Zanderaw

The Han Dominion Summer, HSC 2 Shi Yimu felt many things as he was led through the cavernous halls of the perpetually-under-construction Capitol Palace. Interest was chief among them, for he had never before been allowed inside the building, despite distinguishing himself in service to the Jinyiwei, who more or less ran the place. Next was a mixture of honor and fear: he had been summoned unexpectedly, pulled from his latest investigation by his superior and led to the palace under armed guard. Such things did not happen for no reason. But if he were under standard disciplinary measures, he would have been taken to some facility outside of Xin Xi’an. Yimu shuddered at the thought. He knew what happened at such places. Instead he was escorted to the east wing of the palace, before an ornate doorway, which one of his guards knocked on three times before pushing open. Yimu was forcefully pushed inside, into what appeared to be a study. Another door at the other side of the room revealed an expansive bedroom. But what truly took Yimu’s attention was the figure sitting in the center of this chamber, behind a large desk. It was dressed in all black apart from some crimson embroidery, and its face was concealed behind an unnervingly skull-like mask. To its left, a doctor was performing an inspection, listening with a stethoscope to the breathing of the masked creature. “The man you asked for, Dao Yi,” said the man to Yimu’s right, bowing to the cloaked figure while simultaneously pushing his prisoner forward. “Thank you, lieutenant. You may go,” replied the seated Dao, its voice unrecognizable as always through the mask’s modulators. The guards turned and left, and after another nod, the doctor did as well, closing the large door behind him with a dull thud. Yimu suddenly realized he was alone, in the same room as possibly the most powerful person in the entirety of the Dominion. His heart racing, he did the first thing that came into his mind and bowed at the waist, as deep as he could possibly go. “Dao Yi,” he said, his voice trembling, “I am at your service.” “Please,” said the Dao Yi, getting to its feet with clear difficulty. “No formalities are necessary, captain.” Yimu nodded and stood to his full height, while the cloaked figure leaned on the edge of its desk, sizing him up through its mask. A long silence followed before it spoke again. “I understand you have a son now. It’s been a few years of course, but you will have to pass on my congratulations to Lin all the same.” Yimu’s eyes widened. “Excuse me sir?” A heavily-modulated chuckle escaped the mask. “Of course. One moment.” Slowly, the Dao’s gloved hands reached to the back of its head, and undid a clasp of some kind. Within moments, the mask was dropped to the desk, and Yimu’s jaw dropped. Losing all sense of composure, he sagged into the nearest chair, staring at the old man behind the mask. “But...you died. On the Zheng He. I was at the funeral. You were blown to bits when one of those cheap Australian refrigerators exploded.” The Dao Yi grinned, walking over to clasp the younger man’s shoulder on creaky legs. “Yimu…” he answered, “You’ve always been brilliant. But if you get the slightest bit surprised I swear you couldn’t tell left from right. If I had announced ‘I am Shi Jiang, your new Dao Yi,’ no one would have accepted it. Mask or not, they would have seen only the man, and men are flawed. The Daos had to come from nowhere; there was no other way.” Yimu stared down at his steepled fingers, thoughts racing through his head. He said nothing. What was there to say, after seventeen years? “You’ve made me a very proud man, Yimu,” the Dao Yi continued, looking down on the younger officer. “The entire agency speaks highly of you. You’re the first name that comes up when discussing it seems like any operation. And you did it all on your own.” “Why?” asked Yimu, finally looking up. “Why call me here now, after so long? Perhaps I needn’t have done it alone after all. At least you could have given me a sign. Anything.” The Dao Yi sighed, the bags under his eyes seemingly growing darker even than before. Another long moment passed, but finally he spoke: “You were at Lantri Station. You saw what I saw.” “I did.” “But you did not hear what I heard.” “I was unaware there was anything to hear.” “Oh, but there was, Yimu. And it frightens me.” The old man took his hand off Yimu’s shoulder, and gestured to the terminal on his desk, fighting down a hacking cough. Yimu hesitated, but eventually got to his feet, and traversed the room, to read what was written there. It took a mere two minutes, but when he was done the Dao Yi was looking at him expectantly. “You show me this now?” asked Yimu. “Why show me at all? Were I in your shoes knowing I had read this, I would make sure I never saw the light of day again.” “You should have asked me why I am frightened, Yimu. I can no longer afford to keep this secret. The other Daos do not recognize its importance. And the doctors...they give me mere weeks to live. We can’t keep the cancer at bay for any longer.” Yimu felt a pang of sadness, but not as much as he had years prior. He had already lost his father once. A second time was nothing compared to the pain he had felt on the voyage, but still he could feel his eyes watering. The Dao Yi began to pace, his steps weak and irregular. “When I do die, you will hear nothing. A new Dao Yi will be selected quietly, but it will not be the same.” He looked directly at his son. “You must remember, Yimu. We try to remain faceless, without personality. But there are humans behind the masks, and humans can be influenced. Already, several of them take their own rhetoric too seriously. For that matter, the same can be said amongst the general ranks of leadership. You should hear some of the things your brother has said in general staff meetings.” Yimu winced. He had not spoken to his older brother Cheng in over eight years. “If the Daos are like him,” he replied, “then we are lost.” Jiang lowered himself to a sitting position on one of the several chairs in the study, taking a long look at the Jinyiwei captain. “Thankfully that is not the case, at least