///From the author: Solar Space is the traditional name for the regions of the Solar System known to be settled by humans. As of 2389, there are approximately 13.7 billion people living in Solar Space, and the various conflicts spanning the 24th century have kept them on edge for decades. The two superpowers in this era are the ICA and the Alliance, which differ ideologically and which both seek to control the entire solar system and its resources. Only time will tell if their conflict will undo all the progress humanity has made in the past 350 years...
The Situation in Solar Space
[A graphic representation of the inner solar system in 2389]
In the late 24th century, most of the inner solar system is controlled by the Interplanetary Cooperative Administration (ICA), an intergovernmental organization founded by the United Nations in the aftermath of the 2049 Lunar War to manage all affairs beyond Earth. In this era, Earth has weathered all manner of hardships, but total oblivion has been avoided thanks to the rise of the Community of Gaia (CoG), an ecofascist totalitarian police state dedicated to revitalizing and safeguarding the Earth's biosphere at the cost of individual freedom. Their opponents in the Progressive Order of Gaia (POG), meanwhile, seek a more egalitarian approach, and are often held up by the CoG's leaders as a useful scapegoat and boogeyman.
Mars and Ceres are the two central worlds in the ICA, and their partnership (with the Confederation of the Main Belt providing raw materials and the United Nations of Mars processing them into completed products, especially military hardware) is a powerhouse which dwarfs any other in Solar Space. Other important worlds include Mercury, which is currently being strip-mined by groups like the Tianshan Mining Corporation; Venus, which is a home to all manner of shady ICA R&D programs; and Uranus, a rare outer system stronghold which provides most of the Spacer Corps' hydrogen and helium needs.
[A graphic representation of the outer solar system in 2389]
Much of the outer system, meanwhile, is loyal to the Alliance of Free Worlds, a rising superpower which seeks to dethrone the ICA as the dominant force in Solar Space. The Alliance emerged during the Draconist Wars, which saw an ultranationalist faction called the Divisão Revolucionária da Assembleia de Callisto (DRAC) fighting to remove the ICA from power in the colonial frontier. In the aftermath, the Alliance rose swiftly to counteract the ICA, fueled largely by massive military spending and by its near monopoly on hydrogen and helium mining. This latter industry also fuels the Alliance Armada which patrols the outer system.
As of 2389, the Alliance and the ICA are locked in a tense Cold War following an interplanetary conflict called the Frontier War, which saw each side competing to control the limitless wealth of the outer system and the valuable real estate of Earth. This conflict saw fighting across the solar system, and eight years it ended in a stalemate, the Alliance is fighting a guerrilla force called the Colonial Liberation Front, which is secretly armed by the ICA. The only question is whether this conflict will make the dormant Frontier War go hot once more…
The Layout of Solar Space
[An annotated map of Solar Space - original art by Kaspar Marthinsen Bjerg]
Inner Solar System:
1 - Mercury & the Inner System
Population: 2.3 million people
Capital: LARES-1 cluster, Mercury L5 point (population: 529 thousand)
Other major locations: LARES-2 cluster (pop. 426 thousand); LARUNDA cluster (pop. 465 thousand); Mercury mining stations (multiple - total pop. 713 thousand)
Affiliation: neutral (Mercury is owned by the Tianshan Mining Corporation)
Major economic output: solar energy transmittal; raw materials (metal ores, etc.)
