© Perihelion Interactive 2015
The Mandate
Lore Document
Perihelion Interactive
5/6/2015
This document contains expanded backstory for The Mandate including information about major and
minor factions. The document is written for backers in general and backers who have pledged for
design tiers in particular. It will be updated and expanded as new information becomes available.
The Mandate
Version changelog
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Version 1.0 (2015/05/01): Lore Update #1
Version 1.1 (2015/06/04): Added Preface section
Version 2.0 (2015/06/05): Lore Update #2
o Added Osmani
o Added Pirates
o Added Rebels
o Added Corporations
o Added Secret Factions
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Contents
Version changelog ................................................................................................................................... 2
Preface..................................................................................................................................................... 5
The Mandate .............................................................................................................................. 6
United Colonial Guard ......................................................................................................................... 7
Gate Control Authority ........................................................................................................................ 8
The Grand Fleet ................................................................................................................................... 9
Romanovs ................................................................................................................................... 11
Council of Dukes ................................................................................................................................ 12
Preobrazhensky Life Guard ............................................................................................................... 13
Arkwrights ................................................................................................................................. 15
Explorers’ Society .............................................................................................................................. 16
Gunsmiths’ Guild ............................................................................................................................... 17
Lords Mountjoy ................................................................................................................................. 18
Europans ..................................................................................................................................... 20
Concordance...................................................................................................................................... 21
Europan Institute for Advanced Science ........................................................................................... 22
Unknown Legion ................................................................................................................................ 23
Black Eagles............................................................................................................................ 25
Archipelagists .................................................................................................................................... 26
Winged Hussars ................................................................................................................................. 27
The Eagles Rousant............................................................................................................................ 28
Osmani ........................................................................................................................................... 30
Dragomechs....................................................................................................................................... 31
Schismatics ........................................................................................................................................ 32
Janissaries .......................................................................................................................................... 33
Rebels ............................................................................................................................................ 35
Commonwealth of Penrose ............................................................................................................... 36
Wilders .............................................................................................................................................. 37
Bloody Squadron ............................................................................................................................... 38
Pirates ........................................................................................................................................... 40
Tomb Robbers ................................................................................................................................... 41
Vorovsky Mir ..................................................................................................................................... 42
Libertalia ............................................................................................................................................ 44
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Interstellar Free Trade League (IFTL) ........................................................ 46
Diamond Mining Consortium ............................................................................................................ 47
Thouin Terraforming ......................................................................................................................... 48
Mercenary League ............................................................................................................................. 49
Secret Factions .................................................................................................................... 51
Third Section...................................................................................................................................... 51
Pandorans.......................................................................................................................................... 52
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Preface
Any creative work involves finding a balance between different influences and concerns. For a game,
playability and fun is paramount – if an entertainment isn’t entertaining, it’s sunk. The core gameplay
of the Mandate, that core unit of fun, is commanding the crew of a big spaceship as it fights other big
spaceships. Everything has to support that central element, and sometimes, that means downplaying
realism or scientific accuracy or fidelity to history. Scientific realism takes second place to an
interesting setting; the interesting setting is trumped by the needs of a compelling story, and fun
gameplay is much more important than storyline. Think of the influences as adjustable sliders – we
decide to push one down to move another up, because they can’t all be maxed out.
For example, one of our volunteer scribes commented – quite rightly – that it’s unrealistic to have such
a big emphasis on shipping basic resources like metal across interstellar space. (Our own solar
system contains bodies like 16 Psyche, an asteroid with enough iron to supply Earth’s needs for
millions of years.) There, realism has to take a back seat to other concerns. We want big lumbering
freighters that the player has to escort, we want oppressed colonists on mining planets to rebel, so we
justify the change and move on. Mining a big asteroid like 16 Psyche is slow – it’s a big investment,
and if you’ve got FTL, it’s faster to blip onto the next star system and strip-mine the easily accessible
resources, then move on.
Similarly, we’re deliberately downplaying robotics and artificial intelligence. Realistically – there’s that
word again – space exploration is going to be done by robots. By the time we’re exploring other
systems, if we ever do, the ‘we’ in question isn’t going to be humans, it’ll be our cultural and
technological descendants, which isn’t necessarily the same thing as our biological ones. In all
likelihood, the future belongs to intelligent machines. However, we want to tell a story about a captain
and his or her relationship with the crew of a spaceship, and for that we need a captain and a crew on
that ship. So, we wave a wand and justify the lack of advanced robotics in our story.
Realism doesn’t always have to give way. We’re allowing ourselves two big assumptions (workable
faster-than-light travel and energy shields) and a host of smaller ones, but we’re staying clear of things
like psychic powers, space anomalies, or teleportation. We’ll do everything to convey the impression
that these are real multi-million-ton chunks of metal hurtling through the void, little fragile cocoons of
warmth and light against the pitiless dark.
th
The same balancing applies to historical accuracy, too. Our game’s inspired by 19 century European
politics, but isn’t constrained by then. Where possible, we’ll sail close to historical precedents – for
example, the Osmani were rewritten to better echo the Ottoman Empire – but other concerns may
override those precedents. The Mandate is much more egalitarian than was true historically, for
example, so you’ll find women in the navy and the captain’s chair.
Also, cyborgs and spaceships.
On any given day, for any given design decision, the way we balance our various influences and
concerns varies. Right now, for example, we’d keep that nebulous term ‘fun gameplay’ maxed out, and
put ‘player decision-making’ just below that. Then story, then setting, then probably historical
accuracy, then realism. Ask an artist, or a programmer, or a sound engineer, and they’ll each give you
a different set of priorities as they find their own point of balance.
-The Mandate writing team
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The Mandate
Faction Type: Major Faction
Capital World: Novy Petersburg
Quote: The universe gives our species no quarter. We must safeguard our own future instead of
trusting to providence.
Brief Overview: The Mandate is an interstellar union of five major powers — the Romanovs,
Arkwrights, Europans, Black Eagles and Osmani — as well as many lesser colonies. Its primary
purpose is to guard the human species against existential threats. It also controls interstellar travel and
exploration through the Gate network, and enforces its laws with its own military wing, the Grand Fleet.
History: The universe is silent. After more than 1,500 years of listening and searching, humanity has
found no sign of other intelligent life. The inevitable conclusion is that intelligence is rare and fleeting,
and that the human race must be protected. Human greed already destroyed Earth, the cradle of
humanity. Unchecked expansion and exploration led to the Pandoran plague, a contagion that could
easily have annihilated the entire species. The Mandate exists to guide humanity away from such
short-sighted mistakes to a safer future.
The Mandate was founded by the Romanovs, with the aid of their Black Eagle allies. Since its
founding, it has brought many other cultures and colonies under its aegis. Critics say that the Mandate
deliberately restricts the potential of humanity by banning exploration, technological innovations, and
scientific research, but the Mandate’s loyalists regard them as spoiled children who do not understand
why they are not allowed to play with fire.
Politics: The Mandate is ruled by an Imperator, who is advised by a Senate drawn from all the
member worlds. The Imperial office is not hereditary, at least in theory, as the Imperator must be
acclaimed by the Senate. In practice, though, all the Imperators to date have been Romanovs, and
Romanov dukes dominate the Senate.
Critics argue that the Mandate bureaucracy is staffed by thieves, fools and fanatics in equal measure
— by those who consider their job to be a sinecure, by those who couldn’t survive outside the civil
service, and by those who believe that the Mandate’s original purpose of protecting humanity makes
them holy and righteous.
Key Figures:
 Anastasia, the ruling Imperator and holder of the Mandate
 Lord High Admiral Suvarov, Anastasia’s military advisor. A strategic genius, but infamously
cold and stern.
 Procurator Vasquez, the beleaguered and increasingly ineffective head of the Senate.
How The Mandate Sees...
 Itself: The guardian of humanity. Any action taken to safeguard the survival of our species is
by definition right and good.
 The Imperator: Young and untried — but that doesn’t matter. She can be a figurehead if
necessary.
 The Grand Fleet: The greatest peacekeeping force in history, a holy weapon of destiny —
now shattered by treachery.
 Corsairs: A poor replacement for the Grand Fleet, but a necessary compromise.
 Romanovs: Blessed with great foresight. The Romanovs are champions of all humanity, but
their heroism often goes unappreciated.
 Arkwrights: Troublesome, but necessary. Still, in a few centuries, they will come to
understand the wisdom of the Mandate.
 Europans: Close and worthy allies of the Romanovs, but their scientific curiosity must be
tempered with caution.
 Black Eagles: Saved from extinction by the Mandate, so their lives belong to us.
 Osmani: They are still human, so they must be part of the Mandate. However, they have
become strange and dangerous, and so must be reformed.
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Corporations: The vital lifeblood of Gate trade and travel — and as the Mandate is funded
mainly through Gate taxes, the corporations bankroll the future of humanity.
Rebels: Unfortunate victims of circumstance, now driven to acts of mad aggression. It is
undeniable that conditions on the fringe colonies were… less than ideal, but the Mandate must
look a hundred and a thousand and even ten thousand years into the future. Momentary
troubles can be justified if it secures the survival of the human species.
United Colonial Guard
Faction Type: Mandate Subfaction
Capital World: Novy Petersburg
Quote: United in purpose, united in blood.
Brief Overview: The Colonial Guard is a small, elite unit. Like the Grand Fleet, it draws its members
from the armed forces of all the Mandate’s member states. Unlike the Fleet, though, an appointment to
the Colonial Guard carries little prestige among civilians. The Colonial Guard, therefore, is a more
rough-and-ready unit; less pomp and ceremony, more throat-slitting and special operations. Their role
is to “execute the will of the Mandate” — no matter what that entails.
History: The United Colonial Guard’s original purpose was to protect and defend the Imperator of the
Mandate, just as the old Preobrazhensky Life Guard protected and defended the Romanovs. Its role
grew to incorporate intelligence gathering and special operations.
Then came the so-called Third Section scandal. The Colonial Guard’s espionage section had gone
beyond its remit and was discovered to be plotting to “secure the Mandate” by assassinating critics of
the Imperator. It even had contingency plans for removing Imperators they considered weak. The
Third Section was shut down, and the Colonial Guard reduced in size and strength to its present,
much smaller size.
The Colonial Guard is rarely seen or mentioned. Grand Fleet captains may parade in their finery and
attend court; Grand Fleet ships glitter in the sunlight as they orbit Novy Petersburg, so brightly
burnished they are like a flotilla of stars. The Colonial Guard stays in the shadows. Its warriors receive
no public honors and do not attend court. Its ships run silent and dark.
