The Nine Systems
Structure
Leader
Droghi
First Officer
Second Officer
Third Officer
Fourth Officer
Followed by a number of elite troopers of other types (such as the Drop Unit ), infantry, retired army in civilian work, and civilians.
Public Agenda
Being an empire, their goals are generally to gain more territory and keep hold of the territory they already have. Usually this is done with military force, but has on at least one occasion been achieved by brokering a deal.
Assets
When logisticians go to hell, they have to manage the Stenza empire.Although they call themselves "conquerers of the Nine Systems", the current Stenza empire can be more accurately, but less impressively, termed "the three and a half systems, plus whatever Ilin is doing". They have solid control over enough territory that they are still an empire, and can still wreck things for people who live there (for example, Albar), but this is clearly not their former glory.
History
Formalized by An'hulla in 2300, the Nine Systems as the empire is referred to today has undergone ebbs and flows in its political power over the rest of the galaxy. In fact, the term "Nine Systems" comes from a period at the height of the empire's glory when nine prominent solar systems were in some way members of the empire and made significant contributions (note: this does not and never has included Althus, despite what Althusians would say about the matter; Althus and Mudewei have their own arrangement). As of 2499, the Nine Systems are considered to be in a period of declining influence due to political corruption, the wealthy dodging taxes and doing other peculiar things, and T'zu-Crae's general brutality as Leader. Many political commentators speculate that radical reform is on the horizon.
Territories
Mudewei is ancestral territory.
Muxter, Albar, and Azor and others are held by force, and some, like Albar, are in the process of being "cleansed". Desolation has been razed and is now nominally a part of the empire. Ilin used it as a stop in his race.
Military
Each Droga operates as a military unit in almost its entirety, from combat troops down to ship's technicians and medics. Individuals are primarily attached to their droga and fight and work alongside their cousins. The fighting force of each droga has a First Officer who takes orders from clan leaders and the First of the Stenza, and the First Officer is backed up by a Second Officer , Third Officer , and a Fourth Officer , followed by many, many infantrymen noted for various levels of combat prowess. The army is also backed up by faceless infantry drones by the millions, with remarkably bad aim for anything other than blanket fire, but they serve as shock troops and to fill out the ranks as needed.
Additionally, the Leader is guarded by a chosen body of about ten men, typically of their clan but not always, which serve as a kind of Praetorian guard. The Praetorian guard is backed up by floating orb drones which perform such functions as reporting on threats, running status checks on virtually anything requested, and in some cases accessing the entertainment library.
Technological Level
Interstellar space travel is commonplace throughout the empire, as commonplace as commercial air travel to humans. There are two classes of ships: Drifters, which are not quite capable of subspace travel (faster-than-light and subspace-capable craft. The main difference is in the engine, which may or may not be attached to two drives which work in tandem to punch a hole into subspace to allow faster travel. The armed forces typically make use of subspace craft for active battle, and anyone who can save enough krin can purchase a ticket to fly a subspace craft anywhere in the empire. Drifters are typically used for scenic trips through space.
Infantry drones have been used primarily by the military since their creation four hundred years ago. Security drones are only used by anyone who has much of anything to worry about that they cannot defend themselves against, such as certain wealthy non-Stenza individuals like Ilin and notable political figures such as the Leader.
Religion
Stenza do not care much what the people of the worlds they conquer believe (especially while in the process of killing everyone on that recently conquered world, or forcing them to do some crazy shit like build new superweapons). However, they themselves hold (with varying degrees of firmness) a religion which teaches, primarily, that the stars are the corporeal forms of many, many gods who filled out the universe as soon as there was space (see The Creation of the World). Many of these gods are unnamed, or their names were lost to time, and many more have yet to be discovered by them. The primary gods are represented by the two suns of Mudewei, seen as a mated couple who gave birth to all of life as they know it. (There are also, among many other things, a god of kicking people you don't like in the balls, a star which helps them keep time (seemingly chosen arbitrarily long ago), and a possibly joke deity responsible for miscellaneous technological problems sometimes caused by people.)
