Touring the Stars with Bertram Habeas
We began on Terra, millions of years ago. Today, mankind stretches out among the
stars of the Milky Way, touching thousands of worlds, as far from our home as Clan
space, more than 2,000 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,
let’s find the answers to these and many other fascinating questions together, as we
tour the stars!
Volume XXXIII: Hatching Destiny—Birth of the Free Worlds League
United in their love for independence, yet divided against one another. Economically
and socially powerful, yet strangled by a nightmarish entanglement of bureaucracy and
conflict. These were the descriptions often made of the Free Worlds League, a nation
that has ever been a study in contrasts. From its formation to its eventual collapse, and
even into the present day, entire volumes have speculated on how this realm could
have formed to begin with, with such severe differences among its member states.
Scholars have marveled over its continued existence through almost eight centuries—
much of that time plagued by near-constant warfare. Even after the League’s fall,
experts have marveled at the remains of this once proud, yet hopelessly conflicted
realm, and how many of its wayward offspring even now appear devoted to one day
reclaiming the state they themselves sundered.
As with the other Successor States, the formation of the League began with the slow
demise of the Terran Alliance. As more and more colony worlds declared their
independence, the power of the Alliance deteriorated further, eventually leading to its
inward turn, which all but cut off the young colonies from any support. In the chaos
that followed, poorer worlds became victims of piracy and raids that sapped away
their strength and destabilized their fledgling governments. To survive, alliances
formed, like the Alliance of Galedon that would one day culminate in the creation of
the Draconis Combine, or the economic powers of the Federation of Skye, the Tamar
Pact, and the Protectorate of Donegal, which formed the Lyran Commonwealth. But
before these alliances came those that led to the formation of the Free Worlds
League—the Marik Commonwealth, the Principality of Regulus, and the Federation of
Oriente.
The Marik Commonwealth, centered on the rich mining world of Marik, began as a
single world, ruled by the family of the same name. Charles Marik, its ruler and a man
who hailed from a long line of affluent leaders, declared his world’s independence
from the Terran Alliance in 2238. Under his rule, the rechristened Republic of Marik
united under a strong central government, bolstered by its formidable industrial
capacity. Marik also raised an army from his Republic, an army that was eventually
used in conjunction with his diplomatic acumen to help bring more worlds under his
banner. By 2271, the Marik Commonwealth—the Republic’s name after it expanded
beyond a single world—ruled a total of twenty worlds, sixty light-years from the edge
of Terran Alliance space.
At almost the same time, the Principality of Regulus began to form as a consolidation
of trading contracts between several rimward Terran colonies. Dominated by the
wealthy Selaj family, whose core power base included five of the most developed
worlds of the region, the Principality coalesced into a quasi-corporate political union of
seventeen worlds by 2270.
The Federation of Oriente, meanwhile, formed around a core of diplomatic networks
among the worlds closest to Oriente, which declared its independence from the
Alliance under the rule of Tomàs Allison in 2241. A cosmopolitan mixture of
ethnicities—in contrast to the mostly Eastern European Marik Commonwealth or the
Indian- and Pakistani-dominated Principality of Regulus—the Federation was dedicated
to its own freedom as well as the advancement of science and the arts.
Each of these three confederations grew under its own unique structure of
government and culture. The Marik Commonwealth was a military-oriented realm with
a powerful central government, if not absolutely so. The Principality was an oligarchy
of wealthy families. And the Federation was ruled by a parliamentary democracy. But
for all their differences, these three alliances soon saw their own rising prominence, as
well as the inevitable decline of the Terran Alliance, as potential threats to their own
stability. Allison, with a flash of insight, became the first to offer the option of alliance,
together with his special envoy, Sir George Humphreys of New Delos.
After years of debate over everything from their new state’s official language to the
modes of government, the Treaty of Marik was finally—some might say,
miraculously—signed in 2271, creating the first of what scholars today call the
Successor States, the Free Worlds League. Its guiding principles: the mutual benefit of
the Marik Commonwealth’s strong military with the economic power of the Selajes’
Principality of Regulus and the diplomatic skills of the Federation of Oriente’s diverse
and independent-minded leadership. The Treaty of Marik granted all three realms
internal autonomy, with their leaders established prominently in the parliamentary
government. The post of Captain-General was created as an emergency title only,
bestowing upon an elected military leader all authority over the League’s military
during times of crisis. Built into this government was a further incentive to seek
economic prosperity as well: the influence of delegations in Parliament was
proportionate to the economic might of a world’s tax contributions to the state, rather
than its planetary population, a fact which assured—for a time—the dominance of the
Marik, Oriente, and Regulan states. True power rested with the Ministers of
Parliament (MPs), rather than a central leader, but the voice of power blocs such as
these resulted in a fairly cohesive government, most of the time.
