The Four Century War is now five centuries in the past, but its echo still resounds across the galaxy. As the Empire struggles to accommodate a growing population with a crumbling infrastructure, the once massive political giant now slowly succumbs to its own size. When the Coalition pulls vital trade deals from beneath the Empire, political tensions flare, and the Galaxy is plunged into another Great War.
The Great War Era
Great War Characters
Sophia Trotsky
Sophia Trotsky
Gender: Female
Date of Birth: April 7th, 444NGC
Place of Birth: Avalon, Arcadia
Mother: Unknown, Father: Dylan Trotsky
Height: 5”2’
Weight: 54.4 kg at 1G
Sophia Trotsky was first registered with the State Department on Arcadia, listed to Dylan Trotsky at his mansion in Avalon city. There is no record of her birth, and no record of her mother – it is suspected by many that she was grown in one of Trotsky’s many laboratories, the purpose of which is unknown. Mr. Trotsky has made no comment on this however, simply stating that Sophia was his daughter.
She grew up with all the privilege that her father’s immense wealth brought her. She is described as having a slim figure, sleek face and beautifully blond hair, green eyes, and a fiery disposition. In her youth she showed extreme intellect, displaying an understanding of mathematics and history years ahead of her age group. Her IQ, as measured by the Coalition Educational Department, is recorded as two hundred and thirty. In school she acted out, going above and beyond the call of duty to antagonize her teachers and her classmates.
Many of Trotsky’s detractors believe she was genetically engineered to take over Trotsky’s immense holdings securing his family’s place at the top of the economic food chain. In general, Coalition social norms distrust the wealthy. The government has bowed to Trotsky on far too many occasions: and his election to the Director’s chair was one that brought a lot of criticism. Sophia received the brunt of this backlash, earning her the spotlight of many people’s ire. She became reserved and distrusting of those around her, leaning heavily on her intelligence as an emotional crutch. Such attention did not bring solely negative effects, however. Her fame across the Coalition grew, and many citizens looked to her designed beauty as inspiration. As such, her face was used to promote various shampoos and beauty products as a child model – this would be brought to a quick end when her father forced her into the military.
Sophia thrived in the Military Academy as well, and she could have had any posting she desired if not for Dylan Trotsky’s intervention. He ensured she served a menial job in the middle of nowhere, for reasons unknown to even her. This led to the young star becoming bitter, bored, and rebellious. She tested her superiors many times with her antics but ultimately was protected by her father’s immense sway over the inner workings of Galactic politics.
Then on December 6th, 461NGC, the world changed for everyone including her, and events were set in motion that would turn Sophia from a child savant into a legendary veteran.
Zhou Ling
Zhou Ling
Gender: Female
Race: Geksheeshan
Date of Birth: June 1st, 417NGC
Place of Birth: Tranquility, Chora 8SNQ (Ice Mining world)
Mother: Xuan Ling, Father: Tan Ling
Brothers: Zhan Ling and Ren Ling, Mark Johansson (Brother in Law)
Sisters: Yi Ling, Wen Ling and Peng Johansson
Hight: 5”7’
Weight: 34.6kg at 1g
In the far reaches of deep space, ice mining is among the most affluent and dangerous professions. While Chora 8SNQ is a wholly unremarkable moon of a moderately sized gas giant, it is none the less a crucial element in the Pathia sector, supplying two hundred some odd worlds with their drinkable water every year. Here, on Tranquility, Zhou Ling was born to a poor but happy family of ice miners. With two brothers and three sisters, Zhou grew up around a large family, destined to work the ice sheets for generations to come. Her eldest brother was injured in a mining incident, crippling him from the waist down, when she was just a child. Her family went into economic ruin attempting to care for her brother: his recovery was long and cost the Ling family everything. If not for her youngest sister marrying a Government official with substantial cash assets, Zhou would have found herself homeless by the age of sixteen.
Mark Johansson saved the Ling Family, returning Tan Ling to work on the ice sheets. This was Zhou’s first taste of a different world beyond that of her family’s small station. She wanted to see it all, and so, against her father’s and mother’s wishes, she signed up with the army recruiter when she was fifteen.
Immediately Zhou found success in the military. Her tough nature and domineering spirit made her an ideal choice for a GI. Her drill instructors found her to be exceptional. She could field strip a drill, so field stripping a rifle was simple. Immediately she was deployed on a battleship as a GI response team, where she worked side by side with the Coalition’s elite OAS soldiers. After years of service she met a young upstart named Claire Oswald, and the two hit it off. They could be found in the Battleships’ mess hall talking about almost any subjects late into the night.
Claire and Zhou married each other on June 7th, 454NGC. It was a happy marriage at first. Their relationship blossomed and they grew closer, almost like a fairy tale. Zhou received a promotion to Corporal after a decade of service, and the pay increase allowed them to buy an apartment on Willanow in Vistula city. Then, on September 5th 457NGC, Claire was deployed to Ellis. Her entire team was killed, and when she returned Claire was broken, and unresponsive. Their relationship spiraled downwards. Zhou tried to take her drug addicted wife to rehab, and help her past this dark spot, but ultimately failed. They divorced in 459NGC, with Zhou leaving Willanow and moving to COM 5 on Ramsey, a moon of Kadesh.
It was then she met a young woman by the name of Sophia Trotsky, who immediately struck her the wrong way. The two became mortal enemies as Zhou slowly recovered from her divorce. Then, on December 6th, 461NGC the world changed.
Zhou was thrust into a war she did not expect.
