Worlds at War: Planetary Profile

Welcome to the sliding scale of war- a coup-turned Civil War, an outright Civil War (with foreign manipulation, of course) and finally, an entire planet going at war. This'll be fun.

                                                                                                                                                                   

*I own nothing. Scott Westerfeld owns Leviathan.

**Timeline wise, the Leviathan just crashed in the Swiss Alps, when the war is initially starting.

Name: Earth

Status: Alternate Timeline of the First World War

Link for bigger and better quality map here

Again, bigger and better here
Also, to explain the symbolism is Keith Thompson:
The Clanker Powers:
Germany is a massive military machine with weapons aimed outwards to all surrounding countries. It points threateningly at Britain, not so much as a sign of direct aggression, but more as an indicator that it was now Germany’s turn to start a grand global Empire to challenge the world’s current one.

Austria Hungary is an aggressive armoured giant, teetering on shoddy foundations. It is also the primary aggressor in a land grab against Serbia, with two bayonets piercing the border.

The Ottoman Empire is a teetering automaton, collapsing under the weight of a paranoid and ungainly spying network that gazes at Europe through many lenses and spy glasses. Istanbul is labeled Constantinople following the period's English naming conventions.

The Swiss watch ticks away the time, comfortable to wait it all out.

The Darwinist Powers:
Britain is an militaristic lion with a Roman Imperial italic-type helmet. It sits upon a mound of riches gathered from its Empire.

France’s elephant beast (wearing the French kepi they started the war with before adapting their firefighter helmets) is influenced by the Elephantine Collossus built for the Universal Exhibition of 1889 in Paris (later it ended up going to the Moulin Rouge.)

Russia is a huge imperialist bear, rotting and filled with maggots.
Serbia’s imagery is an indicator of the huge amounts of civilian deaths and suffering they’ll find themselves subject to.

Norway and Sweden are both Scandinavian trolls in the style of John Bauer, an inspirational illustrator from the era who produced a lot of phenomenal work during the war. (And on a more personal note, I'm convinced their warbeasts also hold a resemblance to these kind of creatures)

Portugal is a parrot for the Entente trying to goad a slumbering Spain into the war.

Ireland looks askance to Britain and brandishes a shillelagh. An indicator of their very rough relationship at the time, and of their upcoming involvement with the Central powers.

Italy is a clutch of snakes with intents on the Central powers despite existing agreements. A foreshadowing of their arrangements at the secret 1915 Treaty of London where they were promised land in exchange for involvement. It was heavily influenced by Italian Prime Minister, Antonio Salandra’s open policy of serving Italy’s "divine self-interest." (Although again, in this alternate timeline, who knows if that'll come to pass? They might actually back up the Clankers... Unlikely, I know, but a guy can wish, can't he?)

Symbolism here: Tesla thinks he is Jesus and will save the world... He's an odd man. Also, again, LINK!

That's enough propaganda, I think.

The world is one at war. Unlike the various skirmishes between countries for land and honor though, this is a war of vengeance and pettier emotions, and one of a terrifyingly industrial influence- to an extent. You see, the Axis Powers (mockingly named the Clankers by the Allied/Darwinist powers in this reality) are indeed a technological superpower in this world, already having access to Walkers (to the point that tanks and even fucking BATTLESHIPS have legs),

Brittania rules the Seas? Well, Deutschland rules the land. Fair trade-off!

giant death zeppelins, flamethrowers, VTOL aircraft, shipboard lightning cannons and wireless communication. But the reason behind this isn't solely because of Nikola Tesla not being full of himself (which he still is- but now justifiably), but more of religious reasons.

"Religious reasons!?" You inevitably shout. "What kind of religious reasons would they have to make mechas!?" And no, it's not a religion praising our lord and savior, Optimus Prime.

Well you see, a machine is better and greater solution than a Demon!

NEIN NEIN NEIN NEIN NEIN!
"Why, a- yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!"

Yeah, in this timeline, it turns out Charles Darwin found quite a few fun things on his voyages- one of those being the existence of DNA (Okay, I can (maybe) see that), and the knowledge on how to mix and match DNA in order to make biological monsters that would make the Yuuzhan Vong raise an eyebrow in interest (Okay, that I want to know how he found out!).

While Britain and allies rejoiced at this new kind of technology ("Wait, we don't need to waste as much resources for stuff? And it's all self-sustaining!? AND IT'LL MAKE THE AIR CLEAN AND MEAN WE WON'T HAVE TO PAY AS MANY WORKERS FOR FACTORIES, MAKING US HAVE MORE MONEY!? WOO-HOO, HAIL BRITANNIA, FUCKERS, WE'RE GOING GREEN!"), the Austro-Hungarian Empire, The Vatican and any country with ties to said countries/organizations shat their pants at the sight of what they perceived to be living proof of the British and allies having made vessels for Daemons to inhabit and were too terrified to listen to the British explain it- thus, the rush to make machines that could counter bears the size of a House.

