Sliding Albion
Context
Sliding Albion is a parallel Earth, with a different history. It first appeared in 1999, in a early The Authority story arc during the Warren Ellis run.
Since the book was a landmark one, this story was notable.
Organization
Full Name :
Sliding Albion.
Purpose :
Almost all of their society’s aspects are, at best, in stagnation for the last 50 years, the rest is decadent. Most of the land is poisoned by the numerous bacteriological weapons they used. What they need is a new Earth to war with, and to subdue.
Modus operandi :
The current leaders are psychopathic warlords. As their bloodline is vowed to extinction for lack of women able to bear their children, they’re turning to other female populations for breeding purpose… and to other male populations to satisfy their blood thirst.
In their reality, a handful of military nobles are responsible for all the most despicable crimes against humanity that we know of, and even worst. They got devastating tools for that, like nuclear and bacteriological weapons, and they are fully willing to use them.
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Extent of operations :
When they’ve finished on their native Earth, when they’ve mastered the Door’s technology, they looked to other dimensions, ours.
Relationship to conventional authorities :
The first contact they had with our Earth was in the 1920s, over British soil. They sent a small scouting party that got repelled by a then flamboyant Jenny Sparks (though she certainly was helped by other powerful beings, or at least by the English military). Afterward, they cooled down and entered 30 years of covert cultural exchanges with the British government.
Bases of operations :
Buckingham Palace, Sliding London, Sliding England.
Former bases of operations :
Sicily and Sliding Italy.
Major funding :
The leading royal class has a whole planet to tax.
Known enemies :
Jenny Sparks.
Known allies :
The Blue, the alien race that made contact with them in the 16th century. Originally, they are tall (about 8’), thin, humanoids with blue skin. Their bald head is comparatively bigger than humans. Their hands have three fingers. But there are exceptions, like Regis, who is shorter, bulkier, has a horned skull and five fingers.
As time passes, their blood was diluted with the human’s, and the crossbreeds looked more and more human. The skin is still bluish, and they take much more human, though usually beautiful, traits. Only a few specimen of the original race still walk the surface of Sliding Earth (Regis reported only five), and their bloodline is bound for to extinction.
There is no monger any Blue female alive, and the human females are now too weak to bear their children without miscarriage.
The British Space Group, created by our England, as a covert organization, to covertly take charge of the various exchanges done with Sliding Albion.
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Membership
Number of active members :
Take the remaining nobles of our reality, indifferent of nationality, and here you are for the ruling class. As the society is deeply militarist, there are many soldiers.
Number of reserve members :
That would be the rest of the population. Due to the radical warfare techniques they used, it should be far less than ours. I dare say a third, so two billion repressed people.
Organizational structure :
This is a monarchy. Though the present society is so decadent that only the ruthless nobles with military support are really leading the game.
Known officers :
Windsor family (Rulers of Albion, extinct), Regis (a very powerful Blue leading Sicily and Italy, and who was part of the first alien expedition to this Earth, deceased), Ingvy (the Blue-human crossbreed buddy of Regis), Lorenzo (a Blue-Human crossbreed spy, who married Jenny Sparks to fulfill a plot twist, then turned against England and, in custody by the British Space Group since 1953).
Membership requirements :
The ruling class is a birth right’s nobility, the now dying pure “Blue blood” (notice the capital B) being the most prized.
History
Founder :
The founders were the English royal family, that first made contact with the aliens, and overtly included them in their bloodline.
Other leaders :
Their siblings, both human, Blue and crossbreeds. That makes them the Windsor family and Regis’ (who is now an eunuch thanks to Jenny Sparks).
Previous purpose and goals :
At the peek of the Alien-England cooperation, their goal was one of cultural and technological sky-rocketing progress.
Major campaigns or accomplishments :
At the very beginning, in the age of Renaissance (16th century), an alien race descended to Earth and made contact with the human race. At this time, the more advanced civilizations were Italy (of course) and England. Except for the vast disparity in technology, they share much common traits : expansionism, Renaissance and courtly cultures.
Instead of fighting each other (which would had spelled certain doom for the human race), they crossbred. In the following centuries, the resulting culture made incredible breakthroughs, both technically and culturally. But not much in social advance as they still used a monarchy as a ruling system.
As the leading country in the exchange with the Aliens, England was the center of political and technical influence, it was Sliding Albion.
By the 1920s, they discovered the Door’s technology, enabling them to slide to other dimensions.
They spent 30 years of covert cultural exchanges with our British government
Major setbacks :
By the early 20th century, it was becoming an imperialist society in stagnation. They started to use the Doors to conquer new territories, on the other sides of the realities’ barriers. They made contact with our England, first as a war party, but were repelled.
By 1953, Sliding Europe, jealous/sick of Sliding Albion’s rule, declared war. The first parallel world war burst and ended as soon as it began, as they instantly went bacteriological. Sliding Albion opened a door to our England to vent the poisonous cloud, but it didn’t prevent her to take its full effects.
