Author's Note:
I recently noticed a strange coincidence in my series.
It's not mentioned often, only a few times, but Bruce Bel Bahamut Belmont has the power to transform into a dog, specifically a Siberian husky.
The name of his Space Kingdom is United Space Kingdom of Ysatnaf and its colonies, aka USKY
Husky - USKY
Biggest coincidence I've ever seen, I find it absolutely hilarious.
The Planeswalker at the beginning of his story learns a spell to transform himself into a Siberian Husky, then much later creates an empire called, USKY
I can't help but laugh when I realized this coincidence.
I'll probably make some jokes about this in the future like, "Shepard, are you saying there's a space empire of alien dogs?"
XXX
Chapter 3: Discovery, Colonization, and Protection
Plot: In this chapter we will analyze the selection methodologies of explorers of the unknown, the discovery procedures, the colonial foundation protocols and the protection systems of the new dominions of the Kingdom.
XXX The Explorers XXX
The USKY explores deep space outside its own territories using two complementary resources: Mechanicus machines and Rogue Traders.
The Mechanicus
The Mechanicus is the military's scientific division. When ordered to plan a territorial expansion, the Mechanicus designs and builds a "Do-It-All" Starship from scratch. Crafted with the best Magitech technology available, the vessel is designed to cover immense distances with minimal resources, remaining operational for years or even decades.
In parallel with construction, a team of advanced military AIs is being created and trained to lead the expedition. The entire preparation process can take 5 to 15 years, the time needed to calculate every eventuality and ensure the highest probability of success.
Once escorted to the Kingdom's borders, the Starship begins its flight. The AI team and synthetic equipment work tirelessly:
- They place quantum communication satellites (equipped with self-destruct systems) at key points in space.
- They leave behind exploration satellites such as Evileye, managed by low-level AI for the systematic scanning of solar systems.
- They remotely coordinate stealth ships and drones to collect samples on any planet deemed worthy of attention.
The mission continues for a decade or until resources are halved (or critical damage occurs). Only then do the AIs return to the USKY to deliver detailed data, allowing the Kingdom to plan its next move.
The Rogue Traders
Rogue Traders are extraordinary individuals who have been mandated by the King to act as freelance explorers, conquerors, and interstellar traders.
During their long travels, Rogue Traders encounter a multitude of worlds; their primary duty is to record their locations and transmit them to the Realm for constant updating of the Star Maps.
The discovery of a strategic planet, rich in rare resources, easily colonizable, or an already habitable Garden Planet, represents the pinnacle of their career, a discovery they must immediately announce to the Crown to receive honors and rewards.
XXX The Discovery of a Garden World XXX
When a Rogue Trader or the Mechanicus' AI team discovers a planet capable of supporting life, they must follow a strict protocol. The fate of a Garden World is primarily determined by the presence or absence of intelligent life.
Preliminary Investigation and First Contact
The explorer is required to conduct a preliminary investigation. If a sentient species is detected on the planet, their technological level must be analyzed.
Contact is prohibited unless the alien species has reached the minimum required threshold:
- Possession of a spacecraft capable of autonomous exit and reentry into the atmosphere.
- Ability to send communications into deep space with an explicit rendezvous request.
If these requirements are not met, explorers must avoid all contact, limiting themselves to observing and studying the species from the shadows.
To do this, they place mini-espionage satellites in orbit and build permanent observatories (on nearby planets, space stations hidden behind moons or protected by invisible force fields).
Currently, USKY is keeping eight primitive races under observation, waiting for the right moment to reveal themselves.
Exceptional Intervention Protocols
However, there are critical scenarios where the USKY must intervene before the native race reaches the technological threshold.
These interventions have occurred at least once in the history of the Kingdom:
1) External Invasion: If the planet is attacked by other alien races.
2) Risk of Total Destruction: If the planet is at risk of destruction, USKY must lead an emergency planetary evacuation.
