weapons silently aimed not at the inner worlds, but toward the dark frontier of the Kuiper Belt.
Kōan Vesta
Founded by a Japanese conglomerate with lineage tracing back to the Edo Period, their successful colony is a testament to patience and determination. Initially established as a mining outfit, it has always played a crucial role in supplying Earth with refined ore from the Vesta Belt, securing its place as a vital economic hub.
To those born within its walls, life is seamless, structured, and steeped in tradition. For outsiders, however, Kōan Vesta is less a sanctuary and more a labyrinth, where agreements bind tighter than expected and freedom can become a distant concept.
Peaceful by nature, it is only recently that their ships have begun to outfit for war. Some say that all the Himmelskrieger want is a tax to protect the system. Official corporate guidlines is that Kōan Vesta does not negotiate with terrorists.
Eidolon Fleet
A fleet without a home, a force without a master—the Eidolon Fleet is less an organization and more a force of nature. Comprised of stolen warships retrofitted for survival in the void, its ranks swell with fugitives, outcasts, and the forsaken. Some fled Earth for crimes, others for freedom. Regardless of origin, all now serve a singular purpose: to take what they need and destroy those who stand in their way.
Unlike aimless marauders, the Armada operates with cold precision. They strike only when the odds favor them, vanishing before retaliation can be mustered. Their raids leave no witnesses, only wreckage—a silent warning to those who might resist. When their warships appear on the edge of a colony’s sensors, there are only two choices: surrender or disappear.
Sector Factions
These factions operate across large, but still localized areas such as moons, belts, or planetary sectors. They're not empire-builders, but their power is deeply entrenched and often tied to strange phenomena or isolationist agendas. Often left alone by larger factions due to their usefulness and neutrality.
Faction
KNIGHTCOMM
Orison Works
Quiet Engine Corp
Orison Works
Quiet Engine Corp
Mission Statement
After studying the ancient satellite drifting above Earth, they built the fastest, most reliable comms network in human history. No filters. No edits. Just signal—pure and uninterrupted.
In an age of post-material design, Orison Works leads the frontier with alloys that defy known physics. Officially, they credit breakthroughs in simulation modeling, but whispers suggest their designs arrive faster than they can explain.
In this age, malware is more than code—it’s neural interference, AI dementia, and ghost loops. After discovering a promising anomaly on Callisto, the engineers behind the Quiet Engine relocated to Jupiter’s orbit to perfect their revolutionary cure.
In an age of post-material design, Orison Works leads the frontier with alloys that defy known physics. Officially, they credit breakthroughs in simulation modeling, but whispers suggest their designs arrive faster than they can explain.
In this age, malware is more than code—it’s neural interference, AI dementia, and ghost loops. After discovering a promising anomaly on Callisto, the engineers behind the Quiet Engine relocated to Jupiter’s orbit to perfect their revolutionary cure.
Example Character
encryption specialist, satellite engineer, corporate researcher
cutting edge inventor, remote researcher, test pilot
code breaker, AI liaison, corporate lackey
cutting edge inventor, remote researcher, test pilot
code breaker, AI liaison, corporate lackey
KNIGHTCOMM
The ancient black rock drifting above Earth was always just a curious relic to the people of Earth, dismissed as space debris until the right minds unearthed its secrets. What began as a curiosity became a revolution: a communications network faster and more reliable than anything before it. KNIGHTCOMM doesn’t censor, compress, or distort—just signal, pure and uninterrupted.
Integral to the Exodus, Quiet Engine Corp was the sole link between Earth and the colony frigates that left the system. Their network became indispensable, a lifeline in the void. Now, deemed untouchable infrastructure, they remain unchallenged—ignored by both the Himmelskrieger and UEC alike.
Orison Works
In the Age of Expansion, conventional engineering is nearly obsolete. Orison Works leads the frontier, crafting alloys that bend the laws of known physics. Their official reports credit breakthroughs in simulation modeling, claiming their designs emerge through rigorous testing and iterative refinement. Yet the timelines don’t add up.
Their materials arrive faster than they can explain. Prototypes move from theory to reality at impossible speeds. Some suspect Orison Works has tapped into something deeper—an unseen force, an undisclosed source. The company insists otherwise, but to those watching closely, the real question isn’t how they build. It’s what they’re hiding.
