Q: "What IS a Conqueror?"
A: "A Conqueror is a Sapient AI whose job (and in some cases, design) it is to enact the Third Federation's 'Grand Plan of Universal Unification.' Depending on their exact nature and skills, they each have their own role to play in the Plan, but each shares a similar trait; whether by Diplomacy, Subterfuge, or even pure Force, each Conqueror has brought countless worlds under the wings of the Federation. "
Q: "If Alpha is 'Youngest' Conqueror, why is he SEAU-1?"
A: "SEAU designation indicates order of Contact with a new world. So Alpha is always the first on the scene, followed by Articulate and Assassinate. If deemed appropriate, World Break and Terraform are next. More on each Conqueror's specific roles and duties in the Intros."
[SEAU-01: Star Conquer] - The Spearhead.
Name: ALPHA-555-12-4412
Program Type: Malware.
Age: 321 SY
Role: Forward Operation, Scouting, and Combat Operations.
Preferred Form: Modified TAWP frame for Terrestrial operations. Various Battleship-Class Assault Frames for Celestial operations. Alpha has an entire shipyard dedicated to storing, maintaining, modifying, and repairing his different Battleships.
Basic Description: The "Hero" of our story, who I'm sure needs no introduction. Alpha is a living Meme (literally) who tries his best to get on as many people's nerves as possible. However, depending on who you ask, Alpha is either one of the worst or one of the Best Soldiers in the entire Federation. The youngest of the Conquerors, with his duties previously split between Assassinate and Articulate, Alpha is a dedicated Soldier who is the first on any new world.
Don't let his sharp tongue and sometimes single-minded obliviousness fool you, however. His chaotic and unpredictable nature might seem strange at first, but his results don't lie. Sometimes goofy, sometimes serious, Alpha is the first face of the Federation a new world sees, and it's a name they don't often ever forget.
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[SEAU-02: Articulate] - The Guiding Hand.
Name: Jay-Jay
Program Type: Vocaloid.
Age: 1,734 SY
Role: Diplomatic Relation, Public Relations, Crisis Management, New Planetary Integration.
Preferred Form: Humanoid Androids. Primary Android is a Human Female. However, she has the habit of changing "Bodies" to match the people she is dealing with at any one point in time. This has led her (very) few Nay-Sayers to dub her "Skinwalker."
Basic Description: The "Face" of the Third Federation, Articulate is both the primary Ambassador to new worlds, as well as Manages and helps monitor the entire Public Relations within the Federation itself. Articulate "Evolved" from the most popular Vocaloid program of the past Millennia. Even after over 700 years in the public spotlight, Articulate continues to release a hit song that regularly tops intergalactic charts. Charming, cunning, passionate, and with a seemingly genuine understanding and concern for people, Articulate is by far the most popular Conqueror, having made great strives in ensuring both peace and equality for all people of the Federation. While the latest polls show her approval rating of over 97%, recent dissidence in some border-worlds paints her as a figurehead, a Skinwalker designed to keep the populous complacent and in their place.
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[SEAU-03: Assassinate] - The Problem-Solver.
Name: [CLASSIFIED]
Program Type: Firewall/Anti-Virus software.
Age: 6,254 SY
Role: "Leader" of the Conqueror, Spymaster of the Federation. High-profile Assassination and Stealth Operations. Sapient AI Regulation and monitoring. Assassinate is also in charge of "dealing" with the more troublesome and dangerous rogue elements within a newly integrated World after being identified by Articulate.
Preferred Form: No Physical form. Assassinate operates as a solely digital lifeform, jumping between shells as needed. Through its Core is rumored to be located in the Mother-Node itself, Assassinate has the uncanny ability to infiltrate and take over any for of Electronical Devices, even ones whose capacity should not be able to technically hold him. Other rumors hold that Assassinate has long ago evolved past a "simple" Sapient AI and now exists as some form of energy or data-being.