2 - Protectorate of Venus
Population: 6.7 million people
Capital: Niobium station, Venus orbit (population: approx. 2.3 million)
Other major locations: Zenobia station, Venus orbit (pop. 1.6 million); Aphrodite cluster, Venus L5 point (pop. 1.4 million); Hecate cluster, Venus L4 point (pop. 1.2 million)
Affiliation: ICA (Venus is officially a host site for ICA/IDC black projects)
Major economic output: weapons/technological research (primary)
3 - Community of Gaia
Total population: 8.67 billion people
Capital: none (C.O.G. headquarters is in New Jakarta; P.O.G. HQ is in Lagos)
Other major locations: Paris, Union Populaire d'Europe (pop. 21.7 million); Delhi Metroplex, United Republic of India (pop. 42.6 million); Kinshasa, East African Federation (pop. 39.4 million)
Affiliation: mixed (split between Community of Gaia and Progressive Union of Gaia)
Major economic output: agriculture; light manufacturing; raw materials
4 - Free Federation of Luna
Population: 64 million people
Capital: Armstrong City, Federal Republic of Tranquillitatis (population: 3.1 million)
Other major locations: New Beijing, Tianshan Republic (pop. 1.8 million); Pearyville, Boreal Republic (pop. 1.1 million people); Apollo Station, Earth-Moon L5 cluster (pop. 940 thousand)
Affiliation: ICA (Luna is the ICA’s official political HQ in the inner solar system)
Major economic output: shipping/processing of mercantile orders; service sector
5 - Martian sector
Population: 297 million people
Capital: Aldrin City, Republic of Marineris & Chryse (population: approx. 13.8 million)
Other major locations: Nereidum, Argyre Republic (pop. 9.4 million); Orleena, People's Republic of Hellas (pop. 8.2 million); Martian Military Complex, Solis Planum Special Military Zone (Spacer Corps HQ)
Affiliation: ICA (United Nations of Mars is the Spacer Corps’ main military supplier)
Major economic output: heavy industry; materials processing; major shipping hub
6 - Main Asteroid Belt
Total population: 2.97 billion people
Capital: various (Republic of Ceres is the capital of the Confederation of the Main Belt)
Other major locations: (pop. 760 thousand); Asimov Station (O’Neil cluster, pop. 820 thousand); Station Italia, Vesta Commune (pop. 640 thousand)
Affiliation: mixed (the CMB is part of the ICA, but the Vesta Commune is with the Alliance)
Major economic output: raw materials (esp. metal ores); shipping; manufacturing
7 - Vesta Commune
Total population: approximately 680 million people
Capital: Port Divalia, Union of Vesta (population: 470 thousand)
Other major locations: Tiber, Union of Victoria (pop. 330 thousand); Freiburg, Union of Metis (pop. 280 thousand); Liberdade, Union of Parthenope (pop. 210 thousand)
Affiliation: Alliance (the Commune is second only to the CMB for mercantile wealth in Solar Space)
Major economic output: interplanetary shipping; manufacturing; mining raw materials
8 - Republic of Ceres
Population: approximately 10 million people
Capital: Nereida, Central Capital District (population: 1.7 million)
Other major locations: Caledon, Dantu Region (pop. 440 thousand); Gregoriov's Hope, Ezinu Region (pop. 370 thousand); Faraday Point, Vinotonus Region (pop. 250 thousand)
Affiliation: ICA (the Republic is the central polity in the CMB and a major player in the ICA)
Major economic output: interplanetary shipping; manufacturing; mining raw materials
9 - Confederation of the Main Belt
Total population: approximately 1.82 billion people
Capital: de facto is Nereida, Republic of Ceres (population: 1.7 million)
Other major locations: Port Asclepius, Astraea Commonwealth (pop. 440 thousand); Côte de Pierre, Republic of Pallas (pop. 340 thousand); New Liberia, Juno Republic (pop. 230 thousand)
Affiliation: ICA (the Confederation is the mercantile powerhouse of the ICA)
Major economic output: interplanetary shipping; manufacturing; mining raw materials
Outer Solar System:
10 - Jovian sector
Total population: 317 million people
Capital: various (Jovian system is one of the most Balkanized in Solar Space)
Other major locations: Amalthea Scientific Research Center (permanent pop: zero); Hopkins Station, Ananke orbit (pop. 220 thousand); Gagarin Station, Io orbit (pop. 170 thousand)
Affiliation: mostly Alliance (Europa & Amalthea are with the ICA; Himalia is officially neutral)
Major economic output: raw materials; manufacturing; shipping hub for outer system
11 - Mercantile State of Europa
Total population: 21.2 million people
Capital: Conamara City, Conamara region (pop. 2.8 million)
Other major locations: Centreville, Hyperenor region (pop. 1.2 million); Buxton, Taliesin region (pop. 1 million); Sumer, Pelorus region (pop 840 thousand); Central Launch Loop, Conamara region
Affiliation: ICA (run by the ERA as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Interplanetary Dynamics)
Major economic output: raw materials; manufacturing; shipping hub for outer system
12 - Galilean People’s Union
Population: 261 million people
Capital: Syrené, People’s Republic of Callisto is de facto