Because of the climate of the Stenza range on Mudewei, before space travel the gods were seen as rather distant beings who cared not for the affairs of the Stenza, and the two who did were rarely around. After the advent of reliable space travel (utilizing heavily the discovery of subspace as a means of faster than light travel), this idea evolved to one where each god, or star, has its own worlds that they care about. (Earth's sun is also given this treatment even if the Stenza view the choice as...interesting.)
Foreign Relations
The official foreign policy of the Nine Systems is a fairly even split between destroying a planet and its population when it fails to be useful, and trying (unsuccessfully, usually) to negotiate with the beings of other planets. Currently the Stenza are on a "destroy everyone" phase because the leader, T'zu-Crae, has trouble with individuals who are NOT strictly Stenza by his definition being residents of his empire.
Education
After growing out of the pup stage, Stenza children begin formal training. It starts with some basics, like reading, writing, and math, and then gradually shifts into combat (one of few things you cannot learn by accessing collective knowledge) and the use of weapons and shields. Older youths compete against each other for the benefit of younger audiences, and to demonstrate how the rules work (collective knowledge can store the rules, but there is a lot of room for interpretation). Winning in these sorts of tournaments garners bragging rights and acclaim from the younger children. Additionally, older students may begin specialized study in such fields as ship repair, weapons manufacture, engineering, medical science, and so on. Depending on the desired career, a youth may need to pursue a citizenship challenge, a trial by ordeal after which survivors are granted full rights in Stenza society. The citizenship trial is considered the culmination of general education, but for some careers (i.e. most fields of medicine), further study is required, most of it is practice.
Founding Date
2290
Type
Geopolitical, Empire
Capital
Alternative Names
The Stenza Empire, The Stenza State
Predecessor Organization
Demonym
Stenza (for The Stenza ), Imperial Subject (for everyone else)
Leader
Leader Title
Head of State
Head of Government
Government System
Meritocracy
Power Structure
Unitary state
Economic System
Gift economy
Currency
Legislative Body
Judicial Body
Subsidiary Organizations
Location
Official Languages
Related Traditions
Related Ranks & Titles
Related Professions
Controlled Territories
- Albar
- Artificial Moon
- Bathhouse
- Capitol Building
- Caves of the Dead
- Council Room
- Crash Base
- Desolation
- Frozen Wastes
- Howling Cliffs
- Ice Flats
- Iradae and Lan'tha
- Leader's Quarters
- Mountain Peaks
- Mudewei
- Muxter
- Orbital Communication Outposts
- Stebble
- Strares
- The Ruins
- The Southern Islands
- The Wind Fields
Neighboring Nations
Manufactured Items
- 'Alashaia Hot Cider
- Ale
- Arm-Blades
- Automated Mesh Weaving Machine
- Battle Armor
- Bed
- Bobbin
- Combat Simulator
- Cooling Unit
- Data Chip
- Deka
- Drum
- Dyes
- Environmental Protection Suit
- Flaying Knife
- Gel Arm
- Harness
- Infantry Drones
- Krin
- Leader's War Gear
- Loom
- Migration's Toast
- Personal Communication Device
- Personal Knife
- Pistol
- Power Cell
- Rhythm Bones
- Short-Range Teleport
- Shuttle
- Spear
- Spindle
- Stenza Longbow
- Stool
- Sunrise Drum
- T'zu-Crae's Chair
- Takhasar
- Transport Pod
Related Items
- 'Alashaia Hot Cider
- Ale
- Arm-Blades
- Automated Mesh Weaving Machine
- Battle Armor
- Battle-Axe
- Bed
- Bobbin
- Ceremonial Uniform
- Combat Simulator
- Cooling Unit
- Data Chip
- Deka
- Drum
- Dyes
- Environmental Protection Suit
- Flaying Knife
- Harness
- Infantry Drones
- Krin
- Leader's War Gear
- Loom
- Migration's Toast
- Personal Communication Device
- Personal Knife
- Pistol
- Power Cell
- Rhythm Bones
- Short-Range Teleport
- Shuttle
- Spear
- Spindle
- Stenza Longbow
- Stool
- Subspatial Sonde
- Sunrise Drum
- T'zu-Crae's Chair
- Takhasar
- The "Peacetime" Uniform
- Transport Pod
Organization Vehicles
Notable Members
Comments