The Ubian-Ska'ari Accord

"Long live the King! Long live the Accord!"
-Old Accordite War Cry, circa. 2100 Human Calender



On first glance, an Accordite (Person originating of the Accord) can be passed off as a human, or some other extraterrestrial race. This is not so, as the Accord is composed of two shapeshifting races with their own set of merits and flaws.

Ska'ari
Composing of half the Accord, the Ska'ari race is akin that of crustaceans on Earth; an adult Ska'ari has an average length of 2.5 meters long by 0.75 meters wide, covered by a heavy carapace stretching a meter, covering its head and upper back. Its lower back is plated with sturdy but thinner tergite ending in a fairly large swimming tail fin. Combined with 18 legs, the Ska'ari had absolute mobility underwater compared to other native aquatic races on their home planet, save for the Ubians.

The muscle structure of a Ska'ari is, for sure, one of the most complex and fragile found in nature. Coupling increased muscle density (x3 that of a human) with an endoskeletal structure seemingly crafted to give additional torsion to the muscle structure. This combined natural armor and muscle mass gives the Ska'ari a staggering amount of weight, often four to five times that of a well-built, fit human. Though, of course, weight means little in the waters where the Ska'ari are native to.

The strength of a Ska'ari are, without a doubt, its absolute, brute strength. Much like the Mantis Shrimp native to Earth, a Ska'ari possesses two boxer-arms composed of a tough crystalline substance that is resistant to damage even when under thousands, sometimes reaching to the ten thousands range, of applied Newtons per Square Meter of pressure. The Ska'ari use this powerful boxing tool to deliver punches of enormous magnitudes, able to destroy civilian vehicles with ease and damage (to an extent) various light military vehicles, and partially vaporize lightly-armored enemies in just one hard blow. This gives them a crushing amount of power from a punch that no infantry armor can truly protect from, though these punches require a chargeup time. Added with their agility under the waves, the Ska'ari may not rule the waves, but comes very close to ruling everything under that threshold. As well, the Ska'ari are gifted with the natural art of shapeshifting, allowing them to take the physical outer form of any other race they may encounter, or to that of an original creature.

Natural flaws to the Ska'ari are their aforementioned weight. They become very sluggish on land without the aid of their shapeshifting, and the shapeshifting is both time-consuming and painful (Read: Passing a bladder stone). This makes the Ska'ari transition from land to sea and vice versa a very inefficient one, and obviously undesirable one. Lastly, what the Ska'ari have developed in the body, has been drained from the development of the brain. A Ska'ari is either under-average in weight and strength and above-average in intelligence, or regular weight and strength with fairly low intelligence. Such has been the case, and will be for the foreseeable future.

Ubian

Composing of the other half of the yin-yang Accord, the octopi-like Ubians also have the blessing of shapeshifting though at the cost of not having any sort of skeletal structure whatsoever. The average Ubian is three meters in length when fully stretched out, tendrils included. Its ten tendrils account for 67% of the Ubians' total length. As well, when humanoid, they are often shorter than their human counterpart yet still as heavy as one.

The muscle structure of an Ubian is more awkward due to its lack of a skeleton, both of the external and internal kind. Though they are stronger by muscle on average when compared to a human, the lack of skeletal torsion that other biological beings enjoy makes the Ubians generally weaker than humans. This does not mean they are actually weaker than a human, as an Ubian is still more than capable of lifting more weight than humans or snapping the neck of some poor guy.

The prime advantages of an Ubian is that, with its lack of a skeleton, it's more free to crawl into areas and spaces that no other person could even sanely think of fitting in. As well, the Ubians have far more superior shapeshifting capabilities than the lumbering aquatic tanks of the Ska'ari, being able to transform rather freely on the fly with reasonable speed and without an inch of the pain the Ska'ari have to endure.

Their main disadvantages IS the fact that they have no skeletal structure. Outside of water an Ubian will feel forever awkward due to the ever-loving pull of a planet's gravity. As well, they do NOT receive blunt attacks well, due to the lack of a skeletal structure to absorb part of the impact, leaving the Ubians as the lighter of roles within the Accord.

