From the Begining New Chapter Added (9/12/06)

[Starhawk]

Memories:
It was a long time ago now, it seemed like years now, though it had only been one year since the warp points to outside space had been sealed, since Jack Alderson’s ship had heard the final alerts by the navy to any stellar capable ships to make the warp jump before the points were sealed off. Jack had been on a passenger liner, the LNS Star Sparrow when the first warship appeared in his system and alerted the dozens of Civilian ships to make top possible speed for the warp point, they had only been given two days to make it and some of the poor bastards knew right off the start that their craft couldn’t make it before the point was sealed.
Jack remembered the panic, the screaming and crying of scared children, the sobbing of people who realized that even if the liner made it to the warp point they would never see their families again, some even demanded that the liner return to one of this world or that in the system but they were quickly overpowered by those people who were desperate to escape the system that was seen as doomed.

For hours upon hours the ship cut through space at full speed, other ships joined her, liner’s, freighters, bulk carriers, even civilian yachts that would never make the jump were trying to keep up, hoping to dock with some of the bigger ships and offload their passengers. It was like a scene of some holodrama, some small yachts even tried forcibly boarding an armed merchantman that was carrying over 6,000 souls that they had managed to pick up from one of the outer worlds, it was a strange space battle to say the least, none of the combatants had the weaponry of a warship and one of the three attacking yachts only had auto cannons with which to attack the behemoth of a ship, the merchantman returned fire with her frag cannons and quickly destroyed one of her attackers, tragically the exploding yacht slammed headlong into a school ship, destroying it instantly killing dozens of children. Jack remembered watching from the ship’s main view port and remembered wondering why the waiting Icaran warship didn’t even try to help that merchantman and save those six thousand souls, Jack just felt glad that he could not hear the com traffic that the crews of the surrounding ships could hear it must have been such a sad and desperate plea for help.
Another armed yacht darted into the fray, bringing it’s anti-proton cannons to bear on one of the armed yachts, the first shot missed entirely but the second volley cut into the raider’s engine housing causing the craft to spin out until the merchantman’s frag cannons locked on her and finished the job.
Unfortunately by that point the merchantman had suffered massive amounts of damage, whole sections burned with the fury of plasma fires and atmosphere was rushing into space from holed sections along the cargo pods that carried thousands of people, Jack thought back with a shiver as the site of people being sucked out into space by the hundreds as more and more weapons fire raked their ship, and the thoughts of how many people must have died in the fires or when the oxygen was sucked out of their cargo pods. It all ended when the raider tried to latch on to the merchantman and commence boarding operation, tragedy struck however when the other armed yacht scored a hit on the raider’s starboard engine forcing it to flame out, because it was latched onto the merchantman with grapplers however it did not spin away harmlessly but instead spiraled directly into the main compartment of the cargo ship causing a massive chain reaction, destroying the entire ship and killing thousands of innocent people.
More raids followed as desperate individuals attacked jump capable ships, and boarded them, though not every armed ship was in the hands of a desperate pirate, many armed yachts and racers patrolled the rag-tag fleet fighting off raiders wherever they could, hundreds of these brave people died as raiders engaged the fleet, one raider even scored three hits on the Star Sparrow killing dozens in the aft compartment before it was rammed by an armed racer that was acting as an impromptu fighter.
Jack remembered the feelings of anger and frustration as he saw a naval dreadnought just sitting there watching as raiders and “militia” fought for control of the jump capable ships, he had just come on this ship for a week long cruise around the system and now he was involved in a battle with other Icarans! And worse yet he had no weapons with which to fight back. He looked out his window just in time to see three armed racers and a yacht fly by his ship in formation, almost instantly one of the racers exploded in a ball of fire as a “merchantman” opened fire on the fleet with an I-Laser cannon, a second shot from the deadly cannon struck home on one of the poor freighters destroying it’s engines and life support systems outright. The fleet was only two minutes from the warp point and finally the dreadnought opened fire to protect the fleet, the raiding merchantman erupted into a ball of wreckage and fire.

