Chapter from the text book that I thought you might find interesting: seems that the Outer Colonies aren't the only ones out that far.
-StarlingForeign Relations
There are several minor star nations and independent worlds near the Outer Colonies. Some have managed to maintain a reasonable level of technology, while others have regressed to the point of subsistence farming. In this chapter, we will be looking at those closest to our boarders.
Star Nations
The Reman ImperiumFounding Year: 2390 (contested)
Capital (City, World): Imperial City, Remus
National Symbol: A golden Imperial Aquila over a red star burst
Total Systems: 7
Estimated Population (3046): 4,240,000,000
Government: Autocracy
Ruler: Emperor Ulysses Dante
Dominant Language(s): Reman (Italian dialect, official), Standard English (common)
Dominant Religion(s): Imperial Cult, Christianity, Islam and Judaism
HPG: D
Technology level: 24th Century
Unit of Currency: Denarius
A seven world polity consisting of Remus, Romulus, New Rome, Saint Sebastopol, Carpathia, Milan and Constantinople, the Reman Imperium is a feudal autocracy ruled over by either an emperor or an empress, with a advisory council of other nobles. The first settlers found hash, dry worlds and decided they needed a strong, central government. Selecting the Roman Empire from ancient Terra as their template, they built a civilisation that sees service to the state and the Emperor or Empress as the highest calling.
Since 3015 they have been engaged in a series of minor wars with the Alianza Española over the independent world of Oz.
Alianza EspañolaFounding Year: 2403
Capital (City, World): Torrecastro, Nueva España
National Symbol: Cross of St James
Total Systems: 5
Estimated Population (3046): 3,960,000,000
Government: Feudal/Monarchy
Ruler: Queen Annabel VI
Dominant Language(s): Spanish (official), Standard English (common)
Dominant Religion(s): Christianity (predominantly Roman Catholi), Cult of the Saints Cameron
HPG: D
Technology level: 24th Century
Unit of Currency: Doubloon
Containing the worlds of Neva España, Brasilia, Neo Barranquilla, Hispaniola and Casablanca, the Alianza Española was founded by a group of refuges fleeing the Age of War. Banding together for mutual protection, they soon formed a unified government that had become a hereditary monarchy by the time the Star League arrived. A deeply religious people, they believe that their continued survival is a gift from God, and that only by dedicated service to him that they will remain strong in the face of continued aggression from the Reman Imperium and sporadic pirate attacks. The local Catholic Church has embraced the Cult of the Saints Cameron, and beatified Jonathan Cameron, Jocasta Cameron and Aleksandr Kerensky. They continue to feel that the Star League was the closest humanity has ever come to Heaven on Earth, and feel a strong connection to the Outer Colonies as a result.
Since 3015 they have been engaged in a series of minor wars with the Reman Imperium over the independent world of Oz.
The ChosenFounding Year: 2365
Capital (City, World): Jerusalem, Promised Land
National Symbol: A crown of thorns
Total Systems: 4
Estimated Population (3046): 5,060,000,000
Government: Socialist Theocracy
Ruler: Reverend Jacob O'Laughlin
Dominant Language(s): Standard English (official)
Dominant Religion(s): The Brotherhood (state religion)
HPG: None
Technology level: 22nd Century
Unit of Currency: N/A
Descended from a religious group that departed Terra during the diaspora, following a 'vision' their leader had that he claimed would “Lead the Chosen of God to a new Promised Land in the Starsâ€. Many had given them up for dead, one of countless failed colonies, until a Star League survey ship rediscovered them in 2610. Having expanded out to inhabit four worlds, the Brotherhood had abandoned a monetary based economy, instead adopting a form of Socialism where everyone is expected to work towards the common good. Their economy is fragile at best, not helped by their abandonment of most forms of advanced technology, while relying on a small fleet of antiquated DropShips and JumpShips to maintain contact between their worlds.
While they are tolerable of outsiders, their religious zeal can be slightly unsettlingly when first encountered, as they consider it their sacred duty to save any unbelievers, thankfully through non-violent means. They are subject to regular raids originating on the pirate world of Blood, despite the best efforts of the Knights Templar and Outer Colonies Defence Force.
In 2742 a sub-sect broke away and emigrated to the world of Hester's Haven, half way between the Chosen and the Alianza Española.
Independent Worlds
BrujaA warm world with many large oceans, Bruja has close ties to the Alianza Española, bring it into conflict with the Reman Imperium. Many locals fear that they may suffer the same fate as nearby Oz, and are trying to build up their defences. Unfortunately, their technology base is only on a part with mid-to-late 20th century Terra, limiting how effective their small standing army would be. A large part of their GDP is spent on importing weapons from outside.