not yet. And there is truth to what men like your brother believe. It is true that the Wairen must be vanquished for us to take our place as masters of the stars. But there are things out there much stronger than we are, and there are many paths to victory. I fear that some of our countrymen would prefer a glorious defeat to an ignominious triumph.” Another cough escaped his lips, and this time continued into a fit which lasted a full thirty seconds. It must have been heard outside, for knocks soon came at the door. The Dao Yi wiped blood from his mouth, his ancient face suddenly full of urgency. “Another minute!” he called toward the door, his voice a hoarse croak, and got to his feet again. “Officially, this meeting is to inform you of your promotion to major. But you are really here because you have continually demonstrated your worthiness. I fully expect you’ll be in upper leadership by the time such things become relevant. And when that happens, you must remember what we have spoken of today. The Jinyiwei is unique in its ability to influence how the people and the Daos act and think. You must guide the might of the Dominion to where it will be useful. And where it will not...you must find another way.” Jiang picked up his helmet-mask, holding it to his side. “That kind of sense is rarer than you might think in this building.” Yimu was silent, thoughts swirling in his mind as he considered everything he had just been told. Much needed to be done. His work would require even more skill, even greater cunning. But it shouldn’t be surprising. His work, after all, always depended on both. “I will do everything in my power,” he finally replied. “I have always been and will always be in your service, father.” He blinked away the beginnings of tears, replacing them with what he hoped was an expression of determination. The Dao Yi nodded, and again brought his mask to his face. When the cloaked figure next spoke, its voice was again modulated and unrecognizable. “Then congratulations, Major Shi. The Dominion expects great things from you.” ---------- In a fit of patriotism following recent prosperity, each and every Han of the Dominion throws himself into his work, urged forward by news of a successful test of the warp drive. The orbital shipyard quickly nears completion, but with so many more resources allocated to the fledgling navy, it’s decided that it will be expanded even beyond the original plans, so that it can support the construction of a new colonial freighter. The accelerated schedule comes at no cost to actual naval expansion: after years of debate, the naval strategic command has approved a final design for the Dominion’s first warship. A light, inexpensive, and highly maneuverable corvette, it will be the leading edge of the navy’s expansion into the stars. The very first one is placed into assembly even before the shipyard is in full working order. Xin Xi’an continues to grow at a rapid pace, though its borders expand only slowly. Fueled by a near-endless amount of food, reduced government intervention, and overall optimism at the Han nation’s prospects, the population and economy boom. With surpluses in essentials like grain and housing, the Dominion is able to grant subsidies to families who choose to have more children, who are then educated in the superiority of the Han race. The fragility of the Yuguo rice genome is curious, to say the least. All findings are noted, and the center for biological engineering moves on to other projects... ---------- Summary Finishing orbital shipyard L1 [2 AP] Finishing orbital shipyard L2 [2 AP] Constructing 1 corvette [1 AP] Constructing colony ship [1 AP] Population 150,000 total Han 50,000 total military trained 15,000 active duty soldiers 1,500 Jinyiwei agents Accumulation (Working tech will be in italics) Farming Yuguo: 2 AP Genetic research facilities: 2 AP Yuguo Rice: 2 AP Warp drive: 6 AP Orbital shipyard: 2 AP Han Territory link:

The Han Dominion A year on Yuguo took the equivalent of four years on Earth, and the lunar calendar had been adjusted accordingly, with a total of forty lunar months! As such, according to the Han Standard Calendar, today was the start of the year 2, and the only true opportunity for celebration in a very long time, especially after the long journey on the Zheng He. Luckily, times had become better, and the government was determined to give its people a celebration worth the wait. It was past Feng’s bedtime, and yet his parents seemed not to mind as he giddily ran down the crowded streets of Xin Xi’an. The city was more lively than he had ever seen in his lifetime: lanterns were strung between the skyscrapers above from the very tops to just above the packed streets. Despite the light rain, nearly every resident was outside, and the air was filled with the roar of the throng, with the music played on every street corner, and the booms of distant fireworks over the river and in the sky above. Every so often a squadron of Dominion fighters would fly overhead, bearing payloads of firecrackers which exploded well overhead in brilliant pyrotechnic displays. Feng pushed his way between the legs of a few people on the edge of the densest crowd until he reached one of the many street vendors. This one's offerings looked delicious: Feng’s mother soon caught up with him as he excitedly pressed against the citizens who had gotten there first. Under normal circumstances a pleading look from him wouldn’t be enough to guarantee that she’d buy something, but this was a special occasion after all. His father, Yimu, was in plain clothes for once but was still well behind: he appeared to be giving a stern lecture to a man in uniform desperately trying to conceal some kind of pipe. Perhaps they worked together. It was only a couple minutes before he caught up to the other two, though, and by that time Feng had been appeased with a succulent fried tarantula. With a single smooth motion, he was hoisted onto his father’s shoulders, and the Shi family made its way into the crowd. Shops in the small alleys, parades in the larger streets: every inch of the city was put to use, if not with an event, then with crowds of