Atlas Drake
the new colossus
- Intent: To further develop the South Arm and import some related sci fi ideas into the region.
- Image Credit: Lava World
- Canon: /
- Permissions: /
- Links: /
- Planet Name: Ios
- Demonym: Iosian
- Region: Outer Rim Territories
- System Name: Ios System
- System Features:
- The Halo Fields: A large dense asteroid graveyard and all that remains of Ios' former neighbors. Evidence suggests that every other planet and moon in the system was destroyed and their debris gathered into one place over an immense period of time.
- Libertalia: Infamous shadowport and the only sanctuary for humanoids in the system. Hidden within the Halo Fields, the asteroid station is shielded from the Iosian Covenant by radiation that fools their sensors. Constant antirad injections are required to survive. Most of Libertalia is populated by survivors of planets decimated by Iosian invasion.
- The Jagged Sphere: Truly a species that plans far ahead, a massive dyson sphere surrounds one third of the Ios system's star. It will be hundreds of thousands of years at least before it is complete but the Iosians are apparently content to wait.
- Location:
- Major Imports: Heavy Ores, Tibanna Gas, Slaves
- Major Exports: Silicon, Electronic Components
- Unexploited Resources: /
- Gravity: Five Times Standard
- Climate: High Surface Temperature, Magma Flows, Earthquakes, Extremely Dense Atmosphere with Carbon Dioxide and Sulfides
- Primary Terrain: Mountains, Active Volcanoes, Craggy Plains
- Atmosphere: Type IV
- Capital City: The Underrock
- Planetary Features: To an observer from orbit the surface of Ios would appear seemingly uninhabited and inhospitable. It is impossible to discern the billions of native Iosians in stasis all across each of the planet's three main continents. Much of the planet's artificial infrastructure is located beneath the surface, a complex weave of interconnected caverns spans for hundreds of the thousands of kilometers in every direction. Some ancient ruins can still be found on the surface, possibly indicative of the Iosian's more primal past. By far the most impressive feature of Ios is its equally labyrinthine network of orbital infrastructure that forms a series of rings completely circumventing the molten world's orbit.
- Major Locations:
- The Underrock: A vast network of subterranean tunnels and caverns that covers an entire continent of Ios. This is the beating heart of Iosian society where the psychic network that sustains them all is strongest.
- Surface Ruins: Scattered evidence that the Iosians were once surface dwellers a long time ago in their primordial past. Now inhabited by a Shard colony which communes with the Latice in an exchange of thoughts and information between two of the galaxy's only enlightened species.
- Lava Oceans: Ios is volcanically active and known for its immense oceans of fire visible from orbit.
- Orbital Labyrinth: Like nothing else in the galaxy, a sprawling orbital complex over Ios covers the planet's orbit several times over and appears to be still under construction. Its purpose is unknown but experts theorize that whatever it is the Iosians carved out the rest of their system to build it.
- Force Nexus:
- Intent: A central focus for the Iosian's telepathic Lattice, and a basis for their spiritual movement's religious crusades across the spiral arm.
- Nexus Name: The Index
- Nexus Alignment: Neutral
- Size: Planetary
- Strength: Strong
- Accessibility: A massive crystal latticework at the center of the Underrock which supposedly grounds their psychic field and serves as a central backup. It is the most heavily defended location on the planet and forbidden to all outsiders.
- Effects: According to the Iosian's religion this artifact is what gives them their innate telepathic abilities. All that is known for certain about the nexus' actual effects on the Iosians is that it forms central repository for the species' genetic memory, and plays some role in assigning castes at birth across Ios. For other species the primary effect on a planetary scale is a constant audible vibration, an echo of the psychic mindlink which if studied can offer insight into the Iosian subconscious. Close proximity to the latticework itself can lead to incomprehensible visions and prolonged exposure might even begin to overwrite neural patterns so the alien begins to think more like an Iosian.
- Native Species: Iosian
- Immigrated Species: Shard
- Population: Crowded
- Demographics:
- 90% Iosian
- 5% Shard
- 5% Artificial
- Primary Languages: Iosian language
- Culture: Iosians' unconventional evolutionary origins have resulted in a form of society that is impossible for most species to comprehend. The silicon based species have little innate mobility on their homeworld and spend most of their short physical lifespans immersed in the Lattice and a series of nested shared consciousnesses known as Castemoots. Were it not for their destructive religious beliefs the natives of Ios would be nothing more than a scientific curiosity. The Iosian Assembly believes that everywhere the Lattice touches their species is destined to rule. Every few years their psychic network will ebb and flow, causing their optimal territory to shift and requiring the Covenant to conquer new star systems by divine right. These planets are either subjugated or terraformed outright to support silicon based life.
- Government: Theonomy
- Affiliation: Independent
- Wealth: Wealthy. The Iosian Assembly has no qualms about exploiting not only their homeworld's own natural energy harvesting potential but the resources of those worlds it conquers and subjugates in the name of preserving the Lattice.
- Stability: Medium. Extremely stable so long as you are Iosian, the natives are not outright hostile to outsiders but remains extremely dangerous nonetheless. Iosian culture is abstract to the point of impossible for most humanoids to comprehend, and a single ill chosen word or gesture can result in summary execution.
- Freedom & Oppression: Every aspect of Iosian society is dictated by the Ruling and Spiritual castes. Iosian leaders are born into their positions, just as it is for all of their species. From the military to politics to the sciences, each life is predetermined. The species' telepathic castemoots allow for some debate and discourse, but deviant thinking is strictly monitored for and dealt with harshly.
- Military: Warfare is the domain of Ios' Warrior caste and the Iosian Covenant is considerable. Its ships are usually smaller and more agile but deceptively powerful. Iosians are not natural ground fighters and are vulnerable in combat on Type I atmosphere worlds for even minor damage to their environmental suits can be fatal. To make up for this they are masters of advanced tech in particular long range weapons.
- Technology: Advanced Spacefaring. Iosian technology is often slightly more advanced than the galactic standard, and totally incompatible. The species relies on an different mathematical base system and often reproduce similar tech functions through divergent innovations.
The Iosian Assembly is ancient seeming to predate the original Galactic Republic by several thousand years. Whether due to their isolation or physiological incompatibility their small empire was unaffected by the Gulag Plague and continued their great works in near total isolation. Contact between Ios and the outside galaxy has been rare and unproductive. The Iosian mind is simply too incomprehensible for most humanoids to understand. In recent centuries small progress has been made using telepaths to interface with the Iosian's Castemoots but it is a learned skill and not very reliable for precise communication.
However their empire spans multiple systems and their borders form a complex geometric pattern sensible only to native Iosians and which is constantly shifting along with their psychic network. This has led Ios to develop martial tools and other effective means of conquering neighboring systems all in the name of their religious crusade to control every world the Lattice touches and colonize them with its chosen people. Attempts to communicate or negotiate with Iosian ships often lead to violent misunderstandings but not always. Ios is not outright hostile towards humanoid life, they simply find us as confusing as we find them.
For the past three thousand years the Sharuka Empire and Iosian Assembly have been at war. Skirmishes between their warships in the depths of Wild Space are a rare sight but are known to occur.
Last edited:
