Musura Federation
The Federation of Musura Mercantile Guilds, or simply the Musura Federation, is an oligarchy tied greatly to The Seer Collective, and its followers. The head of the government, the Czar, is elected from both the Guilds, the Seerist Oracles, and magistrates that are mostly elected from the Federal peoples in the Terminus Systems. Those that are selected to become the Czar must undergo rigorous Psionic testing, and a arduous journey on Zooma's World known as the Spiral.
The Musura federation is the second largest population within the entire known galaxy, and the power they wield can be incredible. They are the most culturally diverse governmental entity in the entire galaxy. The Federation is entirely made up of the space occupied by the Guilds, but also enterprise systems who helped establish the Eternal Charter. The Musurans pride themselves on their multi-ethnic backgrounds, and regularly export their culture to the rest of the galaxy. However, getting the Federation to act out of anything other than inward direct self-interest is difficult, and often times they are reactioinary when it comes to global politics. While they view the Colonial Empire as the biggest threat currently, the upper-class of the federation is also incredibly worried about the growing spread of Union ideas and political theory.
Their closest ties are with the Republican Remnant, as its the closest government to Musuran political idealogies. Within both governments, there is an emphasis in the concentration of power within a kind of landowning merchant class and the liberal intelligensia. In the Federation, this is quiet obvious through the main two political factions, the Guilds and the Church of Seers. The Guilds hold the power in the Federation, but it is fragile. They rely on the Seers for control, and to help them funnel wealth to their own pockets. The Seers, holy as ever, believe that the Federation is but one of many governments that will lead to the golden path. It is whispered in higher echelons that it is truly the Augurs that pull the strings of the federation. They dance a careful balance of power with the masses, while playing the guilds
The Musura Federation is named for the Musura merchant traders that regularly traded between the Zlathan territories before the Silence. It grew steadily in size, mostly through peaceful means, occasionally through military conquest from its neighbors.
Currently, the Federation operates as a powerful influence in the Mid Rim and the Outer Rim. Their influence is so great that the Colonial Earth Empire is careful when negotiating with the Federation. While the two are not opposed, they are far from allies. The Musura Federation has been accused of regulalry funding the likes of the Pacifica Liberation Front and working with the Zym Cartel, destabilizing the mid rim away from Imperial hegemony. However, they have also in recent years began operating against the Ungratefuls and the Dragon Resistance. Many in the PLF have viewed this cynically, stating that the Federation only cares about their cause as far as it is a destablizing force, and does not truly wish to see a fully successful and free Pacifica.
The Guilds
The Musura Federation is primarily run by a handful of guilds that each control different spheres of influence under the Federation. Most guilds started as a specialized economic power, however generations of wealth accumulation and political maneuvering has spread the power and influence of the various guilds to encompass more than their speciality. However, this has also meant that the creation of new guilds is non-existent, as they are usually bought out or suppressed by the increasingly decadent powers.The largest guilds are;- Spicer Guild: What Started around the cultivation and growing of Spice, then quickly expanded into industrial agriculture and terraforming services. The Spicer Guild a loose confederation of allied economic interests and guilds. It's power is spread wide throughout the Federation, and their close ties to the Seerists give them a special relationship with the wider population. They also encompass a wide range of psionic research, cultivation and education. The coffers of the Spicers are filled by the Spicers' Agri-Industrial entities. It is a common saying that the spicers "Feed the Musuran Line", and it has made them incredibly wealthy. The Spicers run the Grand Conservatory in conjunction with the Seerists on Artedis, and are heavily influenced by the Order of the Shadow.
- Enginseer Guild: Revolves around the creation and maintenance of the interstellar shipping in the Musura Federation. They also have unique control over a handful of the Interstellar Gates that exist in Federation space. Many of the Enginseers spend most their lives above ships and on orbital stations. They also make up a significant chunk of the Federal Naval Forces. The Enginseers are heirarchacal and highly rigid. Their guild is small, but is neccessary for th rest of the Federation to operate. Their cloistured heirarchy is incredibly diffcult to penetrate, while the other guilds must rely on the enginseers for their wealth. The other guilds call the Enginseers parasites, but they know they are indespensible.
- Scribe Guild: The scribe Guild has a stranglehold on the bureaucracy of the Musura Federation, and handles to monumental task of organizing and maintaining the structures that keep the Federation and organized force. While many view the scribes as stuffy academics, the power structures understand that the Scribes as the glue that holds the federation together. The Scribes are highly regimented, but their power is primarily centralized from system to system. They work closely with Augurs of the Candle and the Boyars to maintain their power, profiting off of turning the wheels of governance in the Federation.
- Solar Guild: The Solar Guild began with heavy investments into the energy industries of the Musura Federation, and then brought in mining and world breaking into their perview through a series of hostile takeovers. They now represent a wide portfolio of resource extraction operations, key to keeping the Federal systems alive.
Structure
The Musura Federation operates as a loose collection of royal merchant guilds unified in their shared positioning around the Musuran Line, the Zlathan cultural heritage and ties to The Seer Collective. They allied themselves along the Musuran Line, a Golden Road that traversed the Terminus and Pacifican systems. The royal merchant guilds within the government are paired with Seerist Augurs and preists.
The Moon Chamber is made up of the Seerist Augurs and planetary governors, called Boyars. How the Augurs and governors are chosen vary from system to system, Some are directly appointed others might be elected. Some Augurs are chosen through intensive rituals. They go through years of trials, under the tutelage of various different mentors, meant to teach them about the intricate internal politics of the Federation. Oftentimes, they strike their own bargains with the guilds, and while the guilds loathe the position of the Augurs, they know better than to try and challenge their authority. Not only do the working class citizenery look to the Augurs as "their" representation in the Federal Government, but their direct ties to the Seerist religious beliefs means there is a fervor to defend the Augurs' power.
