The Federation

The Federation
Empire Info
Capital		Coronet City
Leader		Position Awaiting Successor
Government Type		Federation
Dominant Species		Human, Caera, Hexian
Population		70.1 Billion
Anthem		The Federal Future
Color Scheme		Red and Green

Overview

The Sovereign Federation of Free Worlds, informally the Federation, is a loose alliance of militarily aligned worlds and member-nations generally aligned towards opposition of the Galactic Coalition’s ideals and perceived expansionism. Established in 2809 after years of civil unrest which culminated in The Secession War, the Federation exists more as a power bloc to deter the Coalition than any individual cohesive government. Despite the White Belt Armistice in 2815, the Federation remains unrecognized by the Coalition as no formal peace treaty has been signed between the powers. Relations with other powers, such as the Rokhandan Directorate, are beginning to improve with time.

The three dominant species of the Federation, Humans, Caera, and Hexians, represent three unique and differing cultures which often conflict; in actuality, despite propaganda to the contrary, often the only unifying factor among Federation worlds is a distrust of the Coalition.

Government

The Federation has a civilian government on paper, at least, with member worlds elected to the Federal Parliament every five years. In actuality though, the Federation itself is a military junta in all but name. Most citizens of member worlds, however, barely notice this as the actual control the Federation has over their day-to-day lives is minimal in most cases, as the Federation’s founding articles grant the government very limited powers over matters other than foreign relations and defense.

Independent Member Worlds

Approximately 80% of the Federation’s territory consists of independent member worlds who, in and of themselves, have a lot more autonomy than equivalent member worlds of the Galactic Coalition. Promised independence by the early Volkter rebellion to join the cause, these governments retain ad-hoc independence in all areas of government except foreign policy and military operations. They are expected to contribute a set percentage, usually 3-5%, of gross domestic product to the Federation military, but beyond that are, usually, left to their own devices.

The Federation selects a Duma, or Parliament, out of these member worlds to represent their wishes before the Federation High Command, though the Duma’s real authority is at times dubious in the face of the Federation’s military establishment. Still, the High Command recognizes mass revolts on these worlds if promises of independence were broken isn’t worth the trouble and as such at least publicly keeps their promise of independence.

It is not uncommon for these systems to have their own rivalries, some bitter to the point of conflict, with the occasional noted territorial dispute between Federation worlds. Such is inevitable in such a young government. The Duma is officially tasked with sorting these disputes, but in actuality it is not uncommon for the High Command to step in militarily to resolve a border dispute between member worlds if there’s fear it’ll challenge the public image of unity and cohesion among Federation members.

Military Districts

A select few worlds around Voltker Prime, and other key border systems, are controlled by the Federal government itself. Within these zones, called Military Districts, the Federation High Command has near absolute control over all affairs of life, civilian and military, though it typically appoints Military Governors over these planets to oversee day to day administration. Most civilians accept the status quo in this area as part of the Federation constantly being on a war footing, though resistance movements do exist. The legislative Duma has limited to no authority over Military Districts, and the will of the High Command is ultimately law.

Solar Nobility

See the Solar Nobility page for more info

In stark contrast to the nobility within the Coalition, the noble houses play a far more overt role in the politics and defense of the Federation. Federal nobility consists of twelve houses, each one a large, monolithic entity controlling various sizes of fleets, armies, corporations, planets, and sometimes even systems. These houses represent a significant chunk of Federal military power, and as such, frequently see themselves as not beholden to Federal laws; this is a hotly debated subject in the Duma, and is addressed at some point during nearly every assembly session.

Culture

The Federation is a melting pot of various species working together against what is perceived as a greater threat. Culture, the rights of citizens, and levels of individual prosperity vary greatly between member worlds and species.

Former Human Colonies

See the Voltker Prime page for more info

Making up the majority of the Federation worlds, the human worlds that were once solidly part of the Coalition are often treated as the face of the Federation by those outside of it. The original colonists of these worlds were those from rough and rowdy sectors of life back home; prisoners, convicts, those looking for a better life. As such, a reputation quickly formed of ‘rough and rowdy’ colonists that persists to this day. Most of the planets are some of the harshest to be found in this region of space. Mining operations, large scale agricultural projects and factory worlds are a common sight, and as a result, the people there are hardier than most, creating what is the closest the Federation has to a unified culture between worlds.

The bulk of these worlds can be found on the edge of Federation space, serving as a bulwark against invasion, more and more systems being offered as Fortresses each year to create an Iron Wall against the Coalition.

Caera

See the Tal-Sheed page for more info

The various clans of the Caera maintain a strong representation within the Federation. Their focus on improving and perfecting both themselves and their race as a whole has proven quite the asset to the fledgling empire. Their soldiers find their way into special operations units more often than not, and their engineers, especially those of the Illuminated Path, make their mark on the defenses of the fortress worlds that protect the frontier realm from potential attacks.

Hexian

See the Vaeus page for more info

The Imperial Vae’Hex Dominion makes up one of the more extreme cultures found within the Federation and likely the one most excited to do away with Coalition control. Amongst Federation members they above all others take on the stance of self governance with a strong territoriality, defending their government and genetic laws aggressively. While they continue to donate towards the cause of protection and independence that the Federation touts, they rarely call on it for aid. As such their culture is far more isolated from the rest of the Voltker Zone.

