Left to their own devices on a hostile, resource-poor planet, endurance and mettle had to make up for the lack of state-of-the-art technology. Cossack, american, french and scottish fought each other and they all fought the planet, and from all this fighting emerged ariadna, where only the toughest survive. Welcome to ariadna. Welcome to hell.
FOUNDATION
“Project DAWN” was the name of the most ambitious space colonizing enterprise of the first century of the third millennium. The fortuitous discovery of the extraterrestrial object denominated GA6037283, the first viable wormhole known to Humanity, allowed the world’s space agencies to seriously entertain the possibility of space travel beyond the Solar System. This was the genesis of Project DAWN as a joint effort between NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Russian Cosmonautical Agency. The initial phase of the project involved launching a probe through the wormhole and then retrieving it. The probe, named Lapérouse, came back from the other side with a preliminary analysis of a planetary system identified as Helios.
The biophysical reports on the fourth planet assured its suitability for colonization. This planet was called Dawn (Aube, Amanecer, Paccвeт) to symbolize the dawn of a new age for Humanity.
In order to guarantee the safety of the trip and the stability of the wormhole, a third probe, Pallas, was sent to double-check the data on the planet and the Gate. Thus began the design of a second seed ship, which was given the name of its destination: Aurora. Tragically, the Aurora never arrived at its destination.
When the wormhole collapsed on the passing spacecraft, the Aurora was lost and the Dawn system was left isolated from the rest of Humanity. Their lack of long-range astronomical sensors meant the crew of the Ariadna was oblivious to the collapse of the Gate. The colonization project continued normally as per the original plan. After months of preparation, the definitive landing of the Ariadna mothership finally took place. The gargantuan craft served as interim shelter and was progressively transformed into a permanent building, never to traverse space again.
Settlements
- Poдина (Rodina): Cossack Settlements
- Usariadna: American Settlements
- Caledonia: Scottish Settlements
- Merovingia: French Settlements
Decades after their satellite network detected something that would disrupt the hard-earned Ariadnan stability. The contact was a PanOceanian scout ship, the POS Nirriti. By a twist of fate, the PanOceanians had located a new wormhole to the Dawn system. In less than two months, the Yujingyu military forward ship Lei Feng followed the steps of the Nirriti. The nearly two centuries-old Ariadnan isolation had come to an end. Ariadna met the rest of Humanity once more. The Ariadnans did not receive their visitors with open arms but instead saw their feelings of abandonment by Earth rekindled. The boldness with which PanOceania and Yu Jing both established their own outposts on the planet did not help ease the tension among Ariadnan leaders.
АРИАДНА АРМИЯ (The Ariadnan Army)
Centuries after their fateful arrival at Dawn, Ariadnans are still a pioneering people facing a hostile, partly unexplored planet, a people who shed blood for each mile they colonize. The Ariadnan army is a perfect reflection of the character of its peoples and the different regions in which they live. Scouting, forward and infiltration units are the mainstay of their army, busily exploring and claiming new territories. The Ariadnan line infantry has a marked borderland demeanor, earned by generations of keeping the peace against the Antipode threat. Ariadnans more than make up for their technological lag with tenacity and clever use of their planet’s resources: Antipodes, Dog-Warriors and Teseum help level the playfield against more gimmicky adversaries.
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ARIADNAN TROOPS
ARMATA PROYEKT-4 KOSMOSOLDATS
Space knows how to kill you, and it can do it in many different ways, and that is something it has in common with the Kosmosoldats. In the Human Sphere, the words “Ariadnan astronaut” always caused much hilarity, since they brought to mind awkward people in old-fashioned suits, that is until these troops were first brought into action and they shut everyone’s mouth.
LINE KAZAKS
The Line Kazaks are a light infantry corps that acts as the first line of defense for the thinly spread and often isolated Ariadnan stanitsas. The most common ethnicity in these units is Kazaki (Cossack), so they tend to follow Russian Cossack traditions.
ROKOT VOLUNTEER DEFENSE TEAMS
The Rokot are the symbol of all Cossack laborers in the Ariadnan military: hard as nails workers always ready to stand up and win the battle.
