Onia Provisional Government

Onia Provisional Government
Empire Info
Capital		Dusklight
Leader		Emmit McCandless
Government Type		Military Junta
Dominant Species		Varied
Population		15 Million
Anthem		None
Color Scheme		Black and White

History

In the midst of the Morrison Coup, Rameshkamar Kendall, then the moon's Councilor to the WBA and appointed planetary leader, attempted to unilaterally pledge Onia and its WBA defensive forces to usurper Abigail Morrison. Emmitt McCandless-- then Onia's Vice Councilor to the WBA-- and Miranmir Defense Force Commander Caliban Ghazi stood against Kendall's attempt. The latter claimed Fortress Icepick, the moon's military stronghold in the mountains east of Dusklight, while forces loyal to Morrison and Kendall held the surface-to-orbit command center and the ground anchor of the Tether.

The next months saw bitter fighting on the surface and in space, with the sudden civil war claiming thousands of lives. Both sides claimed to represent the WBA, but it was McCandless' Loyalists who earned the support of both Coalition and Federation interests on the moon, as well as local organizations and elements of the underworld who saw Morrison's coup as an attempt to bring tyranny to the White Belt.

Combat between the two sides reached its peak in September of 2823, with Loyalist forces under the command of Commander Ghazi performing a costly combined-arms air assault on Kendall's command center in the outskirts of Dusklight. The militiamen, though ill-trained for the operation and suffering heavy losses, captured the command center, and Kendall himself attempted to flee the planet. Aboard the WBA corvette Julius Singh, he and a fighter escort lifted off and burned for Onia's L5 jump point. After several orders by Miranmir Defense Command to stand down, the Singh was engaged by patrol cutters loyal to McCandless and ultimately destroyed with all hands.

With Kendall dead and fighting still ongoing between Morrison's forces and WBA Loyalists, McCandless became Councilor pro Tempore of Onia per the WBA charter. Under his leadership, and in no small part due to the fighting spirit of the people of Onia, the Loyalist forces would prevail, and Morrison herself would ultimately meet her fate on Onia itself.

With Morrison's dead and her command carrier burning in orbit, victory was had, if pyrrhic. The White Belt Administration was shattered, its member corporations divided or having pulled their backing, the elements that made up its centralized peacekeeping force disbanded to return to their sponsor organizations. Worlds within WBA space began to declare independent governance or pledge themselves to their nearest major power, and what had been an organized, if shaky demilitarized zone collapsed into a bureaucratic nightmare.

During the power vacuum that ensued, McCandless established an emergency cabinet of officials while continuing his duties as Councilor. In the weeks that followed the WBA's rapid collapse-- and with many emergency meetings and long sessions with former WBA stakeholders and Coalition and Federation officials-- they would forge a path forward for Onia and the Miranmir System as a whole. This culminated in the formation of the Onia Provisional Government, which introduced McCandless as Governor and announced Miranmir's future as a neutral, independent system using the guidance of the White Belt Accords as a framework and the backing of now-General Ghazi and what remained of Miranmir Defense Command as its militia.

Structure

The Onia Provisional Government is best described as a corporatocracy. At its heart, Onia is a recently-colonized W-1 mining moon and Precursor artifact trove, with much of its colony infrastructure, foodstuffs and amenities supplied or subsidized by corporations and government powers as part of their profitmaking model. It's only with their support that a Governor is appointed and able to hold power, which allows these entities to have considerable sway over the direction of the moon's policies.

The benefit to this is that with infrastructure subsidized, the people of Onia do not pay any taxes aside from banking fees. However, as is often the case on corporate colony worlds, they have no voice in policymaking. Instead, the Governor and his advisory board make and pass all policy, weighing the wants of corporations against the needs of Onia's workers.

While the OPG handles major administrative affairs and planetary security, much of the day-to-day bureaucracy is left to contracted corporations such as Reeves Star Security, who has been granted authority over law enforcement, customs and licensure on Onia. Dozens of different companies control various aspects of life and convenience on-world, which has led to a morass of red tape with fine print and a merry-go-round of responsibility.

Militia

The Onia Militia is made up of the remnants of the WBA White Fleet's Miranmir Defense Command. Under the command of General Caliban Ghazi, it's headquartered out of Fortress Icepick in the mountains east of Dusklight. Equipped with Secession War surplus, the militia boasts a pair of patrol cutters and a small starfighter detachment operating out of Onia Orbital Station, orbital defense platforms, and a ground forces division pledged to defend the moon's colonies from outside threats.

Leadership

Governor Emmitt McCandless, born 2760, is a Human male who served in the Galactic Coalition Navy from the 2780s through the Secession War. He separated from Coalition service in 2816, using his military connections to land an advisory job with the White Belt Administration, where he was soon sent to Onia and appointed Vice Councilor. A political moderate and a patient man, he sits as a free market counter to then-Councilor Kendall's rash Earth-first Humans-first approach to governance. McCandless is married to his wife Genevieve. They have three children together.