Governmental Structure

The Accord is headed by a King. The King is voted in after the passing of a previous king by selection by the Heads of the Four Houses (More on that below). Once voted in, the King has absolute power and that power can be only disrupted by either the voting of two of four of the Houses for a Royal Review, or the vote of three of four for the King to abdicate. This system of voting in and potential of voting out is also used for the head of the Four Houses.
The Four Houses are divided up as such so that each House can oversee one section of the Accord, effectively becoming the four pillars that composes of Accord internal affairs. The Four Houses are as follow:

-   -Irving; the largest and most well-funded of the four Houses, the House of Irvin commands all of the aspects of the Military of the Accord. As such, Irving is the most prestigious of the Four Houses.
-   -Genoa; the second-largest house charged with the administration of everything industrial within the Accord. Unofficially, the House of Genoa also administrates trade and the civilian command structure, making the House of Genoa the backbone of the Accord.
-   -Belashi; the third-largest house that is responsible for the medicine and medical knowledge of the Accord. Belashi collaborates greatly with the House of Stanford below.
-   -Stanford; the smallest house that oversees all scientific progress in the Accord. They get a large portion of funding from the House of Irving to produce new theory or technology on potential new weapons, and collaborates with Belashi to attain more medical and biological knowledge.

Culture
Accord Culture is very central to their military, which is why the House of Irving is considered so prestigious. From a young age, each citizen of the Accord is trained in informal military drills as a mandatory part of their education. It is also passed down, by word of mouth and unofficial documents, that there is a special order named "Order 260", in which it is the duty of the people to rise in revolt of a tyrannical leader that is accidentally voted into power, in the case that said leader usurps total, uncontrolled power.

Strength of standing united is also stressed in Accordite Culture. Since the times of their rough history before the formation of the Accord, the Ska'ari and Ubian races proudly stand side by side as brothers thanks to Kyndon's teachings.

Major Holidays:
-EVE OF THE LIBERATION; A celebration to the night when Kyndon's Liberation came to and end in total success, usurping the tyrannical Caleri. Hosted yearly.
-MIDSUMMER HARVEST; A celebration to the first (former) harvest of the year. While no longer timed correctly with the harvests on the planets, this is a festival that has been hosted before Kyndon was born.

History
The origins of the Ska'ari and Ubian races are from a planet whose surface composed of 83% water. On this warm, lush planet, the two races, alongside many others both sentient and non-sentient thrived. The planet was named Harvest due to it being the cradle of the two races.

Unfortunately for all of the other races, the Ska'ari race was notoriously violent. Genetically designed to survive by dominating local species, the Ska'ari race foraged around the globe, dominating and enslaving other races. It was during this Period of Enslavement that the Ska'ari rapidly developed new technologies to turn against each other--their genes demand them to assert their authority, and with none others to oppose them, the Ska'ari have turned on themselves.

While odd, the Accord began developing technology far ahead of themselves; their technological advancement began to greatly outstrip their basic and backwards social order. As such, before the fall of the Eternal Winter, the Accord have built a 400-man space station using the most basic of techniques while, planetside, the various Ska'ari nations were waging a slow, costly equivalent of a trench war.

The Birth of the Accord came at a time where every species of Harvest came to near extinction. A madman dictator by the name of Caleri Kesspol launched his newest science-created weapon; the atomic bomb in the thousands. The attack completely terminated whatever resistance there was to Caleri's now-singular empire, as a young Ska'ari defied all odds to make his mark on history...

Following the absolute nuking of Caleri's enemies, an eternal nuclear winter settled on Harvest. Species upon species on the once-lush planet went extinct as the temperature dropped, and as the days got darker and shorter. The numbers of the Ska'ari and Ubians combined numbered only in the ten millions. Realizing this path will only end in the deaths of everyone, a young Ska'ari by the name of Kyndon Hefklai rose up in defiance of the insane Emperor. Support for Kyndon surged as he dodged attack after assasination, evaded arrest after security invasion. Not once did Kyndon yield, and with the help of the people, Kyndon overthrew the insane Emperor in what would be called Kyndon's Liberation.

Pooling what resources were left, the Ska'ari and Ubians worked together not as master and slave, but as brother and sister, salvaging what they could to survive and thrive. In this new era, Kyndon wrote what would be the foundations of the Ska'ari-Ubian Accord, making amends for all the wrongdoings of the Ska'ari race, and a new line of philosophy to ensure that the Ubians never be enslaved again.

These amends and philosophy is now named as the Words of Revolution. From them birthed the concept of the Accord, and the final drive to unlock space and its bounties. The year of first colonization was 1942 on the Earth Calender.

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Military Tactics
The tactics of the Accord tend to favor direct attacks, quick strikes, and rapid counterattacks to fight their enemy. Their flexible defense allows them to move as they wish, and their powerful units ensure that they will only be on the defensive for so long. When in formation, the Accord attacks can become overwhelming and can shatter enemy defenses in a matter of hours.

