PACT NOTES 1
Hey guys, this is the first of many(I am sure) of what I am calling “Pact Notes”, a series of letters/notes and other errata to keep you informed of what is happening within the Pact. Pact Notes will feature stories from yours truly and YOU! Also, tech data and rules will be featured in the Notes, as well as summaries and other goodies. Enjoy!
TRANTOR
Trantor, megaplanet, Jewel of the Pact. With it's one trillion inhabitants, Trantor is the largest producer of goods and services within the Pact's 4,000 worlds. Appointed directly by the High Secretary, the governorship is currently held by Bett Farrel, member of the wealthy and influential Farrel family. The Governing Council helps Mrs. Farrel runs the planet and all ten members represent nearly one hundred billion citizens within his or her region. Unlike other Governors (and considering Trantors’ strategic importance), Governor Farrel only runs that planet and no other world. Political analysts have noted that whoever ran Trantor was the second most powerful individual in the Pact (after the High Secretary) and that is why the Governorship is limited to just that single world. A glittering gem in the darkness of the cosmos, Trantor is also the site of the famous Reagan Research Center and lately unsubstantiated rumors of military breakthroughs at RRC in the area of missile mechanics and fighter launchers have been circulating. The RRC is also famed for it's most recent invention of capital forcebeams and advanced gun missile launchers. Although it has never been in danger from an outside force, Trantor has the largest Skywatch within Pact space, with over forty fortresses. It's Achilles heel, of course, is it's reliance upon sixteen different farming worlds to supply it's food needs. Trantor is surrounded by Samont, Maui, and Qasr Bani Clusters and has excellent relations with those districts.
ALIENS
“What shall we say about these alien…creatures? They don't look like us, smell like us, or act like us. These aliens will never look out for out interests. Humans First is the only answer. We shall keep them down, keep them on their homeworlds and give them no opportunity to colonize, and let them hold no offices in government.” Former High Secretary Ian MacDonald III, 4,970 AD.
As per the orders of the 440th High Secretary, alien beings have little or no place within the Pact. Heavily burdened by vitriolic taxation, these beings are definitely second-class citizens, with few rights. In keeping the technological innovation low, the Pact has denied itself of substantial revenue, but the determination of government officials to keep the local alien population from becoming dangerous competitors is a primary government function.
Human-first thinking is the norm for most humans within the Pact. Any human showing favoritism to any alien is derided, demonized, and/or demoted. Humanism, in the Pact, has become human supremacy, and outright racism.
NEW TECHNOLOGIES
With the advent of better technological growth the High Secretary, with the acquiescence of the Senate, declined to refit the Fleet with the most recent costly hardware upgrades. The end result is that the Pact's military forces are not equipped with composite armor, improved multiplex tracking, or capital energy beams. Possibly a fatal flaw in the Senate's decision, it was thought that the mostly peaceful alien relations on the borders was an acceptable reason to delay the expenditures, to the Pact's eventual dismay.
CARRIERS
The largest foreign power on the Pact's border is the Holot Empire, with whom the Pact has fought four major conflicts. Forty-four years ago the Pact signed the Washington Naval Treaty, in which both the Pact and the Empire scrapped their primary offensive striking force: their carriers. Faced with a ruinous military build-up, the former High Secretary opted to engage the Holot's in substantive negotiations, which achieved a major breakthrough. Although the Pact's Admirals' howled, resulting in the abortive Revolt of the Admirals, the treaty was signed and went into effect and the warships were forcibly scrapped. Thus no Depot, Naval Base, or Fleet has standing carrier units.
PACT ERRATA
Notes about the Pact
*“The Pact stopped expanding hundreds of years ago. Entire Clusters have slipped outside of Pact rule. Multi-planet conglomerations, corporate combines, and aliens are all vying for power. In a few hundred years, a thousand at most, the Pact will collapse into anarchy. The Pact can be saved, if we have the courage to do so, “ Prof. Marcus Wainwright IV (Cordoba University psycho historian, planet Cleveland).
*Refusal to comply with an Imperial Decree, any Imperial Decree, is treason.
*Each Naval Base was designed as a Cluster Repair and Resupply Center. Naval bases have the cyber capability, energy equivalents, and manpower to patrol and protect a fifty-planet unit. Or administer a ten-planet cluster directly, in a crisis. (Ed note: the Pact has never faced a full scale invasion, and it's fleet bases reflect that fact).
*The Kona Tatsu are subverters, working directly for the High Secretary. Assassination and intimidation are their well used tools. They are usually paranoid sociopaths (comes with the territory). KT agents are licensed to do anything short of melting a city.
*The Pact is seriously affected by corruption and graft, and subordination of the law. Wealthy families and corporations virtually rule entire Clusters within the Pact.
*No one can own military weaponry except the Pact Navy. A planet or conglomeration seeking to do so is in direct contravention of every law and tradition in the Pact.
