Axis Order

The Axis Order
Taking to the stars in 2171, the Axis Order had established a small spacefaring empire when they meet the militaristc Bench Press Empire in 2221. Unprepared and overwhelmed by the BPE forces, the Axis Order was unable to defend itself against the onslought and had to give up their frontier systems. The war, especially the terrific massacre of Yun-Yun, traumatized the Order and significantly shaped their development for the rest of the century. Now believing that only power was able to achieve the goals they strifed for, the Order adopted a new militaristic stance to secure its interest. The Order also begann to expand eastwards, colonizing new systems and entering into an Alliance with other empires, which would later form the Enlightened Covenant. After defeating the Bench Press Empire in the crussade, the Axis Order rose to become the dominant power of the region, welcoming the 23th century as a golden era for the Covenant and the Order.

The 24th century was, for the most part, an era in which the Axis Order returned to an passive stance. Of course they still aided the Covenant in spreading its influence and it continued to wage war against the Eris Order. But it was also during this time of Axis supriority that a new rival in the form of the Leftern Block arose. This rivalary drained the Axis Economy, forcing them to heavily invest into the military because of the insuing arms race. To make matters worse the Andomeda crisis threw the entire galaxy and especially the covenant into disaray.

At the beginning of the 25th century the future of the Axis Order was uncertain and the Hot war devistated the Order and the entire Covenant. More than a few people believed that the Age of the Axis Order was over. Despite this the Axis Order did not give up and pulled itself together. Using their psyonic trancendency they were able to once again rise to the top and safe their hegemony. However they had no time to cellebrate the succesfull managing of the crisis, as the power of the Leftern Block continued to grow and their old enemy, the BPE skyrocketet to the top 10 powers in the galaxy. Going from one crisis into the next, another conflict between the Block and the Coveant begann in 2470. As the tides of war turned to the favor of the Leftern Block once more both parties were forced to form an armistice because TOM suddenly begann to expand and threatened the entire galaxy.

After Tom was finaly defeated in 2523, the Enlightened Coveannt was no more. The Axis Order and its surviving allies joined forces with the remnants of the Leftern Block to form The Alliance, one final federation aiming to restore order in the galaxy. However only about 30 years of peace where granted to the galaxy, as a way more powerfull enemie threatened the galaxy.

History
Numen was, like many of the Covenant planets, litered with the remains of the ancient earth civilisation. Suposedly a minor colony, it did not possess advanced infrastructure or vehicles, yet enough to significantly alter the development of the Axirians compared to a normal evolution.

Recolonization (~15.000 B.R.)
The first archeological findings of Axirian culture, who are most likely descendants of the ancient Earth Civilisation that once colonized Numen, are weapons of war. During the first 10.000 years of Axirian development, during the establishment of the first societies and kingdoms, they would constantly battle each other for artifacts and relics of the Earth Civilisation. Technology and culture progressed slowly, as even in war they depended on old earth weapons.

Global War (~5.000 B.R.)
In 5.000 B.R. a previously unknown vault was openend by an Axirian kingdom. Their technological and military potential skyrocketet and other empires would soon follow their example to reverse engenier earth artifacts. The search for more artifatcs escalated and the endless wars, once fought by small tribes, turned into massacres between kingdoms and empires. It appeared that whenever an end to the fighting seemed near, a new discovery was made, turning the scales and rekindling the fires of war.

The Goddess apears (~500 B.R.)
A very small group of priests called the Order of Axis existed isolated from the war that consumed Numen. They too were blessed with powerfull artifacts, however they did not use them for war. They believed these relicts could be used to achieve the full potential of their race, to transcend the chains of mortality. Indeed they often managed to unlock psyonic powers, and many would join them only to later join the war as incredibly powerfull warriors. Among these priests, there lived a young woman named Aqua. She was extremely talented and clever, even without psyonic powers. However, when she underwent the ritual something truly trascendental happened. The power she obtained was uncomparabel to anything previously seen.