revelers. Hoisted on top of Yimu’s tall shoulders, Feng could see a few of the most recently constructed tanks roll past to cheers, red lanterns swinging from their armored sides and cannons. At the end of the narrow street ahead, he could see where the three were headed: the plaza surrounding the Capitol Palace. It was there that most of the main events had been taking place, but now it housed the most inspiring of all: the Exhibition of Present and Future Accomplishments of the Han People. Another round of fireworks exploded overhead as Feng and his parents pushed into the plaza. The Capitol Palace was a massive building under constant expansion, built upon the rocky outcropping that had greeted the colonists when they first set foot on the new planet. Tonight a massive banner draped from its walls: a great starmap of the observable galaxy, lightly painted over to give the impression of the Dominion flag stretching across it, as it should be. ((A brighter future, by A.W.)) At each entrance to the plaza, there were massive stands passing out free portions of the new grain being seeded outside the city. It had simply been named Yuguo rice, and Feng’s mother explained to him how Dominion scientists had made changes to its genetic code to make it hardier, faster growing and more nutritious, ensuring the continuing growth of the Han people. She then gave him a sample, which Feng promptly spat out. It just tasted like rice. More interesting to him were the other exhibits, nearly all of them involving space. His father explained each one to him: there was the orbital shipyard currently under construction, of course, and some preliminary designs for a space fighter and a larger ship. But most fascinating of all was an expansive, crowded exhibit on the wonders of warp travel. “The drive essentially bends space around the ship,” explained Yimu. “With that kind of propulsion, even distances between stars are like nothing.” Feng’s father clasped his shoulder. “This is the most important thing anyone on the entire planet is doing, and I should know. Staying on Earth was a mistake we almost didn’t live through. This...this gives us a future. A future up there.” Yimu gestured upwards, and even though the night sky was clouded over, a particularly large firework in the shape of a phoenix went off at that moment to grant emphasis to his statement. Awestruck, three-year-old Feng gazed at the ship models, at the diagrams of the drive in progress, and finally at the massive starmap hanging above. A smile crept over his face. “Can I go?” He finally asked. Yimu beamed. “Of course, son. You will go into the stars and come back a hero. I have no doubt of that.” ---------- The introduction of Yuguo rice revolutionizes Han agriculture overnight: suddenly, more grain can be produced than is needed for only a fraction of the labor and space. The price of the staple plummets, and with it the prices of such luxuries as livestock, spices and silk, as restrictions on production of such non-necessities can now be loosened. More importantly than those, there is now room for the planting of tea on a larger scale, and sanctioned plantations begin to crop up well away from Xin Xi’an. News of the white-suited man does not reach the public, but his appearance perplexes those with knowledge of the situation. Eventually the authorities decide there is no evidence to follow, and so the incident is recorded for future reference and no longer spoken of. What is more rigorously investigated is the rice itself: it is decided that whatever the mysterious visitor did, it should be fully catalogued so that similar strategies can be used in the future. The Center for Biological Engineering therefore records the entirety of the Yuguo rice genome, and analyzes the changes for new strategies which may make future projects easier. ((Essentially trying to train my bioengineers to be better at their jobs)) Meanwhile, nearly the entirety of the Dominion’s task force of physicists is assigned to the warp drive project. State media calls it “the greatest undertaking yet conceived by our kind.” ---------- Summary Researching warp drive [3 AP] Investigating Yuguo rice ((See under tea picture)) [1 AP] Population 138,000 total Han 46,000 total military trained 15,300 active duty soldiers 1,530 Jinyiwei agents Accumulation (Working tech will be in italics) Farming Yuguo: 2 AP Genetic research facilities: 2 AP Yuguo Rice: 2 AP Warp drive: 3 AP Orbital shipyard: 2 AP

The Han Dominion “It’s just not good enough,” lamented Lin as she reviewed the latest results on the genetic modification of rice. “It gives us a good yield, but the growth rate is far below what would be acceptable. If we tried planting this stuff in a new colony, all the colonists would starve before they saw the first harvest.” Yimu shrugged. “Just store an extra year’s worth on the ship.” “And compromise on space for everything else?” scoffed Lin. “Not likely. Besides, this is a grain. Everything we don’t need to eat in the first year is more crop that can be planted.” She brought up a new window and began to aggressively type a response. “We can do better. There’s a flower we found here, the Shiying, I think, that can adjust its metabolism to changing atmospheric conditions. And the Huxi vine needs a lot of air to synthesize as much toxin as it has, so it actually brings in air mechanically: kind of proto-lungs, on a very small scale. If we look into those mechanisms, we might be able to overcome the slow growth. The latter might actually let us pack more nutrition in.” Buttoning the cuffs on his uniform, her husband gave her shoulder an affectionate squeeze. “That kind of attention to detail is exactly what we need. Too many of the people out there don’t realize what’s at stake. You don’t have to look at it, but I do.” He grimaced. “They cut corners, prioritize their own pleasure over the needs of the Dominion. It’s that kind of thinking that’s going to get us all killed one day.” Lin turned around in her seat, and looking concerned, eyeing Yimu’s uniform. “Never mind that. What is it that’s calling you away this time of night?” Yimu glowered. “Exactly what I just said. Degenerate scum.” He stepped to the door, donning his uniform hat, and looked back, his expression softening. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Sleep well.” With that, he left his apartment, soon stepping out into the rainy streets of Xin Xi’an. A car was waiting for him, and he snapped a salute to the Jinyiwei agents, barely suppressing a smile as they addressed him by his new title. ‘Captain Shi’ had a nice ring to it, he thought. ---------- ((Sorry Chaw)) Wan Gengxin whistled to himself as he weighed and counted the precious metals strewn across his desk. Gold, silver, copper, even a bit of uranium. All completely useless to him for now, but properly laundered through his mining operation, it amounted to no small amount of cash. Gengxin hadn’t been the only one to smuggle poppy seeds onto the Zheng He, but as far as he knew he was the only one to get away with it after the Dominion took control. Lucky him. His assistant Xinping came into his office to collect the night’s earnings, and Gengxin got to his feet, stretching his legs as he walked to the curtain that separated his office from the den. He couldn’t suppress a smile: there were at least thirty junkies in there just now alone, and he had two other dens elsewhere in the city. And his businesses hadn’t been so much as investigated once! For all their talk of ‘discipline,’ the Dominion’s oversight really was quite la- Gengxin’s thought was cut short as a charge exploded on the ground floor above him, rousing even some of his customers from their stupor. It was followed moments later by gunshots, and as boots started to trample down the narrow stairway on the opposite side of the den, he panicked. There was a small door in the back of his office, and that’s exactly where the drug lord bolted, his assistant Xinping in tow. As he slammed the door behind him in the dim, dank tunnel, he glimpsed black-clad agents descending on his customers, and forced himself to move, with as much speed and as little dignity as a rat. The tunnel exited in a garage on the other side of the building, where a car which Gengxin immediately wished was less flashy was waiting. He set the garage door to open and faintly heard the sound of his office door breaking down on the other end of the tunnel. Not much time left. The garage door took what seemed like an eternity to open, but by the time it had, Gengxin realized that driving out of it might be a bad idea. There were cameras everywhere in Xin Xi’an, and if the Jinyiwei had only been waiting to strike they probably knew about this garage. No, driving wasn’t an option. He handed the keys to Xinping, and bolted for the stairwell as his assistant drove out onto the street, not stopping to look what happened to him. The drug lord only got two floors up before the ground level door burst open, and he knew that he had not lost his pursuers. His lungs burned, his legs felt like giving out at any moment, but he forced himself of the stairs. There was no other way. Dimly, he remembered that this building was thirty stories tall. The mere thought of it made him want to vomit, so he started to shove doors open as he passed, to make it look like he had gone through them. After four stories of this, he actually did. The elevator, like the garage door, seemed to take an eternity, and for a moment Gengxin thought it might have been disabled. But he was in luck, and the door opened and closed for him just in time. It seemed distracting the agents with swinging doors had bought him a few moments. It probably wasn’t a trick that would work again. He hit the button for the top floor and sped up, leaning against the wall for some much-needed rest. It was only a moment of peace, of course, and soon he was racing back to the stairwell. When he ran in it seemed the agents below had come farther than could be believed in such a short time. Gengxin didn’t have long. He ran up the last flight of stairs and raised his foot to kick down the door to the roof. Nothing happened. Cursing under his breath, he kicked again and again, but the door was sturdy, and the boots on the stairs below him were coming closer and closer. Gengxin let out a roar of anger and kicked once more, and at last, to his utter relief, the door broke off one of its hinges. Two more kicks and it was down, but his head start was gone. Xin Xi’an was a relatively small city, but dense. This meant that he didn’t have too far to go to escape the city limits, but more importantly, it meant that the alleys between most of the buildings were tiny. Gengxin didn’t hesitate: he ran straight for the edge and jumped to the next one over, without looking down at the 400 foot drop. It turned out to be a good thing he did, too: the hum of fusion engines soon became audible as one of the Dominion’s two dropships came into view. Gengxin had just enough time to break down this roof’s weaker door before it opened fire, and yet still took a bullet to his calf. Screaming in pain, he began to tumble down the first flight of stairs, taking a second bullet in his shoulder as the agents on the first building began to shoot. The drug lord limped to the elevator and was dismayed to find that it was actually disabled this time. No matter. The river was just on the west side of this building. He just needed to get as low as he could… Limping down the stairwell was slow and painful, but the adrenaline coursing through Gengxin’s veins made him forget all that. The Jinyiwei was always behind him; he could hear them. He tried to favor his good leg, swinging down stair by stair, using his good arm for support. It worked, to a degree. But he was losing a lot of blood. He couldn’t keep this up forever. Eventually, he heard boots below as well as above, and knew he could go no further down. Exiting the stairwell, he ran west: only the river could save him now. His leg burned like it was being torn asunder, and maybe it was, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was building up speed for the jump… Gengxin threw himself out a Western window, fifty feet above the water, and time stood still. In flames, crashed on a sidewalk next to the waterfront, was his car, and the mangled