Union of Socialist Systems
Following years of oppression by the Colonial Earth Empire, a group of like minded outer rim senators, delegates, workers, governors, union leaders, and pop culture figures all formally seceded from the Colonial Earth Empire. They occupied a space of mostly outer-rim territories and pluralities. They formed together forming a political federation under a united socialist banner, throwing off the shackles of their corporate overseers and launched an attack on the Colonial Earth Empire.
They quickly carved out their own swath of territory, and supported mid-rim territories in joining them.
They survived the silence as well, but at a much lesser extent than the Colonial Earth Empire, they've now been banished to the farthest realms, taking root on Beacon .
The Union is organized mainly as a federation of similar governments that have banded together under the Systems Union, a document that binded them together under one central authority, that provides mainly security and an overarching congress to establish Union Wide laws (Mainly on trade, taxing, and Inter-System Affairs). They also maintain the Union Navy, a powerful military force in its own right. Completely volunteer, the Union Navy oeprates using perserved advanced Navbox tech, in conjunction with incredibly well designed Jump Drive tech. This makes them one of the most far reaching army, capable of striking fast and disapearing through dangerous space, putting them back into the protection of the wild Outer Rim space currents.
This government is elected at a local planetary level, with all manner of direct democracy occuring for their own systems, so long as they adhere to the Union's main tenants. They also allow local system militias to exist, and each system must contribute a certain amount of support towards the Greater Union Defense Forces. The Military still remains under civilian control, and thus is used mainly in defensive situations, combined with anti-piracy.
Structure
The Union of Socialist Systems is beholden to their Central Committee, a representative organization that is garunteed to member states, on the basis of internally recognized representatives or delegations. Typically, a delegation of representatives sent by the constituent state or an administrator with intimate knowledge of a region. Central Comittee itself is a democratic organization for all its measures. It remains loyal to the Utopian Pillars that were established during its founding.
Central Committee is the ultimate governing body of the Union, and all other ministries and departments in the government ultimately answer to the democratic processes established here. Central Committee's primary role is to govern and maintain the pillars in Union space, as well as managing the security of Union member states. They also allow local system militias to exist, and each system must contribute a certain amount of support towards the Greater Union Defense Forces. The Military still remains under civilian control, and thus is used mainly in defensive situations, combined with anti-piracy.
History
It is hard to seperate the history of the Union of Socialist Systems from the Empire. The republic that preceded the empire was, at its best, a grouping of weak-willed bureaucrats and administrators, and at its worst it was a conglomerate of radical corpo-states with the ability to significantly sway republic policy in their favor.
The oligarchs in power continually grinded down the mid and outer rims, using them as cheap labor to extract the wealth and fatten their wallets in the Imperial Core. The loosening of laws protecting workers further from the imperial core, and the growing divide in wealth between the Core Systems and those that lived beyond it stoked the flames of unrest. In Sovereign Space, the return of chattel slavery, allowed by the republic, caused an uprising the republic had not seen before.
Armed militants were able to destablize and oust the republican security forces, and what followed was the brutal and systematic killing of corporate representatives that were not able to flee the planet. In the core, this uprising sparked a wave of right-wing fueled vitriol. To them, the ungreateful colonists in the mid and outer rims were animals that should be put down, and this gave way for laws allowing corporations to raise private armies in the interest of protecting their investments.
Private militaries, which had already been on the rise despite official laws prohibiting them, exploded into the mid and outer rim. Any scent of uprising or discontent warranted a deadly response by the private security forces. In return, peaceful demonstrations and protests turned to slaughters at the hands of the wealthy corporations that operated out of the core systems. A growing resistance movement was only inevitable.
Similar to the situations of The Red Birth, colonists packed onto industrial worlds, choked by the pollution of mega-factories launched their own colony ships, headed for systems out of the reach of the republic and its corporate attack dogs. Isochem destroyed one of these colony ships, claiming it was engaging in piracy. This event came to be known as the Earhart Incident.
These worlds were offered a place under the Union, and many joined. When the Silence fell, the Union was cut off from many of their newfound brothers and sisters. In their isolation however, they were free from the ever present threat of the Empire. Finally, the Union had found peace, and were able to undertake their great experiement.