3) Danger of Extinction: If the alien race is in danger of disappearing due to natural or biological causes.
4) Self-destruction: If the species is in danger of annihilating itself through the use of weapons of mass destruction, the Kingdom intervenes to neutralize the arsenal.
XXX The Claim of a Garden World XXX
If the Garden Planet is not home to intelligent life, the explorer has the honor and privilege of proceeding with the annexation ceremony.
The Annexation Ceremony
The official act consists of planting in the ground a ceremonial staff holding two flags:
1) The USKY national flag
2) The Rogue Trader's personal family crest, or in the case of the Mechanicus, the Starship crest (which includes the science division logo and an ID code with the names and serial numbers of each IA Team member).
The event is documented with official videos and photographs, which must include, without exception, the entire crew. A commemorative obelisk (three meters high) is erected at the site of the claim, inscribed with the date and the names of the pioneers.
Initial Presidium
Before departure, an observation satellite is placed in orbit. Some crew members may choose to stay on site to monitor the planet, settling into a former barracks. In these cases, it's not uncommon for children to be born among the residents before the next wave of colonists returns: the phenomenon of "playing Adam and Eve" is more common than one might imagine.
Honors and Rewards
Upon their return, the expedition's Captain is received in a solemn audience by the King, one of the Princesses, or the Mechanicus Leader. A national holiday is proclaimed in honor of the discovery.
Once the celebrations are over, the King offers the Captain the opportunity to lead the colonization process, a role that could lead to the appointment of Planetary Governor or Administrative Viceroy of the new world. If he refuses, the Captain can:
- To yield the honor to another person of his choice.
- Request alternative rewards: a noble title, a sum of gold, a new Starship, or resources for a new expedition.
- Ask for favors for one's family or forgiveness for past crimes (provided they are not related to treason, heresy, or direct offenses against the Royal Family).
In any case, the Captain gains the perpetual right to choose the planet's name, will receive a state funeral upon death, and his lineage will be forever honored by the Kingdom.
XXX The Preparation XXX
Once the celebrations are over and the Captain is rewarded, work begins. An Investigation Fleet is assembled, a mixed contingent of military and scientific vessels. The nature of this fleet and its development depends on who leads the colonization process.
Scenario A: Driving a Rogue Trader
If the Rogue Trader chooses to lead the colonization, he can involve his personal contacts.
Features: The fleet is smaller, but the crew is very close-knit.
Development: The colonial hierarchy is easily established, making the first decades an activity based on friendship or family ties.
Oversight: The Astra Navis, the Astra Militarum, and a division of the Mechanicus monitor the expedition to prevent infringement. Preparation is rapid, but construction is slower, leading to the development of a unique local culture.
Scenario B: Mechanicus Guide
If Team AI accepts the leadership, the Mechanicus turns colonization into a demonstration of technological excellence.
Features: A massive, highly organized fleet of brilliant minds, an army of synthetic workers, and hundreds of highly specialized AIs.
Development: The colony is a mega-engineering project managed with surgical precision.
Control: Astra Navis and Militarum provide protection and logistical support. Planning is lengthy and meticulous, but actual construction is extremely fast.
Scenario C: Royal Family Guide or Delegate
If no explorer accepts the assignment, the decision is up to the Crown based on the planet's location:
In the Royal Sector: The King entrusts command to a trusted agent, a close friend, or a lover of a Princess seeking glory. If a Princess approaches 100 years of age (70 and up), the King builds her a "Dream Colony." Children or grandchildren of Princesses can also apply for command to demonstrate their worth. In this case, colonies are well-funded and display an original and prestigious style.
Outside the Royal Sector: The Royal Family contacts the Lord or Lady of Star of the nearest sector. Together, they select the right individual. Preparation is lengthy, supported financially and logistically by the local Lord, and the planet is built according to USKY standards but influenced by the style of the sector to which it belongs.
