Emperor's Pride
"Many have already asked me what in the world I'll name this 'new capital of mine'. And after much deliberation, I have decided to name it 'Emperor's Pride', as it is likely to be my greatest achievement and my greatest pride. I am confident that it will remain to be such for all of my future succesors" -Emperor Teshrak Abrenashr, in a televised speach promoting the new capitalEmperor's Pride is the official capital planet of the Commonwealth of Stars, hosting buildings such as the Imperial Palace and the Senatorial Towers. It was originally a barren, lifeless planet but was extensively terraformed under Emperor of the Commonwealth Teshrak Abrenashr in 109 AI. It was officialy colonised and made capital in 139 AI. Due to it's cosmopolitan and artistic nature, which seemingly seems to embody every value the Commonwealth holds dear, it has earned the nickname 'Soul of the Commonwealth'
History
"You want to know my opinion of mr. Teshrak's new capital? Darling, let me tell you, it's simply marvelous! Truly, a planet that will last the ages" -Movie star Irikit Kihrin, after being asked why she moved to Emperor's Pride in a talk show
Discovery and Contact Wars
Emperor's Pride was discovered in the early months of 47 BI by the Pakoph exploratory ship HRP Seeker's Pilgrimage', only two years before First Contact would be established wth the United Trade Committee of Jaron, the Shakar Kingdom and the Mboshroni Empire. The system was named Kepher tave Kelen (Eveveralon, Kepher: Eye, tave: which is, Kelen: Red after its colour), with the planet itself simply being known as Kepher tave Kelen IV' (Everolon, Kivane tov Kepher tave Kelen, litt. Fourth from the Eye which is Red) There was originally little interest in what would later become Emperor's Pride itself as it was comparatively scarce in material resources and was too hostile of an enviroment to settle a colony in. However, after First Contact the Holy Republic rushed to colonise the Kepher tave Kelen system because of it's highly strategic position near the centre of the 4 nation's territory. It would host a fairly large fortress station, known as 'Divine's Bastion'. Some planets in the system where colonised at this point, but Kepher tave Kelen IV was not among these. As The system would be the host of some major battles during the Contact Wars, namely the Battle of Great Defense (42 BI, Sherkoshr War, won by HRP) , the Battle of Sacred Vengeance (25 BI, Tashren War, won by HRP), and the Meshrek's Conquest. (19 BI, Tashren War, won by Shakaran-Mboshroni). After Meshrek's Conquest, the system would be controlled by the Shakaran-Mboshroni Alliance for the remainder of the Wars. They rechistened it Meshrekish (Shakaran, litt. 'of Meshrek'), after the admiral who conquered it. Emperor's Pride was colonised by the Mboshroni Empire in this period, who were scrambling for materials to keep the war effort going. Even then, there were only 3 mining bases across the whole planet. The system would see some minor battles after this during the Wars, but was largely ignored during the Invasion War.Intermedium Period
After the Epherakolon Victory and the following Coalition Peace period, the UTCJ, HRP and SMA started official peace talks to determine what would happen to conquered territories. In these talks, it was decided that Kepher tave Kelen would be returned to the Holy Republic, who wanted it back because it's strategic position would make it possible for it to become a major trade system. Most of the Shakaran and Mboshroni bases would remain under their respective governments control, but would pay a tax to the Holy Republic. The grand plans for a major trade route going through Kepher tave Kelen never happened, however. Partially because their designor, Holy Speaker Patavekelen, would remain to busy first with reorganising the Holy Republic's government and bringing many of its past leaders to trial for war crimes, then with organising various international agreements and preparing Pakolonese colonies for the future economy (alongside with organising media campaigns promoting xenophilia), and then finally with organising the founding of the Commonwealth of Stars and negotiating the Holy Republic's place within it. After she died, the plans were simply forgotten. But it was also in part as the United Trade Committee stole much of Kepher tave Kelen's thunder, when they organised the Jriktijmik trade route starting from Jaron and going to all 3 capital worlds. It would've been impractical to set up a second trade route through the system, or to somehow convince Jre traders to move through Kepher tave Kelen. As such, it remained a quiet system throughout the early days of the Commonwealth, only notable for ti's rather central position within it. The few mining operations on what would become Emperor's Pride were abandoned in 81 AI in favour of more profitable ventures, leaving the planet completely unpopulated.Terraforming
