Nations and Factions (Galactic Century)

Galactic Federation
The Galactic Federation is the oldest galactic government, as well as the largest superpower in the galaxy. Though it does not hold dominion over all of human civilization, as a fair number of independent nations remain in existance, the GF does encompass nearly half of the civilized Milky Way Galaxy. The GF originally began life as the Earth Federation, a centralized government that ruled over the planet Earth and the initial human colonies, formed in a similar vein to the "ancient" United Nations (though not being the same government). As time went on however, humanity would spread further and further into the galaxy, colonizing an uncountable number of planets and star systems (which did not always remain associated to Earth), thus necessitating the transference from the Earth Federation to the Galactic Federation. In turn, this transference would mark the beginning of a new calendar: the Galactic Century (GC).

In terms of structure, the Galactic Federation isn't so much a nation unto itself, but rather a unified body of individual stellar nations that answer up to a centralized government. Though it is supposedly based on the United Nations (which served as the basis for the preceding Earth Federation), the GF is more functionally similar to the ancient United States of America. Its executive office is the Galactic Federation Presidency, while its legislative branch is the Galactic Federation Senate; both institutions are comprised of democratically elected members. As opposed to the original Earth Federation being considered a "rich man's club", in which the wealthiest Earth nations lauded over the poorer ones, no one planet or system holds reigning influence over the GF; all individual nation states are considered equal in status, with the Federation government itself taking precedence. Even so, Earth is the longtime capital of the GF, with its adminstration divided between three cities: Toronto (the Political Capital), New Yark (the Financial Capital) and Norad (the Military Capital - formerly Colorado Springs). The current President of the Galactic Federation is Jamitov Hyran, with Adenaur Paraya serving alongside as Vice President.

The Federation's military arm is the Galactic Federation Star Force (GFSF, or just Star Force). Like its parent organization, Star Force descends from the original Earth Federation Space Force (EFSF); as such, Star Force functions primarily as an interstellar navy, designed to maintain peace and security between the various Federation worlds. The administrative center is Star Force Command, which is headed by a Fleet Admiral, while its physical forces are structured into thirteen Fleets, all headed by an Admiral. Each Fleet holds jurisdiction over one-thirteenth of all Federation territory, and retains its own logistic and intelligence forces. Originally Star Force was built around the "Big Gun" philosophy of early AD era Earth, in which its primary power lay within powerful warships equipped with heavy armaments. However, with the invention of the mobile suit, Star Force has since transitioned toward making ships that can carry MS, symbolized by the Midway-class fleet carrier. Unfortunately, it still remains relatively behind in MS development, especially as other nations have begun to field mobile suits of their own. Star Force's standard colors are gunmetal grey and navy blue, and its current commander is Fleet Admiral Abraham Revil.

In the recent century, another Federal force was established in response to growing anti-Federation aggression: the Titans. Though officially part of Star Force, the Titans are an entirely seperate organization whose command structure, fleet composition and military assets are all classified; only the President (who the Titans subsequently answer to directly) and certain members of the Senate are aware of their true capabilities. Their main purpose is to eliminate all perceived threats to the Federation, and though their activities are also classified, the Titans are renowned for accomplishing their objectives with great force. Through this modus operadi alongside the organization's secrecy, many within and outside the Federation have grown to distrust the Titans; regular Star Force personnel especially despise them, often unfavorably comparing their members to various AD era extremists. The Titans' standard colors are black and red, and their current commander is Admiral Basque Ohm.

Currently, the Galactic Federation is at war with its main rival power, the Zeon Empire. Unfortunately due to Zeon's smaller but more advanced Imperial Guard, as well as the genetic superiorities of its soldiers, the Empire has effectively beaten back (but not yet defeated) Star Force, such that some believe it is only a matter of time before Zeon conquers the Federation in its entirety.

The symbol the Galactic Federation (and Star Force) is a golden four pointed star over a horizontal crescent.

Zeon Empire
The Zeon Empire is a galactic nation that consists of the distant world of Zeon and its territories. Alongside the Galactic Federation, the Empire is considered one of the dominant superpowers of the galaxy, though its allotted territory is much smaller than the Federation's. Originally a Federation colony, pre-terraformed Zeon proved to be a harsh world that could barely support human life. As such, the initial colonists turned to (otherwise illegal) genetic engineering so that their children would be more capable of adapting to their environment. As time passed, Zeon would become completely terraformed, but by that point the practice of genetic engineering had become a way of life for Zeon's inhabitants; this would result in a myriad of controversies within the Federation and growing stigma toward Zeon, eventually causing the entire world and its affiliates to secede from the Federation and form its own supernation in the Outer Rim.

By design, the Zeon Empire is an elective monarchy that emphasizes imperialism and genetic supremacy. Whereas the Federation is largely similar to the AD era United States of America, Zeon is mostly based on the ancient German Empire (in its various forms). It is primarily ruled by an Emperor, who is elected to power by the fifteen High Families, descendents of the original Zeon colonists that function as nobility, symbolized by the inclusion of the nobiliary particle "von" in their names. While the Emperor has unilateral power and authority, the day to day administration is handled by the Imperial Council, which consists of representatives from all Imperial worlds and is headed by a Chancellor. In terms of society, Zeon, again due to their continued practice of eugenics, is primarily based around the philosophies of Nietzcheim and Dawkinism, in which conflict and competition are emphasized; from the day they are born Zeon must fight for their place in Imperial society, as well as to reproduce and continue their House lineage. Natural selection is prevalent here, with some succeeding and others being less fortunate. Even so, in other areas Zeon is not far removed from traditional human society, with intellectualism being as valued as physical capability, and the desire for joy and happiness being commonplace.