XXX Garden Planet Investigation XXX
Before actual construction begins, the Investigation Fleet circles the planet to begin a phase of comprehensive monitoring and systematic mapping.
Orbital Monitoring
The fleet deploys a network of scientific satellites for constant observation and analysis. A minimum of 36 satellites are deployed, arranged to form a complete orbital ring around the newly discovered world.
Preliminary Surface and Structure Analysis
Prefabricated buildings are sent to the surface at strategic points on the planet to initiate a comprehensive environmental and geological analysis. This process serves to:
- Classify every resource and life form present.
- Plan an ideal colonization that allows you to extract the best resources with the least effort possible.
- Minimize environmental damage, preserving the original USKY ecosystem
Coordination and Logistics
In parallel with the surface analyses, a Space Administration and Defense Station is built. This facility becomes the nerve center of the entire operation, tasked with coordinating every single step of the colonization process.
Operational Timeline
This stage of intensive analysis and mapping has a variable duration depending on the complexity of the garden world:
- Minimum duration: One full year of surveys.
- Maximum duration: Up to a decade in cases where the planet requires more in-depth preparation and extremely detailed mapping.
XXX The First Structures XXX
As construction begins, military forces establish a defensive ring around the designated perimeter to protect the construction site of the primary structures.
Priority Buildings and Planning
The first building to be erected is the base level of the future Governor's/Viceroy's Palace, which serves as a temporary command center. Work on vital infrastructure will then begin:
Health and Education: The First Hospital, the First School, and the First Library.
Sustenance: The First Plant-Growing Greenhouse and the First Cultured Meat Factory (artificial laboratory meat, nutritionally identical to natural meat but with inferior taste and a shorter shelf life).
Spirituality: The First Church.
Architecture and Layered Defense
High-level cities (Metropolises, Viceroy Seats, Planetary Governor's Seat) follow a vertical, defensive growth pattern:
Area: As urban development progresses, the original buildings grow in height, becoming skyscrapers, while multiple levels of concentric defensive walls are erected.
Underground: Construction also extends downward, creating labyrinthine underground cities that house shelters for the population, military bases, protected production centers, and maximum-security prisons.
Building Methodologies by Faction
USKY takes radically different approaches to building the First City:
Rogue Trader Method (Traditional/Manual): Massive use of specialized labor and industrial exoskeletons. The process is supported by experts in magic and psychic powers (especially telekinesis and teleportation) for material handling.
Mechanicus Method (Isectoid Automation): Employing coordinated swarms of ant- and bee-like drones, operating under the logical parameters of high AIs and science leaders.
Royal Family Method (The Mushroom Protocol): A mushroom-shaped spaceship-city is built in space. The body serves as a reactor and factory, while the head houses a pre-modeled liquid metal city.
Procedure: The ship fires a laser to create a perfect cylindrical crater, flattens it with a second pulse, lands in the hole, and "takes root." This is the most expensive method and requires decades of preparation to avoid taxing the Kingdom's resources.
XXX Standard Space Defense XXX
Every planet-level colony on the USKY is protected by three mandatory standard defense systems, designed to ensure the world's security and the continuity of the sovereignty signal.
1) The Watchtower (Contact Station)
Each planet has an orbital space station that serves as the primary point of contact and monitoring.
- Function: Transmits a constant operational status signal ("all good"); if the signal is interrupted, a general alarm is automatically triggered in the Kingdom.
- Equipment: Cloaking systems, powerful energy shields and laser batteries.
- Purpose: Acts as a hypersensitive radar to detect incoming threats and as a warning beacon for trade routes.
2) The Space Defense Force (SDF)
It represents the planet's striking force and main defense.
- Asset: Local fleet composed mainly of Cruisers and Frigates.
- Scale: The number of Starships assigned is directly proportional to the planetary population density.
3) The Global Barrier
It's the last system to be installed, activated only when the colony becomes self-sufficient. There are three variants of planetary protection:
- The Network (Standard Model): The cheapest and most widespread system.