Politics: The United Colonial Guard recruits the most skilled soldiers in the Mandate, so it is
dominated by Black Eagles. Like the Grand Fleet, it answers directly to the Imperator, although it is
free of the disease of intrigue and political appointments that rotted the Fleet from within.
Rumors that the Third Section was not destroyed but instead still exists as a top-secret espionage and
covert-operations agency are, of course, nonsense.
So far, the Imperator has refrained from deploying the United Colonial Guard against the Rebels and
has kept the Guard in a purely defensive role. If she lets slip the chain of these dogs of war, the Fringe
Worlds will burn.
Key Figures:
 Commander Brehzlin: Promoted to commander by the late Imperator Nikolai, Commander
Brehzlin is a veteran of many year’s service in the Colonial Guard. Her appointment was seen
as a sop to critics of Imperator Nikolai’s conciliatory attitude to the Rebels. By promoting a
hawkish hard-liner, Nikolai bolstered his military credentials in the Senate. Brehzlin’s longstanding feud with Admiral Suvarov is common knowledge in court. The Imperator’s two
senior military advisors cannot stand one another.
How the United Colonial Guard Sees...
 Itself: We execute the will of the Imperator. We do what must be done.
 The Imperator: The embodiment of the Mandate; questioning her is treason and cannot be
tolerated.
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The Grand Fleet: Our beloved brothers in arms. Such a tragedy that they were so blinded by
the light reflecting off their shiny medals that they got lost in deep space. We shall have to pull
them out of the fire — again.
Corsairs: Right now, the Mandate needs more ships in the field, so the Imperator was right to
create a new fleet. But really, they’re just cannon fodder.
Romanovs: Not half as loyal to the Mandate as they should be.
Arkwrights: Greedy and untrustworthy.
Europans: They dabble in covert action and intrigue, and think themselves clever. They lack
steel.
Black Eagles: The unsung heroes of the Mandate.
Osmani: A potential threat to the Mandate. In the old days, we’d have a plan to assassinate
their immortal Sultana, but we don’t do that sort of thing anymore.
Corporations: Nothing to do with us.
Rebels: Surprisingly effective fighters. We let our guard down by not spotting their growing
strength. Now we must be the bulwark on which their advance breaks.
Gate Control Authority
Faction Type: Mandate Subfaction
Capital World: Vasnev Memorial Station
Quote: We safeguard the roads between stars.
Brief Overview: The Gate Control Authority oversees the operation, maintenance, and construction of
the space-warping Gates that connect the inhabited star systems of the Mandate. The GCA is
notoriously secretive, even mystical, and jealously guards its knowledge of Gate physics. Like a
medieval guild, members of the GCA are sworn to secrecy and serve for life.
History: The Romanovs discovered Gate technology and shared it with the other colonies, triggering a
wild rush to the stars. During this anarchic period, anyone — well, anyone with the necessary
technological skill and industrial base — could build a Gate and link two star systems. The Pandoran
plague proved that this was terribly dangerous, and forced the Romanovs to create the Mandate and
the Gate Control Authority.
The GCA is the aspect of the Mandate that citizens encounter most frequently in their everyday lives.
Any faster-than-light voyage means passing through one or more GCA-controlled Gates, and that
means rigorous safety checks and the payment of tolls. The GCA are infamously fussy and paranoid,
and so have become extremely unpopular — but the opinions of others mean nothing to the Authority.
Their role is enshrined in the founding documents of the Mandate, and they can afford to be hated and
despised as long as the Gates keep working.
The Mandate not only took control of all the Gates but also seized Gate factories and research
facilities. The GCA bans anyone else from researching Gate technology or even the underlying
physics. They especially loathe the Osmani, who independently developed the fundamentals of Gate
technology before joining the Mandate and who have yet to yield their research and construction
facilities to the GCA.
The recent loss of the Grand Fleet through a sabotaged Gate, and the Rebels’ growing control of the
Gate network, are both dolorous blows to the GCA’s prestige.
Politics: The GCA is supposed to answer to the Senate and, through the Senate, to the Imperator. In
practice, it can safely ignore both institutions, and it refuses to allow any real oversight of its
operations. As the name suggests, the Gate Control Authority controls the Gates. They can shut down
trade and travel across the stars at will, and they have a virtual monopoly on Gate construction.
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The majority of GCA staff come from Romanov or Arkwright worlds, but their loyalties are to the
Authority, not to their homelands. The GCA’s indoctrination courses have been compared to
brainwashing.
Key Figures:
 Lord Keeper Seyon: The enigmatic head of the Gate Control Authority comes from one of the
Fringe colonies, raising suspicions that he was somehow involved with the loss of the Grand
Fleet.
How The Gate Control Authority sees…
 Itself: The Gates are more than arteries of travel and trade — they are cathedrals,
monuments to the human potential.
 The Imperator: The Mandate exists to guard the Gates. She is our ruler, but she must be
subordinate to our great design.
 The Grand Fleet: Our defenders. Their loss through one of our Gates is a mystery, and we
will solve it using our own internal methods. Outside interference is not welcome.
 Corsairs: They must hold back the Rebels. We shall speed them to their fate.
 Romanovs: Their invention of Gate travel must be considered a divine intervention.
 Arkwrights: They see the Gates as nothing but roads to bear their goods to market and do
not recognize our grander purpose.
 Europans: Watch them closely! They covet our secrets! They would endanger all humanity by
meddling with forces they cannot comprehend.
 Black Eagles: Loyal supporters of the Mandate.
 Osmani: Do they think we do not know that they build black-market gates and supply our
enemies? We must convince the Mandate to bring them into line!
 Corporations: Their tolls support us.
 Rebels: Renegades and heretics who endanger our great purpose. Wipe them out!
The Grand Fleet
Faction Type: Mandate subfaction
Capital World: Novy Petersburg
Quote: One rule — no quarter!
Brief Overview: The Grand Fleet is the military arm of the Mandate. While smaller in size than the
forces of, say, the Arkwrights or the Romanovs, the Grand Fleet has the most powerful ships and the
best trained crews. It is primarily a peacekeeping force, intended to guard against pirates and to stop
any of the Mandate’s member states from launching a full-scale war of aggression.
History: After the War of Unification, the Romanov navy was massively overstaffed and oversized for
its peacetime role. Some of the fleet was mothballed and hidden in secret supply caches across
Mandate space, and other ships were decommissioned and scrapped. The best ships, though,
became the heart of the new Grand Fleet.
In the centuries since then, the Grand Fleet fought many skirmishes, but few great wars. They have
hunted pirates in the border systems. They have kept the Arkwrights and other lesser powers in line.
They clashed with Osmani holdouts, and they broke the power of the Separatist movement, the
precursor to the Rebels. With no more enemies to conquer, the Grand Fleet became less of an elite
fighting force and more of a ceremonial institution. The so-called Steel Purges solidified the Romanov
hold over the fleet by driving out older officers and replacing them with Romanovs. Few raised a fuss.
Even if the Fleet was commanded by political appointees and rich dilettantes, it still had the firepower
and strength to deal with any threat.
Then the Rebels returned with unexpected strength, and the Fleet was found unprepared and lacking.
Following some embarrassing defeats, Imperator Nikolai pulled the fleet back to the core for repair and
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resupply. When the Fleet was sent out again, sabotage of the Gate network scattered the ships across
the galaxy.
The Grand Fleet — the most visible symbol of the Mandate’s control of space — is now broken and
lost.
Politics: In theory, the Grand Fleet answers only to the Imperator and draw its officers from the whole
Mandate, choosing the best of the best to serve for the greater good of humanity. In recent times,
though, most of its senior officers are Romanov nobles, most of its crews are Black Eagles, and the
Romanov dukes wield more influence over the Fleet than they should. The Grand Fleet is not wholly
corrupt, but it has fallen far from the shining ideals of its founding.
Key Figures:
 Grand Admiral Rozhestvensky: The commander of the Grand Fleet. He has not been seen
in public since the Fleet vanished.
How The Grand Fleet Sees...
 Itself: Our ships are the mightiest, our uniforms the shiniest. Do not dare cross us, for we are
the sword of the Mandate.
 The Imperator: The ceremonial head of the Mandate, and thus our commander in chief.
 Corsairs: Criminals and pirates who should be clapped in irons, and their ships put under the
command of the Grand Fleet.
 Romanovs: The truest supporters of the Mandate.
 Arkwrights: They build the best ships, but their naval officers are too arrogant and do not give
us the respect we deserve.
 Europans: Cultured and amusing, but they must remember that it is the fleet’s strength that
guarantees their survival.
 Black Eagles: Skilled and resolute, but few of them are ready to command. They need
Romanov guidance.
 Osmani: Dangerous, suspicious strangers. They may be as big a threat as the Rebels — and
what a grand battle that would be. At least the Osmani might stand and fight, unlike the Rebel
cowards.
 Corporations: Slow targets that we must escort.
 Rebels: Barbarians from the Fringe, who’ve somehow managed to eke out a few victories by
treachery. Once we finally get to grips with them, we shall give them no quarter!
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Romanovs
Faction Type: Major Faction
Capital World: Novy Petersburg
Quote: The burden of the Mandate is ours to bear.
Brief Overview: As the original founders of the Mandate, the Romanovs believe they have a special
destiny to guide humanity safely through the tumultuous present and on to a brighter future. All the
Imperators of the Mandate so far have come from the House of Romanov, but they see this as a
hereditary sacrifice on behalf of humanity, not a stranglehold on the reins of power.
History: The Romanovs were the first to discover the secret of Gate travel. They made contact with
the other great powers — the Europans, the Arkwrights, and the Black Eagles — as well as other,
lesser colonies. They generously shared Gate technology with the other colonies. This proved to be a
disastrous error, as the uncontrolled expansion of humanity resulted in the horrors of the First
Interstellar War and the Pandoran Plague. The Romanovs were forced to take back control of the
Gate network. Aided by their loyal Black Eagle allies, and later bolstered by the support of the
Europans, they fought the War of Unification against the Arkwrights and minor powers and forged the
Mandate for the greater good.
Since then the Romanovs and the Mandate have been inextricably linked. Their fates are bound
together. If the Mandate falls, so too does the ancient House of the Romanovs.
Politics: Romanov politics is notoriously bloody, as different dukes spar for position and intrigue
against one another. A strong Imperator can keep the vassals in line, but the late Imperator Nikolai
was seen as weak, unable to either restrain the other powers of the Mandate or to appease the
Separatist colonies, which gave rise to the Rebellion. As the Rebels close on the Romanov sphere,
the new Imperator must decide whether to continue with her father’s attempts to end the conflict, or
rally her dukes and take the fight to the Rebels.