Jack finally felt the gravity waves engulfing his ship and looked through his window long enough to see the dreadnought racing past his ship into the warp, warships were much faster in warp speed because of their higher quality GFGs and gravity sail generators that were the size of the Star Sparrow‘s entire engine block, which meant that the warship would already be thousands of kilometers off before the first civilian ship even entered the warp point it’s self.
The space around the civilian fleet was alive with colors as a Last wave of raiders tried to board the bigger ships to save their own asses, the brave few people left protecting the fleet raced out to meet them. A handful of the armed racers that had been damaged in battle managed to land aboard some of the larger civilian ships just before they made the transition into the warp.
The Star Sparrow was one of the slower ships in the fleet thanks to the damage she had suffered during the raider’s abortive attack against her, that left her and only two other ships with roughly eight thousand souls between them lagging at the back of the fleet and it was this that spelled their doom.
Jack remembered the tormented screaming and whaling coming from the forward compartments, just before the entire compartment he and dozens of other passengers were in turned red, a noise indescribable to anyone who did not hear it began and it was the noise more then anything that caused the screaming of agony, for the second the sound started every cell in Jack’s body erupted in fire, his body felt like it was twisting and distorting, his eyes lost sight for what seemed an eternity and the vision that greeted him when sight regained only made him wish for death even more, the other passengers were changing, their bodies were becoming distorted and the decks began dripping with blood as some of the passenger’s bodies liquefied because of the warping effects. It seemed like an eternity of pain before they finally exited the warp, the three ships that had been cut off from the rest of the fleet appeared light years off course and those poor souls that had survived could no longer be called human, Jack remembered the feeling of fear at first but then that feeling began to change, he felt a calling stronger then anything else he had ever felt before, the calling to find others like himself, those that had survived being cut off from the warp those that had turned into whatever it was that he had become, days passed and they had found eight other ships with other mutants like themselves, Jack had taken charge of the mutants through sheer force of character and will, and even now he had forged the 11 ships and about twelve thousand mutated individuals that had been ‘sacrificed for the good of man”, little did those bastards in the government know that they had survived the warp, their ships and bodies mutated beyond recognition but they had survived, and now they would claim vengeance upon the empire that had abandoned them to death for the sake of a numbers game!
And it would all start here, on Valhalla, he had already taken an advance team to the surface and even now their workings of sabotage and plans for the population were well underway, the entire planetary com system had been destroyed and thousands of people had been brought under the mutant’s sway, soon they would have their vengeance, very soon.

[Crazy_Dog]

Mutants ???
Is that a possibility under the rules of SEIV G ?

[Starhawk]

lol not at all but I am going off track of the game for that portion of our story, so ladies and gentlmen please remain in your seats until the ride has come to a complete stop.

[Starhawk]

Apendix of Terms taken from Heinkle's 25th century Dictioanry (not Alhpabetical order):

Xeno: Xeno, short form of Xenobiological or Xenoterrestrial,
1.meaning not human or of Earthly origins.
2. Slang form of Xenoterrestrial
3. Derogative word for alien species

I-Laser: Short for Intensive Plasma Laser

ShellBuster: Term used to describe an explosive charge capable of breaching a hull.

Credit: A unit of Icaran Currency.

Crowns Crowns refers to a coin used to represent 5 credits.

Billy Hopper: A citizen of the Empire unauthorized for interstellar flight, who hides on a interstellar transport. The term "Billy Hopper" comes from the fact that the first recorded case of such action was taken by a man named William, the hopper refers to the fact that most of these "Billy Hoppers" must stow away aboard several ships before reaching their destination.

Mutant: Describing one who has mutated.
1. A human being who has suffered genetic or biological mutations of some form.

Xenocide: Refers to the systematic annihilation of a non-human species.

