- Edited
Alsinan Defense League
Created by Andromeda
Flag credit goes to DokkyWokky#0500 on Discord.
Planet & System
The ADL resides within the Scretia System, located in EQ.1. The Scretia system is mostly unremarkable, with a single stable star. There are multiple planets within the system's habitable zone. One of these is Cunicule. The other is Naxaris, and the third is Furos. Life never developed past bacteria on Naxaris and Furos due to the lack of water, but on Cunicule, life sprang forth. Also within the ADL’s space are a few moons; Uonix, which is Cunicule’s main moon, Naxaris II and Furos II, the moons of their planets. The first colonization effort of the ADL is a planet called Curos, which is a far FTL jump away. Some other systems which the ADL claims but does not control are the Exina Proxine system and the Trexine Proxine system.
The planet which the ADL calls home is named “Cunicule.” A heavily mountainous and forested planet with mighty rivers flowing from the long mountain ranges, Cunicule is rich with massive plants and cyanobacteria colonies. All this, on top of abundant resources, allows Cunicule to be the perfect bread basket for an empire. Or, it would be, if it weren’t for the government mismanagement. The oceans cover roughly 68% of the planet.
The ADL also has begun the process of terraforming the other planets in their solar system, creating "catalysts", as they're called, to make other planets suitable for the Alsinans. The planets closest to Cunicule are well underway to become new homes for the Alsinans, though at the moment they are solely populated by scientists and executives from the home planet. Asteroid mining is also extremely common and supplies most of the resources that go into the Alsinan fleets.
On the colony worlds which are being terraformed, the process has long since been refined from the many asteroids that had been tested on. Preliminaries include having a magnetic field capable of holding up to the star's radiation and having significant deposits of water which can precipitate. The first step is to remake the atmosphere to be habitable. This is achieved through massive colonies of cyanobacteria being sent into the planet's oceans, should it have one, and allowing them to release oxygen in order to allow for the Alsinans to inhabit the planet. The second step is to send seeds of common plants to the planet, which then, if all goes to plan, sprout into massive forests fed by the colony industries. Then, livestock and other farmable crops can be brought over. These terraforming projects are at ludicrous expense, so the only planets which have had this process happen to this point are Naxaris and Furos. This process completely annihilates the planet's original biosphere. The terraforming system is extremely slow, with it taking a minimum of 50 years for a total conversion. If a critical cyanobacteria colony fails, the terraforming project is very likely to fail.
Biology
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JadCKOIZCgZJfV4bd_tPcMAny4u9nfoD-HVj2cvkj50/edit
Ecology
Due to the large O2 levels within the atmospheres of both native and terraformed Alsinan planets, the native wildlife which had evolved over the many millennia had taken on an extremely unique form.
Insects are the dominant family of life, with mammalians and reptilians on land being forced into extremely specialized niches. Massive beetle-like life, most similar to Hercules and Stag beetles, dig massive burrows into the earth, creating marvelous cavern systems. These caverns are common congregation points for spelunkers the galaxy over, though the danger of these tunnels collapsing leading them to be commonly filled in when civilization comes their way. On the surface, flora is gargantuan, some trees reaching several hundred feet tall and whose roots burrow extremely deep into the soil. Weaving between these trees, arachnids who are similar in size to the Alsinans, though with many differences especially in physical strength and web building. These webs are absolutely massive, with these arachnids forming colonies and hives, making massive complexes of their own societies, like termites, ants, bees, and some wasps. The flighted insects, of which there are hundreds of thousands of species, make their homes and hives in the gargantuan trees. The most dominant flighted predators are dragonfly-esque creatures, whose precision in their attacks being unmatched and near impossible to strike in return. However, they never developed the intelligence and tool use that the Alsinans did, so they have been relegated to the apex predators being studied instead of the ones conducting said studies.
That said, the ones who dominate the high skies of the ADL’s terraformed territories and their home planet are reptiles, whose avian members have also developed to massive size, allowing them to fulfill similar roles within their ecosystems as condors do in ours. When these avian reptiles land to protect their eggs, they have many potential attackers, most notably being the arachnids who hunt the eggs of many species. Overall, the flora and fauna of the ADL’s ecosystems are many things. Insectoid giants who are dangerous even to the intelligent Alsinans, but also creatures who make masterworks of engineering.
History
The initial government of the ADL, forming well over a hundred years ago, spent 20 years subjugating the former empires. These 20 years are referred to as "the Troubles," in which 30% of the system's population died through a mix of combat, disease, and starvation, faded into legend.