Some of which have gone rabid and prowl the Siberian Wastelands.
For the most part.
Link

And so the world has been in an uneasy 'peace', as empires grew and prospered and technology advanced to the point it defined culture: You were either a Clanker, whom oiled his war machine, or a Darwinist, who fed it and laughed at anybody who didn't see the use of such 'technology'. And the Clankers, specifically Germany, were now oiling their war machines quite a bit, glaring angrily at the Imperialistic Britain and their arrogance. All they needed was one excuse, JUST ONE!, to enter war against the upright bastards and show the world the might of Deutschland!

"Sag mal, was ist der Name dieser österreichischen guy in Serbien jetzt? Sie wissen, der einzige Erbe?"
"Ferdinand? Ja, was ist mit ihm?"
"Wäre es nicht saugen wenn er und seine Erben sterben? Könnte einen Krieg zu starten waren ..."
"..."
"..."
"Wie heißt dieser Jungs in Serbien? Black Hand?"
"Jawohl."
"... Hol mir den Dreadnought in seinen Palast, und unsere Leute in Serbien im Kostüm ... Es ist Zeit für ein Problem entstehen."
(Translation:
"Say, what's the name of this Austrian guy in Serbia now? You know, the only one heir?"
"Ferdinand? Yeah, what about him?"
"Would it not suck if he and his heir were to die? Could launch a war..."
"..."
"..."
"What's the name of those guys in Serbia? Black Hand?"
"Yup."
"... Get me the Dreadnought to his palace, and our men in Serbia in costume... It's time for a problem to arise.")

Yeah, in this timeline, the German Empire orchestrated the assassination of Franz Ferdinand (with help from a few Austro-Hungarian Nobles hungering for the throne and of course the Black Hnad-manipulated though), blaming it on a Serbian terrorist group that also apparently bombed the home of his young heir, Aleksander Ferdinand, the heir to the Throne if Franz were to die. The Austrian-Hungarian Empire, fucking furious and probably frothing at the mouth, decided to do the opposite of Remove Kebab in Serbia by Removing Serb-

SERBIA NOT STRONK NOW!

and marched their armies their into Serbia in retaliation of the dead Archduke, while Germany, annoyed that the heir had somehow slipped away before they could properly kill him (it turns out having a giant land dreadnought stomp up to a palace isn't fucking sneaky!... But the commando teams that killed anybody unfortunate enough to be their were!... even if they failed to get their on time and kill the Heir... Oops), stayed on high alert for the young prince (secretly) and assisted Austria in their attack against Serbia (publicly). And, well, we all know how this eventually ends out.

I... I don't even...

NO, THAT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENED!

Besides, it's not even the best WWI rap.

So than came in Russia, and than Germany called its' friends, and than HAIL BRITANNIA!, and now come the chemical weapons- the only bright side out of all this is, due to Darwinist Monsters and Clanker War machines, Trench Warfare would be utterly futile- why hide in a trench when a giant tiger monster will just jump in there and eat you alive?

And now the world races towards the Great War, while, intrigued by this small world, the Portal Master has taken them out of their Solar System (which I assume is full of Pulp Science Fiction things, like the Mi-Go, the Martians and Moon Spider people- because why not?) and into his tournament for two factions to battle on- because he's a jackass that way.

That, or he's planning to fuel the Reality Bomb with all the planets he has snatched up.

So now the Allies and Axis must battle one another or perhaps work together, while two forces from beyond the stars battle upon their planet.

Whatever the case, one thing is certain- this shall be a War to end all Wars.

===Geography===

It's Earth. We live on this planet, we know what it's like. Just imagine it now, but with less air pollution (excluding the air in the Clanker territories, which is generally filthy due to the overuse of extreme mechanization) and that's really it. Also, in Clanker/Neutral territory, the urbanized areas are insanely urbanized- power poles, giant stacked buildings and the sound of gears echo throughout these cities, with examples of this being New York, Tokyo and Istanbul which has lead to a great deal of air pollution in these areas.

===Third Party Factions===

Darwinist Forces

The Darwinist Forces (comprised of Britain (and her colonies), France, Russia and Japan) are an interesting society. Seeing the fabricated creatures as a logical new form of technology, they have more-less exited the Industrial Era entirely to enter a newer, more environmental era via the use of fabricated creatures. Britannia rules the seas with mighty fleets of ships assisted by Krakens and now rules the skies with airship creatures like the Leviathan (which have no real weapons except for Strafing Hawks- Birds the size of a man with claws that can cut through steel plating and can also have nets attached between a pair to cut through a plane), and war has became so much simpler with enormous beasts of battle.

The Leviathan, one of the smaller (but certainly fastest) Darwinist airship

Yes, I know, it's the (currently nonexistent, as the war is raging) treaty that occurs after the Great War, but you get the idea- war is not a smart idea in this world, aside from the emotions of pettier men. LINK!