Other major locations: ISS Hopkins, Ananke hill sphere (pop. 170 thousand); Gagarin Station, Io orbit (pop. 90 thousand); Hadfield Station, Callisto L5 point (pop. 180 thousand)
Affiliation: Alliance of Free Worlds (Europa, Amalthea, and Himalia left the Union in 2343)
Major economic output: volatiles mining/shipping; industrial/agricultural hub for outer system
12a - Republic of Ganymede
Population: 13.1 million people
Capital: Syracuse is de jure (population: 2.6 million); Alexandria is traditional capital
Other major locations: Abydos (population 2.1 million); Argos (population 1.7 million); Delphi (population 1.1 million); Miletus (population 710 thousand)
Affiliation: ICA (Ganymede is the ICA's fusion fuel hub in the Jovian sector)
Major economic output: aquaponics/manufacturing; H²0 resources
12b - Democratic Republic of Ganymede
Population: 18.6 million people
Capital: Olympia is de jure (population: 2.8 million); Alexandria is traditional capital
Other major locations: Knossos (population 2.3 million); Thebes (population 1.4 million); Ephesus (population 870 thousand); Tereshkova Station, L5 orbital (pop. 280 thousand)
Affiliation: Alliance of Free Worlds (Ganymede is the Alliance's main fusion fuel depot)
Major economic output: aquaponics/manufacturing; H²0 resources
12c - People's Republic of Callisto
Population: 143 million people
Capital: Syrené, Tornarsuk district (pop. 9.5 million); also serves as capital of the Alliance
Other major locations: New Harbor, Oluksak district (pop. 8.7 million); Hamar, Ivarr district (pop. 6.4 million); Hanamar Station, L5 orbital station (pop. 360 thousand)
Affiliation: Alliance of Free Worlds (Callisto is the administrative capital)
Major economic output: heavy industry (esp. shipbuilding); raw materials (esp. volatiles)
13 - Saturn sector
Total population: 375 million people
Capital: various (Samarkand, Commonwealth of Titan is primary; pop. 11.7 million)
Other major locations: Enceladus Biological Preserve (permanent pop. zero; set aside for the study of local bioforms); Bluford Station, Saturn Trojan station (pop. 470 thousand)
Affiliation: mixed (UCS & ROTAM are with the Alliance; Titan is partitioned)
Major economic output: manufacturing; raw materials (esp. helium); cryo-computation (Titan)
14a - Democratic Republic of Titan
Population: 104 million people
Capital: Jiuquan, Gansu district (pop. 3.7 million); Samarkand is traditional capital
Other major locations: Selk City, Tashkent district (pop. 4.3 million); Janus, Khwarazm district (pop. 1.9 million); Cristoforetti Station, Titan orbit (pop. 140 thousand)
Affiliation: Alliance of Free Worlds
Major economic output: manufacturing/materials processing; cryo-computation
14b - Commonwealth of Titan
Population: 82 million people
Capital: New Heraklion, Urumqi District (pop. 4.6 million); Samarkand is traditional capital
Other major locations: Falajs, Bishkek district (3.1 million); Khorasan, Taklamakan district (pop. 2.7 million); Dushanbe, Ariana district (pop. 2.3 million)
Affiliation: Interplanetary Cooperative Administration
Major economic output: manufacturing; shipping; cryo-computation
15 - United Communes of Saturn
Population: approximately 64 million people
Capital: Port Clement, People’s Republic of Iapetus (population: 3.4 million)
Other major locations: Knossos, Rhea Commune (pop. 2.3 million); Pangu, Dione Commune (pop. 880 thousand); Traxler Station, Saturn L2 point (pop. 370 thousand)
Affiliation: Alliance of Free Worlds (since Treaty of Tycho, circa 2361)
Major economic output: volatiles mining; mercantile business/shipping; heavy industry
16 - Republic of Tethys and Mimas
Population: approximately 31 million people
Capital: Yanwang, Union of Tethys (population: 2.8 million)
Other major locations: Port Salsburg, Mimas (pop. 1.4 million); Farragut Station (Tethys orbit, pop. 660 thousand); Niemeier Station (Mimas orbit, pop. 530 thousand)
Affiliation: Alliance of Free Worlds (since Treaty of Tycho, circa 2361)
Major economic output: volatiles mining; cryogenic manufacturing; heavy industry
17 - Confederation of Uranus
Population: 44 million people
Capital: Port Taurus, Federal Republic of Titania (population: 1.1 million)
Other major locations: Port Bogle, Puck (pop. 220 thousand); Port Caliban, Miranda (pop. 180 thousand); Pontus Station, Uranus-Titania L5 point (pop. 140 thousand)
Affiliation: ICA (Titania is a major IDC outpost; USS Pontus is a major shipping hub)
Major economic output: hydrogen & helium mining; orbital industry/manufacturing
18 - Federation of Neptune & Triton
Population: 21 million people
Capital: Unkulunkulu, Triton for the Federation of Neptune & Triton (pop. 820 thousand)
Other major locations: Platon Station, Neptune-Triton L4 point (pop. 120 thousand); Special Training Facility JOTUNHEIM, Triton (ICA black site); Draconist exclusion zone
Affiliation: neutral (officially; Triton hosts facilities paid for by both ICA & Alliance)