Sometime later she joined the war and would eventually unite Numen under her divine rule. Her rule would sometimes be challenged by radicalists, however she managed to to develop Axirian arts, culture and science and clean up the giant mess left behind by millenia of war,

Modern History (~2.000 A.R.)
Without internal conflict the Axis Order progressed peacefully until they invented hyperdrive in 2179. In 2189, shortly after the Order finished the construction of space based mining stations as well as the permanently habitable Vega Star Base, for the first time in over 80 years the Axis Orders only internal threat, a radical organization known as the Pure Ones, stiked again. However they were quickly dealt with and their leader and his remaining diciples escaped upon their experimantal battleship. After this some voices became loud wanting a stronger military presence, but they were mostly ignored. And so the Axis Order expanded peacefully untill discovering the Bench Press Empire in 2221.

General Physicality
There are no real distinctions between members of the Axirian race. While things like hair colour, skin colour or height might differ, these do not affect their physicality overall and thus the Axis Order does not differentiate between the different phenotypes.

The Axirians originate from the ocean world Numen and as such prefer planets with a high amount of water on its surface. However they can also adopt to different climates rather well, making them the most widespread race within the Covenant and beyond. Axirans can be found in almost every part of the Galaxy, driven by their desire to spread their faith to the stars.

Physically they are fairly average. Many other races would be able to defeat an Axirian in a 1 on 1 brawl as they are neither big nor strong or posess other traits of physicall prowess. Despite this, Axirians are known for their incredible endurance. While they lose in strenght comparrison, most other races would lose to them in terms of stamina. The Axirian perceverance is known througout the Galaxy. This enables them to fight even in extremely hostile situations like the glassing of Yun-Yun.

With the help of modern technology Axirians can easily live up to 100 years of age, some individuals even became as old as 150 years. However between 70-80 years of age Axirians usually become unfit for physical work, with health related problems often arriving even before that age.

In terms of intelligence the Axirians are quite good, but still pale in comparrison to some of the smarter races of the galaxy.

Genders and Procreation
Axirians have like most races two genders. Woman are usually physically weaker and less agressive and are the ones giving birth. Men are seen as the more expandable but physically stronger gender to perform dangerous and hard tasks. However, gender differeneces of Axirians are not as big as in some other races, leading to a rather unisexual culture where for examples woman in military or leadership position is seen as the norm.

Axirians can reproduce at a speed of around 1 child per year. The normal Axis family has somewhere between 3-6 children, depending on the will of the mother. Childless couples are rather rare, but this is more of a cultural phenomenon.

Axirians need 18 years to achieve maturity, allthough it is not too uncommon for Axirians to become soldiers, workers or mothers at the age of 16 or even below.

Psyonic Abilities
Axirians are among the few races of the galaxy that have achieved spiritual transcendance and arguably the strongest one. This has lead to a general higher rate of hapiness and unity between all Axirians and also enabled them to do some incredible things. Powerfull psyonics that for example can use their powers to counter their physical inferiority are however quite rare, most Axirians only passivly take part in their psyonic power. It is believed that only 1% of Axirians are latent Psyonics.

Family & Children
Families and expecially mothers have a high standing within Axirian society. As the Church and Government are constantly promoting child birth and procreation as neccesary duty for the Order and even as a form of worship, the birth rate within the Axis Order is quite high. Children are seen as the future of the Order and the next generation of worshippers, as such the Axis Order puts a lot of effort into educating and properly raising the children. Because woman are an essential part of the work force within the Axis Order, mothers are allowed to stay at home and care for their children. However, most mothers return to work after a few years and leave their offsprings in the care of state care centers, where their kids are being cared for and educated. Axis Order care centers are among the galaxies best.

Day to Day life
Worship plays a key role in Axirian society. Children are being religiously educated from an early age and religious holidays or events are celebrated across the entire Order. After religion, the military is the next most important institution withis the Axis Order. After their terrible defeat in the first contact war the military has significantly increased its influencea and turned the Axis Order into an incredibly militarised society. Due to their believes that everyone has a purpose and has to sacrifice himself for the Order if need be, Axis Cultist not only live in a harmonious and hardworking society, they also display a terrifying amount of tenacity when defending their territory of enforcing their religious doctrines. Axirians are known to work under extreme conditions with very few compensation for years on end when the Order is in a war, enabling the Government to redirect massive amounts of ressources to the front lines if need be.