Slambred: Slambred, meaning one bred in a slam or maximum security Penal colony. Slambred citizens are often drafted into the Icaran marine corps or Imperial Guard regiments, following extensive "re-socialization" processes.

Re-Socialization: A series of drug, hypnotic, and brain print treatments which allow an otherwise unsuitable citizen to operate as a normal human being.

Joey: A marine

Bootstamp: Referring to the imprint left after a kick from an Icaran Jackboot, meaning chewed out by one's superior. ex: "John just got a bootstamp from his Commander for sleeping in."

Dancing a Molly: Refers to a hanging, the standard sentence for traitors and heretics.

Sweetjuice: Slang term for an illegal Phong drink which has intoxicating results on said species, and toxic results to humans.

Heretic: One who defies the existance of the divine, an atheist, a cultist, or one who has defiled the name of the Praetors.

Blackshirt: Slang term used by military personnel to refer to a State Security trooper.

Dragger: A dragger, an unproductive citizen, a lazy individual.

Warping Willies: A humorous name for warp sickness, caused by the effects of the warp on some humans.

Bouncing Brenda: Slang for a landmine used by Icaran State Security, it pops up from the ground prior to exploding when triggered.

Kissing Steel: Slang term for being slapped by the flat of a sword, punishment inflicted on undisciplined recruits.

Spanking Anna: Crude Slang for slapping a charge/magazine into a rifle, origins unknown.

Darter: Weapon used by State Security and Ship Board Marines. Fires a micro explosive "Dart" at transonic speeds via magnetic acceleration.

Auto-Rifle: Refers to an automatic darter assault rifle carried by SS and Fleet Marines.

Green Meanie: Stimulant pill used by the military during long periods where sleep is not available, side effects include explosive vommiting and diarrhea after prolonged use, as well as headaches.

Vac Suit: A soft form fitting suit worn over clothing aboard starships during combat incase of sudden exposure to vacuum.

Hard Suit: Refers to a Marine or Army armored Vac suit.

Slasher: Slang term for an energy blade carried by marines for hand to hand fighting aboard ship.

Charlie Foxtrot Polite version of Cluster ****, used to describe a situation where an officer who does not know what they are doing is placed in charge of those who do. See also goatscrew.

Slam: Maximum Security Penal colony.

Halfer: A being of mixed species, also classified as mutants.

Glassing: The destruction of a world by orbital bombardment, comes from the fact that energy weapons and fusion weapons turn soil to glass upon impact.

OpFor The Opposing Forces

Burner: Used by navy pilots to describe afterburners, by land forces it is used as slang for a flamethrower.

Bessy: A Mk12 Bessamalt Arms assault Rifle.

The State: Refers to the body politic, government as a whole throughout the Empire.

Nugget: A new pilot

Mud Eater: A ground pounder, generally army personnel.

Expect a New Chapter soon btw you guys don't mind me going a little off game for a bit do you?

[Starhawk]

Anyone still reading this

BTW don't worry about that link anymore it stopped working about two weeks ago

[Atrocities]

Yes, still reading. To bad about the link.

Hey don't worry if you don't get any posts in this thread. People often read but seldom post. I have found that writing for review is less rewarding than writing just to write.

So please keep writing, and we will keep reading.

Also check out this site, it might be of interst to you. http://www.lit.org/

[Rasorow]

reading...... and waiting........

And Atrocities is right.... I try to post as little as possible once the story is going so not to break it up.