Though fractious, and often slow to respond to change, the Free Worlds League did
indeed prosper and grow after its formation. Several neighboring worlds and small
federations eventually joined with the League for mutual protection, while others were
annexed. One such conquest, the Stewart Commonality, a six-world military
dictatorship that the Marik Commonwealth regarded as a sufficient threat to win a
Parliamentary declaration of war upon, was assaulted in 2293. The crisis was
sufficient to elect the League’s first Captain-General, Juliano Marik, setting the stage
for a fundamental change in the League’s destiny that would take centuries to run its
course.
In the next installment of our special six-part look at the Free Worlds League, we’ll
examine the latter years of the League, with a glimpse of the events that led to its final
downfall. Join us as our tour of the stars continues! I’m Bertram Habeas.
stars of the Milky Way, touching thousands of worlds, as far from our home as Clan
space, more than 2,000 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,
let’s find the answers to these and many other fascinating questions together, as we
tour the stars!
Volume XXXIII: Hatching Destiny—Birth of the Free Worlds League
United in their love for independence, yet divided against one another. Economically
and socially powerful, yet strangled by a nightmarish entanglement of bureaucracy and
conflict. These were the descriptions often made of the Free Worlds League, a nation
that has ever been a study in contrasts. From its formation to its eventual collapse, and
even into the present day, entire volumes have speculated on how this realm could
have formed to begin with, with such severe differences among its member states.
Scholars have marveled over its continued existence through almost eight centuries—
much of that time plagued by near-constant warfare. Even after the League’s fall,
experts have marveled at the remains of this once proud, yet hopelessly conflicted
realm, and how many of its wayward offspring even now appear devoted to one day
reclaiming the state they themselves sundered.
As with the other Successor States, the formation of the League began with the slow
demise of the Terran Alliance. As more and more colony worlds declared their
independence, the power of the Alliance deteriorated further, eventually leading to its
inward turn, which all but cut off the young colonies from any support. In the chaos
that followed, poorer worlds became victims of piracy and raids that sapped away
their strength and destabilized their fledgling governments. To survive, alliances
formed, like the Alliance of Galedon that would one day culminate in the creation of
the Draconis Combine, or the economic powers of the Federation of Skye, the Tamar
Pact, and the Protectorate of Donegal, which formed the Lyran Commonwealth. But
before these alliances came those that led to the formation of the Free Worlds
League—the Marik Commonwealth, the Principality of Regulus, and the Federation of
Oriente.
The Marik Commonwealth, centered on the rich mining world of Marik, began as a
single world, ruled by the family of the same name. Charles Marik, its ruler and a man
who hailed from a long line of affluent leaders, declared his world’s independence
from the Terran Alliance in 2238. Under his rule, the rechristened Republic of Marik
united under a strong central government, bolstered by its formidable industrial
capacity. Marik also raised an army from his Republic, an army that was eventually
used in conjunction with his diplomatic acumen to help bring more worlds under his
banner. By 2271, the Marik Commonwealth—the Republic’s name after it expanded
beyond a single world—ruled a total of twenty worlds, sixty light-years from the edge
of Terran Alliance space.
At almost the same time, the Principality of Regulus began to form as a consolidation
of trading contracts between several rimward Terran colonies. Dominated by the
wealthy Selaj family, whose core power base included five of the most developed
worlds of the region, the Principality coalesced into a quasi-corporate political union of
seventeen worlds by 2270.
The Federation of Oriente, meanwhile, formed around a core of diplomatic networks
among the worlds closest to Oriente, which declared its independence from the
Alliance under the rule of Tomàs Allison in 2241. A cosmopolitan mixture of
ethnicities—in contrast to the mostly Eastern European Marik Commonwealth or the
Indian- and Pakistani-dominated Principality of Regulus—the Federation was dedicated
to its own freedom as well as the advancement of science and the arts.
