The Icon

The Icon by Ed Pastry
Prelude Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
Discussion

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

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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

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  Research Panel

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]}

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.