SHANDAKAR

INTRODUCTION TO WORLD OF SHANDAKAR

Forward by

4th Grand Master Seer Martoka Conti

 

Welcome First Years to the Training Guilds.  The following series of entries are part of the Primary First Level Training manuals written for the four guilds that make up the SDF {Shandakar Defense Forces}.  These lessons are applicable to all four guilds and are required learning.  Once an initiate completes these lessons, the manuals become Guild specific in nature and content.  The following excerpts gives the reader a brief overview of Shandakar and its history.  There will be additional excerpts taken from relevant sections of the current Seers’ Handbook posted here for the guilds to distribute.  If there are any questions please direct them to your Mentor or relevant professor.

 

THE CYCLE

 

As every Shandarkarian knows, every thirty-three years the planet is invaded by the empire known as The Core.  The invasion happens during the twenty-eight day period we call “The Cycle”.  During The Cycle, alien ships and troops from The Core can invade our world with the primary purpose of removing our entire population and relocating it to a planet where their chip could be implanted in us and we would be under their control going forward.  They have twenty-eight days to accomplish this before The Cycle ends and their ships become stranded and their troops die from chip failure.

 

These chips are used to keep all of the various civilizations and alien systems that make up The Core under its control.  They are in constant contact with the Core’s NNCS neural network.  If a chip loses its connection to the network, it has about one minute to re-connect, or it self destructs, killing its host.  You can find more on these in Section 7 Chapter 4 titled “Implants”.

 

(EXCERPT FROM THE FIRST YEAR HANDBOOK)

Chapter 5A

Intergalactic exploration/ Ships

 

The Shandakar, GES 009, is an intergalactic Colony Ship. Built out of a small moon, it’s designed to protect the occupants during flights lasting possibly tens of thousands of years.  Self-operating.  Self-sustaining.  Self-repairing.  Self-protecting.  She was launched into the void toward Galaxy m997-224 in the Old Earth Year 12,504.  And currently sits in high orbit above the planet Shandakar.

 

HISTORY

 

For hundreds of years, civilizations throughout humanity’s home galaxy had used hollowed out asteroids and small moons as spacecraft.  Human ancestors created the GES series of Moon ships using dwarf planets harvested from the regions beyond the inner eight planets in humanity’s home system.

 

There are many advantages to converting a small moon into a ship. Ease of construction for one.  The moon supplied all of the raw materials for the construction.  Its much easier to hollow out and create a protected, secure and comfortable habitat in a small moon than to try and build a ship with the same benefits.

 

No shielding is necessary.  The layers of crust and rock between the ship’s interior and the surface are hundreds of miles deep, protecting the occupants from interstellar radiation, meteorite impacts and from radiation caused by the ships ion thrusters.

 

The Lesian Cold Fusion reactors used to power the ship’s engines and systems use minerals and resources available in the moon interior. A robotic mining system digs and processes the necessary materials for fueling the reactors.

 

Propulsion is provided by massive clusters of Panrek Ion thrusters, buried deep in the crust with their nozzles pointed skyward.  They can slowly but steadily accelerate a mass the size of a dwarf planet to velocities approaching the speed of light.  Combining this with stasis technology for the crew and settlers meant that these types of ships could travel extremely long distances over thousands of years.  Once the ship reaches its cruising speed, it's spun on its axis to create gravity.

​

WORMHOLE GENERATION

The Loramix power system is at the heart of wormhole generation.  It was developed by a race known as the Utrie.  It can concentrate and store enough energy to create the small wormholes that allow interstellar travel to exist.  Limited by several factors including power available and density of the surrounding space, a normal Loramix can generate a wormhole between 20 to 40 light years in length.  The time it takes to traverse one depends on the speed of the vessel can do in normal space.

​

The Shandakar and Moon ships like her have two Loramix systems.  One for interstellar travel, and the other for intergalactic travel.  This intergalactic version of the Loramix can generate wormholes up to one thousand light years in length.  These take between 7 to 10 days to traverse.

​

Finally, stealth.  The universe can be an unfriendly place.  A ship would be exposed for all to see.  A Moon Ship like the Shandakar can travel for thousands of years unnoticed.