Each of these three confederations grew under its own unique structure of
government and culture. The Marik Commonwealth was a military-oriented realm with
a powerful central government, if not absolutely so. The Principality was an oligarchy
of wealthy families. And the Federation was ruled by a parliamentary democracy. But
for all their differences, these three alliances soon saw their own rising prominence, as
well as the inevitable decline of the Terran Alliance, as potential threats to their own
stability. Allison, with a flash of insight, became the first to offer the option of alliance,
together with his special envoy, Sir George Humphreys of New Delos.
- Given the vast differences in the colonies established during the height of the
Terran Alliance, it is rather amazing that more of the Great States did not
encounter the problems the Regulans, Orientes, and Mariks did when
attempting to forge their Free Worlds League. Language, a core element in any
culture, became a focal point for the Treaty of Marik. Mindful of their recently
won independence, and of the varied populations they ruled over, the leaders of
the Commonwealth, Principality, and Federation argued over language and
terminology as much as about the actual substance of their work. Eventually
they settled on English, the only language spoken by all three leaders, though
the majority of their populations did not normally speak this tongue.
—Shaunna Verizi, Fractured States: Politics and the (Former) Free Worlds
League, Republic Press, 3099
After years of debate over everything from their new state’s official language to the
modes of government, the Treaty of Marik was finally—some might say,
miraculously—signed in 2271, creating the first of what scholars today call the
Successor States, the Free Worlds League. Its guiding principles: the mutual benefit of
the Marik Commonwealth’s strong military with the economic power of the Selajes’
Principality of Regulus and the diplomatic skills of the Federation of Oriente’s diverse
and independent-minded leadership. The Treaty of Marik granted all three realms
internal autonomy, with their leaders established prominently in the parliamentary
government. The post of Captain-General was created as an emergency title only,
bestowing upon an elected military leader all authority over the League’s military
during times of crisis. Built into this government was a further incentive to seek
economic prosperity as well: the influence of delegations in Parliament was
proportionate to the economic might of a world’s tax contributions to the state, rather
than its planetary population, a fact which assured—for a time—the dominance of the
Marik, Oriente, and Regulan states. True power rested with the Ministers of
Parliament (MPs), rather than a central leader, but the voice of power blocs such as
these resulted in a fairly cohesive government, most of the time.
Though fractious, and often slow to respond to change, the Free Worlds League did
indeed prosper and grow after its formation. Several neighboring worlds and small
federations eventually joined with the League for mutual protection, while others were
annexed. One such conquest, the Stewart Commonality, a six-world military
dictatorship that the Marik Commonwealth regarded as a sufficient threat to win a
Parliamentary declaration of war upon, was assaulted in 2293. The crisis was
sufficient to elect the League’s first Captain-General, Juliano Marik, setting the stage
for a fundamental change in the League’s destiny that would take centuries to run its
course.
- That a Marik was chosen to be the League’s first Captain-General came
naturally from the fact that the Marik family had forged the League’s most
militarily experienced member realm, but the sweeping powers of the post, I
think, delivered the most unexpected and far-reaching results. In its first
implementation, for sure, the League swiftly absorbed the Stewart
Commonality, a process that took only weeks to accomplish. Just twenty years
later, however, the Captain-General would be called upon again, with Juliano
Marik once more coming to the League’s rescue as the Terran Hegemony
emerged on the scene. Rather than fight an unwinnable battle (with the armed
forces of the Terran Alliance behind it, reorganized by the militarily astute
Admiral James McKenna, the forces of the Hegemony outclassed those of the
League), Marik instead used his broad authority as Captain-General to open a
dialogue with the Hegemony, paving the way for trading relations that would
lead the League to another economic boom. The League PMs did not object to
this solution at all, even though it represented a heretofore unheard of
combination of military command and state policy. For all intents and purposes,
a Captain-General could assume complete authority over the guidance of the
state during times of emergency.
Naturally, this very early example paved the way for Resolution 288, and the
longest running virtual suspension of the powers of the Free Worlds
Parliament. . . .
—Kevin Duelli,A Cynic’s Guide to Politics, 3rd Edition, Dark Skye Press, 3090
In the next installment of our special six-part look at the Free Worlds League, we’ll
examine the latter years of the League, with a glimpse of the events that led to its final
downfall. Join us as our tour of the stars continues! I’m Bertram Habeas.
