[Req] Afterglow Century (open)

Humanity was always meant for far more than what was expected, since the dawn of times, when the first neanderthal accidentally uncovered the multiple utilities of fire to the very first rocket launched beyond the stratosphere of our minuscle spec of a planet, mankind always had the means to conquer every barrier imposed before them: the sea, the air, and the stars soon followed suit. The year is 2079, our endeavors outside our very own blue planet ironically named Earth have brought our brethren as far as Jupiter, but alas as everything is with mankind, the promise of unspoken powers and unmeasurable riches enthralls the most ambitious of men, and Nature herself has the last laugh as man attempts to limit what not even the universe itself could: himself.


First, there was the Naval Arms Race, then boats no longer meant supremacy, instead mass destruction did, thus the Nuclear Arms Race was born, split between centuries, an endless dispute for the supremacy of utter devastation, now when nuclear energy is no longer weaponized and instead means for a less harmful form of energy? When missiles no longer answer wars, and AI-driven mechanisms have a plethora of counter-measures, a third need arises when the flames of greed once more burn in the chests of comrades everywhere. This is the third arms race, the Mechanical Arms Race, where humanoid weapons capable of unspoken horrors rule the cold voids of space and bloodsoaked soils of battle.

The die have been cast, the cards brought closer to their chest, and lives gambled on the same old symphony of flame and steel.

Welcome to the Afterglow Century, nothing is the same. Nothing except for us.



Major Factions:



The Coalition, or CUS, has been the central power of mankind for decades now, an unified front composed of the leaders of most relevant countries (now ranging from the same old borders to more broadened blocks comprised of multiple ex-countries on South America, Europe, Asia and Africa), they take the most important decisions on the next steps of mankind. Things are prettier when looked from a safe distance, however, as since the beginning of colonial expansion throughout space, and even during quintessential events such as the early stages of Martian terraformation and the inaugural months of domestic colonies nearby Jupiter's orbit, the CUS refuses to let go of their leash on humanity's expansive advances, posing as this unified front among the approximately 10% of humanity still living on planet Earth and the remaining nations expanding throughout our solar system. Earth has been reduced to a planet-wide luxury resort to the leaders of immense corporate powers, a bill exiling - or, as they put it, reallocating - low income citizens and natives to culturally appropriate colonies nearby the Earth's orbit generated enough backlash to spark a few armed revolutions, quickly dismissed with something as simple as the wave of multiple avaricious hands.

Their fleet is arguably the most advanced, and when it comes to brilliant minds and technology, theirs are the very definition of cutting-edge.



Although the Coalition managed to keep most colonies in a somewhat neutral state to their Earth-centric politics, the terraformation and consequential occupation of strategic resource deposits on Mars was bound to generate some form of attrition. Claiming the rights of every human to be the same, the MFF was born by the collective efforts of mining workers and the minor companies that followed the Martian Expansion to save their business, this idea that those born in space - the Spacenoid, if you will - are deserving of freedom from a globe they cannot ever lay a single foot on soon spread to multiple colonies and amassed an outstanding number of followers. Recently their main political pacifist leader has been brutally shot dead alongside his family, a martyr to every Spacenoid, and a banner under which their forces quickly joined. Needless to say the ambitions of those who grew exploiting the desire of seeking freedom every man is born with have their dirty hands behind every single string of the MFF, parading as a just freedom fighter as companies militarize unions and lay claim to every new inch of land claimed in the name of Spacenoid justice.

The Front's embellished propaganda and allegedly virtuous goals make it the faction with the most manpower, attracting neutral colonies and having every outer-orbit bumpkin enlist in the army believing to be freeing his comrades, their strict worker's ethic and utterly egalitarian views generate quite the authoritarian group, and the most efficient in doing menial tasks such as mining, growing food, mass producing mechas and so on. Their lack of the higher echelons of technical workers, however, show on the more rudimentary state of their fleets.



Although the more distant a Spacenoid is from their species's birthplace, the more susceptible to separatist propaganda they are, it does not mean every single individual is a unified front and stands should-to-shoulder with the likes of the MFF. Most of the times leaders are not made, after all, they are born. This kind of thinking was quickly spread throughout the most distant colonies, far from the strict scrutiny of the CUS's more inquisitive fleets, and flourishing with unexplored resources due to the very novel colonization of multiple mining asteroids, Jupiter was the quickest to attract eccentric members of the high society due to the prospect of unfiltered dominance they so deserved. It has regressed quite a few years in historical development of political mechanisms, promptly adapting a very classical monarchical rule, on which the sovereign's word is absolute, and the common citizen owes the absurd quality of life with less restrictions to the upper classes of society. They are not, however, barbaric such as in ancient times, the class you are born to does not define your worth as a person, multiple famous figures having rose from the military ranks and exploitations of previously never sought out markets. This somewhat more lax concept of social classes masks the idealistic thoughts of absolute superiority held by most of those in leading positions and grants the Jupiter Autocracy a fair place as a major player in this three-sided conflict.

Although not quite possessing the same quality of technology nor sheer amount of numbers, the Autocracy does possess the greater amount of unexplored resources to fuel their ever-growing army, as well as the greatest network of information amongst the three factions, and the most advantageous position. It was almost as if they were simply waiting to execute this abrupt betrayal.

