Other Regions
Supranational Unions Not In The Federation
Occupying the Scandinavian peninsula, the Kingdom of Scandinavia operates as a single geopolitical entity which held Federation membership until 0083. The refusal of the Federation General Assembly to look into the circumstances of the collapse of the Sanc Kingdom led Scandinavia to withdraw from the Federation entirely in protest. The AEU and Union both have a standing trade embargo on the Kingdom of Scandinavia, but the embargo is relatively soft and violations involving laundering trade through the Organization of African Consolidation or Orb Union go substantially unprosecuted.
The United Emirates of Orb
The United Emirates of Orb (informally, the Orb Union, or Orb; never ORB) consist of two natural islands, Yalafath and Onogoro, and several artificial islands. Orb is located far north and slightly east from New Zealand, along the same subduction zone line. Orb is something of an accident, founded in the 2040s. A group of Japanese, Sanc Kingdom, and Arabic investors in an early mass driver project realized that no nation had a credible claim on the recently-emerged volcanic islands in question, and decided to found a country.
Thanks to its early investment in space travel, its perfect positioning for a mass driver, and trade policies describable as "mercantile" or maybe outright "mercenary," Orb is extremely wealthy. Its high tolerance for Coordinators has also made it a major center of technological innovation on Earth.
The government of Orb consists of a unicameral legislature with several elected positions and five noble positions held by descendants of the original investors in the island chain. Recent events have caused the resignation of previous Chief Representative Uzumi Nara Athha, who has handed the reins of power to his brother, Homura Athha.
The Orb Union is a small island micronation in the Pacific which maintains only a modestly-sized defensive military. It officially maintains no relationship with the Federation save for trade; however, recently, multiple Orb-based arms contractors were exposed as working with the Federation on key projects. Its leader, Uzumi Nara Athha, resigned his position in shame, passing it to his brother, Homura Athha. The Orb Union's excellent access to space for a nation of its size has made it a popular destination for aerospace engineering companies. In addition to the partially-nationalized Morgenroete, the Orb Union also serves as the base of operations for Nergal Heavy Industries. Nergal is nominally friendly with the Federation, but hardly under their thumb… and their signature battleship, the Nadesico, seems to be bent on pursuing an agenda of more interest to Nergal and Orb than the Federation.
Major Players in Orb
- The Athhas
- The most powerful of Orb's five ruling families, and the least eccentric. Their daughter, Cagalli Yula Athha, has gone off to support various rebellion organizations working against both invading spacenoids and Earthnoid aggression.
- The Sahakus
- Rondo Gina Sahaku and Rondo Mina Sahaku, a pair of Coordinators, are the current leaders of the Sahaku family, which oversees Orb's partially-nationalized mobile weapon manufacturer, Morgenroete. They are comfortably close with Nergal Heavy Industries.
- The Peacelands
- The Peacelands, another of Orb's five ruling families, trace their lineage back to an offshoot of the Sanc Kingdom's royal family. Premier "King" Peaceland, who married into the family, is actually a cousin of Uzumi's.
- The Seirans
- Unato Ema Seiran and his son, Yuna Roma Seiran, are poised to take control after Homura Athha's period as interim Chief Representative ends. They are notably both more hawkish and more racist than Orb's average.
- The Centrums
- The Centrum family, nominally led by representative Taylor Centrum and his father, directly handles the Kaguya Mass Driver and its semi-nationalized shipping company, Centrum Express. Their heiress, Aqua, has elected to join a Nergal research division rather than prepare herself for governance.
- Nergal Heavy Industries
- An arms contractor with a secret agenda. Nergal is nominally friendly with the Federation, but hardly under their thumb... and their signature battleship, the Nadesico, seems to be bent on pursuing an agenda of more interest to Nergal and Orb than the Federation.
Other Regions on Earth
Independent nations and blocs in the Earth Sphere are usually mercantile states with some asset that makes a lot of money and would be militarily difficult to approach, or powder kegs of conflict that no one wants to get involved with. Side 6 and Saudi Arabia are examples of the former type, while Azadistan and Helmajistan are examples of the latter. Some, like Zilkhstan, split the difference.
Despite their differences, there are some common threads between these two types of independent nations. The current political swing in these states trends reformist, with nations like Azadistan seeking reform and others reaffirming their commitment to peace. Their domestic policy priorities are economic. In conflict-heavy nations, this manifests as seeking a new economic niche with the phasing out of oil and geothermal power in favor of solar, compact fusion, and Photon Power resources. In peaceful independent nations, meanwhile, the urge is to protect existing infrastructure. Independent nations also show a markedly higher tolerance for Coordinators than anywhere else on Earth.