Utilizing Fabricated Beasts to the utmost extreme (it was mentioned in an off-handed reference that Russia has made Wooly Mammoths and Saber-Toothed Tigers and utilized their DNA in their beasts- which would explain the massive size of the Bears, I suppose), the Darwinists believe themselves to be the more culturally advanced civilization when compared to the Clankers and don't utilize that technology due to it's complexity (Darwinist technology is superbly simplistic when compared to Clanker) and the environmental issues it holds.

But although they may endless numbers of warbeasts from Krakens (maybe some modified  in a manner similar to the Leviathan to act as U-boats?) to the walking fortress-like Elephantines and the Whale-Airships, or the Japanese Kappas,

Crocodile like monsters that attack on a specific signal and don't understand the concept of pain.
Don't fuck with Japan.
Mainly because they also are partially Clanker (like the United States, who think everybody is a bunch of crybabies for being so anal about Darwinist and Clanker) and have a lot of nice machines lying in wait.

their is one thing Darwinists absolutely forbid from ever doing- utilizing human DNA in a fabricated creature. Don't make a super monkey, or a human with the traits of the animal kingdom- because yeah, than you are fucking in areas that should be kept a far distance away and would lead to all kinds of terrible morality questions.

Clanker Powers

The Clanker Powers (comprised of Germany, Austria-Hungary and The Ottoman Empire) are a very small force. Although holding only a handful of countries, the Clankers make up for lack of land with a courage and discipline that borders on zealous insanity and highly-advanced technology (comparatively, at least). With assistance from the inventor known as Nikola Tesla, the Clanker Nations have already unlocked the secrets of wireless communication (which they viciously guard against the Darwinists), giant walkers for both tanks and ships (all ships in the German navy come with walker legs- for either patrolling land or amphibious assaults) and highly advanced airplanes and zeppelins, the Clankers have technology comparable to that of the Second World War- if it had mechas instead of tanks.

A typical German (Land Navy, to be exact... Yes, Germany has an entire Navy specifically on land) Scouting party. Those lights are sticky phosphorous flares. Link

Your typical German zeppelin-bound squad, or just the elite in general. Link

And your not so typical situation. Link

Also worth noting is that, although the Ottoman Empire is also technically a Clanker Power (although they have strong Darwinist undertones in their creation and appearance of machinery), they are more-less staying out of this war for the moment, holding down on their navy in case anybody tries to attack Istanbul... Unfortunately, Britain supplied that fleet and they are wanting it back, along with a very unique and dangerous fabricated beast they supplied to the Ottomans as a show of peace- the Behemoth. What's a Behemoth you ask? Well... Pictures say more than words...

Only one of these things currently exist. You can see why the British want it back.
However, smaller creatures do also exist in the Darwinist Army- basically just massive Giant Squids that serve the British Navy.
A link, just to be safe.

Yeah, the Behemoth is fucking terrifying- but what do you expect from a beast made from the genetic material of everything from the deepest, darkest corners of the sea and of the Old Ones in the sunken cyclopean city of O'ugyg. You can see why the German Navy has combat arms implanted in their ships.

But until that happens, they'll be staying neutral- and with the political mayhem the Empire is currently facing with the Committee for Union and Progress is currently making headway in overthrowing the Empire to form an Ottoman Republic, with the personal adviser and messenger of the empire, Kizlar Agha, being on their side and they are all for the Darwinist- the'd still utilize Clanker technology of course, but be on good terms with the Darwinists and be (hopefully) less paranoid.

Still, the Sultan (Mehmed V) currently favors the Clankers...

===Important Individuals===

Doctor Emma Nora Darwin Barlow

I am a scientist, Alek. I do not deal in surmise.

The grandaughter of the founder of Darwinism, Dr. Nora Barlow is the head of the London Zoo. Now, to the world at large, that's kinda bland. Sure, it now doubles as a Darwinist Fabrication Factory, but who cares? Well, that's because the London Zoo also holds a terrifying secret: a secret espionage organization, known as the Zoological Society.

It holds a grand deal of secrets and has agents across the entire planet, pushing the world into a nice, pristine utopia (for the Darwinists) and pushing the boundaries of scientific advancement. They have no known limits to their resources (presumably huge) or personnel (unknown), but what is known is that they are trying to get Prince Aleks to join them and stop the Great War. So yeah, Nora Barlow is a master of master spies, and on top of that, an incredible super-genius and creator of some of the most advanced fabrications in the world (Perspicacious Loris, a species of ??? that is partially sapient).

She's a devilishly clever and intelligent person, seeing no problem with manipulating or bullying others into submission, and is a very cold but arrogant woman. And yet she's the best character in the book, what the hell?

Oh, she also has a pet Thylacine named Tazza on board the ship.

Prince Aleksander of Hohenberg

Killing is ugly, whatever shape it takes. That's why we have to stop this war.

In our timeline, Franz Ferdinand has at least three heirs to take up his name- in this timeline, the same cannot be said for he and his wife were only burdened with a single child- Aleksander Ferdinand, Prince of Hohenberg, born in the year 1899. He was trained in essentially everything under the sun, from the greatest of literature to the (oddly enough) simplest of politics- seriously, he never got an official or good education in the ways of politics.

