Ares Confederation
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This article or section is severely outdated, and is no longer canon as of May 2020. If this lore is still relevant to the server, you can help by updating it.
"I swore to never surrender to you."---
"Why do you people keep revolting? Don't you see the futility in all of this? We Trans-Stellar Corporations have assets in the billions!"
"You may snuff out our lives, burn our homes. Break our hearts. But we will not rest until we have earnt what we are owed. Our skin is ours. This soil is ours. We will not rest. The flames of our Revolution will burn on in the heads of all."
-Alleged dialogue between a peacekeeping officer and Ares rebel at the beginning of the Ares Uprising.
While the corporate culture and capitalism still dominates the human sphere, especially in the core worlds and corporate sectors, the specter of the Internationale and other predecessors still haunt the fringes of human colonized space - which the Ares Confederation is the biggest united polity of.
While they do not boast the sheer amounts of worlds, nor the advanced military technology of the USDF, they make up for it by having liberated production worlds and fleet assets from the former corporate overlords, who have fraglantry abused the relative lack of oversight everything not concerning the immediate security of the Vilous sector.
The Confederation itself has a fluid number of colonies and planets enjoying the membership in the organization, as rebellions are quelled while others pop up, leaving the overall structure highly mobile and almost impossible to fully suppress, waxing and waning in the constant struggle of independence from both SolGov and the TSCs wishing their assets back in their hands.
The informal capital of the Ares Confederation is Paraiso, a former pleasure world turned rebel fortress and bread basket for the often only partially terraformed members.
History
[WIP]
Government
The Ares Confederation is, true to its name, a largely decentralized state. Member Worlds have to recognize the Ares Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, which enforces a market socialist model of production, extensive human rights (especially due process), ensures military supremacy of the confederal government as well relinquishing diplomatic and fiscal duties to the overarching state. Beyond that, the members are allowed to organise themselves however they wish, usually after some syndicalist or democratic model, with the Confederation recognizing the right of autonomy and self-determination wherever it does not infringe on the basic, fundamental rights of the Aresian citizen. While some pay only lip service to such, many members, however temporary, try to uphold the ideals set in the Declaration and Constitution.
Legislative
The legislative of the Ares Confederation consists of two houses, the Colonial Commune Council and the Liberty Assembly. The Liberty Assembly numbers 1370 senators, which gain their mandate in a "nation"wide election, in which all colonies, habitats and other permanent housings of citizens are assigned to one of the 470 voting districts. Each citizen has two votes, one for a direct candidate and one for a party. With this, 470 senators are assigned a spot in the Liberty Assembly. The direct mandate does not require membership in a party. The remaining 900 seats are assigned to the party based upon their percentage of votes they got. In order to avoid a hanging parliament, parties need to acquire at least 5% of the popular vote to be assigned seats in the Liberty Assembly.
The Colonial Commune Council is, however, appointed by the local governments of the colonies within the Confederation. Every colony sends one to three, based on population, delegates to the Council. The Council has no term periods, the appointment is formally void when a new government on the Colony takes power and thus a Delegate may stay infinitely as long his party stays in power at his local colony. The Liberty Assembly is the main parliament of the Ares Confederation and are those who vote for a Prime Minister and his cabinet. Furthermore, they create, edit and vote federal jurisprudence and laws, which are then legitimized by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is not allowed to veto a law initiative, unless he deems it unconstitutional. This decision can be vetoed by the Assembly. In this case, the law is judged by the Greater Forum.
The Colonial Commune Council has only a representative function for the individual colonies. In case a law does not affect a colony or is outside their competences (like the military or accession of a new member), they can declare their dissatisfaction about the decision, which serves only a ceremonial role. However, they have a veto in case the decision affects the colony - such as when a law increases the administrative burden of a member, increases federal taxes or tries to infringe on the right of self-determination of the member colonies. If a simple majority vote passes the law in such a case, it is approved. Otherwise it must be revised by the Assembly or jossed completely.
Executive
The Prime Minister is both highest executive and head of state, representing the Confederation as a whole, a proverbial link between the individual members. The Prime Minister is voted by the confidence of the Liberty Assembly every four years, consistent with their own voting cycle. There exists no formal term limit for the Prime Minister.
The Cabinet itself is appointed by the Prime Minister who holds the last say in who gets appointed. In reality, however, it is determined by their party, as well as any eventual junior partner in a coalition.
Prime Minister and Cabinet handle the limited executive powers within the Ares Confederation, represent the State as a whole and act as one of the constitutional guardians in case Legislation can be unconstitutional. In turn any attempt to consolidate power or overreach of the Executive is kept in check by the Legislative who can demand a vote of confidence at any time - if they have a replacement candidate for the Prime Minister.