Kepher tave Kelen IV would've likely remained a unpopulated and ignored planet if it wasn't for Teshrak Abrenashr. The Emperor of the Commonwealth wished to create a more stationairy capital for the Commonwealth, and choose to terraform a barren planet largely to show the scientific strenght of the Commonwealth in terraforming. The Kepher tave Kelen system was choosen to host this new capital for multiple reasons: it's aforementioned strategic, central location, the fact that it had a red star which would last for millenia to come, and the relative ease with which its fourth planet could be terraformed thanks to its large water, oxygen and CO2 deposits. As such, the Senate and the Holy Republic negotiated and agreed that the system would be transferred to Senatorial control for a minimal price, as it was largely worthless to Pakolon anyways. The best terraforming teams where dispatched by the Foundation for Public Works and Infrastructure to transform this inhospitable rock into a worthy capital for the Commonwealth of Stars. First, the CO2 pockets were realised into the atmosphere to make the atmosphere more dense and to start a greenhouse effect. This caused the ice of the planet to melt, creating the first oceans and seperating the three continents of the planet. After this, the oxygen pockets were realised to make the atmosphere more breathable. Other gasses were added to the atmosphere over the next decade from various asteroids and some other, uninhabited planets. At the same time, laser cutting was used to create rivers and valleys, and also to heat the planet further. Slowly but surely, a largely stabil (though still reliant on terraforming equipment) enviroment started to form, with rain cycles and actual weather. In order to further guide the planet to a hospitable enviroment, climate control systems were installed in orbit to make sure the exact right climates emerged in the correct places. It was also at this point that the more imiginative projects were started by the terraformers, now that the basics were down. Beautiful valleys, magnificent islands, impossible waterfalls and so forth were created to make the planet more impressive. Eventually, lifeforms from all over the Commonwealth were introduced to the planet to stabilise the enviroment more. By 131 AI the planetary enviroment was stable enough for city construction to start. The Senate hired construction companies and architects from all over the Commonwealth to build large, cosmopolitan cities where all species of the Commonwealth could feel at home. Apart from the multidude of architectural styles present in each city, every single city was also seperated in various districts, one for each species, and outfitted to with enviromental controllers to create variosu mico-climates where they would not only be able to survive, but feel comfortable. Apart from this, various impressive and dazzling architectural projects (the most notable of which being the Imperial Palace and the Senatorial Towers) were also greenlit.Colonisation and Early Days
By 138 AI it was clear that the project would soon be finished, and the Senate started a marketing campaign to convince Commonwealth citizens to move, and corporations to relocate their headquarters to Emperor's Pride. It was also in this year that the Kepher tave Kelen system was renamed into the 'Beacon' system, as it was to be a beacon of hope and prosperity for the entire galaxy. Many considered Emperor's Pride a gamble of sorts, fearing that few would actually come to live on the planet. Because of this, it was somewhat agressively marketed as a soon-to-be hub of trade, political debate and a generally 'hip', 'modern', and lively atmosphere. This proved to be somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophecy, as around 5 billion-more than expected, but still not that much for a colonial world of Emperor's Pride's size- colonists moved to the planet at it's 'opening day' in 140 AI. The Emperor and the Senate, alongside most government instituions, also moved their facilities to the new capital. Many corporations also wanted to make use of the oppurtunity, and relocated. When Ambition became properly established as an agrarian world, ensuring a stable source of food for the capital, and as Emperor's Pride started becoming more and more important politically and, to a lesser degree, economically (not in small part thanks to the 3 extra starlanes that were connected to the system) 5 billion more moved to the planet. This number against increased, for a total population of 20 billion, when the Inspiration Commune, and when later that same year the esteemed United Fleet Military Academy was founded on Achievement. Throughout the next few decades the planet would gain an increasingly important role in Commonwealth culture, becoming seen as the physical manifestation of everything they stand for and gaining the nickname 'Soul of the Commonwealth'. Emperor's Pride became synanimous with the Senate and the Emperor, and became a sort of centre for the entire Commonwealth to point to. Even if, economically speaking, the planet was somewhat