Ah shit, I'm circlejerking.

By decree of the Pope (kind of- it's a papal letter, and that's fucking it), Aleksander is also the rightful heir to the Austro-Hungarian Throne- should he show up. So, until recently, Aleks and Volger and two loyal men have been hiding out in a secret fortress in the Swiss Alps, waiting for the war to pass by and reclaim the throne.

Now guess where The Leviathan had decided to crashland and who they met (which resulted in Deryn (a main character but not important enough to talk about) holding Aleks hostage at knifepoint in an attempt to enter parley and gain supplies from the fortress to get the Leviathan healthy and flying again- and than Zeppelins)?

He's a bit arrogant but a good kid- handy with a sword, able to pilot a stormwalker and is getting a crash course in the ways of politics at the help of Ernst Volger. Oh, also, he may or may not be smitten with Deryn- whom everyone right now assumes is a boy.

Yeah, The Leviathan series was a bit odd like that but that's more of something of a personal distaste than anything important in this profile.

Count Ernst Volger

The game of nations is your birthright, Alek. Politics is part of everything you do.

A close friend of Archbishop Franz, Count Volger (48), former and highly experienced Calvary Officer, is a wildcount (his family owns some forest, and not much else) of the German nobility- although, due to the current political debacle, he doesn't consider himself a member of the German nobility until this mess rolls over.

He is currently the 'watchmen' over Prince Aleksander, teaching him the cutthroat way of noble politics, and is a no-nonsense man with a dry wit, attentive eye and sly cunning, matching with his expertise with a blade and gun (of all the men in Germany, Volger was the one appointed to teach Aleksander in combat). Although he does come off as a haughty and arrogant man at times (which he most certainly is) and speaks straight to the point, he is a man of great honor- I mean, he is still following the wishes of Archbishop Franz Ferdinand as opposed to selling out Aleksander to the Kaiser.

Nikola Tesla

You don't know what smaller men are capable of, Alek! Edison, Marconi and now the kaiser! Someone must watch over them!

Nikola Tesla- Father of the Clankers although he holds no affiliation with the Kaiser, Sultan, Emperor or any other man of power in the cluttering, steaming empire. Born in Serbia, Tesla has aligned himself with the Darwinists- or will, once he's done with Tunguska where he suspects his latest invention, the Goliath, essentially turned the sky on fire and devastated this portion of the Siberian wasteland (it didn't, it just acted as such a huge magnet that a comet got plucked out of the void and crashed into the Earth).

It can still do a lot of damage, as seen here

Tesla, although undeniably brilliant, is also a bit fucking insane. Not only does he have a thing for pigeons that borders on obsession and an utter lack of cares for human life (remember that picture of Russian bears eating an airship? That was the ship that brought Tesla there- he needed more time for his studies, so he forced the captain to land his ship and have it and a portion of the crew be fed to the bears as a distraction. And than he made an electric fence to hold them out), he's also an egomaniac, seeing himself as the only person on the planet that can bring an end to this war through his research, and also manipulate Aleks into making the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Vatican

Tzar Nicholas II

There is no justice among men.

I doubt many of the historical figures in this will need any introduction, will they?

With the fact his entire army also needs to be fed in hilariously ridiculous portions (a bear the size of a house requires a rather large metabolism), I can expect to see the Tzardom to end a lot faster than it did in our own timeline- it's only by sheer luck the war ended rather quickly in their timeline, with America entering in 1915 here. Now though, with these new factions attacking... I doubt Russia will last for much longer.

Lord Churchill

I think a curse should rest on me... Because I love this war. I know it's smashing and shattering the lives of thousands every moment, and yet, I can't help it... I enjoy every second of it.

Kaiser Willhelm II

If a British parliamentarian comes to sue for peace, he must first kneel before the imperial standard, for this is a victory of monarchy over democracy!

Leader of the German Empire, Kaiser Willhelm is a bit of an... eccentric man. Ignoring the Allied claims of him being fucking batshit crazy,

Case in fucking point: The Winners are the ones who shall write history.

Wilhelm certainly was a man who didn't make his opinions of others a secret and had dreams of Germany being a great imperialistic power and did many a thing to ensure such a goal: like dismissing Otto Von Bismarck, a man who tried to 'modernize' Germany and give everyone equal rights, from the position of Chancellor of Germany- but at least he promoted the arts and sciences, right? The best way to describe Wilhelm would be from the words of the German Historian, Thomas Nipperdey

gifted, with a quick understanding, sometimes brilliant, with a taste for the modern,—technology, industry, science—but at the same time superficial, hasty, restless, unable to relax, without any deeper level of seriousness, without any desire for hard work or drive to see things through to the end, without any sense of sobriety, for balance and boundaries, or even for reality and real problems, uncontrollable and scarcely capable of learning from experience, desperate for applause and success,—as Bismarck said early on in his life, he wanted every day to be his birthday—romantic, sentimental and theatrical, unsure and arrogant, with an immeasurably exaggerated self-confidence and desire to show off, a juvenile cadet, who never took the tone of the officers' mess out of his voice, and brashly wanted to play the part of the supreme warlord, full of panicky fear of a monotonous life without any diversions, and yet aimless, pathological in his hatred against his English mother.

