ALLIANCE SPACE
© 1999 by J. A. Stubbs
To appreciate the importance of the Alliance you need to know how things were before it existed. Then there was little reason for cooperation between the thirty-two major interstellar civilizations present at that time. And any interplanetary commerce between them was infrequent. Some empires took any resources they needed from the worlds they conquered and subjugated.
There were other cultures which had enough planets to meet their need for resources. Each of them had an armada of warships to protect their systems from invasion. These unions also had little interest in having any relations with other cultures which were not their own. They kept their own set of sovereign planetary laws; and respected no other.
There were also monarchies, religious orders, dictatorships, and mercenary strongholds. They all maintained distinct spheres of influence in this arm of our galaxy. Which is known as Chalera. Each of them held their own agendas and viewed everyone else as potential rivals; or actual adversaries. So there were few pacts or treaties of any kind, between them.
Then there were a myriad number of uncharted worlds. That were in various stages of development and technology. While many of these planets held Vilorsiform (humanoid) life; there were others which did not. But no matter what kind of life lived on these worlds; they were often at the mercy of more powerful neighbors. As they received no help from anyone.
While a few of these planets were more than able to defend themselves from off-world exploitation; many could not. This volatile situation had existed in Chalera for more than a thousand years. Because the only real constants were war, piracy, and subjugation of weaker worlds. For “might makes right” was the only interstellar law in play.
However one major change did occur over this period of time. There was a steady development of technology on several different worlds. Eventually generating devices which threatened the status quo. These breakthroughs were often not widely known, or shared. But their very existence changed the balance of power in Chalera; and eventually led to the great war.
Now there is peace in this arm of the galaxy because of the Alliance. With major lanes of commerce operating throughout Alliance Space. More than a hundred different worlds have joined to form their mutual defense force. Their fleets protect all the systems in their union; and maintains Alliance borders against invasion.
Their diverse legal systems are aligned to respect Alliance laws. And are now in force on many of their worlds. This has improved trading practices and allowed the adoption of a common currency. These worlds also now have defined common borders. As well as a secondary judicial system which allows for the extradition of law breakers. Although planetary law always has precedent.
While there are several cultures outside of the Alliance, none uphold the same rigorous set of standards for interstellar rights and sovereign authority. And these directives come straight from the Alliance’s very first council meeting. They are the principles that brought and held their union together from the start. When they decided to join the “Kankreel War.”
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Thank you,
Wil Sansflaw