Ranks
-Flion
-Gistion
-Nesvashi
-Akshi
-Helanox
Special:
-Viscount
-Knight

Infantryman
Relying on basic, but very very durable equipment, the common infantryman is a highly trained professional soldier that can utilize martial arts in conjunction with their rifle to outright devastate their opponents. Physically superior to most races with the discipline to work in tight formations, the basic infantryman is still a terrifying force on the battlefield regardless of number.


Assault Engineer
Trained in the fine art of assault and demolitions, engineers are fearsome yet fragile units within the Ska'ari military. While they can indeed tear down entire buildings, devastate whole squadrons and bring down aerial craft, their unique appearance makes them a keen target for snipers and marksmen.


VH2801(L) "Panther" Medium Battle Tank
Incredibly fast and agile, the VH3600(L) excels at flanking and destroying the enemy's position as well as rapid response to an enemy attack. The multiple sloped surfaces and installed anti-tracking systems allow the VH2801(L) to be able to fight as it is or stall the enemy long enough for the larger guns to catch up.


VH3801(H) "Tiger" Heavy Battle Tank
An extremely heavily armored medium tank with massive caliber and powerful armor. Though slow, the VH3601(H) is a highly maneuverable tank and excels at holding the lines against innumerable odds. Nothing is better at defending any installation, structure, or battle front than the VH3601(H).


VH6000(B) "Lowe" Battlestation
A tank in Ska'ari standards, a living nightmare to fight in human standards. The Battlestation is essentially an overarmed and oversized tank, this model even capable of sending enemy gunships into the ground. Few things can match the Battlestation, yet the weapons that can match the Battlestation can easily decimate these behemoths.


Dragonfly Atmospheric Fighter
Able to perform any role in the skies whether it be gunship or strike fighter, the Dragonfly can do any role exceptionally well. The Dragonfly is not an especially fast fighter nor an especially powerful one, but it has amazing maneuverability that would be otherwise be called impossible, and it has an additional ability that can be rather unexpected; this streamline craft is built to swim.


Stingray Space Fighter
A multi-purpose strike fighter built to favor bombing Capital ships, the individual Stingray is relatively harmless in itself but is notorious for their "wolfpacks" of six. With their loose formations, a bombing run could wreck devastation on the weapons of any capital ship.

So a bit of Ska'ari history for those lore-lovers on the forum.



The Ska’ari’s homeworld used to be a lush grassland-type world located off to one side of the universe. Highly fertile with sizable seas, mild climate, huge mountain chains rich in valuable materials and covered by massive glaciers, and plenty of rivers, this world is even more ideal than Earth though lacking variety.

After learning how to farm and raise domesticated animals, the Ska’ari were off to a booming start. They quickly started mining the riches of their mountains and, even quicker than the humans, began their iron age, quickly followed by the discovery of steam, leading straight into the heart of the industrial revolution. Unfortunately all this was done so quick they never had time to stabilize their governments and, after the discovery of Atomic bombs, almost destroyed their own kind in nuclear fire.

Kyndon led the liberation of all Ska'aris and the then-enslaved Ubians to a new future under a enw government: The Accord, led by Ventauu, the future first king of the Accord King Ventauu I the Great.


Harvest
The Ska'ari homeworld, the planet has been bombed to oblivion from nuclear arms at the turn of their Industrial Age. Now, all cities have been relocated underground as fortune seekers, historians, and young explorers alike prowl the surface to find any historical remnants or artifacts of the Old Age.

Viscounts of the Accord


Viscount-Elites Emblem

The Viscounts are the Elite fighting force of the Accord, having a constant manpower of 800,000. Each Viscount is hand-picked by High Command when a spot opens up, usually choosing experienced, battle-hardened veterans for the role. The Viscount force is expected to be competent in all weaponry and expertise, so asides from the usual upgraded military training, Viscount candidates are also put through rigorous academic training.

Training for a Viscount could take anywhere from two years to five years, and the fatality rate of Viscount training averages at about 40% of all trainees. Those who survive, but fail the course, are returned to the regular military, usually with military honors. Rarely, there are some individuals promoted straight to the rank of Viscount after proving their worth on the field. Those kinds of Viscounts are the most dangerous; the ones born for the fight, thirsty for a good battle.




