Prologue | Greater Terran Union | Stellaris Invicta

On April 22nd, 2089, military space surveillance satellites from 9

separate nations began tracking a group of objects that had entered
the periphery of the Solar System. Within weeks, these objects had
been picked up by civilian observatories and when they became public
knowledge, the member of the United Nation Security Council revealed
that they were almost certainly artificial in nature and on a direct
course with Earth. When the ships finally arrived in orbit on February
17th, 2090, the outcome was apocalyptic. A hastily assembled orbital
defence network was swept aside and powerful alien weaponry
annihilated dozens of cities in the opening few hours. Whether this
strike was meant to force some sort of unconditional surrender or the
first step in a genocidal campaign was never determined. A coordinated
intercontinental ballistic missile launches from silos and submarines
across the word disabled the largest and seemingly most powerful alien
warship. Further orbital bombardment would be limited and sporadic.
Over the next seven years, mankind fought a desperate war across the
world. In ruined cities and ash-choked landscapes, remnant military
forces engaged a horrific enemy whose advanced technology and
resources made defeat seem inevitable. Over a third of the planet was
occupied, and those who managed to escape brought with them
reports of horrifying alien atrocities and spires which poisoned the
atmosphere around them. But even in the darkest ruins of the world,
far from the frontlines, there were those who resisted. An improvised
emblem meant to mark the location of hidden munitions and
clandestine airdrops slowly grew into a worldwide symbol of defiance.
It was painted onto tank barrels and aircraft wings, carved on the
stocks of rifles, emblazoned on artillery shells, and branded on the
corpses of the enemy. When humanity achieved the unthinkable and
the last remnants of the alien armies retreated from the Solar System,
this symbol was placed on the flag of a new nation, one that united all
of mankind: The Greater Terran Union.
Yet in its earliest days it existed simply as a last-ditch effort to prevent
the complete collapse of human civilization. While the enemy had been
defeated, the planet was in ruins. The global economy had been
erased, famine was rampant and the highest governing bodies of every
major state had been destroyed, alongside tens of millions of their
citizens. As the last organizations still capable of operating effectively,
an international coalition of various military forces assumed the
responsibilities of civil governance. With the survival of humanity in
question, the measures taken were severe; strict rationing, a
mandatory one child policy, and widespread martial law. Every
available resource was put toward reconstruction and opportunities
only afforded to those whose knowledge or expertise could directly
benefit this great effort. Millions more would suffer and die in vast
relief camps where the barest necessities were exchanged for gruelling
physical laboratory. The price was immense, and even those in the
highest echelons of the provisional government were horrified by the
actions taken to preserve civilization. Across the decades however, the
situation began to improve. Crop yields increased, global
communication was restored, cities were rebuilt and the harshest
measures imposed on the population were repealed. Eventually,
manned space flights resumed and the dissection of derelict alien
starships still in orbit revealed astonishing new technologies and field
of study. Every effort was made to prepare the planet for a second
attack, but by the middle of the 22 nd century, it had still not arrived. In
2153, plans were announced that would see the emergency military
coalition dissolved, replaced with either a worldwide civilian
government or perhaps, according to a few proposals, divided into
several sovereign states resembling the pre-war nation of Earth. In a
planet-wide referendum, the first and only one of its kind, the fate of
humanity’s post-war government was left in the hands of its people. In
an unexpected landslide, humanity placed its faith in the system that
had led them through reconstruction, transforming the emergency
military provisional government into the sole governing body of the
human race. On July 11th, 2156, the Greater Terran Union was
proclaimed. The most striking aspect of this new society is he
implementation of a tiered citizenship structure. A mandatory four-year
period of national service either within the military or other recognized
institution grants every citizen certain rights, while higher tiers and
their associated privileges and responsibilities are typically accessible
only to those who have achieved a hight ranking within the Union’s
national reputation system. Citizenship tiers determine everything from
the type of employment a person is allowed to seek and whether
limitation exist on their freedom of movement, all the way down to the
amount of water allotted to their showers each month. The System
remains fluid, with citizens often gaining and losing tiers multiple times
over the course of their lives. A reduction in a citizen’s tier is one of the
most common sentences for minor crimes, with usually specific criteria
assigned for its reinstatement. While advances in technology and
production mean that even the lowest tiered citizens can enjoy
comfortable lives, the system serves to promote duty to the state and a
responsibility to humanity as a whole. It also acts as an effective tool
used to combat wastefulness or corruption, albeit at the expense of
personal liberty. The predominant status of the military within the
Union’s Citizenship structure means that almost every position of