 

Chapter 5B

Intergalactic exploration/Ships

 

HABITAT

 

The interior of the Shandakar is a hollowed out sphere, divided into hundreds of decks.  The “Outer Decks” are full of every piece of equipment and technology that can fit along with a vast data storage system containing the complete history and knowledge of a thousand worlds.  Sixty-four automated factories designed to build anything necessary for the colony ring the outer decks.

 

The “Middle Decks” are for the stasis chambers, containing the crew, settlers, and all the plants and animals that came with them.  These decks, along with the Command Sphere are designed to pivot based on the direction of the artificial gravity at the time.  During acceleration the decks swivel to always keep gravity focused downward for anything biological aboard ship.  Once the ship attains cruising speed, the ship switches to rotational gravity and the decks adjust accordingly.

 

The “Inner Decks” are where the operational and control rooms are, as well as the residential and common areas designed for an awake crew and settlers.  The Command Sphere and crew quarters are located towards the center of the ship.

 

The main spaceport for the Shandakar is located toward the aft of the ship.  This is where the six EX82 exploration ships are located.  These ships are designed for exploration of near by star systems and voyages of no more than several years.

 

Space can be an unforgiving environment, and a one-way trip means humans have to have the means to protect themselves as well.  The Shandakar carries one hundred Veranox K45 Pulse Fighters located in six combat hangers hidden beneath it’s surface.  The Alta Luna’s weapons include twenty-two D7 and PL21 missile launchers mounted in hidden launch tubes.  She also has 40 main battle turrets, hidden at strategic points around the surface.  Each of these has six banks of 9Kt Mortok long range disrupters and twenty Brii-Tenarian SP77 Solid Plasma emitters.

 

Chapter 5C

Intergalactic exploration/Crew

 

HISTORY

 

The biggest problem to overcome during Intergalactic exploration was how to man a one-way mission into the unknown.  Humanity never reached the point where lives could be completely entrusted to machines.  People had to choose to go.  And someone had to be in charge, to make decisions if needed, and to make sure the machines did their jobs. Even though the ship’s operations would be 99% automatic, it would still need a pilot, a navigator and a small crew. And even at light speed a trip to another galaxy would take several thousand years.

 

The answer lies in stasis technology. Each ship would have a crew of 8000, held in stasis together with 60,000 settlers. All crew and settlers had to be volunteers, no older than 40 earth years.

 

The flight crew was separated into 1000 teams of eight.  Each team trained to fly and operate the ship and all its systems.   All but the first team started out in stasis.   After a six-month tour of duty, the duty crew would wake the next team, and they would take over.  The previous team would go into stasis. This meant each team served only six months in real time for every 500 years ship time.

 

Traveling this way meant ships had enough range to reach any of the “near-by” galaxies thought to have earth-like planets within 10 tours of duty for a crew.

 

Chapter 5C

Planetary Statistics

 

Section 21A

PLANET SHANDAKAR

 

One of three planets orbiting a sol class star.

One major moon, three smaller moonlets, and an ice particle ring around the equator.

Yearly rotation around Sun 406 days.

Calendar 14 months, each 29 days long.

Planet’s Daily rotation 28 hours.

Planet is approx. same size as Old Earth.

Gravitational pull .92% of Old Earth.

Axle tilt is about 10% less than Earth, leading to milder seasonal changes and larger temperate zones.

Atmosphere Contains 2% more oxygen, other gases similar to Old Earth.

Two major landmasses and three smaller continents.

Mountain ranges are primarily due to volcanic activity.

Southern Ocean contains several volcanic island chains.

Oceans and seas contain slightly higher levels of minerals, primarily due to volcanic activity on the ocean floors.

Fresh water sources from rain, lakes and rivers.

 

Section 21B

Life forms

 

Shandakar is currently at an evolution period similar to that of the Jurassic period of Old Earth.  Lower life forms include fish, mammals, insects, birds and reptiles.  Large predators and plant eaters similar to the dinosaurs of the same period occupy both major landmasses, but are not present on any of the smaller continents or islands.  The oceans contain mammals comparable to whales and dolphins, and large predators like sharks, squids and plesiosaurs.

