Nations and Factions (Galactic Century)

The following are the nations and factions of Mobile Suit Gundam Alpha.

Earth Federation
The Earth 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 existence, the EF does possess the largest allotted territory within the civilized Milky Way Galaxy, with only the Zeon Empire and Sanc Kingdom coming close to rivaling it. The EF originally began life as the United Nations, a centralized government that ruled over the planet Earth and the initial human colonies. 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 the UN), thus necessitating the transference from the United Nations to the Earth Federation.

In terms of structure, the Earth Federation is, as its name suggests, a nation of smaller states and territories ruled by a centralized government on Earth. As such, though it descends from the United Nations, the EF is more functionally similar to the ancient United States of America. Its executive office is the Earth Federation Presidency, while its legislative branch is the Earth Federation Senate; both institutions are comprised of democratically elected members. As opposed to the original United Nations 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 EF; all individual nation states are considered equal in status, with the Federation government itself taking precedence. Even so, for obvious reasons, Earth is the longtime capital of the Federation, with its adminstration divided between three cities: Dakar (the Political Capital), London (the Financial Capital) and Norad (the Military Capital - formerly Colorado Springs). The current President of the Earth Federation is Jamitov Hyran, with Adenaur Paraya serving alongside as Vice President.

The Federation's military arm is the Earth Federation Star Force (EFSF, or just Star Force). Like its parent organization, Star Force descends from the original United Nations Space Force (UNSF); 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 fleetcarrier. Unfortunately, it still remains relatively behind in MS development, as Star Force's signature design, the Guncannon line, has proven inadequately matched to certain other types. That being said, the Federation has begun to extensively catch up with its procurement of Project V and the development of the RGX-780 Gundam. 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 Earth Federation is at war with its main rival power, the Zeon Empire, which has launched a crusade for total control of the galaxy and supremacy over humanity. Unfortunately due to Zeon's somewhat 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. Those same spectators also agree that once the Federation is defeated, then Zeon will have effectively obtained complete victory, as no other nation can match its strength nor its size.

The insignia of the Earth Federation is the Federation Cross, a 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 Earth Federation and Sanc Kingdom, the Empire is considered one of the dominant superpowers of the galaxy, though its allotted territory is 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 Nietzcheism 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 based highly 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. As with the EFSF, the Guard's 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 (in comparison to its forebearer), the Imperial Guard is more than a match for Star Force or any other military out there, as Zeon holds 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 its adversaries; 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.

Outside the regular military forces, Zeon's primary enforcement and intelligence arm is the Imperial Security Directorate (ISD). Originally formed to hunt down and apprehend anti-Zeon dissenters, the ISD has since grown past its original purpose and now exists as Zeon's secret police. It was the ISD that, after Gihren von Zabi's seizure of power, hunted down and eliminated members of the House of Daikun, as well as any other threat the newly crowned Emperor had foreseen, which included anyone from members of the Imperial Council to high ranking Imperial Guard commanders to regular citizenry. To this day, the ISD keeps a tight watch over Zeon should another threat to their Emperor arise, while both Zeon and outsiders alike view the organization with certain dread.

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. Not long after this change in leadership, Zeon would invade the other nations' space and drive for complete conquest of the galaxy. Thus begins the First Galactic War.

The insignia of the Zeon Empire is the (in)famous Zeon Cross.

Cosmo Babylonia
Cosmo Babylonia is a relatively small stellar nation that holds dominion over the Babylonia System and several 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. The official head of the Ronah family, and therefore Cosmo Babylonia's head of state, is the Patriarch, with the current holder of the title (and office) being Meitzer Ronah.

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 integrated into the Babylonian Guard, from which it acts as a privateer militia for its new host nation, regularly performing interdiction and raids in outside territories. Naturally, Cosmo Babylonia denies any role in these raids, as well as the Vanguard's continued existence; this combined with Babylonian Guard's high level of advancement (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 Guard's standard color is light grey. The Guard in its entirety falls under the command of High Admiral Carozzo "Iron Mask" Ronah, while the Crossbone Vanguard is under the command of Captain Berah "Iron Maiden" Ronah (Carozzo's daughter).

Besides the Babylonian Guard, Cosmo Babylonia's main form of defense is Serpiente Tacon, a specialized intelligence organization that functions in similar capacity to the Earth Federation's Federal Intelligence Agency (FIA) or the Zeon Empire's Imperial Security Directorate (ISD). Though much smaller than the aforementioned organizations, Serpiente Tacon is one of the most effective intelligence agencies in the galaxy, such that it is reputed to have agents in every other outside nation and territory. Alongside, Serpiente Tacon is also responsible for special security within Cosmo Babylonia itself, though unlike the ISD, it focuses more on subtlety when tracking and apprehending dissenters as opposed to outright brutality.

Alongside the majority of the galaxy, Cosmo Babylonia is currently engaged in war with the Zeon, holding a de facto alliance with the Federation. Unlike most other stellar nations, Cosmo Babylonia has held its own against Zeon, despite the much smaller size of its military; experts equate this to the performance of the Denan Zon, which is on par with that of the Imperial Zaku. Even so, it is a common belief that if the war continues on, Cosmo Babylonia will eventually succumb to Zeon superiority.

The insignia of Cosmo Babylonia is the Babylonian Aquila (Roman aquila-styled eagle).

Crux Republic
The insignia of the Crux Republic is the Crux Shield, a escutcheon with the constellation Crux within its center.

Zanscare Consortium
The insignia of the Zanscare Consortium is the Shield of Zanscare, an escutcheon with an ornate 'Z' at its center.

Kowloon Alliance
The insignia of the Kowloon Alliance is the Kowloon Orchid, a five petal flower shaped like a pinwheel.

Sanc Kingdom
The insignia of the Sanc Kingdom is the Sanc Lion, a lion head at the center of an upside down triangle.

Freeden Confederacy
The insignia of the Freeden Confederacy is the Freeden Tri-Stars, three stars with a wreath surrounding them. This in turn is based on the General rank insignia of the ancient Confederate States Army.

Diannan Commonwealth
The insignia of the Diannan Commonwealth is Dianna's Crescent, which is a blue planet (Dianna) with a white crescent edge, placed above a four leaf olive branch.

Orb Union
The insignia of the Orb Union is the Orb Sun, a single star placed over a banner with "ORB" written across it.

Human Reform League
The insignia of the Human Reform League is the Hammer and Sickle, the emblem of the ancient Soviet Union.

Vagan Ascendency
The insignia of the Vegan Ascendency is the Vegan Eye, a single blank circle with two three (outwardly) pointed crests on either side.