Key Figures:
 Imperator Anastasia, the ruling Imperator and holder of the Mandate
 The late Prince Nikolas. His death in battle with the Rebels makes him a martyr in the eyes of
many of the Dukes.
 Prince Andrei: Anastasia’s older brother, too ill to take the throne. Now a patient in the
Europan Institute of Advanced Science.
 Dowager Imperator Marie: Mother of the Imperator and wife of the late Imperator
How The Romanovs See...
 Themselves: The leaders of humanity; wiser and greater than others. The blood of
Imperators flows through our veins.
 The Imperator: Ah, if only her brother had lived we would not be in this mess. She is still
young. If she listens to the wise counsel of her dukes, we may survive.
 The Mandate: Our shining achievement. We have safeguarded humanity for centuries! The
Romanov blessing and the Romanov curse are one and the same: We see further than
others. What short-sighted fools see as madness, we know to be wisdom and foresight.
 The Grand Fleet: Our sword and shield, staffed by the best of our sons and daughters. Oh, it
serves the Mandate, but let us be honest — the Romanovs are the heart and soul of the
Mandate. Ever since the Steel Purges, the Fleet has been especially loyal to us.
 Corsairs: Anastasia created the Corsairs to serve her directly.
 Arkwrights: Our fiercest rivals. Rich, yes. Powerful, yes. Clever? Undoubtedly. But they have
no vision. They are the same locusts that ruined old Earth, long ago. Look at their planets:
stripped bare of resources with a speed that speaks to their avarice! Their first colonies are
equally ruined after only a century! They have no restraint.
 Europans: Like spun glass: intricate, beautiful, and terribly fragile. They are delightful when
times are good, and next to useless when things go bad. They have been our supporters and
consorts since the creation of the Mandate.
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Black Eagles: Our loyal hunting beasts. Wild and barbaric, but with our guidance, they are
warriors beyond compare. We saved them from the Pandoran Plague, and that kindness will
never be forgotten.
Osmani: Strange creatures, and we bear them no great love. The Imperator has brought them
under the Mandate, so we must work toward the distant time, far in the future, when we can
call them friends.
Corporations: A necessary evil.
Rebels: Rogues and traitors. Were they not howling for our blood perhaps we could muster
some sympathy for their plight. After all, they were mistreated by the other great powers. We
cautioned the Arkwrights and Black Eagles about founding new colonies, outside their spheres
of direct control. The Rebels are their mistakes, and once more it falls to the Romanovs to
rescue humanity from its own short-sighted errors.
Council of Dukes
Faction Type: Romanov Subfaction
Capital World: Novy Petersburg
Quote: Ideals will not pierce a shield, stop a bullet, or feed a hungry mob.
Brief Overview: Anastasia is both Imperator of the Mandate and Captain-General of the Romanovs.
She must balance her duty to protect all of humanity with her responsibilities to her own people. The
ambitious and conniving dukes of the Council may turn on her if she does not favor her homeland
above the rest of the Mandate.
History: The Romanov aristocracy descends from the officers and senior staff of the original colony
ship that settled Novy Petersburg hundreds of years ago. They took positions of power in the early
days of the new colony, and when the Romanovs discovered Gate technology and settled more
worlds, the dukes and boyars were quick to take hold of those lands too.
The Romanovs practice extensive genetic engineering of their leaders, optimizing them for longevity,
problem-solving, charisma, and intellect. A common side-effect of these modifications is rampant
paranoia, so the Council of Dukes jealously guards its power in Romanov society. They are aware of
this problem but consider the benefits to be well worth the price.
Most planets in the Romanov sphere are ruled by one or more dukes, depending on the population
and the world's strategic importance. The titles are hereditary, and it is rare for a commoner to ascend
into the aristocracy.
Politics: Uniting the Council of Dukes behind a common purpose is almost without precedent.
Usually, the various dukes plot and scheme against one another, and the business of the Council
happens almost by accident. The Rebels, though, have accomplished the impossible in several ways.
Not only have they conjured a huge fleet seemingly from hard vacuum — and not only did they
somehow defeat the Grand Fleet without firing a shot — but they have managed to force the entire
Council of Dukes to work together and demand that Anastasia protect the Romanov sphere above the
rest of the core worlds. As the Rebels drive closer and closer to Novy Petersburg, the Council wants
the Imperator to strip Mandate forces from the other systems and defend the Romanov homeworld at
all costs.
Key Figures:
 Chancellor Pogodin: Head of the Council of Dukes, and chief bureaucrat of the Romanov
sphere. The Pogodins have been the lackeys of the Romanovs since time immemorial.
 Duchess Vorontsova: The duchess is said to be a close friend and adviser of the Imperator
— which has won Anastasia few friends at court, for Maria Vorontsova is a notorious
troublemaker and has even voiced support for the Rebel cause.
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Duke Zhdanov: Architect of the Steel Purges and an admiral in the Romanov navy, Zhdanov
is the voice of the Romanov warmongers in the Council. He welcomes the chance to drown
the Rebels in their own blood.
How The Council of Dukes See...
 Themselves: The champions of the Romanov people.
 The Imperator: If only her brother Nikolas had lived, or if Andrei were healthy enough to take
the throne, things would be better. Still, if she listens to wisdom, we may yet triumph.
 The Mandate: A triumph or a mistake? History will decide. Let us not forget, though, that we
held all the galaxy in our hands and chose not to grasp it.
 The Grand Fleet: The Fleet should be defending our worlds, not squandered in hopeless
battles elsewhere.
 Corsairs: Criminals and traitors. How can Anastasia think to trust such dogs? Maybe fortune
will favor us, and they'll be wiped out.
 Arkwrights: The real enemy. Never take your eye off them.
 Europans: The most delightful creatures, the font of all sophisticated culture.
 Black Eagles: The backbone of our military. Few problems cannot be solved by Black Eagles
throwing themselves into the fray.
 Osmani: A strange addition to the Mandate, but they disrupt the Arkwrights more than they
hurt us, so we welcome them.
 Corporations: A true noble doesn't bother with cheap commerce.
 Rebels: A peasant uprising. Put them down like rabid dogs.
Preobrazhensky Life Guard
Faction Type: Romanov Subfaction
Capital World: Novy Petersburg
Quote: While one of us still breathes, the Mandate is protected.
Brief Overview: The Life Guard are the protectors of the Imperator and the Romanov royal family.
The Preobrazhensky serve as a ceremonial honour guard on state occasions, but they are, in theory,
no mere toy soldiers. They are a highly trained fighting force in their own right. Only Romanovs of
certain respected and trusted aristocratic families are considered worthy to apply to join the Guard,
although there is a tradition of temporarily promoting ship crews into the Guard when their vessel
carries the Imperial ruler.
History: The original Preobrazhensky regiment was founded by Peter the Great nearly 2,000 years
ago, in 1683, and was the first of the elite Life Guard forces that directly served the Imperial family.
The regiment was disbanded in 1917 but reformed again several times (in 2013, in 2102, and finally in
3083, when it achieved its present form and function). The regiment takes huge pride in its history.
After the foundation of the Mandate, the role of the Life Guard was given over to the United Colonial
Guard, which was modeled on the Preobrazhensky regiment but recruited from all human worlds. The
Life Guard fell into obscurity. It still guarded the Imperator when he was resident in the Romanov
sphere, but it became entirely ceremonial. Membership of the Guard became just another honour,
another medal pinned to the chest of some old duke. Even when the Colonial Guard fell from favour in
the wake of the Third Section scandal, the Life Guard remained a pale shadow of its former glory.
It is only in recent months that the new Imperator's military advisor, Admiral Suvarov, reformed both
the Colonial Guard and the Life Guard and returned the Preobrazhensky to its original status. To do
so, he dismissed some but not all of the existing Guards. Now it is comprised of two-thirds elite
bodyguards and one-third nobles who are either fighting fit or have too much political influence to be
dismissed.
Politics: The Guard is sworn to protect the Romanov Captain-General, so they are loyal to the
Romanov family and not the Mandate, no matter how intertwined the two might be. They guard not
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only the Imperator, but also her surviving siblings — the ailing Andrei and young Piotr — and their
mother, the Dowager Imperator.
As the Rebels advance on Novy Petersburg, the Preobrezhensky Life Guard must decide whether to
stand and fight or to escort the Imperator to safety in some secret redoubt.
Key Figures:
 General Li: Promoted to command the Guard by Admiral Suvarov, Li's service record as a
marine is unquestionable. Yet she hails, though, from a Romanov fringe world that has joined
the Rebellion so her loyalty is in doubt — at least in the eyes of the Council of Dukes.
How The Life Guards See...
 Themselves: The champions of the Romanovs.
 The Imperator: We are sworn to die for her, and we shall — but the enemy shall pay dearly
for every one of us who falls.
 The Mandate: We obey the Captain-General, not the lords of the Mandate.
 The Grand Fleet: They have very shiny ships.
 Corsairs: In time of war, it is necessary to make sacrifices. These crews, these ships — they
are sacrifices, spent to buy time. We honor their deaths even as we condemn their lives.
 Arkwrights: We obey the Imperator and do not engage in politics. That said, there is a reason
we use Arkwright tactics and troops in our wargame scenarios more often than anyone else.
 Europans: We spend as much time on Europan summer-planets and palaces as we do
anywhere else in the Mandate. We are always at the Captain-General's side.
 Black Eagles: Excellent fighters, but only those of Romanov blood may join our regiment.
 Osmani: As a gift to her “cousin,” the Imperator sends a detachment of Preobrazhensky Life
Guards to the Osmani Sultana every year. They say their worlds are very strange.
 Corporations: Irrelevant to us.
 Rebels: If they make it to Novy Peterburg, then we will build barricades with their dead.
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Arkwrights
Faction Type: Major Faction
Capital World: Victoria
Quote: Though all the worlds might conspire against us, still we shall overcome.
Brief Overview: The Arkwrights are the wealthiest and most powerful of the constituent powers of the
Mandate. Their industrial base is unmatched, and they are rapaciously hungry for territory and
resources. The Achilles Heel of the Arkwrights has always been ambition. Time and again, they
overreach and are punished for it.
History: The Arkwright colony on Victoria thrived, but they never discovered the secret of Gate
technology. After contact with the Romanovs, though, they took to Gate exploration with a vengeance,
expanding more than any other power. Arkwright trade dominated known space for decades until the
Romanovs seized control of the Gate network in the brutal and unjustified War of Unification. Defeated
and surrounded, the Arkwrights had no choice but to join the Mandate and endure the restrictions
placed on them by their Romanov rivals.