authority is helping individuals who have either completed their service
or remain a part of the armed forces, with rare exception. While the
government and military remain nominally independent of one
another, the Greater Terran Union has increasingly come to resemble a
stratocracy as the lines between civil and military service become
harder to discern. Executive power is held collectively by the National
Council, composed of 21 marshals, each responsible for leading one of
the nations federal executive departments. Criticism that this council
has been to slow to respond to time-sensitive issues ant too weak to
lead the powerful federal bureaucracy has led to the appointment of a
High Marshal – a position accorded the status as first among equals and
granted representational duties. Marshals are typically appointed to
serve a 20 years term although various circumstances can result in
longer or shorter periods of service. Legislative powers are held by the
National Assembly, a unicameral body that has grown to become
almost ceremonial in nature, having rarely rejected a government
proposal in its history. While a de-facto single party state, various
opposition parties approved by the Greater Terran Union maintain
nominal representation within the assembly although all must remain
subordinate to the national interest. Both the National Council and
Assembly are headquartered in London, owing to that city’s status as
one of the first major metropolitan areas restored in the post-war era.
London also serves as the regional capital of the Albion Commissariat,
one of 17 administrative divisions established across the world. These
commissariats roughly correspond to the borders of pre-war nation
states, such as the United States of America or the European
Federation, while others govern large section of the world in such a
way never before achieved. A principal goal of the commissariats is to
foster and promote the cultural dimension of worldwide integration, in
which pre-war nationalist, religious, sexist, and ethnic divisions are
eliminated. While no single language has been granted official status,
Arabic, Chinese, English, Hindi, Russian, and Spanish are predominantly
used in internal affairs. Proposals for a single global language have
occasionally been made, without success as of yet. The state’s policies
emphasize a “diversity of identity” combined with a “commonality of
value” with individual practices and beliefs tolerated so long as they do
not conflict with the core tenets of the nation. The ability for every
citizen to participate in the civil and political apparatus of the state
without discrimination or repression is one such tenet, not in the
pursuit of any utopian ideal, but rather in the pragmatic belief that
natural talent which might benefit the human race must be supported
regardless of who possesses it. The most critical element of the Terran
State is the armed forces, which retains the ability to assume direct
control over the nation in the event its civil leadership were killed or
incapacitated. Land Force Command remains the largest and primary
branch, responsible for the operational readiness of the nation’s
conventional ground forces. A wholly mechanized army, it utilizes a
combined arms doctrine in which an enemy’s forward defences are
broken by overwhelming force at which point fresh uncommitted
mobile operational reserves are sent to exploit the strategic depth of
an enemy front. Air Command is the second largest branch, dedicated
to achieving air and space superiority as well as facilitating rapid global
mobility and strategic bombing. Advancements in aerospace
technology has seen the deployment of Air Command assets across the
solar system, typically unmanned satellites and drones, but also
manned squadrons and picket ships. Smallest among the major services
is Fleet Command which maintains a largely automated armada of
ballistic missile submarines that continuously circle the globe in
anticipation of a second alien invasion. As developments in space
continue and larger ships are constructed in orbit, there have been
renewed calls to transition the service into the Terran Union’s space
warfare branch and the creation of a separate maritime service. Land,
Air and Fleet Command all maintain their own separate component
services, including specialized Naval and Orbital infantry, as well as
distinct special operation forces. Units across all three services have
inherited the traditions and customs of previous armies and units from
across the globe, resulting in an eclectic military culture. While the
supreme goal of the military, and by extension the Greater Terran
Union, has been to defend the Earth against any further attack, in
recent years a new objective has been declared. Advanced technologies
have pushed the boundaries of human expansion and the devastation
wrought across the Earth has left an insatiable need for raw materials
and resources. Already the first mining and research outpost have been
established across the Solar System and construction has begun on a
wave of starships that will depart for distant worlds.
A generation of sacrifice and hardship will soon be rewarded, for as
mankind prepares to embark on the greatest journey in its history, it
marches towards this uncertain future united in purpose and
determined to never be caught unprepared again. Every wonder
encountered shall be utilized, every terror overcome. And when those
responsible for the murder of millions are found, every injustice will be
repaid a hundred and then a thousand times over. The entire galaxy will
know that they came to the wrong neighbourhood, and knocked on the
wrong door.

B&B1 // B&B2 // B&B3 // B&B4 //

PG82 // Pg82 // Pa82 // Pi60 // Pw82 // Pf82 // Pa60 //