Xenowardens

Xenowardens

(Organization)

Type

Ecological Guardians

Leader

Greenspeaker Alca Gabrio

Headquarters

Arkship Equilibrium

Goals

Protect environments from exploitation, pollution, and corruption

Images of Xenowardens

Source: Core Rulebook, pg(s). 481

The Xenowardens are a faction of environmentalists who are devoted to protecting planets that contain life from destructive exploitation and corruption.

History

The Xenowardens are believed to have been founded by Castrovelian druids at the dawn of space travel. A popular conspiracy theory blames rogue Xenowardens for bringing the Stardust Plague to discourage interstellar colonisation.

Goals

The Xenowardens believe that all planets harboring life are unique and must be protected from exploitation, and therefore oppose unregulated development and colonisation in search of quick wealth. They do not oppose all expansion per se, as they recognise that civilisation is also part of nature's balance, but must be tightly regulated.

While they do not avoid armed conflict, and in fact their elite military units such as the Greenguards and the Wildknights with their symbiotic starfighters and biological armor are legendary, much of their political power is economic. Their biotech and renewable energy research is matched only by that of the barathus, and their scientific advances gained from studying newly discovered biological organisms benefit everyone.

The Xenowardens often leverage political power to have their members included as ecological advisors and observers in corporate ventures, and they patrol newly discovered worlds to ensure that colonists respect the environment. Most Xenowardens operate independently, stopping abuses and convincing others of the benefits of living in harmony with nature.

Structure

The Xenowardens are an egalitarian group, and even the newest members are encouraged to speak their minds. They are led by the Greenspeaker (currently Alca Gabrio), who is chosen by acclaim among arkship captains, but who must first undergo a grueling trial. The candidate is dropped on an unexplored yet habitable planet, and must survive a year without harming the local ecosystem. Only then is she installed as the new leader of the Xenowardens. The Greenspeaker is advised by mouse-sized creatures named lhoras who can answer questions about the future, and whose origin is kept secret so other groups cannot exploit them.

Members

Some Xenowardens are mystics (particularly xenodruids) who protect the wilds with nature magic, others are scientists who research alien lifeforms for knowledge and medical discoveries, yet others are career soldiers who force civilisations to live in harmony with nature at the barrel of a gun.

Religion

Many Xenowardens follow Oras, the deity of change, natural selection, and evolution, while blending their worship with the precepts of the Green Faith. They believe this allows them to create more sustainable systems while reducing their ecological footprints.

Relationships

The Xenowardens have improved their relationship with the enhanced cybernetic Augmented, believing that such enhancement could be used to reduce ecological impact.

Sites

The Xenowardens are currently working together with AbadarCorp and the start-up New Horizons Luxury Retreats corporation to terraform the planet Jedarat.

Starships

The Xenowardens' biomechanical starships are not built, but are rather grown in orbital nurseries owned by the Unified Conservatory. They are bioengineered to not be reliant on non-renewable technology, can heal themselves over time, and respond to threats unlike any other ship; the larger ones possess animal-like intelligence so that they can consent to the tasks assigned to them.