Treznor
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| Flag of Treznor | |
| Motto: Amat Victoria Curam. | |
| No Map Available | |
| Region | Wysteria |
|---|---|
| Capital | Devonton |
| Official Language(s) | English |
| Leader | Devon Treznor |
| Population | ~ 5.1 billion |
| Currency | golden dubloon |
| NS Sunset XML | |
Overview
The Empire of Treznor is a cynical dictatorship presently headed by a single, charismatic leader. It is located in the region of Wysteria and is reknown for its liberal civil rights as well as its ruthless suppression for political freedoms. It is a founding member of the Non-Democratic Alliance in addition to its membership in the Triumvirate of Yut.
History
Formerly known as the Republic of Drona, a corrupt democracy rife with crime and civil unrest. Devon Treznor organised a resistence movement, promising sweeping social and economic reforms as well as an end to corruption. With the aide of a core group of revolutionaries and a previously unknown cloaking technology, he mounted an assault on major military installations before marching on the capital and taking it for his own.
Two years later, the Empire of Treznor appeared on the international scene with the newly crowned Devon Treznor as Emperor. He spent as much time making deals with international leaders as he did instituting draconian reforms throughout the land. Political freedoms were outlawed and civil rights were crushed. A significant portion of the population fled until the borders could be locked down and order maintained. By the time the dust had settled, an official census showed only a few million citizens were left. Emperor Treznor vowed that they would become the core of a new nation stronger, safer and better than the one they knew before.
Rumours of repeated coup attempts are officially denied by the government. One senior official from the Ministry of Intelligence was heard to say, "There are no traitors in the Empire. They simply don't exist. Neither do their families." However, government ministries were repeatedly shaken up as various ministers rose through the ranks of government service, only to disappear abruptly. Rumours say that the Emperor shot them personally, although given the number of individuals who have "retired" from service, it is generally accepted that this is an exaggeration.
Shortly after his rise to power, the Emperor took control of the national economy and organised a restructuring of industry. The obvious focus was to promote economic strength above all. The Empire quickly made strides in mining, arms and automobile manufacturing. Aware of the impression this could give his neighbours, the Emperor proposed a mutual protection pact cementing his stated goals, that he would not attack any of his neighbours, but would come to their defense if necessary. In return, they agreed to do the same for him. With such notable signatories as The Grendels and The Bruce, the Empire found a great deal of military support to protect it in the event of invasion.
It was not originally understood why the Emperor sought out the leader of the Dominion of the Dread Lady Nathicana. Reports of hostility and mistrust appeared to be well-founded, and unofficial reports of kidnapping and sniping were bandied back and forth. The Emperor declared that the Dread Lady herself was off-limits; any citizen of the Empire found to be hindering or threatening her would be shot on sight. Gradually, formal relations between the two nations warmed and a full alliance was eventually declared.
After securing his position in Wysteria, the Emperor signed on as a member of G.O.D., ironically named the Global Organisation of Dictators. The stated purpose of the organisation was to pursue peaceful relations with the world and avoid the messy military entanglements that plagued the G.D.O.D.A.D. organisation. However, Danneland renounced leadership of the organisation and was replaced with Barbarosea, and the Emperor saw that the end was near. Indeed, in the following year Barbarosea announced that G.O.D. would formally merge with G.D.O.D.A.D. and the Empire quickly severed ties, bringing with them their ally Iraqstan. In a private meeting with Carlos Quil'raya and Nathicana d'Aquisto, they formed the Non-Democratic Alliance. Shortly after this, the Emperor secured friendly relations with members of the Triumvirate of Yut which eventually lead to formal admission into that organisation.
Not long after the formation of the NDA, the Empire came under attack from terrorists of Iaceo, linked to the Dominion of Tappee. After many months of intensive research and coordination with Tappee, the Emperor declared war on Iaceo and assaulted their island headquarters. The organisation was wounded, but their leader escaped only to be captured by Tappee intelligence later on. During that period the Emperor was injured in a missile attack. Nathicana d'Aquisto assumed control over his medical care and rushed him off to Rhea where Zero-One restored him to full health and capacity. It was originally reported that the Emperor lost his right arm and both legs, but it was later shown that this was an exaggeration. Since the ambush, the Emperor has increased his personal security and been very careful with public appearances. It was another two years later that the Emperor began a series of legal reforms lifting many restrictions on personal freedoms and increasing civil rights to levels unknown under the previous government.
The Emperor has held to his policy of diplomacy and neutrality as much as possible. During the Sixth World War against Arda and the Five Kingdoms, many Wysterian nations were drawn to the conflict building in Sisgardia and the Emperor could not refuse. However, working behind the scenes with the assistance of the Dread Lady Nathicana, he arranged for an ambassador to be sent to the Five Kingdoms of Melkor Unchained as a goodwill gesture. The attack against Sisgardia never happened, and Treznor was able to withdraw her fleets without firing a shot.
