The Peacekeepers are a war-like race of humanoids of a small empire in the Anvil Galaxy. Their homeworld of Ceirus Prime (pronounced Kay-rus) has been mastered (in order and in self-sufficiency). Unfortunately, the Peacekeepers would not be satisfied with mastery of their world. They soon discovered the art of space travel and began to explore their solar system (Ceirus). Many decades passed before they were able to send manned exploration vessels to other planets within their solar system, but what they brought back was well worth the wait.

The Peacekeepers, during an unmanned mission to their moon, a luscious, tropical place, discovered an organism that was capable of much more than it knew itself. They began to breed it slowly, over hundreds of years, into large living organisms, capable of sustaining life and of traveling through the vastness of space. Several different breeds and, in recent years, half-breeds have been created for various purposes. The most common ones, and those known among the rest of the Three Galaxies, are the Leviathan, a large, unarmed transport; the Warship, a heavily armed and agile capital ship; and the Prowler, a small, fast fighter ship. Others exist, such as the Talyn (named after the first of its kind), a half-breed of a Warship and a Leviathan.

The Peacekeepers have used the technology of the living ships to fiercely protect their borders and further their position as highly paid mercenaries. Their two neighboring worlds of Chyal and Sheyan were added to their meager and fledgling empire (now called the Tri-World Alliance) through this means. The Peacekeepers sell their services to planets with no military force, slowly taking the government over from the inside.

The Taking of Chyal and Sheyan
Chyal was taken over a span of about 20 standard years. The Peacekeepers offered their services to the weaker society, seemingly in good hope, as a protector, helping against the intrusions of the Trans-Galactic Empire. The government of Chyal hastily agreed, much to their current distaste.

During the first ten years, the Peacekeepers upheld their end of the bargain, beating back the TGE. During this time, they placed agents in key positions within the Chyal government, biding their time and gaining a firmer foothold. The agents consisted of Peacekeepers elected through swayed votes or, in the case of failure of the previous option, compensated individuals of the Chyalian government with no knowledge of the Peacekeepers plans. Ten years later, the Chyalian monarch passed on, leaving the world looking for guidance. The Peacekeepers struck, then, taking over the government, destroying all the heirs and quelling all resistance.

Since that time, the Peacekeepers have ruled with an iron fist, their own agents now consisting of the whole of the police force for the planet, ensuring they will not be so easily ousted. Sheyan's fate was similar, though much more bloody. Pockets of resistance still exist, but are not well organized or armed.

Homeworld: Ceirus Prime
Ceirus Prime is much like Earth, similar gravity levels, nearly identical atmosphere and climate. The primary difference is that Ceirus Prime does not have any area of the planet where temperatures reach tropical levels, resulting in the Peacekeepers' susceptibility to heat and exposure. The primary resources of the planet are minerals and ores, but the materials brought from the planet's tropical moon make up the greatest amount of the planets output, particularly Peacekeeper weapons (the PK Pulse Rifle and Pistol, in particular) and their trademarked living ships.

The homeworld is home to approximately two billion Peacekeepers, and several hundred million more are scattered throughout the Ceirus system and the Three Galaxies beyond. The two conquered worlds are ruled and policed by approximately 350 million more Peacekeepers. It is rare to encounter a Peacekeeper beyond the borders of the Ceirus system, though they have encountered the TGE (one of the bordering Intergalactic collectives), the Splugorth, and the Intruders. Unfortunately, these encounters have never been pleasant and the Peacekeepers rarely, if ever, trust outsiders because of this.

Conquered World: Chyal
Chyal is a twilight world, composed of many races, especially Silhouettes and Kassans (see Rifts: Phase World and Aliens Unlimited, respectively). The planet, because of it's perpetual twilight, is quite cold, but has brought many technical advances to the Three Galaxies. The lack of sunlight and cold temperatures have required vast amounts of energy, to heat it's thriving cities. Fusion reactors originated here, a technology now used to power most starships and cities.

Conquered World: Sheyan
Sheyan is a dry, arid world with little to provide but scavengers and a place for outlaws to hide. Sheyan would have escaped the view of the Peacekeepers were it not for the cache of gems discovered soon before the taking. These gems have, ironically enough, were used to pay the very military force who later took the planet under the control of the Peacekeepers. The gems sell to the Techno-wizards and sorcerers of the United Worlds of Warlock, one of the more disliked groups (but the Peacekeepers have to pay for their imports somehow).