body of what looked like his assistant was being roughly pulled out. And below him, in the the river...were dozens of police boats. Wan Gengxin survived the initial impact with the river, but coming to the surface proved to be slightly more hazardous. ---------- In what comes to be known as a night of purification, both the Jinyiwei and Dominion Army raid hives of degeneracy across Xin Xi’an, from drug dens to illegal casinos. Those responsible for operating these establishments are executed on site, their assets are seized, and their names and the names of their family members are publicly dragged through the mud. Those found to have frequented such establishments are publicly exposed, arrested, and sentenced to labor as slaves in the most undesirable jobs in the Dominion until the authorities see fit to release them. Statements from the Dominion government make it abundantly clear that although they allow a certain amount of free enterprise within reason, anything which presents a clear threat to the discipline and strength of the Han people will be purged, without exception. As an example, the authorities reference a certain individual who has been using valuable resources to make devices which merely spin around a single axis for no discernable reason: All such devices are destroyed, and the inventor is sentenced to a lifetime of hard labor in a salt mine as far away from the city as possible. Nearly everyone agrees that this psychopath has gotten what he deserves. Meanwhile, the Han continue to prepare themselves for the coming struggle. Army reserves train every day, whipping themselves into a disciplined state, so that they may be called to battle if needed. The upper echelons of the Dominion’s military hotly debate the intricacies of an interstellar war, and propose more and more ambitious designs for a space warship. The shipyard which would build this warship is not yet finished, but is built more every day. More rifles are manufactured every day, but the true preparations involve not weapons, but propulsion. Settling on a warp field as the most viable form of FTL travel, the Dominion’s physicists set themselves to work on the theory. Hopes are high for the project, and the scientists aim to be able to do some preliminary tests soon. Finally, the improved strain of rice is phased into the Dominion’s farms, but the engineers and scientists who designed it agree that they can do better. They set about attempting to splice in genes which would solve the problems associated with this strain, and preventing these spliced genes from negatively harming the crop or its consumers. ((See RP at top of post.)) A vast biodome over the alien facility’s crater is completed, as apparently its interior is a vacuum, and the Jinyiwei wishes to use it as its own barracks. The Jinyiwei soon has an entirely secret crater all to itself, free from the prying eyes of its citizens. ---------- Summary Researching warp drive [2 AP] Building orbital shipyard [1 AP] Genetic research of rice ((See RP at top)) [1 AP] Population 122,000 total Han 40,600 total military trained 13,500 active duty soldiers 1,350 Jinyiwei agents Accumulation (Working tech will be in italics) Farming Yuguo: 2 AP Genetic research facilities: 2 AP Rice genetic improvement: 1 AP Warp drive: 1 AP Orbital shipyard: 1 AP

The Han Dominion Crawling on the floor of his new apartment, Shi Feng cooed and pressed a hand against the glass that separated him from the outside world and a thousand foot drop. But his adoptive mother, Shi Lin, was not worried. The glass was strong, and Yimu was calling. “I don’t think Feng is going to matter,” said Lin to the image of her husband on the television screen before her. “Adopted child or not, I’m still infertile. There’s no reason to bar me from work.” A soft smile came over her face at the thought, as she mixed tea leaves into hot water. Yimu was taken aback at his wife’s cheerfulness over such a sensitive matter, but he supposed she had everything she wanted: a child, a comfortable home, and a job as liaison researcher to the Center for Biological Engineering. The Jinyiwei lieutenant nodded in agreement. “I should be back in Xin Xi’an by tomorrow evening. If anything goes wrong, I might be able to help in any case,” he replied. “What did you find this time?” asked Lin. “Junk,” said Yimu, without skipping a beat. “It wasn’t a complete waste though. The address tonight should explain. Which reminds me…” he looked down at his watch. “I should be getting back to base camp. Wouldn’t want to be late.” Yimu stood up and smiled at the camera. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” A moment later, the screen went blank. Lin leaned back and took a long sip of her tea. Then she got to her feet, and set the pot back on the stove to keep warm. Lin vaguely remembered that when she was a girl and didn’t know to do things properly, she had always used a microwave to make her tea. It had never turned out well: those infernal machines had all been made by the Australians, who couldn’t build a quality product to save their lives. Finishing her current cup, she scooped up Feng from next to the window. Singing softly, Lin fed her son from a bottle, and waited. And soon enough, the TV sprung to life on its own, as did every screen in every apartment and street in the city. It showed simply the state seal, while in the background the Dominion anthem played: After a minute or two, the image faded away, replaced by a view of somewhere inside the Capitol Palace. Front and center, facing the camera, was the Dao Yi, while his four counterparts stood several paces behind: the Dao Er, Dao San, Dao Si, and Dao Wu. All wore, as always, masks which hid their faces, and obscured their voices. As the music lowered to the background, the Dao Yi spoke, its voice a low modulated drone. “Han of the Dominion...we are at war. The enemy may not yet be on our doorstep, but they lurk in the darkness, in the vast expanse of space. For all our work, for all our preparation, they could arrive here tomorrow and wipe us off the map.” "I speak of Wairen, outsiders who differ from us not only in their barbarian cultures, but in