Contents
The Lothan Expanse
History
In the early 21st Century, a plague struck Earth that threatened to wipe out all of humanity. The virus, named the Genetic Devolution Virus, or GDV, caused a person infected with it to begin to reverse-mutate into earlier forms of human. The process was extremely painful, and it was almost always terminal. Anyone who survived the process ended up as a weakened proto-human, and those poor souls would end up contracting more normal diseases and perishing from them. Nations were in upheaval as governments tried their best to combat this menace, but at the darkest moments it appeared humanity was doomed.
In the remote wilderness of the Rocky Mountains, a group of scientists and their families gathered to escape the disease. Eventually believing that there was no hope left for the world, they purchased the materials to build what was at the time the most advanced interplanetary vessel. Loading it with enough supplies to last them for up to 5 years, they launched without fanfare, leaving a world they believed was slowly dying. Unknown to them, a mere 2 months after they left, the CDC in the United States succeeded in developing a cure, and the GDV menace was greatly slowed, then eradicated forever. Also unknown to them, one of the people aboard had been exposed to the virus.
After their voyage began, they set a course to leave the solar system in search of other potential worlds to colonize and start anew. Unfortunately, the infected crew member’s GDV began to show symptoms, and within days it was spreading like wildfire through the crew. The crew began to de-evolve, and it looked like their mission was going to be brought to an end by the very thing they tried to escape from. Just when all seemed lost, however, something strange happened. One crew-member’s de-evolution stopped, leaving him with a form similar to a Neanderthal. Many other crew members experienced a similar transformation, and to their surprise, they felt no adverse effects from it. Some of the crew was not so lucky, and many perished from the GDV, leaving this group to continue on.
Adjusting to their new forms, they found that they retained all of their intelligence and knowledge, a fortunate turn of events for them. Even more important, they found that they were still fertile, and they could continue on to rebuild their depleted numbers. Perhaps most important of all, they found that they were now immune to the effects of GDV, which was still very prevalent on the vessel. Many meetings were held to determine their next move, but it was never considered to return to the world they left, fearing the chaos they believed would be found there. Before they could choose a solid course of action, fate threw yet another twist of events into their path.
The ship, having flown on its original course for a considerable period of time, stumbled into a spatial anomaly, which quickly drew the hapless vessel within it. The old engines were not powerful enough to resist it, and they plunged into uncertainty. Several grueling minutes later, just before they believed the ship would shatter from the strain, they emerged into peaceful interstellar space once again. A quick check of their charts, however, showed that they were no where near Earth. Several cross checks with the computer could not find a match with any of the known stars that had been charted by telescopic observation from Earth. They were lost beyond the known universe.
Using what sensor systems they had, they began to get their bearings and resume their search, for finding a world to colonize now was of the utmost importance. Their supplies were dwindling, and the ship was badly in need of repairs. It took them several months of grueling searching and constant sensor scans, but they eventually located a habitable world that was very Earth like, and more importantly, un-inhabited. Setting down, they set foot on their new home, which they named Lothan. After establishing a makeshift colony, they set about the business of re-building their lives on this new world.
During their travels, and their subsequent ordeal from the GDV, they no longer felt any connection to their humanity. That was their past, this was their future, and over the course of the next 20 years, they established their new identity and lifestyle. Because they left Earth with only the essential supplies, they had to fall back on some of the most ancient crafts to construct their homes and other necessities. Over time, they were able to develop methods of re-creating much of the technology they had brought with them, and developed new ones, but the rustic ways they relied on at the start remained with them, and formed the basis for their culture.
To govern this new colony, they established a General Council, headed by a Chief Councilor. In the beginning, it was intended that his position be renewed by popular vote every four years, but given their situation, it became necessary to make several drastic decisions and this democratic government eventually transformed into a monarchy style government, until absolute power was held by the King, or Wrr’Gotan’Togat in their language. The current King, Wrr’Gotan’Togat Ejat Nongtu, is one of a long line of a family lineage that has held power since what they call The Founding. Unfortunately for him and his people, the technology they brought with them, and the ambitions of some of the other families that had come on the original voyage, peace was short-lived.
