Chari Ascension

Artful avians with psychic potential* and unmatched grace

Esoteric newcomers to the region most of the local sector's pivotal factions occupy.

Native species

The Chari

• Full name: Char'itayr
• Overview:
  • Fragile but nimble and graceful avians with a wide variety of feather colours. Many adaptations from their flight-capable ancestors remain, including lungs capable of extracting oxygen from thinner atmospheres, excellent eyesight, and intuitive perception and understanding of three-dimensional space.
• Subtypes:
  • Taiga subtype
    • Prevalent whites, bluish tints here and there, occasional light grey gradients and common spatter ranging from dark brown to coal black
    • Communal wholesome beans
  • Alpine subtype
    • Prevalent rocky greys and darker browns and beiges, common white spatter and light underbelly colouring
    • Fastidious and obsessed with their image
  • Temperate subtype
    • More contrast, blacks, pure whites, reds, oranges, on top of the beiges and browns
    • Vanilla-ish
  • Mediterranean subtype
    • More yellows and reds, more saturated colours
    • Lively and outspoken
  • Savanna subtype
    • Darker browns, prominent sandy hues, light blue secondary colouring, flashes of bold primary colours in accents
    • Uh… Florida Man with style?
  • Tropical subtype
    • Flashy combinations of vibrant colours from diverse palettes
    • Easygoing

Territory

Geography of Chari space

• [WIP]
• Core worlds:
  • Arika
    • Chari homeworld
    • Second planet of the Origin System
    • Has two small but visible to the naked eye moons
    ]
    • Small, heavily forested temperate world with plentiful mountains
    • Host to active but subtle terraforming machinery of Elder make, the vast majority of which remains undisturbed under the planet's surface
    • Unusually poor in natural resources save for cavority, which is not only present but abnormally abundant
  • Sakkil
    • Largest Chari colony
    • Fourth planet of the Atal system
    • Has one moon
    • Large temperate world slightly too warm and dry for the average person
    • Rich in natural resources
    • Home to numerous industrial installations, both on the surface and in orbit
  • [WIP]
• Other locations of note:
  • The Elder Sanctuary
    • The sole point of interest in an unnamed, unusually empty save for two asteroid belts system with an orange dwarf
    • Massive, stationary Elder habitat with a magnificent cityscape and a wide variety of highly advanced technology the majority of which remains out of reach for the Chari, including the vast but largely inaccessible database
    • Protected by a warship-grade shield of Elder make

History

Timeline of events

• [WIP]
• 119 BSF - Due to lightweight materials and efficient propulsion a probe intended to just orbit the planet a few times proves to be capable of reaching the closer of the two moons and kick-starts space exploration when a bunch of scientists decide to see how far it can get after it completes its mission
• 113 BSF - First instance of manned spaceflight occurs, a few simple orbits, nothing big, but mere weeks later the same vessel is reused in a trip around both of the moons
• 31 BSF - Slipspace technology is discovered, and the Chari start exploring nearby systems
• 2 BSF - A cargo ship wreck is found in one of the systems, and while the ship’s condition makes it practically worthless in itself, some of the cargo is found to have survived, which turns out to be a shipment of warship-grade shield emitters built by the Elders themselves, also hinting at the origin of the cargo ship
• 0 ASF - Investigation of the cargo ship’s path leads to the discovery of a dormant but untouched Elder hab station in an otherwise uninteresting system, and after the Chari explore the central spire area and determine it to be safe their leadership and leading scientific personnel move aboard, finding out quickly that it was once called Sanctum, and deeming the entire complex the most sacred of temples in their Elder worship; this is also considered to be the formal founding date of the faction as it is currently organised, and marks the beginning of their new calendar system (founding is year zero, but the first day after is the first day of year 1)
• 13 ASF - The Chari aboard the Sanctuary make a major breakthrough and create the first working prototype of shield technology loosely based on the recovered Elder modules; the remaining original emitters are installed aboard the station itself, giving it the most powerful shield the Chari had seen to date; this major success is attributed to divine inspiration by the Elder spirits inhabiting the Sanctuary, strengthening the belief in the spiritual value of the place
• 57 ASF - first contact occurs when an exploratory expedition assembled by the Coalition stumbles upon a Chari positioning beacon in a system they’d marked for potential future expansion
• 58 ASF - present day

