Jupiter and its Moons
"Whom Jupiter would destroy he first drives mad."
- Apocryphal; variously attributed
The Jupiter Sphere
Jupiter is the furthest humanity has gone from the Earth without using a Fold drive, and with the recall of the Macross fleets well in advance of the formation of any interstellar colonies, represents the furthest populated spaces held by Earthnoids. The Jupiter Sphere, like the Earth Sphere, is populated... though the truth of its population is a well-kept secret. A few major organizations hold sway out in the Jupiter Sphere.
The Jupiter Energy Fleet
The Jupiter Energy Fleet is a neutral organization devoted to the gathering and sale of helium-3. Little is known of their day-to-day experience; they make regular shipments of helium-3 in exchange for necessary supplies through a mass driver network, and only occasionally even bother with more than a token escort for their ships.
Despite the war with supposed lizards from somewhere within the Jupiter Sphere, the Jupiter Energy Fleet's shipments continue totally unabated.
Anti-Earth Cooperative Federation of the Jovian Sphere: Ganymede, Callisto, Europa, and Associated Moons and Asteroids
The Anti-Earth Cooperative Federation of the Jovian Sphere: Ganymede, Callisto, Europa, and Associated Moons and Asteroids (or, if we're pressed for time, the Jovian Federation) is the real power of the Jupiter Sphere, with seemingly limitless industrial power and access to technologies totally unknown in the Earth Sphere. Led by Vice-Admiral Haruki Kusakabe, the Jovian Federation seeks the utter destruction of the Earth Federation apparatus and all who derive power therefrom. Their unmanned (and occasionally manned) units, beamed to Earth at light speed outside of conventional space using a technology called Boson Jumping, have been waging a mostly indiscriminate war against the people of the Earth Sphere.
Culture
The Jovian Federation's culture comes from two sources:
- a diehard nationalist-authoritarian political styling that was common in the Earth Sphere in the late 2100s that largely died out with the advent of supranational unions, and
- cult classic mecha anime Gekiganger 3 (and its half-sequel, half-rebrand third cour Gekiganger V, as well as a handful of notes and artbooks providing designs and suggestions for a true sequel.
Political Situation
The Jovian Federation enjoys a friendly relationship with one unexpected Earth Sphere nation: PLANT. In the PLANTs, the Jovians see their cultural trauma repeated almost note for note, with only modest variation in the particulars; what's more, the first Coordinator, George Glenn, kept their secret and even engaged in some cultural exchange with them rather than show hostility, so the Jovians' feelings on Coordinators are quite positive. There's some degree of cultural friction between them due to the PLANTs' extremely egalitarian ethos, which flies in the face of the Gekiganger-driven male chauvinism of the