Racial History: As the name implies, the ISC is a large aggregation of “independent” nations united under a single “democratic” government in a “free” and “egalitarian” society. While the name may imply such grandeur, the reality of the ISC is a far cry from independent, democratic, or free. In truth, the ISC is a vast monarchical imperium, dominated by a species of long lived feline humanoids called the Vit’azny, and ruled absolutely by Catherine, the Imperial Queen.

The Commonwealth is a younger nation, at least compared to some of the antiquated species clinging to the scraps of their former glory around the galaxy. The Vit’azny are also a young species full of pride and ambition. Other members of the Commonwealth vary in age; some species were pre-FTL when they joined, others were the remnants of once great empires. Regardless of age or stature, they now bend knee to Her Imperial Majesty, Catherine.

The Vit’azny have been a spacefaring civilization for a little less than 600 years. They set out from their homeworld of Praetoria and began rapidly expanding to accommodate their swelling population. Historically, they have never shied away from warfare, though they are pragmatic above all else and understand the usefulness of diplomacy. First contact with another alien race, the snake-like Yanissans, quickly devolved into war. The Vit’azny eventually prevailed, and the Yanissans were annexed as subjects.This happened again with another race, the brutish Szitzu. Neither species were happy as subjects, and rebellions rapidly become a problem for the Vit’azny overlords. 499 years ago, they developed a solution: the Imperial Systems Commonwealth. The governments of the Szitzu and Yanissans were restored, and they agreed to the formation of the Parliament of the Sovereign Reich and the other institutions of the Commonwealth. The ISC has been rapidly expanding ever since.

Racial Culture: Society
Oddly enough, the Commonwealth is perhaps the most racially diverse government in the known worlds, with citizens from over 40 different species composing almost half the Commonwealth’s population. Sadly, most of them are treated as second class citizens by the dominant Vit’azny, who form a very distinct upper class within the Commonwealth. Almost all high level positions in government, military, or the corporate sector are held by Vit’azny.

Life in the Commonwealth is actually quite pleasant for Vit’azny and other species alike. The Imperial Government maintains a large number of social programs to foster growth and development. Citizens of member species enjoy access to free universal healthcare, free secondary education, heavily subsidized post-secondary education, a decent amount of personal rights and freedoms, unemployment insurance, fair taxation, a fair minimum wage, democratic representation in government, a degree of self governance and independence, and imperial funding for a number of industries. These benefits are something of a trap; they encourage many species to join the Commonwealth, not realizing they will be neither full members nor citizens immediately upon joining. In war, the ISC maintains a policy of always offering membership to their enemies. Many species over the years have decided to join rather than be exterminated. Even some species who could have won the conflict sought a quicker diplomatic end to war and accepted the offer, a decision most have come to regret.

Citizenship is a very important part of Commonwealth society. Being a citizen grants an individual access to all the Commonwealth’s benefits, as well as all its rights and freedoms. Citizens can also move freely from world to world, vote in elections, and apply to present a petition in the Royal Court. Non-citizens have none of these privileges; for them, life can be very hard. There are two ways to gain citizenship: money, or service. An applicant for citizenship must take three different tests: a generalized aptitude test, a specialized IQ test, and finally a citizenship test. While citizenship itself is free and the tests are not particularly difficult, the fees for taking each of the three tests are enormous. This means only wealthy non-citizens can take this route. Children of citizens gain access to citizen privileges via their parents until the reach the age of majority for their species, at which point they must obtain citizenship for themselves. It is common for parents to pay the fees for their children; many banks in the Commonwealth offer services to help citizens with children save up for the admission process, much like a college fund.

The other way to gain citizenship is through service; either to the Royal Armed Forces of the Commonwealth, or to the Imperial Directorate. Both routes skip the usual testing procedures entirely; simply serve for the allotted time, and be granted citizenship. The RAFC will take almost anyone, but is notoriously willing to throw away the lives of non-commissioned soldiers, so the challenge there is living long enough to gain citizenship or get promoted. The Imperial Directorate, in its never-ending quest to find intelligent individuals to help run the Commonwealth, has its own application process, which involves difficult aptitude tests and a number of exams and interviews. However, the Imperial Directorate is not just a quick way to gain citizenship, but also an extremely prestigious career that an individual could happily remain in for life. A third option is sometimes available; the Commonwealth sometimes has colonization drives to settle new colonies or Verge worlds, and offer citizenship to anyone who volunteers after they have lived on the target planet for a set number of years.