 

As of this printing only 34 species of native animals have been domesticated, most with limited success.  A primary example is the Rotillie fish, who’s chemical light has been harnessed and magnified through cross breeding and genetic manipulation.

 

There is an additional 97 Earth species that came with the Founders.  These include Horses, cows, pigs and other domestic farm animals, several bird species, dogs, cats and other “pets”.

Section 21D

Location

 

Shandakar is part of a binary star cluster consisting of its sun and the neighboring star named Helio.  Shandakar’s sun has a large gas giant planet rotating around it as well, named SK Prime.  During most of its orbit the combined effects of radiation fields emanating from Helio and from Shandakar’s sun keeps all forms of electrical currents from flowing properly on Shandakar.  Control circuits are inoperative, causing shut downs or explosions.  Overloads and power fluctuations cause equipment to explode or melt down.

 

However, Shandakar and SK Prime are in the same orbital plane.  And once every thirty-three years their orbits bring them so close to each other that for approximately 28 days SK Prime blocks most of the effects of the Helio on Shandakar.  This allows control circuits to operate and electricity to be controlled, although it can still be unpredictable at the beginning and end of “The Cycle”.

 

Stranded

 

The Founders landed on Shandakar approximately two days into one of these Cycles.  This is the reason the abnormality wasn’t detected before the most of the crew and all of the settlers became stranded.

 

Once the settlers and crew realized what had happened they knew they were stranded.  It didn’t take long to figure out how long it was going to be before the next Cycle started.  So they went to work and established Foundersville and the first colonies.  For 33 years no one on the planets surface knew what was going on with the people left on the renamed mother ship the Alta Luna.  They could still see it in the night sky, orbiting high above them.  Shandakar’s new moon.   So close and yet out of reach.

 

By the time the next Cycle came around and the ships “woke up”, the settlers had made homes and started families.  Had children.  And found that life without electricity that was not only possible but enjoyable.  Humans were now native to Shandakar.

 

 

 

 

Section 21E Founders

Pre invasion life

 

The Founders were extremely lucky.  Even though they became stranded once the cycle ended, no ships were in the air at the time.  The shift took place during the night, so the problem wasn’t noticed until the next day.

 

People woke up to a changed world.  None of their equipment worked correctly.  Anything that needed electricity to operate ceased to function properly.  When they tried to fire up one of the ships, they lost power to the control panels.  One engine quit and the others began running out of control and had to be shut down.  An automated supply shuttle fell out of the sky and crashed near the landing zone.  And after the first day, all communications between the landing party and the Alta Luna were cut off.

 

Once The Cycle was identified, people began to turn the landing site into Founderville.  Buildings were build.  Homes created.  Schools began.  People explored the surrounding lands and expanded.  And life went on.

 

But the settlers didn’t forget their friends and loved ones still in orbit.   Between Cycles people were trained in every aspect of the dead landing ship’s operations.  Parts were kept clean.  Maintenance was done.  All of the stranded ships were kept in full working order so when the next Cycle started they were ready.

 

By the time the first 33 years period ended and the next cycle started, Shandakar had become home.  In spite of the lack of electricity and all the technology it powered, people were happy, and the thought of going back into stasis and hoping to find another world for humans to settle was too much to ask.

 

From then on, in every Cycle people were chosen to spend the 28 days in intense study of technology brought from home.  As soon as computers could run, downloads started.  Once the landing ships began to operate, trips were made back and forth to the Alta Luna for supplies, repairs, and anything else critical to the people on the ground needed before the next Cycle started.  Paper was made to create hard copies of all the information stored in the ships massive data banks.  Each Cycle would create mountains of manuals and documents.

 

At the end of each Cycle a flight crew and several volunteers would put the Alta Luna into a high orbit and park it there for the next 33 years.  Three of the EX21 exploration vessels were used during this time to travel to many of the nearby star systems to investigate their new home.

