Andronian Legions

A militaristic civilisation from the war-torn world Andronus, the Andronians, formally the Andronian Legions, are a humanoid race with a strong tradition of expansion. Due to centuries of constant warfare, the Andronians began to enter into clone production to replace any casualties. A fanatically purist race, the Andronians are ruled by a military high council and shun the usage of cybernetics and augmentation in favour of production of specialised clones to fill elite roles. While natural births do exist in the current Andronian society, they are mostly relegated to high command roles as opposed to the frontline due to their scarcity. Natural born officers are utilised as clone templates due to the instability of the genetic material of a second generation clone.

In Earth Year 9,000 BC, the Andronians came into contact with the neighbouring Cyclonian Empire over a series of mineral rich systems in between the two empires. This triggered a millenia long ongoing conflict between the two expanding empires. The cybernetic augmentations of the reptilian Cyclonians further antagonised the purist Andronians. While the Cyclonians dominated in technology, the Andronians overwhelmed the Cyclonians through sheer numbers. The conflict quickly stagnated into a war of attrition. By the time of the Humanity-Hierarchy War, the conflict had led to an estimated 20 million Andronian casualties per week; triggering an increase in production on the Andronian Clone Worlds. On average, a Clone World produced five million new soldiers every half hour.

The Andronians rely on heavy artillery support and rapid stormtrooper tactics to breach enemy lines along with rapid infantry and armoured support. Standard tactics often involve opening up with rapid artillery barrages followed with storm detachments to punch a hole into the enemy line. Stormtroopers will be followed by massed infantry charges and armour support. Atmospheric cruisers will often support the charges with low-altitude plasma bombardment to destroy fortifications and enemy command centres. In severe cases, Andronian High Admirals may authorise the complete orbital bombardment of a planet, effectively rendering the planet’s surface a lifeless, radioactive wasteland.

Andronian command ships utilise a powerful planet-busting weapon system known as a “Desolator”; a launching of between ten and thirty conical warheads that upon contact to a planet’s surface begin to drill beneath the surface before emitting a violent series of seismic tremors on a magnitude of 13+ on the Human Richter Scale before violently detonating. The destruction caused by a Desolator can cause damage ranging from shattering a planet’s crust to tearing the planet apart into chunks of lifeless rock. The order to use a Desolator salvo is known as “Na’terrum”, or “Extinction Tactics”, and must be approved by a high-ranking official in the fleet, often a Fleet Admiral or higher. The destruction caused by a Desolator slavo often generates long-lasting aftershocks to the system which can go on for decades