The Phantoms have been here for longer then most of the current
playerbase, so their old background was just not fitting. We decided to
overwork it and this is what we have come up with.
"The Phantoms represent a coordinated, tactical group of individuals focused on the dissolution of all House governments; through concerted terrorist actions designed to undermine the population's faith in their navy, law-enforcement, and political leadership, the Phantoms seek to incite revolutionary ideals to establish a new, unified order in Sirius."
As a faction, we represent the terrorist-side of Discovery RP. Our ID allows us to engage in activity that is typically restricted in many other factions, and as such, a great degree of responsibility is placed upon us. We tread a fine line. The Phantoms now possess a definable goal that provides a foundation for our interactions with other factions in Discovery, in the hopes that a multifaceted storyline can be established between ourselves and them.
There will still remain the feeling of abject horror when people see a Phantom flying around. That's just a part of the legacy that the faction created. We intend, though, to flesh out a method to our proverbial madness. After all, many great revolutions started when someone thought outside of the box.
Reset the world.
Historical Data:
History repeats itself, and those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to relive it. The tenets of humanity have long favored struggle and conflict, perhaps a Machiavellian view on Natural Selection. Human beings say they have evolved beyond the base values of animals, yet, is it even possible to believe such a thing? Humans still organize themselves into different nations, peoples, ideals, concepts no different than the tribal paths of our ancestors. For all the progress humanity has made, for every step forward there were always two steps backward. The war of the Alliance and the Coalition was the last great conflict to splinter the society of old Earth, but there will always be another war. There will always be another bloody diaspora that, if it doesn't end humanity, will continue again and again. Such is fate.
Yet, humanity was never a slave to fate. For all of the blemishes upon their species, humanity gave rise to those that have driven change. The darkest hours would be driven back by the shining examples of humanity's potential. And in this time, in a section of space long displaced from Sol, new leaders would be needed to guide humanity from the valley of death.
Unfortunately, the road to hell is always paved with good intentions.
Metanoia
712-740 AS
All great revolutions originate from seemingly insignificant events. The year is 712 AS, Planet Cambridge, in the Universty of Cambridge's Trinity Hall Memorial Amphitheater. A dissertation on the 80 Year War between Rheinland and the Gas Miner's Guild is being presented by a graduate student of sociology; population expansion, resource management, and inter-system politics are raised as points leading to the instigation of hostilities. The pursuit is purely academic, a topic of scholarly discussion with the hopes of someday appearing in neural net compilations. For one particular gentleman present, however, the dissertation was a catalyst. Stefan Helmut, a consulate from Rheinland, attended the lecture initially as a foreign benefactor. Having funded a small portion of this student's research, on behalf of the government of Rheinland as an academic donation, Stefan considered himself duty-bound to attend the actual lecture; it would be as though fate and circumstance conspired to bring a revelation to the consul. Stefan was struck by the notions presented during the dissertation, that eighty years of war was created by selfishness, nationalism, and inherent flaw; there was no good fight, no glorious rationale, just war. The lack of pure reasoning, a mixture of humanity at its worst, these are the inspirations of conflict. Stefan recalled his old history lessons, where all combatants in humanity's past were both aggressor and victim, and the Alliance/Coalition war that no one could perfectly identify the reason for the slaughter; such horror must be stopped from ever happening again.
"Those who forget the past are condemned to relive it. It is imperative that we break this cycle of chaos, and institute an enlightened human reign."
-Archibald SinClaire, Bretonian Ambassador
ca. 717 AS
Rheinland, 712 AS, a few months after Stefan attended the fateful dissertation. Mr. Helmut had assembled a small group of close friends from Rheinland and the other three Houses. The affair started innocently enough, associates of learned class discussing the more delicate aspects of politics and social structure. Many such gatherings have occurred long ago, but the intensity and direction changed dramatically; casual discourse turned to passionate debate about the virtues of revolution, a change in archaic political architecture to suit the dramatic needs of a new pan-galactic era. These men had grown angry not at the whole of civilization, but at the old and out-dated path that the refugees of Earth had taken in terms of government. Though united for survival while they fled the War, the four Houses separated to return to an archaic norm. The lessons of Earth should have taught us otherwise. Change was needed, and Stefan Helmut planted these seeds in his associates. The foundation of the Metanoia Initiative was laid.