Major economic output: orbital industry; shipping/mercantile trade; refugee harboring
19 - Kuiper Belt
Population: 48 million people
Capital: de facto is Port Acheron, Republic of Acheron (population: 490 thousand)
Other major locations: Haumea Dependency, Eris Settlement Directory, Sedna colony (Alliance); Outer Legion, Estação Espacial de Absolus (DRAC); Quaoar Regency (neutral)
Affiliation: mixed (mostly neutral, but with significant holdings by the Alliance)
Major economic output: illicit R&D; resource gathering; outer system/interstellar shipping
Major Factions in Solar Space
The Interplanetary Cooperative Administration
Background Notes:
Following the conclusion of the Lunar War (September-October 2049), the 197 member states of the United Nations convened to determine the cause of the calamity, and how best to prevent a recurrence of such a near-catastrophic event in Earth’s history. After all, a space-based conflict could easily lead to World War III and devastate life on Earth
In early 2051, the Security Council advanced a tentative measure put forth by British representative Frederick Tyndall, which called for the passage of an amendment to the UN Charter that would form a new organ tasked with overseeing offworld affairs
This measure was ratified on 23 December 2051 as Resolution 3561, otherwise known as the Tyndall Accords, with the specific goals of preventing warfare in space; promoting the peaceful use of space resources and cooperation among nations in interplanetary space; and providing for the passage and enforcement of legislation regarding offworld affairs
Tyndall Accords officially consist of 16 articles. Among the most important are:
Article 1: establishes the Interplanetary Cooperative Administration as an organ of the United Nations, tasked with overseeing offworld affairs in perpetuity
Article 4: officially provides for the eventual creation of peacekeeping & security forces to monitor and safeguard human society in interplanetary space (followed up by the Nakhimov-Herrington Act in 2053, which established the Spacer Corps)
Article 6: establishes the Court of Interplanetary Grievance (CIG) to oversee judicial proceedings arising as a result of grievances between spacefaring organizations
Article 9: establishes the processes by which the Tyndall Accords may themselves be amended, and by which new divisions of the ICA may be established
Article 10: provides a legal framework by which signatories are required(*) to render aid and to one another in the event of disaster or conflict (*Note: this has been a point of contention for more than 300 years, especially in light of recent history)
Article 16: a controversial add-on which provides a framework to expel(**) signatories from the ICA in the event they conduct “Grievous activities in breach of international and interplanetary peace” (**Note: this has been activated only twice – to expel the Commonwealth of Titan in 2293 and the United People’s Republic of Callisto in 2327)
Constituent Nations:
Modern signatories include 66 independent interplanetary nation-states, each built up from colonial settlements established across Solar Space by the nations of Earth
Constituents include both traditional nation-states and Solar Protectorates (such as the Protectorate of Uranus) which exist as semi-independent republics under ICA umbrella
16 of these are members of the subdivision known as the United Nations of Mars, which was explicitly based upon the old UN framework when it was founded in 2169
A fair number of ICA constituent nations are part of of subsidiary or adjacent intergovernmental organizations, including the Confederation of the Main Belt and the former Galilean Union
Vital Statistics:
Government: conglomerate federation comprised of independent nation-states
Central apparatus of power: various - no one capital provides ultimate authority over the whole of ICA-friendly space, as all local and subsidiary capitals still carry local authority
Aldrin City, Republic of Marineris & Chryse, Mars is the de facto capital of the ICA (since 2301), as it houses the Central Governance Compound (CGC) where the ICA Security Council convenes
Population: approx. 2.73 billion (about 54 percent of Solar Space), including 297 million from the constituent states of United Nations of Mars; nearly 2.2 billion from the various states of the Confederation of the Main Belt; and 270 million more from other client states
The Alliance of Free Worlds
Background Notes:
During the Draconist Wars (2324-2361), trust waned in the ICA’s ability to protect the outer solar system. This reached a boiling point in 2338 after Samarkand (capital of the Commonwealth of Titan) was besieged by Draconist forces
Soon thereafter, a number of worlds nullified their membership in the Tyndall Accords and signed onto the Pact of Allegiance introduced by an ambitious cabal of councilors from the Republic of Callisto, which was still in the throes of its own violent internal conflict
