The Vascilian League

[Auman]

The Ambrosia system

Ambrosia is the star at the center of the Solar System. Ambrosia, by itself accounts for about 99.86% of the Solar System's mass; the remainder consists of the planets (including Vascilia and Platea Sojourn), asteroids, meteoroids, comets, and dust in orbit. About three-fourths of the Ambrosia's mass consists of hydrogen, most of the rest is helium. Less than 2% consists of other elements, including iron, oxygen, carbon, neon, and others.

Though it often appears yellow when seen from the surface of the inhabited worlds (because of atmospheric scattering), Ambrosia is actually a white star with a spectral class of G2V. The V (Roman five) in the spectral class indicates that Ambrosia, like most stars, is a main sequence star, and thus generates its energy by nuclear fusion of hydrogen nuclei into helium. Once regarded as a small and relatively insignificant star, Ambrosia is now presumed to be brighter than 85% of the stars in the galaxy, most of which are red dwarfs. (Estimates for its magnitude are around 4.8 ) Ambrosia's hot corona continuously expands in space creating the solar wind, a hypersonic stream of charged particles that extends to the heliopause at roughly 100 AU. The bubble in the interstellar medium formed by the solar wind, the heliosphere, is the largest continuous structure in the Solar System.

The mean distance of Ambrosia from Vascilia, the system's most populace planet, is approximately 149.6 million kilometers (1 AU), though this varies as Vascilia moves from perihelion in winter to aphelion in summer. At this average distance, light travels from Ambrosia to the Vascilia in about 8 minutes 19 seconds, and to Platea Sojourn in about 14 minutes and 39 seconds. The energy from this sunlight supports almost all life on the inhabited worlds via photosynthesis, and drives their climate and weather. The enormous impact of Ambrosia on the inhabited worlds has been recognized since colonial times, and at times Ambrosia has been regarded by some cultures as a deity.

Cyprus



Cyprus is the innermost and smallest planet in the solar system, orbiting Ambrosia once every 87.969 days. The orbit of Cyprus has the highest eccentricity of all the solar system's planets, and it has the smallest axial tilt. It completes three rotations about the axis for every two orbits. The perihelion of Cyprus' orbit precesses around Ambrosia at an excess of 43 arcseconds per century. Cyprus is bright when viewed from Vascilia, ranging from −2.0 to 5.5 in apparent magnitude, but is not easily seen as its greatest angular separation from the Sun is only 28.3°. Since Cyprus is normally lost in the glare of Ambrosia, unless there is a solar eclipse, Cyprus can only be viewed in morning or evening twilight.

Cyprus is the location of a small scale, heavily automated, mining operation. The Lone Star mining corporation has claimed that the planet is rich in newly discovered and highly valuable element known as Hermium, which is used as a substitute for uranium in nuclear power generation due to its effciency, as well as being highly regarded as a "game changer" in local scientific circles. The year round population hovers around five souls, though they are rotated out every three months due to the stresses of working in such a hostile and isolated environment.

Militarily speaking, the world is extremely valuable for its reserves of Hermium. Cyprus is the only other world, other than Jannath, with known Hermium ore deposits. This makes the world absolutely vital to the Vascilian foreign interest, as it levies a measure of fuel independence from their Jannarii allies. Most of the mined ore is held in reserve, primarily by the Aumanii military, to be used sparingly in times of national crisis and war.

Vascilia



Planetary Data

• Number of Satellites: 1 (Balaklav).
• Surface Gravity: 1.1.
• Atmosphere Pressure: Standard (Breathable).
• Equatorial Temperature: 35° C (Temperate).
• Surface Water Coverage: 75%
• HPG Class: N/A.

Era Specific Data

3066

• Nominal Ruling Body: The Vascilian Grand Council.
• Population: 3,265,009,452.
• USIIR: B-B-A-B-A

Vascilia is the second planet from Ambrosia. It is the third largest of the five planets in the solar system, and the largest of the terrestrial planets (non-gas planets) in the solar system in terms of diameter, mass and density.

