Congressional Republic of Orizont
The Congressional Republic of Orizont is a stratocratic republic, and the second largest state in the Outer Systems region by population, GDP, and controlled systems. Orizont's capital is the eponymous world of Orizont in the Mutenia system. It controls one other habitable world in the Ningxia system, Zhongning, which it annexed following the Tavastian War.
Orizont is nominally a representative democracy, but in the years following the Antimatter Crisis, it heavily militarised, and is now almost entirely controlled by its military, and has been described as a stratocratic republic or oligarchy. The CRO’s economy is focused mainly around extraction and the manufacturing of military products. Orizontan society is highly militarised, though the population enjoys relative personal freedom, and citizens have a modicum of political representation. While Orizont is a secular nation, a majority of its population are Christian, and it notably has a small minority of Entropy Cultists on Zhongning, who face persecution by the government.
Orizont has been engaged in a cold war with the Federal Republic of Zeta Tucanae since the end of the Tavastian War, as the two seek to influence the smaller star states in the region.
History
The Antimatter Crisis
Orizont was one of the more prosperous worlds in the Outer Systems prior to independence from the United Leagues of Earth, with a large population and plentiful spaceborne resources in its star system of Mutenia. During the Antimatter Crisis, Mutenia was almost completely cut off from the rest of human sapce, and thus Orizont's export-focused economy suffered greatly, while its people were largely unable to import many consumer goods for several years. Additionally, the regional defence fleet based in Luax was unable to reliably or quickly reach Mutenia, space nomads to raid the system almost completely unopposed. When Orizont was granted independence in 2515, the planetary government was extremely unstable, and lacked any viable means to maintain control over the Mutenia system as a whole. The economic issues were only worsened by Orizont's independence, and much of the planet's population turned against the government. By mid-2516, the congressional government under President Darius Vianu had lost control of most of Mutenia to pirates and nomads, while a rival planetary government had been set up in the city of New Oradea by a coalition of Marxists and Hedonist Entropy Cultists, under he newly-proclaimed Secretary General Phan Thanh Loan. Sporadic military clashes between Congress and the New Oradea government ocurred between 2516 and 2518, but by 2519, both sides agreed to an armistace, wanting to avoid an escalation to nuclear war. This state of cold war continued on the planet for several years, with neither side able to meaningfully harm the other, or able to establish a substantial space presence. In 2521, antimatter shipments from the ULE to Luax started up again, and the stellar government of Luax was able to permanently reopen the wormhole gateway between Mutenia and Luax. This improved the economic situation on Orizont to an extent, but trade was severely hampered by tolls collected by the pirates and nomads in control of much of Mutenian space. The situation deteriorated further when, seeking the wealth represented by large quantities of antimatter, the nomad warlord Ardager Serikov invaded Luax with a large fleet in 2523, quickly seizing control of the system. The following year, Serikov brought a taskforce through the gateway into Mutenia, subjugating or destroying most of the nomads and pirates in the system within six months. In early 2524, Serikov's fleet entered orbit of Orizont and demanded the submission of both the congressional government and the New Oradea government. When both refused, Serikov ordered a limited nuclear bombardment of the planet on the 10th of March, killing several million people. In response, the two Orizonter governments retaliated with their own nuclear arsenals, destroying as much as a third of Serikov's fleet, and forcing him to return to Luax to repair and reinforce. Attempting to make use of a brief window of respite, President Vianu contacted one of the larger nomad fleets in the system, led by Headman Thiudimir Neuer, seeking to hire their fleet to aid in the reunification of Orizont, and for defence against Serikov's forces. Neuer, who had just recently submitted to Serikov, agreed to Vianu's terms, and formally renounced Serikov's overlordship of his fleet. From May to September of 2524, Neuer's fleet systematically defeated the remaining forces loyal to Serikov in Mutenia. Beginning in October, the nomads assisted congressional forces with suborbital transportation and orbital bombardment, allowing them to retake several strategic islands and coastal cities on Orizont that had previously been unassailable due to a lack of aquatic naval assets.Serikov's Second Invasion
