The Icon

The Icon by Ed Pastry
Prelude Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 3-ish Chapter 4
Discussion thread 1 Discussion thread 2

A quest following a small human battle squadron under the command of Admiral Argus Ductor which escaped the attack that annihilated Earth. Under Ductor's guidance, a few thousand surviving humans are trying to scratch out a new home. However, the ruling forces of the known universe pursue them, and their settlement functions under constant threat of extinction.

This article contains spoilers! You were warned.

Reference

Construction Information Panels

The Icon Construction Data

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  Master list of buildings

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  Master list of vehicles and goods

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  Small Buildings

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  Medium Buildings pt1

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  Medium Buildings pt2

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  Medium Buildings pt3

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  Large Buildings

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  Combat Vehicles pt1

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  Combat Vehicles pt2

Races

^{[TODO: pretty pictures of the non-humans]}

Humans

^{[TODO: anything different from baseline humans to note?]}

Nautil

The only sentient beings created by humanity. Molluscs with spiral shells, much smaller than a human. Created by accident, they are legally recognised as equals to Man and recognized by the governments of the world as equals to humanity. They tend to be intelligent, optimistic, and slightly weird in the head.^[ref]

Breakers

File:Theicon-breaker.png

Angular bastards with a relgious fervour and literally god-given technology which they are forbidden to ever improve. Native to the Mortal Universe, like Humans. Work as the police and military in an alliance (an empire known as Zaj, "Union of Four", or "Quadrium") with three other species: the Makers (builders and craftsmen), Keepers (service and maintenance), and Bringers (leaders and priests).^[ref] Carnivorous. They have less brain mass than humans do, but are around as intelligent due to the fact that they sacrifice the capacity for complex emotions or creativity, as well as saving brain space due to having no sense of smell.^[ref]

Gesters

Land-based octopode-like creatures that communicate with arm gestures, hence the human name. Don't understand spoken communication. Fairly isolationist and peaceful hunter-gathers forming small, tight-knit tribes.^[ref]

Ghatung Gadderunhg (Dryads, Storks)

Gecko-headed spindly hippies. Caste system with mystics at the top and the non-magically-gifted working as peasant labourers. About as strong as a human with a basic strength augmentation, despite inferior muscles. Sharper sense of eyesight and smell than humans and more agile, but rather poor hand-eye coordination.^[ref]

They can cast a diverse range of magic spells, which involves directing energy flowing in from some sentient extrauniversal entity. Their charged shots can down human gunships and APCs, and fire spells can kill infantry. Their mages are colour-coded by power, from the capeless, through purple capes, up to red.^[ref]

Corporate Shrimp

^{[TODO: name]}

Snarren (Poodles)

Wolf furries. Noble warriors who understand the importance of teamwork, and for whom fighting is instinctive. No technology, originated in the Mystical Universe.^[ref] Yet somehow they've been attacking using powerful personal sheilds in what is basically a infantry rush.

Kotogotoshii

Not yet encountered. Divine Universe. Incredibly swift and agile, innate magic, look like humans. Oh god, it's the Eldar.^[ref]

Universes and Systems

^{[TODO: artifact disc icons for each?]}

Mortal Universe

Salamis A

Marginal planets with basic lifeforms and a few useful materials.

Cadmus A

Contains a planet with nearly earthlike conditions and many useful materials, but also seems to contain tribal-level sentients (the Gesters). Site of Monument and Slater colonies.

Cadmus B

Desolate of life-bearing planets but surely contains quantities of extremely valuable superconductors.

Unknown Second Universe

UA

White dwarf star, no planets.

UB

Main sequence yellow star, several planets. Strong radio chatter: advanced non-Breaker civilization is present ^{[TODO: name of the corporate shrimp?]}.

UC

Red Dwarf, four planets with metal, one also has uranium, and another superconductors.^[ref]

UD

Main sequence orange star, several planets. Picking up some signals identical to the one the Anomaly emits when activated. Contains the Dryads. Site of New Monument, Ryxix and Irontown colonies.