Change must propagate like ripples in water. The Metanoia Initiative sought to assemble people who could facilitate such change in the four Houses. These people, displaying an open mind and perspective, were cultivated from the otherwise conservative population of politicians and military leaders in each House. From 717 to 722 AS, the founding members of the Metanoia Initiative silently recruited members who were sympathetic to their cause, ranging from those people with small but influential political power, military organizers and analysts, to scholarly professionals and philosophers. Their purpose was to bring about a subtle shift in governance and social direction, and to promote the ideals of a unified humanity under one common goal. There were those that considered such an organization to be a conspiracy, but the members of the Metanoia Initiative considered it a compassionate conspiracy: they simply wanted to save civilization from itself. Starting in 730 AS, the Metanoia Initiative created an inter-House information network to isolate and expunge political actions that were deemed detrimental to their cause; globalized political and economic actions were formulated and pushed through each House government to be ratified, while military downsizing was promoted as a progressive goal towards peace. A substantial power base between all the Houses had helped to drive the initial momentum of the Metanoia Initiative, but they had grossly underestimated the conservative mentality of the reigning government leaders. Kusari had funded the construction of the battleship Nagumo, and dissent within corporate Liberty lead to the foundation of the Lane Hackers. Though the circumstances were seemingly beyond their control, the Metanoist Initiative found this to be a dramatic failure on their behalf; cracks were forming within the foundation.
"Take heart not to succumb to the absence of rationale, but learn from past error and push towards the future, lest we join the morass of complacency"
-Kintaro Yamaguchi, Professor of Political Theory, Tokyo University
ca. 742 AS
The Shadow War and the Tharsis Cache
745-814 AS
The Metanoia Initiative rode the wave of initial success based on the number of followers the core members had managed to recruit, and the formulation of new ideals to be implemented in Sirius. Though the momentum was strong, the execution could not keep the same speed; the human flaws that the Initiative sought to surmount were the very ones that hindered any significant progress. Continued failures had disheartened some of the members, but some were so affected that they started to seek an alternative means of fulfilling the goals of the Metanoia Initiative. Where passive methods had failed, more direct action would be necessary. Desmond Simons , a commander from Bretonian intelligence and a member of the Metanoia Initiative, had taken taken the matter of resolving such failures into his own hands by assembling his own group of loyal followers. Identifying key individuals that were considered responsible for hindering the actions of the Initiative, Simons launched a campaign of assassinations throughout Sirius in 745 AS; as the body count grew, so would the attention of Stefan, culminating in the eventual expulsion of Simons from the Metanoia Initiative. The proverbial straw that broke the camel's back, the organization became polarized. There were those that saw Simons as a savior, the man who would save the Metanoia Initiative and achieve the results that Stefan and his supporters couldn't. Others saw him as an aberration, the exact human flaws that needed to be stamped out from the future of Sirius. Regardless of who thought what, Simons had catalyzed a civil war within the Metanoia Initiative; despite his expulsion, he held a significant-enough sway within the organization to accumulate his own resources and personnel from the men and women sympathetic to his actions. A rhetoric was established amongst them, condemning the inaction of the Metanoia Initiative while expounding the virtues of direct action. Stefan needed to squash this veritable rebellion amongst his own ranks, and initiated a campaign of censorship and elimination. Simons and his followers were forced underground, but managed to retaliate with his own surprisingly-effective assault; rumors and conspiracies were fed to the public through publications and the neural net, implicating members of the Metanoia Initiative in a massive web of deceit. Such actions played on people's readiness to believe in sensational news, and helped to blunt the Initiative's moves. The major attacks against the organization, though, came in the form of Simons' willingness to employ operatives in wetwork missions; men and women of the Metanoia Initiative would be gunned down in the middle of a Manhattan pedestrian crossing, bombings would be conducted against corporate assets in Kusari. Stefan, held back by his own principles, could only respond by having police and military intelligence assets subdue citizens considered operatives of Simons, while filtering news releases to indicate the attacks as terrorist activities. Though the Metanoia Initiative still maintained a significant influence, Simons' use of independent cells and an underground information network proved disturbingly effective; some members of the Initiative had taken to comparing Simons to a ghost.
"We are the shadow of truth. We are the specters of change. We are the wights of terror. We are the phantoms."
-Message injected into the neural net, unknown sender
ca. 760 AS.
The so-called Shadow War, coined by members of the Metanoia Initiative, was waged behind the day-to-day facade of society. For close to 60 years the battle had been a game of cat and mouse, and neither side showed any signs of surrendering. By 790 AS, the founding members of the Metanoia Initiative had passed on; their successors, though, knew nothing but the struggle they had against Simons and his "Phantoms". Rumors speculate the Simons had died as well, though the causes are as nebulous as his name. Innumerable Phantom cells have risen and fallen since the Shadow War began, and some irreverent criminals have even taken to calling themselves Phantoms for the aspects of terror and mystique, without fully realizing what such a name encompassed.