The Romanovs finally permitted limited expansion into the fringe, and the Arkwrights again led the way
in founding new colonies and seeking out new sources of wealth. Again, they were betrayed, as
seditionists and conspirators on these new colonies rebelled. If the Romanov-controlled Mandate had
acted promptly the Rebellion could have been stamped out before it really began, but the old
Imperator was weak and slow, and his negligence allowed the Rebellion to grow until it now threatens
all known space.
It is time for new leaders to take charge.
Politics: Wealth and success count in Arkwright politics far more than family name or reputation.
While there are a few well-established Arkwright dynasties, the scions of every generation must prove
themselves worthy of the family fortune. Arkwright society rewards ambition, daring, and pride.
With so much invested in the fringe worlds, the Arkwrights lost heavily when the Rebellion began. At
the same time, with the fury of the Rebellion aimed at the Romanovs, the Arkwrights are now better
placed than ever before to wrest control of the Mandate.
Key Figures:
 Lord Francis Arkwright: The wealthiest and most powerful man in the galaxy lives, it is said,
like the most austere and simple monk. His whole existence is given to furthering the
Arkwright cause. If Imperator Anastasia falls, he will be the first to pick up her crown.
 Aradhana Chadhuri: Chadhuri is a brilliant diplomat and negotiator and was the voice of the
Arkwrights in the court of Imperator Nikolai. Now she has been recalled to Victoria for a
special mission. Her next move will likely signal how the Arkwrights intend to turn the tide
against the Rebels.
 Captain Fitzwilliam Briar: The infamous Captain Briar commanded one of the punitive
squadrons sent to whip the fringe worlds back into line. He’s rumored to have committed
atrocities against the Rebels, and there’s a huge bounty on his head outside the Mandate. To
many Arkwrights, though, he’s a hero for his willingness to strike at the Rebels directly.
How The Arkwrights See…
 Themselves: The most powerful and prosperous civilization in the galaxy — and, therefore,
the rightful rulers of the Mandate. The Romanovs not only had their chance, they stole ours.
Now it is only right and proper that the Arkwrights lead!
 The Imperator: A weak and untried girl who has the throne solely by accident of blood. It's
madness to let someone with no experience rule in a crisis like this!
 The Mandate: Obviously, it was created just to stop us from dominating the galaxy's trade
network. Still, if we must have an interstellar government — and that is a question that
deserves consideration at some point — its most powerful member should have the loudest
voice.
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The Grand Fleet: A tool of the Romanovs — but a tool we built for them. Most of those ships
were made in our shipyards. The fleet is ours by right.
Corsairs: As always, the Romanovs like to cloak their lowest deeds with high rhetoric and
elegant titles. Call these ‘Corsairs’ mercenaries and be done with it.
Romanovs: The Romanovs get lucky and call it destiny. If they had not discovered the secret
of the Gates by accident, no one would ever have heard of them.
Europans: Flighty. They are like a weathervane, alternately pointing between the Arkwright
and Romanov spheres. They were close allies of the Arkwrights once, and they could be so
again with but a moment’s notice. One can admire and appreciate them without ever relying
on them.
Black Eagles: Dupes of the Romanovs. One good deed does not warrant an eternity of
servitude. At least it kept them from turning pirate. They're barbarians at heart.
Osmani: Cyborg monsters. Technology should be our servant, nothing more. Are they still
even human? How can they ever be trusted?
Corporations: Trade is the lifeblood of civilization.
Rebels: Ungrateful scum — but the chaos they've caused may be an opportunity to reshape
the Mandate into a better form.
Explorers’ Society
Faction Type: Arkwright Subfaction
Capital World: Rock of Prometheus
Quote: To seek, to find, and not to yield
Brief Overview: Once a club for explorers and scientists, the Society became a symbol of Arkwright
resistance to Mandate rule. It is a rallying point for those who desire to tear down the Mandate and all
its restrictions on science and exploration.
History: The Golden Age of Interstellar Exploration lasted for two hundred years. It began when the
Gates opened up the galaxy for humanity. Instead of spending centuries creeping from system to
system in slower-than-light colony ships, the Gates let ships jump from star to star almost instantly. It
ended when explorers discovered the xenophobic and utterly hostile Pandoran colony, who tried to
wipe out all outsiders with an engineered plague.
In response, the Romanovs panicked and used their new Mandate to virtually ban all exploration.
Instead of making brave leaps into the unknown, they demanded that all exploration be cautious,
controlled, and restricted to the Grand Fleet. In the eyes of the explorers and scientists who met at the
Explorers’ Society, this was an intolerable overreaction, an act of cowardice on a cosmic scale. The
Society protested to the Imperial court. It gathered supporters and over time became the centre of
anti-Mandate sentiment in the Arkwright sphere.
Officially, the Explorers’ Society is still dedicated to scientific endeavor and exploration — and now,
with the Mandate in retreat and the restrictions lifted, the Society once again sponsors expeditions into
the unknown.
Politics: The Society attracts free-thinkers and extremists. Anyone with a grudge against the Mandate
is welcome, as long as they cloak it in concern for exploration and the unjust limitation of human
potential. The Society has links with pirates and criminals, even suspected terrorists.
The Arkwright authorities turn a blind eye to the Society's extremes.
Key Figures:
 Sir Mandeville: The great eccentric explorer, Mandeville claims to have visited systems far
beyond the confines of the Mandate. According to his wild tales, there are Gates not on the
official charts — ancient Gates from the Age of Exploration, and mysterious ramshackle Gates
of unknown origin.
How The Explorers' Society See…
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Themselves: Traders, scientists, devil-may-care adventurers.
The Imperator: A tyrant from a line of tyrants, strangling humanity in the crib.
The Mandate: An iron cage, with the bars lined with platitudes about safety and caution.
The Grand Fleet: The Imperator's bullies.
Corsairs: Recruits from the prisons - maybe they will have more courage and independence
than the whipped dogs of the Grand Fleet.
Arkwrights: At least they tried to resist the imposition of the Mandate, but over the years they
have become soft and weak.
Romanovs: They cloak their oppression in high-sounding rhetoric, but they are thieves!
Europans: They assist our scientific research but are too dependent on the Romanovs to
support us more openly. They assure us, though, that their leaders secretly agree that the
Mandate must be reformed or destroyed.
Black Eagles: Yes, it's a tragedy that they were nearly wiped out as an indirect consequence
of exploration, but that was a long time ago. For a nation of warriors, they are remarkably timid
— and this galaxy is not for the timid.
Osmani: You see? The galaxy might be thronged with such strange and wonderful
civilizations — both the scattered children of Earth, and perhaps even alien species. How will
we know if we do not explore?
Corporations: They are all too willing to accept the status quo. We must show them a better
path.
Rebels: We applaud them, but they must learn to distinguish between their real enemies.
They complain about Arkwright oppression of the Fringe colonies, but we and they are both
victims of the Mandate.
Gunsmiths’ Guild
Faction Type: Arkwright Subfaction
Capital World: Longwater
Quote: What if we tried more power?
Brief Overview: The Gunsmiths' Guild is a syndicate of weapons manufacturers and defense
contractors, dedicated to ensuring that the Arkwrights retain their dominance in the shipbuilding and
armament industries.
History: The Gunsmiths' Guild was formed in reaction to the arrival of the Osmani. Previously, no
other sphere in the Mandate could hope to compete with the Arkwrights in weapons manufacturing, so
the industry was divided up between rival Arkwright corporations. The Osmani's industrial skill and
capacity, however, was comparable to the Arkwrights, and the Osmani ability to exploit otherwise
uninhabitable worlds gave them an advantage. To combat this, the corporations came together to form
the Guild and keep the Osmani out of the market.
The Guild has its own naval forces and carries out “weapons testing” and “wargames” in systems
where it suspects Osmani black marketeers are dealing in illegal weapons. So far, with the Mandate’s
attention focused on the Rebellion, the ongoing shadow war between the Osmani and the Gunsmiths
has gone unnoticed.
Politics: The Gunsmiths' Guild's single biggest customer is the Grand Fleet, so the Gunsmiths are
staunch supporters of a strong and militant Mandate. Peace is bad for business — so it is perhaps
ironically appropriate that the Gunsmiths' mining colonies on the Fringe were among the first worlds to
join the Rebellion.
Key Figures:
 Osira Jones: The commander of the Guild's security squadron, Jones was recently sighted in
Europan space, looking to hire mercenaries for a counterattack against the Rebels.
How The Gunsmiths See…
 Themselves: Titans of both the corporate and scientific realms. Peerless craftsmen. Makers
of truly titanic explosions.
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The Imperator: The figurehead of the Mandate. It's Admiral Suvarov who's calling the shots.
The Mandate: As long as we hold their supply contracts, our fortune is assured — as is theirs.
The Grand Fleet: Our masterworks. We cannot be held responsible for user error in losing
the whole fleet to a malfunctioning Gate.
Corsairs: Outdated ships in desperate need of better weapons. We have the technology - we
can upgrade them.
Romanovs: For all their flaws, they have vision — and when that vision involves building a
fleet of warships so large it blocks out the sun, we are only too happy to assist in making that
a profitable reality.
Europans: We work with their scientists in refining our weapon designs — and work with the
Mandate in restricting the Europans’ development of new technologies. We are masters of
conventional firepower, and we see no need to explore other avenues.
Black Eagles: We respect their fighting prowess — and applaud their belligerence.
Osmani: The real enemy. They must be kept out of our markets.
Corporations: Alliances such as our syndicate are a necessary part of doing business.
Rebels: In the short term, profit. In the long term, we cannot ignore the loss of our mining and
manufacturing facilities. If the Rebellion is not defeated quickly, we will be in dire
circumstances.
Lords Mountjoy
Faction Type: Arkwright Subfaction
Capital World: Mountjoy
Quote: We will reclaim what was stolen from us.
Brief Overview: The Lords Mountjoy ruled the majority of the Fringe colonies founded by the
Arkwrights. The Rebellion drove them from their homes and robbed them of their fortunes. Now, they
seek to regain their lost standing — or, failing that, revenge.
History: When the Imperator Piotr (grandfather of the present Imperator) permitted the exploration
and colonization of what would become known as the Fringe, the resource-hungry Arkwrights were
first in line. They established dozens of mining colonies in a great metal rush, and all the wealth of
these new worlds flowed through Mountjoy. The Lords Mountjoy, newly raised to the nobility, made of
their world a paradise, a center of culture the equal of any of the inner worlds. The development of the
other colonies proceeded according to schedule, more or less. There were only limited terraforming
resources available, after all, and not every world can be made comfortable.