mediocre. Originally, the Senate controlled the planet personally. This quickly proved to be too daunting of a task in combination with handling the entire Commonwealth as a whole, so the Magisterium of Emperor's Pride was founded to manage the planet in the Senate's name. Magistrate Akepheralos Makeveren Tavaveren was appointed by the Senate by the end of 140 AI to organise a planetary police force, healthcare system, education system and so forth. It is largely thanks to him that the capital is where it is now. However, he became involved with corruption scandals in 151 AI and was promptly replaced with Magistrate Ihrihik Tikto who has brought the planet to further economic prosperity. The Magisterium would also soon get control over Ambition, and would become responsible for Inspiration alongside with the Enclave's government. The Beacon system would also soon become one of the more heavily defended systems in the Commonwealth, as the 1st UF Armada was made responsible for it's protection and some defensive stations were built. It also now hosts Archive-001, making it even more important of a system.Greater Commonwealth and Civil War
After Teshrak's assasination in late 156 AI, and the Shadow Conspiracies subsequent coup d'etat in early 157 AI Emperor's Pride underwent a dark three years in its history. During a police action in the Imperial Palace many 'traitors' and 'enemies of the people' were captured by Strategician and her regime. Raids on various Senatorial dwellings, and the homes of various famous supporters of Mechten and the like followed. Even though there were protests and in many cases even revolts against Strategician's regime (especially after she made claim to the imperial title and announced her 'Greater Commonwealth), these were especially bad on Emperor's Pride. As such, the Greater Commonwealth send in the military after many of them. When this didn't work, a special subset of the DSS was founded in 158 AI, the 'Emperor's Pride Order Keepers', which would largely replace the Emperor's Pride Police Force for the rest of the Civil War. The Order Keepers were ruthless and cruel, made up of fanatical Hegemonists who never questioned any order Strategician gave them; many would die under their hands. However, protests, riots and in many cases even outright attacks against GC officials continued. Many in the GC government wished to simply relocate to the Bastion of Stars, where they'd be significantly safer. Strategician, however, realised that this would make them look weak in the people's eyes and decided to simply fortify themselves in the Imperial Palace from where she would rule until the public would accept her power. This of course never happened, as in 158 AI the Loyalist Alliance declared a direct war against the GC, and riots became even more common. The Greater Commonwealth tried to declare martial law at this point, but to not much avail.Liberation of Emperor's Pride
When the Loyalist Fleets under UF Admiral Komochor arrived in the Beacon System, and the subsequent Battle of Beacon was started many wished to join their compatriots in the battle to regain the Commonwealth. These first rebellions, often sponsoed by resistance members, would safeguard landing spots for the Loyalist Army once the Battle of Beacon was won. The Army would make planetfall in 6 places across the planet. Thanks to the help of various rebellious citizens, the invasion went relatively smooth. Only 2 months later would Unity City be retaken in what would later come to be known as the Liberation of Emperor's Pride. The Imperial Palace was stormed, and most GC officials were taken prisonner, though some managed to flee. Strategician herself would commit suicide in the Imperial Office, and the Yanasroai Warlady would die that same day under suspicious circumstances (most historians agree that General Kirikzakir likely murdered her, though there is no direct proof of this). In perhaps one of the most iconic moments of the civil war, Ketrochor, son of Mochor, of Cheztoch, climbed the roof of the Imperial Palace and wove the Commonwealth flag from up there himself. A few minutes later, he took down the GC flag and dropped it to the ground. After which he continued waving the flag for around an hour. This was to signal the citizens of Unity City that they were liberated. The horrific days of the Greater Commonwealth were numbered.Administration