Government policies and doctrines

• Overview:
  • The Chari government is a mix of technocratic and theocratic systems, under which officials are required to work through progressively higher tiers of public office positions and gain experience one step at a time before they can be chosen for the most influential and important roles in the system.
• Notable leaders:
  • [WIP]
• National views:
  • Of outsiders:
    • The Chari are a curious and somewhat xenophilic race that sees their path as something to nudge others towards as well, though never by force.
  • Of themselves:
    • Most Chari see their race, and by extension nation, as one small piece of a complex system bigger than just them, and see their own existence as part of a great cycle of races developing and growing until they reach spiritual fulfilment, at which point the cycle starts over.
• Belief system:
  • The Chari religion is centred around a precursor race they call the Elders. The end goal is reaching a higher state of self, and they associate Elder artifacts with achieving that goal, elevating the search for and study of Elders and their tech to the position of a civilization-wide focus. They also believe that any alterations to their bodies that go beyond supplementing or fixing their natural biology ultimately lead to rejection from the ascension they strive to reach if overdone - they value and cherish their biological nature. They allow DNA treatments that repair, but not ones that rewrite, and similarly they allow implants that make use of existing capabilities, but frown upon swapping out healthy parts and performing wholesale overhauls. Multipurpose computerised implants are a bit of a grey area, and the opinions on both the choice itself and the people opting for it are divided among the population, though it is generally seen as acceptable by most, so long as it’s an augmentation and not a replacement.
• National focus:
  • The Chari see their ongoing quest to gather and understand Elder technology almost as a sacred duty. They also believe that it is their responsibility to gently help others towards ascension along their way, and indeed have an interest in other civilizations like them that currently exist in the universe.
• Class layout:
  • The Chari Ascension is in many ways built around specialisations that define what positions you can hope to hold. For instance, it is rare (though not unheard of) for Chari without a religious or generally theological background related to Elder studies to occupy positions of power, as the government has close ties with the religious leadership, many positions being intertwined. Many aspects of the nation are dependent on or at least influenced by the religious tenets of Elder worship. The window for attaining a new one never closes, though most people choose to only develop their primary one instead of “multiclassing”, simply because it’s less trouble to pursue one than it is to pursue many, at least to the level required to have your specialisation officially recognised.
  • There are six core specialisations and a wildcard, all represented in the colouring of the outlines of personal badges, patches, etc. worn by people in workplaces throughout Chari space:
    • White
      • Command, for those capable of effectively combining the abilities of and guiding those under you, as well as navigating the nuances of leadership.
    • Red
      • Combat and tactics, synonymous with being an official member of the Reliquary Guard, the elite soldiers of the Chari, responsible for training the rest of the population.
    • Blue
      • Science and technology, for those skilled in coding and versed in the theoretical principles of contemporary Chari technology.
    • Yellow
      • Engineering, unmatched skill and expertise regarding the mechanical aspects of the inner workings of Chari technology and the physical makeup of Chari materials.
    • Green
      • Medical staff and personnel with unprecedented knowledge of biology (green is the colour the Chari associate with life).
    • Purple
      • Elder studies, for those who have dedicated themselves to unlocking the many mysteries of the Elders.
    • Black
      • A placeholder, in use by people in training as well as those who prefer not to reveal their associations, like special operations personnel.
• Defining doctrines:
  • 'Small, light, and mobile'
    • The Chari like their equipment lightweight, compact, and flexible. Their ships usually prioritise mobility, flexibility, and ease of repairs. Their mastery of material sciences allows them to construct considerably lighter and smaller ships without compromising their effectiveness.
  • 'Grace and style'
    • Everything the Chari design has a certain aesthetic factor, embodying their love for smooth, flowing lines, curvy, aerodynamic hulls, and general artistic flavour.