ZENIT-7 DETACHMENT
An elite special detachment that has been defined as the Stavka’s security mechanism. The members of this select unit, all graduates of the Kazak Spetsnaz Skhola, have been carefully selected and stand out for their unwavering loyalty, icy gaze, and a sinister appearance.
THE SCOTS GUARDS, 6TH CALEDONIAN INFANTRY REGIMENT
A unit that combines the best of warrior tradition with the best of Highlander tradition, and the dirtiest tricks of the S.A.S. Commandos along with the most modern of battle techniques; a promise of what the Caledonian and Ariadnan armies could be in the future.
KAZAK SPETSNAZS
The outcome of this vicious training is a group of highly-prepared commandos with an exceptional set of skills. These operatives are capable of chewing glass and killing a horse with their bare hands, and any other human would be hard-pressed to match their reaction times and killer instincts.
1ST HIGHLANDERS S.A.S.
The Highlander SAS (Special Ariadna Service) is a Caledonian commando regiment comprised of experts in “Incursion, Contact, and Exfiltration” operations. They are tasked with advanced reconnaissance for both the Caledonian Highlander Army and Kosmoflot.
TANKHUNTER REGIMENT
The TankHunter Regiment is formed by units trained in the joint use of anti-tank weaponry and camouflage techniques.
VETERAN KAZAKS
Veteran Kazaks are experienced troops equipped with the best gear the Ariadnan army can put together. The Cossack heavy uniform, or Cherkesska, has lower technical specs than other heavy armor suits currently in use, but the use of Teseum in its manufacture means it can give the standard PanOceanian gear a run for its money.
VOLKOLAK ASSAULT TROOPS
An ancient Russian word for werewolves, which is composed of veteran dogfaces with good records, and a few younger ones with not-so-good records, but excellent skills.
ARIADNA SCOUTS
These long-range recon units receive their training at the Kazak Spetsnaz Shkola. As elite forward observers, they specialize in survival, infiltration, surveillance, evasion and clandestine collection of personnel and equipment. Their mission profile is to break into enemy territory, gather information and get out without ever being detected.
ANTIPODE ASSAULT PACKS
Assault Packs are made up of three Antipodes, members of a race native to Dawn. Their behavior has been biochemically modified in order to respond to orders from a Controller. The Antipodes are a peculiar race, and in order to act intelligently, three individuals must unite in a single personality that combines their idiosyncrasies and skills into a tripartite whole. The Ariadnans have found a way to biochemically regulate the responses of up to three of these creatures so that the resulting individual will obey an expert Controller.
45TH HIGHLANDERS RIFLES “GALWEGIAN”
“Scots, you bled for Wallace! Scots, you followed the Bruce! Charge now into your bloody deathbeds or into victory!” Captain Craig Munro. Loch Kirkshaig Battle. Ariadnan Commercial Conflicts. A regiment of frenzied Scottish Warriors, devastating in hand-to-hand combat. As assault troops, Galwegians represent the Caledonian stereotype to a tee: burly, prodigiously strong, broad-shouldered, and uncouth.
IRMANDINHOS
The members of the Brotherhood of Waterborne Surveillance Volunteers, more commonly known as Irmandinhos, act as a shock force capable of disrupting small heavy infantry or forward light infantry units. Over time they have become a permanent military Waterborne Exploration squad, forming the Boarding and Rapid Disembarkation Group.
POLARIS TEAM
There are numerous stories, legends of the Ariadnan border, that speak of omerzeniye—“aberrations” in Russian—such as wild bearpodes: Antipode-bear hybrids, even larger and more brutal than the golden bears that some tribes use as beastly war machines. And if that atrocious planet has created the Dog-Warriors, why would it not create bearpodes, which are hybrids of human, Antipode, and bear?
KAZAK DOKTOR
Cossack Doctors are the best medics in the Ariadnan armed forces. They are more than used to operating under hostile fire, and do not hesitate to navigate an entire battlefield if that is the fastest way to comrades in need of help.
DOG-WARRIORS
You can think of Dog-Warriors as the mongrel crossbreed of an Ariadnan savage (picture a Forty-Fiver or an Irmandinho), an Antipode, and a TAG. The River Tribe raids were the first time Antipodes bit pregnant women without killing them. When those children were born, they turned out to be human-Antipode hybrids.
