Hiderid Coalition of Stars

The Hiderid Coalition of Stars is a major power of the Stream based on Hiderid principles of free trade. It functions, effectively, as a strongly centralized federation of seventeen colony sites - with many owned or dominated, directly or indirectly, by nine corporations (and their many subsidiaries) that own much of Hiderid land and assets. The Coalition is a bureaucratic mess, a problem further compounded by the fact that many corps also run their own cities and their merchant fleets form the backbone of space defence. The strongest such colony is Bluereach, the de-facto capital city of the Coalition, its wealth and power built on the many uranium mines which keep Hakaria and much of Tau Elpis powered (fission power being the major form of energy, with fusion power being slightly out of reach without alloys of extremely rare, thaumically altered Mithral)
Based on concepts of Hiderid trade and morality, the Coalition is an extreme capitalist, corporate state where wealth and duty determine one's worth in society. Once strong, the strong authority of the Coalition government upon its territory has been voluntarily shedded and transfered to the corporations, leaving the Coalition as a defence and legal mechanism upon which the rest of Hiderid society articulates and enriches itself.
Officially, the Coalition governs over most worlds settled by Hiderid, including Hakaria, Prospect, and most of the Thaumium-rich world Zindra. A few Coalition outposts belong to no corporation, but corporations also maintain outposts outside official space, giving Hiderid lawyers plenty of work.
The Coalition is a mostly Hiderid state, but a significant number of Zaalan workers also live as Coalition citizens. The current leader of the Coalition is Naladel Delphi. The Coalition is technically a democracy, but one party has dominated most of colonial history and there is a wealth gap that must be met before a ballot can be cast.

History

Before the Jump

The Hiderid emerged millenia ago on an unstable resource-poor world subject to countless disasters. The strongest communities formed around those able to amass and protect the biggest hoards - food granaries in palace economies, or oil depots during the early space age. Displays of wealth and abundance were deeply impressive, and often used to raise a city’s prestige. Violence was uncommon, and most often replaced by wars of trade, and caravaneers linked all major cities looking to sponsor their nation. Bartering and gambling became martial arts. Well into the space age, it was those who traded the best who grew to be the strongest. The first Coalition, 1800 cycles ago, was a mercantile federation peacefully forged between several of the strongest Hiderid nations and three stellar neighbours : the Seelie, the Mewei and the Zaalans. Whilst the Hiderid had the least resourceful world and the lowest population, their economy punched far above their weight and they became the purveyors of trade, services, and tourism.

Opportunity

To most other species who made the Jump, the loss of a crownworld and exile into another stellar cluster seemed a daunting, distressing prospect - but not to the Hiderid. Aeventeen colony sites burgeoned and started to form a colonial 'government'. Very quickly, a conglomerate called Bluereach Inc emerged overnight to build uranium mines, fission plants, and of course Bluereach City, the City of Jade. At the same time, further out in the badlands and along the small rivers and wadis that crossed Hakarua, several other colonies with corporate ideals built a ramshackle of key hubs with basic infrastructure. The civilian governments of these colonies soon decided to share responsibility for the development of Hakaria under one umbrella, which would become the forward-thinking Coalition of Stars. Bluereach and its power-focussed colony held a dominant role from the first day within the Coalition, and soon attracted the kind of capital needed for other corporations to emerge and form the kind of society the Hiderid were accustomed to. Built on cheap labour and uranium power, the newly-found Coalition became a capitalistic oligarchy - democratic in name only, with corporations and richer Hiderid soon pulling all the strings. In many ways, the Coalition was on its way to become a megaconglomerate in all but name.
In the 10th cycle, the Coalition heard word from the Boshaari Council that a world full of Thaumium had been discovered. This was fortunate and there were many sighs of relief in every boardroom, for the few prospected thaumium mines of Hakaria ran shallow and were nigh-depleted already. The newly-reelected President Kjrx Frkx played by Boshaari rules : by sending a manned probe first and creating the first "settlement", he invoked his diplomatic right to claim the entire planet. This angered Boshaari leadership, and soon ten of their old ships brought over on the Embassy Ark blockaded the space above the new settlement. When Hiderid freighters ignored them, the Boshaari fired upon them. This triggered a formal declaration of war.
The war itself was relatively short and bloodless, and marked by Boshaari and Hiderid sabotage of groundside installations. Alarmed at the waste of precious Programmable Matter (and, perhaps, interested in a slice of their own), the Mewei Domain brokered a deal which split Zindra into sixteen zones. Called the Compromise of Frost, it was agreed that one zone would go to the Domain as a "fee", two would go to the Boshaari, two more to the Hhrot, with the remaining eleven zones were each given to a Hiderid corporation, formally granted rights of exploitation to much of the planet to the Coalition.