Technology advanced during the course of a century from The Founding, and with it came the development of faster-than-light travel, using methods that would eventually be used in the K-Drive Mark 1. Spreading out from Lothan, new colonies were established, and the Expanse quickly grew from 1 system to nearly 300 systems by the year 2452. With this expansion came the inevitable weakening of power much like that experienced by the Roman Empire, with one seat of power, and several other ambitious warlords took control of several star systems, fracturing the Expanse into six different kingdoms. Tensions between these kingdoms rose until finally, in 2512, a war known as the Bloodletting erupted. True to the name it was given, this war resulted in millions of deaths, untold destruction, until 2578, when Wrr’Gotan’Togat Elas Nongtu re-unified three of the rogue kingdoms into his own after conquering them, and signed non-aggression pacts with the remaining three. These four kingdoms remain to his day, as does a very shaky peace among them. Tensions remain high, and many fear it could one day erupt into yet another bloody war.
The present day Expanse consists of four regions:
- The Kingdom of Lothan
- Ruled by Wrr'Gotan'Togat Ejat Nongtu
- Member Systems: 527
- Capitol Planet: Lothan
- Capitol City: Centralis
- The Empire of Meiyo
- Ruled by Emperor Hitoshima
- Member Systems: 202
- Capitol Planet: Meiyo
- Capitol City: New Tokyo
- The Republic of Galhalla
- Led by Chancellor Hoersk
- Member Systems: 152
- Capitol Planet: Galhalla
- Capitol City: New Oslo
- The United Systems of Tristifar
- Led by President Silas Lincoln
- Member Systems: 119
- Capitol Planet: Tristifar
- Capitol City: New Washington
The Kingdom of Lothan
History
In the days since the Bloodletting, the Kingdom of Lothan has slowly transformed from a fair and benevolent monarchy to more of a police state, although to the citizens within, this change isn't as readily apparent as it is to those outside the Kingdom. The current monarch, Wrr'Gotan'Togat Ejat Nongtu, has become increasingly paranoid during his time on the throne. As such he has become ruthless in his defense of Lothan's borders, seeing even the slightest incursions as preludes to full scale war. Thankfully for the Expanse, he still has enough of a head on his shoulders to not 'press the button', so to speak, and instead keeps his borders well protected.
This paranoia was tested in 2650 when a weapons testing accident landed the positronic Tharsis in the middle of the expanse, where he was immediately intercepted by the Lothan fleet. He and his crew were brought before Nongtu. The fact that a vessel miraculously appeared within his borders without being detected prior greatly concerned him, and after a brief round of questioning of the bewildered captives, they were confined to the palace dungeon while Nongtu deliberated what to do with them. In his mind, they were obviously spies from another realm of the Expanse, altered in appearance to further confuse him. It wasn't long before he had come to the decision to execute them as a precaution. Fortunately for the captives, Tristifarian listening posts had also detected the arrival of Tharsis and their plight, and had dispatched the carrier USS Yorktown into Lothan space in a bold move to rescue them. In the dead of night, a SEAL team stormed the palace, freed the captives, and brought them out of the Kingdom to Tristifar.
Naturally, this has greatly heightened tensions between the UST and Lothan, with each side hurling rhetoric at each other. Thankfully, the fact that the UST has allies in Galhalla and Meiyo has kept the peace, as any move by Lothan to attack them would result in bringing the horror of the Bloodletting down upon them once again. This fact, and this fact alone, has prevented full scale war, but the powder keg that the Kingdom was has been heated that much more.
Culture
The citizens of Lothan live in relative comfort, although their freedoms are not as great as they would think. Justice is swift in the Kingdom, and even the smallest crimes are often met with death. As such the crime rate is relatively low. A large part of this is due to the fact that the citizens are forbidden to bear any arms. Modern projectile and energy weapons are restricted solely to the military. Citizens can, however wield more traditional weaponry such as swords, shields, and crossbows, which permits them a means to defend themselves if needed and to hunt. Although this is accepted as a necessary means of preventing crime, the true motive is to prevent the citizens from becoming a threat to the throne. By keeping the military superior in weaponry, it makes revolution an exercise in suicide.