^[ref]

Colonies

Monument and Slater

Built on islands on the Gester planet, named Ithaka by Humans. Self-nuked when the planet was abandoned to flee a Breaker invasion force.

New Monument

Built in a tiny clearing in the forest of the Dryad planet, Greztghakhri, between a group of their settlements and the anomaly. Abandoned after the native life started breaking down the walls.

Ryxix

Built in the barren deserts of the Dryad planet.

Irontown

Built on the moon of the Dryad planet.

The Anomalies

^{[TODO: findings; discs etc., in particular summarise the bit about how you programme the destination]}

Research Tree

Available Tech

Breaker Plague (250)

Develops a disease that afflicts only Breakers. Effectiveness of potential disease is unknown.

Special: Requires one hundred Breaker test subjects.

Genetic Engineering V (405)

Reduces death from implants by %100 and COMMANDO training to %50 and makes genetically engineering new species even more efficient.

Special: Requires construction of a Biotronics Facility (an expensive superproject-like structure which must be staffed and powered while research is occurring; the facility does not contribute in any other way, so no more than one is necessary).

Computing Systems IV (90)

Unlocks more drone types. Increases drone intelligence.

Improved Motors (60)

Improves the power of strength implants and power armor.

Neural Implants (140)

Allows implants to be placed directly in the central nervous system. These will increase learning speed and memory. Further research can allow them to do more.

Plasma Weaponry (150)

Humanity's answer to Breaker plasma-based weaponry. It is cheaper and consumes no SC when being used. It is less potent than even railguns when penetrating heavy armor, but is excellent against lighter targets and is expected to be even more effective against shields than either Breaker weapons or Warpslug weapons.

Warpslug Cannon (150)

These weapons fire kinetic slugs just like current standard human weapons, but instead of using electromagnetic fields or a chemical charge to propel the ammunition, they use a greatly simplified FTL engine to accelerate the slug to incredible speeds.

Warp Tech III (225)

Allows yet another upgrade to ship speed. All ships will have to be upgraded separately, and they're all still at Warp I.

Galt Culture (36)

Unveils the history and technology of the alien civilization on UB.

Special: We will need to give them our cultural information (or lie about it) in exchange to research this technology.

Planetary Research: <Unnamed> (20)

Provides reports on the planet's biology, geography, meteorology and other bits of useful information.

Plot

Prelude

Totus^{[TODO: upload picture]}, a godlike creature, decides to 'mercifully' euthenise humans by sending one of the 'pure' species of multiverse to annihilate them, and decides upon the Breakers. Earth's crust is burnt by heavy orbital bombardment, but a small group of human ships---Splinter---escape.

Chapter 1

Under Ductor's guidance, the surviving humans settle on an alien planet, dubbed Ithaka. They rebuild as best they can, but are ultimately discovered by a Breaker patrol- and while they destroy it, it seems certain that more will come eventually.

Chapter 2

The Splinter gathers their population back onto their ships and flees through the mysterious Anomaly, which allows transportation between universes. They bring a few of the native Gesters who wished to join along with them. The Splinter resettles on Gretz, a planet inhabited by a race called Dryads who expect the Splinter to cause great destruction for them- and whose society is thrown into upheaval as the oppressed underclasses seize human technology to revolt.

Chapter 3

A massive war rages between the Splinter and the Dryad rulers, with the Dryads deploying powerful and alien magics to counter the massive Splinter technological advantage. Dryad rebels are backed by the Splinter to the great advantage of both, but while the Splinter wins most engagements with the Dryad leaders, lack of resources and continual escalation to ever more powerful magics makes slow defeat seem inevitable. Ultimately, the Splinter is forced to withdraw from the planet before yet another Breaker fleet, taking some of the Dryad rebels with them and leaving the rest to their fate.

ITQ

Appearances by the cast Inside the Quest.

ITQ: [1] [2]

See also

The Cursor, a parody by Cockhole