"I'm afraid I don't have much time for questions! My predecessor truly left this world an administrative mess. I have so much to do, so much to organise! Send yoru questions to my secretary, I'll answer them later." -Magistrate Ihrihik Tikto, shortly after getting the Magistrate officeWhilst Emperor's Pride was originally governed personally by the Senate, it is known governed by the so-called Magisterium of Emperor's Pride, which also governs the moon of Ambition and co-governs the Inspiration Commune. The Magisterium consists of 2 main bodies, the Magistrate themselves and the Citizen Council. The Magistrate is personally chosen by the Senate to govern the capital in their name. They have significant amounts of power over the capital and its moons (apart from Achievement, of course, which is directly controlled by the United Fleet) and call most of the shots on Emperor's Pride. They appoint a team of capable ministers themselves, and are responsible for most things on the planet: from the sewage systems, to law enforcement, to healthcare. It's as such that the most important job of the Magistrate is to delegate and organise, leaving most of more precise work to their ministers. Most high positions on Emperor's Pride are personally selected by the Magistrate, except for the Imperial General of the Emperor's Pride Garrison, and the Chief Police Officer of the Emperor's Pride Police Force, who both simply rise to the ranks in a military-like system. That said, the Magistrate can fire both the Imperial General and the Chief Police Officer if they deem it neccesary (it does need approval from the Senate). The Magistrate is protected by both the Emperor's Pride Police Force and the Senatorial Guard. They have the right to call a Senate meeting any time they please, provided it is about a subject which concerns Emperor's Pride directly. Similarly, they can also request a meeting with the Emperor. It is not uncommon for the Magistrate to also be invited to the Commonwealth Conference, though they rarely play a role of much importance there. The Magistrate gains a rather nice penthouse in Unity City, and has an office in the Planetary Hall, also in Unity City. The Citizen Council is the main advisory body of the Magisterium, though it can also veto the Magistrate, ask the Senate to reconsider the current Magistrate's mandate, and suggest policies to pass or projects to begin to the Magistrate. The Council consists of exactly 100 individuals representing the entire planet and its moon of Ambition. Anyone with official Magisterium 'citizenship' (for lack of a better word) can run for Councilor, as they are democratically elected. Parties are not allowed. Elections use a Ranked-Choice Voting System, where voters choose for multiple candidates every voting season. Councillors are personally protected by the Emperor's Pride Police Force, but not by the Senatorial Guard. They usually gather in the Planetary Hall, though they also often simply attend meetings from the comfort of their home using holographic communicators. Within every city, there are special penthouses assigned to them where they can life in higher-security. Councillors serve for 5 years each time, though there is no official mandate-limit.
Culture
"I have observed an interesting oxymoron of sorts in Emperor's Pride culture. Its people are simultaneously some of the most pleasant and talkative I have encountered, but also some of the most stressed and work-obsessed ones. I fear I am not capable to provide any explanation for this, though I must also add that they were most friendly and even the non-Pakoph ones seemed quite interested to learn about our culture." -Kuvrelanist traveler Mevr'Mavtak in 'A Guide to Our Neigbhours' Among the Stars Worlds'Emperor's Pride is, for obvious reasons, probably the most pro-Commonwealth planet in the entire nation. Victory Day and Liberation Day are often celebrated even more enthousiastically than cultural holidays like Prophets' Light or even Shabtashra. Across the entire planets, 'Patriotic Parties' are held, where essentially all the people from a certain neigborhood come together to celebrate the national holidays. Usually this is done in the streets of the neigborhood in question, and it most usually involves especially prepared banquets with delicassies from the entire Commonwealth, games from every member-culture, and some bonfires. People will hang Commonwealth flags from their balconies and windows, and many buildings light up in the national colours of the nation. These celebrations usually start at night, and during the day the inhabitants of the planet mainly spend their time preparing for the night's feast, and doing the standard traditions involving the Epherakolon Victory and remembering the veterans who died during the Invasion. The Emperor also holds a speach every year, which is usually listened to live, eitherin Unity CIty itself or through holographic projection. The planet is also known for its love of parties, receptions and the like. This has mainly bled over from the political culture that had already long existed within the Commonwealth before Emperor's Pride's creations, involving many, many receptions for most political gatherings. The elderly of the planet usually regurarly attend quit evening parties where they can talk with friends, whilst enjoying a good glass of wine (or equivalent). The youth, meanwhile, tends to love more active parties whith much dancing, and louder, more 'cool' music. In many circles, this 'party-culture' has even been added to weddings, births, and even burials with a sort of reception often being held after the more traditional festivities have taken place. Of course, this