their very biology. On our moon, Shiguo, we have discovered the ruined husk of a facility not built by human hands. Little could be gained from the expedition, but we do know one thing: the technological abilities of these Wairen far exceed our own." "We could surrender to these outsiders. We could cower in fear, and hope they are peaceful. No doubt some of the inhabitants of Earth would have done just that. But we know better: the path of appeasement is the path of extinction. If we are to guarantee our survival, we must prepare for struggle. We must expand, and not cease to expand until nothing remains to oppose us." "And so, though our men may not be dying in battle, we are at war. This war cannot stop, will not stop, until the survival of the Han is guaranteed. Just as we did on board the Zheng He, we ask you to live every day in the knowledge that your actions and your blood alone can deliver us to tomorrow. And prepare yourselves. For there is no way to defend ourselves but to conquer." The Dao Yi raised its voice slightly as it reached a conclusion. “Our work begins immediately. As always, victory to the Han!” All five of the masked figures raised their fists in salute, and the screen cut back to the state seal. “Victory to the Han,” replied Lin softly out of habit, and poured herself another cup of tea as she waited for the more specific announcements from lower ranking officers which always followed. ---------- The news of confirmed non-humans in the galaxy rocks Xin Xi’an to its core. Nearly nothing else is on anyone's lips the next day, as the Han go about their business with vigor. If the Dominion is to be in a continuous state of emergency, everyone on the planet wonders what will change. They don't have to wait long for an answer. Taking advantage of the large body of military experience in the citizenry, the Dominion government announces that every military-aged and able-bodied male will be required to serve in the reserves.((I'm going to set this at 30% of population because it seems like we're using bigger militaries than IRL.)) These men are to spend two months out of every year training, so that if called upon they will have the knowledge and discipline necessary to serve their people. The total number of active soldiers is also more than doubled, to stand guard over the Yuguo. Training camps are established both within the city of Xin Xi'an and without, in the wilderness. In addition, combat simulations in development over the last few years begin to become available to all citizens for recreational use, and the government promotes them as a primary use of free time. For now the most popular is the physically rigorous Duida, where teams test their tactical reasoning, reflexes, aim and bravery in simulated infantry combat. Another is the more sedentary Quinru, a simulation of military strategy so detailed that it too usually takes a team to effectively play. The Han are hardly forced to partake of these activities, but recreation is otherwise scarce in the Dominion, and the regime does everything it can to glorify such martial pursuits in the minds of its youth. By this time, fertile women have been largely pushed out of any job that does not involve children: though all are drawn from old China's finest and are generally just as capable as the men, their wombs are far too valuable in the new harsh reality to be wasted. State media continues to promote large families, and the rearing and education of children becomes a community effort among the Han women, ensuring that each child receives a great deal of attention and dedication to his or her development. That said, not all women are needed for this task all the time, and the Jinyiwei turns a blind eye as some women serve "advisory" roles in research, in addition to their professorial duties. The heavy rearmament of the Dominion is accompanied by an equally strong push to develop the technology needed for rapid growth. The order is given to immediately begin construction of an orbital space station to serve as a shipyard for a new fleet of starships. Preliminary designs for these starships are already being drawn up, but one thing on everyone's mind is that these ships will need to be able to travel between star systems. To that end, the FTL drive from the colony ship Zheng He is hauled out for inspection. Unfortunately, the original scientist who designed the drive died soon after the malfunctioned jump fifteen years ago, along with the expertise needed to fully understand and repair it. There are however no small number of physicists living in Xin Xi'an, and the best of them are summoned to ascertain the mechanism of the device, and determine the best way forward. The Dao Si gives them their specifications: if they can see potential for a "jump drive," by which a ship could jump instantaneously through the stars, they are to pursue that. Otherwise, they are to pursue whatever method of travel seems most promising. The only constraint is that the device must be self-contained by the ship, rather than on station which must be constructed first. With the Center for Biological Engineering established on a distant island, the biologists and engineers begin work on their first project: the genetic perfection of rice. The atmosphere of Yuguo is higher in oxygen and lower in carbon dioxide than that of Earth, and this tends to slow the growth of Earth crops. Altering the metabolism of the crop should allow this difficulty to be overcome, with a decent amount of work. In addition, the researchers are to investigate the possibility of enhancing their rice's nutritional content. If a greater protein content and micronutrients could be produced by the crop, it could serve as an abundant and extremely nutritious staple. Biological experiments take some time, so this will be a slow, steady effort. Finally, the Jinyiwei begins moving many of its operations to the surface of Shiguo. Permanent facilities are constructed on the moon's surface, mostly surrounding the alien facility. In such close proximity, the Jinyiwei can study whatever secrets they may have missed within it, and so far away from Yuguo they can go about their business in secrecy. The beginnings of a vast biodome begin to take shape at the edges of the crater containing the site. The Jinyiwei also commandeers many of the Dominion's aircraft for a full survey of Yuguo, searching for any other alien structures that were missed in the original scans. As with all Jinyiwei activities this is kept from the public, but military officers who process the requisition requests are told that if the moon had had activity at one point, the planet may have as well. A secondary objective is to look for deposits of an unusual extremely hard metal brought back from Shiguo. ---------- Summary Researching FTL travel [1 AP] Building orbital shipyard [1 AP] Genetic research of rice [1 AP] Survey of Yuguo for remains of alien activity (and Itoron :^)) [1 AP] Population 112,500 total Han 37,500 military reserves 12,500 active duty soldiers (included in above number) 1,250 Jinyiwei agents