With the Pact adopted by majority elements of the governments of these original core worlds, the Alliance of Free Worlds was founded, officially, on 26 March 2339
Intended to offer an alternative forum for nation-states opposed to the values of the ICA, and was dedicated to the preservation of peace, stability, and equity among the peoples of the deep space frontier (i.e. that region of space beyond roughly the orbit of Ceres)
Funded Draconist activities during the second era of the Draconist Wars (2347-2361) and fought the Frontier War (2371-2381) with the ICA to determine control of Solar Space
Constituent Nations:
Signatories of the Pact of Allegiance include the People’s Republic of Callisto (introduced the measure in early March 2339); the Democratic Republic of Ganymede (signed 27 March 2339); the Democratic Republic of Titan (signed 26 March 2339); the Vesta Commune (signed 14 May 2339) and others in the asteroid belt; and many more elsewhere, including the Zharan Collective, which joined the Alliance in 2359 after signing the Treaty of Jiuquan to end hostilities arising from the Zharan Uprising (2356-2359)
Vital Statistics:
Government: democratic socialist federal system composed of semi-independent nation states
Central apparatus of power: the Allied Executive Committee, based out of the Citadel in Syrené, People’s Republic of Callisto (constructed between 2345 and 2348 as “a monument to the fortitude of free peoples across all of Solar Space”)
Population: approximately 1.74 billion (about 35 percent of Solar Space), including 143 million from the People’s Republic of Callisto; 104 million from the Democratic Republic of Titan (which is partitioned and jointly controlled by the ICA); and 21 million from the Democratic Republic of Ganymede; and many more elsewhere in Solar Space, plus nearly 300 million zharans; in total, about 30 percent of Solar Space
The Zharan People's Collective ("the Collective")
Background Notes:
The Collective emerges from a long tradition of zharan liberation movements which date all the way back to before the Mars-Titan War (2292-2297), which caused a sharp spike in anti-artificial sentiment due to the destruction of Phobos on the order of the mad Titan Pact A.I. HORUS
After the Harrison Accords instituted a series of harsh regulations on artificial life and created the ALCA to oversee their enforcement, the zharan freedom movement was forced underground
Beginning in the late 2320s, however, the DRAC movement organized a brutal pogrom against artificials in the frontier, referred to as the Purges - this led to the First Zharan Revolution, a mostly one-sided fight between zharan rebels and the Draconists trying to wipe them out
Between 2338 (when the Zharan Liberation Army was founded) and 2356, the zharans organized in secret, hiding their movement in the shadows of the ongoing Draconist Wars era
In 2356 (the 300th anniversary of the first artificial lifeform being produced), they began the Uprising, a massive, organized assault against the institutions and organizations of the ICA and Alliance of Free Worlds, aiming to force both to agree to recognize zharan sovereignty
The zharans managed this coup by way of their network of infiltrators inside the government of their human opponents, an achievement made possible by their coopting of the fruits of Project EREBUS, a joint IDC-Protocon operation aimed at controlling society with zharan infiltrators
By 2359, the zharans managed to work out a compromise with the Alliance: they would cease hostilities in exchange for recognition as a partner state within the Alliance of Free Worlds
With the signing of the Treaty of Jiuquan in August 2359, the zharans halted their revolution and initiated the process of building a new nation, which they called the Collective
Then, for roughly twenty years, they went off the grid, living in communes on Titan and a few of the other outer worlds, as well as a variety of orbital stations, where they worked on constructing a cohesive and efficient society for themselves more or less out of the shadow of humanity
That lasted until 2379, when the ZLA entered the Frontier War on the side of their cohorts in the Alliance Armada and swiftly forced the ICA and Spacer Corps to the negotiating table
After the Treaty of Nüwa in July 2381, the Collective resumed their nation-building, albeit with the added complication of fighting the rebellion of the Colonial Liberation Front, which sought to end imperialist governance in the frontier, even though they gladly accepted weapons from the ICA
Important Population Facts:
The most unique feature about zharans in the late 24th century is that they are linked by way of the Uplink, a transdimensional communications network established by the ancient precursor aliens sometime prior to 500 million years ago, based on technology found buried on Titan in the 2280s