The three monopolies, Alsinian Alloys, Fusion of Cunicule, and Inzano Refining, all established their bases during these 20 years, fueling the industry which allowed the ADL to conquer their system. The majority of the industries of the competing powers had been bombed into submission, which allowed the three monopolies to step in. No one alive today remembers the Troubles, combined with the extreme prejudicial crackdown on knowledge about the events, leads to the founding of the ADL to be unknown to most citizens. However, the bloodshed of the Troubles can still be felt, as the population of the ADL has not yet recovered.
Modern ADL history includes the passing of laws which allowed more extensive lobbying, more tax breaks for those elite companies, and the regular pardoning of the mercenary groups of these three companies. Those mercenaries, more like debt sharks or bounty hunters, are a constant threat.
In modern Alsinan history, the integration of the trade networks into the ADL’s economy proved a massive boon, as resources from many nations once rare or unavailable within Alsinan space are now common enough to be refined en masse into new ships, aircraft, civilian vessels, and more. This has not lead to only good, as a recent ex-Dominion warlord trespassed on Alsinan space and set back one of the nation’s finest terraforming efforts on the planet of Curos at least 3 decades as they jumped into the space uncontested and destroyed the defending fleet, leading to calls amongst the Alsinan Defense Planetary Navy to increase the funding for defending the planets of the ADL.
Politics
The politics of the ADL are corruption given form. The companies hold vast sway within the government, and regular raiding missions occur between the various corporations against one another, vying for power. Almost every representative has been bought out by a company, elections are nigh meaningless, and the people of the ADL are on the verge of revolution. Corporate influence in government is not covert whatsoever past the most shallow attempts at hiding it. The prime minister is merely a puppet, with little power. However, with most of the people in politics dying off, there is hope for reform.
The social policies of the ADL have been stagnant for a long time. While the ADL offers necessities such as housing and food, it’s extremely low quality and you’d be better off selling your life to the black market. Black markets run rampant amongst the mega stores, even though the prices are hardly better. Not a day goes by that someone doesn’t starve to death or freeze, with even the most basic necessities hard to come by. If you decide to participate in the black market as well, you are offering yourself up to any number of gruesome fates. A number of mercenary groups paid by the megacorporations conduct regular raids on discovered black markets. You can also fall on the wrong side of a deal and meet your fate there as well.
The bureaucracy of the ADL is slow, inefficient, and out of date. It’s much more advantageous to approach one of the three megacorporations to get an appointment into office opposed to running legitimately and inevitably failing to someone else who decided to take the bribe. The government is in a neverending stand-still as these three megacorporations vie for power, though fomenting much distrust among the people.
The prime minister of the ADL is Kletuk L'kia, a complete figurehead leader who has tried in the past as a politician to remove lobbying from the government. The three megacorporations, each coming to the same conclusion, realized that assassinating this particular politician would lead to revolt as foul play would certainly be suspected. Kletuk has tried to appeal to the population and force the corporations to yield, but his results have been lackluster.
Within the underbellies of the cities in the ADL lie several factions which oppose the monopolistic rule by the megacorporations, all united in purpose though disagreeing as to the desired outcome. The three major factions within the unified resistance are: The Front, calling for an uprising of those trapped within the factories, a general wave of those exploited to overrule the elites. Secondly, the Fire Triumphant, seeks to collapse the "corpos" from within and overthrow the ADL, seeking further glories to dominate their local sector. The third rebel movement, the Collective, wishes to reignite the Troubles to forge a new ADL, a stronger nation than before, regardless who must be sacrificed.
Economy
Within the ADL, the working conditions inside the giant factories of the ADL are atrocious. 10 hour workdays are the standard, with only one day off per week. Factories aren't extremely dangerous, as the massive machinery pressing out the plates for the rapid expansion of the fleet are sealed behind thick walls, though more to protect from corporate espionage than to protect the workers. The ADL's economy is a well-oiled machine, as most companies are shells owned by the three megacorps, which are extremely skilled at hiding the "accidents” which happen. Specializing in the production and shaping of raw materials and alloys, the ADL is a powerhouse in the manufacturing sector and especially in exporting cheap housing to those willing to pay. Given the recent uptick of the escort fleets, the shipbuilding industry grows to match and send out this manufacturing prowess. The civilian fleet of the ADL is lacking in numbers but makes up in size. All civilian freighters of the ADL are equipped with CIWS and light weaponry to nominally defend against pirates. This is a controversial move back home and within other nations, as this could lead to the civilian ships being classed as warships.