The Zaalan Rebellions

In the 19th cycle, unrest started to brew between Zaalan and Hiderid citizens. There was a deep split between both species. The Zaalans were often accused by the Hiderid of having been stowaways on the Ark, and of expecting handouts from the Coalition thereafter. Fairly or unfairly, they were also accused of having invited the Oberon in the first place by experimenting with new and forbidden FTL tech. The Zaalans, for their part, felt aggravated, for it was their worlds who sacrificed themselves to slow down the Oberon enough to give the Hiderid time to escape to the Ark, yet when the Ark left, Zaalans had to scramble to board it.
Albeit officially possessing the same rights as Hiderid citizens, Zaalans were often treated as an underclass in the Coalition. A dockworker called Hyr Bogwyn aimed to change this state of affairs and organize Zaalans into unions. His methods were disruptive and obnoxious; yet he found support not only in the Zaalan underclass, but also from lower-class Hiderid trapped in the nastier strata of Bluereach City, for whom the Imperative had not quite worked out.
When media coverage failed to counter the momentum of Bogwyn's movement, the ageing President Kjrx Frkx running for a fifth straight mandate declared a martial curfew and banned all gatherings of more than five people in Bluereach City. Hyr Bogwyn disobeyed, naturally, and was taken into custody.
Perhaps the President hoped that his well-oiled, nascent corporate machine would be able to swallow the protesters into work and subservience, but what instead followed was weeks of violent riots - especially by frail Hiderid standards. Much of the older area of Bluereach City was trashed and elsewhere in the Coalition, Zaalans rebelled, joined by lower-class Hiderid and a few intellectuals in a general strike which saw the Coalition paralyzed.
Unfortunately for the Zaalans, the Coalition eventually overcame their efforts. Bogwyn was released and he soon left for the Embassy Ark with many of his key followers. As for Kjrx Frkx, he lost his election to a more progressive candidate which instaurated hotly-debated labour laws across the Coalition (who himself was defeated back to the government party five years later).
The Zaalan unrest continued for decades to come, however, leading to splits in Hiderid society which perdure to this day. The Coalition stance hardened and forced economic interventions, though a planned and gradual shift occured as the nine main corporations of their time grew and soon usurped/acquired many of the state functions - a costly endeavour which was really only worthwhile because of the influence gained by corporations on Coalition law and law-making.