Hester's HavenAn offshoot from The Chosen, the people of Hester's Haven have been somewhat less zealous in their drive to abandon advanced technology, at are at least two centuries ahead of their former kin. This is linked to their belief that God gave man intelligence so that we could tame the universe around us, and that in discovering the secrets of the universe, one might become closer to God. Unfortunately, they suffer from even more pirate raids than The Chosen, and are likewise pacifists, refusing to shed blood even in self defence.
SomewhereYour typical Deep Periphery settlement, somewhere is self sufficient with an early 20th Century level of technology. They are heavily influenced by the Reman Imperium, and many consider it only a matter of time before they are annexed by their expansionist neighbours.
Dumb LuckSettled by survivors of a colony ship that suffered a catastrophic miss-jump, Dumb Luck was named after a comment by the ships captain that emerging within range up a habitable planet was so astronomically unlikely that it must have been dumb luck. Outsiders may laugh at the name, but the natives are fiercely defensive of their history. They have managed to maintain a technology base equivalent to late 21st century Terra, and while they have no JumpShip's of their own, they do have a well maintained space port for visiting merchant ships.
OzWhile technically independent, Oz is the subject of a power-struggle between the Reman Imperium and the Alianza Española. The local population exist at a early 21st Century level of technology, and are totally outclassed by the two belligerents. The Knights Templar have a mission station in the Capital, Central City, and do their best to minimise the impact of the war on the locals.
TipperaryA world very much akin to 20th century Terra, Tipperary has no central government, and is instead split between two super powers, Zafran and Revillia, as well as a number of smaller, proxy nations and client states. Unlike many nearby worlds, Tipperary is known to have a number of functioning BattleMech's, all be in in various states of disrepair. Most are operated by Zafran or Revillia, and engage in occasional skirmishes alongside infantry and armoured units. Both nations are known to posses nuclear weapons, but none have been used to date.
The Outer Colonies has tried many times to mediate a peace between the two factions, but neither seems willing to settle for anything less than total global domination.
RedemptionAn agrarian world known to trade with Rorke's Drift, Redemption has regressed to a near pre-industrial state, with few examples of advanced technology outside of the major cities. Outlying areas are connected by steam-powered trains, and many people relay on draft animals as a means of transport. While the cities are relatively safe, the more rural areas can be somewhat lawless, so caution is advised to anyone planning a trip there.
Foster's WorldA world very similar to it's neighbour, Redemption, Foster's World has managed to maintain a late 20th Century technology base, with limited industrialisation and even a few functioning inter-system transports used to mine their asteroids for minerals without damaging the environment. They trade with nearby Arixo and Pacifica, exporting foodstuffs and importing electronics.
MidsummerA sparsely populated world with a mid 23rd Century technology base, Midsummer is far enough away from the Reman Imperium to be outside their direct sphere of influence, but close enough to benefit from their merchants. They suffer sporadic pirate attacks, but these are few and far between as there is little worth the effort to take when there are richer worlds nearby.
ShakespeareThe most highly advanced independent world outside of the Outer Colonies themselves, Shakespeare benefited by the arrival of a small mercenary unit that had been conducting anti-piracy sweeps for the SLDF when the Star League fell. Rather than return to the Inner Sphere and risk total destruction in the imminent Succession Wars, or sign up with the early Outer Colonies Defence Force, they decided to remain where they were and became the core of the local militia. The presence of a battalion of mixed BattleMech's and supporting units has kept the local pirate bands away, supplemented by a small detachments from the Knights Templar, who run an information gathering operation from the Capital, Verona.
DreamAnother world expecting to be swallowed up by the Reman Imperium in the not to distant future, Dream is already totally reliant on its larger neighbour for trade and defence. The local government is expected to hand over a percentage of their GDP every year to maintain the Imperium's favour, something many locals call extortion.
BobFounded by people who fled Hibernia (now known as Hamunaptra) when its ecosystem stared to collapse, planet Bob has little of interest to most people and is almost totally self sufficient, but suffers from regular pirate raids. They have been offered help in defending themselves, but they view outsiders with scepticism and seem to only want to be left alone. They have only one small space port that is used to maintain a small number of communications and weather monitoring satellites. Trade is limited at best, aside for the occasional spare part that is beyond their ability to repair or replace.
Pirates & Criminals
TeachTeach is perhaps the most wretched hive of scum and villainy near the Outer Colonies. A barely habitable hell, Teach is covered with ragged mountains and deep canyons that could hide a dozen armies with ease. Known as a meting place for black marketeers, smugglers, slavers and other examples of the dregs of humanity, it is said that anything or anyone can be had on Teach, for a price. Several expeditions have been mounted to try and clear it out over the years, but like an insidious weed, it always seems to flourish.
