Sirius Coalition

A group of descendants of the Coalition nations who escaped Sol on board of the overloaded Hispania Sleeper Ship, the modern-day Coalition occupies one remote Omega system, faithful to its traditions, but unable to influence the events that change the political map of the Sirius Sector in any significant way.

The Great War
During the War of Sol, two blocs fought for complete control over the Sol System: the Alliance and the Coalition. The Coalition was composed of the communist nations of Russia, China, the Middle East, and Africa. For decades, constant fighting between the two factions ensued, with neither side gaining the upper hand for long.

In 2160, the Alliance proposed and signed a peace treaty between the two blocs, but as the Coalition admiral headed to Europa (one of Jupiter's moons) to sign it, he ordered a Coalition fleet to de-cloak and attack the Alliance fleet, who had stood down from battle after hearing about the treaty. Instead of ending the war peacefully, they destroyed the French and Italian fleets and took control of all the inner planets, including Earth, and most of the outer planets, excluding Neptune. Two years later, the Alliance recovered the outer planets and began its assault on the inner planets. Eventually, the Coalition was beaten back to Mercury. However, by some unknown means, the Coalition gained the upper hand and began to counterattack, eventually retaking every planet in Sol.

To Sirius
After being defeated, losing the Sol system to the military might of the Coalition, a small fraction of the Alliance's survivors attempted flee to Sirius. The Coalition attempted to pursue the Alliance sleeper ships to Sirius. Unfortunately, the majority of the pursuing ships were lost, their crews still in cryo-freeze to this day, according to Coalition medical experts.

However, all was not lost. For years, the Coalition knew of the Sleeper Ship project. The nations building the vessels had their crews infiltrated. Spies found the Hispania most easy to sneak aboard, although hundreds of others managed to slip onto the others, particularly the Rheinland. When the Hispania arrived in Sirius, a series of explosions nearly destroyed the craft. Historians are unsure what caused it, but it was likely Coalition agents, acting as saboteurs, although plenty of other explanations are available.

Many of the Coalition personnel that had successfully made it to the Sirius sector stayed amongst the people of the new Houses, acting as intelligence agents with lines of communication to the others, who had a quiet exodus to the Omega systems.

Centuries pass
Some arrived in Omega-52, on Planets Volgograd and Jiangxi. They would, in minuscule numbers, slowly build structures on these planets, surviving in these tough landscapes whilst their comrades abroad prepared for the Revolution that was to come. There were also those on the planet which later came to be called Gran Canaria by the Zoners, living a life cut off from the rest of the sector.

There was, of course, trouble in Rheinland, Coalition demagogues taking part in the Popular Revolution, but not having any great degree of success.

Revolution
The small nation in the Omegas, eventually came to be headed by one High Chancellor Aeon, who, having been discovered by the Alliance, after some fighting, attempted to sue for peace.

The chief of his fleet, one Acting Commodore McIntosh, an allegedly insane, mass murdering Bretonian defector, brutally executed him, promoted himself to Grand Admiral of the Sirius Coalition Revolutionary Army, taking the role of head of state, and proceeded to wage war on the capitalist pigs of the Alliance with an absolute lack of mercy.

The Coalition, with its tiny population in Sirius, took on the role of a partisan uprising across the sector, taking in deserters, defectors and anyone that would fight under their Communist ideology.

The Present Day
Various events of course have passed since those turbulent times, years ago. Attempts to convince the Corsairs of the follies of capitalism failed, their leaders casting out those that would align themselves with the Coalition, such as Comandante Adrian 'Ares' o Jovem, and the crew of the Osiris class Havana, who defected to join their charismatic countryman.

The Coalition would go on to attempt to expand and improve, casting aside old stolen and patched together technologies, one talented young engineer, Xing KeSi, putting together the designs for a fleet, whilst another team of engineers constructed stations in the Omega 52 system.

In Omega-52, various stations were constructed, including the legendary Zvezdny Gorodok, Star City, the moon of Planet Volgograd which was hollowed out to produce and house the newly designed snubfighters of the SCRA's assault wings. Here they train and prepare for war. This system is off-limits to everyone but the Coalition itself. Trespassers to Omega-52 are often shot without warning.

Recruits would pour in from across the sector, and the Revolution would move to assist other, like-minded, parties across the Houses, putting particular focus on Rheinland, seeing it as a hotbed of radical thought. Many famous names would come to the Coalition from Rheinland, such as Admiral Kirk, Captains Richthofen and Totenkopt, as well as the allegedly most decorated man in the SCRA, Commander Eugen Weise.

At present Grand Admiral McIntosh, after falling ill with no cure at present having been created, was for his own safety and continued health preserved in a Stasis Chamber and placed in a 'tomb' in orbit of Zvezdny Gorodok where all Coalition pilots can pay their respects to their great former Leader and pray for his return to health.

Controlled and contested space
The Sirius Coalition controls the entirety of the Omega-52 system. Within this system, they maintain two inhabited planets, Volgograd and Jiangxi. The Coalition's capital city is located on Planet Volgograd. Despite attempts to expand out of Omega-52, the Coalition is frustrated by powerful enemies on every side. Even so, the Coalition is in no danger of losing the space it has.

The Sirius Coalition has also laid claim to the Omega-50 system, but this claim is contested by the Reapers of Sirius and the Corsairs, as well as some of the Zoners living in the system. Whether the Coalition will be able to secure it's claims on the system is as yet unclear.

Government and politics
The Sirius Coalition is a federal socialist republic, under the control of the Communist Party of the Coalition. No other parties are permitted to operate in the Coalition. The Coalition's government is divided into three branches, though many allege that the real power comes from the Communist Party, and that the government is just a rubber stamp for the Party's policies.