Vit’azny culture is strongly embedded with honour and military tradition. While not precisely a militaristic people, the Vit’azny don’t have any particular qualms about getting involved in conflicts, when it is necessary. War, of course, brings honour and glory to those with enough guts to seize them. Anything other than steadfast and heartfelt support of the military during wartime is considered borderline sedition. The culture of the Commonwealth in a larger sense is fairly difficult to pin down. Each member species brings elements of their own culture with them, so where a given species if more concentrated, their culture is more prevalent.

The Commonwealth does have a state religion, which the Vit’azny are quite fervent about. The enthusiasm of the rest of the Commonwealth varies widely. Their faith revolves around a pantheon of 7 gods: chief among them is Llyena, Goddess of Victory and Justice, from whom the Imperial Queen takes her authority. The others are Ichael, God of Life and Death; Arctus, God of Chaos and Destruction; Nezia, Goddess of Thought and Reason; Lexus, God of Order and Industry; Cyris, Goddess of Sight and Time; and Shakras the Lost, God of Secrets, the Unknown, and the Void. While Llyena is chief among the deities, different species in the Commonwealth honour others above her. The sly, snakelike Yanissans, for example, tend to favor Shakras the Lost, while the brutish Szitzu favor Arctus. Different planets, or even individuals of specific occupations will favor some gods over others; doctors might prey for Ichael’s left hand to guide them; the mandates of the Imperial Directorate are stamped with Lexus’s seal; some soldiers might pray to Llyena for victory, while others might pray to Arctus to grant them his battle fury. It is a faith as diverse as the Commonwealth itself.

Government

The governmental apparatus of the Commonwealth is an intricate one. Though an Empire in practice, the Commonwealth pretends to be something else entirely.

There are three main bodies to the Commonwealth’s government: The Parliament of the Sovereign Reich, the Imperial Directorate of the Commonwealth, and Her Majesty’s Imperial Court.. The Parliament of the Sovereign Reich is the official government of the Commonwealth. It is composed of 1021 elected representatives who are affiliated with assorted political parties. The party with the most seats after an election composes Her Imperial Majesty’s Government, and the leader of that party becomes Lord Chancellor. He in turn appoints assorted ministers to compose the cabinet. The parliament functions as most parliaments do: bills are presented, voted on, debated, voted on again, and so forth. The Parliament of the Sovereign Reich is responsible for issues affecting the whole of the Commonwealth, with regional authority being granted to smaller legislative assemblies, or the existing governments of member species. The authority of parliament is absolute, and the Imperial Queen is not directly involved in its functioning, though she may appoint heads of committees and task forces. There is an exception, however: Royal Mandates. The Imperial Queen may issue a Royal Mandate at any time, on any subject she deems suitable. A Royal Mandate skips all the debate and voting; in this, the Imperial Queen’s word is law. However, Royal Mandates are a touchy subject: a ruler that uses them too freely to abuse their authority over parliament often finds that their Mandates take a very long time to be implemented, often poorly. On the flipside, Prime Ministers who steadfastly refuse to bow to the ruler’s authority often find themselves in front of parliamentary committees on charges of Contempt of Parliament.

The Imperial Directorate of the Commonwealth is the vast bureaucracy that keeps the trains running on time. From the wealthiest Core world to the most desolate colony, the Imperial Directorate’s deft touch can be seen at work. It consists of a large number of ministries, departments, bureau’s, agencies and crown corporations, all arranged into a maze of regulations and red tape. The most important entities of the Directorate are the cabinet ministries, which are the ministries where the politician in charge is a member of cabinet. There are 12 cabinet ministries, and they cover the most important issues of the Commonwealth, such as defence, finance, and colonial affairs.. A large number of lesser ministries exist, covering more specific areas. Some ministries only operate in certain areas of the Commonwealth; the Ministry of Environment, for example, has absolutely no use in the colonies, but is enormously important in the Core worlds. Similarly, the Ministry of Civil Order is unnecessary in the Core, but plays an important role in oppressing the rebellious colonies. There are also a vast number of agencies that do everything from maintain hyperspace beacons to collect taxes. The Directorate can also be used as something of a political scapegoat if necessary. Ministers, the Lord Chancellor, even the Imperial Queen have been known to redirect blame into the faceless mass of the Directorate on occasion.