IMPORTANT RACES WITHIN THE PACT
Tolats(innovative shipbuilders)
Holots(militaristic brutes)
Rh/attes(smart traders)
Hudlar(hi-grav marines)
LARGEST POPULATED SYSTEMS
Terra Majipoor(Omega)
Atlantis System Ultimo(Omega)
The Tri-System Urbanos(Omega)
Manticore System New Texas(Omega)
Omega(Omega world) Old North Australia(Norstrilia, Omega world)
Nigelian System Daibei(Omega)
Hydros(Omega) Trantor(Omega, Megaworld)
Warden Diamond Cetaganda(Omega)
Barrayar(Omega) Escobar(Omega)
Olympus System Trantor
NOTE: All Omega worlds are heavily defended
LIST OF MEGACORPS
General Dynamicon Blink Industries
Kawasaki Heavy Industries Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Daewoo Galax Corporation
Zeoran Industries Hortalez et Cie
Tagonglomerate Saunder Enterprises
Goddard Power Inc Ramat Gan
Great Ships General Products Hulls
Haiken Maru
WARLORDS OF THE PACT
Craig Labuda Laz Hernandez
Frank Cavalier Ian Longstreet
Marissa Pei Sels Farris
Tchervain Rholle Mora Dyen
Dane Rizdel Toyohama Koga
Alexei Grichev Oleg Amasov
Miguel Solano Kanda Chatrupur
Fernando del Castillo Cen Sun
NOTE: Being a Warlord is the highest office within the military, other than the Skymarshal. All Warlords have received their commission directly from the High Secretary, confirmed by the Senate. All have fought major battles, and won. They can order whole Cluster military forces. Their families are kept on Terra for “educational purposes”.
THE PACT MARINES
“If there is one bunch of perfectly devoted loyalists in the Pact, it's the goddamn Marines,” Senator McKelly of Grathi Prime.
The current crisis within the Pact has greatly affected the Pact Marines. In the Terra Cluster, the Marines have made sure that crew was put off ships if they supported anyone but the High Secretary. The reverse of this is true in the disloyal sections of the Pact, with the Marines have been put off ships, and most being placed in “camps”. Three of the largest deployments of Marines are as follows:
I Corps: One of the first units formed after the Wars of Ascension, the I Corps has an illustrious history. Based on the planet Okinawa, detachments of the Corps are deployed to Terra and several vital worlds in Terra Cluster. They have received the Pact's latest technology: Drop Capsules. I Corps has recently endured heavy fighting in Oldhams Cluster and their famous field commander, Brigadier General Justin Elzie, was wounded in combat.
II Corps: A vital unit that holds Trantor as well as sections of Pol, Oa, and Maui Clusters, the II Corps has a long history with dealing with alien subversives. Based on the planet Guadalcanal, the Corps has a huge fleet of Attack Transports and Assault Ships at its disposal to facilitate planetary invasions. Being highly mobile, this Corps has struck several insurgent planets in Samont and Recife, as well as providing security to planet Trantor. Brigadier General Brian Krulak commands the II Corps.
III Corps: Based on the planet New Pendleton, III Corps Marines are called “Hollywood Marines” because of the moderate climate their training world has. It is said that every Marine would like a tour of duty on New Pendleton. III Corps has been involved in strikes in Chesapeake, Cordova, and Caan. They currently hold the disloyal Caan Cluster capital, after taking it in an orbital strike. Brigadier General Brian Krulak's younger brother, Daniel Krulak, commands the II Corps.
OMEGA WORLDS
Daibei Hudlar Chalderescol
Ilieish Ultimo Urbanos
Majipoor Austeel Esteel
Escobar Barrayar Cetaganda
Sapriportus We Made It Cleveland
Califax Havnor Rommel
Pegasus Solitudo Lorrd
Omega Roke Hyderabad
Ganges Bethesda Barletta
Dunkelheim Old Ocean Hokkaido
EVENTS TO WATCH
Fighter System Developed
The Ultramar Cluster has invented, but not fielded, a new type of fighter launch system. The Washington Naval Treaty forbids the deployment of carriers so this new system has not been deployed.
Trantor Declares Neutrality
Bett Farrel, the charismatic governor of Trantor, has declared her neutrality in the Pact's current conflicts. Her stance was made public last month, moving this critical world off the militaristic list. Trantor's desperate need for consistent food supplies was thought to be the incentive for her decision.
Holot Empire Nervous
The crisis within the Pact has begun to make the Holot Empire very nervous, foreign sources are reporting. The Holot are currently just making threatening noise at the border, but several Fringe clusters have appealed to the Fleet for reinforcements, which will probably be delayed by the current crisis.
Dionii Hive Active
Commanders in the Saipan, Nemo, and Heinlein Combat Regions are warning of increased Hive activity as of late. Hordes of Dionii insects have ravaged the Pact's border Cluster's from time to time but the Pact has always thrown them back out. General Greg Gervarson has stated publicly, “This is a real hot potato. A very serious situation.”