Empire

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When negotiations between the Factions of the Dystopian Age break down or when only conflict will settle a dispute fleets clash. This can happen anywhere across the globe and in the heat of battle many a Captain has been caught out by a sandbank or tidal Island. Some larger islands even have modest fortresses and gun emplacements built on them to add protection to the secrets and supplies that lie within.

The Navy of the Celestian Empire is the brainchild of Empress Shinzua, who as Speaker of the fleets quickly moved to control all aspects of nautical warfare in addition to her originally more prosaic areas of responsibility. The Empire is considered a global naval power, especially after their victories at Tsushima and Myeongnyang during the Anglo-Russian Korean Expedition. All of the coastal nations of the Empire design, build and crew their own sea-going vessels, but all ultimately serve the Blazing Sun. Warships are a source of great pride within the Empire, and the expansion of their borders necessitates deploying them more visibly, something that has been welcomed by the Empire's Admiralty. The warships of China are the most numerous in the Empire's navy. Their prow mounted chemical flame cannons, known as Huoqiang, make them formidable in any conflict and Chinese ships form the core of most of the Empire's Battlefleets. The Ning Jing class Battleship is a versatile vessel and, like a lot of Chinese vessels, tends to favour rocket battery salvos to the more traditional heavy gun batteries. The crews are all well trained in the use of these weapons and once a target has been marked by an initial salvo the rest seldom miss their targets. Developed in the same shipyards, Yangtze Command Ships are a rarer sister-class. The Yangtze eschews two of the heavy turrets and instead mounts a trio of high calibre, long-barrelled ordnance known as Erlang Shen which can cripple enemy vessels and shore defences alike. The cruisers of the Chinese also mount the deadly Huoqiang along with a mix of heavy guns and rockets. The crews of the Shanghai frigates are extensively drilled in working in large squadrons and can coordinate attacks with devastating effect. With the glut of manpower at its command, China's shipyards are capable of churning out large numbers of cruisers and frigates giving it dominance in naval affairs countered only by the elite vessels of Japan.

The Tianlong Draconic Colossus uses a combination of rotor engines and repulsion fields to remain aloft. Originally created to patrol the airspace near the Zhanmadao Sky Fortresses and Ziwei Sky Bastions, the Tianlong swoop down, their skilled crews getting the most out of these marvels of Engineering. The Tianlong can be outfitted with different weapons located in the mouth and tail. The choice of the Heavy Huoqiang or the Heat Lancette is a difficult one for most Captains to make. The Heavy gun battery can also be removed in favour of additional crew space to house a squadron of Bushi Ryu. These highly trained Samurai use rocket-propelled armour to descend to assault enemy vessels in hand to hand combat.

Despite the fact that King Sun Li of Korea holds responsibility for all air technology the Emperors Ming and Shinuza have utilised a loophole to jointly commission the construction of a Draconic Colossus to provide air support for their own units. This has caused some amount of frustration for The Cloud Dragon and he has tried to have the Colossi decommissioned or brought under his oversight on several occasions. The Forum, however, has resisted such moves to dismantle such magnificent symbols of the Empire.

There are occasions when squadrons of Tianlong are sent on strike missions, if so they are often supported on the sea by Gong destroyers. These fast, but well-armed vessels are ideal for long-range, fast attacks, complimenting the Draconic Colossi well.

Of all the Battleships upon the seas in the last 50 years the Britannia Class of the Crown has been considered the heaviest. That is until the Empire launched the Kongo Class Heavy Battleship. One of the deadliest warships to ply the seas of the Dystopian Age, the Kongo is crewed by some of the finest sailors in all of Japan. The design of this behemoth was always aimed at making it as armoured as possible while still retaining speed and manoeuvrability as much as the best Japanese naval engineers could manage. Named after a legendary mountain in the Osaka Prefecture, this vessel truly lives up to the name. With thick armour plates and formidable weapons the Kongo class are the pride of the Japanese fleet.

The supporting cruisers that are assigned to Battlefleets alongside the Kongo vary greatly. From the imposing Hokkaido Heavy Cruiser down to the nimble Kanagawa Monitor there is a cruiser variant for every mission. Japanese Cruiser groups are typically accompanied by Chita Submersible Automata. These engineering wonders are equal to the mechanical creations of the Covenant of the Enlightened and are used to protect the fleet from threats beneath the waves as well as assisting in assaults. While the Chita are designed to operate independently for lengthy periods, they lack the endurance of the much larger Kaiju class automata. Ishikawa strike cruisers and Yamaguchi Attack Cruisers are essential in maintaining these escorts far from a drydock, their moon pools enabling repairs and refuelling of the Chita to take place.

The Okinawa and Miyagi Class Cruisers are equipped with limited numbers of reconnaissance aircraft that act as spotters and limited aerial defence. When needs must they can also perform bombing runs on enemy shipping but usually only when supported by other aerial units.

The Japanese favour Kyoto frigates when running their patrols between the far-flung
islands of their homeland. The vessels are ideally suited for this task and for new sailors a year on a Kyoto is their first experience of the proud naval traditions of the Blazing Sun.

The warships of China are the most numerous in the Empire's navy. Their prow mounted chemical flame cannons, known as Huoqiang, make them formidable in any conflict and Chinese ships form the core of most of the Empire's Battlefleets. The cruisers of the Chinese mount the deadly Huoqiang along with a mix of heavy guns and rockets. The crews of the Shanghai frigates are extensively drilled in working in large squadrons and can coordinate attacks with devastating effect. With the glut of manpower at its command, China's shipyards are capable of churning out large numbers of cruisers and frigates giving it dominance in naval affairs countered only by the elite vessels of Japan.

The supporting cruisers that are assigned to Battlefleets through the forces of the Empire vary greatly. From the imposing Hokkaido Heavy Cruiser down to the nimble Kanagawa Monitor there is a cruiser variant for every mission. Japanese Cruiser groups are typically accompanied by Chita Submersible Automata. These engineering wonders are equal to the mechanical creations of the Covenant of the Enlightened and are used to protect the fleet from threats beneath the waves as well as assisting in assaults. While the Chita are designed to operate independently for lengthy periods, they lack the endurance of the much larger Kaiju class automata. Ishikawa strike cruisers and Yamaguchi Attack Cruisers are essential in maintaining these escorts far from a drydock, their moon pools enabling repairs and refuelling of the Chita to take place.

The Okinawa and Miyagi Class Cruisers are equipped with limited numbers of reconnaissance aircraft that act as spotters and limited aerial defence. When needs must they can also perform bombing runs on enemy shipping but usually only when supported by other aerial units.

The Japanese favour Kyoto frigates when running their patrols between the far-flung islands of their homeland. The vessels are ideally suited for this task and for new sailors a year on a Kyoto is their first experience of the proud naval traditions of the Blazing Sun.

Since the creation of the first primitive maps, there have been parts of the world where monsters lay and sailors fear to wonder. The Empire have been inspired by this to create their own monstrosities of the deep. Marvels of engineering created not only to sow fear and doubt in the minds of their enemies but also to demonstrate the mechanical mastery of the Empire. Using the most advanced engineering techniques, overseen by Empress Shinzua herself, huge automata in the form of giant squid have been developed and successfully engineered. The instruction cylinders for these submerged creations are among the most complex outside of the Enlightened fleets.

They have become horror stories told about only when crews are safe on shore leave. Any survivors refuse to discuss them while at sea should they incur the wrath of the Ika. In this way the Ika have become exactly what they were designed to be, the monsters that sailors fear.