Also, if we go by Wikipedia he was anti-Semitic and believed gassing them was the most eloquent method of dispersal. You can probably see why I'm giving that a very critical/skeptical gaze.

Again: The winners write the history books.

As with our own history, Willhelm's role in the overall war effort is rather little- he was less of the Kaiser and more of the Schatten-Kaiser (Shadow Emperor, which sounds like the name for an anime villain). Although the military and people do follow his lead and plans (even if the Schlieffen Plan proved to be worthless), the military and country in general is more lead by General Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludenoff. He's an ineffective war leader and will probably help lead to the downfall of the German Empire in this war unless something against all odds arrives to save them.

Danger Status: 3/5: It's the First World War but now with Yuuzhan Vong monsters and mechas with lightning guns and combat tentacles. I think it is very safe to say this planet will not make for a fun time for everyone here. Y'know, there's been plenty of really shitty places thrown about recently... Maybe I should make a profile for a nicer planet?

                                                                                                                                                                   

*DC Comics owns Krypton, Warner Bros. owns Man of Steel

Name: Krypton

Status: Kryptonian Homeworld (dying), Death World (literal), Currently facing a Rebellion, Resources Dead

This element has the symbol Kr,
And it helps a fluorescent lamp shine like a star.
Its name means “hidden” in Greek,
And it can only stand -251 degrees of hea-
Goddamnit, that's the element!

Krypton is- and soon, was- a planet in the Corvus constellation, some odd 154±1 light years from our own Earth, specifically orbiting the Red (very important, as everyone here will obviously know) star known as Rao (named after the Kryptonian God of the Sun), and that was 27.1 light years from Earth.

But those are the minor details, you care about the history of this planet- and the history is rather simple, all things considered. Around 8.7 billion years ago, the various globules of resource-rich debris clumped together and formed the planet that would one day be known as Krypton. Fast-forward a few million years and life is present on the planet, including the alien race known as the Kryptonians. The Kryptonian civilization was a mighty one, eventually crafting devices that could give them access to other worlds, terraforming the planets to fit their own needs, and using a device known as the 'Growth Codex' to ensure that their species was essentially immortal- they could make new Kryptonians via artificial birth.

Eventually however, artificial population control was installed into this to ensure the Krpytonian race didn't become too huge, and all newly born children (literally unable to naturally reproduce due to legal and religious mumbo-jumbo as Kal-El is the first naturally conceived Kryptonian in centuries [Yes, I know how stupid this is, but just accept it])were given one purpose in life and determined at birth what their status in society would be, represented by various guilds: The Workers Guild (derp), The Warriors Guild, The Thinkers Guild, The Mediator Guild (Religious), Artisan Guild and, for some specific children (children of nobles, example) are given the purpose to be leaders in life.

You can see why this culture eventually broke apart as it did (even though these children would be genetically modified to fit their criteria, but you still get the point- a society structured this way is a shaky one).

At least it looked cool.

Another reason the culture and eventually planet fell apart was due to excessive mining. Even though the Kryptonians held numerous colonies on other worlds (which they eventually abandoned because... Um...), they still exploited the EVER LOVING FUCKING GOD DAMN SHIT! out of their homeworld, eventually mining all the way to the planets core- and than started the mining the planets core and siphoning the energy of it to fuel their fucking cars, making the planet unstable. This was supported by the Law Council, the central government of Krypton, a government that some military leaders, like General Dru-Zodd, saw as weak and not doing enough to expand Kryptonian prowess and power. Dru-Zodd would form a terrorist organization known as the Sword of Rao, while a brilliant scientist of the name of Jor-El is trying to warn people of the planets inevitable destruction.

And that's when the bastard we all known and love, the Portal Master, has intervened. The planet has stopped dying for the moment (although earthquakes are still a problem), because where would the fun be if the planet imploded before the first shot could even be fired?

Also, before anybody speaks- Kryptonians don't have superpowers on Krypton. They need a) yellow star/sunlight to gain these powers, and the atmosphere of Earth also holds a large key in all that. Still, they're energy weapons and aircraft that can also provide assistance on this world.

Third Party Factions

Kryptonian Law Council

Whoops, wrong species!

There we go!

The Kryptonian Law Council- what can I really say about these guys? Formed out of the most elite of the planets nobility and Thinker Guild, the Law Council is essentially a government ran by Mentats from Dune, with the superioirty of the Kryptonian Race and its' culture overriding their higher thinking (at least I assume, since they seemed aghast at evacuating the planet when Jor-El said the planet will explode). Although they technically rule the planet and are the major leading faction of the world, for all intents and purposes they're fucking worthless in all but being a puppet government- and the sad thing is that nobody is the puppeteer in this case.

