Alsinan Defense League
Created by Dokkisse/Andromeda
Flag credit goes to DokkyWokky#0500 on Discord.
Planet & System
The system the ADL resides within is the Scretia System, located in EQ.1. The Scretia system is mostly unremarkable, like most other habitable systems, with a single stable star. There are multiple planets within the system's habitable zone, however. One of these is Cunicule. The other is Naxaris, and the third is Furos. Life never quite developed past bacteria on Naxaris and Furos due to the lack of water, but on Cunicule, life sprang forth. Also within the ADL’s space are a few moons; Uonix, which is Cunicule’s main moon, Naxaris II and Furos II, the moons of their planets. The first colonization effort of the ADL is a planet called Curos, which is a far FTL jump away. Some other systems which the ADL claims but does not control are the Exina Proxine system and the Trexine Proxine system.
The planet which the ADL calls home is named “Cunicule.” A heavily mountainous and forested planet with mighty rivers flowing from the long mountain ranges, Cunicule is rich with massive plants and cyanobacteria colonies. All this combined, on top of abundant resources, allows Cunicule to be the perfect bread basket for an empire. Or, it would be, if it weren’t for the government mismanagement. The oceans cover roughly 68% of the planet.
The ADL also has begun the process of terraforming the other planets in their solar system, creating "catalysts", as they're called, to make other planets suitable for the people of Cunicule. The planets closest to Cunicule, Naxaris and Furos, are well underway to becoming new homes for those who primarily live on Cunicule, though at the moment they are solely populated by scientists and executives from the home planet. Asteroid mining is also common.
On the colony worlds which are being terraformed, the process has long since been refined from the many asteroids this had been tested on. Preliminaries include having a magnetic field capable of holding up to the star's radiation and having significant deposits of water which can precipitate. The first step is to remake the atmosphere to be habitable. This is achieved through massive colonies of cyanobacteria being sent into the planet's oceans, should it have one, and allowing them to release oxygen in order to allow for the Alsinans to inhabit the planet. The second step is to send seeds of common plants to the planet, which then, if all goes to plan, sprout into massive forests. Them, it's mostly good to go. Livestock and other farmable crops can be brought over. Of course, these terraforming projects are in the realms ludicrous expense, so the only planets which have had this process happen to this point are Naxaris and Furos. This process, though, completely annihilates the planet's original biosphere, small they may be. This terraforming system is extremely slow, with it taking minimum 200 years for a total conversion, and that's if you're extremely lucky. If a critical cyanobacteria colony fails, the terraforming project's success is less than guaranteed.
Biology
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JadCKOIZCgZJfV4bd_tPcMAny4u9nfoD-HVj2cvkj50/edit
Ecology
Due to the large O2 levels within the atmospheres of both native and terraformed Alsinan planets, the native wildlife which had evolved over the many millennia had taken on an extremely unique form. Insects are the dominant family of life, with mammalians and reptilians on land being forced into extremely specialized niches. Massive beetle-like life, most similar to Hercules and Stag beetles, dig massive burrows into the earth, creating marvelous cavern systems underground. These caverns are common congregation points for spelunkers the galaxy over, though the danger of these tunnels collapsing leading them to be commonly filled in when civilization comes their way. On the surface, flora is gargantuan in size, with some trees reaching several hundred feet tall and whose roots burrow extremely deep into the soil. Weaving between these trees, arachnids who are similar in size to the Alsinans, though with many differences especially in physical strength and web building. These webs are absolutely massive, with these arachnids forming colonies and hives, making massive complexes of their own societies, like termites, ants, bees, and some wasps. The flighted insects, of which there are hundreds of thousands of species, make their homes and hives in the gargantuan trees. The most dominant flighted predators are dragonfly-esque creatures, whose precision in their attacks being unmatched and near impossible to strike in return. However, they never developed the intelligence and tool use that the Alsinans did, so they have been relegated to the apex predators being studied instead of the ones conducting said studies. That said, the ones who dominate the high skies of the ADL’s terraformed territories and their home planet are reptiles, whose avian members have also developed to massive size, allowing them to fulfill similar roles within their ecosystems as condors do in ours. When these avian reptiles land to protect their eggs, they have many potential attackers, most notably being the arachnids who hunt the eggs of many species, though they prefer reptilian eggs. Overall, the flora and fauna of the ADL’s ecosystems are many things. Insectoid giants who are dangerous even to the intelligent Alsinans, but also creatures who make masterworks of engineering.