There remained one "pure" Phantom cell, though, operating between the borders of Rheinland and the Omega systems. On October 6th, 796 AS, a recon wing picked up an anomalous reading during a fly-through of the dense nebulae in Omega-47. Further inspection revealed a massive asteroid with a smaller rock formation in close orbit; dedicated sensor readings indicated an unknown internal composition when compared against a known catalog of elements. A survey expedition was called in to further examine the asteroid for any useful materials, and their efforts were rewarded exponentially: the interior housed a sizable store of what were identified as artifacts, but more importantly, some of them and the infrastructure were semi-active. Research teams were immediately brought in to examine what was soon dubbed the "Tharsis Cache", and the Phantoms relocated their center operations to the asteroid. The findings provided a dramatic advantage, giving the Phantoms insight into advanced self-assembling algorithms, materials science, and applied engineering. Though only a very small percent of the artifacts could be decoded, it was enough to push the Phantoms ahead of the Metanoia Initiative. By 798 AS, the Phantoms had released pseudo-AI programs into the neural net to track members of the Metanoia Initiative based on activity paradigms and hyper-statistical analysis. Terrifyingly-efficient combat craft based on human design and backed by Tharsis Cache-derived components allowed the Phantoms to strike the organization at will and retreat before retaliation came.
One by one, the Metanoia Initiative was being picked apart until nothing existed by 800 AS.
"We know how to make it work, we just don't know HOW it works."
-Phantom technician
ca. 799 AS
By November 25, 800 AS, the Phantoms declared the Shadow War over. The AI routines inserted into the neural net were shut down permanently, and a call to all remaining members of the Phantom cause was sent throughout Sirius. Stock needed to be taken of what survived, and what could be done to fulfill the ideals of Simons' interpretation of the Metanoia's flawed, yet righteous, goal; where Stefan failed with politics, the Phantoms would succeed with action. They now had the tools to enact their plans, yet they still lacked the numbers. A new infrastructure within the Phantoms had to be made to better apply whatever resources were available, or such was the original plan.
At 13:47, January 12, 801 AS, the research team unlocked the computer network within the Tharsis Cache. At 13:53, the primary asteroid disappeared from Omega-47.
The next 12 hours was highlighted by chaos within the Phantoms; the center of command had just vanished, leaving only the secondary asteroid facility in Omega-47. Technicians immediately scrambled to unlock whatever systems they could, and finally managed to restore a link with the primary asteroid; telemetry analysis indicated that it reappeared far to the 'north' of Sirius, amidst a very dense field of dark matter. Survey flights from the primary asteroid probed through the field, eventually finding a jump hole; they passed through it, but stumbled upon a patrol fleet of Outcast vessels that picked up the gravitational disturbance in their system of Omicron Alpha.
The following days were tense standoff as the Outcasts laid siege to the jump hole. Phantoms from the secondary asteroid in Omega-47 were too far away to provide reinforcements to those trapped beyond Omicron Alpha. The Outcasts were wary of moving far into the space beyond the jump hole as the dark matter field would have wrecked havoc to their vessels. Communication between the two asteroids was terse, the primary asteroid now codenamed 'Ultima Thule' while the secondary asteroid was called 'Skara Brae'. Hope would have completely diminished, save for one peculiar event: an incandescent blue vessel exited into Omicron Alpha from the new jump hole. Almost immediately, communications chatter between the Outcast vessels tripled, and the fleet withdrew. The Phantoms of Ultima Thule had soon learned of the Outcast mythos surrounding the Nomads, and took advantage of it to secure a safe passage through their system. Hope for the Phantom cause was restored.
The following decade saw the rebuilding of the Phantom network. Though initially seen as a curse, the separation of Ultima Thule and Skara Brae provided the Phantoms operational points within both extremes of Sirius; new members and supplies could be found from the Borderworlds, where the influence of the Houses couldn't effectively reach. It was sufficient, for the time being, but the Phantom cause had to be spread again. In 814 AS, a seemingly innocuous freighter made an unauthorized entry into planet Cambridge's atmosphere. The explosion following the impact could be seen for miles and miles.
"Reset the World"
-Attributed Phantom saying
The responsibility for Operation Ember was claimed by the Phantoms across the neural net. It was a symbol of their methods, but it also served a more poetic meaning for them: the old system of the Metanoia Initiative, and Sirius, would be burned away, and from the ashes a new foundation of order would be built.
Faction Goals:
Where intellectual discourse has failed, the Phantoms intend to bring change through force-of-arms. As a means to the this end, the Phantoms focus on the following goals:
1. Opportunistic assaults against House Naval and Police forces, intended to inflict the most possible damage while evading repercussions. Repeated success in these attacks will reduce the population's faith in their armed forces.
2. Assassination of high-profile targets to disrupt House infrastructure. If even these people aren't safe, then no one else is.
3. Coordination amongst other revolutionary groups present in the Sirius sector; shared ideals and combined arms lead to a force multiplier that ensures the success of operations, while also forging strategic alliances that benefit all members involved.
4. Dissemination of anti-House information via the free press. The media is a powerful tool that can sway the population to revolution.