Judiciary
The Greater Forum is the highest juristic instance within the Ares Confederation and contains sixteen members - eight professional judges and eight randomly chosen citizens of "good and moral character". The professional judges are appointed by majority vote of the Liberty Assembly and serve for life, unless they retire or fail a vote of confidence.
The citizens are chosen at random and serve for four years if they accept the burden and granted a pension according to their previous income.
The Greater Forum can be formally petitioned by every single person within the Confederation, citizen, Freeperson or foreigner, as long their case ran through any court beforehand. However, they only act upon cases that they might deem unconstitutional.
Citizen and Freeperson Dynamic
Every single person within the Ares Confederation is considered a "Freeperson", enjoying full legal rights as written in the Ares Confederation. They also are allowed to participate in their own, local politics within the member states they might currently be resident in. However, they do not enjoy a political say within the Confederaiton - as in they cannot hold office or vote on the federal level. Citizens are those who are allowed to do so. This privilege can be achieved by either working for three years as registered labourer or serving three years in any military branch of the Confederation, allowing them to act on the political, federal level. Many people within the Ares Confederation strive to become a citizen, even if it's not required - it's a matter of honour.
Defense
The Ares Confederation prides itself of its zealous and ever vigilant soldiers, protecting and expanding the confederate holdings against the Corporate Overlords at the fringe at all costs. Made up of highly disciplined volunteers of all symphatetic sapients, all military branches of the military are highly meritocratic and proud of being a protector of their people.
United Fleet Host
The backbone of the military of the Ares Confederation is the United Fleet Host, with the seperate brances of the Space Fleet and Deep Space Marineers, handling space to space combat, logistics and space to ground invasions. Many of the officers and crewmen of the United Fleet Host are former local rebels, who taken up the torch for liberty across the stars, manning older and mothballed vessels and everything the Confederation managed to ramshackle build themselves by recovered blueprints. While their vessels may be antiquated by modern standards, crew and military tactics benefits from a large pool of experience - After all, many retired military personnel seen their opportunity to live up their glory days for a good cause. Thus, tactics employed by the United Fleet Host are highly unpredictable, rapid in response and capable of exploiting the most of their ships. Still, the fact of struggling firepower and outdated vessels is an issue. Rumour has it that the United Federation supports the Engineering Corps of the Confederation to overhaul, update and build up a proper, modern Space Fleet. The Modus Operandi of the UFH is as followed : Isolate, Exterminate and Regroup. Through precise strikes at the enemy, critical targets of the adversary fleet are isolated and seperated and destroyed. After this, the task group retreats and regroups for repairs and resupply.
Free Host of the Confederation
Colloquially called the "Cossack Fleet", the FHC is an irregular fleet comprised of adventurers, mercenaries, former pirates, privateers and volunteers, open for anyone who is willing to fight for the Confederation. Wild and free, their only directives is to not hurt civilian and neutral targets- Thus, they wildly strike against any enemy of the Ares Confederation, maurading, kidnapping and raiding enemy convoys, installations and patrols. Made up from anything that can fly and carry a gun big enough to hurt another ship, it is difficult to clearly define the main role of the Free Host, but they specialize in harassing the enemy, as auxiliary escort and vanguard for the UFH. Many a ship has its own traditions and rules on board, which are respected by the Military Command of the Ares Confederation. While the UFH is highly disclipined and coordinated, the individual captains of the Free Host are not required to cooperate, many of them preferring their own thing and getting rich on loot, only abiding the orders of the Prime Minister.
Many a Cossack Officer retires after getting enough share of plunder to the colonies of the Ares Confederation, enjoying the prestige they earnt and the status of citizen. Curiously enough, many aliens prefer to gain citizenship through the Cossack Fleet.
The Firebrands
Saboteurs, demagogues and assassins... All of this and more is a Firebrand, a member of the Military Intelligence of the Ares Confederation. This branch-encompassing service chooses the best and brightest of their respective fields and trains them to do one thing : Bring revolution. Operating in small cells from one to five people, Firebrands infiltrate with minimal equipment enemy habitats and planets and begin to build up local resistance, liberating military equipment, scandalize and alienate local population, solely for the goal to create an uprising within the colony or installation. For this, they mostly have free reign, although their actions are strongly scrutinized during regular briefings and debriefings to avoid terrorism and too ruthless tactics, as this reflect badly upon the Confederation if Firebrand involvement is found out. After they stage an open coup against local magistrates, Firebrands prodive tactical and strategic support and try to make the new uprising assimilate into the Ares Confederation proper.