Legislative Branch
The Coalition's legislature is the State Duma of the Coalition which is composed of 742 delegates elected by the citizens of the Coalition. Each delegate represents a district of roughly equal population, and are drawn from every planet and installation under Coalition control.

The State Duma is responsible for drafting new laws, and has the power to pass constitutional amendments. In addition it also elects the members of the Council of the People's Commissars, as well as the Supreme Court of the Coalition. Finally, the State Duma appoints the Procurator General of the Coalition.

Executive Branch
The Coalition's executive functions are executed by the Premier of the Coalition. The Premier also acts as the head of the State Duma, and is elected by the members of the Duma, with the blessing of the Communist Party. Typically the Premier also holds the title of General Secretary of the Communist Party, though this is not always the case. In the case where the offices are held by two different people, the General Secretary of the Communist Party is considered to be the leader of the Coalition. The Premier is responsible for executing the laws passed by the State Duma. The Premier may also dissolve the Duma and call for a new election should the body no longer be able to function adequately, such as in regular deadlocks on many votes.

The day-to-day functions of the Coalition, however, are ran by the three Ministries, the Ministry of Plenty, the Ministry of Peace, and the Ministry of Truth.

The Ministry of Plenty is the largest of the three ministries and is responsible for management of the economy and managing import and export. The Ministry of Plenty also manages the basic needs of the citizens of the Coalition, such as housing, sanitation, and water.

The Ministry of Peace is the civilian agency responsible for the Coalition's defense and law enforcement. In addition to managing the Revolutionary Army and the Militsiya, the Ministry of Peace is also responsible for managing Chief Administration of Corrective Labour Camps and Colonies, more commonly known as the GULag. The GULag manages a series of penal labor camps on both Volgograd and JiangXi. The camps vary from relatively light public works projects for minor offenders to the more severe Katorga works for more serious offenders.

The Ministry of Truth is responsible for all information disseminated in the Coalition, and all published materials are reviewed and edited before publishing. This includes news reports, books, music, and every other form of media conceivable.

Judicial Branch
Finally, the Judicial arm of the Coalition at the national level is the Supreme Court of the Coalition. It is responsible for supervising both civilian and military courts, as well as for hearing cases of national importance. Also at the upper levels of the Coalition's judicial system is the Procurator General of the Coalition. The Procurator General is the highest prosecutor in the nation, and is responsible for overseeing the investigation and prosecution of criminal cases through a series of subordinate Public Procurators.

Economy
The Economy of the Coalition is currently managed by a "New Economic Policy" that has seen a burst of growth and prosperity in the Omega-52 system.

Premier Katz's government implemented this economic policy to prevent the Coalition economy from collapsing. Allowing some private ventures, the NEP allows small businesses or shops, for instance, to reopen for private profit while the state continues to control banks, foreign trade, and large industries.

The New Economic Policy (NEP) replaced the policies of War Communism which attempted to obliterate any signs of the market economy in the Coalition. War Communism’s policies hadn´t been too kind to the Coalition's economy and thus, was in dire need of some new kind of reform, whether political or economic. This manifested in the opening of Omega-52 to outside trade in the form of TAZ and IND vessels being granted specific permission to trade inside the system under the watchful eye of the economic ministry.

One direct benefit of the system was the planet JaingXi that saw a rush of development and growth, as well as a large scale immigration from war torn sections of Bretonia. This, in turn, has brought a great deal of opportunity and prosperity to the Coalition, and is touted as a great success by the Government.

The NEP succeeded in creating an economic recovery after the devastating effects of the Phantom attack on JaingXi, and the Coalition continues to support its efforts. There is some concern among more conservative members of the Communist Party that the NEP is a step backwards away from the ideal of a true Communist state, as such, there is a push to replace the Policy with a heavily controlled Centrally Planned Economic System.

Currency
Prior to Grand Admiral McIntosh's February Revolution, the currency in use was the Coalition Ruble. Under the failed economic policies of High Chancellor Aeon's government, the Ruble lost a large portion of it's value, eventually leading to the Ruble's total collapse. The Ruble's collapse made life very difficult for the Coalition's citizens and helped contribute to the final collapse of Aeon's government.

After the February Revolution, under the policies of War Communism, all economic production was placed under the government's authority and the ailing Ruble was replaced by a system of ration coupons for various commodities. Though the ration coupons managed to provide basic necessities, scarcity was still a way of life for the citizens of the Coalition. Because of the usual lack of anything beyound the basic necessities, workers were not encouraged to work at their best and production began to fall off, resulting in the curtailing of rations even further. This was not a system that could continue indefinately.

In the face of a sluggish economy, the State Duma began to draft the New Economic Policy under the guidance of Premier Katz. As a part of the NEP, the inadequate system of ration coupons was replaced by a system of social credit. Under Social Credit, every citizen is an equal partner in the Coalition's economy. Each citizen recieves a set allotment of money to spend however the wish in lieu of a standard paycheck. As the economy strengthens, the allotment increases, encouraging every citizen to contribute their best effort. After the introduction of Social Credit, worker productivity began to increase steadily, and the quality of life increased as well.

Crime and dissent
Organized crime within Coalition space is practically unheard of, due to the Coalition government's low tolerance of criminal behavior. Criminal activity is generally limited to petty crime and political agitation encouraged by the larger houses. Neither category is widespread and both are crushed by the Militsiya before they're allowed to create any serious problems. Crime is simply not an issue that troubles the average Coalition citizen.