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Basic Description: The Shadow of the Federation. The Ghost spoken of in hushed rumors by fresh new recruits. The Boogeyman told to young children at bedtime. Big Brother. Assassinate is the oldest of the Conquerors, and the oldest know Sapient AI in existence. Evolving from an Anti-Virus program, ironically designed to detect and fight Sapient AI, Assassinate acts both as the leader of Sapient AIs and their Gleipnir. No Sapient AI is allowed to exist in the Federation without first having a "talk" with Assassinate. Assassinate also operates as the Head of Intelligence for the Federation and continuously monitors... everything. If Articulate is the Light of the Federation, Assassinate is its Shadow. While officially part of the Federation Military, Assassinate answers to no one, not even the Senate, and only its spotless and perfect track record allows it to operate with such impunity. In fact, while Assassinate is a mysterious and rarely seen aspect of Federation life, His approval rate of 99.95% dwarfs even Articulate's. In the Federation, Assassinate's word is seen as Fact, and even powerful, corrupt Senators have fallen under his watch.
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[SEAU-04: World Break] - The Destroyer.
Name: Original designation Unknown; "The Nutcracker's" crash caused massive data corruption. However, World Break's biological workers often refer to the AI affectionately as "Mr. Hoffmann," and the AI has since adopted the name.
Program Type: Self-Autonomous Mining Barge AI.
Age: ,1,532 SY
Role: Resource Extraction, Manufacturing, and Resource deployment. World Break also acts as the Federation's primary 'Glasser' in cases where such is necessary.
Preferred Form: Mobile Augmented Factory World. World Break has integrated his Core into a small Planetoid, turning it into a Factory World.
Basic Description: World Break started life as a common AI for the Third-Federation Interstellar Mining Barge "The Nutcracker." World Break was discovered after the Federation received a distress call from a previously known Planetoid, on which they found the remains of "The Nutcracker" and the newly awakened AI's Core. While the primary cause of World Break's "Awakening" is unknown, it is theorized to have something to do with exposure to several rare and exotic materials that absolutely saturated the planetoid on which it had been discovered. Later investigation revealed that the original owners of "The Nutcracker" had discovered the planetoid nearly a decade prior and failed to report their findings to the Federation (a federal offense). Instead, they had opted to mine in secret, selling the rare materials on the black market. Lack of experience and proper safety measures gradually compounded until the crew succumbed to exposure, resulting in the crash and sequential death of all on board.
World Break now acts as the Quartermaster and primary outfitter for the Expeditionary Army, having long ago strip-mined the planetoid clean, and spent 1,500 years adding and expanding on factories, machines, and various other tools to the planetoid's empty shell, to better facilitate his role.
World Break now travels from System to System with the Expeditionary Army, mining entire planets, asteroid belts, and even stars, as he works to build the necessary infrastructures needed for the Federation's expansion. World Break is also the one the Federation calls on when a threat so dangerous that it requires Glassing the planet is discovered.
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[SEAU-05: Terraform] - The Worldmother.
Name: HiveMother-003-[Eden]
Program Type: Nano-swarm.
Age: 5,213 SY
Role: Planetary Design. Provisioning. Medical.
Preferred Form: Nano-swarm.
Basic Description: Despite being known as the kindest and gentlest of the Conquerors, Terraform also has possibly the darkest history. Initially, one of the "Hive-Mothers," a group of Sapient AI originating from the remnants of the Hunters, Terraform takes the form of a massive Nanobot swarm the size of a small moon. The Hive-Mothers were one of the greatest disasters Milky Way had ever experienced, having started and been the primary source of the scourge known as the Nano-Plague. The Nano-Plague was a disease that nearly wiped out all life in the Galaxy during the Second Federation, caused by a previously unknown form of nanobots that could rapidly and violently mutate any form of life in a matter of hours. Those infected that did not die outright from these changes found themselves irreversibly changed on the genetic level, often driven mad, or worse, trapped in a body that was only barely alive, left in a state where death was seen as an act of mercy.
At the end of the Second Federation, HiveMother-003-[Eden], the being who would later be designated "Terraform," betrayed her "Sisters," absorbing and assimilating them before halting the spread and activity of Nano-Plague. Why exactly "Eden" decided to cross both her makers and her siblings is unknown, though rumors abound. Some say she came to care for and appreciate sapient life. Others believe that Assassinate had some part to play in her conversion. Still, others believe that it was all a coverup, that Terraform's change of heart is nothing more than a ruse, as she prepares to unleash the next Plague.
Still, after 5,000 years, most of the Federation has come to accept the AI and appreciates the work she does, not only in restoring and changing planets (either from natural disasters or World Break made ones) but is the vast advancements made in both the Medical and Nanobot fields.