The Han Dominion Edgy content alert ---------- After a year of coordinated construction, the new capital of Xin Xi’an begins to look like a real city, with densely-packed buildings quickly rising from the cleared land. The populace moves off the ship into more comfortable quarters, leaving the colony ship empty and unused. Comforts such as state media and public festivals are established to provide some level of entertainment to the citizens, and the Dominion takes a policy of noninterference as far as local businesses are concerned: as long as resources are not direly needed by the population as a whole, citizens are free to set up their own establishments. Encouraged by this, Xin Xi’an quickly sees independent enterprise expand, particularly in the service sector. The government, however, reserves the right to stamp out industries determined to be “useless to the advancement of the Han.” In the new society, the Daos keep very close watch on their populace, and the Jinyiwei carefully observes and considers even those things that are considered to be “unregulated,” such as parenting and personality. The Daos come to the conclusion that above all, what is needed to preserve the strength of the Han is growth, and they begin to enact policies to enact this. In state media, nearly every family shown seems to have at least six children, as do the ones in private advertisements, courtesy of Jinyiwei pressure on their owners. Women are gradually pushed out of time-consuming or dangerous jobs, to give them more time at home. After all, they are the ones that truly need to be convinced. The Daos note with approval that rice seems to grow well on this planet, but not well enough to satisfy their plans. Rapid growth requires abundance, after all. Livestock have been offloaded from the colony ship, but they would be far to inefficient to constitute a staple, and are mostly sold to private businesses. Instead, despite the vastness of the existing fields, the existing rice will have to be improved for greater production. The response is to establish a Center for Biological Engineering, on an island offshore of the seaside Xin Xi’an, so as not to destabilize the ecosystem with anything that is created there. It isn’t difficult to find experts on genetics and genetic engineering among the Dominion’s citizens: all of them were highly intelligent and outstanding in their fields back on Earth, after all. It should be easy to gather a team of the most knowledgeable Han, and once the center is established, its first project will be to perfect rice’s suitability to the Yuguo climate. The program’s approach will be to first study how local flora differs from the crop, and then to make adjustments based on anything relevant. Yuguo has two moons: Shiguo and Lenguo. Shiguo is a barren rock, small and seemingly devoid of anything interesting. Lenguo is far larger, and able to hold a very thin atmosphere, though it is nowhere near breathable. Lenguo is also completely covered in ice and snow, and so appears to be entirely lifeless. Nevertheless, both may hold resources beneath their surfaces, or perhaps even unknown threats. And so the shuttles in the Dominion’s possession are dispatched to the moons, to survey them for materials which may not be available on Yuguo. ---------- Summary Establishing Center for Biological Engineering (2 AP) Surveying Shiguo and Lenguo (2 AP) Various policy decisions from paragraphs preceding the above actions (0 AP) Population 98,500 citizens 5,000 currently-active soldiers

The Han Dominion “Victory! Victory to the Han!” The cry goes up from a hundred thousand mouths, and a hundred thousand salutes are given as the flag of the Dominion is raised on a rocky hill above the landing site. It is a rare rainless day on the planet now known as Yuguo, and a decent amount of light makes it through the overcast sky. From its vantage point behind the massed formation of passengers, the Dao Yi can’t help but reflect on how harsh the journey has been. Flung outside the galaxy itself, thirteen years travel from the nearest habitable planet...and to the think the Chinese government had thought a civilian leader could surmount the dangers of space! Ridiculous. Law and order had broken down nearly immediately. No matter. The passengers had represented the very best of China: fiercely intelligent and loyal to the core, every one. They had always had it in them to survive. They just needed to be shown discipline. And so discipline was what it and the other officers of the former PLA had shown them, and look at them now! Alive to the last man, standing in formation despite their hunger, on a fertile world. The Dao Yi doesn’t resist grinning with pride: that’s what the full helmet and voice modulator are for, after all. No human can suppress their emotion all the time. “Should we give a speech? They seem ready for one,” asks an identically-dressed figure from beside the Dao Yi. The Dao Yi hesitates, then merely shakes its head. “No, Dao San,” it says, its voice indistinguishable through the modulator. “In the long run it would undermine morale. This victory belongs to the Han, not to the Daos.” “And besides…” it throws a hand signal to a nearby officer, who begins shouting orders to the assembly. “We