7TH FOXTROT RANGERS “NEWPORT”
USAriadnan infiltration and reconnaissance unit made up of experts in forward surveillance and “Kill and Escape” operations. The Seventh Foxtrot Rangers is the principal regiment of regular scouts in the USAriadnan military. Their main weapons are a surprise, stealth, and the ruthless efficiency of their attacks.
EQUIPE MIRAGE-5
The Mirage Teams are small teams of special forces troops, created originally by the Merovingian Army to perform military operations denoted as “surgical”. Mirage missions tend to be fast, very violent, and spectacular, with stealth a secondary consideration. Mirage Teams constantly face high risks and accept an elevated casualty count as their due. The Mirage-5 Team, formed by Berthier and Duroc, is one of the oldest and most successful teams.
ARIADNA Characters
CORPORAL UXÍA MCNEILL, 1ST HIGHLANDER S.A.S. REGIMENT
“Take a look, man. I’ve been in the crosshairs before, and I lived.” Uxía McNeill, to her Recruiting Sergeant, while lifting her shirt to show her scars.
Uxía McNeill is a five-and-a-half foot force to be reckoned with. Curt, temperamental, violent and foul-mouthed, she’s an old-school thug. Or, as she was often called in her neighborhood, ‘a right cunt’. She has always been an upstream swimmer, a rebel without a cause, insubordinate to the pre-established values of society. After being kicked out of two schools and a reformatory borstal, she embraced the wild side of life.
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VAN ZANT, CAPTAIN OF 6TH AIRBORNE RANGERS “OKLAHOMA”
“I lead. You follow.” Van Zant, to Captain Pendleton of the 2nd Airborne Rangers during the Operation Death from the Clouds briefing.
Ariadnan Commercial Conflicts. Roger Van Zant is a big, bull-necked guy with a bristly goatee and a shaven head, a guy who likes beer and doughnuts. He’s a callous officer, the kind that was promoted from a runt by the sheer weight of his distinguished services. As a person, Van Zant is authoritarian, offensively honest, irritable and obstinate to a fault. His character inspires mixed feelings. He can display a charismatic personality when he wants to, but other officers have come to hate his guts after locking horns with him one time too many.
CADIN “FIRSTSTRIKE” DONN, POINTMAN OF THE 9TH GRENADIERS REGIMENT
There is nothing that Cadin Donn fears more than not living his life to the fullest. Any Wulver born in Caledonia will tell you that life sucks, and that’s why they always sign up for jobs that offer a short life expectancy.
The thing is that Cadin Donn wasn’t made for tranquility. It’s as if he has a void inside of him, a void that can only be filled with adrenaline and bloodshed. The 9th Wulver Grenadier Regiment offered him all the adrenaline and bloodshed he yearned for, and he responded enthusiastically, becoming the deadliest pointman in the whole regiment, earning his nickname “FirstStrike” for always being at the forefront where the action was happening.
LIEUTENANT MARGOT BERTHIER, EQUIPE MIRAGE-5
Lieutenant Margot Berthier was once an NCO in the Merovingian airborne troopers, passing from there to the Special Operations Command of the Ariadnan Army’s Military Intelligence.
Berthier has the reputation of being a shrewd, tough and sly officer, and an excellent shot as well. She has a personal and deadly style, characterized by her absolute precision and an almost perverse apparent lack of effort. In one of her missions she met Duroc, saw his potential, and recruited him to the Mirage Teams. Since then, they have constituted a tight tactical team, covering each other’s backs. Margot is the brains and the markswoman of the team, while Duroc is the muscle and provides the psychological impact of extreme and sudden violence.
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SERGENT DUROC, EQUIPE MIRAGE-5
Duroc is one of the few Dogfaces capable of performing combat jumps, with a parachute or from a helicopter. The instinctive fear of flying most Dogfaces suffer, and the stress and excitement of imminent combat, normally provokes their violent transmutation to Dog-Warriors, with unfortunate consequences for vehicles and their crew. Sergeant Duroc has no more willpower than any other Dogface, but the presence of Lieutenant Berthier has a remarkably relaxing effect on his state of mind.