The citizens typically live in rural settlements, although there is some urban and sub-urban sprawl near larger cities like Centralis. Technology such as electricity, plumbing, and running water is available to all citizens, and in most areas, agriculture is the primary industry, although by necessity some worlds of the Kingdom are much more industrialized, as there is a need for manufacturing capability to supply the needs of the military and the general populace. Such worlds are often unpleasant to live on, as environmental concerns on those worlds are often neglected in the interests of production.
Government
Being a monarchy, the primary law maker of the realm is the Wrr'Gotan'Togat. However, he does have a court of advisors who assist him in making these decisions. They are the Minister of Defense, the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Commerce, the Minister of Economics, and the Minister of State.
The Empire of Meiyo
Meiyo was founded with some of the original families, who had been of Japanese heritage, broke off and established their own colony with values befitting their proud history. Thus Meiyo shares much with the ancient Empires of Japan, and is currently ruled by Emperor Hitoshima. Their capital city New Tokyo, resides on their capitol world which they named Meiyo. The empire takes its name from the ancient Japanese word for honor.
Hitoshima maintains a vast contingent of loyal samurai, all willing to give their lives in his service. In addition, he also keeps a legion of highly trained ninja assassins in his employ, and these troops are often used to conduct precision surgical strikes into neighboring territories with the express purpose of eliminating enemy leaders or conducting sabotage raids, a task they perform extremely well.
Hitoshima has ruled the Empire for 20 years, and has a son, Ishikawa Hitoshima, who is in line to take the throne.
The Republic of Galhalla
Galhalla was founded by a family with a long-running Norse heritage, and their nation borrows heavily from the ancient Viking warriors. Over time, they returned to a more democratic system of government, and it has brought great success to them. Still, their attachment to Viking values has led them to maintain a strong warrior tradition, and many young Galhallans strive to be recognized among the greatest warriors of their people. When it comes to battle, the Galhallans are the fiercest of foes. Their capitol world is New Oslo.
Galhallan warriors wear uniforms that pay tribute to their ancient brethren, most notably a horned helmet that appears ancient, but is in fact constructed from modern synthetic compounds to provide maximum protection. They are well trained in the use of swords and shields, but also in the use of both energy and projectile weaponry in order to be able to fight to the last man. They rarely retreat from the battlefield, which makes a confrontation with Galhallan forces a choice not to be taken lightly.
The United Systems of Tristifar
The star systems of Tristifar were founded by members of a family line descended from some of the great heroes of the United States, and thus they patterned their government after the Constitution, even going so far as to send to the Wrr’Gotan’Togat their own version of the Declaration of Independence. They view the Bloodletting as their own Revolutionary War, for it did result in the establishment of their independence.
Since then, the UST has lived in relative peace and prosperity. The government, however, keeps a close eye on the Kingdom of Lothan, as the increasing paranoia of Nongtu is readily apparent through diplomatic calls and intelligence gathered through operatives. This watchful gaze proved to be a life saver for Tharsis and his hapless crew, who through a weapons accident, were rifted from the Ancient Expanse into this realm, right in the middle of the Kingdom. Their listening posts detected the immediate interception and capture of Tharsis, and correctly surmised they would be taken directly to Lothan. The UST Navy was mobilized and the USS Yorktown was dispatched in a bold move to free these newcomers. A SEAL team landed on Lothan, infilitrated the palace, freed the prisoners, and fled with them back to the Yorktown where they were taken to Tristifar. Once they arrived in New Washington, they were brought immediately to the chambers of President Silas Lincoln in the Oval Office.
It was there they learned the history of the people of this universe and their origins of 21st Century Earth. The President offered all at his disposal for Tharsis and his passengers to find their way back home, and enlisted the help of the nations greatest mind, Doctor Ben Franklin, to assist them. Working together, Tharsis, Franklin, and Tamila devised a Gravity Cannon that could be used to stabilize the rift they had come through, and pass through it to return home.
Since then, tensions between the UST and the Kingdom have been touchy, as the Kingdom is convinced the entire affair was orchestrated by the UST to gather intelligence, despite all the evidence to the contrary as to what really happened. For a time, the ambassaors were recalled, but today they have re-established diplomatic relations, if only to try to keep things from getting worse.