Randolph Hjalmahr (Hammer)
Randolph Hjalmahr (Hammer)
Gender: Male
Race: Ansakazae
Date of Birth: September 4th, 395NGC
Place of Birth: Lulupo, Kongonoe, North Perseus Arm
Mother: Aoibhin Hjalmahr, Father: Colm Hjalmahr
Brothers: Beccan Hjalmar, Perthorn Cralee (Brother in law)
Sisters: Ciara Cralee
Height: 8’9”
Weight: 272kg at 1G
Born in the mountain region of Kongonoe, in the small city of Lulupo, in the Northern Perseus Arm, Randolph was a first-generation Coalition citizen. His mother and father had run from the Ansakazae Confederacy as the Valkyron Union invaded. Seeing the changing fortunes of the thousand-year-old nation, they left. Randolph was born a year after they were granted asylum. As an alien in a heavily human population Randolph quickly learned to fear himself, growing larger and stronger than most of his peers. While racism is still a hot-button issue, the Coalition was good about protecting their minority species from persecution. Despite this, he found himself unable to follow his goal as a high-speed track runner, as no competition was rated for his muscle density. His parents had warned him of the dangers of military service, especially in the wake of their own people’s subjugation at the hands of a foreign power: however, Randolph found himself drawn to the succinct and rigid life of a military officer. At the age of twenty-four, he enlisted in the marine corps.
His time in the marine corps was well spent. He became known for his strength and punching power, and a drill sergeant gave him the name Hammer after the Ansakazae punched his sparring partner so hard he sent her across the room. However, Randolph did not pursue the OAS career when it was first offered to him. He became a field medic instead, as his father was a doctor. He had been inspired by the act of saving lives and saw fit to do the same on the battlefield, though the thought of the Coalition entering a war at the time was a laughable idea. He served in the 401st Infantry Division as a corpsman for almost a decade before he was once again offered a position with the OAS. In 429NGC he passed SERE training, becoming a tier one operator, where he specialized in heavy weapons and field medicine.
He earned an impressive reputation during anti-piracy operations dragging wounded soldiers and pirates to the medical bay two or three at a time. Hammer kept his call sign; he enjoyed the power it gave him in the rec-room. In 452NGC he was moved to John Kane’s squad. He found his second family there. Claire Oswald became his closest friend on the team, the two were nearly inseparable on shore leave or on the battlefield. He officiated at Claire’s wedding, though his CO was her best man. It seemed as if the Great Tree was smiling upon him, as he began to eye distant retirement, being shorter lived than the humans he was surrounded by.
Then, on September 5th 457NGC they were deployed to Ellis. What should have been an in-and-out insertion turned into a heated battle between civilian militants and Guardian Squad. Things went south fast as the team was all but killed. Claire and Hammer managed to complete the extraction and escape with their lives, but their team was left in ruins. The worst was yet to come. Claire spent the next few years spiraling deeper into PTSD, losing her wife, home, and commission. Hammer turned in his OAS badge and joined his old teammate on the NCIS force on Ramsey in hopes she would recover.
Then on December 7th, 461 the world changed. The Empire invaded Coalition territory to take the agrarian worlds they needed to feed their population. Hammer found himself picking up the Hoplite armor of the OAS once again in defense of his homeland.
Claire Oswald
Claire Oswald
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Date of Birth: December 15th, 435NGC
Place of Birth: Dormata, Bastogne
Mother: Rimilda Oswald, Father: Delwyn Oswald
Brothers: Aefic Oswald, Luther Oswald
Height: 5”8’
Weight: 63.3 kg at 1G
Born in the center of Galactic life on one of the major worlds of the Coalition, Claire lived a middle-class life deep within the bustling city of Dormata. A world of sixteen billion souls, with ten-mile-high towers and space elevators that attached to massive orbital stations in geosynchronous orbit. The power of the city had its effect on the young woman. Her middle school life was marred by her struggle with her sexuality – a rare struggle in the modern day, leading to a bit of an early drug habit. She became attached to smoking, a vice that would plague her for her entire life. As her high school years ended, she discovered her performance in military classes to be above average, and she excelled at physical exercise. She was playing on the volleyball, soccer, and track teams. She was once described as a human with an Ansazi’s body, due to her immensely well-toned physique.
She joined the Coalition Marine Corps straight out of high school, despite having multiple scholarship opportunities. She had no desire to play the role of student, her goal was clear. She was going to be the best of the best. By nineteen she was recruited by the OAS to work in the field. She passed SERE training that year without so much as flinching. Young, hot, and ready to go Claire entered service as a fully trained tier one operator at the age of nineteen. There she met a young Geksheeshan by the name of Zhou Ling, and the two hit it off. They could often be found in the crew lounge or mess hall conversing, and later in their quarters becoming intimately familiar with one another.
Their relationship blossomed and they grew closer, almost like a fairy tale. Zhou received a promotion to Corporal after a decade of service, and the pay increase allowed them to buy an apartment on Willanow in Vistula city. Then, on September 5th 457NGC, Claire was deployed to Ellis. This mission saw Claire pitted against a group of insurgents who killed her best friend and her team. The blow would be one that Claire never truly recovered from. When she returned Claire was broken, and unresponsive. The married couple’s relationship spiraled downwards. Zhou tried to take her drug addicted wife to rehab, and help her past this dark spot, but ultimately failed. They divorced in 459NGC. Claire moved out to Ramsey near Kadesh, to operate in the NCIS division present there.
She settled into her job becoming one of the staples of the division, smoking her cigarettes and solving murders. The next three years were not easy. Claire suffered multiple traumatic panic attacks and was forced to see therapists and doctors. Her recovery was slow – and she never did get over her beloved wife, who had moved on. The two had refused to speak, but she knew the day would come when she would have to confront her sins.
Then on December 6th, 462NGC the world changed. A war started that would alter the scope and shape of galactic politics, and drive Claire, however unprepared, back to the OAS, and back into action.