Military structure

Core branches

• Chari Militia
• • Instead of a regular military, the Chari employ a sizable organised nationwide militia, where citizens attend semi-regular training but otherwise have normal jobs.
• Reliquary Guard
• • An all-volunteer elite force responsible for overseeing the training of this militia, on top of conventional regular service.
• Sanctuary Guard
  • A small subdivision of the Reliquary Guard, is responsible for protecting the most sacred Elder temples and artifacts, including the Sanctuary itself.

Technology

Offensive weaponry

• The Chari use sophisticated grav-based kinetic accelerators augmented with mass manipulation technology to increase effective range and hit probability, as well as frequency-adaptive high-power lasers that work wonders against armour. Not very advanced, but highly refined as well as tried and true.

Defences

• Armour:
  • Highly complex, mildly smart materials that can, to a degree, be designed to morph shapes and change physical properties within a certain margin tied to the structural strength of the material in question; Warship grade materials can still bend enough to move a layer or two in and out of the hull seamlessly, and some areas are even engineered to switch between transparent, opaque with simulated 3D display layer, and fully opaque. The use of these special materials makes Chari hulls quick and easy to patch up outside of combat, so long as you have the technology to effect these repairs.
• Shielding:
  • The Chari employ a shield system derived from a set of powerful Elder shield emitter artifacts, capable of being shaped dynamically in flight with ease, equipped with multiple modes including deflection, and making up for its lack of sheer durability with staggering regeneration speed.
• Point defence weapon systems:
  • The Chari have several kinds of point defense, ranging from high-velocity solid needles to relativistic particle barriers to highly focused pinpoint-accuracy lasers.

Sensors and fire control systems

• Elder magic, probably. [WIP]

Communications

• Independently designed FTL relay technology with superior efficiency than that shown by the Terran ansibles, but inferior range, and a slightly higher probability of interception, mitigated only by the efficiency of Chari software.

Cyberwarfare, electronic warfare, and computing

• The data processing plants of the Chari consist of fairly commonplace hardware combined with astonishingly efficient and tidy software.

Data storage

• The storage needs of the Chari are almost entirely covered by data crystals derived from Elder technology, and a less capacity-oriented, more aesthetically stunning version of this tech is commonly seen in personal data storage solutions.

Stealth technology

• Although the Chari have not looked into stealth mechanisms too much, their skill with materials and high efficiency of shipboard components together make passive stealth a rather simple modification to existing designs, and the pursuit of active stealth a slightly simpler endeavour for them than for most.

Power generation and storage

• The Chari employ a very safe and clean kind of cold fusion that works extremely well at smaller scales and lower temperatures, but doesn’t scale up well. This method doesn’t usually result in high power output, but it is unmatched in fuel efficiency and reactor longevity.

Propulsion methods

• Sublight:
  • The Chari use a combination of cavorite-boosted conventional main drives for high core acceleration and cavorite grav maneuvering thrusters for precise course adjustments.
• FTL:
  • The Chari access a physics-defying realm they call slipspace, one in which aerodynamic design, outer hull layer resilience, and faster regenerating shields allow for considerably higher velocities. Due to this, it is possible to decrease travel time when travelling in groups by merging shield bubbles and in doing so decreasing the amount of frontal stress each ship’s shields have to deal with.

Other technologies

• The Chari are masters of material sciences, resulting in very lightweight and very compact but otherwise equally effective materials, components, and so on. They also employ various mildly smart materials, which allow for minor shape alterations on the fly and easier repairs.

Table of contents (click to reveal)

Faction names:
Chari (colloquial)
Chari Ascension (full, translated)
Ael Sa'id Char'itayr (full, native)

Year of founding: 0 ASF

Emblem:

by Astra

*Mild and variable in magnitude

Notable characters:
Commodore Sari Ikan