Serikov's forces had maintained control of the gateway to Luax during this time, and in January of 2525, he returned with a large force to retake Mutenia and besiege Orizont. Serikov faced only a token resistance as he retook outer Mutenia, and neared Orizont early in February. Neuer withdrew his smaller fleet to the opposite side of the planet as Serikov came within effective missile range, allowing him to enter a high orbit of the planet. Within half an hour of Serikov's force entering orbit on the 6th of February, a coordinated assault of surface-to-space weaponry and missiles from Neuer's ships (targeted using surface-based facilities) crippled or destroyed much of Serikov's fleet. This was followed up by coilgun and laser fire from Neuer's fleet as it orbited Orizont to engage Serikov's forces directly. Serikov's flagship was crippled in the first few minutes of the engagement, and his fleet's integrity quickly collapsed, resulting in an extremely one-sided battle. Only 6 of Serikov's 75 ships managed to flee back to Luax, and Serikov himself was captured following the battle, and summarily executed by vacuum exposure the following day. During the brief pause in planetary hostilities caused by Serikov's invasion, the New Oradea government began to disintegrate. Secretary General Phan was assassinated by political rivals on the 14th of January, likely due to her failure to defend against the congressional army's assaults. This resulted in an internal power struggle that continued for several months, severaly hampering the New Oradea government's ability to defend itself. Now able to turn their attention back to the civil war, the congressional government continued its advance across the planet on the 20th of February with the aid of Neuer's fleet, now increased in size from captured ships. On the 19th of June, what remained of the New Oradea government surrendered after congressional forces surrounded New Oradea itself, bringing an end to the civil war.Post-Civil War
Following the end of hostilities on Orizont, the congressional government began the process of rebuilding. However, with all immediate threats dealt with, questions began to be raised about the future of Orizonter democracy. Elections had not been held since before the Antimatter Crisis, and many within congress were now openly accusing President Vianu of dictatorship. These issues came to a head on the 2nd of Decemeber 2525, when 13 members of congress, led by Congresswoman Constanta Florea, attempted to stage a coup d'etat with the support of elements of the armed forces. The conspirators were quickly apprehended by security forces, and the rogue military units were forced to surrender after just three hours of low-intensity fighting around the senate building. It quickly became evident, however, that the attempted coup had considerable popular support when protest erupted across the planet, demanding the release of the 13 members of congress. On the 4th, Florea died in her cell, supposedly of suicide. Immediately accusations of assassination were levelled against President Vianu, and 26 of the remaining 80 members of congress resigned in protest. Meanwhile, the popular protests increased in intensity, and army units were deployed to several major cities to suppress the riots, resulting in as many as 100 civilian deaths that night. Vianu's position deteriorated further when the gateway to Luax was cut off as a result of the ongoing succession struggle in the system following the death of Headman Serikov. Fearing a return to the state of famine prior to 2521, several of the resigned members of congress pleaded with Headman Neuer to help them depose President Vianu and restore order to the planet. On the 5th, Neuer landed on Orizont with a large force of marines and stormed the senate building. Vianu and several members of congress were killed in the ensuing firefight, and Neuer was left in control of the senate.The Headmanate
Neuer released the 12 surviving conspirators from prison, and invited the 26 resigned members of congress to return to their former seats. Several members of congress who had been loyal to Vianu were imprisoned, but most others retained their positions in government. Neuer, bypassing Orizont's legal processes, immediately called for a congressional election to be held the following week. He personally nominated Brigadier General Iuliu Groza, the war hero responsible for encircling New Oradea, as the sole official candidate for the presidency. Groza was elected president with 87% of the vote on the 12th, and many military officers won seats in congress, possibly as a result of intimidation of voters by abusing the state of martial law declared by Vianu on the 2nd. Though Congress, headed by