Zeon's military arm is its Imperial Guard, which was immediately formed upon Zeon's succession from the Federation. As Zeon was originally a Federation world, the Imperial Guard is highly based upon Star Force, functioning as an interstellar navy that both enforces peace and security within the Empire, as well as ensuring that no outside forces attempt invasion. The Guard as a whole is commanded by a single Grand Admiral, while formal administration comes from Imperial High Command. In turn, its physical forces are structured into ten Fleets, all headed by an Admiral; as with their Federation equivalents, each Fleet holds jurisdiction over one-tenth of all Imperial territory, and retains its own logistic and intelligence forces. Despite its smaller size however, the Imperial Guard is more than a match for Star Force or any other military out there, as Zeon hold a considerable edge in advanced technology and overall troop quality. As well, it was the first organization to recognize the full value of the mobile suit, and as such was quicker in restructuring its forces and overall strategy around it than the Federation; this factor, as well as the originally unmatched performance of the ZMS-006 Zaku, has given the Imperial Guard complete dominance over its enemies for a time. The Imperial Guard's standard color is dark green, and its current commander is Grand Admiral Dozle von Zabi.

Despite their hatred for the Federation and "lowborn" (Zeon slang for unaugmented humans) altogether, the Zeon Empire has remained at relative peace with its neighbors for several centuries; this is due to the House of Daikun and its line of Emperors promoting peaceful coexistence with those around them. Recently however, that has all changed with the demise of the last Emperor of the Daikun Dynasty, Dietrich, and the ascension of Emperor Gihren of the House of Zabi. Not long after this change in leadership, Zeon would invade Federation space, beginning the First Galactic War.

The symbol the Zeon Empire is an ornate golden cross.

Cosmo Babylonia
Cosmo Babylonia is a small stellar nation that holds dominion over the Babylonia System and twelve other nearby star systems. Established by the elite Ronah family, Cosmo Babylonia is a "cosmic aristocracy", in which the ruling government consists of nobility (in this case the Ronah family) who are directly responsible for the common peoples' betterment; as such, Cosmo Babylonia is somewhat in between the Federation and Zeon in structure, as it practices the non-democratic elitist rulership of Zeon, but also retains biological equality like the Federation. In spite of this setup however, the "common" citizenry of Cosmo Babylonia enjoy a high standard of living and quality of life that does not exist in most other stellar nations, all due to the Ronah family's practice and emphasis of noblesse oblige.

For the majority of its existence, Cosmo Babylonia would remain isolated from galactic affairs at large, attending to its own domain rather than mingle in the affairs of outside nations. The only notable change in this policy was when it granted sanctuary to the Crossbone Vanguard, the last of the great space pirate bands, during the closing days of the Age of Space Piracy. The Crossbone Vanguard has since become a privateer militia for its new host nation, performing raids and interdiction operations into outside space, including territories that belong to the Federation or Zeon. Naturally, Cosmo Babylonia denies any role in these raids, as well as the Vanguard's continued existence; this combined with Cosmo Babylonia's small but fairly advanced Babylonian Militia (which has already begun fielding its first mobile suit, the XM-001 Denan Zon) has prevented other nations from responding with armed incursions of their own. The Crossbone Vanguard's standard color is purple while the Babylonian Militia's standard color is light grey. The Vanguard's commander is Captain Carozzo "Iron Mask" Ronah, while the Militia falls under Admiral Hauzeri Ronah.

The symbol of Cosmo Babylonia is a gold, Roman aquila-styled eagle.

Crux Republic
The Crux Republic is a presidential republican state located within the Middle Rim, specifically in an area known as the Regalia Cluster. It was founded around GC 157 by former Federal Senator turned President Crux Dogatie, who, like his colleague Bismarck von Daikun, had grown disenchanted by the Federation and wished to create a nation free from its influence. As opposed to the militarization of most modern day nations, the Republic instead focuses on ecomonic influence; thanks to the abundance of resources within the Regalia Cluster, the Crux Republic has become one of the largest authorities in galactic trade and production, holding trade relations with over half the galaxy. As well, Republican businesses are fairly prevalent, with the Crux holding an establishment in virtually every industrial and domestic sector; it is not uncommon to see a Crux business or factory even upon the most backwater of worlds. That said however, the Crux have only gained mixed success in the galactic market for the last century or so, as they have yet to overcome to competition presented by the Federation or Zeon, as well as "super conglomorates" like the Anaheim Corporation.

Though not a military power by any stretch of the imagination, Crux holds a nominal Republican Guard to protect its borders, whose main force consists of several destroyers and frigates. As with most other galactic militaries, the Crux have also begun in house mobile suit production, with the first design, the CMS-001 Batara, already being distributed. The Republican Guard's standard color is light green, and its current commanders are First Admiral Luce Callisto and Second Admiral Ombra Callisto.

Besides the Republican Guard, the Crux, taking advantage of the high demand for mobile suits, have also begun selling Bataras to outside nations, such as the Three Dynasties (the Principality of Estard, the Duchy of Gastar and the Barony of Northernbell), and private factions, ranging from mercenary groups like Ghingham's Legion, private military companies such as Satelicon Defense Services, and revolutionary (terrorist) movements like the Krugis People's Special Army (KPSA). As such, the Batara has become one of the most numerous and commonplace mobile suit designs in the galaxy, as its simplicity makes it easy to afford and operate even by the most impoverished and inexperienced of pilots. That being said, it cannot hope to match more advanced military models, such as those of the Federation, Zeon, Cosmo Babylonia or Orb Union.

The symbol of the Crux Republic is (naturally) a white four pointed cross, made to symbolize the constellation of Crux.