greatly depends on the culture in question. Whilst most Shakarans are happy to attend such receptions after a more traditional burial, most Kerchon (whose culture cares significantly more about death and the afterlife) individuals tend to prefer to keep to their ancient rituals without any modern influences. In contrast to their seemingly extremely relaxed behaviour, however, the inhabitants of Emperor's Pride also have the stereotype of being work-obsessed and often quite stressed in general. This has often puzzled many tourists to the planet, as the capital's people seem to be able to near-instantly switch between 'stressed and thinking about work' to 'want to talk, and enjoy good food'. It also of course goes without saying that Emperor's Pride is known for it's extremely cosmopolitan and tolerant culture, being the capital of the Commonwealth of Stars. The discovery of new alien life and civilisiations is often outright celebrated with parties, receptions and everything that comes with it. There is a deep interest in foreign cultures, which can be considered extreme even by Commonwealth standards. Many will play games, watch movies, or read books simply for their 'exotic' and 'alien' nature, in spite of their actual quality.
Economy
"Many have raised concerns that, in case of a war, the capital could fall without food. I can assure you that this will never happen, as we have recently designated the moon of Ambition as an Agricultural World. I am confident that it will soon provide more than enough food to feed all that will come live on the capital" -Senator Eight of Debaters, in an open video-letterEmperor's Pride produces little in raw resources, and is almost completely reliant on imports for its food or construction materials. The planet does, however, have a more than lively inmaterial industry. Housing the headquarters of many interstellar corporations, producing many games and movies, and also many lawyer's firms. This is it's main source of income. Poverty is relatively rare on the planet, though there does exist an Emperor's Pride Social Fund which aids any citizens within the Magisterium below a certain level of income. There are also a few homeless shelters all across the planet.
Cities, Infrastructure, and Resource Exploitation
"I visited Emperor's Pride a few days ago. What did you see there? Glass and concrete, mainly" -Sketch from the popular Teewekian satirical program 'Teereëkit's Hour'Emperor's Pride is perhaps one of the most urban cities in the Commonwealth. Almost all of it is covered in large cities, with relatively large nature reservates breaking them up. There are a total of 23 cities, each one of them being build using a standard 'grid pattern', with various species-specific districts surrounding one common district with more neutral architecture and with a city hall in the middle (the only exception being Unity City, which has the Senatorial Towers located in the middle of the city). Every city uses a great variety of architectural styles from all over the Commonwealth: Jtijjar hive-towers, Bwojom skyscrapers, Shakaran cylliners, Mboshroni bunkers, Everalonese tree-scrapers and some foreign styles like Kuvrelanist domes. Relatively large parts of the population live in underground parts of the cities, where large caverns have been hollowed out. Usually, they live here in so-called 'surfacescrapers', and other, similar buildings. These underground levels are somewhat unpopular amongst most groups, who prefer surface live. The one exception to this are Irioslani, who in fact prefer such underground cities due their natural affinity of small, tight places and their natural hatred of hights and large, open areas. Every city has access to more than excellent public transport, mainly using magnetic monorails, trams and underground, self-driving magnetic cars. Cities are interconnected through so called tubeways, high-speed magnetic trains build inside cyllindrical tubes with a vaccuum inside them allowing for insanely high speeds. Personal transport like earth cars are strictly forbidden on the planet, outside of specialised parks where they are purely used for entertainment's purposes. Cities on the planet also have access to a wide variety of flying drones, used for everything from law enforcement, to healthcare, to delivering packages. The planet also has access to 10 space elevators all over the planet. There are hundreds of stations in orbit, from simple space ports, to additional habitats, to even many nature reservate stations (it has even become tradition whenever a new species joins the Commonwealth, to have a new nature reservate station be build with lifeforms from their homeworld). Emperor's Pride has no mines, factories or anything of the kind due to its extremely urban nature and lack of natural resources to begin with. The only things even remotedly similar on the planet are a few fusion plants and some hydroponic farms. Most of the planet's energy comes from Beacon's dyson swarm, and most of their food from Ambition however.