PatchA cold, ice covered moon orbiting a gas giant, Patch is only habitable thanks to the geothermal activity caused by its close proximity to its host. The world is run on the principle of survival of the fittest; from an early age, children are expect to fight, cheat and steal just to stay alive. One common tactic among the more barbaric clans is to lock a number of adolescents in a enclosure for a month with enough food and water for half of them to survive. This is designed to strip away empathy and compassion, leaving just a hardened killer willing to stab you in the back if it means gaining an advantage. But these tribes tend to be small, prone to in-fighting: the real danger comes from the more 'civilised' groups who act like pack hunters, dominated by an strong leader who rules through intimidation and fear.
While many such societies are traditionally ruled by men, with woman relegated to second class citizens used only for breeding the next generation and domestic service, Patch is known for being remarkably egalitarian in the respect that both women and men have the ability to obtain positions of power. Competition is also fierce over breeding rights; the limited amount of food that can be grown calls for near zero population growth, if unauthorised pregnancies terminated, often at the cost of the mothers life. This can lead to a process called 'making way', where an older or less productive member of a clan or tribe is killed to allow for the child of a senior member.
Despite this, Patch has maintained a high enough technology base to allow them to launch raids on nearby system, searching for supplies, equipment and even slaves who are used to carry out the dirtiest or most dangerous work. The warriors of Patch are known for being fearless and tenacious in combat, willingly throwing themselves at the enemy in a bid to gain position and favour through victory. It is almost impossible to take them alive, with the few times it does happen the subject either being knocked unconscious or otherwise rendered incapable of fighting back.
BloodOnce a thriving mining outpost under the Star League, the world known known somewhat ominously as Blood is seemingly honeycomb by caves and tunnels that are home to a band called Conner's Cutthroat Corsairs' and countless smaller bands.
HoganHogan has a government, but it is small, corrupt and infective, which is just the was the people really running the world want it. The real power is held by a loose coalition of criminal organisations known as The Alignment, who have infiltrated almost every facet of life. Through bribery, blackmail and intimidation they have managed to get the government to outlaw alcohol, tobacco, gambling, sugar and even coffee. They then set up a vast network to service these and other, more traditional vices at a highly inflated price. Each area is controlled by a different syndicate, with senior members controlling cities or other high-value areas. They are expected to pay a percentage of their takings to their parent organisation or face the consequences. Competition can be fierce, with different syndicates or even sub-bosses battling for control of the most lucrative enterprises. Most of these are relatively small scale affairs similar to what happens on many worlds, but others have involved thousands of combatants, often members of local militia, fighting with military grade weapons.
There are those within the government who would see an end to the corruption and violence, and the Outer Colonies assists them as and when it can. Unfortunately these men and woman are few and far between, and there have been those who have claimed to be on the side of justice, only to try and direct the assistance they receive into taking out the competition.
Many consider the continued
status-quo as a sort of pressure valve; many local government, especially those who are not necessarily friendly towards each other, maintain back channels on Hogan, meaning that to a certain extent everyone has a vested interest in keeping things just the way they are.
FlintRuled by a series of iron-fisted dictators, Flint is technically a functional society, just not one where any sane person might want to live. Rich in elements found towards the 'heavy' end of the periodic table, the average hand-gun on Flint carries what would probably be considered armour-piercing rounds anywhere else. A police state where government agents have near unrestricted power, Flint has been called a would that read 1984 and saw it as a How To manual: those who oppose the government are arrested, tortured, and often executed without trial. The government does their best to convince to populous that they are doing it all in their best interest.
The only thing that has kept them from being swallowed up by the Roman Imperium is their suicidally large arsenal of thermonuclear weapons and a proven willingness to use them, as the Star League Defence Force found out in 2615, when two of their battleships were blown out of orbit. While the SLDF was eventually able to take them by the throat, the world was never truly pacified, and quickly fell back on its old ways when the troops left.
The isolationist, anti-expansionist nature of the Outer Colonies seems to make them unwilling to engage in open operations against some of the local powers, but it seems clear that they favour the Alianza Española over the Reman Imperium, but do not with to act overtly unless they turn the Cold War hot.
Still, it is surprising that there are pirates near such a large and powerful star nation, especially ones who we know would invade and attempt to lay claim to the world of Redemption a little more then ten years after this book was written. It is possible that they mistook an unwillingness to enter into direct confrontation as a sign of weakness, or that they believed Redemption was not important enough to the Outer Colonies for them to commit troops to protecting it.
They were, as we now, wrong, but the unrest in the area might go some way towards explaining the size of their standing army and militia.
-Starling
