Coalition of Colonies
This loosely confederated Alliance is the largest power in the Frontier, and possibly the most populous entity in the Orion Spur. Arising from the Coalition of Colonies, the systems of the Alliance greatly value their independence and freedom. A few powerful systems dominate the politics of the Frontier. Many of those in the Frontier Alliance harbor distrust of the Sol Alliance even after the end of the First Intestellar War.
Overview
Rising from the former Coalition of Colonies, the Frontier Alliance is a loose confederation of united "entities" within the human frontier. These entities range from whole colonial systems to travelling super ships to mining and farming outposts. The Frontier’s motto is “Together We Are”. Though nearly any language can be found in the Frontier, Tau Ceti Basic and Freespeak are the most common.
Population and Notable Factions and Planets
Due to the ever changing nature of the Frontier Alliance, it is hard to get a population count. Estimates put a minimum of 100 billion to a maximum of 175 billion people currently protected by the Frontier Alliance Defense Pact.
The Xanu Free League
The Xanu Free League is effectively the hub of the Frontier Alliance, with Xanu Prime being one of the most populated and wealthiest planets in the Frontier. The Xanu Free League is formed of several megacities in the system of Xanu, governed by a President who is elected every three years from the mayors of the various cities. The current president Johanna Frimslar comes from the largest megacity present on Xanu Prime, Argiavar. Considered the de-facto capital of the Frontier Alliance, Argiavar is home to a large foreign district with embassies and legations from every major faction and megacorporation. While being economically prosperous and politically powerful, the Xanu Free League maintains no standing military force and relies upon its police force to keep order.
The representatives and military officers of the Frontier meet on Xanu Prime to discuss treaties, policies, and strategies on an annual basis in an impressive gathering hall on the artifical island of Greentree, which is equidistant from all the major cities on the planet. The planet is also the headquarters for the Free Assembly, which is a Frontier-based political group who believes in free government and liberty of the individual.
The Techno-Conglomerate
The Techno-Conglomerate is the backbone of the Frontier Alliance’s technological research. Instead of being based on planets, the Techno-conglomerate is a large fleet of miscellaneous civilian and military vessels that ravels throughout the Frontier. As a moving flotilla of high-tech ships, the Conglomerate look to incorporate technology with humanity. They were driven out of the Sol Alliance for their stance on augmentations shortly before the first Interstellar War. Though the Techno-Conglomerate has never acted in an offensive capacity, their fleet is one of the stronger centralized combat units in the Frontier Alliance. As their nation is based upon their sizable flotilla, they are often unwilling to venture into dangerous space.
They are incredibly accepting, trading with nearly all foreign bodies (excluding the Empire of Dominia), especially Eridani, and consider synthetic life as equals. Citizens of the Techno-Conglomerate often find work with large megacorporations such as NanoTrasen and Einstein Engines, with many of them finding high positions as engineers and scientists. The Techno-Conglomerate is governed by the captains of the ten largest ships, which includes research and military vessels. The largest, the heavy cruiser T.C.S. Balbo, is captained by High Captain Mark Mareus, the current leader of the council of ten.
Scarabs
The Scarabs are a tightly-knit and primarily nomadic faction which resides upon gargantuan home-fleets akin to that of the Techno-Conglomerate, in a grander scale. Seen as a hardy and self-sufficient people, their primary fleet holds the structure of a uniquely made Khaganate. Led by the young Iraiya, the Queen in Blue is the perpetually mobile fleet. Many Scarabs are seen planet-side in unclaimed territory, making usage of untapped materials or valuable sources of food and water to supply the ever-growing fleet as it moves. The Scarabs meet criticism for what is essentially a conquest through uncharted territory surrounding the space of the Sol Alliance. Though at this point, it's clear they have no reason or will to care.
The Scarabs seek to unify Humanity under one banner at any cost, or so Iraiya says. Their intent at the least to absorb all Offworlders into their own home fleets is clear, and they have found little difficulty in convincing many to join them, using safety and plentiful supplies as prime motivators.
Societal
Humans and aliens from any and all ethnicities, as well as any combination of them, can be found in the Frontier. The religions in the Frontier are also as diverse as the people. Exact numbers and percentages are unknown.
The Free Frontier
The Frontier Alliance’s people often believe everything should be free for the people to do, excluding harmful activities. While some things like interspecies marriage and IPC citizenship are more complex, nearly everywhere in the Frontier supports same-sex marriage, marriage between those of different religions, and the freedom of speech, press, religion, and assembly. It is also a common belief to allow immigrants and refugees into the Frontier Alliance as proper citizens, and supporting free trade between civilizations. The treatment of non-humans varies by entity, but they are generally treated equally.