When the Rebellion broke out, the Lords Mountjoy were made scapegoats by both sides. The Rebels
accused them of oppressing and mistreating the new colonists; the lords of the Arkwrights blamed
them for not keeping the colonies in line. Driven from their homeworld, the Lords Mountjoy are now
fugitive nobles, beggar-princes wandering from system to system, looking for aid in reclaiming their
domains.
Politics: The Mountjoys are desperate to strike back against the Rebels and have professed
themselves willing to ally with anyone who can provide military support for such a campaign. They
have a wealth of what are called “dead souls” — deeds and contracts for territory and mineral
extraction rights in Rebel-held space, sold for a fraction of the value they'll be worth when the
Rebellion is defeated.
Notable Figures:
 Felicity Mountjoy: The youngest of Lord Robert Mountjoy’s children, she had little
expectation to inherit her father’s holdings and had become an independent and popular
actress. When the Rebels came, she saw the crisis as an opportunity for herself. She
emerged as the leading voice around which the people of the Mountjoy diaspora have rallied.
How The Lords Mountjoy See…
 Themselves: Unjustly driven from their homes.
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The Imperator: We blame her father for allowing the seeds of rebellion to grow. She can
atone by wielding the scythe without hesitation.
The Mandate: The present crisis is all due to the Mandate's loosened restrictions on
expansion and exploration. They simply went too far. Had we more time to properly manage
our colonies, instead of having to develop dozens at once, all would have been well.
The Grand Fleet: Where were they when the Rebels stole our homes and butchered our
families? Good riddance to them!
Corsairs: If they can turn the tide against the Rebels, then all their crimes will be forgiven.
Arkwrights: Our government must do more to turn the tide against the rebels.
Romanovs: The Rebels are besieging their worlds now. Soon they will be homeless and
friendless, like us.
Europans: The Europans offered some of us refuge — but at a high price. We still have as
much of our pride as we can ill afford.
Black Eagles: There are too many Black Eagles amongst the Rebels for comfort. That's
where they get their bloodlust from.
Osmani: The cyborgs are the root cause of our misfortune. No one can take their worlds,
because they breathe sulphur and eat methane.
Corporations: How can we pay our debts or hire mercenaries when all our wealth has been
stolen from us? They should see us as a wide investment in the future.
Rebels: We gave them new homes. We provided them jobs where they could prosper. We
lifted them out of the slums of Victoria and Novy Petersburg, and yet they turned on us.
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Europans
Faction Type: Major Faction
Capital World: Starfall
Quote: Strive for utopia, and the rest will follow.
Brief Overview: Blessed with the highest technology and — in their eyes — the highest cultural and
social achievements within the Mandate, the Europans try to build a perfect society as an example for
the rest of humanity. They eschew violence and direct confrontation, preferring to work through
intermediaries to find compromise.
History: The original fleet of colony ships that fled the dying Earth did not all leave simultaneously.
They launched over the course of more than fifty years, and the Europa was among the last to depart,
leaving from one of the moons of Jupiter. Her crew had the benefit of fifty years of technological
progress, but also saw fifty more years of Earth sliding into chaos and violence.
The colonists built a shining new home on the planet called Starfall. When they were contacted by the
Romanovs, they eagerly joined the community of worlds linked by the Gates. Europan technology won
them prestige and influence; Europan diplomacy used that influence as a means to ensure peace. The
Europans chose to support the Romanovs during the War of Unification, and so secured their place at
the left hand of the throne in the Mandate.
The Europan worlds have never been seriously threatened; they have never known war or famine.
Their civilization is a shining beacon — or an ivory tower, an impossible hothouse orchid that cannot
possibly survive in the wild.
Politics: The Europans are ruled by a deliberative council whose members are selected by a complex
computer algorithm. In theory, this algorithm ensures that the council is always staffed by the wisest
and brightest Europa has to offer. Europan foreign policy, though, remains the same no matter the
composition of this ruling council.
The Europans try to be everyone’s friend, to avoid confrontation whenever possible. They are closely
allied with the Romanovs. The Romanovs and Black Eagles may speak about their special
relationship, but it's the Europans who have all the influence at court and in the Mandate’s
bureaucracy. Romanov Imperators marry Europan nobles; Romanov courtiers relax on Europan
pleasure-planets; Romanov scientists study at Europan universities — and Romanov money pays for
the continuation of the Europan dream. However, they are also close to the Arkwrights and pretend to
welcome the Osmani, and Europan philosophers and politicians even speak about the validity of the
Rebel’s demands.
Key Figures:
 Madeline St. Clair: President of the ruling council; in contrast to the newly-crowned Imperator
of the Mandate, St. Clair is an experienced and well-tested leader. She has vowed to protect
the Europan worlds from the effects of the war.
 Stefan Zeno: One of the loudest voices in Europan public discourse, Zeno is seen as a
troublemaker and firebrand for his belief that the Mandate must be reformed — by force, if
necessary.
 Councilor Balsamo: The Europans have only a small navy of their own, so Councilor
Balsamo — long-standing spymaster and military adviser to the council — places much more
emphasis on the Europans’ sizeable mercenary forces.
How The Europans See…
 Themselves: The Architects of Utopia.
 The Imperator: If she has good advisors, she will prosper. Her late father listened to our
diplomats most of the time, but he allowed himself to be swayed by warmongers and fools a
little too often.
 The Mandate: A waldo for manipulating civilizations.
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The Grand Fleet: Once a scalpel, now more of a blunt instrument. We can no longer rely on it
for protection.
The Corsairs: A regrettably rash and ill-considered action by the Imperator. The last thing the
current crisis needs is yet more heavily armed rogue captains blundering through the galaxy.
Romanovs: Noble, heroic, regrettably mystical — and easily guided down the proper path.
Arkwrights: Brilliant engineers, but ultimately too limited and conservative.
Black Eagles: Technology can replace the most skilled warrior. Like the Arkwrights, they
verge on the obsolete.
Osmani: A fascinating culture, and one over which we cannot yet exert influence. That makes
them dangerous — until we learn to tame them.
Corporations: Until the other powers adopt a more rational approach to resource allocation,
such entities are necessary.
Rebels: A threat to stability, and a vector of change.
Concordance
Faction Type: Europan Subfaction
Capital World: Hub Station
Quote: This is Concordance, jumpcasting across the Mandate...
Brief Overview: The Concordance Network is the largest and most popular data network in the
Mandate. Transmitted via sideband bursts on the Gate system, Concordance brings news faster than
any other channels, often outpacing military intelligence. The network is seen as fair and largely
unbiased, although it does support the Mandate.
History: The Europans refined Gate technology to enable the use of sideband bursts during the Age
of Exploration, but they only used it within their own sphere. After the foundation of the Mandate, the
first Imperator decreed that there should be a Mandate-wide data network to link the scattered worlds
of his domain. The Europans humbly suggested that their existing network, Concordance, could be
expanded to service the entirety of known space.
Today, Concordance covers all of the Romanov, Europan, Arkwright, and Black Eagle spheres and
extends deep into Rebel space. The Osmani monitor and filter Concordance traffic, but they claim it is
often encrypted and difficult if not impossible to block.
Concordance is both a news service and a data channel. It has human reporters and journalists
across the galaxy, but its main business is in the automated digital relays that carry communications
and data traffic throughout the Mandate. In times of war, Concordance even embeds news teams on
warships to cover the conflict from the front lines.
Politics: Concordance is funded by a grant from the Europan government, and has strong
connections with the Mandate, but it claims to be impartial and unbiased even when reporting on its
sponsors. It is the perhaps the single most trusted institution in the Mandate. Its reporting on the
Rebels focuses on the cost of war to both sides and calls for a cease-fire. As the Rebel forces
approach the Europan sphere, many expect Concordance's neutrality to be sorely tested.
Persistent rumors claim that Concordance is somehow connected with Europan research into artificial
intelligence.
Key Figures:
 Annalise Shaw: The face of Concordance news. Shaw was the correspondent for the
Imperial court before being promoted to chief newscaster, and her coverage of the sudden
death of the late Imperator and the loss of the Grand Fleet was exemplary.
How The Concordance Network See…
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Themselves: The voice of the Mandate.
The Imperator: So far, the new Imperator has not engaged in open dialogue with her
subjects. We hope she soon rectifies this oversight.
The Mandate: Galactic government promotes peace and justice. The Mandate may need
reform, but it is ultimately beneficial to humanity.
The Grand Fleet: The story of the century. How was the greatest fighting force in the galaxy
defeated without firing a shot?
Corsairs: Is it truly wise to hand the reserve fleet to criminals and cut-throats?
Romanovs: Their hold on the Imperial throne is tenuous. We shall report on their efforts to
reclaim their position with interest.
Arkwrights: The Arkwrights would flood the galaxy with advertising and propaganda if they
were in our position.
Europans: Our founders and sponsors, but we would be remiss if we did not turn the light of
inquiry on them too.
Black Eagles: The Black Eagles worlds are always hungry for knowledge. They see it as a
tactical advantage, and we are happy to provide.
Osmani: The Osmani are worryingly secretive. We must redouble our efforts to expand
Concordance into their territory.
Corporations: Commerce in the Mandate would grind to a halt without our network.
Rebels: We are in negotiations with some Rebel factions to broadcast in their territory. Other
Rebels attack and destroy our stations, wrongly categorizing us as agents of the Mandate.
Europan Institute for Advanced Science
Faction Type: Europan Subfaction
Capital World: Haruspice Station
Quote: Dedicated to the advancement of humanity through the study and application of science.
Brief Overview: EIAS is the premier scientific research institution in the Mandate — which is a
double-edged sword. Mandate law bans any research that might endanger the safety of the human
species, so while scientists at EIAS enjoy the best funding and facilities, they must also submit to
constant inspections and monitoring to ensure their work falls within the permitted boundaries.
History: EIAS was founded soon after the contact with the Romanovs, as a facility where Europan
scientists could answer the question “How did we miss an entire field of physics?” The researchers
there delved into Gate theory, but never managed to reconcile the Gate phenomenon with existing
models of physics.
The Institute was the focus of the short-lived Scientific Revolt. The Europans initially supported the
Romanov plan of securing the Gate network to prevent another existential threat like the Pandoran
plague, but when the Romanovs extended the Mandate to ban all “dangerous” scientific research, the
Europans objected.
Their protest came much too late. The Mandate had overwhelming military strength, and the Revolt
lasted less than a year. The Institute was besieged by Mandate forces, and ultimately the Gate
Research faculty was shut down and its work handed over to the newly-formed Gate Transit Authority.