No.

Sword of Rao

Better to rule Hell than serve in Heaven.

The Sword of Rao is a small (but powerful) terrorist organization on Krypton, led by General Zod (KNEEL!). Disgusted with how the Kryptonian people are becoming weaker and more pathetic, Zod attempted to kill the Law Council and formulate a new government, to make a world of pure bloodlines (as determined by Zod and company) and strong warriors. They number an entire legion of men (we'll go with the Roman numbering of it, so 6000 on a population of roughly a million) but they make up for their tiny numbers with large political support amongst the high ranking generals of Krypton but little else.

Important Individuals

Jor-El

What if a child intended of becoming of something other than what of society intended? What if a child aspired to be something greater?

Jor-El was lead scientist on the planet Krypton, having been specifically bred for this role. In this role he became friends with Krypton's military leader, General Dru-Zod. He was married to Lara Lor-Van, who agreed with him that Krypton had grown stagnant through the use of the Genesis Chamber, a technology designed to genetically modify a genetic registry of citizens yet to be born so the would fulfill specific roles in Krypton's society. Jor-El and Lara felt this robbed their society of choice and chance, for the potential of a child to be greater than what society determined they should be. Because of this belief, they chose to have a child through natural birth, a baby boy whom they would name Kal-El.

Jor-El came to realize that the Kryptonian Council's orders to tap into Krypton's core to harvest energy had made the planet unstable. Seeking to save Krypton's future, he pleaded with the council to give him the registry of Kryptonian citizen, the Codex to improve their people and evacuate the damn planet. Before he could fulfill his argument, Zod Leeroy Jenkins'd into the room though.

Jor-El is the smartest Kryptonian on the planet, having created an A.I (of the Ixian kind- just a series of programs that ALMOST could pass for a Thinking Machine until one examines the details) for his house (not Brainiac), made A.I Copies of himself and countless other showings of technological/scientific prowess. All he needs to save his people is somebody not pants on head stupid to help him.

General Zod

KNEEL BEFORE ZOD!

Wait a minute...

There we go!

General Dru-Zod: The highest authority on the planet of Krypton, Zod was born to be essentially the peak of Kryptonian prowess and was bred to be feircely protective of the ideals and safety of the Kryptonian people. Zod worked alongside Jor-El, Jor-El was in charge of the planets sciences and worked in tandem with Zod to defend Krypton, however when Jor-El learned that Krypton's core is close to collapse Zod took it upon himself to lead a revolution against the current Kryptonian elders in order to secure the continuation of the Kryptonian race, deeming them as weak. However, Jor-El was disgusted by Zod's ruthlessness and willingness for war and attempted to warn the council- not of Zod going apeshit but of the world exploding. Zod's priorities right now are:

• Off the Kryptonian Council 
• Get the Growth Codex and Kal-El 
• ??? 
• PROFIT! 

Zod is a powerful and unstable man, seeing no problem with killing innocents or unleash his own anger on his subordinates in his attempt to remake the Kryptonian race to its' former power. For the invading factions, he'll be the biggest problem to deal with... Followed by

Faora-Ul

The fact that you possess a sense of morality and we do not gives us an evolutionary advantage.

You think Zod is crazy? Trust me, he's mentally sound compared to THIS fucking psychopath. Genetically modified to take pleasure in killing others and with the psychopathic urge to fulfill that pleasure (WHY IN THE FUCK WOULD YOU PUT THAT IN A SOLDIER), she joined the Warriors Guild at a young age and rose to be Sub-Commander of the Kryptonian Army, second only to Zod. She's fanatically loyal to Zod, and will (and has) killed millions for him if the need be. She's cold, methodical and vicious compared to Zod's furious anger, and will be a much more subtle threat on this planet.

Danger Status: 2/5: It's a dying world with a mostly unimpressive military, outside of the use of energy weapons. And again, this kind of stuff

That's impossible with Krypton's atmosphere and sun.

                                                                                                                                                                   

*Star Trek belongs to Paramount Pictures

Name: Qo'noS (English Translation: Kronos)

Status: Homeworld of the Klingons, Heavy Tectonic Activity, Civil War

Only Qo'noS Endures.

Qo'noS (or Kronos for those who speak English) is a rather interesting world. Although one would expect for the planet to be nearly impossible to live on and ridiculously hostile for a race like the Klingons have came to be, the planet is actually not too bad. Mountainous, yes and the occasional lake of lava is obviously dangerous, but the world itself isn't too bad. A bit bland, some could even say.

This is something you'd never wish to say to or about the people who live on this world, however- for although the planet is nothing too dangerous or impressive, the people that have sprung from it are. The Klingons (tlhIngan in their native tongue) are a vicious warrior culture (although prior to the 22nd century, it was relatively balanced out. And than the warrior caste gained heavy control of the government, giving us the current Klingon culture and race), which place the idea of Death before Dishonor zealously.