Not only are the Axirians a widespread race in the galaxy, they also host a lot of other races on their worlds. With the spreading of the Axis Faith throughout the galaxy, more and more civilians seek to live in the Order under the divine mandat of Aqua. The harmonious ideals and the strong military presence on most colonies makes conflict or unrest almost unheard of.

The Axis Order is an incredible wellfare state. Being one of the largest economies in the galaxy, they direct massive founds towards infrastructure, education and healthcare. Living a harmonious life is the highest ideal in the Axis Order and as such the wellbeing and happiness of its citizens is a top priority. With the Order having withstood many crisis and secured a top position in the galactic ranking, many parts of Axirian society have returned to thier once peacefull lifestyle, perhaps too peacefull as some critics say.

However the amount of consumer goods used by the average Axirian household is often below the galactic average. That is mostly so because the use of large amounts of consumer goods is frowned upon as a hedonistic and hertical act, disrupting the modest and hardworking lifestyle promoted by the Order.

Religion
Religion is of utmost importance to the Axis Order, the word of their Goddess is seen as infallible. Outsiders are often confused by the Axis religion and believe they worship multiple gods, but this is not true. The only deity of the Axis Order is Aqua, however the way of worship differs from planet to planet. While a materialistic and science based world sees Aqua as a Messenger of science and progress a military world would describe her as a goddess of war and the most powerfull warrior of all time while a pacifist planet sees her as a patron of peace and prosperity. These different iterations are known as Aspects of Aqua.

Example of Architecture
Axirian Architecture is among the galaxies fanciest and prettiest and its temples and religious buildings are considered the most beautifull in the galaxy.

Type
The entire Axis order is based around the state belief of Aqua. All political powers lies with the God-Empress. Colonial matters are usually handled by the local Archpiests and Governors. The military, which also developed enorm power within the Order, is under the the direct command of the God-Empress. The Order is extremely centralized, also due to advanced communication techniques, and seperation of power is very uncommon.

Leader
For more than 2.000 years Aqua has remained the unquestioned ruler of the Axis Order. Her governance is assited by the Axirian High council, whose members are selected by Aqua. Its is the highest constitution in the Axis government and its leader, the Axis high counselor, has often been discribed as the right hand of Aqua.

Critique
The Axis Order is often critiqued as far too authoritarian by the Teachers Entente. They have also been called out for their distrust of technology, even going as far as breaking the galactic law. Their dominierung behaviour, especially regarding the spread of their religion, has often attracted concerned voices from all around the galaxy.

General
At the height of its power from 2340-2386 the Axis Order military could easily be called the best in the galaxy. However after the Andromeda panic and the following wars and crises the Axis Order along with the entire Enlightened Covenant sprilaled down into economic depression, technological stagnation, military incompetence and civil unrest. It was a miracle that the didn´t completely collapse, a miracle for which the Axis Order God-Empress Aqua is in great part responsible for. After leading the Coveanant through half a century of devastastation, in the 2420´s Aqua also begann a succesfull rebuilding of the Covenant Forces, especially the Axis Order military. The main military race of the Covenant are the Axirians, with the Axis Order also owning the largest army. Military is highly valued within the Order, but not to a degree on part with for example the BPE. Military service is considered one of the highest forms of worship within the Axis Order, as such every Axirians has to undergo 5 years of state service between 16-25 years of age. Most Axirians choose to undergo the basic military training, but alternativly one can also work in the alloy foundries, research assisatant or one of many other proffesions that are part of the military. Because of the manadatory military service the Axis Order has a giant pool of militarized citizens it can quickly use to bolster its forces in case of war.

Numbers
Hosting the largest fleet in the Coveant and the second largest in the Galactic Commonwealth, the Axis Fleet has an estiamted power of 481K and 18.260 Billion military personal, out of which around 3.5 Billion are offensive armies. Their Fleet composition is quite balanced in technology and ship variety. The Axis Order Fleets are split into 7 different fleets:

Technology
The Axis Order Fleets are quite technologically advanced. Due to them constanly being upgraded all of the Axis ships are in a comparable state. Due to Zermon´s reforms most Axis Ships are equiped with additional thrusters, making them quick to move and the Axis Armada one of the fastest fleets in the galaxy.