This brings us to the final entity of the Commonwealth’s government: the Royal Court. The Commonwealth retains a system of landed nobility, which inevitably leads to endless powerplay games in court as nobles vie with eachother for the Imperial Queen’s favour, which brings with it more titles, powerful appointments in the government, or postings as governor of particularly wealthy colonial territories. But, what the Imperial Queen gives, she can take, so avoiding her displeasure is equally important. As a result, court is awash with intrigue, plots, and scandal.

The Known Worlds

There are many worlds in the Commonwealth, but not all are equal. Some are outrageously wealthy, some are desperately poor; different species dominate different worlds; some praise the Imperial Queen with every breath, some curse her name in the streets. The disparity is astonishing. The worlds of the Commonwealth are classified into one of four categories: Core worlds, Constituent worlds, Colonial worlds, and Verge worlds.

The Core worlds are the original Vit’azny colonies and a small number of worlds of some of the ISC’s oldest “members”. The vast majority of the Commonwealth’s wealth is concentrated on these worlds. In fact, money is the only real industry of the Core worlds. Almost all food and manufactured goods are imported from the Constituents and the Colonies, with the exception of some ultra-high end luxury goods. Any respectable company maintains its corporate headquarters on one of the Core worlds, with some exceptions. Money is the biggest industry of the Core worlds, with countless financial service providers and stock exchanges dominating the economy. Core worlds tend to be heavily populated; on average, about 70% of a Core world’s landmass is covered by gleaming cities. The majority of the population is inevitably Vit’azny, and poverty is virtually nonexistent on these worlds. While one would expect a society as lopsided as the Commonwealth’s would pass off the burden of taxation to its helpless colonies and let the Core Worlds amass their fortunes, this is not the case.The Commonwealth in fact maintains a sophisticated taxation system with multiple income brackets where the highest bracket pays the most taxes. Through this system, the Core worlds actually provide the majority of the Commonwealth’s tax income. Aspects of the Commonwealth such as the taxation system and the Parliament of the Sovereign Reich have convinced many species to join the Commonwealth over the years. By the time they discover some of the ‘conditions’ attached to membership, it is too late.

The Constituent worlds are the backbone of the Commonwealth. They include newer Vit’azny colonies, a large number of Commonwealth colonies, and the worlds of moderately respected member nations. The Constituent worlds are much less homogeneous than the Core worlds: some are richer, some less so, and even on a given planet there is a wide margin between the wealthy and the poor. A given planet, or even a given city on that planet, will have affluent communities and slums alike. Like the Commonwealth as a whole, the Vit’azny and a number of the older member species form the elite, with a healthy spattering of individuals from all kinds of species who happened to do very well for themselves. Constituent worlds are ruled by either Imperial Legislatures of the Commonwealth (in the case of colonies founded by the Commonwealth as a whole) or by existing governments (in the case of colonies established by individual members). Constituent worlds have full member status in the Commonwealth; citizens may vote in imperial and regional elections; while the world itself has high degree of self governance, can apply for subsidies from the Imperial Treasury, and has a number of other advantages. Constituent status is essentially citizenship for a planet, though individuals on the planet still have to adhere to normal citizenship procedures. The Constituent worlds are the primary manufacturing and processing centres of the Commonwealth. While the Core worlds’ only industry is money and the Colonies tend to only provide raw materials and cheap labour, Constituent industry does a bit of everything; large scale mining, agriculture, the production of consumer goods, starship construction, and all the financial and legal services that such industries need. It is all jumbled together in a free market economy that powers the massive industrial capabilities of the Commonwealth.