History
The history of the ADL is soaked in blood. The initial government, forming well over a hundred years prior, spent 20 years subjugating the former empires. These 20 years are referred to as "the Troubles," in which 30% of the system's population died through a mix of combat, disease, and starvation, faded into legend. The three monopolies, Alsinian Alloys, Fusion of Cunicule, and Inzano Refining, all established their bases during these 20 years, fueling the industry which allowed the ADL to conquer their system. The majority of the industries of the competing powers had been bombed into submission, which allowed the three monopolies to step in. No one alive today remembers the Troubles, combined with the extreme prejudicial crackdown on knowledge about the Troubles, leads to the founding of the ADL to be unknown to the citizenry. However, the bloodshed of the Troubles can still be felt, as the population of the ADL has not yet recovered. Modern ADL history includes the passing of laws which allowed more extensive lobbying, more tax breaks for those elite companies, and the regular pardoning of the mercenary groups of these three companies. Those mercenaries, more like debt sharks or bounty hunters, are a constant threat.
In modern Alsinan history, the integration of the trade networks into the ADL’s economy proved a massive boon, as resources from many nations once rare or unavailable within Alsinan space are now common enough to be refined en masse into new ships, aircraft, civilian vessels, and more. This has not lead to only good, however, as a recent ex-Dominion warlord both trespassed on Alsinan space and set back one of the nation’s finest terraforming efforts on the planet of Curos at least 3 decades as they jumped into the space nearly uncontested and destroyed the defending fleet, leading to calls amongst the Alsinan Defense Planetary Navy to increase the funding for defending the planets of the ADL.
Politics
The politics of the ADL are a mess, putting it lightly. The companies whose headquarters are on Cunicule hold vast sway within the government, and regular raiding missions occur between the various corporations. Almost every representative has been bought out by a company, meaning elections are nigh meaningless. The people of the ADL are on the verge of revolution, as the corporate influence in government is not covert whatsoever. The president is merely a puppet, with little power. However, with most of the people in politics dying off, there is hope for reform.
The social policies of the ADL have been stagnant for a long time. While the ADL offers necessities such as housing and food, it’s usually of extremely low quality and you’d be better off selling your life to the black market. Black markets run rampant amongst the mega stores.
The bureaucracy of the ADL is slow, inefficient, and out of date. It’s much more advantageous to approach one of the three megacorporations (Alsinian Alloys, Fusion of Cunicule, and Inzano Refining) to get an appointment. The government is in a neverending stand-still as these three megacorporations vie for power within the government. This standstill, though, foments much distrust among the people, which leads to the powder keg being laid. One spark and it could go up in flames, or it could be doused and reformed.
The prime minister of the ADL is Kletuk L'kia, a complete figurehead leader who has tried in the past as a politician to remove lobbying from the government. The three megacorporations, each concurrently coming to the same conclusion, realized that assassinating this particular politician would lead to revolt as foul play would certainly be suspected. Kletuk has tried to appeal to the population and force the corporations to yield, but his results have been lackluster to say the least.
Within the underbellies of the cities in the ADL lie several factions which oppose the monopolistic rule by the three megacorporations, all united in purpose but not in execution. The goal is simple; topple the corporations. There are three major factions within the resistances, each of which have their own methods. The Front calls for an uprising of those trapped within the factories, a general front of those exploited to overrule the elites. Another faction, the Fire Triumphant, seeks to collapse the "corpos," as they call them, from within and overthrow the entire ADL, seeking further glories to dominate their local sector. The third rebel movement, the Collective, wishes to reignite the Troubles to forge a new ADL, a stronger nation than before, regardless who must be sacrificed.
Economy
Within the ADL, due to government bribes and corporate maneuvering, the working conditions inside the giant factories of the ADL are atrocious. 10 hour workdays are the standard, with only one day off per week. If nothing else, the factories aren't extremely dangerous, as the massive machinery pressing out the plates for the rapid expansion of the fleet being sealed behind thick walls, though more to protect from corporate espionage than to protect the workers. The ADL's economy is a well-oiled machine, as most companies are shells owned by the three megacorps, which are expectedly good at hiding the "accidents" which happen. Specializing in the production and shaping of raw materials and alloys, the ADL is a powerhouse in the manufacturing sector. Given the recent uptick in expansion of the escort fleets, the shipbuilding industry grows to match and send out this manufacturing prowess. The civilian fleet of the ADL is lacking in numbers but makes up in size. All civilian freighters of the ADL are equipped with CIWS, which is a controversial move back home and within other nations, as this could lead to the civilian ships being classed as warships.