President Groza, was nominally still in charge of Orizont, Headman Neuer was now effectively dictator. His fleet occupied most of Mutenia and controlled Orizont's logistics, the president and many members of Congress were loyal to him, and his personal marines controlled the senate building. Despite his undemocratic actions, Neuer also remained extremely popular on Orizont due to his role in defeating Serikov's nomads, ending the civil war, and overthrowing President Vianu. Although existing institutions were largely maintained, this marked the beginning of the militarisation of Orizont's political structure, under the supervision of what was now the largest space nomad Headmanate in the outer Systems. Neuer's fleet, now essentially acting as the navy of Orizont, was able to import some basic necessities via jump drive while the Luax gateway remained inoperative, but Orizont's population continued to suffer. In mid-2526, the ULE sent an expeditionary force to intervene in Luax, ousting the remaining nomads and returning control of the system to the civilian government. This allowed the Luax-Mutenia gateway to be reopened, but was also cause for concern for Orizont's new leadership. Wishing to avoid a similar anti-nomad intervention in Mutenia, Headman Neuer sent numerous diplomatic missions to Earth, and President Groza promised that elections would continue to be held on a regular basis. Neuer, having recieved a broad education in Epsilon Eridani in his youth, was also able to enact several economic reforms, to varying degrees of success. He initially encouraged inter-system trade, but as Mutenia and Orizotn began to recover in the 2530s, he convinced Congress to invest heavily in space mining, agriculture, and domestic industry - particularly military industries. This was one of the earliest cases of the implementation of Stellar Autarky, a theory which Neuer likely learned about during his education in the ULE. These programs ensured that Orizont would remain largely self-sufficient, but also likely hampered its economic growth and slowed its recovery compared to states that encouraged free trade around this time, such as Zeta Tucanae. Military reforms during the 2530s and 2540s saw the integration of the nomad fleet with Orizont's Congressional Defence Forces. At first, nomad ships began to be equipped with more advanced systems, requiring Orizonter crews to maintain and operate them aboard nomad ships. Over time, and as new ships were built in the 40s, the lines between the new Congressional Navy and the nomad fleet were slowly blurred, until in 2547, the fleet was formally absorbed into the navy. The Headmanate period also, notably, saw the development of the stratocratic political institutions that would define Orizont in the decades to come. As Congress was dominated by current and former members of the military following the civil war, President Groza was able to implement reforms to maintain the military's role in government. After being re-elected in 2528, he introduced a bill to Congress that would require all candidates for election to political office to be approved Congress (or other levels of government, depending on the office in question). The bill passed 89-4, and from then on, virtually all representatives in the Congressional Republic have been current or former members of the Congressional Defence Forces, as only a handful of civilians have been approved for candidacy.Post-Headmanate
In 2547, Headman Neuer died from complications related to radiation exposure, at the age of 81. His fleet was shortly thereafter formally absorbed into the Congressional Navy, and President Groza, who by this point had been re-elected seven times, became the sole leader of Orizont. Many believed that Neuer's large-scale military buildup was the prelude to a massive compaign of conquest throughout the Outer Systems, but Groza seemingly had no such plans. He scaled back military expansion considerably, and instead shifted the focus of the Congressional Defence Forces to anti-piracy duty in Mutenia and neighbouring systems. He negotiated treaties with many other star states to, amongst other terms, allow the large Orizonter Navy to hunt down pirates and nomad raiders in their territories. This began to turn Orizont into a dominant political force in the region in addition to a military one, with considerable influence over much of the Outer Systems.The First Cold War
