The
Inquisition
Along the border of the
Sea of Dead Stars and the Terran Protectorate are a rough line of worlds that
have become known as the Colonies of the Line. These worlds are the first line
of defense between humanity and the dangerous species, like the Berylan, beyond
the Terminus Line. These planets have become massive armed camps filled with a
society that has a fanatical dedication to safeguarding humanity.
The populations of the
so-called Fortress Worlds of Salvation, Redemption, Tribulation and Epiphany
have become so dedicated to their cause that it has become a sort of religious
crusade. Like all religious crusades, the Colonies of the Line have more than
their fair share of fanatics. In fact, some would say that the fanatics are in
charge.
The Colonies of the
Line and their huge defense fleets and armies are not made up of the Terran
Protectorate Stellar Navy or Colonial Marines, but instead they are made up
entirely of militia forces recruited, and loyal, only from the Fortress Worlds.
They are collectively known as the Inquisition, led by several magistrates and
a cadre of expert Witch Hunters known as Inquisitors.
The Inquisition's goals
are two-fold. First, to prepare the Fortress Worlds and all of humanity for the
day when the darkness from the Sea of Dead Stars reaches out and attempts to
smother the light of humanity. Second, to stamp out signs of corruption and
evil influence attempting to infiltrate human space through more nefarious
means. The Inquisition looks for people who have crossed over the Terminus Line
and returned, especially those who seem changed or different, as well as Deep
Time Artifacts, which the Inquisition has completely banned from the Fortress
Worlds.
While the Inquisition
Fleet is a force to be reckoned with, the real power lies with the Inquisitors.
Dedicated, fanatical and powerful, they look for cases of possession and rogue
creatures and entities which somehow have made their way into the colonies.
They only operate in the colonies of the line, where their authority is
supreme. Outside of the Fortress Worlds, they have no legal authority.
Inside the Fortress
Worlds, they have the power of judge, jury and executioner. They can enter any
establishment, psychically probe any individual and take virtually any action
they deem necessary to defend humanity. No one has the right or power to impede
an Inquisitor's investigation; not even colonial governors. This has led to Inquisitors
being the most powerful individuals in the sector. Their positions are for life
and they can only be disbarred by a majority vote of all of the High
Inquisitors.
High
Magistrate DuMont
The ultimate leader of
the Inquisition is not an inquisitor at all, however. It is High Magistrate
Xander DuMont. Officially, DuMont is in charge of all the Protectorate
magistrates in the Hyperion Sector, and they are all hand-picked and loyal to
him. In an unprecedented move, magistrates have been elected as governor of
every one of the fortress worlds that make up the colony of the line. It is
perfectly legal, as magistrates are not barred from holding power, and the
people elected them freely in the belief that order and rule of law should be
the chief priority. Of course, since every magistrate answers to the High
Magistrate, this has made DuMont the de facto ruler of the Colonies of the
Line, even though he officially has no elected position.
Also, since the
Inquisition Fleet is made up of the militia forces of each Colony of the Line,
and each militia is under the command of the colonies' civilian government, the
magistrate governors, DuMont is unofficially in charge of the Inquisition as
well.
The Inquisition Fleet
The fleet, like the
Inquisitors, has unparalleled power. On at least two occasions the fleet has
leveled minor colonies due to what was deemed "deep-rooted psychic
corruption." Supposedly, too many of the members of the colonies had
fallen under the influence of alien powers from beyond the Terminus Line. Word
of these so-called purges reached the Terran Protectorate Stellar Navy, but an
investigation found no evidence of the alleged attacks. Of course, the
investigation was handled by the local magistrates, as required by law.
The fleet is made up
primarily of warships of the previous generation, like the Stalwart Heavy
Cruiser, old Rama-class destroyers, Ranger corvettes, Venture-class cruisers,
etc. However, the Colonies of the Line have developed and built their own
shipyards and some of their own ship designs as well as using old Protectorate
warships that can be found virtually nowhere else. These include Falchion-Class
Heavy Cruisers, Halberd-Class Command Carriers (remodeled and renamed the
Inquisitor-class command ship), and Templar-Class Battlecruisers (all coming
soon in the ships section!).
The Protectorate is
unaware how upgraded these ships have become and does not realize they are on
an equal footing with most modern warships.
The Fortress Worlds are
also surrounded by Cerberus Class Mobile Defense platforms, massive mobile
space stations designed to defend a planet from full-scale invasion. The
Cerberus was originally designed to move only in high orbit around a planet,
but the Colonies of the Line have refitted them into fully mobile dreadnoughts.
The ground forces of
the Inquisition and Colonial Militias are not so different from the Colonial
marines. However, there are a number of special units unique to the Colonies of
the Line that deserve special mention.