Their Fleets are used for a multitude of tasks, in contrats to empires such as Stahal Influence, whose fleets only purpose is to defeat TOM ships. Axis ships ofen have large ground forces inside them that are used to either board ships or land troops on enemy territory without having to wait for the slower and weakly defended transport ships. However this can lead to negative effects on their fighting strenght in space combat as room that could be used for more weapons or shild capacitators is wasted. So while the ship standard is quite versitily, Axis Ships can quickly be upgraded to dramatically increase their strenght for an immediate task, due to their standardized and easy to modify ship building style. However this also means that it is easy for enemies to identify Axis ships weaknesses as all their ships are build the same way.

Physics research was always the weakest part of the Covenant scientific progress. Because of this many ships even today have adopted ways to work around their deficits that are still used today even after the Schlong integration dramatically boosted their physics research. For example are Axis Corvettes equiped with Rockets instead of Lasers like most other empires. They also abbandoned standard shields in favour of Psyoinic barriers which have been discovered due to their great progress in society research. This also means that on every Axis Ship several powerfull psyonics must be present, which is partly responsible for the manadtory drafting of powerfull psyoinics within the Order.

It is rumored that the Axis Order is currently constructing a great Flagship that could easily outmatch any Titan and even jump through space due to a powerfull psyoinic jumpdrive. However it would still take years until a Ship of the size its rumored to be could be build, even with that Axis Order focusing most of their ressources on it.

Ground Forces
Unlikeike their fleets the Axis Order military is based upon kinetic projectile weapons. To compensate for their physical weakness when compared to some other races they use a multitude of vehicles for both ground and air combat to overwhelm their enemies. Like most races of the Covenant their equipment is mostly produced by the Schwebtrons, with them using the Axis Order modification to best fit their biology. With the Schwebtrons being among the top developers and producers in military affairs and additional weapons provided by the Order itself as well as the highly competent military leadership in combination with the Axirian tenacity in battle they are truly a force to be reckoned with.

One of the few realms within the EC where Schwebtron Manufactoring has no influence on are the Axis Order elite units. While the so called "Battle Angels" become obsolete in battle after their psyonic awakening and now only serve as a part of the Inquisition, the new Axis Elites are all very powerfull psyonic warriors. They do not report to the military but only to the Goddess herself, as they are more warrior monks than soldiers. There are many knight orders spread across all worlds of the Covenant and beyond, however only the most skilled are allowed to join the elite forces known as the Knights of Aqua. They are divided into many different special branches with a multitude of ranks, however the Axis Harbringers are the absolutely most powerfull psyonic warriors in the galaxy and the Axis Elite. Many Harbringers or those who had potential to become one have died, either due to the wars or other catastrophies like the Hertoz Incident, in which eighty Harbringers found their demise. Today their number is sad to have recovered beyond one hundred.

Psyonic
The Psyonic Trancendance of the Axis Order has changed also its military. Besides adopting shroud based technology such as psyonic shields or the divine enforcer their basic combat skill aslo has increased. Telepathy allows small squads to operate extremely efficient and without the danger of being wiretapped. Also every Axis Fleet flagship is equiped with a powerfull messenger who is able to recieve direct commands from Aqua without dying like a normal Cultist would. As such the fleets can recieve direct uninterceptable messenges in an instant, allowing for much faster movement. After recieving an Order a Messenger is usually out of action for at least one month due to the heavy strain it puts on his body and mind.

More powerfull Axis Soldiers can also produce small barriers around themselfs to protect them or use telekenisis, and in rare cases other powers such as cloud lighting or a bost to their physical skills, to fight better.

Conflicts
Axis Order - Bench Press Empire First Contact War (2221 - 2226)

Enlightened Covenant Crussade (2282-2317)

Polkanian Baptism of fire (2275-2280) 

eris Order War

Prikitiki-Ti Containment Effort (2356-2398) !

Schlong Assmilation Campaign (2366-2369)

Teachers Entete Liberation War (2396-2411)

Hot War (2410-2423)

Block-Covenant Escalation (2470-2473)

Tom Containment Conflict (2473 - 2523)

Notable Axis Cultist
Grand Admiral Kazuma

"Reaper" Gallahan Clain, BA-246

Minister of Naval Affairs Zermon Matros

Grand Admiral someone important, saviour of man, masterchief "demon shepheard