Another massive income source for the ADL is tourism. Unique flora and fauna along with numerous massive, fascinating spelunking sites, make the ADL a hub for those more explorative within the galaxy. Of course, the government realizes this unique opportunity, and capitalizes on top of it by making their visas some of the easiest to achieve that they can be. The giant mountains formed by many, many millennia of tectonic plates crashing into one another form both amazing tourism sites themselves and the mountainous cities, carefully curated by the government and more specifically a shell company from each of the three megacorps to make these tourist cities as expensive to live in and visit as it is possible to make a city.
Recently, two new companies barged into the scene within the ADL. The first to join into the circus ring of corporate politics and espionage was Starflight Shipping. This company, despite its innocuous name, is responsible for some of the greatest tragedies in the ADL’s recent history as it serves as an exploitative resource extraction operation which moonlights in passenger transportation. Unique to this new company is its official armed branch. Although all of the megacorps in the ADL have a militaristic component to them, Starflight Shipping is the sole one which makes it public and well-known, and it uses this mercenary force to both defend and attack its own trade lanes to “justify” its existence, though it does prove to be extremely useful in fending off pirates as well. All of this is in the name of extracting as much profit as possible while “dealing” with dissent.
The second of these new megacorps is Harthen Shipping. Considering its name, it is to be expected that these are not native to the ADL. In fact, they spawn from the Great Bastonian Empocracy, and in a recent, somewhat unexpected move, they announced that they’re beginning to take residence up in Alsinan borders. The three older megacorps tolerate Starflight’s existence, as it’s seen by the three old megacorps that they keep the more unsavory customers away and are too rambunctious and hard-handed in their practices to keep themselves afloat for very long. In response to Harthen Shipping setting up shop, however, ruthless and common attacks were seen at their regional headquarters on Cunicule. Another native company was acceptable, but this? This foregin startup which could potentially steal away customers from the old three? This was unacceptable. Harthen itself is a jack-of-all-trades company which has specialties in internet services, consumer goods which are of higher quality than the products made by the megacorps, household deliveries, and moonlighting in mercantile capitalism like Starflight though to a much lesser degree.
Megacorporation Sheet
https://docs.google.com/document/d/17eWYS-CGIa9t0DIl5iwobq3JR3VmvTfBdBSfXXrqKOI/edit
Society
As the government has underwhelmed the people more and more, the calls to action are many and loud. Demagogues of all varieties try to sway the common man to revolt, coup, revolution, or a call to reform the government of the ADL. The common man, though, suffers little under the corporate monopolies. Where the official good are overpriced and useful little more than garbage, the black market has stepped in and filled said gap. At least, until the corporate crackdown teams come in and tag anyone found for arrest.
However, the mistrust of the government has reached a critical point. The future is uncertain, and tension hangs heavy over your average person. Everyone who doesn't willingly bury their heads in the sand knows; hard times are coming.
There has been an increased movement in recent years for a "new beginning." The stagnation is lost on no one, least of all those who have been wronged by the system and long for how things used to be. A growing movement in the undergrounds call for a much more drastic military expansion and breaking up of the monopolies. A new era for the ADL, an era in which is dominates its local space.
Industry and Technology
The technology of the ADL is standard for its time, with developments being made into plasma weaponry and the further refinement of fusion power being made. Having been completely ravaged by the Troubles, the infrastructure of the ADL has been in a state of constant disrepair. Its industry, though owned by few, has refined itself into a well-oiled machine of constant production through the use of fusion energy. Specializing on the manufacturing and service, the industry of the ADL is one of the few upsides to the situation.
A large portion of the raw resources come from asteroid mining and the current exploitation of the to-be terraformed planets in the Scretia system, along with the fuel for the massive fusion plants aboard the ships of the ADL.
On Cunicule, the primary exports are thinner alloy plates for a variety of uses, like commercial space exploration, explosive materials such as plastic explosives and dynamite, and the ADL's citizens themselves for service in other nations. The massively tooled up shipping yards, which are making the escorts needed to protect the trade lanes, have long since been operational in the civilian field, but have recently begun to transition into military use.
Military
An overwhelming issue within the military of the ADL is the constant jockeying between arms companies to receive arms contracts to get whatever profits they can which aren't being swallowed up by the three megacorps, all of whom have their own respective arms manufacturers. This has lead to a reputation for ADL equipment for being heavy, overpriced, and not good for anything aside from wasting government dollars.