Languages
In the Frontier Alliance, Freespeak is the dominant languages across all rungs of society. In mercantile families, usually in the middle class, tradeband is not uncommon. Tau Ceti Basic is taught across the Frontier Alliance and is spoken more-or-less fluently by the majority of the population. Sol Common is seen with distaste and it is rarely spoken.
The Representative Summit
The overarching government of the Frontier Alliance is a confederation held together by the Frontier Alliance Defense Pact, a treaty which ensures that all members will come to the aid of the other in a case of invasion or in more recent times, to defend against piracy.
The government of each individual entity within the Alliance varies dramatically, from republics to monarchies to communist parties, but the entities all agree to have representatives meet on the unofficial capital, Xanu Prime. This bi-annual meeting, known as the Representative Summit, forms the leadership of the Frontier Alliance. The Representative Summit is a bicameral legislature, made up of by the House of Members and the House of Observers. The House of Members is formed of the core systems of the alliance, and legislation that can effect the entire Alliance must originate from it. The House of Observers is formed of representatives from affiliated frontier systems. While the House of Members currently has 357 members, because of the state of the wild frontier attendance for the Observer house can range from as few as fifty up to five hundred. Each system, regardless of population, wealth, or power, receives one representative. There is only one written rule to the Summit - no violence may take place in the chambers. All other rules and regulations are merely agreed upon traditions, solidified over the Alliance's history.
The Frontier Alliance does not care how each system governs themselves, they only ask that each system respect one another and honor the pacts during the time of a crisis.
Political Parties
Five main political parties dominate politics in the Frontier Alliance. The Free Assembly is currently the dominant party in the House of Members. Others parties consist of the Centralist Party, who seeks a centralized government in the Frontier Alliance, the Militarist Party who pushes for a central military and aggressive defensive of the Alliance's freedoms, the so-called Anarcho-Egoist party considered to be one of the most radical political parties, as well as the Labor party, which follows anarcho-syndicalist ideals. The Labor party, led by Thomi Malurth, has seen rising popularity in the face of megacorporation expansion in the Frontier.
Military
The Frontier Alliance Military is unlike most militaries in the galaxy. For the most part it resembles a backwoods militia of people without uniform using outdated weaponry to defend their homes. In an attempt to have the galaxy take the Frontier Alliance more seriously, the Chief Representative has pushed forward the notion of a uniformed military. This idea has been rejected, as Alliance forces are too varied and many planets provide their own uniforms, even if they are as simple as similarly coloured shirts and matching armour types. The Chief Representative then pushed for a standard emblem to be accepted. This is still being worked on.
The Frontier Alliance's military fights a defensive game for the most part and only engages offensively if they know they have overwhelming numbers. They are not equipped with the most advanced ships or the best weaponry, but they are able to mass produce weapons, armor, and starships in staggering quantities. They have access to small quantities of combat RIGs and combat exosuits, and it is not uncommon for Frontier Alliance soldiers to retrofit industrial RIGs and Ripley APLUs for combat. If a force were to attack a single Alliance planet, it is deemed as a threat to the Alliance as a whole. The current nature of the defense pacts has led to complications in which single planets within the Alliance have picked fights with other non-Alliance planets, forcing the aid of their allies in order to win a war. The wording of the defensive pacts are being revised to disallow such actions.
Theoretically, the Frontier Alliance can field one of the largest militaries in the known galaxy and, in fact, has done so in the past to defend itself against invasion from the Sol Alliance. All members of the Coalition of Colonies pitched their military and industrial might against the Sol Alliance, coming out victorious. This level of military cooperation has not been seen since then.
The Techno-Conglomerate provides most of the tech used by the Frontier Alliance, especially its military. The Techno-Conglomerate keeps its own force known as "The Thunder Legion". This force is very well equipped, and it is believed these soldiers could easily match a standard Sol Marine detachment.
Economics
The Frontier Alliance uses the Colonial Dollar in a bid to remain independent from the Sol Alliance, however the Credit is widely used. The standard of living is varied but is mostly low, being one of the cheapest areas of human space to live in. Some worlds enjoy rather high qualities of living, while others are quite poor and have little access to modern tech or resources. Some groups have formed in an attempt to assist low-tech and low resource worlds, most prominently the Frontier System Development and Integration Association, or FSDIA, which was founded in 2449. It is unofficially linked with several groups pushing for a more centralized government in the Frontier Alliance. The industries in the Frontier are varied, but resource extraction industries such as farming and mining are common among low-tech worlds. Shipping and industry are frequent on mid-tech worlds and service and technology are most common on high-tech worlds. Some planets, under strong influence from megacorporations, have seen their economies grow rapidly - but there are whispers that these advances will come at a price to the Frontier Alliance.