Third Party Factions

Klingon Empire

may' vISuvqang HochDaqDaq, wo'vaD!
(I will fight any battle, anywhere... for the Empire!)

The Klingon Empire is currently in a somewhat complicated position. No, not the fact the Portal Master threw them out of their galaxy and into a void (although the fact they're cut off from the rest of the Empire is annoying). No, they have a legitimate problem right now: The Empire has been cut in half. You see, the Klingon Empire is governed by a High Council, based in the First City.

Specifically in this building in the First City.

So what's the problem? Well, right now, the Council is trying to elect a new Chancellor (the ruling body of the Council, ever since the Klingons ended the reign of the Emperor sometime in the middle of the 21st century). Right now, there are two major candidates:

Gowron, the legally appointed head chancellor of the empire and known to question the decisions of the Council (giving him no shortage of political enemies):

Gowron

And the heads of House Duras (because of course they have Royal Houses), Lursa and B'Etor (well, technically Toral rules the House, but only in name and even than, Sela is leading it more).

Lursa and B'Etor. 

The conflict had its roots in the reign of K'mpec, the longest-lived chancellor of the Empire. Although K'mpec ruled with an iron fist and managed to keep peace within the Empire, his influence began to wane as he grew older, and two opposing factions began to develop. The first faction, led by Gowron, favored the continuing alliance with the Federation, while the second faction, led by Duras, sought to establish a more independent and aggressive policy for the Empire. Duras had support from a large majority of the High Council, while Gowron's support came largely from political outsiders and military personnel.

Tensions came to a head in early 2367 with the sudden revelation that K'mpec was dying. He had been slowly poisoned by Veridium Six that had been introduced into his bloodwine. Because the killer had not shown his face to his victim, Klingon tradition considered the act to be without honor. 

Recognizing the corruption that had taken hold in the Empire, K'mpec decided that he could not trust any Klingon with the task of choosing the next leader of the Empire. Therefore, he took the unheard-of action of selecting Jean-Luc Picard, a Human Starfleet officer, as the Arbiter of Succession (a neutral party that would determine the fate of a decision).

Picard initially refused K'mpec's request, but K'mpec argued that a Klingon civil war would inevitably involve neighboring powers – the Tholian Assembly, the Ferengi Alliance, and ultimately the Romulan Star Empire and the Federation itself. K'mpec pointed out that whoever had so dishonorably killed him – either Gowron or Duras – could not be allowed to rule the Empire. Concerned by the prospect of a massive interstellar war, Picard agreed to arbitrate the dispute.

The process of selecting a new leader for the Empire was almost immediately disrupted when a bomb exploded in the middle of the Sonchi ceremony confirming K'mpec's death. One retainer each from Gowron's and Duras' delegations was killed in the blast.

Picard, wary of K'mpec's warnings concerning the dishonorable actions of either Duras or Gowron, chose to proceed carefully. He revived the ancient ritual of the ja'chuq, in which each contender tried to prove his worthiness to lead the Council, which delayed the final decision long enough to allow the Enterprise crew to investigate the bombing.

What the Enterprise officers found was disturbing: the bomb had used a molecular decay detonator, a type of device used only by the Romulans. Given the past history between the House of Duras and the Romulans – Duras had previously been involved in a cover-up of his father Ja'rod's culpability for the Khitomer Massacre some twenty years before, which was officially blamed on Worf's father Mogh, for which Worf chose to accept dishonor to keep the Empire from splitting up, Duras' house having grown politically powerful – there was now evidence pointing towards one of the contenders.

The proceedings were abruptly ended by a fight between Duras and Worf. Duras had killed K'Ehleyr, the Federation ambassador to the Klingon Empire, for investigating into the matter of the Khitomer Massacre and uncovering Duras' father's complicity. Worf, as K'ehleyr's mate, claimed the right of vengeance against Duras, and killed Duras in honorable combat. Although Worf was officially persona non grata within the Empire, the High Council considered the matter closed. With Duras killed and his faction discredited, the way was cleared for Gowron to assume leadership of the Council.

Although Duras died in disgrace, his family did not inherit that disgrace. The corruption of Duras had spread to much of the rest of the High Council, who stood ready to support the House of Duras despite the traditional dishonor of its now-dead leader. Lursa and B'Etor, the sisters of Duras, assumed the leadership of the House, and began gathering support to overpower Gowron. They also secured the allegiance of three prominent fleet commanders, swelling their ranks for a possible military challenge to Gowron's leadership.

Gowron requested that Picard, as the Arbiter of Succession, ensure his installation as Chancellor. Picard would not step outside the boundaries of Klingon law, and refused Gowron's request for assistance. He would only assure Gowron that he would respond to any challenges according to Klingon law.

The sisters' power play, when it came, took an unexpected form: they introduced to the Council Toral, a young, previously unknown illegitimate son and heir to Duras. Toral challenged Gowron for the leadership of the Council, and the Council, controlled almost entirely by supporters of the Duras family, backed his challenge.