Physiology & Society
The Peacekeepers are identical to humans. They need to eat, sleep, and drink to survive. The primary difference would be that they are much more disciplined. This has resulted in a highly structured military hierarchy among the ruling class. Physically, the Peacekeepers are marginally stronger than normal humans (add +2 to their strength and endurance attribute rolls). Mentally, the Peacekeepers are better conditioned, but only those who join the military force are hardened against the horrors of war (+2 to the Mental Endurance roll for soldiers). Any Peacekeeper who does not join the military works in the factories or on farms to sustain the vast military traveling the Three Galaxies and protecting the borders of the fledgling empire.

Another aspect of Peacekeeper physiology is due to the their homeworld, Ceirus Prime. The planet has no region where temperatures reach tropical levels, thus Peacekeepers are susceptible to heat. If a Peacekeeper is exposed to tropical levels of heat (85 degrees Fahrenheit or higher) without some amount of protection (fully environmental body armor, for example), they will fall into a coma within 1D4 x 10 minutes. They will remain in the coma for a period of hours equal to their Physical Endurance attribute. Should the Peacekeeper be taken to a climate controlled area or the temperature reduced to tolerable levels, the Peacekeeper has a 1% chance per remaining P.E. point of recovering from the coma. No Peacekeeper is known to have ever survived this state. Other Peacekeepers will usually, out of pity and mercy, kill any Peacekeeper who has succumbed to this state.

The Peacekeepers speak a language similar to Terran English. They do, however, have a slight accent to it (similar to Terran British, but still different). Most people are able to determine exactly when they speak to a Peacekeeper, mostly due to the arrogant attitude and tinge of annoyance that always seems to be present in their voice.

The annoyance that is present is more paranoia, brought about by the recent activities of the Intruders that the Peacekeepers have been unable to track, or stop. The Intruders are the only menace that the Peacekeepers have not been able to defeat or trace back to its source. Fear is beginning to surface in the ranks of the military council, both about the fate of the Tri-World Alliance and of the Peacekeepers as a race.

Peacekeeper society places great emphasis on power and combat ability, for obvious reasons. Despite the militaristic aspects of the race, they treat both men and women equally, provided they are able to prove themselves in combat. In Peacekeeper society, it is said that there are two kinds of Peacekeepers. Those who learn to fight and live. And those who don't, and die. This has been all-too prevalent in their past, with large numbers dying in the wars to keep their territory, and expand their borders.

Peacekeepers generally live to around 75-100 years, barring any untimely death during combat, war, or revolution by unhappy subjects.

Technology
Peacekeepers have developed much of their technology around living organisms. Examples include the living ships they use for space transport and the natural components found in Peacekeeper weapons.

Peacekeeper weapons such as the PK Pulse Rifle and Pistol are powered by a chemical synthesized by Tannot roots, found exclusively on Ceirus Prime and it's moon. The chemical is a type of oil that is an explosive liquid. The oil is encased in a fragile projectile shell that is expelled from the weapon through the use of an electromagnetic field, much like a rail gun. On impact, the shell shatters and the oil is jolted, causing the explosive reaction (this reaction is similar to Nitroglycerin reactions to sudden jolts and rattling, erratic movement.

Peacekeeper ships also roam the Ceirus system, protecting the homeworld from intruders and invaders. The force consists almost entirely of living Warships, though hundreds, perhaps thousands, of the technological space fighters called Prowlers patrol the area as well. The Prowler is always colored black and is as precise and deadly as any weapon in the Peacekeeper arsenal. Additionally, the Prowler is very quick, able to achieve speeds near to the speed of light without the aid of booster jets. The Prowler is powered by a fusion reactor and has more weapons systems than most fighters mass produced in the Three Galaxies.

The other ships in the area, especially the Talyns and the Warships, are grown off-world at an orbital station around Ceirus Prime. A Talyn can be grown in approximately two years, when it's defenses and weapon systems are finally developed. Over time, the Talyn becomes more formidable, the power of it's weapons growing as the ship grows in size (generally one of these weapons will inflict 2d6x10 M.D.).

Warships are more maneuverable than the Talyns, but are also less armored. They carry a wide array of weapon systems integrated during the breeding cycle, a term of approximately fifteen years. These ships are used as command vessels and capital ships by the Peacekeepers and are usually held in the last line of defense. Anywhere from three to thirty will be included in an invasion force.

Written By: Thoth
16 April 2000