Quiet Engine Corp
Malware in the modern age is no longer just code. It's neurological disruption, AI dementia, and ghost loops—corruptions that linger, unseen, until minds fracture and machines unravel. The engineers behind the Quiet Engine discovered the first anomaly on Callisto: a distortion in logic that wasn’t just software, but something deeper.
When colony ledgers and balancing resource sheets could mean the difference between extinction and survival, a strong tool is needed to safeguard against corruption. The Quiet Engine doesn’t purge viruses; it silences them, suppressing interference at a fundamental level. Some say it restores sanity. Others fear what it erases. Either way, once activated, nothing lingers.
Satellite Factions
These are akin to Local threats—hyper-focused groups with narrow goals, small staff, and often very high impact. They can be volatile, brilliant, or desperate—but offer an array of services that keep them relevant the larger powers for their anonymity.
Faction
Helios Gate
Port Mariana
Umber Deep
Port Mariana
Umber Deep
Mission Statement
A neutral station built on the booming trade of bounty hunting, mercenary outfitting, and open contract work. Wealth is the only law here—morals are optional, and power is for sale.
On the western fringe of Earth's Pacific Rim, an impossible city pulses with light and sound. Here, memory is medium and authorship is obsolete—art painted by resurrected echoes of the dead. Port Mariana is not a place to visit. It is a place to transcend.
Luxury carved into the shadows of Phobos. Beneath a dome of synthetic atmosphere and shimmering blackglass, the elite indulge in decadent pleasures—surreal red vistas, black-sky spas, and curated escapes beyond consequence. No media is permitted out, and few who visit ever speak plainly of what they experienced.
On the western fringe of Earth's Pacific Rim, an impossible city pulses with light and sound. Here, memory is medium and authorship is obsolete—art painted by resurrected echoes of the dead. Port Mariana is not a place to visit. It is a place to transcend.
Luxury carved into the shadows of Phobos. Beneath a dome of synthetic atmosphere and shimmering blackglass, the elite indulge in decadent pleasures—surreal red vistas, black-sky spas, and curated escapes beyond consequence. No media is permitted out, and few who visit ever speak plainly of what they experienced.
Example Character
mercenary pilot, bounty hunter, arms dealer
professional scholar, black market corpse hunter, struggling artist
high profile bodyguard, merchant smuggler, fatcat elite
professional scholar, black market corpse hunter, struggling artist
high profile bodyguard, merchant smuggler, fatcat elite
Helios Gate
A neutral station built on the booming trade of bounty hunting, mercenary outfitting, and open contract work. Drifting in no-man’s-space and answerable to no flag, it operates as both broker and butcher shop for the galaxy’s dirtiest work. Wealth is the only law here—morals are optional, and power is always for sale.
Its corridors smell of ozone and oil, its bars hum with old grudges and new bids. Reputation is currency, but betrayal is cheaper. Anyone can dock, anyone can deal—but only the prepared survive long. Every surface gleams with the threat of violence, every smile hides a scanner. This is where fugitives vanish, careers are bought, and entire wars begin—off the books, on the record, paid in blood.
Port Mariana
On the western fringe of Earth’s Pacific Rim, an impossible city pulses with light and sound. Built atop forgotten ruins and fed by illegal tech, Mariana floats half in myth, half in signal. Here, memory is medium and authorship is obsolete—art painted by resurrected echoes of the dead, performances powered by stolen dreams and archived consciousness.
Neon baptisms blaze down alleyways, and entire districts shift shape based on the mind of whoever walks them. There are no police, only curators. Visitors lose more than time here—they shed layers of identity, of inhibition, until only experience remains. Port Mariana is not a place to visit. It is a place to transcend, or be consumed in the attempt.
Umber Deep
Luxury carved into the shadows of Phobos. Beneath the domes of synthetic atmosphere and shimmering blackglass, the elite indulge in decadent pleasures—surreal red vistas, black-sky spas, and curated escapes beyond consequence. Umber Deep was built not for comfort, but for unaccountability.
No media is permitted out. No visitors are unsupervised. Everything is personalized, anonymized, and tailored to desire. It’s where reputations are erased, scandals are staged, and limits cease to exist. The few who return from it speak only in euphemisms—if they speak at all. What happens in the Umber Deep doesn’t stay there. It simply becomes untraceable.
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