Psychoborgs
and Soothers
Psychoborgs are full
conversion cyborgs (use the Ultimate Edition Rifts cyborg O.C.C. but roll two
random insanities and select gear from the Gear section of this website) special
forces units used for heavy assault. Such extensive use of cybernetics and
bionics is virtually unheard of anywhere else in the Terran Protectorate. Most
humans would never voluntarily do that to their bodies. However, Psychoborgs
are not like most humans. They are recruited from the worst of the worst of the
criminals shipped to the penal colonies in Hyperion sector. The Inquisition has
convinced them that their violent and aggressive, often downright murderous,
natures are a gift, not a curse. They have been trained to focus that
aggression on the alien enemies of human kind, and have been convinced that
this is an evolutionary trait; that Mother Nature selected them to be the
flaming sword of humanity's vengeance. They just needed their aggression aimed
in the proper direction.
Soothers: To keep the
Psychoborgs' aggression in check, each is teamed with a psychic soother. These
are criminals who used their psychic powers in the commission of a crime.
Instead of jail or execution, they are paired with a psychoborg and use their
powers to keep the maniac cyborgs calm and at ease until battle. Typically, the
soother is of the opposite sex of the Psychoborg (with 70% being women), and
the two form strong bonds. The soother is taught to construct a psychic realm
shared in their consciousness and that of the psychoborg. There, the psychoborg
can unleash all of his bloodthirsty urges, usually with the soothers as the
victims. Soothers can be any major or master psionic class, as long as they
have sensitive powers (so a major psionic with physical or healer powers could
not be a Soother). They also receive military training, usually with a focus on
scouting, espionage and sniper skills, to better work with the Psychoborg's
heavy assault combat training. Use the military empath OCC to create a standard
Soother.
Somehow,
amazingly, this develops an incredibly strong bond....so strong that one of the
reasons these duos are so deadly in combat is because they want to get back to
their own private psychic world as quickly as possible. Thus, in the field,
they can be bitter, callous and tempermental the longer they have to stay in
the "real world." As soon as possible, the couple retreat to their
chambers and into their private psychic realm of, one would presume, horrors.
What is really confusing to the Inquisition is that the psychics who are
victimized in these worlds night after night by their combat partners are the
ones who seem most eager to return.
Theories on this
abound, but the predominant one is that because they are psychically bound, the
psychic begins getting pleasure feedback from the experiences of the cyborg. So
if a psychic handler (usually called a Soother) is forced to bond with a
rapist, even though they are the victim in the psychic world day after day,
they also get the exact same rush of both physical and mental stimulation as
the monster they are bound to. But the cyborg has been used to these urges for
years, the psychic has not...and becomes addicted.
The one reason this theory
hasn't become accepted as fact is simple: imagine having someone torture you to
death, night after night, and there is no escape. Now imagine you become
addicted to the experience. You even go into battle at the side of your
tormentor. Think about what that would do to your state of mind.
The truth is that the
Inquisition doesn't want to admit that while it appears that they've tamed
psychopaths, murderers and rapists and turned them into bloodthirsty soldiers
defending humanity, they also may have given them a cadre of well-trained
psychics who are being bent into something even worse.
As long as the
psychoborgs and their psychic soothers fight alien enemies, the Inquisition
sees no problem. But they have begun to dread the thought of peace....and tens
of thousands of these pairs being idle with nowhere to unleash their murderous
tendencies.
The
Templars
These are the elite
stormtroopers of the Inquisition. They are loyal, dedicated and well-trained.
Unlike most of the regular troops, largely made up of conscripted prisoners,
all Templars are volunteers chosen for their dedication to the Inquisition's
cause. They often work in strike teams headed by an Inquisitor to tackle
special threats. Use the Hired Gun O.C.C. They can be any M.O.S., depending on
their assignment. Some are specifically trained as bodyguards for Inquisitors.
Others are trained in reconnaissance or even
mechanized infantry. Standard gear includes the Templar Armor, which is
virtually identical to the Knight heavy body armor, and the 2407 Espalda
12.77mm Assault Rocket Rifle and the Abdicator Heavy Plasma pistol.
Base
of Operations: The Alhambra Star Fortress, located in
deep space between the Fortress Worlds of Salvation and Redemption.
Sphere
of Influence: Hyperion Sector of the Terran
Protectorate
Membership:
Humans only, mostly Ares-Draconis, Proletaran and Hannu clan members.
Activities:
Patrolling the Terminus Line and defending against incursions from the Sea of
Dead Stars.
Goals:
Defend humanity from alien invasion.
Resources:
The entire sector's resources are virtually at the Inquisition's disposal,
giving it the equivalent of two sector fleets and 800 marine regiments.