Rasorow

[Starhawk]

A Crisis on Valhalla:
William Ross Admiral Lord of the Icaran Empire woke up to the chiming of the com panel, he wiped the sleep from his eyes, before gently running his left hand down the naked side of his beautiful wife, a soft contented moan from her made getting out of bed even more anguishing to the Admiral, they had only been in their little cabin for a week, they had been hoping for a month of leave after their return from inspecting the newest superdreadnought to join the royal navy, their first visit to this cabin lasted only two days and that was months ago after twenty six long years in space, but as they say the navy never rests. William left the bedroom and grumpily walked over to the com panel in the small main room of the cabin so as not to disturb Lin. After a second he donned a robe and pressed the receive button, immediately Ross braced too attention and saluted “Grand Admiral!” he blurted, more then a little surprised to be seeing the Haggard face of Grand Admiral Halice, the old man was scheduled to step down in a few weeks, at the ripe old age of 168 he deserved a break, but until then he had sworn that he would do his job with as much diligence as he had when he was but 46 years old.
“Hello William.” The Admiral replied softly the set of his face serious, with an expression of concern that confused Ross, ever since the warp points to outside space had been sealed, the Admiralty had relaxed considerably, and began the process of mobilizing the smaller fleets into one massive fleet of warships that could strike at enemy systems in the blink of an eye.
“What’s wrong Admiral?” Ross asked hesitantly, a lump in his throat prevented him from speaking further as the concerned frown on Hallice’s face grew deeper.
“Maybe nothing, maybe something, we don’t know Ross, that’s the problem, Valhalla has suddenly gone quiet and the other nobles in that system are a little worried, they’ve called for a navy or SS explorative mission, I have decided we’ll send in the professionals so I’ve contacted Captain Fowler aboard Blackbird, she’ll stop by Icara to pick you up then make the jump to Valhalla to see what’s going on there.” Hallice paused and allowed the message to sink in as Ross stood stunned by his orders, he and Lin had just gotten off from duty now he’d have to leave on a stupid explorative mission of an Icaran colony that was probably just experiencing com malfunctions.
“Admiral with all due respect I am sure I’m not necessary on a mere explorative op, Miss Fowler is an excellent officer and capable of making decisions on her own, she doesn’t need me standing over her shoulder.” Ross took a pleading tone but Hallice simply shook his head.
“Sorry Ross, but Miss Fowler is not a noble, nor are most captains in the navy, you however are and you are also a Knight in service to the Praetor Saints, even a noble would have to listen to what you have to say….unless of course you prefer I send Lin instead of you since she is also now a noble and knight? Hallice shrugged, he knew Ross would never let Lin go into a potentially dangerous situation if he could take her place.
“That’s a cheap trick sir.” Ross said sourly “When do you want me ready to leave?” he resigned himself to the fact that it was either he or Lin that would be leaving, for Valhalla.
“Tomorrow afternoon, sorry Ross I know that you and Lin haven’t had much of a vacation lately but you’re the best man for this job and I need you. Hallice out.” the screen went black, after a moment of staring into the blank screen Ross turned toward the bedroom and quietly walked in, the moon shone dimly through the window into the dark room, revealing the slim fit body of his beloved wife Lin, he stood in the doorway for a moment admiring her slim beauty, her soft curves, even the sound of her breathing, a few seconds later William heard her breathing change and realized she had just awoke.
“Wil, Whats wrong?” she whispered into the darkness.
“I’ve just received orders to depart for Valhalla tomorrow afternoon, they’ve been having a communications blackout for a few days now and the other nobles are getting all nervous, they want me to go in with the i]Blackbird[/i] and investigate.” He walked over to Lin, gently kissing her on the neck. She was a naval officer herself and knew that this could happen, a fact William was grateful for, as most women would probably demand explanations or reasons before leaving the night off in an angry silence.
She grinned “Well at least we can take advantage of some of the time we have left.” he returned her grin and slid off the robe he had donned to talk with Hallice.