Modus Operandi:
-Phantoms operate in independent cells established throughout the Sirius sector. The overall strategy is determined by central command, and planning is conducted by operatives in the field.
-Though the Phantoms possess a technological edge, they are by no means expected to stand toe-to-toe with a Naval task force. Phantoms are expected to engage in guerilla warfare, and choose engagements where they are confident they can eliminate a target(s) and withdraw with minimal losses.
-Phantoms are to coordinate with local revolutionary forces. Networked information can help in the planning of operations, and more assets means more potential damage.
-Corporate assets are to be left mostly untouched, unless they are involved as an objective in an operation; supply acquisition conducted in the field will be allowed if supplies cannot be transferred from a Phantom station, operative discretion is advised.
Recruitment:
As a rule, the recruitment process will begin in game. We like to see how people interact; actions always speak louder than words. If you see a Phantom flying around, and aren't a defender of all that is just and pure, feel free to strike up a conversation with us. We promise we won't bite, unless you bite us first. Biting a person is awkward anyway, so just don't do it to begin with.
If you keep a constant presence, we'll be sure to keep in contact with you.
Also, as a friendly reminder, no crazy characters. If your character has a doctor's note for mental health issues, we'll have to decline. Unless you want to submit your character to healthy regimen of hardcore medication and lobotomization, that is.
Rank Structure:
For the purpose of a rank structure, members have favored a three-rank hierarchy. The reasoning behind this is that it allows a more streamlined and efficient means to dispense orders to all members while also simplifying who listens to who. Shagohad brainstormed a few themes for how the ranks should be organized in, and we've adapted them to the three-rank structure. In order from highest to lowest:
-Operations: The CnC (Commander and Chief) of the Phantoms. Responsible for developing the overall faction strategy and authorizing in-game actions. Operations will mainly handle forum contact between the Phantoms and other factions.
-Overseers: Answer directly to Operations. Overseers are assigned to different operational theaters in Sirius (i.e. one of the Houses, Borderworlds, Edgeworlds, etc.) and will be responsible for planning terrorist actions and coordinating their subordinates. Overseers will be the main point of in-game contact between other factions and the Phantoms, as well as scouting for potential recruits.
-Sentinels: The mainstay of Phantom forces. Sentinels work with the Overseer they're assigned to. They are responsible for executing plans, and are expected to act intelligently and covertly. Sentinels serve as the eyes and ears of the faction as well, and should be capable of extracting useful information from their surrounding environment; in this role, Sentinels can help their Overseer formulate plans.
Equipment Usage:
-The Phantoms offer a quality line of fighter-craft:
"Shadow" Very Heavy Fighter
"Slipstream" Light Fighter
These will be available to all Phantom pilots regardless of rank
-In terms of capital ships, the Phantoms operate the "Huntress" class cruiser.
-The Phantoms also possess a variety of destructive implements. Members are expected to use these; there's no reason for us to use other quaint and obsolete guns.
-Our budget ran out, so we unfortunately don't have any bombers and gunboats of our own:
The "Waran" and "Roc" are our standard bombers. Thanks to the free market economy, these can be easily acquired. Other faction-specific bombers need to be acquired through pleasantries.
Factions like to horde their gunboats. We need to give them a good reason to impart one to us. Besides, why fly a gunboat when you can enjoy your flight time in one of our fighters.
-Battleships are big, noisy, and like to be the center of attention at parties. The Phantoms prefer not to be the center of attention at a Naval fleet review. We're shy.
Stations and Bases:
Ultima Thule (Formerly the Temple of the Revenant)
Skara Brae (Formerly the Temple of the Eidolon)
Faction Diplomacy:
(This entire section will be subject to debate. For now, the following will be listed as our 'default' reputations until new ones are formed in-game)
Allied:
N/A
Friendly:
N/A
Neutral:
-All Unlawful factions
Hostile:
-All House Navy and Police Forces
Nearly all of the work involved into writing this was done by Virus and
shazbot with contributions of many others.
Now that you are done reading this, another important notice.
After reworking the faction we realized that this faction, even though it
might look good, is not too much fun to play. And fun is what matters here.
With this, the Phantom player faction stops to exist.
EDIT: We are also not looking for replacements of any kind. This seems to be the best for everyone.
I don't like the tag.. That's about it. I like the change in how it operates, a method to its madness instead of just random and pointless madness.
And so you're saying the Phantoms have disbanded..?
Also, I adjusted part of the coloration in your post. color=#333333 looks transparent on Blue Solution. All posts must be viewable on the BS style. It is considered the official moderator/admin board style.
[font=Comic Sans Ms]Will there be a new phantom faction from the old guard? Is the ID open to new ideas (read, different player group and leadership) now?
The last remaining members have decided that the faction should die. That is our prerogative. If someone would like to start a similar faction, they are more than welcome to try. As far as the Phantoms are concerned, they are indeed finished.