Megacorporation Relations
While relations with the massive megacorporations varies across system to system, they wield strong economic influence in some parts of the Frontier Alliance. It is not uncommon to leave seeking employment with these megacorporations, often seen as a good opportunity due to the low cost of living prevalent in the Frontier Alliance. Politically, while many systems strongly oppose what they see as a corrupting influence in Alliance politics, some, enticed by the promises of employment, technological advancement, and higher standards of living, wholeheartedly welcome corporations such as NanoTrasen, Hephaestus, Necropolis, and others, with all major corporations having a presence of varying sizes. Many of the Frontiersmen employed by these corporations found their start working in local subsidiaries in their home systems spread across the Alliance.
History
The Coalition of Systems was founded to resist against perceived Sol Alliance oppression in the Frontier, and won their independence from Sol after the First Interstellar War. They suffered highs and lows until eventually collapsing in the year 2452, only two years after enacting the “Anti-Dominia Piracy Pact”. With the Coalition disbanded, pirates went nearly uncontested and gained much ground in the Frontier.
With the Coalition gone and pirates gaining more ground than ever, the Frontier became a rough place to live. Many systems once belonging to the Coalition fell, but some resisted the pirates, setting up blockades and working together to form safe trade routes. For six years these systems fought a defensive campaign against the pirates threatening their borders. In 2458, the Allied Systems made a trade agreement with the Techno-Conglomerate, a trader and transhumanist organization, to get much needed supplies as well as access to shipyards and weapon factories far more advanced than anything currently in the Allied System's space.
With this more advanced technology the Allied Systems drove the pirates back from their corner of space. These systems then came together and formed the Frontier Alliance, with the primary goal to rid the frontier of piracy.
Today, the Frontier Alliance is still a budding group, an alliance of systems working together to defend one another from outside threats. They do not have a true form of centralized government, nor a standard form of government. Still, representatives from each system work together to keep their people safe. Toward the beginning of 2460, the Frontier Alliance struck a series of victories against the pirate force, the Wrecked Kings, and liberated several key telecommunication hubs throughout the Frontier. This gave the Frontier Alliance better ways to communicate with its systems and a way to communicate with the galaxy at large. Currently, the Frontier Alliance is acting on a "Live and Let Live" policy with the other galactic powers. They are still rebuilding from the collapse of the Coalition and understand causing issues with any of the existing powers could prove fatal. Still, that does not mean they are unwilling to criticize the other powers.
Potential Character Concepts
Though some examples are provided below remember that the sky's the limit with the Frontier. Your character could be any species from any place not listed here with whatever look and personality you like. That's the beauty of the Frontier. Get creative.
Characters from the Frontier Alliance are likely to:
- Be tough and hardy.
- Value their personal freedom.
- Dislike the Sol Alliance.
- Speak Freespeak.
Here is an example character from the Frontier Alliance:
- Daniel Church, 33, is a security officer for Nanotrasen. He is rowdy, but strictly professional while on-duty.
- Church is 5’10” and heavily muscled, likely 190 lbs. He has a tense posture and frantic movements. He has dark green eyes and a trimmed, dark brown afro.
- Church previously moved from station to station in the Frontier before moving to the Odin. He lives alone, but frequently calls his husband and siblings. Church is agnostic. He has little care for politics, having moved so often in his life.
- Church generally dislikes all non-humans, especially Vaurca.
- Church speaks Tau Ceti Common, Freespeak, and Tradeband.
Here is a second example character from the Frontier Alliance:
- Kiko Mori, 63, is a botanist aboard the NSS Aurora. She is quiet, but warm and kind.
- Mori is 5’1” and slightly chubby, roughly 125 lbs. She moves slowly but surely, and has surprisingly good posture for her age. She has dark brown eyes and long, black hair with streaks of grey.
- Mori lives in Mendell City on Biesel, leaving her home system to follow her grandchildren. She currently lives with one of her daughters, her son-in-law, and two of her grandkids. Mori is an avid Shintoist.
- Mori has trouble agreeing with any political party in the Republic.
- Mori has no strong opinion about non-humans, but she is fond of IPCs.
- Mori speaks Tau Ceti Common and Sol Common, and she knows Sign Language.