Touring the Stars with Bertram Habeas
We began on Terra, millions of years ago. Today, mankind stretches throughout the
Milky Way, touching worlds as far from our home as Clan space, more than two
thousand light-years distant. Yet who are we, really? What have we become in our
relentless push outward and onward? I’m Bertram Habeas, and tonight we’ll
find the answers to these and many other fascinating questions together, as we tour the
stars!
Volume XII: The Banner Yet Waves
Fact Sheet: The Federated Suns
Founding Year: 2317
Capital (City, World): New Avalon City, New Avalon
National Symbol: A silver sword, blade upturned, against a golden sunburst on a red
disc.
Location (Terra relative): Outward-Spinward quadrant
Total (Inhabited) Systems: 434
Estimated Population (3130): 1,302,000,000,000
Government: Constitutional Aristocracy (Western European feudal stylings)
Ruler: Prince Harrison Davion
Dominant Language(s): English (official), French, German
Dominant Religion(s): Christianity (Interfaith Church), Buddhism, Judaism
Unit of Currency: Pound (1 pound = 0.97 C-Bills)
Orbiting fourth from a cool, orange, K-class star, New Syrtis, capital of the Capellan
March (the stretch of worlds along the Davion-Liao border) is a world most hospitable
in the tropical equatorial reaches. There, the island continent of Copplin is the only one
of the planet’s landmasses not reached by the ice sheets that cover most of the
planet. Yet despite the presence of this lush paradise, it is the harsh climate of the
northern Mawreddog continent that is home to Saso, the ancestral heart of the Hasek
family and capital of this world.
Saso is a city built with the same grandeur found in New Avalon City today, complete
person could want on New Avalon may also be found on New Syrtis, and that is true â
€“ right down to the BattleMechs and armored vehicles that patrol the streets, sharing
the road with midday commuters who pass by as if nothing were amiss.
Despite decades of relative peace, the Davion military remains on alert throughout the
Federated Suns. In cities such as Saso, New Syrtis, and New Avalon City, troops are
a regular sight, their presence not only accepted, but also expected. Security, ever of
paramount importance to the people of the Federated Suns, has been a national
obsession for centuries.
It is this obsession, the people of the Federated Suns believe, that has preserved their
freedoms throughout the history of their nation. Contrary to casual appearances in the
major industrial centers and border worlds, the Davion realm is far from a police state.
Tyrants have come and gone, but the Davion people have always enjoyed their
freedoms under the Six Liberties of the Crucis Pact. A free press reports the news –
both good and ill – of wars, politics, and celebrity lifestyles. Holovids and
holotheaters tirelessly entertain billions of House Davion citizens with improbable plots,
special effects, or enchanting tales of love and honor. Political action groups champion
their causes to their hometown representatives. There is even the fundamental right to
worship as one pleases, with no official state faith declared or imposed.
All of these freedoms have bred a wonderfully diverse people, united only by common
freedoms and their love of the same. Though their rulers may not always be so
enlightened, the structure of the Federated Suns government--and the lessons of its
history--have given these people every right to be proud of their diversity, and they are
willing to sacrifice anything to preserve that way of life.
Diversity in the Federated Suns, of course, comes in all forms. For every major
industrial center, rich in the conveniences of modern life, for instance, are a hundred
small towns on worlds that the average Davion noble has likely never heard of, where
the ground is worked by hand, and muscles are forged from blood, sweat, and tears
rather than the local gymnasium. On these worlds, education is not always a public
privilege, but a luxury done without, save for the visits of a traveling vagabond school.
Faith in a god, practiced however and whenever one’s traditions dictate, precede
the patriotism and pride of state, though one rarely eclipses the other. The people of
the Federated Suns thus run the gamut from the rich nobility to the poor ne’er-do-
well. Always, however, there is a chance for hope, and the freedom to pursue a better
life is always there for those who are strong enough to earn it for themselves. This,
more than anything else, perhaps exemplifies the spirit of the Federated Suns.
Milky Way, touching worlds as far from our home as Clan space, more than two
thousand light-years distant. Yet who are we, really? What have we become in our
relentless push outward and onward? I’m Bertram Habeas, and tonight we’ll
find the answers to these and many other fascinating questions together, as we tour the
stars!
Volume XII: The Banner Yet Waves
Fact Sheet: The Federated Suns
Founding Year: 2317
Capital (City, World): New Avalon City, New Avalon
National Symbol: A silver sword, blade upturned, against a golden sunburst on a red
disc.