Home to millions of species, including humans, Vascilia is amongst the most biologically diverse planets in the known galaxy. The planet formed 7.54 billion years ago, and life appeared on its surface within a billion years. Since then, Vascilia's biosphere has significantly altered the atmosphere and other abiotic conditions on the planet, enabling the proliferation of aerobic organisms as well as the formation of the ozone layer which, together with Vascilia's magnetic field, blocks harmful radiation, permitting life on land. The physical properties of Vascilia, as well as its geological history and orbit, allowed life to persist during this period. The world is expected to continue supporting life for another 1.5 billion years, after which the rising luminosity of Ambrosia will eliminate the biosphere.

It has been noted in recent years, the physical similarities Vascilia shares with Jannath, most apparent being that both worlds have rings. While Jannath's rings were created suddenly, with the impact of a stellar body into the world's moon, creating a Hermium rich ring of debris, Vascilia's are more artificial in nature. Vascilia's rings are space junk. A huge mass of functioning and dead satellites, military defenses, destroyed or derelict space ships and anything else that humanity may have left over the intense period of early colonization. Known jokingly by military and civilian astronauts as "The Veil of Jeers." It is the second largest impediment to movement in Ambrosia, the first being the dangerous star cluster that surrounds the solar system itself, the Veil of Tears.

That aside, the infrastructure of Vascilia is quite expansive. The many shipyards in orbit make Vascilia an appealing choice for heavy ship building projects. The world is also dotted with several towering space elevators, which facilitate the quick movement of resources to the surface and vice versa. Vascilia's nations are all connected by a unified magnetic rail system which connects the states that are not separated by her massive oceans. Well developed seaports connect the continents of Vascilia, shipping goods slowly, but at low cost, across the globe. Most major airports also double as spaceports, which take on hundreds of off world vessels every year, making Vascilia a center of local tourism, especially amongst Hermes Alliance nations.

Compared to most worlds of its size and political maturity, Vascilia is relatively powerful in terms of her military capability. The total strength of the worlds legitimate armed forces numbers around eleven million men and women, making Vascilia the most militarized world in the Peripheral North-West. Though it should be noted that the majority of Vascilia's military strength is severely lacking in Battlemechs, with only a small and marginalized local industry producing subpar designs by the standards of the Inner Sphere. It is generally understood that the right to keep and bear arms is inalienable, along with the right to form citizen militias free from government control, all but four of the world's nations maintain a standing military and it is expected to remain that way for the foreseeable future.

The worlds politics are dominated by The Prosperity Council, an alliance of nations founded in the latter days of the Vascilian War of Global Domination by Auman, Turcosia, Noriesqua and Cypria. The chief nation of the alliance is Auman, with the strongest military amongst them and the only veto in the group. The alliance enjoys good relations with one another and often work in unity when it comes to foreign relations matters. Though there has been some strife when it comes to off world relations with non-League powers in the region. Most notably in how the Aumanii are handling the Imperial Republic of the North. Turcosia has also called for a harder line with their Hermes allies, citing the many human rights violations carried out in New Haven on a daily basis.

Regardless of the complaints of the Turcosians, Vascilia enjoys strong relations with their Hermes allies, especially New Haven. The Overlord of Auman, Sheikh Navarrone, is married to Princess Ashley Newman-Navarrone. This union has created an unbreakable bond with the Imperium of New Haven, as long as Sheikh and Ashley Navarrone are reign and produce heirs. Vascilia's strongest non-League military partner is Jannath, a world that disputes Vascilia's title as the second most militarized world in the North-West. The Vascilian and Jannarii relationship has generally been good since the conclusion of the Vascilia-Halcyon war, but has been marred with several public policy disagreements. Auman is also strongly allied with Derscon, an anarcho-capitalist society located far into the deep periphery. Aumanii Shock Troopers protect the Tsar of Derscon, which assumes that there is a large military garrison in the Dersconi capital. It is the largest off-world deployment of Vascilian armed forces personnel.