211st Skysurfer Division


S-Model Skysurfer Mechanized Suit
With some of the best shielding a mechanized suit can offer, thrusters that can keep you in the air for an hour on end, and a massive cannon that most Ska'ari have, this suit essentially turns the pilot into the infantry equivalent of a gunship. However, there is one fatal weakness that can turn a Skysurfer into a flying bomb...

Making up over two-thirds of the total Ska'ari Commandants, the Skysurfers were first created at the start of the Ascionic Wars. The Division steadily grew in fame and skill as they progressed, claiming some of the first Ska'ari-based victories against the Downworlders. During the Final Stand, the Skysurfers took the lead, fighting alongside Sir Kyndon, fighting all the way through the Downworlder's Front Lines but were forced to retreat once the Between Zones were activated.

The majority of the Skysurfers are frozen in cryo cells, and will be reactivated for any large-scale conflicts. Of the 13,000 Skysurfers that survived the Final Stand, 10,000 are in cryo cells. Currently there are now another 6,000 new Skysurfers, well-trained but with little combat experience, making it a total of 19,000 Skysurfers ready for combat.

The Accord's ships are from designs hundreds of years old, but still effective in their roles. Their ships, at their prime, are said to be able to survive being outnumbered five-to-one and survive. Either way, Ska'ari ships are very powerful and a great asset to whoever they are supporting, despite their obvious numerical shortcomings of their rather diminutive fleet.



Kapishi Destroyer
The destroyers of the Accord function as multitasked strike ships, responsible for terminating smaller crafts such as fighters and bombers as wel as ship terrorizers. The Kapishi Frigates are literally the backbone of the Accord fleet, as they protect the larger and vital ships from enemy fighters and bombers while being able to inflict heavy damage on ships often larger than the destroyers are. These small craft are most deadly in its infamous wolf-packs.


Valenspire Starship
A ship capable of fighting off anything from fighters to battlecruisers, Valenspire Starships are the second most plentiful ships behind the Kapishi Destroyers. They can be used as anti-ship cruisers, orbital bombardment crafts, and instant dropship deployment platforms. The ship also fares extremely well against other ships of relative class, able to soak up incredible amounts of punishment while returning it, en mass, to its targeted, unfortunate enemy.


Geneva Carrier
Twice the length of the Valenspire Starship, this carrier can fit in a thousand fighters and/or bombers and still have enough room for the pilots, crew, and enough supplies to sustain everyone for a year-long mission. Carriers in the Accord military can also serve as supply transports, as their size and space will surely make this a great cargo ship. Accord carriers are difficult to build but just a few of these can deal very impressive amounts of damage to the enemy VIA the fighters and/or bombers.


Kompatu Siege Cruiser
One of the most scare ships asides from Royal Cruisers, the massive cannon they bolster can crush any non-capital ships with one direct hit, shields and hull, not always destroying the target but defiantly crippling it for the rest of the battle. This sheer power, however, comes at a huge disadvantage; it has a slow reload rate of 6 shots/minute, it's slow in terms of speed (Though not as slow to aim and fire), and it has little to defend itself with. However, if placed at the rear of a fleet and used to snipe strategic enemy ships from afar, a couple of these ships can make a difference.


Necclom Dreadnought-Flagship
Named after one of their most famed kings, the Necclom dreadnought-flagship is the most mighty craft of the entire Accord's navy. A massive, boisterous craft that is truly fit for a king, or for his royal cohorts, the Necclom Dreadnought-Flagship often does not lead the battle, but is certainly not afraid to get into some scrapings; its numerous guns make up for a lack of outright damage. Wherever there's a Necclom Dreadnought-Flagship, there's the Accord Navy backing it up.

VK-4501 Dauntless "Daredevils" Deployment Craft
Perhaps one of the most durable large-sized dropships of all time, the Dauntless "Daredevils", as referred to by Ska'ari ground forces, earned their title as an atmospheric-entry rapid-deployment dropship. It plunges nosedown through the atmosphere at a near-90 degrees angle before sharply pulling up-the G-forces involved even in the specialized cockpit would black out even the most experienced ace fighters. Then the rapid-deployment chute churns out all 300 men in record speed, ready for combat almost immediately on landing, or they can roll out the vehicles after a quick landing. The frontal armor of these dropships are so thick they can deflect an incoming anti-orbital shell, though the impact may still crash it. Overall, it's a very reliable dropship capable of establishing a very quick foothold, to deploy reinforcements to an already-established line, or to send in troops for a surprise rear attack.