Pushing through the Belt

Despite the corporate setback, the Coalition continued to grow past its early wobbles into an industrial powerhouse. Investors and prospectors started to flock to Zindra as the end of the Thaumium War, the abundance of Thaumium and the Coalition near-monopoly on its exploitation heralds an era of cheaper ship construction. For the Coalition it was a major win as it gained much diplomatic and commercial weight relative to every other power, though Zindra itself became a hub of commerce which spearheaded further developments into the depths of the Belt and ensured that the colonies of the Stream would not lose access, or interest, in space ventures.
In the 54th cycle, a strange object was discovered in the very far confines of the Elpis System. Trapped in the orbit of Nyx, there was a strange, destroyed station of alien design, emitting anomalous readings in its space-time continuum. Captain Krax Jentrax noted "an abundance of thaumic energy emanating from a hitherto undiscovered singularity in otherwise completely blank and uninteresting coordinates - except for the wreck of alloys, perhaps enough to please one corpo boardroom for a few cycles, who knows."
Flying a little further and following the trail of debris, Jentrax stumbled upon a frozen and partially destroyed Stanford Torus, still rotating upon its axis and, in the middle of the empty ring, there was the singularity : a rip through time and space, possibly to other systems. Captain Jentrax established a small research outpost in the ruins of the station, which would become Outpost X-5, a watch-station monitoring for any further anomalous readings.
Whether Captain Jentrax managed to pass through the ring is classified to this day. But one thing is sure : the discovery of the Torus shifted Hiderid priorities, and perhaps that of the rest of the system. For the Coalition believes to this day that the station is a gateway to other worlds, and its corporations anticipate what hides beyond with both fear and cautious optimism. The outpost itself is in forbidden space, and the Coalition asked upon the neutral Mewei Domain to protect the system from any who would foolishly throw its gates wide with extreme force if necessary.
The following decades were marked by increasing scarcity of key resources necessary to keep the Coalition - and by extension, much of the Elpis colonial effort - spaceborne. The economy slowed until the 87th cycle, when Luminex Ltd and polymer tycoon Frex Whxxr unlocked the path to the stars by building hydroponic facilities on the one moon able to shield crops from ionizing radiation.
His efforts resolved a key issue beyond the Hodeth Belt - food supply. The next decade was marked by increased colony construction around Hestia and beyond. Almost literally overnight, the sudden abundance of key resources, notably mithral, titanium, helium and uranium made continued spacefaring efforts far more trivial and commercially viable. The number of shipyards, offsite colonies, Belt stations trebled year upon year.
Nonetheless, an unforeseen consequence was the drop in prices of all these resources which had been propping up the Coalition economy. In the 98th Cycle, the speculative bubble surrounding the Hestian Rush collapsed, leaving several banks and corporations bankrupt. The economic downturn plunged the Coalition into a recession, and with them the Council as well as the Domain. Nonetheless, the Coalition had managed to spearhead the colonization of the outer system and had decisively enabled the Elpis colonies to remain and expand into space.


In the 128th cycle, Hakaria's lunar colony at Prospect is finally refounded. Ever since, the Hiderid have worked to usher in an era of independence and prosperity for the Circinus Stream - albeit, increasingly so, on their terms, that ultimately benefits their own bottom line, and whether its corporations can toe the line between open diplomacy and commercial warfare is yet to be seen. They face many challenges from within, but also from without - its armed vessels, nimble as they are, make for tempting targets to the pirates that inhabit the Wayward Belt and the belters who feel increasingly isolated from the Coalition. Will former High-Arbiter Naladel Delphi, the first Boshaari to be elected President of the Coalition, be able to navigate such treacherous waters?

Society and Customs

Coalition society is centered around the acquisition and production of ever further wealth - even to those who are born in poverty and seldom access the mobility ladder.

Community

Coalition citizens are organized around corporations, perhaps more so than traditional Hiderid clans. Perhaps this is a natural consequence of their generally individualistic outlook on life. Thus it is difficult to maintain one's standing without the support, direct or otherwise, of one of the Coalition's powerful corporations. In cities, this manifests through the attires and living spaces of Hiderid and Zaalan citizens, for wealth is quintessential to status and success. Mainstream society at large promotes consumption, acquisition, and greed. Cities are garishly decorated. Advertisements are everywhere. Scandals and games of bartering become high entertainment, and wealthy Hiderid are heralded as pillars of the community. Hiderid born in wealth are highly respected, but also bear high expectations to further the development of their clan’s or corporation’s portfolio; those who fail, even only in relative terms, easily lose all credibility. Many Hiderid corporate leaders and sub-leaders go to great lengths to avoid such fates - sometimes using extensive research and development facilities, but more often making use of black ops and other unsavoury operations to secure their place.
In the outlands, where life is more relaxed and less codified by corporate ethos, scattered communities of Hiderid and Zaalans thrive away from the corporate mainstream. Alliances of clans build townships atop smaller oases and engage in smaller-scale bartering for survival. The mechanized out-clans see their way of life as an act of rebellion, yet they also play a part in society, usually as messengers, miners, or traders. Most remain on Hakaria, but some Hiderid clans have bought out ships and act as traders, or congregate in areas such as the mineral-rich planets Zindra and Hestia, which fuel expansion across the Stream.
Generally, Hiderid are seen as leaders in their communities, with Zaalans unfortunately often the victims of poverty or ostracization on a much higher rate than Hiderid. This forms a huge rift in Coalition politics, as though there are limited number of Zaalans who have climbed high up the ladder, many argue that social mobility is all but gone in the new age of the Hiderid Coalition. Many Zaalans thus choose to remain only in the company of their own kin, whether in Bluereach or further afield.