 

Section 21F Founders

Post invasion life

 

The first attempt at invading the planet by The Core Collective took place 13 years before the 45th Cycle.  The Alta Luna was a little over a million miles away from Shandakar in high orbit when the invasion fleet arrived.  The invaders took no notice of the small moon as they settled into orbit and started to land their ships.  The humans on Alta Luna watched through hidden telescopes as alien assault craft left their Mother ships and headed for the planet surface.  And they saw the flashes of light the on the night side of Shandakar as one by one the ships crashed onto its surface.

 

The Core stayed for several weeks of planet time, trying everything they could to land their forces.  All with the same results.  Crashed ships and no survivors.  Having become too costly, and delaying the fleet too long in one place, the fleet moved on, leaving Shandakar for another time.

 

When the next 28 day period started, the Alta Luna sent her ships planet side to see what had happened.  They found the planet dwellers had already been busy gathering information regarding the invaders.  Some of the ships had actually crashed without much damage, but all of the occupants of the were dead.  Crews, troops, everything dead at their posts.  It wasn’t till later that the chips were discovered to be the cause of their deaths.

 

Once The Cycle started, the minor damaged ships could be power up again.   This gave the Shandakarians much needed information about The Core and its objectives.  After the invasions started it was decided to keep the Alta Luna in high orbit permanently so it wouldn’t be noticed or attacked by the invaders.  If the time came to defend itself, the Alta Luna was more than capable of handling any invasion fleets the Core had sent so far.  It seems the Milky Way galaxy and its occupants were far more advanced when it came to weapons and shielding than the Core had at their disposal.

 

The problem was numbers.  Humans only had what they brought with them to defend themselves.  The Alta Luna, and the one hundred Veranox Pulse Fighters hidden in her hangers.  Together they were a powerful force, more than a match for anything the Core had.  But too small to use over and over again against the massive fleets the Core sends.  And once exposed, they would be attacked relentlessly until they fell.

 

So a decision was made to have the Alta Luna stand in ready, as a last resort in case the planetary defenses fail.  Only then would they unleash their firepower against the Core’s fleet.  Smash the fleet and hopefully buy enough time to try and escape.

 

Technology

 

Humans retained their technological knowledge and expertise in spite of the limitations imposed by the lack of electricity.  During the time between Cycles scholars and technicians studied printed copies of manuals and texts drawn from the Alta Luna’s memory banks.  They created theories and designed equipment and experiments.  Then during each Cycle the experiments and potential advances in science, technology, and manufacturing are sent to Alta Luna for testing and evaluation.  If something is needed on the planet, it’s manufactured in the bowels of Alta Luna and delivered planet side before The Cycle ends.

 

Chapter 5D Crystals

Section 6.5A

 

History

 

The Banekonite Power Crystals are named after Molly Banes who discovered them.  First used in jewelry, medallions and other artistic pieces, over time people started to notice that some Banekonite crystals seemed to enhance certain naturally occurring traits and abilities.  Abilities like telepathy, telekinesis, Identic memory, and mind over body control.  People who exhibited these found that certain colored crystals enhanced them even further.   And those abilities became exponentially enhanced during a  Cycle.

 

Of all the known types of crystals, Red, Blue, White, and Green were found to be most effective.  Each crystal had a slightly different structure, and exhibited different properties for specific users.

 

So the four Guilds were created to study the crystals and learn how to use them.  Red became the Warrior Guild.  Blue the Wizards Guild.  Green the Herders Guild.  And White the Seers Guild.

 

 

Section 6.5D

Warrior / Red crystals

 

As the name implies, Warriors are the primary defenders of the

planet.  Before the invasions began, these were people who

physically affected by wearing the Red crystals.  They were

superior athletes.  They never got sick, aged slower than normal,

and could heal just about any wound or injury in half the time

it would normally take.

 

There are approximately 400 to 750 thousand SDF Warriors

available during each invasion.  These are broken up into small

squads known as a Combat Group.

 

Warriors train all their lives.  They have no real jobs between cycles.  Because of the conflict the rest of society assumes the responsibility for them during normal times.

 

A Warrior is schooled in every known form of combat. They spend 9 months training every year at one of eight different compounds scattered across Shandakar.  These include the compounds located at Breedonsville and Carnatuga in Lower Isatari, the Cortuna Harbor Islands, the village of Salk in Galiperland, The Morrelli outpost in the Captain’s Islands, the Tang Desert outpost and Crossbow in forests of Dakar, and Greedilbrook in Upper Mesatari.  The other 5 months they are required to go out into the world and perform public service for different villages.