Another massive income source for the ADL is tourism. Unique flora and fauna along with numerous massive, fascinating spelunking sites, make the ADL a hub for those more explorative within the galaxy. The government realizes this unique opportunity, and capitalizes on top of it by making their visas some of the easiest to achieve that they can be. Giant mountains formed by many, many millennia of tectonic plates crashing into one another form both amazing tourism sites themselves and the mountainous cities, carefully curated by the government and more specifically a shell company from each of the three megacorps to make these tourist cities as expensive to live in and visit as it is possible to make a city.
The final industry of note is the Alsinan predilection for terraforming and modification of planets, moons, and asteroids. Because of the unique needs of the Alsinans, they have been required, for realistic and stable expansion, to become experts in the art of terraforming. As such, their technology in this sector is extensive and very, very expensive. If you purchase Alsinan terraforming goods, you will certainly receive your product, but it will definitely cost you.
Megacorporations Sheet
https://docs.google.com/document/d/17eWYS-CGIa9t0DIl5iwobq3JR3VmvTfBdBSfXXrqKOI/edit
Society
As the government has underwhelmed the people more and more, the calls to action are many and loud. Demagogues of all varieties try to sway the common man to revolt, coup, revolution, or a call to reform the government of the ADL. The common man, though, suffers under the corporate monopolies. Where the official goods are overpriced and useful little more than garbage, the black market has stepped in and filled said gap. Of course not everyone can “make it,” leading to quite a high mortality rate.
However, the mistrust of the government has reached a critical point. The future is uncertain, and tension hangs heavy over your average person. Everyone who doesn't willingly bury their heads in the sand knows; hard times are coming.
There has been an increased movement in recent years for a "new beginning." The stagnation is lost on no one, least of all those who have been wronged by the system and long for how things used to be. A growing movement in the undergrounds calls for a much more drastic military expansion and breaking up of the monopolies. A new era for the ADL, an era in which it dominates its local space.
Industry and Technology
The technology of the ADL is standard for its time, with developments being made into plasma weaponry and the further refinement of fusion power being made. Having been completely ravaged by the Troubles, the infrastructure of the ADL has been in a state of constant disrepair. Its industry, though owned by few, has refined itself into a well-oiled machine of constant production through the use of fusion energy. Specializing on the manufacturing and service, the industry of the ADL is one of the few upsides to the situation.
A large portion of the raw resources come from asteroid mining and the current exploitation of the to-be terraformed planets in the Scretia system, along with the fuel for the massive fusion plants aboard the ships of the ADL.
On Cunicule, the primary exports are thinner alloy plates for a variety of uses, like commercial space exploration, explosive materials such as plastic explosives and dynamite, and the ADL's citizens themselves for service in other nations. The massively tooled up shipping yards, which are making the escorts needed to protect the trade lanes, have long since been operational in the civilian field, but have recently begun to transition into military use.
Military
An overwhelming issue within the military of the ADL is the constant jockeying between arms companies to receive arms contracts to get whatever profits they can which aren't being swallowed up by the three megacorps, all of whom have their own respective arms manufacturers. This has led to a reputation for ADL equipment for being heavy, overpriced, and not good for anything aside from wasting government dollars.
The military of the ADL consists of the following branches:
Army
Armed forces of the ADL are one thing: maneuverable. With the vast manufacturing capabilities back home, the army of the ADL focuses on speed and quick redeployment. Thanks to their armored carapaces, the amount of protective equipment mounted on each soldier is lighter which allows them to be more maneuverable, though the "heavy" troops can carry a large amount of equipment, such as infantry-mounted Gauss rifles. That being said, the individual pieces of equipment are much heavier and more expensive and are more complex than they need to be, leading to the soldiers of the armed forces hating the government for giving them their guns. Speaking of, the primary armaments of the ADA (Alsinian Defense Army) are traditional firearms with Gauss rifles used as dedicated marksman rifles and for light anti-armor work. The workhorses of the ADA's maneuver warfare are their APCs and IFVs, which are some of the few pieces of equipment which aren't overly complicated. Mounted with small caliber Gauss cannons and machine guns, the IFV's and APC's have gained much affection from the troops for being rugged, reliable, and most of all: all-terrain. These vehicles have hover capabilities, which are a nightmare for the mechanics and suppliers, but the soldiers enjoy the smooth rides it provides. Dismounts are fast, letting the infantry take ground and set up before the enemy has time to respond.