Several other once-promising fields of research have also been shut down by the Mandate. The EIAS
lodges a formal protest each time, but to no avail.
Recently, the EIAS' medical facility received a new patient: Prince Andrei, the elder brother of the
Imperator. Prince Andrei suffers from the same rare genetic malady that killed his father. Researchers
suspect it to be a side-effect of the extensive modifications of the Imperial genome. As the elder
prince, Andrei was next in line to inherit the Imperial throne, but he was forced to step down in favor of
his healthier sister Anastasia.
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Politics: The Institute's relationship with the Mandate is fraught. It is, in effect, a university surrounded
by warships. The algorithms that weigh and choose the Europan ruling council were designed here,
and unsurprisingly most of the Europan leaders are former students of the Institute.
Key Figures:
 Professor Radu: The current president of the Institute. It's an open secret that Radu's
appointment was forced through by the late Imperator — and given that the Mandate keeps
the Institute under constant guard, why would the Imperator bother to intervene in such a
way? Few openly question the choice, though, relieved that Radu at least seems to have the
Romanovs’ blessing.
How The EIAS Sees…
 Themselves: Scholars and researchers, uninterested in politics.
 The Imperator: She seems more courageous and open-minded than her father. Perhaps, in
time, she will see the benefit of unrestricted research. There are, for example, several
potential treatments that might help her brother that we are currently unable to develop.
 The Mandate: Preventing human extinction is a worthy goal — but it is rank idiocy to ban
scientific research because of the remote possibility of some terrible accident.
 The Grand Fleet: An example of the Mandate's short-sightedness. The Fleet was lost to a
mysterious Gate malfunction, but we are not permitted to investigate the underlying
mechanics of the Gates. No doubt this tragedy could have been avoided if open research
were permitted in this field.
 Corsairs: Adding unstable elements to a volatile situation rarely has good results.
 Romanovs: Whole papers could be written on Romanov psychology without shedding a
single photon on the roots of their mystical self-belief and absurd good fortune.
 Arkwrights: The Arkwrights are a large, well-built, perfectly tuned machine for turning metal
into money. They do not innovate, they do not progress. They are a hegemonizing swarm.
 Europans: If our ancestors had the courage to resist the Mandate and demand an end to the
restrictions on research, what wonders might we have accomplished by now? For all the
Europan talk about culture and art, our fundamental goal appears to be lethargy.
 Black Eagles: The Arkwrights only appreciate what they can sell; the Black Eagles, what they
can shoot. At least they have a deep-seated respect for science. The Pandoran plague would
have wiped them all out if it were not for a crash research program to develop a cure.
 Osmani: Obviously, their culture should not be considered a healthy model for others — but
they prove that the Mandate must become more flexible if it is to survive.
 Corporations: They provide the proving grounds for much of our research, and the money
that flows from them to us lets us keep delving into new ground.
 Rebels: The rebels have entirely justified grievances against the Mandate. As soon as the
Imperator admits that, she has a chance of negotiating a settlement.
Unknown Legion
Faction Type: Europan Subfaction
Capital World: Lethe
Quote: Valor and discipline
Brief Overview: The Europans have the smallest fighting force of any of the major powers; their navy
is almost entirely defensive. When they need to intervene outside their borders, they deploy
mercenaries — or their elite Unknown Legion.
History: The Unknown Legion was founded in the years after the War of Unification. The Europans
recognized that their own defense forces, while well-equipped, were absurdly outmatched in terms of
battlefield experience. They created a new unit, modeled on the old French Foreign Legion, to correct
this deficiency.
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Recruits in the Legion are surgically and cybernetically modified, removing any trace of their previous
appearance. Outside the Osmani, the degree of cybernetic augmentation used in the Legion is
unprecedented. After a one full tour of duty in the Legion, members are permitted to retire to civilian
life in the Europan sphere; after three full tours, the Europans will pay to have the cybernetic
modifications reversed. This policy keeps the majority of Legionnaires in the unit for life.
As the Europans prefer to avoid military conflict with other political entities, the bulk of the Legion's
deployments in recent years have been against pirates. (Of course, since joining the Legion is one of
the few ways in which a pirate can rejoin Mandate society, more than a few grudges may have been
settled in those battles).
Some Legionnaires consider the Imperator's new Corsairs to be a poor copy of the Unknown Legion,
as both units offer former criminals and outcasts a chance to redeem themselves through combat.
There have already been clashes and duels of honor between Legionnaires and Corsairs, and this
rivalry will only grow if the Legion is deployed against the Rebels.
Politics: The Legion is utterly loyal to the Europan council. Cybernetic failsafes ensure that
Legionnaries are physically incapable of refusing orders. After all, the Legion is entrusted with the best
weapons that cutting-edge Europan science can devise, so the council has to be sure of the Legion's
devotion.
Key Figures:
 Captain Dakkar: The commander of the Legion has always used this name and this face. The
current incarnation is believed to be a former Rebel, captured and given a choice between
joining the Legion and death.
How The Unknown Legion See…
 Themselves: The mission is sacred. Our lives are dross.
 The Imperator: As long as the Europans stand with her, we shall defend her to the last. If
circumstances change, then we will spill her blood upon the throne.
 The Mandate: Politics are not our business.
 The Grand Fleet: Gone, swept from the battlefield by a single error. We learn from their
mistakes and their blind overconfidence.
 The Corsairs: A paltry copy of our august unit. Get back to us when you've had all your limbs
replaced to better serve.
 Romanovs: They have a romantic view of war. Many of their defeated soldiers end up in our
ranks.
 Arkwrights: They think machines win battles, not courage.
 Black Eagles: Worthy foes.
 Osmani: We are nothing alike. We use cybernetics to purge our pasts. They use it to
annihilate their own humanity.
 Corporations: We are not mercenaries who fight for money. We fight for redemption.
 Rebels: Defeating them will be a challenge, for their numbers grow with every world they
capture.
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Black Eagles
Faction Type: Major Faction
Capital World: Kurst
Quote: Befriend Death. Walk with Him all the days of your life. Fly with Him in your eyes. Embrace
Him. Only then can you fight without fear.
Brief Overview: The Black Eagles are generally seen as a weaker faction compared to the
Romanovs, Europans, or Arkwrights. They have limited industrial capabilities, little political influence, a
smaller population, and a lower level of technology than the others. What they do have, though, are
the toughest, best trained, and most determined fighters in the galaxy. Black Eagles make up the bulk
of the Grand Fleet’s gunners, pilots, and crew. Black Eagle warriors have accomplished the impossible
time and again.
History: Six Black Eagle colony ships left Earth, but only two survived the long sublight crossing of
interstellar space. Of these, one landed on the metal-poor world of Grunwald. Unable to maintain their
technological base without resources, they adopted an agrarian society. The other surviving ship
landed on a hostile world named Kurst. Rather than try to tame that hellish world, the Black Eagles of
Kurst took flight once more and settled in space stations, asteroids, and moonlets across the system.
For centuries, the two branches of the Black Eagle civilization — referred to as the Western and
Eastern Wings — developed independently. It was not until the Romanovs gave them access to Gate
technology that the two colonies rediscovered each other. Their common culture and common
interests made them natural allies, and for a time it seemed as though the Black Eagles were in the
ascendant.
Then came the First Interstellar War, and the disaster of the Pandoran plague. The xenophobic
Pandoran colony used a virulent bioweapon as a last resort, and the Black Eagles were nearly wiped
out. Grunwald became completely uninhabitable. The Eastern Wing survived only by instituting strict
contagion control protocols on board their various stations and orbital habitats, quarantining any
station that showed any signs of infection. They held out against the disease until the Romanovs
developed a cure. The Romanovs rescued the Black Eagles from annihilation, and on that debt the
Mandate was founded.
Politics: The Black Eagles are fanatically loyal to the Mandate and to the Romanovs. They have been
the Romanovs’ strong right hand for generations, striking down the enemies of the Mandate and
shielding the Romanovs against every threat from pirate fleets to Arkwright machinations.
By long-standing tradition, the various Eagle colonies and stations elect a Star Marshal, and that
Marshal’s rank is then ceremonially confirmed by the Imperator of the Mandate. In the two centuries
since the foundation of the Mandate, fifteen Star Marshals have been elected by their peers and
blessed by the Imperator of the day. The current Star Marshal-elect is Razen, a young and notoriously
blood-thirsty captain. He won election by a narrow margin, buoyed by the recent Rebel advances. He
is seen, correctly, as a leader fit best for a time of war.
Imperator Anastasia refused to give Razen her blessing, the first time such a snub has ever
happened. Some rumors claim that her advisor, Suvarov, mistrusts Razen. It is also likely that the
young Imperator feared that her reputation might be stained by all the blood the aggressive Razen
would doubtless shed in her name.
Without a confirmed Star Marshal, the Black Eagles are in disarray. Is Razen still their leader without
the Mandate’s blessing, or must they put forward another soul?
Key Figures:
 Star Marshal-Elect Razen Denisof: The leader of the Black Eagles — although that means
only that he is first-among-equals of the various stations and colonies. Before his ascension,
he led the Winged Hussars through a series of bloody and daring long-range raids against the
Rebel worlds, forcing them to divert ships from their spearhead to defend their home bases.
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

Admiral Verenkar: One of the great captains of the Grand Fleet, Verenkar was forced to
retire during the Steel Purges. She was lounging in an obscure colony near the Fringe when
the Grand Fleet disappeared, and she now finds her skills once more in high demand.
Lord Caul: The lord of one of the new colonies in the Fringe Worlds, Lord Caul’s world has
resisted the Rebel’s attempts to conquer it by siege for more than two years, making him a
hero in the core Mandate.
How The Black Eagles See…
 Themselves: We have survived through strength and discipline. They shall continue to be our
watchwords.
 The Imperator: We serve the Imperator, as we served her ancestors. We owe her line a debt
that can never be repaid.
 The Mandate: A glorious and righteous institution.
 The Grand Fleet: It was once the dream of every Black Eagle to serve in the Grand Fleet.
Now, there are too many Romanovs in it who play at being officers. It was already rotting from
within when the bulk of it went missing, and we do not miss it.
 The Corsairs: Better to die in battle than rot in prison. Let them sell their lives dearly!
 Romanovs: Our closest allies. We shall come to their aid as they came to ours — but then
there must be a rebalancing. They have taken advantage of our loyalty for too long.
 Arkwrights: Spoiled children, without discipline.
 Europans: Effete courtiers. Useless when times get hard. They survive only because they
have never been tested.