Colonial worlds are tragic monuments to the lies, oppression, and broken promises of the Commonwealth. They are the worlds of new or reluctant member species, and by the strictures of the Colonization act, these worlds are not technically members of the Commonwealth, but are instead subjects. Most Colonial worlds are desperately poor and underdeveloped, even if they were originally quite advanced. Many species join the Commonwealth with the understanding that they will enjoy all its benefits; citizenship, representation in Parliament, a degree of self-government, fair taxation, security, universal healthcare, subsidization, free education etc. Unfortunately, the Colonization act decrees that all newly added worlds are considered colonial holdings, and are under the direct authority of her Imperial Majesty, not the Parliament of the Sovereign Reich. This means they are not eligible for any of the Commonwealth’s social programs, nor do they have any representation in Parliament. They are not ruled by legislative assemblies, but instead by Colonial Governors, who are appointed by the Imperial Queen at the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor. Few people are citizens on Colonial Worlds; only the Vit’azn dominated elite, who take ownership of any industry or natural resources on the planet and employ the locals as ultra-cheap labour. Slavery is illegal throughout the Commonwealth, but with no minimum wage or labour rights for non-citizens, colonial labourers can be paid almost nothing. Some landowners elect to provide food, clothing, and shelter for their employees and then pay them nothing at all, reasoning that room and board are taken from their pay, and the rest goes to taxes. Colonial Worlds are subject to the same fair taxation system as the rest of the Commonwealth, but it is not taxes that leave them in poverty. A clause of the Colonization act permits the Commonwealth to seize any assets it deems necessary from Colonial worlds and their inhabitants. Money, goods, resources, land, businesses, even people; all can be seized and repossessed by the crown, or given to a favored citizen. The exploitation and lack of support causes technological regression on many worlds; it is not uncommon to see vehicles with internal combustion engines on Colonial worlds, and even horses in extreme cases. Colonial worlds are often quite rebellious during the early years of their integration, but the Commonwealth is always quick to brutally repress such uprisings. The brutality they employ deters further uprisings, but it is the hope of citizenship, or even becoming a Constituent world, that ultimately keeps the colonies in line. Unlike citizenship, there is no specific criteria for a Colonial world to gain Constituent status and full membership; it is simply granted at the discretion of the governor and the Imperial Queen, again with the advice of the Lord Chancellor. This means a world might easily wait 15 years or 50, or even 500. The Imperial Queen usually tries to grant Constituent status to at least one colony per decade, in order to keep other colonies hopeful and obedient. This process is always accompanied by a grand ceremony where the Imperial Queen herself visits the new Constituent world, relieves the planetary governor, and validates its new government, while the Commonwealth holds a colonization drive to boost the world’s population and showers it with money and resources. A three-day festival is held to celebrate the change in status, and the day of the ceremony becomes a statutory holiday for that world. Some Colonial worlds, however, are so remote, poor, or useless that they will likely never be granted Constituent status. A few of the extreme cases have even been largely forgotten by the Commonwealth and the crown, and the inhabitants have in turn forgotten the Commonwealth.

Verge worlds are planets on the very edge of Commonwealth space. Their categorization has more to do with their location than their membership status. They are not grossly exploited like colonial worlds, nor are they pampered like Core worlds. They are ruled by military governors, and all have a heavy military presence due to their location on the borders of Commonwealth space. Some few are actually quite wealthy and heavily populated, almost as much as a core world. Most others are significantly less so. They’re populated by a wide array of people: military personnel, hopeless colonials seeking citizenship, prospectors seeking riches, wealthy citizens with a taste for adventure, convicts in forced relocation programs, and so on. Their purpose is to guard the borders of the commonwealth, anything else is secondary. Verge worlds usually have extremely diverse populations and much more relaxed culture, and social status is not considered as important. The military often provides some of the benefits that the imperial government would elsewhere, so the populace is not as desperate for citizenship as on other worlds. This much freer society makes them places of opportunity. Historically, some of the Commonwealth’s most successful corporations were started on Verge worlds, though some say that’s only propaganda. Regardless, Verge worlds are better places to live than many Colonial worlds, and even the slums on poorer Constituent worlds.