The Boyars are usually elected, and appointed on a population scaled directly to the systems they represent. They are meant to represent the interest of the average Musuran citizen, though their voices are but just a drop in the oceans of wealth compared to the guilds. Often times boyars are propped up by favorite guilds, and help exert their power in the Moon Chamber. The Moon Chamber is made up of thousands of representatives, and handles the mundane day-to-day handling of governmental services that keeps the gears of industry turning.
This is done by the governors working directly alongside the highly influential seerist temples. On certain planets, like Zooma's World the seerists are the Boyars and the entire government, only paying a tithe to the greater federation and protection fees to the various guilds. The Guilds realize the importance of the Seerist and the Boyars for keeping the masses happy, though it does create friction throughout the Federation.
The Sun and the Moon
The Musurans operate under a federal constitution, under which organizes the Federation into two primary branches of government. The Chambers and the Courts. The chambers are the primary power of the government, holding power over the creation and enforcement of new laws. There are two chambers, the Sun Chamber and the Moon Chamber. The Sun Chamber is organized and maintained by the royal merchant guilds. Only the guilds can add magistrates to this guild, and positions are quiet literally bought by tithes paid to the federation. It is the Sun Chamber holds the power to elect the Czar, who serves as the supreme executive. The Czar is mostly a figurehead, but does control the united armed forces of the federation, and has the ability to call the banner companies in times of emergency. While both chambers can pass new laws, the Sun Chamber reserves the right to block new legislature with a simply majority. The Moon Chamber must unify two-thirds or the body to stop any legislature coming from the Sun House.Court Systems
The court of law is determined in three different systems of courts. The first is the highest level, and most heavy handed, the Federal Courts. These courts are made up of a series of locally elected judges, who then choose among their own to move up to the higher courts. The next two courts are relatively "equal" in power, but used for different cases. The Trade Courts are organized primarily by the guilds, and meant to solve disputes between guild entities. The Augur Courts are made up of Seerist priests who try to use their understanding of the paths of time to serve justice. These are the civil courts that the average denizen abides by. Both the Trade and Augur courts can ultimately defer to the federal courts if needed.Military
While the Musura federation does not have the same size of military apparatus of the Imperial Navy, or the specialized fighters of the Vanguard Revolutionary Forces, the forces they do have are by no means ineffective. Military forces are collected under the Federal Government, and is a slow moving bureaucratic system. The Chambers and the Czar are responsible for maintaining, funding, and training the Musuran Federal Navy. The Navy is mostly focused on logistical structure and defensive posturing in Musuran space. It is made up of volunteers and a managerial class of oppurtunists who seek growth outside of the guilds.
However, it is not the Musuran Navy that is their strongest military asset. Instead, it is the vast private armies and merchant fleets known as the Musuran Banner Companies. To be considered a banner company one must meet a handful of requirements, mostly set by the Federal Navy. These companies are highly diversified, and when they are not being used by the Federal Military, they are deployed as security assets (in a non-policing manner) for the guilds, or even as mercenary forces abroad. The companies are primarily made up of members of the Merchant Guild and former experienced naval forces.
Planetside, the companies are highly mechanized chassis based assault forces. For the most part, they operate as Guild Companies, and help defend guild interests across Federation territory. Each company gets their funding through the plethora of security contracts available. A handful are funded directly by the Seers.
In orbit, the Musuran Merchant Navy forms a bulwark of fearsome captains. They are allowed a set amount of armed starships that can be deployed across the Terminus Systems. Privateers are regularly given legalized protection in Musura for targeting rival merchants. Musuran Privateers regularly find themselves hunting down Zym Cartel runners, and taking Imperial ships for ransom during times of escalating aggressive political blustering from both sides. Regular merchant vessels are also permitted to be armed.
Together, they robust defensive force, that regularly makes gains in the Mid Rim against Imperial expansion, and protects its merchant fleets from regular piracy coming from Wild Space. They have their own set of specialized chassis, with designs purchased from both Smith-Shimano Corpo and Interplanetary Shipping - Northstar, and some they've developed on their own. They even are rurmored to have a mech designed inspired by HORUS.
Foreign Relations
The Musura Federation represents the third influence of great power within the Orion Arm. Because of their size, slow moving government, and bloated distribution of power and influence, the federation has never taken a definitive position towards either the Union of Socialist Systems or the Colonial Earth Empire. Instead, the guilds forge their own paths, opening trade up to all of the Orion Arm.
The closest allies to the Federation are is the Republican Remnant, who try to tote the line of a "gentle" capitalism, and hide behind the facade of free and open markets and free and open democracy. However, in practice the Federation has a habit of supporting far-right nationalist movements, like those in Arcadia. The guilds have a cautious relationship with the Zym Cartel, though they are probably the most ideologically similar.
Trade & Transport
The Federations economy is massive, rivaling the Union and Empire in its productive capacity. They deal regularly in consumer goods, professional white collar service industry, and highly specialized medical equipment. The culture of the Federation is also one of the most influential in the world, regularly drawing on not only their Zlathan heritage, but welcoming influences from the eclectic society they have built. The multi-cultural melting pot that is the Federation is a great boon as well, allowing the Musurans to blend the ideas and benefits of all manner of galactic peoples.
Founding Date
927 ME
Type
Geopolitical, State
Capital
Alternative Names
Guild Federation
Power Structure
Federation
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