 Osmani: We faced hardships as bad as anything they endured — but we did not become
cyborg monstrosities. It speaks of a weakness in their character.
 Corporations: Money-grubbing parasites.
 Rebels: Traitors who must be wiped out.
Archipelagists
Faction Type: Black Eagle Subfaction
Capital World: None
Quote: My rock against yours. Our belt against the primary. Our system against the galaxy.
Brief Overview: The Archipelagists are clannish asteroid miners. Tough and aggressive even by
Black Eagle standards, they have spread throughout the Gate network almost without anyone
noticing. They rarely land on inhabited worlds. Their semi-nomadic ships drift into a system, work an
asteroid belt, and drift out again hauling a load of ore.
History: The Archipelagists descend from the original asteroid miners of the Kurst system. From
them, they inherited their resilience and courage, but also their suspicious nature. The Archipelagists
never trust anyone or anything. Everything must be triple-checked and checked again, from the seal
on an airlock to a business partner's credentials. That paranoia kept them alive when the Pandoran
plague tore through the Black Eagles. They became one of the largest political blocs in Black Eagle
society solely by weathering that crisis better than anyone else.
Since the foundation of the Mandate, the Archipelagists have expanded their domain. They have little
respect for the laws of outsiders, believing that the only real law is “Might makes right.” If they lay claim
to a system's asteroid resources and the locals cannot stop them, then those rocks belong to the
Archipelagists. They have caused — and won — hundreds of minor skirmishes over the centuries.
Fight with one Archipelagist, and you fight with all of them.
Archipelagist mining camps can be found in both Mandate and Rebel space. Few of them care about
the relative merits of either side in the larger conflict.
Politics: The Archipelagists rarely get involved in politics. As far as they are concerned, the rest of the
universe can go to hell in whatever way it chooses. They do have some vestigial ties to their Black
Eagle kinfolk and to the Imperator, but they are dangerous allies. Their idea of doing someone a favor
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often involves murder or brutal ambushes in deep space. They have no time for negotiation, restraint,
or the Mandate’s laughable Rules of War.
Key Figures:
 Dredger: The Archipelagists don't have formal leaders or any sort of real structure, but
Dredger has both a large fleet of miners and an unusual interest in Black Eagle politics,
making her the de facto spokesman for the clans.
How The Archipelagists See…
 Themselves: That's our business.
 The Imperator: The Romanov Imperators stopped the plague. That's worth something.
 The Mandate: Nothing to do with us. You can't control space. It's much bigger than you are.
 The Grand Fleet: Never trust a ship you can't build yourself.
 Corsairs: Who?
 Romanovs: Blustering idiots.
 Arkwrights: Greedy idiots.
 Black Eagles: Most of them are too soft in the head and too hot in the blood to be worth
anything. We look out for them, though, and knock some sense into them when needs be.
 Europans: <No response, just cynical laughter.>
 Osmani: How can you be free if you're wired into everyone else? They're slaves to each
other.
 Corporations: Only good for trading. However, if they trespass into our mining territory, we'll
blow them out of the sky.
 Rebels: Some of them are bloodthirsty idiots, but most of 'em talk a bit of sense. Those are
the ones who'll probably have to be done away with before all this is over.
Winged Hussars
Faction Type: Black Eagle Subfaction
Capital World: Prospeckt
Quote: Glory to the Mandate!
Brief Overview: The Winged Hussars consider themselves to be the champions of the Imperator.
They are not part of the Grand Fleet or directly answerable to the Imperator or any other power. They
are her self-appointed knights and paladins, loyal to the Mandate beyond death.
History: The Hussars stems from the end of the First Interstellar War, when the Romanovs saved the
Black Eagles from extinction by curing the Pandoran plague. When the Romanovs launched their War
of Unification to bring all of known space under the rule of the Mandate, the Black Eagles were still
reeling from the effects of the plague and could not offer any formal military support. That did not stop
individual Black Eagle outposts and stations from coming to the aid of the Romanovs. Instead of a
single regimented fleet, there came a great horde of smaller ships — the first flight of the Winged
Hussars.
Since then, the Hussars have risen to the defense of the Mandate whenever danger threatened.
Between wars, they practice by battling pirates, by fighting amongst themselves, or by participating in
ever more dangerous and damaging acts of endurance or bravery. The Winged Hussars are not part
of the Mandate's official forces, and they obey no commander but the ruling Imperator. During the
Osmani war, for example, they attacked Osmani ships despite orders from the Grand Fleet.
Now that the very heart of the Mandate is under attack, the Hussar ranks have swelled to their largest
size in history. They are ready to fly again, wild and fierce, into battle against the Rebels.
Politics: Politics? What do champions care for politics? The Winged Hussars see themselves as
knights and heroes, defending the righteous and the weak against the forces of evil. They are
idealists, venerating the Imperator with religious zeal — which is why Anastasia’s rejection of Razen
was such a terrible blow, even a betrayal in their eyes.
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Key Figures:
 Razen Denisof: The young Denisof made a name for himself by fighting the Rebels like he
had something to prove. His daring leadership drove him to the top of the Winged Hussars’
ranks and made him a hero throughout the Black Eagles. He called in a lot of favors to be
elected the leader of the Black Eagles, and the entire faction now waits to see how their
favorite firebrand will react to the Imperator’s rejection.
How The Winged Hussars See…
 Themselves: The champions of the Mandate.
 The Imperator: The office of the Imperator is sacred — but Anastasia may not be the true
heir. She had two elder brothers, and one of them should have taken the throne instead.
 The Mandate: The will of the Imperator is expressed through the Mandate. Through this
instrument, the future of humanity is assured.
 The Grand Fleet: Once, it was glorious. Now, it rots from within, and we must take its place.
 Corsairs: Let them fight alongside us in battle, and courage they have left!
 Romanovs: None of them have a fraction of our devotion to the Mandate.
 Arkwrights: They tried to undermine the Mandate in the past. If they try again, then we shall
put Victoria to the sword!
 Black Eagles: Our kin will be inspired by our example and rise to defend the Mandate!
 Europans: They are a kindly, generous, gentle folk. Let them huddle behind our shields.
 Osmani: Strangers to the Mandate, and too devoted to their ghastly Sultana to be truly loyal.
 Corporations: True devotion cannot be bought.
 Rebels: They fight with zeal and courage, and we respect that. We shall be as generous in
our victory as we are terrible in battle.
The Eagles Rousant
Faction Type: Black Eagle subfaction
Capital World: None
Quote: The memory of home unites us.
Brief Overview: Rousant enclaves exist throughout the Mandate, on both sides of the war. They are
the Black Eagles’ traders and scientists, specializing in rare minerals (obtained through their
Archipelagist contacts) and life-support systems.
Their name derives from the heraldic symbol they adopted in their exile, which depicts an eagle with
its wings spread, about to rise from the ground - a black eagle rousant.
History: The Rousants descend from those who fled the Pandoran plague that nearly wiped out the
Black Eagle worlds. As the plague spread, they took to their ships and raced for the Gates, making a
second desperate exodus. Those who survived the flight were treated with suspicion, shunned as
tainted outsiders even after the Romanov vaccine was distributed. One of the first good deeds of the
Mandate was to help the Rousants out of their refugee camps or quarantine zones and reintegrate
them into the broader society.
Despite their mistreatment, the Rousants maintained their contacts with their spaceborne cousins in
the surviving Black Eagle systems, and they often become the Black Eagles’ trading partners and
representatives in the other spheres. They are the branch of the Black Eagles that the average citizen
of the Mandate sees most often. Those who need rare minerals or transport to a distant system — or
even a mercenary unit — know to seek out the Rousants for help.
In recent years, with Europan help, the Rousants have begun the task of restoring their lost
homeworld. It’s sure to take many years, but reclaiming their roots is a top priority, as they hope it will
allow them to become full Black Eagles citizens once again.
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Politics: Rousants cannot vote in the Black Eagle elections and so are disconnected from Black Eagle
politics. They have ties to the Europans and Romanovs, rivalries with the Osmani, and tend to dislike
the Arkwrights — which is unfortunate, as the largest Rousants settlements are all on Arkwright
worlds. Like the Archipelagists, the Rousants straddle the Mandate/Rebellion divide.
Key Figures:
 Magdalen: The leader of the small colony on the original Black Eagle homeworld. The planet
outside the colony is a toxic wasteland, but Magdalen claims that because she rules a Black
Eagle settlement, she has the right to stand in their elections for Star Marshall. After Razen’s
snubbing, she hopes that her time has come.
How The Eagles Rousant See…
 Themselves: An exiled people.
 The Imperator: Her ancestors helped us, for a while. Later, they ignored our pleas and
fobbed us off with excuses.
 The Mandate: We’re grateful to them. However, if we could have made new homeworlds for
ourselves, we would have done so long ago.
 The Grand Fleet: Many of our sons and daughters fought in the Fleet. We may be
earthbound, but we still remember how to fly.
 The Corsairs: Who knows what fate they will change?
 Romanovs: They were too late to save us — and too quick to claim victory. They are always
blinded by their own reflected glory.
 Arkwrights: Greedy, cruel people.
 Europans: Oh, we have learned the true meaning of Europan charity. Every bit of help they
give “freely” comes with a litany of requests and favours. Still, they have helped us reclaim
part of our home and did more for us than most others.
 Osmani: We are both on the edge of the Mandate, but they have a thousand worlds to call
home.
 Corporations: In the years of our exile, we have grown rich and influential. Our reach here is
considerable.
 Rebels: Our world was destroyed. Theirs were strangled in the crib. Their fight is an
honourable one, and many of our kin fight alongside them.
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Osmani
Faction Type: Major Faction
Capital World: Isyer
Quote: Everything changes, but nothing is truly lost.
Brief Overview: The Osmani are cyborgs. Unlike the other factions within the Mandate, who permit
only limited genetic and cybernetic augmentation, the Osmani embrace cybernetics. They remake
themselves to suit different tasks and challenges. They are distrusted and feared by many within the
Mandate, and this mistrust is returned with equal intensity by the Osmani, who were forced to join the
Mandate at gunpoint.
History: As with the people who left Earth in the other colony ships, the Osmani used cryogenic
capsules to survive the long journey across the void. While they slept, they were tended to and
watched over by servant machines. In all the other colonies, these robotic servants were
decommissioned and recycled after landing. However, the Osmani vessel malfunctioned at the end of
its voyage and crash-landed on a harsh and barren world. To survive, the Osmani were forced to
embrace cybernetic augmentation, replacing vulnerable flesh with radiation-proof metal, lending
human adaptability to inflexible machine code.