The military of the ADL consists of the following branches:
Army
Armed forces of the ADL are one thing: maneuverable. With the vast manufacturing capabilities back home, the army of the ADL focuses on speed and quick redeployment. Thanks to their armored carapaces, the amount of protective equipment mounted on each soldier is lighter which allows them to be more maneuverable, though the "heavy" troops can carry a large amount of equipment, such as infantry-mounted Gauss rifles. That being said, the individual pieces of equipment are much heavier and more expensive and are more complex than they need to be, leading to the soldiers of the armed forces hating the government for giving them their guns. Speaking of, the primary armaments of the ADA (Alsinian Defense Army) is traditional firearms with Gauss rifles used as dedicated marksman rifles and for light anti-armor work. The workhorses of the ADA's maneuver warfare are their APC's and IFV's, which are some of the few pieces of equipment which aren't overly complicated. Mounted with small caliber Gauss cannons and machine guns, the IFV's and APC's have gained much affection from the troops for being rugged, reliable, and most of all: all-terrain. These vehicles have hover capabilities, which are a nightmare for the mechanics and suppliers, but the soldiers enjoy the smooth rides it provides. Dismounts are fast, letting the infantry take ground and set up before the enemy has time to respond.
Armored doctrine is simple. Hit fast, hit hard, hit first. As such, the tanks and other front line armored vehicles, such as the heavy IFV's and tank destroyers, have fairly average armor but are extremely fast and have great main armament. Their maintenance is extremely complex, though, which causes a readiness rate issue that has gone unsolved for many generations of armored vehicles, serving only to wring the army out of as much money as possible.
Infantry tactics are simple as well. Get to the front, dismount, take up locations of importance, and pick off enemies with your intantry-carried anti-tank systems as well as the snipers and other in placed men. This rarely goes to plan, as most tactics tend to do, but the Alsinans are well-suited to finding unique and awkward locations to attack enemies from, leading to unexpected victories where they realistically shouldn't happen.
Recently, citing the overwhelming difficulties that the Alsinan troops had in high-intensity fighting, the Alsinan Defense Mechanized Force (ADMF) had developed the Fraxis Arms Solutions Robotic Unit 1, or FAMRU-1 robotic assault unit, a mantis-like robot with strong capabilities in urban, mountainous, and shock-troop combat.
Armored Vehicles
https://docs.google.com/document/d/12suny2vciy0iv_c1SiDVkvrEI1KKxmAFUGgJfCfeJJk/edit
Expeditionary Force
An “elite” segment of the army, famous for its glorious past, has since fallen in shambles as the leadership often underwhelms the boots on the ground. Constant bickering, in-fighting, and the squandering of funds on outdated technology has kept the Expeditionary Force behind.
Aerospace Force
The Aerospace force of the ADL has long since been underfunded. The use of attackers and fighters had been crushed out by improvements in SAM systems, though recently the ADAF has been receiving more funding to develop the multirole fighters which can fit the smaller members among the species. Air doctrine has been heavily hampered by the lack of funding and resources, which lead to the ADL's fighter doctrine to be outdated. However, the strike craft of the ADAF, while slow, are extremely maneuverable and carry devastating payloads.
Navy
Naval doctrine of the ADL is focused around fast, quick-deployment ships mounted with as many AShMs as are reasonable to fit. Ranging from small patrol boats to assault carriers and supercarriers, the naval force of the ADL is not to be trifled with, though it’s limited to a planetary defense and propaganda use. As such, the funding of the “wet navy,” as it’s often called, is extremely limited, with their day-to-day operations consisting mostly of anti-piracy operations.
Planetary Defense Navy
Being the dedicated orbital defenses of planets has led to the ships of the ADPN to be slow, lumbering vessels with powerful weapons and armor, as well as obsolete ships which are not useful in fleet combat anymore.
Galactic Navy
With a focus on unguided kinetic weaponry, missiles with a massive variety of payloads attached, and massive spinal gauss cannons (AKA coilguns), an overwhelming focus on firepower and mobility is called for among the battlecruisers, cruisers, and destroyers. The carriers have a large hangar space, and are equally fast. Their armor is underwhelming, though not as frail as the other ships. Frigates and corvettes are heavily specialized. Most corvettes are anti-fighter vessels with little primary gunfire and heavy PD batteries. Frigates are specialized into anti-ship and escort frigates, with the anti-ship frigates focusing heavily on large missiles which can hit much above their caliber. The escort frigates have middling firepower and speed, though they are some of the few ships of the ADGN which aren’t glass cannons.
The navies are constantly underfunded, the logistics train often gets interrupted, and the admirals and commanders are often appointed based on their wealth or political standing.
Ship Classes
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1v0yky-TFsFYj3NIIm6Ltt5w4pwCJWMLgdNFc6FiNnw0/edit
Google Doc Form
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TTg8KD822tiTswpeKDfdrjY3brI_6H_m9tZ09-x1FkM/edit#