Picard was thus put in an extremely untenable position – if he accepted Toral's challenge, Gowron would quickly be killed and Toral installed as leader, but if he rejected Toral's challenge, Picard's supposed "Federation meddling" would be used as a rallying cry for the forces of Duras to wrest control from Gowron by force. Ultimately, Picard chose to reject Toral's claim, arguing that Toral had claimed no honor for himself, having fought no battles for the Empire.

Incensed, Lursa and B'Etor protested Picard's dictating of Klingon affairs, and led most of the High Council in walking out of the Great Hall. Gowron was left with few allies and practically no support.

You can guess when the Portal Master decided to intervene here- the moment Picard stepped back on the ship, of course.

And now with galactic politics thrown in array, the Klingons have been forced to enter planet-side warfare with their soldiers and Birds-of-Prey.

Klingons.

More Klingons (from the alternate timeline where Qo'noS is essentially planetwide Chernobyl.)

A Klingon Bird of Prey

A Klingon Tank (fan-made of course, but hey, what can ya do? The show and assorted spin-offs never showed what Klingon or any factions ground forces are like, aside from the occasional soldier)

The Klingons are perfectly okay with this.

Afterall, they finally have an excuse to pull these out!
(Not canon, but when will I ever have another opportunity to pull out a picture of a Klingon task force, featuring a giant sapient Gorilla!?)

And there we have it, the only major faction on this planet. Eeyup, nobody else...

Romulan Star Empire

Misdirection is the key to survival. Never attack what your enemy defends. Never behave as your enemy expects and never reveal your true strength. If knowledge is power, then to be unknown is to be unconquerable.

Okay, so saying that the Klingons are the only major power on this planet was a lie- kind of. You see, the Romulans want a Klingon Civil War but don't want to get publicly involved- the Romulans and Klingons have never had a good relationship with one another, and with the Klingons killing each other, the Romulans would be able to sweep in and take complete control of their space.

To do so, they've aligned themselves (in secret, of course) with the forces of House Duras. Nothing too major that would lead to a public Romulan involvement, just a few ships and basic equipment and put the forces of House Duras secretly under the control of the Romulan-Human hybrid, Commander Sela- a huge tactical advantage.

They hold an incredibly light presence on Qo'noS, and like any good Romulan, prefer to stay hidden and instead cause problems behind scenes as opposed to outright conflict. They'll be poisoning or discretely killing anyone that may become a large threat on this planet.

Important Individuals

Commander Sela

When Picard questioned why Sela was fanatically loyal to the Romulans even though her mother (a human prisoner-of-war turned concubine- also being a crew member of the Enerterprise-D from an alternate universe) risked everything to keep Sela alive, she had this to say:
One night, when I was four years old, she came to me. She bundled me up and she told me to stay quiet as we left the compound.
I realized she was taking me away, she was taking me away from my home, my father...
So I cried out. My father offered her life, he gave her a home, he gave her a child - and how did she repay him?
By betrayal.
They executed her!
Everything in me that was Human died that day with my mother.
All that's left now is Romulan.
Never doubt that.

And now for something a bit... Complicating. She's more-less not in this universe, the result of a member of the Enterprise-C going through a Temporal Rift and surviving an ensuing battle against Klingon warbirds. A Romulan general (Meldet?) encountered one of the escape pods from the fated battle, and gave this woman an offer: sit in here and die, or become his consort. Natasha Yar accepted, and a year born Sela was born. 4 years later- well, 'all that's left now is Romulan', and over the next 15 years Sela became a master of Romulan military tactics, becoming a Commander in no-time. She's a master strategist and prefers sneaky ways of killing, whether it be brainwashing individuals to kill others, discretely overseeing armies or similar deceptive techniques. She'll be the most dangerous individual on this planet, pulling everything from the strings.

Gowron

Can you not see what you are doing? Are you blind to what they represent? Then go. Your blood will paint the way to the future.

Gowron, son of M'rel, is a rough man, and a teensy bit batshit too (seriously, the actor got this character because of how comedically insane he could play him). A suspect in the poisoning of High Chancellor K'mpec (although everybody thinks it was House Duras), he's held his position through political manipulation and killing his political foes. Not discretely of course, but in single combat, as is the Klingon way. He's a viciously militant man, somewhat similar in mannerisms to an insanely exaggerated and more open Vladimir Putin, very greedy for his position in power- if a military officer starts getting attention, he'll undermine the man faster than you can say "nuq, loS?".

Danger Status: 4/5: Disruptors (disintegrate things at a molecular level) and bloodthirsty warriors may be common on this world, but the warfare shown here is something they've simply haven't seen before- or at least, not since the ancient days of Qo'noS- which will get them very excited.

Ya know, I've noticed something: every single planet so far has been just generally shitty worlds, with the exception of Asgard and friends (and I think I gave all of the remaining factions somewhere to fuck up). I think a change of pace may be needed. A nice planet to fuck up... But where to find such a world?

Any suggestions?