Military

“The Feddie Fleet may function like shit, but when their reinforcements keep dropping out of FTL an hour into the battle, well, you throw enough shit at the wall and some of it’s bound to stick.” -Anonymous Coalition Navy Admiral, 2810

The Federation itself has a unified military command, centered on the Supreme Commander of the Federation’s Armed Forces, who has virtually unchecked authority in the realm of national defense. The Federation is, however, dependent on military contributions from its member states to maintain a fighting force. In almost all Federation member states, military service is seen as honorable and productive; many still have conscription laws requiring service for several years. The Federation still sees itself as the underdog in event of any renewed hostilities with the Coalition, and as such places high priority on military expenditure and civil defense funding. Almost all frontier worlds and major population centers spend billions on fallout shelter networks and civil defense measures in preparation for renewed hostilities. Monthly attack drills are not uncommon even as deep into the Federation as Volkter Prime. This state of constant war preparation has an overall effect on the civilian population, with support for the military near unwavering.

Differing languages, command structures, and tactics are rampant among the varying member militaries, which comprise about 80% of the Federation’s military; only 20% are units directly formed and under the banner of the Federation itself, primarily Federal Guard units that report directly to the High Command. For example, the 97th Vaeus Rifle Division may answer to Federation Command, but it is a Hexian unit under a Hexian banner with Hexian officers. A lack of integrated units has led to instances of insubordination and accusations, the most common of which being that Federation Command prefers to elevate humans to positions within the command structure over other species. Post-war, an attempt was made to normalize integrated units in hopes of improving efficiency and quelling these rumors, but it paradoxically received severe pushback from all of the other member races who viewed it as a means of solidifying human hegemony within the military, leading to the initiative quietly dying away in favor of the status quo.

The Federal Fleet originally consisted primarily of defecting Coalition vessels and second-tier ships transferred to Voltker prior to the outbreak of the war, but time and attrition took their toll on these forces, and the shipyards of the member worlds had to scramble to ramp production up to a viable level. Initially, this consisted of haphazardly arming commandeered civilian vessels to be used as auxiliary ships, but within a year of the war’s outbreak, standardized designs were issued to every shipyard capable of constructing them, and the Fleet began to develop its own personality and doctrines.

Of recent note is that the position of Supreme Commander presently remains vacant following a palace coup attempt several years ago; whether a suitable person just hasn’t yet been appointed, or that the position is being intentionally left unfilled, is a popular topic of speculation.

Economy

The Federation’s economy is a fledgling one, having been established primarily out of distinct, former Coalition colonies made to harvest a specific planet’s natural resources. This left the Federation with a comparative lack of industrialization at the time of the outbreak of the Secession War. The Federation High Command quickly switched the entire state’s economy into a centrally planned economy focusing on military production. This quickly industrialized many sectors, particularly W-1 production as the Federation was discovered to have large stockpiles, however the Federation continues to lag behind the Coalition in sectors like large ship construction to this day.

Today the economy continues to be, if not centrally planned, centrally directed. Military based industry is always prioritized, with civilian goods being a close second to keep the population sated. Government spending to this degree practically holds up the fledgling economy of the Federation while it rebuilds its civilian sectors.

Technology

With the notable exception of assistance provided by the Stygian Automata Ascendency to complete the FFS Fioletovyy, the Federation’s technological level largely remains at the pre-war level of the Coalition. While the Coalition was able to manage a balanced advance of both military and civilian technologies during the war years with its megacorporations picking up the slack, the Federation did not have this luxury, and thus any technological development outside of warfighting stagnated. As well, AI production remains critically lacking due to insufficient facilities capable of producing them to the same standard, sometimes leading to AI cores being repurposed several times over the course of their useful lifespans.

Favoring less expensive projectile-based weaponry and physical armor, newly built Federation ships tend to be larger, bulkier, and less efficient than their Coalition counterparts. The Federation Navy remedied this, albeit temporarily, with increased production numbers, but by the war’s end, the crew requirements were beginning to take a noticeable toll on the populations of the member worlds.

Following the trend of cost cutting, Federation infantry equipment and fighting vehicles are of a more simple and straightforward design than their Coalition equivalents. Projectile-based weapons and easily printed alloy armor panels that can be readily replaced feature heavily. Atmospheric uniforms tend to be loose clothing under the aforementioned armor plates, and environment outfits tend to be utilitarian hardsuits.

Lost Colonies

There has been a concentrated push post-war to reestablish contact and trade routes with colony planets and systems isolated by the Shattering, but due to the beleaguered state of the Federation Fleet, the process has been slow and tedious.

Most often, colonies are found in a deteriorated but redeemable state, and significant resources are directed towards these endeavors. Some have retained a garrison flotilla of obsolescent warships that have been gratefully commandeered by the Federation to add numbers to the fleet until modern vessels can be rolled out.

A number of colonies have been found dead; victims of terraforming processes that were interrupted too early in their work without the interplanetary support system required to see the process through. Always a somber encounter for the exploratory vessel crews, these planets are marked for future redevelopment and filed away, their failures covered up by government-controlled media outlets to prevent morale loss.

Very occasionally, colonies have flourished despite their isolation, though these present challenges of their own. While a propaganda boon displaying the resolve and determination of Federation citizens, in reality, the planets have often developed different ideals and values, and their readmittance to the fold is begrudging and volatile.