When Lin woke in the morning the smell of eggs met her nostrils, and she heard humming coming from the small kitchen, she smiled to herself as she slipped on some clothes and left the bedroom.
William was already fully dressed in his duty uniform as he set up the table for breakfast, he looked up at her and smiled sheepishly.
“You weren’t supposed to wake up for a little while you know?” he said cheerfully as he smiled again.
“Oh I’m sorry would you like me to go back?” She said laughing, smiling wickedly at him as she took her place at the other side of the table from her husband. For an hour the two of them ate in silence neither of them enjoyed the fact that William would be leaving for at least a few weeks to complete an inspection of Valhalla but finally William cleared his throat.
“Lin, if you don’t mind me asking what are you going to be doing while I’m away?” his voice was still sheepish as he looked into her eyes, they always comforted him, the strength, dignity and confidence they exuded had helped him through the hardest moments of his life but today they looked anxious.
“Well, I was hoping to tell you later but since your leaving this afternoon, I’ve been given a new commission Wil.” she smiled and William sat back shocked for a moment by her silence.
“Come on the suspense is killer.” he said jokingly, her shrug made him all the more curious.
“It’s no big deal” she started casually “I received word a few days ago, I’ve been given command of one of the Five Swords.” she smiled broadly and William almost fell out of his chair as he stood up to hug her. The Five Swords-often called the Five Swords of Heaven- were the most powerful warships in the galaxy and the true representation of the fighting and engineering prowess of the Icaran people.
“Which one is it?” he said, overjoyed she smiled brilliantly back.
“The Sword of Wrath.” she said, giggling like she had once when she was fifteen.
The two talked for hours before William finally left for the shuttle port that would take him to the Naval base on the southern coast of the primary continent of Icara. As he flew over the scenery below Admiral Lord Ross admired the beauty of Icara’s lush green forests and brilliant blue skies. Icara was a warm world compared to the average human world, but Ross liked it’s warmth it’s long sunrises and sunsets, the beauty of the blue-winged eagles flying overhead in the long summer season and the smell of Chacka Oranges blossoming in the pseudo spring that Icara had. It was hard for Ross to even believe that when his ancestors first landed on Icara they had to struggle just to find food, and that the pleasant warmth that he knew today was once a steaming sauna before weather grids were placed around habitable regions, and that the very heat had killed many of the weaker colonists when they first landed on Icara all those long centuries ago.