 

The Red Crystals focus power almost 100% inward, absorbing the natural energy around them and feeding it to the wearer.

 

A Warrior’s physical abilities are greatly magnified during the invasion. The Crystals act like supercharged batteries, and depending on the warrior, can help them do unimaginable things with their bodies.  Through meditation and concentration techniques, Warriors can sense their entire bodies down to the cellular level, giving them focus and control over each individual cell.

 

A Warrior feels the power flowing through their Crystals into their bodies during The Cycle.  They can induce rapid self-healing from wounds, and harden their cells to be impervious to weapons. Some can shift their body colors like chameleons of ancient earth.  All experience extremely magnified strength, heightened senses, and increased speed and performance.

 

Warriors live by The Code.  The Code states a Warrior is to practice humility always.  To train hard every day, protect those in need, and live life with honor.  And most importantly, that it’s a privilege to serve and protect the people of Shandakar.

 

Section 6.5E

Seer / White crystals

 

Seers are the keepers of Shandakar’s history, creating and maintaining

its libraries.  They are born with identic memories, and it’s this ability

that makes them the most important of the four crystal wearers. It’s

their job to make a permanent record of every invasion so future

generations can learn and be prepared.  During their training Seers

work to perfect their memory skills, the trait which activates the white

crystals.

 

Unlike the other crystals, White ones  trap and store the energy flowing

into them. During invasion cycles, Seers can combine this trait with their

photographic memories to allow them to implant whatever they see and

hear into the crystals, turning them into storage units, much like the data

pads used by the Founders.

 

Between Cycles Seers and acolytes can access or “read” the information stored in the crystals.  Seers put on their collars with crystals from a past battle in them.  Then they enter a trance-like state, allowing the events stored in the crystals to unfold in their minds as if they were there. This can be very dangerous.  Seers have died with their collars on, and it takes a strong mind to live through another’s persons death.

 

Seers train at one of the Great Halls of Records scattered across Shandakar.  This is where all of the recording collars are stored.  They usually live close to their hall for most of their lives unless they marry.  Then they are required to travel to a Seer’s hall several times each year for training.

 

During normal times Seers spend some of their time transcribing the combat collars of previous battles.  Copies of these are sent to the Warriors, Wizards, and Shepherds libraries to be used for training.

 

Seers are the most important assets a Warrior has in battle.  They create and operate the Seers Network.  The Seer’s Network allows members of Combat Groups and Command Groups to communicate with other during an invasion, as well allow the Seer to record everything the Groups see and hear to the crystals for future study.  Seers also operate the Tapper Crystals used to tap into the Core’s chips and record everything the enemy sees and hears as well.

 

Section 6.5H

Combat Groups

Shandakar

 

Shandakar’s Combat Groups are made up of a Ship Killer and several Warriors.  Shandakar Warriors are broken down into five sub classes.  These are based on the type of weapons they carry.  They are Air, Water, Fire, Earth and Energy.

 

A Ship Killer is a Warrior who operates the Ship Killer vehicle.  These have a special heavy weapon along with their normal ones.  Ship Killers have heavier armor and are the commanders of the Combat Group.  They also have the ability to restock ammo and repair armor damage sustained by the members of the Combat Group while in the field.

 

Weapons

 

Shandakar Warriors use weapons based on five different types.

1. Water based weapons can manipulate water and fire several different types of projectiles that transform anything with a water based biology.

2.  Air weapons can manipulate the very air around them.  Air can be made to appear solid, liquid, or even create a vortex with a vacuum center.

3.  Earth weapons can change and manipulate the ground and rocks around them.  Creating landslides, projectiles, earthquakes, etc.

4.  Energy based weapons focus on manipulating the energy fields surrounding Shandakar.  Creating overloads in enemy equipment, and sapping the energy from enemy weapons.

5.  Fire.  This group specializes in the control and manipulation of fire.  They can fight with anything from cold fusion disrupters to Ultra Thermal Lava mines.