splash wrote:
I am very interested in the fluff you've come up with. Eager for more, actually.
Glad you dig it!
I'm currently working with a buddy of mine to fill it out a bit more.
Currently, the Federation of Man consists of 9 Great Houses - each a survivor of a dark time in human history known as "The Long War". A period of incredible conflict within the solar system that lasted roughly 200 years (records of that time have been lost, recovered, and rewritten many times over - so reliable information is difficult to discern). Each of the Great houses is headed by a "Duke" and each controls some sort of technology, resource, or industry that the rest of humanity needs to survive. Each Duke tolerates the others because they must (at least for now) - and are held in a shaky alliance for the defense of mankind known as the "Terran Accords of War". Each Great house controls a number of lesser houses as well that owe them allegiance.
The Terran Accords of War are a set of edicts that are intended to prevent the loss of civilian life during times of war - particularly between the Great Houses, and forces them to work in cooperation in the face of alien threats (though these laws are often bent, and sometimes outright broken by the Dukes in petty attempts to gain power over their rival Houses). The Accords are strictly enforced by the Sisterhood - who operate independently from any house, and who are commonly seen as the champions of the common people.
The Sisterhood have a long and honorable history which dates back to the very beginnings of the Long War, and it is they who really hold humanity together in this current age of rapid human expansion. During the Long War, the Sisterhood acted as a Humanitarian Aide organisation. They were not militarized - their sole purpose was to travel to war-stricken battlefields and tend to the wounded and dying - civilian and soldier alike. Their popularity grew with each life they saved, while the people grew to loathe the Great Houses which were the instigators of the endless wars humanity was forced to endure. It became clear that these wars would be the end of mankind if they were not brought to a close, especially when it was discovered that many of the weapons employed by the Great Houses were rendering entire planetary populations sterile through extensive use of rad-based armaments. When the Sisterhood was attacked openly by one of the great houses for forming a blockade to prevent the virus-bombing of innocent miners, the people began to rise up in system-wide rebellion.
When the whole of humanity was on the brink of extermination, it was the Sisterhood who brought all sides to the negotiation table, with themselves representing the will of the people. While the majority of humanity came to realize they needed the Dukal Houses for their individual strengths, resources, and technologies - it was made clear that the people should never again bear the brunt of their conflicts. Therefore, it was decided that each Great House would be forced to tithe an equal portion of their vast fortunes to fund a militarized Sisterhood. The Sisterhood was granted control over the ancestral home of Man, Terra - and the only lawful reproduction facilities (where the future of humanity would be grown in laboratories now that the race was mainly sterile). The Sisterhood would be responsible for maintaining balance between the populations of each house - and would send each a number of new members each year based on their need, and their ability to adhere to the Accords they each agreed to live by.
Most importantly, the Sisterhood keeps a close eye on each of the houses, and every one of their ships is required to carry a representative of the Sisterhood on board at all times. Should the secret conflicts between the houses turn to open war - the Sisterhood ensure that they are ended as quickly as possible, and civilian deaths are avoided at all costs. Should it be required - the Sisterhood can muster a military response to any threat posed by the Dukes and their mighty armies. Between the threat of open conflict with the Sisters, and years of reduced induction from the Sisterhood-controlled reproduction labs on Terra, the Great Houses tend to stay in line for the most part and abide by the Terran Accords of War. This has lead to a period of relative peace for humanity - and with the acquisition of the FTL drive thanks to dealings with the Grud - humanity has begun to rapidly expand their sphere of influence well outside their own solar system which has lead to conflict with alien races on a number of occasions.
Among these new threats is the Okami Technocracy Combine who have made it clear they will not tolerate the expansion of the Federation into any new territories. (Unbeknownst to the Federation - the Okami are the descendants of a long lost sect of human artists, scientists, and free thinkers who fled the earth during the early days of the Long War and know all too well the horrors humanity is capable of...) Currently, the Federation has been contained to a small portion of the galaxy consisting of Sol, and a handful of additional star systems.