Planetary Defences
"There are numerous enemies of the Commonwealth in this galaxy who wish to extinguish our light. There is no greater price for them than the capital, the very embodiment of all we stand for, itself. Therefore, we must remain vigilant. We must remain strong. So that our home may be protected at all times." -Senator Keshan Mbashir, on the creation of the Achievement military baseEmperor's Pride itself has relatively little in terms of planetary defences. There are a few military bunkers on the planet, and it has it's own military force: the so-called 'Emperor's Pride Garrison'. Garrison soldiers are mainly trained to fight in the dense cities of the planet, and to use tactics that harm the cities buildings and people as little as possible. They have access to a few hundred machines of war, though the Garrison main goal is to keep any invading force off until reinforcements can arrive. They have little hope of actually defending the planet on their own. The majority of the planet's defensive forces can, instead, be found in orbit. There are a few hundred defensive stations orbiting the planet, most of which are armed with railguns and tactical nukes. Most impressively, however, there is the moon of Achievement. Achievement is one of the more important military bases within the Commonwealth, hosting the esteemed United Fleet Military Academy where most UF personnel are trained. Apart from this, the planet hosts a great amount of military squadrones, both from UF Marines, but mainly from member-militaries (mainly from the High Kingdom of Kerchon, the Council of Redemption). Most impressively, however, is the planet's Guardian' model railgun, nicknamed Thunder. Thunder is a railgun capable of destroying most ships that come within a certain range of both Emperor's Pride and Achievement. This makes it near impossible for any hostile force to land troops planetside without destroying the weapon first. This is not an easy task, as Thunder is protected by a hard bunker-shell, and multiple anti-missile turrets arround it. It is one of the biggest weapons of it's kind within the Commonwealth. Emperor's Pride is also located within Sector-01, which means that it is protected by the 1st UF Armada. It is important to note, however, that this Armada is mostly an honour guard. The old veterans of the United Fleet are transferred to the 1st Armada as a form of honouring them, and also as a sort of retirement. Most of the younger talent is send to protect the borders of the Commonwealth. Though it'd also be a stretch to state that the Armada is helpless in any capacity, it's personnel may be largely old, but still consists exclusively of the most talented veterans with the UF. The 1st Armada also contains the flagship of the Commonwealth, the CSS Bastion of Unity II, an incredibly large United Fleet Mothership with some of the best, state of the art weapons the Commonwealth has to offer.
Astronomical Information
System: Beacon Sattelites: Ambition, Inspiration, AchievementGeographic Information
Gravity: 0.8G Atmosphere: 1.2 (Oxygen-rich) Continents: Ashrrol's Dream, Teshrak's Labour, Leader's Promise Oceans: Oppurtunity, Hope, Cosmopolitan Notable Landmarks: Ereeëwhik's Falls, Lake Viridant, The WoundEcological Information
Average Complexity: Complex, multicellular, eukaryotic life Fauna: Diverse, Hailing From Multiple Planets Flora: Diverse, Hailing From Multiple Planets Status: Stable Ecosystem, Protected By Terraforming Tech and SimilarSocietal Information
Controlled By: Commonwealth of Stars (Magisterium of Emperor's Pride) Type: Capital World Capital City: Unity City Other Notable Cities: New Shores, Traveller's Crossroads, Promised Towers Population: 20 Billion Main Exports: Art, Accounting, Legal Advice, and Similar Non-Material Goods Main Imports: Food, Raw Resources For Construction (Iron, Titanium, Etc)Historic Information
Colonised: 140 AIRemove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
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