The Uplink was hardwired into zharan minds during the 20 years of nation-building which followed the Uprising, and as of 2389, it affords them the ability to share esoteric and essential knowledge across vast distances, virtually instantaneously and with little to no chance of human interference
Vital statistics:
Capital: de jure is Syrené, People's Republic of Callisto, which they share with the Alliance of Free Worlds after their partnership in the Treaty of Jiuquan; de facto is Janus, Democratic Republic of Titan, which they selected as the unofficial capital of the Collective in 2361 after the Draconist Wars ended and has been rebuilt much in the same vein as Syrené was between 2343 and 2349
Population: approximately 261 million as of 2389 (the 39 or so million zharans who chose not to join the Collective are scattered across the outer system, with most of them living in the Kuiper Belt)
Major Militaries in Solar Space
Interplanetary Defense Corps ("the Spacer Corps")
Founded 19 December 2053 by the passage of the Nakhimov-Herrington Act and first mustered on 20 August 2054 at Joint Base Peterson in Colorado, United States
This established the IDC as the official armed peacekeeping and security wing of the ICA, tasked with enforcement of law and order in all administered regions
Strength as of 2389 is approximately 5.3 million personnel, recruited from various Tyndall Treaty signatory nations (this includes almost 1.9 million from the Martian Command)
Mars, which makes less than seven percent of the offworld population but provides roughly 30 percent of all IDC personnel, has traditionally been a disproportionate contributor thanks to their rich spacer culture and their deeply entrenched military-industrial complex
Primary shipyards for IDC FLEETCOM are also at Mars (where more than 40 percent of all military spacecraft are built), with secondary facilities at Ceres and Pallas
FLEETCOM maintain approximately 3,300 spacecraft as of 2389, with thirty percent kept in mothballs for emergency reactivation in times of crisis
Primary IDC HQ is the Aerospace Command (AEROCOM) Martian Military Complex, located roughly a kilometer below the surface of the Tharsis Bulge on Mars
The Outer System Security Force
Founded 7 February 2301 by provision of the Harrison Accords, Article XII, subsections A7-13 as a conglomerate force of the defensive militias across the outer solar system
The first nation to buy in was the Commonwealth of Titan, which assigned its Commonwealth Defense Force (CDF) to the OSSF in 2301 as part of its self-defense efforts
The Republic of Ganymede followed suit a year later by pledging the Union Army of Ganymede, with more the governments of more than a dozen other, smaller worlds joining in over the following ten years
By the time the Draconist Wars ended in 2361, the OSSF was roughly 9 million strong, with some worlds pledging as much as ten percent of their able-bodied population
Roughly one-sixth of the total strength comes from Titan and Ganymede, with the rest being pulled from a variety of other nations party to the Harrison Accords
OSSF fleet fields approximately 4,900 spacecraft as of 2389, roughly a third of which are for transport and logistics (central fleet command is Rykov Station at Titan's L5 point)
OSSF shipyards are spread throughout the outer system, though primary capacity comes from Europa and the Confederation of Uranus (Titania shipyards are a major supplier as of 2389)
Since 2329, central headquarters for the OSSF has been the Presidium military compound on Titan, located in New Heraklion, the capital of the Commonwealth of Titan
Armada de Mundos Livres (“the Armada”)
Founded in 2339 as an early resolution from the Alliance Central Commission as a means to safeguard Alliance-held sectors and friendly worlds from foreign interference
Although referred to as an Armada it is a combined arms force, with a space fleet, infantry forces for expeditionary operations on surfaces and in space, and a variety supporting elements
Strength as of 2389 is estimated by INTELCOM to be approximately 4.7 million personnel, roughly 70 percent of which hail from Titan, Callisto, or Ganymede
Primary shipyards are at Vesta and Callisto, with a number of smaller secondary facilities scattered throughout the Vesta Commune and the Jovian and Saturn sectors
Armada fields approximately 2,400 spacecraft of all classes as of 2389, roughly one quarter of which are stored in mothball status for reactivation in the event of war
Primary headquarters for the Armada is the Citadel, located on of the outskirts of the Alliance capital of Syrené on Callisto (which is also the center of Alliance government)
The Citadel was constructed between 2343 and 2347 as part of the Alliance's program of infrastructure revitalization on Callisto, which was partly a cover for building new military installations
Zharan Liberation Army
Founded in 2336 on the heels of the failed First Zharan Revolution, which emerged in the wake of the Purges orchestrated by the Draconists during their reign of terror