So much had changed for Icarans, they were once philosophers, poets and healers when they were almost slaughtered by the Spartans that all changed, they became hardened conquerors, they had swept across the face of Earth like a great shadow, unstoppable, unchecked until they ran against the Asian Empire, for centuries they coexisted peacefully, the Icaran military protected the Empire and the Asian Empire, though an enemy was rarely ever met on the battlefield, until the treacherous independent nations formed their own alliance, the Sol Coalition and nuked dozens of Icaran and Asian cities, colonies and outposts. Billions died in that war and left the remnants of Icara and Asia shattered and homeless, their desperation led them to Icara and Brandenburg, for two hundred years they had rebuilt and finally when they decided to reach for the stars again they again met with disaster as they encountered the Phong and the Neo-Star Empires, the war was brutal and millions died, which again ruined the possibility of peace within the Empire and the crusades began, crusades which claimed billions in a wave of fire and purification, for the first time in two decades the Icaran Empire was in a state of peace, but even in this time of peace, even now there was a crisis and Ross felt an uneasiness about his “inspection tour” of Valhalla and a touch of nerves about the future of the Empire, of a people that had seen so much death, blood and sorrow in their existence.
Ross finally reached the spaceport outside of Sagatarian city, the view was amazing, dozens of sky scrapers rose hundreds of stories into the sky, shuttles and public transports darted around like bees around a hive in an amazing buzz of activity and life. But the crowned Jewel of Sagatarian city was it’s massive spaceport, which was so large that it could land 3 dreadnought sized ships side by side and still have room for a squadron of fighters and a civvie transport or two, not that any dreadnoughts could make atmospheric entry.
Many people even claimed that Sagatarian was built for the spaceport and not the other way around, a theory Ross was willing to accept after he heard that of the 1.6 million souls in Sagatarian one million worked in some function at the Spaceport.
The transport landed silently in the eastern number two landing field, Ross walked down the ramp to find a full squad of marines waiting for him, they were all wearing full combat armor and many of them looked around nervously, something Ross found most disconcerting considering they were all on the capitol world of the entire Empire. As the confused Admiral stepped forward a Marine Lieutenant braced to attention in front of him, when Ross returned the salute the marine cocked his head.
“Lord Star Admiral William Jefferson Ross?” the Lieutenant asked, probably feeling rather stupid about asking such an obvious question, though protocol still demanded it.
“Yes Lieutenant that‘s me.” Ross said a little amused.
“Sir we are here to take you aboard Blackbird by order of Captain Sandra Fowler, please follow me.” The marine turned around stiffly and signaled the squad to move toward a landed cutter, which bore the crest of the Blackbird for some reason Ross always found that ship’s crest disturbing, it was a blackbird of old earth, wings extended to their fullest span, and a body extended as if about to land, with a sunset in the background, it always seemed like a symbol of bad luck to him, especially after Lin told him that many cultures considered a blackbird a foretelling of imminent death.
“Tell me Lieutenant why a fully armed and armored squad of marines to pick me up on our own homeworld?” Ross said politely as he followed the marine.
“Orders sir.” The marine said bluntly, Ross’ face reddened slightly at what could easily be considered a slight to his honor.
“Excuse me Marine?” Ross’ voice had a bite to it this time but the marine didn’t even flinch.
“Sir, I mean you no disrespect, but I don’t know why we were sent down in full armor or loaded out for combat but I am following my orders to the word sir, oh and sir this is not m homeworld I’m from Valhalla.” the Lieutenant said in the same unflinching tone that he would have if he were under fire from the enemy.
Ross however froze in place and instinctively reached toward his holster.
“Marine do me a favor, take of your helmet.” Ross said warily, and noticed with some bit of nerves that the other marines in the group were all looking directly at him, he wished he could see their faces, but the breather attachment and visor to infantry helmets prevented that.
“Yes sir.” The marine replied as any Icaran soldier would, instantly and without question, the helmet came off with a hiss and Ross instantly relaxed, realizing he knew the young officer, of course the man was only a private when he first met him years ago aboard the Yu Hing Pe straight out of boot camp.
“Mahony Isn’t it?” Ross said with a bit of a smile as he let his hand slip away from his holster.
The marine bowed politely and smiled “I’m honored you remember me sir.” he placed his helmet back on his head and gestured for Ross to follow him. Ross had only met the man once during the closing days of the Phong Crusade but the marine made a good impression on him.

On the ride Ross looked over at Lieutenant Robert Patrick Mahony “Hey Lieutenant, what do you think is going on, on Valhalla?” Ross knew that it was probably a sensitive question but he figured would be best to ask of a Valhallan native.
“I don’t know sir, Valhalla is as loyal and devout to the Empire as the next world, maybe even more so I don’t understand why my people would go silent like that.” the young man replied and his eyes flashed pain at the thought. The rest of the ride went in an uncomfortable silence, Ross sympathize with the young man, Ross was a native to Icara as were seventy eight percent of the human population that was his age the rest were Brandenburg citizens and Rebels, but there were a lot of people born on colonies, and to them their world was just as important as Icara it’s self. And to them the loss of their world was just as much of a nightmare as it would be to an Icaran native or Brandenburg native.

End of Part One

:As I said Looooong chapter, part two and three are going to be just as long, if not longer:

[Atrocities]

That was a very nice read Starhawk. Thank you. How many words do you have so far for the entire story?

[Starhawk]

I've decided to add a bit more backstory to the Icaran Empire as I write part 2 of "Crisis on Valhalla".

Space Travel Within the Icaran Empire

Civilian Space Travel:
Space Travel within the Icaran Empire for civilians is limited to "sub-stellar" ranges, which means though the vast majorty of starships are equipped with GFGs it is illegal for a civilian starship to exit it's own star system without explicit government edict to the contrary, such as what happened during the early portion of Operation Exodus when all civilian ships with GFGs were permited to attempt a retreat from the systems that were being sealed off from the warp.