Military:
Royal Armed Forces of the Commonwealth

The Commonwealth’s military, especially the navy, is very highly regarded amongst the populace. This pride, a healthy amount of pressganging, and the promise of citizenship results in a higher than average service rate. Military service is considered to be very honourable and prestigious; even the wealthiest of the nobility serve at some point in their lives, indeed some of them attained their lofty positions through that service. The RAFC prides itself on being a meritocracy where skill is what matters, not species or social status. This is mostly true, though some individual Vit’azny officers act otherwise. For the most part, however, the RAFC can bring one great fame and fortune; both the army and navy offer prize money for captured enemy equipment, as well as generous pensions for officers. The RAFC highly values even the most junior of its officers, including warrant officers. The enlisted men, however, may as well be cannon fodder, though this sentiment is not obvious. The official explanation for the high death rates among enlisted men is that they are over-eager to prove themselves, and so take unnecessary risks.

The Royal Commonwealth Navy

The RCN is an old institute that dates back to when ships sailed the seas instead of the stars. The Vit’azny saw no need to create a separate organization when space flight began, and the RCN simply assumed responsibility of military endeavours in space. The RCN remains convinced that the good old fashioned broadside is the best way to win any fight, though the range of these broadsides has increased significantly since the marine days of the RCN.
As a result, Commonwealth ships tend to be tall and thin, with super-heavy positron beam turrets on their dorsal and ventral surfaces. The sides of the ships carry the majority of the broadside armament, which consists of multiple missile tubes and medium-calibre railgun batteries. Flak systems and point defence lasers are scattered across the ship. Additionally, most Commonwealth ships are equipped with axial mounted weapons: older ships use supersized MAC guns, while many newer designs use massive superlasers. This configuration reflects the RCN’s current tactical doctrine. A given RCN ship is designed to be able to approach an enemy ship, firing with their positron turrets, axial weapons, and missile batteries at a target in front of them. Once the opening salvo has been fired, the ship turns to present its broadside, allowing all its positron turrets and broadside weapons to open fire. The relentless pounding of barrages of railgun rounds is meant to pummel away shields, while the positron cannons are meant to sear through armor. Missiles can be equipped with a variety of warheads, making them suitable for either purpose. For fleet engagements, the RCN’s most common tactic is to have ships form into a wall formation, each ship presenting their broadside to the enemy for devastating effect. Since space is a 3-dimensional place, the wall formation often ends up being adjusted to a sort of semi-spherical formation, which ships altering their broadside angles slightly to fire on targets approaching from any vector. This formation is often deployed to form a defensive screen for Commonwealth Star Carriers as they unleash their hordes of strike craft from the safety of the centre of the formation.

Fleet:

Valiant-class Battleship (3)
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Slow, heavily armored and shielded, and packed to the brim with weapons, the Valiant is a rapidly aging but extremely dependable class of ship. The Valiant is designed in accordance with older RCN doctrine and is equipped with 6 quad-barreled super heavy positron beam turrets. Its age means that it is equipped with a massive axial mounted MAC gun rather than an axial superlaser. Compared to newer designs, the Valiant has fewer broadside railgun batteries and missile racks, but carries a large number of fighter craft into battle and possesses extensive command and control facilities. Combined with their extreme survivability, the Valiant is often the command ship of choice in a fleet.

Magnificent-class Heavy Battlecruiser (4)
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The Magnificent is part of a new line of warships being introduced into the RCN fleets, and its design is reflective of that. While smaller and faster than the Valiant class, it is not as well defended. The Magnificent mounts an axial superlaser, and 5 triple barreled-heavy positron beam turrets. It has a denser array of broadside weaponry, including a higher than average number of heavy missile tubes, at the expense of reduced hangar space. The Magnificent is something of a miniature Victory-class dreadnought: all firepower, with only a token force of interceptors for its own protection. In battle, the Magnificent relies on its superior speed to avoid the firepower of larger ships.

Reliant-Class Battlecruiser (5)
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Truly a jack of all trades, the Reliant forms the backbone of RCN operations. The smaller sister-ship to the Valiant class, the Reliant packs 4 quad-barreled heavy positron beam turrets, a respectable broadside, sizeable hangars, and as of its most recent retrofit, an axial superlaser. The Reliant also has excellent C&C capabilities, sophisticated scientific labs, spacious quarters for diplomats and foreign dignitaries, and advanced sensor arrays. Basically, the Reliant is the Commonwealth’s go-to multi-role ship, and is well suited to a wide array of missions as well as being formidable in combat. It’s extensive use and versatility have made it an icon of Commonwealth naval power.