- Structure: Two rings of satellites form an "X" around the planet. In times of danger, the satellites discharge energy to billions of tennis-ball-sized spheres that circle the globe.
- Effectiveness: The spheres create a collective shield capable of withstanding a massive assault or planetary power strike for several days. In the event of a fall, the satellites are designed to burn up completely in the atmosphere.
-The Thousand Towers (Advanced Model): Based on a thousand power plants distributed across the surface, integrated into imposing skyscrapers.
- How it works: Factories channel energy to skyscrapers that project beams of light into the stratosphere, generating the barrier.
- Vulnerability: The cost is high and the destruction of a single tower leaves 1/1000 of the planet's surface exposed.
- The Four Pillars (Supreme Model): Four titanic megastructures located at the poles, visible from deep space.
- Effectiveness: The most powerful barrier in the Kingdom, capable of withstanding ten hits enough to shatter a world or withstand a prolonged siege (historical tests show that besieging ships overheat before the barrier fails).
- Distribution: Only 8 out of 500 planets possess this technology. It is reserved exclusively for Ysatnaf (the Home World) and the Seven Fortress Worlds of the Seven Ancient Noble Families.
XXX Standard Land Defense XXX
The Kingdom's defense doctrine reflects the mind of the First King: a paranoid and far-sighted genius who preferred to slow expansion (with development times ranging from 50 to 150 years per colony) rather than ensure that each world was not a "paper empire," but an impregnable fortress. Surprise inspections and drastic sanctions ensure that the following standards are maintained in each domain.
1) Urban Defense and Survival Protocols
Every inhabited center, regardless of size, must have:
- Defensive Walls: Equipped with energy barrier projectors that envelop the urban area and a ten-meter external perimeter.
- Armored Shelters: Public buildings (hospitals, schools, churches, libraries) have integrated bunkers capable of withstanding heavy bombing.
- Strategic Reserves: Emergency supplies (powdered and canned food) calculated for 100 days of resistance. Stocks are updated annually based on the population census.
2) The Vault Cities and the Metropolises
The main cities and the Viceroy's seats represent the safest points on the planet:
- Underground Cities: Deep labyrinths capable of housing the entire population, equipped with autonomous battle drone factories and energy generators.
- Layered Walls: The closer you get to the Governor's Palace, the thicker the walls become and the more powerful the shield generators become, creating multiple protective domes.
- Liquid Metal: From the third wall onwards, the walls are covered in a layer of self-repairing liquid metal that seals the entrances and generates defensive spikes against approaching enemies.
3) Infrastructure and Biological Countermeasures
- Anti-Aircraft Systems: Defensive lasers installed on every public building. Private individuals can install them on their roofs in exchange for tax breaks.
- Retractable Buildings: In Fortress Worlds, key buildings can sink into the ground.
- Rail Network: Planetary transportation is protected by energy shields and cloaking systems (visual/audible). There is also a deep underground Rail Network. In the event of a breach, the underground conduits can be sealed with liquid metal or saturated with toxic gases.
- Vaccination Protocol: The USKY population is immunized to specific toxins deliberately inserted into the water and food supplies to make the planet lethal to invaders (foreign diplomats receive temporary vaccines).
4) AI Management and the Heir of Kal'tsit
- Logistics Network: Each administrator is supported by an interconnected AI that manages crisis logistics and monitors corruption. The planetary "brain" is a supercomputer located deep beneath the Governor's Palace.
- The Governor's Assistant: Unlike common AIs, the Governor is assisted by a Biomedical Entity created by the First King and Amelia Blight, the leader of the Mechanicus.
- Specifications: Semi-immortal biomechanical models inspired by data from the distant planet Arknights (Subject: Kal'tsit and Mon3tr) . They possess supercomputer IQ and advanced Magitech/Technomagic abilities, serving as the planet's bodyguard and supreme advisor.