still have quite a bit of work to do.” ---------- Emaciated and tired, the people of the starship Zheng He nevertheless arrive on the surface of Yuguo with fanatical determination in their hearts. For 13 years they have endured conditions that would make rats despair. For 13 years they have worked their fingers to the bone to repair a ship that was built to last for one. Compared to that hell, the galaxy will be nothing. Chinese they may have been when they set out, but no longer. China is dead, consumed by an expanding star. All that remains is the Han, and the journey has changed them. To survive, they forged the Dominion: a rigid, militaristic hierarchy overseen by the five faceless Daos. The Dominion saved them, and the Dominion gives them strength they would not have on their own. To reject its authority is to reject one’s full potential. And so the Han set out onto Yuguo, marching in lockstep to their duties. Before a proper society can be established, two things are necessary: food and shelter. And so by order of the Daos, major clearance efforts take place in the surrounding forests to make way for efficient monoculture farms. Meanwhile, mining scouts are sent into the surrounding area to seek out the raw materials needed to construct buildings from steel and concrete. Though the bodies of the Han are weak and underfed, though their spirits have endured much hardship, every set of eyes shows only iron will. ---------- Summary Land clearance and monoculture farming, mostly rice (2 AP) Searching for raw materials, especially those necessary for steel and concrete (2 AP) Population 95,000 citizens 5,000 soldiers

OOC: Username: Zanderaw Skype: (Pm if you want.) You have it Ideas and Suggestions?: N/A RP (Humans only, I apologize.): Colony Name: The Han Dominion First Planet Type: Largely Terran, but significantly colder. Most of the planet has a temperate climate, with some mist-shrouded rainforests near the equator. The Han call it Yuguo. History: (Assuming it's a bit of a custom nation.) While the businessmen of China and their bought-and-paid-for political representatives looked to their own escape and founded the Republic of Xie, the Chinese government pursued a different strategy. The National People’s Congress convened immediately following news of Earth’s impending destruction, and by the end of ten days of hot debate, they sanctioned the Council for the Preservation and Proliferation of the Culture of the Republic of China. It would be the responsibility of this council to ensure that China would be preserved, by overseeing the construction of the colony ship and selecting who would be permitted to go on the exodus. But what its title didn’t make clear was that nearly every one of its members was a general or a veteran of the People’s Liberation Army. Thus, fully a quarter of the ship’s crew was to be made up of the brightest officers and soldiers of the army, veteran and active alike. While only 5,000 were to be active soldiers on board the ship, 25,000 had been at some point. The remaining passengers were to come from only the finest of China’s vast stock: as less than 1% of 1% of the Chinese population could escape, the council could afford to be picky. An entire population of genius-level IQs, all distinguished in their fields, all ethnic Han Chinese, and all unshakably loyal to the state. Despite the military makeup of the council, both the civilian leadership and the 75,000 civilian colonists insisted on non-military rule of the new colony. An assembly was elected from among the passengers, and they would be governing body of the expedition. But in the interstellar darkness, things rarely go as planned. The jump to Alpha Centauri failed more spectacularly than it had for any other expedition, and the Chinese ship was thrown to the edge of the galaxy itself, where stars are few and far between. Luckily, a habitable world was found...13 years of travel away. Panic and riots set in almost immediately. The ship simply didn’t have enough supplies for the journey. Law and order began to break down, and the moment it did, the military faction stepped in. With a blend of nationalist rhetoric and brutal force, they whipped the passengers back into line, and the dreams for a utopian Chinese civilization were suddenly dashed. In replacement, there was a society of unyielding rules and structure. With an iron hierarchy, they marshalled the genius and talent of the passengers to solve the many problems of the ship, and they gave every citizen on board no choice but to endure the very minimum of the supplies needed to survive. And it worked: though the journey was harsh, the food less than filling, and the quarters uncomfortable, the Han arrived at the new planet alive. Now they seek to forge a new nation. The Han no longer look back with nostalgia on old China: it was they who failed them, and sent them to die. It was the military dominion which saved them. The Dominion made them strong, made them defy impossible odds to settle here. The Dominion is the very will of the people: the bowstring which fires the arrow, the gunpowder which fires the bullet. The Han Dominion will be victorious. Map location: (Remember, fill a square and send it to me privately.) Will do.

hue

History goes through long periods where there is no peace and everyone is miserable, I say deal with it

Zandros' ghost approves of this message.

Zandros passes by one of the posters while leading a patrol. Tearing it off at the sight of the name Redensed, his eyebrow raises in its usual fashion. "I thought there was something strange about that letter. Seems that scumbag Haudenfox went on living a bit longer than we reckoned..." He crumples up the poster, and tucks it into his armor. Then he looks back, and gives an order to his squire. "We have too many posters around here already, and almost all of them more useful than this abomination to the eyes. See to it that no more of these ever blight the land of Salvus again." Chuckling, he gives the order to march, and the patrol heads off into the Emperor's Forest.

((-snip- Decided that because we recruit ingame, most of this ooc information is unnecessary.))