Minor Factions:



Crime isn't unheard of, especially when law enforcement is spread thin throughout the galaxy, although calling pirates a "faction" is too lenient as there is no proper mastermind behind it all. Simply put, ships are sold to the highest bidder, or stolen by the bravest fools, and with as much debris to gather quality mobile suits and gear from? This is perhaps the greatest time to ever be a criminal, granted you will often be blasted apart on-sight by most fleets, that does not mean the usual politician convoy or poorly guarded supply ship cannot be raided. Fortune favors the bold, does it no?



Groups of unemployed pilots, too old or too nonchalant to go to war, some military fugitives, some deranged individuals seeking thrills, mix them all together and you'll get one of the many scavenging crews spread across the galaxy. While not necessarily illegal, scavengers tend to be treated more harshly due to the possibility of being enemies, the usual bribe in shape of collected resources is not uncommon, and the bulk sales of recovered technology on devastated battlefields is not unheard of. As it is with pirates, scavengers often repurpose units for their use, be it protection, mining, deep-diving or any of the options.

Background:

While somewhat peaceful negotiations had been happening between the MFF and the CUS throughout the latest decade or so, there was never any hint of a sparked conflict, with significant treaties granting much more individual freedom to Spacenoids everywhere. During a peaceful parade, one of the tanks guarding the now deceased scholar and then leader of the MFF Go Tomino unleashed a barrage of bullets on the civilian vehicle transporting him and his family. The death was immediately treated as outside interference of the CUS higher ups, which had been plotting an assassination to quite a while according to MFF intelligence. Civil unrest sparked multiple protests throughout colonies, and the Coalition ultimately decided to hold a conference between representatives of their economical and political leaders with Spacenoid leaders on Mars itself. During these talks, one of the sons of Xpanse - the lead company on mechanical workers design - was brutally murdered by the MFF, this occurrence was answered with absolute silence from the Front and threw a wrench on any plans for peaceful resolutions, splitting human population between two sides.

When Xpanse's latest project was ultimately outed as being exclusively for armed services rather than advanced humanoid mining exoskeletons, the war fully broke out, stolen blueprints from multiple factories being transported to Mars by their own intelligence. Fleets soon were weaponized with the terrifying power of Mobile Suits, the new force armies relied on when all else had been accounted for. These gigantic mechanical human-like shapes are the focus of militaristic production, each faction conducing their own research as controlled locales and the battlefield itself serves as testing grounds to the most diverse prototypes.

Jupiter then betrays the Spacenoid movement, completely blasting the Martian ships and running away with the most advanced schematics thus far and ultimately announcing their side on this war, bringing the then triumphant Spacenoids to an absolute halt. Betrayal, death, hatred. Regardless of any of that, the war rages on month after month, and there is no end in sight.

You are an MFF officer, tasked with a simple mission, posing as a scavenger crew as select individuals infiltrate a facility on Coalition territory - on Earth itself - to discover what they know about this barely explained phenomenom called "New Human" or "Newtype", an alleged form of evolved human, born to adapt to space life. The crew is making preparations, perhaps this will be the first time you see the azure skies of Earth rather than fabricated images from within a colony, perhaps this is your reedeming chance since your last squad got shot down due to your subpar command, or maybe your rookie bad luck is quickly revealed by landing you an assignement aboard the Jaeger. Independent of your past, your future is clear, even if the MFF is clearly sending you as a hail mary to gather any info on the enemy, there is nothing you can do to escape fate.

Welcome aboard, soldier.

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Rules & CS & Stuff;

• This an RPG on a somewhat futuristic setting, but not enough that you can be a living robot or supersmart AI that farts plasma, it's very much based on the Gundam universe and their level of tech, if you have any questions about what that is, you can always ask me!
• This is an RPG about war and mechas, there is bound to be timeskips and deaths, although a character dying doesn't necessarily mean you're out of the RP (unless you want to ofc), and while I do want to allow customizable mechs, it follows a timeline of development that I am willing to stick to since otherwise there may be narrative disconnects. The mechas will all be based on Gundam anime mechs, which is to say you have a lot to look forward to since I'm planning to bring as many as I can to the table.
• No, you don't start with a very custom mech, this is a somewhat ragtag bunch, but as it is in most shows about beeg robots that shoot each other, aces get VIP treatment and your Mobile Suit is most definitely gonna get upgraded or even full-on changed as requested as story progresses.
• Newtypes are a concept I will be adapting from Gundam, they are basically psychically enhanced humans with greater spatial awareness and sometimes even empathic properties, being able to communicate emotions through thought and hearing the voices of the deceased (very rarely even understanding these words), it's a very broad concept that I will explore, and you are 100% free to make your character either a Newtype or Oldtype, just be sure to talk to me so I can properly explain the concept better!
• There's no fixed CS form, but please make sure to inform me of the following: Name, Age, Backstory (why in the military/in this mission specifically), Gender, Physical Description (pictures appreciated), Personal Mech if you're a pilot (which unit and personal customizations - colors, emblems, extra pomp -, refer to the list that will be posted soon, and since you are supposed to pose as a scavenger, pick from any faction, if you find any pictures they will be appreciated as well), Military Rank will be decided later so don't worry about putting it in, if you do, though, remember it's not supposed to be high.
• I'm looking for a quicker paced RP, but if this generates enough interest I'm totally open to doing an expansive universe thing more akin to Spacebox.
• No godmodding, no-selling, etc... You know the gig, friends.
• Mandatory fun rule: have fun or die.

Any other questions, please ask below! The brief mech compendium will be uploaded shortly, so don't worry about making a CS without one.