This cloud, however, upon crossing the portal, lost its devastating effects. It instead caused mutations on certain parts of the English population. It was the English version of the Seedlings ’ Comet.
Afterward, Sliding Albion was trapped in a 50 years period of constant global conflicts, still using mass destruction’s weapons, leading to the present state.
Currently, as Sicily, led by Regis, won the last world war (the 4th), he appoints the ruling bloodline of Albion (the Windsor, before he crushed his skull bare handed and ate his children).
Personnel and equipment
Military personnel :
The Sliding Albion’s military shares any other regular army’s stats, regarding people. The only exception being that it kept this petty colonialist flavor England had in the 19th century.
They still use cavalry (horsemen) regiments, riflemen… Their Royal Sliding (Flying cross-dimensional) Corps dress as WWII pilots with leather jacket and flying goggles. Their Shift Navy behave and dress like WWI warships sailors. They are made both of human and Blue crossbreeds. They fight in the name of England and Italy.
Sliding Albion Soldier
| Dex: 03 | Str: 02 | Bod: 03 | Motivation: Soldier |
| Int: 02 | Wil: 02 | Min: 02 | Occupation : Soldier |
| Inf: 02 | Aur: 02 | Spi: 03 | Resources {or Wealth} : 003 |
| Init: 007 | HP: 005 |
Skills:
Medicine (First Aid): 02, Military Science (Demolition): 02, Weaponry: 03
Specialized units:
- Cavalry : Animal Handling: 03, Weaponry: 04, Saber [BODY 06, EV 03], CHEST PLATE [/BODY/ 05, bypass on +1 CS].
- Shift Cavalry : Vehicles (Air): 03, Weaponry: 04, Lance [BODY 06, EV 02, Stretching: 01], CHEST PLATE [as above], Shield, SHIFT MOUNT [see below].
- Shift Pilot : Vehicles (Air, Space): 05, SHIFT SHIP [see below].
- Officer : Military Science: 05.
Resources :
30.
Equipment:
Sliding Albion’s technology, due to five centuries of contact with The Blue, is much more advanced than ours. Their first feature is the mastery of the Door’s technology. Though it had been lost in the never ending wars on their native Earth, they have recently rediscovered it.
- Rifles [BODY 04, Energy Blast: 07, R#3]. This is the standard rifleman’s issue.
- SHIFT MOUNT [BODY 06, STR 04, Flight: 05, Radio Communication: 05]. This is a single-seater flying device, looking like an armored bike, without the wheels, but with short wings and tail at the back.
- SHIFT FIGHTER [Hardened BODY 08, STR 07, Dimension Travel (Travel): 03, Energy Blast: 11, Flight: 11, Radio Communication: 10]. This is the standard air superiority/ground assault fighter. It’s slightly less armored than a conventional jet fighter, but much more agile and packs more firepower. It looks like a jet fighter, without wings, but with 2 big beetle like mandibles housing the firing systems. Two pilots crews it.
- SHIFT SHIP [Hardened BODY 11, STR 18, Damage Capacity: 08, Dimension Travel (Travel): 05, Flight: 05, Radio Communication: 12, Adv./Draw.: this is so huge and slow it actually is like an obstacle (OV/RV = Bod/Bod)], this is the troop (craft ?) carrier. Its crew is not much, around 10. Though its outer appearance is very high-tech, all inside has a steam-punk flavor : deck made of wood, a wooden steering wheel, cadran indicators instead of computer screens… The crew has special instructions to go terrorist if the ship is taken down].
Bibliography
First appearance :
StormWatch #44.
Origin issue :
The Authority #6.
Significant issues :
StormWatch #44: the story of Jenny Sparks, everything related to Sliding Albion is entirely repeated in The Authority #6.
The Authority #5-8: Where Regis, an eunuch since his last meeting with Jenny in 1925, taking back the control of Albion by killing Windsor, sends an all-out assault on the Earth. The Authority repels the first wave.
Jenny renews contact with the British Space Group (after all, she’s still ranked as Colonel). She brings the Engineer and Swift, to have a chat with Lorenzo, her first husband, so she they could sort Sliding Albion’s motivations to attack Earth 50 years after their last contact.
The purpose of Regis, she thought she killed in 1925, but was saved by Sicilian doctors, is to make Earth a breeding ground for the dying Blue bloodline : a rape camp. The Authority takes charge of defending the Earth (by sending Apollo, solo, against the 2nd wave in Northern Europe), and takes the battle to them.
Arriving there with the help of The Carrier, they kick asses and take names. Hawksmoor kills Regis, Jenny destroys Buckingham, and the Doctor sinks Italy and sends its inhabitants into space. The Authority freed Sliding Earth from the influence of Sliding Albion. “One Earth down, one to go”
Source: Image, Wildstorm Universe.
Helper(s): William A Peterson, Wyrdlyng.