Vascilia is a world of many diverse cultures, languages, values and traditions. The most widely observed religion is Foundationalism, followed closely by The Gospel of Davyd, which is considered by many to be a sect of the its competitor. The language of diplomacy and business is English.

To be continued.

Platea Sojourn



Usuk

Coming soon.

Cronos

Coming soon.[/list][/list][/list][/list][/list][/list][/list]

[Auman]

Vascilia, her nations and her politics.


Auman

Government, rights and liberties.

The Stratocracy of Auman is a direct military dictatorship. The Overlord of Allied Vascilian Forces, Sheikh Navarrone, is the sovereign ruler of Auman and her armed forces. The Overlord is a position that lasts the length of the career of the officer in question, which is mandated by law to end at the age of 65. In the event of retirement, the General Staff, a council of leading officers that assist the Overlord in all matters, foreign and domestic, meet to appoint a new Overlord. Tradition dictates that the General Staff, who are themselves appointed by a retiring member of the staff, nominate a man outside of their circle for the position of Overlord.

State governments are essentially the same as the federal stratocratic meritocracy, though swapping the Overlord for Governor and General Staff for Senate. The Governor of each state is responsible for the maintenance and deployment of the Armed Police Force of their state, which is a well armed paramilitary organization which maintains specialized criminal investigation capability. Beyond the defense of the state on a local level, the power of the Governor is limited heavily by the Overlord, who is more concerned with maintaining the integrity of the constitution than with "progressive change" or any other absurd idea that young reformists may come up with on a daily basis.

The citizens of Auman enjoy excellent rights and access to services. Firearms ownership is completely unregulated, as stipulations in the constitution demand so. There have been no major pushes to change this and it is likely that there never will be. There have been many instances of firearms being used in an unlawful manner in Aumanii history, just as there have been lawful applications of force by private citizens. The Daysun hotel massacre of 2884, being the most recent example of firearms being used for good and evil, with the rampage being stopped in short order by an armed valet who was carrying a handgun in violation of workplace protocol against doing so.

Healthcare is operated under a two tiered system, where both private and public plans are available to the citizens of the nation. Like any capitalist society, both the public and private options have come under fire by capitalist and collectivist lobby groups. Both have compelling arguments in favor of scrapping the public or private programs in favor of the other, with both unceremoniously getting kicked to the curb by the Overlord.

Gay marriage, unlike in some nations, is not an issue as the government has no hand in the process of civil union... Such things are left to the judgement of individuals. The government has no place in the bedroom and it will remain that way until such time as the Aumanii Army continues to obey the national constitution. In terms of sex, there are no laws regarding it, as with nudity in public, though common decency tends to dictate when it is and is not acceptable to be nude in public or anywhere else.

Auman, in recent years, has become a veritable melting pot of cultures. Many people who call Auman their home bring with them the traditions and languages of their homelands. The official language of bureaucracy is English, however, and in all dealings with the government, documents are to be written in that language. This has caused many problems lately, as several large minority rights groups have raised the issue in the state senate, demanding recognition for their language. In no short order, these proposals were rejected. The government has taken a firm stand on the preservation of the English language, since the nation has the highest rates of inward immigration on the planet, in order to preserve their own culture, language and traditions.

The Aumanii Military

The Aumanii Armed Forces are the ruling body of the nation of Auman. They are the defenders of the constitution of Auman, the perfect document written prior to the independence of the nation from Turcosia. The Army's primary duty is to maintain the dignity and provide a strong, ethical, example for the people of Auman. That being said, the Armed Forces are arguably the best in the region, with the Army being second to none in terms of training, wages, motivation and retention of personnel.

The military is broken down into four branches:

-The Army.
-The Fleet.
-The Air Force.
-The Navy.