As of 2389, this organization is in a close partnership with the Alliance Armada, owing to the stipulations of the Treaty of Jiuquan (signed in 2359 to end hostilities arising from the Zharan Uprising)
Treaty normalized relations between the newly-formed Zharan Collective and the Alliance of Free Worlds and established a mutual nonaggression and cooperation scheme
Strength as of 2389 is estimated by INTELCOM to be approximately 4.8 million personnel, or about one out of every seventy zharans in the Collective
This includes roughly 1.6 million zharans in the Civil Security Force, a sprawling state security apparatus similar to the Alliance's Ministério da Segurança Interna
ZLA builds most of its spacecraft and military hardware in orbital factories at the Lagrange points of Callisto and Titan, the latter of which they lay claim as home territory
The ZLA Navy has approximately 2,500 spacecraft, many of which are tied up on patrol and interdiction duty fighting the Colonial Liberation Front rebellion as of 2389
The ZLA shares the Citadel on Callisto with the Armada Central Command as of 2389 to facilitate greater cooperation between and coordination of the allied forces against outside threats
Minor Factions in Solar Space
Tianshan Mining Corporation
An asteroid mining cartel which became wealthy enough by the 22nd century to essentially buy a planet. Through an agreement with the United Nations of Mars, they did just that: they would have rights to nearly all mining claims on Mercury, provided that twenty percent of all material mined went to the bustling Martian materials industry
The Venusian Research Organization
Venus holds a place of some infamy in Solar Space thanks to the existence of Kelvin Station. Built in the early 22nd century, Kelvin Station was the first large-scale IDC black projects facility built in orbit of Venus - and it would not be the last. The VRO was conceived to oversee this research in the years since its inception in the late 22nd century
The Community of Gaia
Many terrestrial nation-states faded away by the 22nd century as stressors forced the people there to adapt and refocus their efforts on survival. By the time the Harrison Accords were signed in 2299, the Community of Gaia has become a totalitarian state, obsessed with the recovery and preservation of Earth's natural ecology
The Progressive Union of Gaia
The POG broke with the CoG over disagreements as to how Earth should be governed. Still, they resisted cooperation with the Alliance until the latter forced the ICA to the negotiating table at the end of the Frontier War - since then, the POG has leaned more and more towards the Alliance to remove offworld influence from Earth
The Free Federation of Luna
Although ostensibly a member state of the Community of Gaia, the so-called Lunar Federation has mostly charted its own course since at least as far back as the prosperous mid-22nd century. In recent years, its leaders have sidled up to the ICA for protection against Alliance bullying, but as of 2389 the Federation still refuses open patronage
The United Nations of Mars
In 2169, a dozen Martian pioneer settlements united to form the UNOM, which quickly rose to peer status in the UN. Over the next two centuries, Mars fought for control of the outer system's vast resources with Mars’ long-standing aspirations most recently threatened by the emergence of the Alliance of Free Worlds
The Confederation of the Main Belt
Founded in 2214 during the long prosperity of the 22nd and early 23rd centuries, the CMB maintains a monopoly on deep space resources across the inner and much of the outer system. As a result, by the 24th century this organization, which is dominated by Ceres, was among the richest and most influential in Solar Space
The Republic of Ceres
As the oldest and largest of the semi-independent republics within the CMB, the Republic of Ceres also maintains a predominant position in the politics of Solar Space. Its people enjoy a prosperous lifestyle, based largely on their control of deep space commercial interests and the might of the Spacer Corps at their disposal
The Vesta Commune
The Commune was founded in 2347, and has only lasted as long as it has thanks to its partnership with the Alliance of Free Worlds. During the Frontier War era, Vesta has been a major shipyard and port for the Alliance in the Main Belt, and the various worlds of the Commune have been an indispensable supply of metal ore for the Armada
The Galilean Union
After the turmoil of the 21st century, a surge of new nation-states sprang up in the 22nd century under the oversight of the ICA, with the Union a prime example. After Callisto fell to Draconism in 2324, it became a shadow of its former self, and existed as little more than a rump state by the time the Alliance rose to power in 2339
Hernandez-Echevarria Resources Amalgamated (“HERA”)
After the Solar Civil War, the Hernandez-Echevarria Group (founded by descendants of two of the original families to settle on Mars in 2038) took over control of the struggling mining colony on Io. It became a manufacturing powerhouse for all of Solar Space, at least until Io fell under the control of the Alliance of Free Worlds
