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
Despite many years since the Founding, Lothan maintains its monarchy, and although the other nations in the Expanse think otherwise, its people are ruled benevolently and fairly. Propaganda in the other nations leads their citizens to think that the people of Lothan are oppressed, worked as slaves, paid and fed little, and generally have a poor standard of living. The truth could not be more opposite. Lothan and its member worlds maintain a very high standard of living, although true to their roots, they maintain a rustic lifestyle, with a quaint mix of technology. The Royal Guard is armed with energy weapons and fine swords, the use of which they are well skilled in.
However, there are some situations that lend truth to the beliefs of the other nations, but they are usually taken out of context. Justice in the realm is fair but punishment is both swift and sometimes brutal, the intent of which is to act as a deterrent against crime. It is highly effective, as Lothan and its member worlds maintain a very low crime rate. In recent memory, most criminals that have been caught and punished are agents from the other nations, usually charged with espionage and summarily executed.
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.
The UST maintains its government seat on the world of Tristifar, the namesake of their nation. In the capitol city of New Washington, they re-created the government buildings of the United States. Representatives from all of the star systems, determined by planetary population, make up their House of Representatives, while a pair of Senators from each planet makes up their Senate. The Supreme Court and the White House are also maintained here. The Presidency can be filled from any one from any of the member planets. Given the diversity a nation of 119 systems can result in, there are numerous political parties, and it has helped ensure that a very good checks and balances system prevents any one party from gaining a long-term foothold.
The UST maintains two distinct branches of their military: a Navy and a Marine Corps. In this day and age of space war tactics, the Marines perform the same function as a terrestrial based army, and serve not only as security on board a naval vessel but also as ground based assault troops. Worlds that order the other three kingdoms maintain large shipyards and garrisons in order to secure the borders of the UST, but the USN also maintains strategic concentrations of fleets and attack squads in points leading through the nation to Tristifar itself, making an incursion into UST territory an unpredictable one at best.
In addition, the people of the UST have been given the right to bear arms, and as such most families possess at least one or two weapons in their homes. During peacetime they are usually used for hunting or sport, but this keeps them in practice in case of wartime. This makes assaulting a UST world a difficult prospect, for not only are the invaders fighting the Marines, they’re fighting the indigenous population as well.
Physical Data
The Lothan race, although each part of the Expanse calls them selves a different name, is essentially the result of the mutations suffered from the GDV infection of their ancestors hundreds of years ago. The resulting lifeform resembles a Neanderthal: strong, blocky, with large skulls with pronounced noses and foreheads. However, their intelligence easily matches that of humans. Females, as they are in humans, are typically built a bit smaller and more slender than their male counterparts, but even then they can easily out-muscle a human.
The mutation has also granted them somewhat increased life spans, with the average being about 150 years. In the case of the areas of the expanse dominated by particular ethnic groups, they maintain some of the physical characteristics which identify them as such. For example, the citizens of Meiyo maintain their slanted eyes much as their ancestors had.
Technology
Since the split of the Expanse as a result of the Bloodletting, the four nations of the Expanse have deviated in their technological development. All possess vessels capable of FTL travel using a device similar to the K-Drive Mark I, however differences in propulsion technology and weaponry have become apparent since the Bloodletting.