Armored doctrine is simple. Hit fast, hit hard, hit first. As such, the tanks and other front line armored vehicles, such as the heavy IFVs and tank destroyers, have fairly light armor but are extremely fast and have great main armament. Their maintenance is extremely complex, though, which causes a readiness rate issue that has gone unsolved for many generations of armored vehicles, serving only to wring the army out of as much money as possible.
Infantry tactics are simple as well. Get to the front, dismount, take up locations of importance, and pick off enemies with your infantry-carried anti-tank systems as well as the snipers and other in-placed men. This rarely goes to plan, as most tactics tend to do, but the Alsinans are well-suited to finding unique and awkward locations to attack enemies from, leading to unexpected victories where they realistically shouldn't happen.
The place where the ADA truly suffers is defense. As it has invested so heavily into its ideal strategy of attacking hard and fast, defense has gone mostly ignored and underfunded. SAM and other AA systems are some of the few exceptions, but its armored forces are squishy at best and prone to breakdowns, though their cannons and other offensive armaments are able to hit well above their weight. AT guided missiles are also present in high numbers, though primarily vehicle-mounted on IFVs and ATGM carriers. The issue with the ADA defending is how much they invested into maneuver and offense. Their doctrine is too specialized for offensive actions with not enough defensive capability. Combined with the mechanical breakdown issues, Alsinan Army operations have a reputation for being nigh overwhelming for the enemy for a while, but the momentum halts when the breakdowns hit a critical mass and the Alsinans are forced onto the defensive, which is not their preferred method of attack.
Recently, citing the overwhelming difficulties that the Alsinan troops had in high-intensity fighting, the Alsinan Defense Mechanized Force (ADMF) had developed the Fraxis Arms Solutions Robotic Unit 1, or FAMRU-1 robotic assault unit, a mantis-like robot with strong capabilities in urban, mountainous, and shock-troop combat.
Armored Vehicles
https://docs.google.com/document/d/12suny2vciy0iv_c1SiDVkvrEI1KKxmAFUGgJfCfeJJk/edit
Expeditionary Force
An “elite” segment of the army, famous for its glorious past, has since fallen in shambles as the leadership often underwhelms the boots on the ground. Constant bickering, in-fighting, and the squandering of funds on outdated technology has kept the Expeditionary Force behind.
Aerospace Force
The Aerospace force of the ADL has long since been underfunded. The use of attackers and fighters had been crushed out by improvements in SAM systems, though recently the ADAF has been receiving more funding to develop the multirole fighters which can fit the smaller members among the species. Air doctrine has been heavily hampered by the lack of funding and resources, which lead to the ADL's fighter doctrine to be outdated. However, the strike craft of the ADAF, while slow, are extremely maneuverable and carry devastating payloads.
Navy
Naval doctrine of the ADL is focused around fast, quick-deployment ships mounted with as many AShMs as are reasonable to fit. Ranging from small patrol boats to assault carriers and supercarriers, the naval force of the ADL is not to be trifled with, though it’s limited to a planetary defense and propaganda use. As such, the funding of the “wet navy,” as it’s often called, is extremely limited, with their day-to-day operations consisting mostly of anti-piracy operations.
Planetary Defense Navy
Being the dedicated orbital defenses of planets has led to the ships of the ADPN to be slow, lumbering vessels with powerful weapons and armor, as well as obsolete ships which are not useful in fleet combat anymore.
Galactic Navy
With a focus on unguided kinetic weaponry, missiles with a massive variety of payloads attached, and massive spinal gauss cannons (AKA coilguns), an overwhelming focus on firepower and mobility is called for among the battlecruisers, cruisers, and destroyers. The carriers have a large hangar space, and are equally fast. With the recent discovery of a new composite armor, the newest generations of ADGN ships will have satisfactory protection. Frigates and corvettes are heavily specialized. Most corvettes are anti-fighter vessels with little primary gunfire and heavy PD batteries. Frigates are specialized into anti-ship and escort frigates, with the anti-ship frigates focusing heavily on large missiles which can hit much above their caliber. The escort frigates have middling firepower and speed, though they are some of the few ships of the ADGN which aren’t glass cannons.
The navies are constantly underfunded, the logistics train often gets interrupted, and the admirals and commanders are often appointed based on their wealth or political standing.
Ship Classes
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1v0yky-TFsFYj3NIIm6Ltt5w4pwCJWMLgdNFc6FiNnw0/edit?usp=sharing