Orizont's sudden rise to geopolitical relevence alarmed the region's other major powers, notably Zeta Tucanae and Tavastia. Thus, during the 2550s, a three-way cold war began between the democratic FRZT, the dictatorial Tavastia, and the Stratocratic Orizont. War nearly broke out early on in this struggle, when in 2552, the ULE expeditionary pulled out of Luax. Each major power wished to sieze control of the system for themselves, but none had a clear military advantage over the others. The FRZT had the largest fleet, but also the most systems to defend, while Tavastia's fleet was the smallest, but also the most technologically advanced, and Orizont's navy was the most experienced, but lacked economic backing for an extended war. Ultimately, the crisis was averted when the ULE mandated the closure of the coveted Luax antimatter production facilities, arranged antimatter export deals with Tavastia and Orizont, and allowed the FRZT to begin producing its own antimatter. The cold war continued throughout the 2560s and 2570s, with a major disruption ocurring in 2576, when the United Leagues of Earth sent a large fleet to overthrow the Tavastian government in the wake of civil unrest against the dictatorship. The civil war that followed the ULE's sudden withdrawl from Tavastia in 2577 quickly became the main proxy war of the now two-way cold war between Zeta Tucanae and Orizont. Both Zeta Tucanae and Orizont supported multiple factions, including several Entropy Cults. This backfired when, in 2579, the two largest Entropy Cults, which had previously been in conflict, united into a single Tavastian Entropy Cult. By late 2580, this Cult had taken control of most of the planet, and was no longer under the influence of either major power.The Tavastian War
Beginning in 2585, Tavastia, now firmly under the control of the Tavastian Entropy Cult, began a series of military offensives against neighbouring star states, beginning the Tavastian War. While Orizont was not initially involved in the conflict, it covertly supported partisan forces in Tavastian-occupied space following the fall of Zhongning. In 2587, Tavastian forces invaded Orizonter space, forcing Orizont to enter the war, and join with their Tucanite rivals in a coalition to combat their common enemy. In January of 2588, Tavastian forces reached orbit of Orizont itself, but were repulsed in a pitched battle. Orizont had developed a new form of magnetic deflector to counteract the advanced Tavastian laser weapons, and had managed to break into the Tavastian navy's communication network, granting them two major advantages. Additionally, the commander of the Tavastian fleet retreated from the Mutenia System following the destruction of the Tavastian vanguard, meaning that the bulk of the invading force never engaged the Orizonter defenders. It is unknown what became of the Tavastian fleet following its jump out of the Mutenia System, but most experts believe it suffered a catastrophic navigation failure and was destroyed. Following the Battle of Orizont, Tavastian forces were pushed back on all fronts by the coalition, and Tavastia Prime itself was invaded in December 2588. The war only ended in June of 2589, when a military coup d'etat overthrew the Tavastian government, which had allegedly been preparing to devastate the entire planet with nuclear weapons. Following the War, Tavastia Prime was occupied by the coalition, with forces from each member occupying part of the planet. Additionally, the Ningxia System was annexed by Orizont, whose forces had liberated it, after a referrendum of questionable legitimacy.The Second Cold War
Following the downfall of Tavastia, Orizont and Zeta Tucanae emerged as the two dominant powers in the Outer Systems, beginning a new phase in the ongoing cold war. Both powers have spent the years since the war attempting to influence the smaller star states and bring them into their respective spheres of control, hoping to gain dominance in the region., as well as promote their preferred political systems. Orizont promotes Stratocracy - a government dominated by the military - while Zeta Tucanae promotes Federalism - centralised, democratic cvilian governance. Many of the star states reject both poles, however, instead preferring the ideology of Devolutionism, which promotes minimal, decentralised civilian government, democratic or otherwise.
Founding Date
2515
Type
Geopolitical, Country
Capital
Demonym
Orizonter
Government System
Stratocracy
Power Structure
Unitary state
Economic System
Mixed economy
Neighboring Nations
Stratocratic
Genetic Manipulation
State-Controlled
Cybernetics
State-Controlled
Inter-Sapience Relations
Unstated View
Ideological Similarities
Morobe and Orizont have similar political systems, but Morobe remains neutral in the Cold War.
Friendly Relations
Despite ideological differences, Orizont and Aeneas enjoy good relations due to their mutual dislike of Avastus.
Unfriendly Relations
Orizont disapproves of Avastus' neutrality in the Tavastian War, and its alliance with Zeta Tucanae.
Cold War
Orizont and Zeta Tucanae vie for control over the star states between them.
Persecution
The government of Orizont violently represses all forms of entropy worship.
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