Religion

Most Hiderid and even many Zaalans are officially atheists and do not believe in any particular deity. Nonetheless, it could be argued that the specific capitalist philosophy (the Theory of Eternal Profit) promoted by the Coalition borders that of religious wisdom, even if most citizens are just looking to fit in society and get by to the end of the month.
Most tellingly, one’s place in society is solely dictated by amounts of credits, portfolios, investments and belongings. After death, one’s wealth becomes one’s legacy to bequeath onto the next generation and what they might be remembered by. Thus it is critically important for Hiderid to even seem wealthy. It is common for Hiderid to commission decadent displays of art and power. No expense is spared to impress any and all competition - and in Hiderid society, there are very few people one does not compete against. In the Coalition, heroic deeds will only be remembered by the wealth they helped produce. Rich entities or individuals may get away with morally dubious acts, even in the eyes of the poorest, so long they have succeeded in enriching themselves.
Nonetheless, people who have acquired large amounts of wealth or whose deeds have been noted by the Coalition often gain a mausoleum after death, where many Hiderid come to seek counsel and wisdom or simply bask in the glory of businessmen of times past in the hopes that their luck rubs off on their portfolios.

Politics

The Coalition is technically a unitary state, its name a leftover of pre-Jump wealthier times. However, most cities do act as semi-independent federal subjects, grouped along rivers and around clans, corporations, and political affiliation, thus restoring some value to the concept. Each has its own taxation system, inheritance laws and even security forces.
The Coalition federal government mostly affairs itself with maintaining just enough infrastructure for an economy to grow, as well as military matters - but even then, it often subcontracts both these responsibilities to corporations. The government is run by the Council, a unicameral, directly elected legislature. Serving as head of the executive branch, the President and their Cabinet have limited powers of veto and are elected for a period of five cycles. Anyone of age can vote, and anyone of any species can run for President - so long as they pay a hefty fee for running at all. The current President is in fact a Boshaari businesswoman called High-Arbiter Naladel Delphi. In reality, as foreign trade develops, corporations increasingly run the show, and even at the local level, very little gets done with the assent of relevant corporate authorities.
Some corporations act extrajudicially, despite the best efforts of Coalition officials. Starlyft, Inc effectively controls a large chunk of trade across the Coalition, notably mining minerals from the belt and Hestia. Others go rogue - notably, HexoGeni, Inc was ready to unleash a virus of untold proportions on the entire system to get what it wanted.

Economy

The Hiderid economy is based on trade, industry, and services. It is highly diversified both within the Coalition itself and without. In addition, the Coalition controls much of Zindra, known to produce vast amounts of Thaumium necessary for Dive Drive; giving the Coalition a massive advantage in trade negotiations with the Mewei, the Hhrot and the myriad of smaller powers emerging in Tau Elpis.
However, food is scant and grows poorly on Coalition worlds, and despite efforts to encourage a private agricultural sector to flourish, the Coalition imports much of its agroneeds from the Boshaari Council. In addition, many Coalition science corporations work with the Mewei Domain
The Hiderid economic machine grows hungrily and gives other powers in the Stream concerns, but in reality, the Coalition remains fragile. Many corporations seek to export beyond the Coalition, and the internal Hiderid market is not very large. Very few planners have started the daunting task to replace initial Programmable Matter colony modules with self-made infrastructure. Powerful clans and corporations have resorted to develop their own competing networks.

Diplomacy

The Coalition try to befriend and maintain good relations with everybody, however their links to the Boshaari and Hhrot are quite poor despite several business ventures. The Domain have a better outlook on the Hiderid Coalition.
Generally the Zaalan Free Tribes as well as more independant groups tend to see the Coalition as a hegemonic bully and do not get along well with its leadership or corporations.

Type

Geopolitical, State