Even sub-stellar cruises are rare for the average civilian as the operating liscense the government places on all spacecraft is extremely expensive for the average citizen, which means that most Icarans never see another world, much less another system.

There are ways for civilians to see other worlds and other stars, however, these options are listed in detail below:

Colony Bureau: The Colony Bureau is the first hope for most civilians to see another world. A citizen that signs on to the CB is bound for a period of 20 years to a contract that forbids them from, joining the military or mining corps, in this time the CB attempts to find a colony project that best suits the citizen's skills.
Unfortunately for most civilians in the CB they do not find themselves on a beautiful Icara type world but instead are sent to mining worlds or armory worlds which are only safe because of massive blasteel domes, these worlds are often barren and toxic to human life and so the colonist may spend their entire life inside the dome, never again seeing the blue skies of an I-Type world. And any colonist must remain on world for 5-10 years prior to being allowed to sign on to another colony project.

For some citizens however the CB is their only hope for leaving such a barren wasteland of a world and they are willing to chance anything for the opportunity to leave.

Mining Corps: For some the Mining Corps is a worse choice then the CB, but to others it's a life of excitement and adventure that they would turn down for nothing.

The Space Based arm of the Mining Corps was established in the year 2412 when the remote mining devices requried to mine asteroid belts was invented and has for the past decade provided valuable raw materials to the Icaran economy.

The life of a "world" miner is a dangerous one, and a hard one, they spend hours a day, five days a week, every week of the year below ground digging for precious raw materials that are required to keep Icara's economy alive.

A "space" miner's life is just as dangerous but far more exciting to many. A "space miner" serves on a mining ship and spends years on end in space with his/her crew mining the valuable asteroid belts of Icaran space.

The benefit to being a member of the mining corps aside from high pay, is the chance of reasignment, the chance to be asigned to a "core world" that has already been terraformed or is at least undergoing the terraformation process.

Of course the opposite is also true, a miner may go from being based out of a beautiful gem of a world to a barren rock where ferocious creatures are trying to kill you in horrible ways.

The Royal Navy: The Royal navy is another option for a civilian who wishes to see the stars and other worlds, however service to the navy has it's price as well. Miminum service is for no less than 50 years, meaning that a person who signs up at the minimum recruitment age of 16 will get out when they are nearing middle age, It is also a dangerous occupation if you are assigned to a warship or frontline base, or a tedius one if the navy assigns you to a freighter or interstellar transport. Even with the chance of a boring assignment millions of people every year flock to the service of the Royal Navy.

Royal Marines: Like the Navy the Royal Marines attract millions of volunteers every year, civilians who want to see the stars and live a life of adventure and danger. Millions every year washout however and are forced to wait yet another year before they can try again.

Royal Army: Unlike the Romance of the Royal Navy or Royal Marines the Royal army is a machine of no finesse but instead is a hammer of destruction, a blunt objecct used to crush enemy worlds into submission. Those who join the army know they will likely spend the rest of their lives moving from world to world on a troopship in the middle of a warfleet, only seeing a world when they are deployed into battle or deployed for Garrison duty.

State Security: The SS is the only option for those who seek to serve Icara but are unable or unwilling to join the military, a citizen with a clean record and a loyal background may join the SS and hope to be assigned to one of the dozens of brigades guarding Icaran worlds, the main fear of joining the SS is being assigned to one of the "frontier" brigades on an occupied world where the population may be hostile or may not even be human at all.

The Warp:
The reason FTL travel is forbidden to all but government liscensed ships is because the only form of FTL travel is a "warp point" and travel through such points must be strictly enforced and scheduled to prevent tragic accidents.
Another reason for banning FTL travel to all but liscened ships is because millions of citizens would flock away from in-hospitable worlds and leave the vast majority of worlds within Icaran space empty, leaving massive ammounts of resources unreachable.