Location (Terra relative): Outward-Spinward quadrant
Total (Inhabited) Systems: 434
Estimated Population (3130): 1,302,000,000,000
Government: Constitutional Aristocracy (Western European feudal stylings)
Ruler: Prince Harrison Davion
Dominant Language(s): English (official), French, German
Dominant Religion(s): Christianity (Interfaith Church), Buddhism, Judaism
Unit of Currency: Pound (1 pound = 0.97 C-Bills)
Orbiting fourth from a cool, orange, K-class star, New Syrtis, capital of the Capellan
March (the stretch of worlds along the Davion-Liao border) is a world most hospitable
in the tropical equatorial reaches. There, the island continent of Copplin is the only one
of the planet’s landmasses not reached by the ice sheets that cover most of the
planet. Yet despite the presence of this lush paradise, it is the harsh climate of the
northern Mawreddog continent that is home to Saso, the ancestral heart of the Hasek
family and capital of this world.
Saso is a city built with the same grandeur found in New Avalon City today, complete
person could want on New Avalon may also be found on New Syrtis, and that is true â
€“ right down to the BattleMechs and armored vehicles that patrol the streets, sharing
the road with midday commuters who pass by as if nothing were amiss.
Despite decades of relative peace, the Davion military remains on alert throughout the
Federated Suns. In cities such as Saso, New Syrtis, and New Avalon City, troops are
a regular sight, their presence not only accepted, but also expected. Security, ever of
paramount importance to the people of the Federated Suns, has been a national
obsession for centuries.
It is this obsession, the people of the Federated Suns believe, that has preserved their
freedoms throughout the history of their nation. Contrary to casual appearances in the
major industrial centers and border worlds, the Davion realm is far from a police state.
Tyrants have come and gone, but the Davion people have always enjoyed their
freedoms under the Six Liberties of the Crucis Pact. A free press reports the news –
both good and ill – of wars, politics, and celebrity lifestyles. Holovids and
holotheaters tirelessly entertain billions of House Davion citizens with improbable plots,
special effects, or enchanting tales of love and honor. Political action groups champion
their causes to their hometown representatives. There is even the fundamental right to
worship as one pleases, with no official state faith declared or imposed.
All of these freedoms have bred a wonderfully diverse people, united only by common
freedoms and their love of the same. Though their rulers may not always be so
enlightened, the structure of the Federated Suns government--and the lessons of its
history--have given these people every right to be proud of their diversity, and they are
willing to sacrifice anything to preserve that way of life.
Diversity in the Federated Suns, of course, comes in all forms. For every major
industrial center, rich in the conveniences of modern life, for instance, are a hundred
small towns on worlds that the average Davion noble has likely never heard of, where
the ground is worked by hand, and muscles are forged from blood, sweat, and tears
rather than the local gymnasium. On these worlds, education is not always a public
privilege, but a luxury done without, save for the visits of a traveling vagabond school.
Faith in a god, practiced however and whenever one’s traditions dictate, precede
the patriotism and pride of state, though one rarely eclipses the other. The people of
the Federated Suns thus run the gamut from the rich nobility to the poor ne’er-do-
well. Always, however, there is a chance for hope, and the freedom to pursue a better
life is always there for those who are strong enough to earn it for themselves. This,
more than anything else, perhaps exemplifies the spirit of the Federated Suns.
Paul Alison was a 32-year-old farmer on Bonneau--a backwater world
he describes as “pleasant, but routinely wet�--before moving
with his family to New Syrtis five years ago. The move was
expensive, costing the family the combined savings of three
generations, but they left in search of a better life. His arrival, he said,
was a classic case of culture shock.
“I never saw BattleMechs in person before, except on the HV, but I
gotta admit it sure was an impressive sight, especially stomping down
downtown Leesburg. I turned to my wife when I saw it and said, â
€˜Why, that’s a curiously useless-looking AgroMech.’ Imagine
my shock when she turned back to me and said, ‘Paul, there ainâ
€™t no farms ’round here that use a ’Mech like that. Thatâ
€™s a BattleMech!’â€�
For Paul, a dedicated Catholic and father of seven, the urban world of
New Syrtis, even in a suburban city like Leesburg, located over a
hundred kilometers south of Saso, was a major adjustment, not just for
the ’Mechs and soldiers in the street, but everything from the way
people spoke to the ways they worshipped.
“Back home, we went to church every Sunday morning, already
dog tired from five hours of morning chores, and listened to the pastorâ
€™s sermon on the glories of Heaven and the fires of Hell in a small,
one-room, one-story building where the heat never worked and the
roof always leaked. Here, it took us a while before we even found a
church that carried our faith, and when we did, we still thought it was
the wrong one. A pastor half the age of our Father Mackie spoke of
the Golden Rule from a pulpit of crystal, under the glow of lights so
bright and so warm you’d have thought God himself had shined a
light down upon us all. Of course, it took us a good month and a half
just to get over his accent.
