tags: Lore
Terra (Earth)
Name
Terra/Earth, also known as “United Terra”
History
2083 CE “Einstein was almost right, you know. We came this close to his ‘sticks and stones’ outcome. If not for the fact that we’d colonized the Moon and Mars already, we may very well have wound up there anyways.” [Professor Iris Hawthorne, Human History 101 circa 2463]
Global conflict erupts on Earth, throwing the entirety of the planet into World War 3 in 2083 CE. The established colonies on Luna and Mars declare independence with no resistance. The war concludes in 2105, but the political and cultural face of the planet is forever changed. Humanity becomes generally collectivized into larger power blocks on the surface as the conflict winds down, as the now-independent Luna and Mars come to Earth’s aid.
In time, Earth once more rose from the ashes of this devastating conflict, with the last remaining leaders that saw its final conclusion gathering the remnants of the warring states into a united governing body that oversaw the restructuring of the remaining infrastructure and began the long arduous cleanup of the aftermath. Taking over two centuries to complete in full, the nuclear fallout and biological weapons damage was removed from the environment, though the scars of that conflict have reshaped the face of the world.
Just before the foundation of the Orion Confederation in 2198 and after Skrell technology began to integrate itself into human society - and as they do with all things, humans began to make it their own - Earth attempted to once more assert dominance within the solar system over Luna and Mars during the chaotic rationalization of the far-flung colonies beginning to form outside of the solar system itself as FTL technology (introduced in the late 2150s) began the “Giant Leap” from the home system. Renaming itself as “United Sol” and implementing a common language that today is now known as Sol Common or “SolCom,” Earth tried to claim itself as the mother system and began negotiations for the right to both host the Confederation seat of power and represent all of Sol on the governing council (thus obtaining three votes). This ploy failed in the end with Luna taking the glory of hosting the Confederation government on its surface. Following this failed political power play, the planet settled on the name of “United Terra”, which remains the governing body to this day, the only legacy of the ploy being the system-wide common language taught to this day.
Modern Day
Today, Earth (Or “United Terra”) stands on its large population of highly skilled workers, standardized manufacturing capabilities, and proportionally high spending on its military to maintain its position within the Confederation at large. Leveraging its financial institutions and its stable climate (both environmentally and economically) as the premier source of credit to the outer systems and funding man colonies on the frontier in cooperation with the various megacorporations, despite the tenuous hold it may have over these corporate entities.
The government of “United Terra” is based on a planetary council headed by a singular President, elected by the various regional governments’ legislative bodies (In a manner similar to how US Senators used to be elected). The council serves on four-year-long terms and is limited to a maximum of two terms. They can run for the position of president to deal with external politics of both the Orion Confederation and the Sol system at large - but this is also limited to two terms maximum. The most senior councilman holds the role of Executive Councilor, which can be re-elected a maximum of four times, and is in charge of most domestic affairs. All members of the council must have served in a role in service to the people, such as the United Terran Military, Civil Service, or recognized charitable organizations.
Ethos:
Earth’s foundation as a wartorn society that has - over time - rebuilt itself into an economic and financial powerhouse has led to the mixing of the various national cultures that existed before the Final War; this doesn’t mean the old cultures do not exist or influence modern Terrans, but the general sense of “Individual, but United” pervades the culture of humans that hail from the third planet out from the sun.
Military Organization
After the Final War came to a conclusion, and the surviving forces were consolidated in the fifty years following the aftermath, a unique decision was made in order to promote a peaceful integration of these various former nation-state organizations into a cohesive whole: Amalgamation. National Armies were integrated down to the platoon level, weapons were standardized, and ships - both bluewater and blackwater (space) vessels - were combined into groups that all functioned under a single service, respective of their branches: Army, Airforce, Navy, and Marines. The major outcome of this was the integration of the various national cultures into one cohesive subculture that set the tone for each branch; the branches themselves remain to promote the friendly rivalry between the others as the ancient traditions dictate. On that point, tradition is a major driving factor in the structure of these military forces, to keep the culture of professionalism and competence alive. As of 2550, Earth’s military consists of:
The main way of projecting power into space, the Navy is one of the most well-funded branches. Maintaining two fleets of ships that remain a part of the system defense forces, the remaining four are on rotating detachments to the Joint Systems Defense Force, being deployed out to the frontier of Orion Confederation space and the Frontier. The majority of the equipment put into place by Terran naval forces is a conglomeration of Terran, Martian, and Lunar technologies; the funding available to this service means it can field significantly more vessels compared to the smaller nations within the Sol System. The Navy possesses it own aerospace forces that it wields much like terrestrial fleets of old once did, however the scale of interstellar combat returned the role of the traditional ‘battlewagons’ to the fleets that now roam the spaces between the planets of stars.
United Terran Aerospace Force:
Responsible for planetary air and space defense, and for supporting the Army in countering any ground assault that may come to land on the planet. UTAF forces are the primary in-atmosphere trans-atmospheric and near-space defense against incoming threats and perform recon, tactical intel, and strike support for existing United Terra installations and associated colonies.
United Terran Army
Primarily concerned with defending or attacking hostile forces that make landfall on Terra or its colonies. Traditionally the “Big Stick” that Terra can bring to bear on a situation, the Army is a large organization that provides garrison forces, engineering support, ground-based artillery, VTOL insertion, and large formations of armored vehicles (tracked, wheeled, and bipedal), mechanized and light infantry. Additionally, the majority of Terra’s Special Forces are a part of this branch.
United Terran Marine Corps
The primary expeditionary force of Earth, the United Sol Marines.
The mission of the United Terran Marine Corps (UTMC) is to provide the main strike element of its parent service, the United Sol Navy (UTN), and to provide a rapid reaction and expeditionary force capable of meeting any threat posed to the citizens of Terra and her colonies, or as a part of the JSDF when on detached service. When stationed aboard ship as part of the Fleet Marine Force, Marine units are on call to respond to any threat the ship requires troops for, such as eliminating and securing pirate/slaver strongholds, hostage rescue, and general shipboard security.
Lore
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| Corporations | NanoTrasen, Frontier Megacorporations, Minor Corporations, The Syndicate |
| NanoTrasen Specific | NDV Marksman, Paracausal Monitoring Division |
| Other Organizations | ITV Talon, System Defense Force, The Orion Confederation |
| Worldbuilding | Extradimensional Mechanics, FTL Travel, Galactic Landmarks, Legends, Mysteries, and Rumors, Metaphysics and Paracausality, Technology of the 2500's, The Timeline |
| Contribution Data | Lore Submission Templates, Roadmap for Lore Development |
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Authored by: GySgtMurphy and KatComputer