Unification
It was this event that eventually would cause the unification of worlds and peoples, and unite the growing resistance movements in the Outer Rim. Regular clashes and violence would occur as more and worlds and systems declared their own independence. They would oust corporate entities, who would respond by sending a private military force in order to brutalize the local population and cowe them back into submission. This worked at first, but as time went on the rebellious forces got stronger and stronger. Oligarchs clamored for a stronger backbone in the government to protect their assets, tired of throwing their money at private military forces that were not as effective against the united outer rim forces. When the republic was re-organized into the Empire, it was a sign to all in the Outer Rim that it was time to break free. Academics, sympathizers, philosphers and disenfranchised politicians alike all saw the need to unite. But it was not until several decades that the first charter of the Union would be established. Many of the worlds had already successfully overthrown their corporate masters. Many wished to rule on their own, seperate from some uniting force that would tell them how to live from thousands of lightyears away. The Imperial re-expansion began subtly at first, as imperial battle commanders tested their forces against the already cowed corpo-colonies near the borders of the Core Systems. In time, more and more worlds fell back under the control of the Empire, this time brought to heel by radicalized right-wing death squads and organized military efforts. As Imperial space grew, and brought most of Pacifica, the The Great Expanse and the Terminus Systems under its control, those who sought to oppose the Empire saw their allies began to dwindle.Revelation
Beacon was the first to strike back. When the allied world of Straatos came under siege by an imperial fleet, they expected for Straatos to put up a fight, but be brought to heel within several months of heavy orbital bombardment. What the Imperials did not expect was for a coalition of highly organized, highly advanced warships to tear the Imperial Fleet to ribbons. Straatos was freed, and signed a pact with the coalition of forces that had gathered in Sovereign Space under the unified banner of Beacon. The Empire came a second time, this time with a fleet three times the size of the one that had gathered over Straatos. It was roughly one third of all imperial forces. They approached the planet of Meri'Desh, where intelligence reports had assured the rebel fleet was moored. The Union of Socialist Systems was prepared. They ambushed the imperial fleet once again, and once again the Empire was left reeling, and their forces decimated. The Union of Socialist Systems was finally broadcasted to the greater galaxy, and the Vanguard of their Navy began to engage in empancipation actions through Free Space, Pacifica and the Terminus Systems. For decades the Empire and the Union traded blows, with the Union freeing oppressed colonies and the Empire playing whack-a-mole with rebellions and uprisings, sometimes brought about by Union agitators, and sometimes brought about by their own oppression and arrogance.A New Path
Ships made for warfare were dissambled, and materials were used to build up the infrastructure of what the Union now called Sovereign Space. Massive cities grew, and so did their technology. It was not long before the Enclave would re-appear above the planet Beacon, to further help guide the Union along a path of advancement for the betterment of humanity. The Union was re-organized several times throughout the silence, and with no enemies to fight or oppressed systems to emancipate, the more aggressive Vanguard parties dwindled in their support. Instead, great stock was taken of the cost of lives and materials that their war with the Empire truly costed them. The government that is present today began to take shape through reforms, comittees, and spirited debate backed up by knowledge and the newly established Central Simulation. All the while, the Union of Socialist Systems grew to become a post-scarce society, the first of its kind. All citizens of the union were given free housing, food, healthcare, education, and ample access to the arts and cultures of the Union. Union citizens were free to pursue whatever they wanted, while the majority of industrial manufacturing and city management was automated. It would eventually be Union scientists, working closely with Cent/SIM that would be the first to re-open a gate, causing a cascade of other gates to also re-open. The Union regularly asserts that they were the ones who ended the Age of Silence.Old Enemies
Once again, they were faced with the threat of the Colonial Earth Empire, who had also survived the Silence. However, while the Union grew to become a post-scarce economy and one of the greatest technological powers in the galaxy, the Empire was reduced to a mere skeleton of power that they once commanded. While the Core Systems remained intact, the loss of their colonies resulted in great infighting and war between the noble houses, each trying to squeeze each other for more profit and power. The Union, if they wished, could have utterly destroyed their former oppressors if they wanted. Yet, the Union had also grown in other ways. They were timid, wary of the staggering human cost that would be caused by another war with the Empire. It would have left the Union weakened, and as more gates open, the Union saw a galaxy of shadows that could threaten the utopia they had spent so long building. The Zym Cartel and the Corporate Assembly each eyed the Union as an existential threat to their existence, ready to pounce on any weakness. With the threats from outside, and the risk of causing untold amounts of bloodshed and damage, the Union took up a more cautious approach. Instead, they reached out to their neighbors peacefully, system by system. Some welcomed them with open arms, eager to re-join the Union, others had been scarred by the Silence, and now resented the Union that they thought had abandoned them in the darkness. Regardless, the hopes that all people can be freed to bask in its light.
Type
Geopolitical, Republic
Capital
Alternative Names
The Union, USS
Ruling Organization
Government System
Democracy, Representative
Power Structure
Federation
Economic System
Post-scarcity economy
Subsidiary Organizations
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
Related Ethnicities
Related Myths
Comments