“And chores? Hell, before too long the kids and my wife managed
to find enough modern conveniences that it seemed the machines did
all the work around the house – all while I was still going to school
and learning the things they say every Avalon lad knows by age 9.�
Today, Paul Alison still lives in the suburban township of Leesburg
with his wife, Marie, and three of their seven children. Their Bonneau
accents have all but faded, though they still attend services at the
Presbyterian church. Paul is a professional landscaper, while Marie
works as a secretary in a Leesburg law office. Their two oldest
children, Daniel and Marko, now serve with the Armed Forces of the
Federated Suns, and their holographic pictures rest on a hutch beside
flat pictures of the family they left behind on Bonneau. This winter,
Paul said, he and Marie plan to travel back home for a visit, amazed
that they can afford in just a few short years what their parents and
grandparents spent years only dreaming of. And while their thanks go
mostly to God and their own perseverance, both of them also give
their heartfelt thanks to a nation where such things are possible to
those who dare to dream.
“Only in the Federated Suns,� said Paul, “can a man strive to
be something other than he was born with, and rise up to be something
more without having to ask someone for their permission to do so. To
live in a land so blessed and so free surely is the greatest gift of all. We
may not be the richest, and we may never live in a palace, but weâ
€™ve never been slaves, and we never had to compromise the way we
lived or who we worshipped for anyone, anywhere. That’s
freedom.�
he describes as “pleasant, but routinely wet�--before moving
with his family to New Syrtis five years ago. The move was
expensive, costing the family the combined savings of three
generations, but they left in search of a better life. His arrival, he said,
was a classic case of culture shock.
“I never saw BattleMechs in person before, except on the HV, but I
gotta admit it sure was an impressive sight, especially stomping down
downtown Leesburg. I turned to my wife when I saw it and said, â
€˜Why, that’s a curiously useless-looking AgroMech.’ Imagine
my shock when she turned back to me and said, ‘Paul, there ainâ
€™t no farms ’round here that use a ’Mech like that. Thatâ
€™s a BattleMech!’â€�
For Paul, a dedicated Catholic and father of seven, the urban world of
New Syrtis, even in a suburban city like Leesburg, located over a
hundred kilometers south of Saso, was a major adjustment, not just for
the ’Mechs and soldiers in the street, but everything from the way
people spoke to the ways they worshipped.
“Back home, we went to church every Sunday morning, already
dog tired from five hours of morning chores, and listened to the pastorâ
€™s sermon on the glories of Heaven and the fires of Hell in a small,
one-room, one-story building where the heat never worked and the
roof always leaked. Here, it took us a while before we even found a
church that carried our faith, and when we did, we still thought it was
the wrong one. A pastor half the age of our Father Mackie spoke of
the Golden Rule from a pulpit of crystal, under the glow of lights so
bright and so warm you’d have thought God himself had shined a
light down upon us all. Of course, it took us a good month and a half
just to get over his accent.
“And chores? Hell, before too long the kids and my wife managed
to find enough modern conveniences that it seemed the machines did
all the work around the house – all while I was still going to school
and learning the things they say every Avalon lad knows by age 9.�
Today, Paul Alison still lives in the suburban township of Leesburg
with his wife, Marie, and three of their seven children. Their Bonneau
accents have all but faded, though they still attend services at the
Presbyterian church. Paul is a professional landscaper, while Marie
works as a secretary in a Leesburg law office. Their two oldest
children, Daniel and Marko, now serve with the Armed Forces of the
Federated Suns, and their holographic pictures rest on a hutch beside
flat pictures of the family they left behind on Bonneau. This winter,
Paul said, he and Marie plan to travel back home for a visit, amazed
that they can afford in just a few short years what their parents and
grandparents spent years only dreaming of. And while their thanks go
mostly to God and their own perseverance, both of them also give
their heartfelt thanks to a nation where such things are possible to
those who dare to dream.
“Only in the Federated Suns,� said Paul, “can a man strive to
be something other than he was born with, and rise up to be something
more without having to ask someone for their permission to do so. To
live in a land so blessed and so free surely is the greatest gift of all. We
may not be the richest, and we may never live in a palace, but weâ
€™ve never been slaves, and we never had to compromise the way we
lived or who we worshipped for anyone, anywhere. That’s
freedom.�
of the stars! I’m Bertram Habeas.