All four branches, combined, have an estimated manpower of one million men. The Army and the Fleet are possessed of the highest funding, with the Air Force and the Navy lagging not too far behind. The General Staff is made up of twenty Generals, evenly divided between the branches of the Armed Forces. The Overlord is traditionally from the Army, though the previous Overlord, Rosiro, was a submarine commander from the Navy, which was a first.

The command structure of all branches shares that of the Army, with the lowest rank being a private. All recruits go through the same basic training at any of the four training garrisons, those being named Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta. All recruits, upon completion of Basic Military Certification receive the title of Shock Trooper and are sent to infantry school before continuing their career specific training elsewhere. The standard starting income is a salary of 62,000 ToI per year, which is raised by 2,000 per year to a cap of 280,000 ToI. No one is exempt from this, there are no differing pay grades for enlisted men or officers, there are, however, one time raises for specializations and additional training, as well as bonuses delivered based upon deployment to combat.

The Aumanii Army is the most dynamic combat force on Vascilia, as well as the largest and most powerful, with a total manpower of 465,000. The highly trained and equipped infantry of Auman have become famous through out the sector for their professionalism and combat ability through out several conflicts, most recently being the ongoing peace keeping operation to the Republic of Red Rose on Platea Sojourn.

Though often overlooked in favor of Auman's growing space fleet, the Navy is the undisputed ruler of the waves of Vascilia... Where control of the oceans is still an incredibly important part of the flow of goods between the worlds nations. Command over the seas is vital in maintaining the fragile balance of power on the planet, which was recognized by Aumanii High Command during the nuclear reformation period following the Global War of Domination. In order to maintain their dominance, at sea and on land, the Aumanii Armed Forces has stationed what is left of their atomic arsenal in submarines and on aircraft carriers in an effort to cut down costs and to maintain their deterrent free from the threat of first strike. The Navy employs 185,000 men, with sixty five thousand of that number manning naval infantry divisions that serve as the nations terrestrial expeditionary forces.

The Aumanii Air Force is a hundred thousand strong branch of the military responsible for the defense of the nation's skies. Maintaining some of the most advanced conventional fighters in the sector and possibly even the entire human sphere, is a well skilled and storied part of the armed forces that has produced many heroes over the centuries.

The Fleet, while not new, is the fastest growing element of the military at the time of writing. This branch is not just responsible for the protection of Vascilia, but that of interstellar trade, communication and the execution of expeditionary combat missions far from home. A self contained, full spectrum military force, the Fleet maintains regiments of infantry, armor and battlemechs under the umbrella of the Aumanii Expeditionary Command. In addition to that, the Fleet's aerospace forces maintain a healthy rivalry with their land based Air Force counterparts, having produced aces and heroes that rival the much older terrestrial organization.

The Aumanii Armed Forces, while barred from employing them in combat roles, employ many mercenaries. From support, to maintenance, preparing meals on base, to extra-terrestrial good will missions and training, security contractors fill the gaps the regular forces are unwilling or incapable of doing. The most famous mercenary formation and most controversial of the mercenaries under the military's employ are the thirteenth tactical training battalion, which have recently returned home after fighting several, technically illegal, campaigns in the Inner Sphere before being recalled in 3067.

To be continued...

[Auman]

The thread is open for comment from here on in, if you're interested. I'll be adding more to the article as I get inspiration. The Ambrosia system will also be the setting of a campaign that I'll be posting about in the future. Next up will be more details about the Aumanii military, the nation it defends and the political dynamic of Vascilia. Also, I'll be detailing my mercenary unit, The 13th Tactical Training Brigade... As well as the pirates turned faux legitimate mercenaries, the Middlering Security Solutions. I'll probably clear a few things up about the setting as well, with some rationalizations about military strengths and the sophistication of this society in regards to the Battletech universe.

[Demon55]

Interesting. 

[Auman]

The thread has been updated, barely... When I get done with the dirty and boring details of everything above, I'll start posting local vehicle designs. I'll probably be cleaning up everything as I go along too, so if things start changing and disappearing... Well, sry doodz.

[Auman]

I could use some input if you guys got anything.