Imperial-class Destroyer (6)
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The Imperial class is another new innovation from the RCN. While the role of the Destroyer has always been to bring heavy firepower to bear on a small frame, the Imperial takes this philosophy to the extreme, doing away with fighter craft entirely and maintaining only the minimum hangar facilities necessary for personnel transfer and cargo loading. The Imperial brings 3 triple-barreled heavy positron turrets and a formidable broadside to battle, and can easily dispatch of cruisers on its own or group with other destroyers to attack larger targets.

Resolute-class Heavy Cruiser (7)
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The oldest class of ship currently in service, the Resolute class is pretty standard as Commonwealth ships go. Essentially a larger, better defended and older Vigilance-class, the Resolute posesses greater broadside firepower and larger hangars. It is equipped with 3 quad-barreled medium positron turrets and an axial MAC gun.

Vigilance-class Cruiser (8)
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The Vigilance-class is the workhorse of the Commonwealth fleets. In any given situation, a Vigilance class cruiser will likely be the first ship on the scene. It is heavily armed, well defended, and fast enough to be useful for long range scouting, dangerous patrols, escort duty, and exploration, all while being able to take its place in the line (technically a semisphere) of battle. The Vigilance carries 3 quad-barreled medium positron turrets and an axial superlaser, though its broadside is less formidable than that of the Resolute. The Vigilance is also the smallest Commonwealth vessel to carry a fighter craft, and only supports a few of them.

Endeavour-class Assault Frigate (15)
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A fairly typical class of ship, the Endeavour wields 2 tripe-barreled medium positron turrets and the smallest axial superlaser in the Commonwealth, with a fairly typical broadside. In the line of battle, the Endeavour generally serves as an escort for larger vessels.

Warrior-class Frigate (30)
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The Warrior class is a little more versatile than the larger Endeavour class, and sees heavy use all across the Commonwealth, performing surveys, patrolling shipping lanes, chasing down pirates and escorting low-importance targets. The Warrior carries 3 quad-barreled light positron turrets, a small axial MAC gun, and a light broadside loadout, and is used all across the Known Worlds for a variety of purposes. In battle, it joins the Endeavour in supporting larger ships.

Striker-class Corvette (60)
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Corvettes are a newer concept for the RCN, and the Striker class is only the second vessel to be designed and implemented in that role. The Striker is a brand new design, only just fully integrated into the RCN. The only Commonwealth ship designed to have its firepower aligned towards the bow, the Striker is meant to race around the battlefield wreaking havoc with its 3 double-barreled ultra-light positron cannons, light missile tubes, and axial mounted medium positron cannon. It has no broadside railguns to speak of, and can reach astonishingly high speeds. Strikers operate well in groups, and underestimating these small ships would be a foolish mistake.

Capitol: CSC Australasia, a Praetoria-class Commonwealth Star Carrier (1)
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The Praetoria-class Commonwealth Star Carrier is the pinnacle of Commonwealth technology and engineering. Though CSC’s have been in service for a while, they are refitted into dreadnoughts or battleships when a new class of CSC is developped. There are 8 Praetoria-class CSC’s in operation throughout the Commonwealth, with several more under construction. The star carrier assigned to the Australasia expeditions was renamed CSC Australasia, to celebrate the opportunities the new colony represents (it was previously the CSC Bradenburg). Commonwealth Star Carriers serve as flagships and centerpieces to the Commonwealth fleets, and have a number of variations compared to most Commonwealth ships. While the Praetoria class has a massive broadside, countless missiles, and 12 quad-barrelled super-heavy proton turrets, it is not designed to operate independently. CSC’s in general are designed without axial weapons, since they are usually too deeply placed in the fleet to make use of such weapons. Instead of axial weapons, the Praetoria-class has extensive hangar facilities, permitting it to launch a massive number of fighter craft onto the the battlefield.