Although there have been several supporting actions (notably in defense of Iraqstan), the Treznor military has remained largely defensive. The focus has been on mobile assault, but this doctrine was later updated to include a stronger air force. This eventually culminated in the last war with the Five Kingdoms, after the attempted invasion of Io following the murder of Lucius Lancaster of Burninatonia. Treznor then rallied Wysterian nations and other allies and invaded Arda through Rukemia, advancing on the Five Kingdoms city of Angband before being stopped by Ardan forces and forced to withdraw. Although the defeat was costly, the Emperor never admitted failure.
The Emperor signed a research treaty with Iraqstan, gaining access to the Iraqstani space station named Zelgado. After a critical breakthrough in cold fusion technology, a group of Treznor scientists lead by Doctor Hamilton made an essential breakthrough in electromagnetic research. They produced an efficient method of electromagnetic propulsion used for railgun and coilgun weapons. They further expanded on this research, creating EM-based propulsion for terrestrial and extraterrestrial vehicles. During a demonstration for the leaders of the NDA, a test probe was accidentally intercepted by a Dominion ship performing a tesseract drive jump. The probe disappeared, but later reappeared on a ballistic course returning to the Zelgado station. Upon reviewing the sensor logs, it was established that the probe had dropped through a very short wormhole juncture to the far side of the solar system. Doctor Hamilton theorised and proved that the gravity distortion created by the tesseract drive jump intersected with the strong electromagnetic distortions in such a way as to create a stable but short-lived wormhole. On the orders of the Emperor and with the assistance of his scientific team, Doctor Hamilton went on to work out a method of manipulating these fields to send an object anywhere in the universe they wanted to go. It was established that while the math was solid, the navigational calculations were beyond current Treznor computer technology. Zero-One was enlisted to assist in this endeavour, and the first manned Faster-Than-Light jump was made by a test ship dubbed Arrowflight One. Whereas tesseract drive travel is relatively instantaneous, it is essentially limited in distance. More efficient in the short range, it is nevertheless prohibitive for travel outside the galaxy unless the crew is willing to travel for years or decades. The Treznor FTL method brought faraway galaxies within reach in a matter of days and weeks.
Now ushered into the age of interstellar travel, the Emperor declared that the focus of the Empire would be exploration and not military. Although sporting a small military space fleet to ward off pirates from shipping to Titan, Treznor forces are otherwise absent in the solar system. A fleet of FTL probes took off in all directions of the universe, programmed to seek out solar systems capable of supporting life according to a random sampling. There were no limits to the search parameters; in terms of the Emperor's edict, the farther out the better. Gradually, positive returns began to trickle back through Channel Spook, the Quantum Entanglement communications method developed by the Dominion of the Dread Lady Nathicana. Then went forth the first generation of exploration vessels, crewed by military personnel.
Seven years passed with reports coming back with dozens of potential colony worlds. The Emperor declined all of them, apparently seeking a very strict criteria. There were repeated tragedies among the vessels, some lost to cosmic phenomenon, some slain on inhospitable worlds and some who entered wormholes and were simply never heard from again. The search was expanded out to the far reaches of the known universe until finally the crew of the Medea, commanded by Captain Jeffrey Hunter, reported a world they named Jewel. Although inhabited by a developing semi-sentient species, the Emperor announced success and ordered colonisation to begin immediately.
During this exploration phase the race known as the Sakkra, allies through the Triumvirate, opened their solar system to bids for colonisation. The Empire made a deal for Sslaa VIII, an ice moon far out from the Sslaa sun. With the support of the Sakkra, Treznor engineers would learn some of the difficulties inherent in colonisation as well as perfect engineering techniques under extreme conditions. Unfortunately, the original colony ship was lost in FTL transit and never heard from again. The Empire went into a panic, and the Emperor was forced to concede there were dangers with the method. He pledged that the troubles would be corrected before any more colony attempts were continued. At the same time he had one of the colony vessels refitted with Black Knight star drives obtained from the Triumvirate and ordered this vessel sent to Sslaa VIII. This allowed the project to resume after a delay while Treznor scientists worked on the problem of the FTL drive errors.
After another year of delay, the Emperor announced that the problems had been worked out and that colonisation would be resumed. The first three colony vessels would be sent out to Jewel with an estimated travel time of six months. The Empire held its collective breath until word was received that all three vessels arrived intact, and the offloading had begun.
The Empire has settled down in recent years, focusing on continued prosperity, personal freedoms and international mediation. Stellar exploration continues and Treznor vessels continue to disappear, but the causes are presently unknown. While the Empire has grown beyond the wildest imaginings of the most optimistic analysts, the opening of new colonies and favourable contact with allied nations appears to have given Treznor citizens a reason to be proud of their Empire. It isn't the nicest place to live, they admit, but they've worked hard to make it their home.