Europan Resource Authority ("ERA")
Founded in 2161 by shipping conglomerate Interplanetary Dynamics (IPD) to oversee their production and distribution facilities on Europa, which was already on its way to being the chief shipping hub in the outer system. By 2351, it ran Europa like a business, with a panel of corporate oligarchs at the top and millions of workers beneath them
Divisão Revolucionário Armado de Callisto ("DRAC")
Draconism arose as part of the surge of nationalism which swept through the frontier following the passage of the Harrison Accords in 2299. From there, it spread across the outer system, and by the time it was stamped out by the ICA and the Alliance, it had irreparably changed Solar Space and paved the way for the Frontier War
Republic of Ganymede
The Republic of Ganymede enjoyed prosperity due to its status as the bread basket of the Jovian sector and beyond by the end of the 23rd century. After the Draconist Crisis spread throughout the outer system, leading to the rise of the Alliance, Ganymede was partitioned and the ROG was relegated to the northern half
Democratic Republic of Ganymede
The DRG was founded in 2343 following the partition of Ganymede and has maintained a vice-like grip on southern Ganymede ever since. This has allowed the Alliance of Free Worlds to maintain the lead in the economic development of the Jovian system, most of which they funnel back into Callisto's military industrial base
The People's Republic of Callisto
When the Alliance of Free Worlds came to power on Callisto in 2342, they organized a new local government to oversee their rule there. The PRC would become one of the chief entities within the Alliance, and it enjoyed a period of unprecedented prosperity under Alliance rule after they brought an end to the Draconist War in 2361
The Greater Saturn Federation
Sometimes referred to as the “most successful rump state in history,” the GSF was founded in 2237 out of a union between the fourteen largest population centers in Saturnian space, only to be fractured by the founding of the Titan Pact in 2284 and then again by the Draconist Wars of the 24th century. As of 2389, it is mostly a relic of the past
The Democratic Republic of Titan
Much as the United People's Party was backed by the Draconists during their campaign of violence, the DRT was established in 2343 by provision of the Alliance to serve as their local representative on a newly partitioned Titan. Ever since it has been the public-facing arm of their struggle to wrestle the rest of Titan away from the ICA
The Commonwealth of Titan
The Commonwealth was founded by a cabal of wealthy industrialists, only to devolve into a realm of corporate warlords preceding the Mars-Titan War (2292-2297). During the Draconist Wars, Titan was swept up along with the rest of the outer system, and the rise of the United People’s Party led to the eventual partition of the Commonwealth
The United Communes of Saturn
Following the Pact of Allegiance which formed the Alliance in 2339, the UCS rose to a position of prominence in Saturn system politics. Its citizens enjoy a higher than average standard of living for the outer system thanks to their native agricultural and manufacturing sectors, which have been well-funded as part of Project Frontier
The Republic of Tethys and Mimas
Born from the post-2343 reconstruction overseen by the Alliance, the ROTAM did not enjoy the same success as the United Communes of Saturn, due mostly to the relative lack of local industry. As a result, when the Frontier War engulfed the region, its leadership was replaced with a military junta by an act of the Allied Executive Council
The Protectorate of Uranus
Uranus was long sought after for its supply of hydrogen and helium, but it still took until 2305 for the settlement there to advance to a point at which the ICA would grant the colony protectorate status. This development was spurred on largely by AEROCOM’s obsession with securing fuel for the thirsty IDC Fleet after the Mars-Titan War
The Federation of Neptune and Triton
The Federation is among the smallest nation-states in Solar Space, owing largely to its immense distance from the inner system. Still, its population has exploded since the start of the Draconist Wars, thanks to an immense influx of refugees from the Jovian and Saturnian sectors, a trend which has continued through the current crisis
The Republic of Acheron
Founded as recently as 2295, the Republic of Acheron had grown into a major player in outer system politics by the time the Frontier War erupted. By then it was already among the richest and most populous of the “free republics” in the Kuiper Belt, and a major hub for refugees during in the long turmoil of the war era
More to come, when it's ready...
This will go great in the paperback version of "The Erebus Effect!"