The Osmani colony thrived. They colonized their new home system, then expanded to reach several
other worlds using sublight engines — a feat no other civilization in the Mandate achieved. They even
discovered the fundamentals of Gate physics, although they had yet to construct a working Gate
before making contact with the Mandate.
90 years ago, a Mandate scout discovered the Osmani homeworld. After fraught negotiations between
the Imperator and the Sultana, and a series of skirmishes between the Grand Fleet and the Osmani
colony worlds, the Osmani agreed to join the Mandate.
Because the Osmani can tolerate conditions that normal humans cannot endure, they can colonize a
much wider range of worlds than the other civilizations. The Osmani sphere has expanded hugely
since recontact, as they were able to make good use of uninhabited worlds within systems already
colonized by others. There are now Osmani outposts throughout Mandate space.
Politics: The Osmani are ruled by a Sultana. In each generation, one Osmani is chosen to embody
this leader and is cybernetically connected to the archived mind-states of all previous Osmani rulers.
After more than fifty iterations, the aggregated wisdom of the Sultana verges on the divine.
The Osmani are distrusted and discriminated against by the other powers of the Mandate. The
Arkwrights and Europans see them as threats to their industrial and scientific preeminence. The Black
Eagles are naturally belligerent and suspicious to all newcomers. Even the Romanovs, who insisted
that the Osmani join the Mandate in the first place, support the Osmani only out of a sense of duty to
humanity.
Osmani traders are barred from the lucrative markets of the core worlds. Osmani scientists are
excluded from conferences and universities. There are only a handful of Osmani officers in the Grand
Fleet. Little wonder, then, that Osmani-built weapons, ships, and even Gate components have been
seized from captured Rebel ships.
Key Figures:
 Sultana Saadet: The “beloved cousin” of the Imperator and supreme ruler of the Osmani.
Saadet has ruled for fifteen years, although it is sometimes hard to draw divisions between the
current incarnation of the Sultana and the Hanedan, her memory-archive of past selves.
 Lurgan Veznedar: A high-ranking Dragomech, Lurgan operates a network of trading posts
and shipyards near the Rebel heartlands. He deals in secrets and rumors as well as in
advanced technological components and ship repairs.
 Sinan Yildiz Bey: The commander of the Osmani navy, Sinan is so integrated into his
flagship’s systems it’s said that his organic body has long since atrophied and only the
warship remains.
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How The Osmani See…
 Themselves: Unlike others, we do not subscribe to the folly of trying to impose our desires on
the universe. We adapt to the changing circumstances dictated to us by fate. Perfection is a
process, not a goal.
 The Imperator: Our Sultana sends greetings to her beloved cousin and sympathizes with her
plight. Of course, such confusion and betrayal could never happen in our system. We need
not fear manipulation or betrayal, because we are united by a common dream.
 The Mandate: As an ideal, a worthy and beneficial artifice. As a reality, a gang of bullies who
use it as an excuse to preserve the status quo without any regard for justice.
 The Grand Fleet: The Mandate's military arm, and a terrible weapon in the wrong hands.
 The Corsairs: Brave souls. The Imperator was wise to look beyond conventional solutions.
 Romanovs: There are two sorts of Romanov leaders: the cynics who use their high-sounding
rhetoric about guiding humanity to do whatever they want, and the fanatics who actually
believe in their special destiny. Neither inspires confidence.
 Arkwrights: The Arkwrights see us as a threat to their industrial dominance, and they fear
that our greater access to resources will allow us to overtake them. Blindly, they assume we
share their greed. We have no interest in overtaking them, of participating in a race to
nowhere. We are moving in another direction entirely.
 Europans: The Europans are perhaps our only peers in terms of technological development.
Our "changes" are obvious. Their are better concealed.
 Black Eagles: Crude but effective client culture of the Romanovs.
 Corporations: Capitalism is a transition stage, one that has been artificially prolonged by the
ossification of Mandate culture. Still, we must play their game if we are to work with the
Mandate.
 Rebels: Their cause is just, even if their methods are questionable. Any Osmani-produced
weapons they possess are, of course, stolen or purchased from third parties. As loyal
members of the Mandate, we would never sell to the Rebels.
Dragomechs
Faction Type: Osmani Subfaction
Capital World: Porte Station
Quote: We can provide what you desire — and what you need. Be wary, though. The two are not
always in alignment.
Brief Overview: The Dragomechs are the Osmani traders and diplomats — the public face of the
cyborg sphere, and the one that is seen most frequently in the rest of the Mandate. They are
interpreters and ambassadors for the Sultana. Some Dragomechs originally came from other parts of
the Mandate but have since converted to the Osmani way.
History: The Dragomechs are a new faction within the Osmani hierarchy. Before contact with the
Mandate, there was no need for a group of interpreters to serve as an interface with non-augmented
humans. When the Sultana perceived that the early negotiations with the Mandate diplomats were
proceeding too slowly, she had some of her ministers reconfigured into a new form that was less
obviously enhanced. Dragomechs look like baseline humans at first glance, with no more cybernetics
than is common for a citizen of the Mandate.
Dragomech traders have spread throughout the Mandate and beyond, into the Fringe worlds, looking
for markets where Osmani goods are not barred. They also proselytize for the Osmani, correcting
common misconceptions about the Sultanate.
Politics: Dragomechs straddle both sides of the Rebellion. They can be found in equal numbers in
Rebel-held space as in the Mandate. They loudly proclaim their neutrality in all external matters. Their
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allegiance is to the Sultana alone, and until she declares otherwise, they’ll trade with Mandate and
Rebel alike.
Key Figures:
 Duke Hoesung: The highest-profile conversion, Hoesung is a Romanov Duke who has
become a cyborg. Many question whether his loyalties remain with the Romanovs or with the
Osmani.
How the Dragomechs See…
 Themselves: Honest traders and diplomats. The interface between the greed and chaos of
the Mandate, and the cold order of the Osmani.
 The Imperator: She and the Sultana are equal in rank, like twin suns circling around one
another in perfect balance. Our role, then, is to adjust the course of the rest of the Mandate so
it orbits around the barycenter of the two.
 The Mandate: The grand swell of humanity, fearful and brave at once. We act as interpreters
to help them understand the Osmani.
 The Grand Fleet: It is said that it became a victim of politics. The Osmani do not endanger
their fighting ships by involving them in petty intrigues.
 The Corsairs: One might argue that the Imperator would be better served by looking for
stalwart allies instead of arming dangerous criminals.
 Romanovs: Difficult to predict or categorise.
 Arkwrights: Trade between the Osmani and Arkwrights will enrich both sides. They could be
our closest allies, if they would only let go of their pride.
 Europans: We offer to guide them through the intricacies of the Osmani sphere, and they try
to trick and deceive us with the subtleties of their culture.
 Black Eagles: Violent and unstable, but they have the virtue of honesty.
 Corporations: If the Arkwrights and their puppet corporations insist on shutting us out of the
legal markets, we must entertain other solutions.
 Rebels: Osmani space intertwines with Rebel-held systems, and we must have diplomatic
relations with all our neighbours. Perhaps the Osmani can be a bridge between the fractured
halves of the Mandate?
Schismatics
Faction Type: Osmani Subfaction
Capital World: Astacus
Quote: <incomprehensible burst of machine code>
Brief Overview: The Schismatics are the original rulers of the Osmani colony worlds. Prior to contact
with the Mandate and the development of Gate travel, the Osmani Sultana could only rule her own
capital world. Each colony, therefore, had its own local ruler, a forked copy of the Hanedan mindarchive.
Now, the Sultana directly rules the entire Osmani sphere, so the surviving Schismatics function as a
sort of loyal opposition — or honored prisoners under permanent house arrest.
History: Centuries ago, the Schismatics each ruled one of the Osmani colony worlds, while the
Sultana ruled the Osmani capital of Isyer. The Mandate made peaceful contact with Isyer. The
Schismatics, however, each assumed that Isyer had fallen to attack and that the Sultana’s message
was a Mandate trick, and so refused to submit. They quickly raised armies and attacked the Mandate
forces.
The Osmani managed to capture a Mandate Gate in one of their first engagements. The Osmani were
on the verge of independently developing Gate technology, and this prize filled in the missing pieces
of their research and allowed the Schismatic colonies to join together and coordinate their war with the
Mandate “invaders.” They created the Janissary fleets to counterattack into Mandate space.
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The war was ended by the Sultana, not by force of arms. Using the new Gate network, she travelled to
each Osmani colony in person, one by one, and overrode the commands of the local ruler. The
Schismatics were not destroyed or shut down, but she took their authority over the Osmani forces from
them.
Today, the Schismatics can be compared to the Romanov Council of Dukes, but their power is purely
symbolic. They can only advise the Sultana — at least, that is what the Osmani claim. The true status
of the Schismatics is a mystery to outsiders, hidden in the endlessly evolving labyrinth of the Hanedan.
Politics: The Sultana is the supreme authority within the Osmani sphere. Her Schismatic — clones?
sisters? daughters? — have no official standing. Some offer advice to her, while others pursue
scientific or artistic projects of their own or have retreated to explore unfathomable mathematical or
philosophical realms in their palaces. The one thing they all agree on is that the Mandate has no right
to dictate terms to the Osmani, and that the Sultana was wrong to “surrender.”
Key Figures:
 Ajda of Astacus: The most vocal and prominent of the Schismatics, Ajda continues to
strongly oppose the Mandate. She has survived several attempts by assassins to silence her
 Nazan of the Bronze Palace: Nazan retreated into her palace immediately after the Sultana
relieved her of authority. She spent much of the last 80 years there, in complete isolation. She
emerged from her self-imposed isolation shortly before the death of the last Imperator.
 Vesile the Wanderer: Vesile travels through Mandate space in search of pleasure and
adventure. Her ship went missing when the Rebels took the Redsky system, and she may
have been captured or destroyed.
How the Schismatics See…
 Themselves: Each of us is a facet of the Sultana, the same original core, but each diverging
in our own way according to our differing experiences. Each of us is worthy to rule.
 The Imperator: Who is this child to dictate to us? What is this mewling thing of flesh
compared to our centuried refinement?
 The Mandate: A prison built by cowards.
 The Grand Fleet: Our old enemy. We could have defeated them with our Janissaries, had we
been given time.
 The Corsairs: Amusing playthings.
 Romanovs: In their paranoia, they suspect that we colluded with the Sultana, that her
surrender and our war was part of the same scheme to build the Osmani defences while
preserving the Osmani core.
 Arkwrights: Easily manipulated.
 Europans: They envy us more than they realize.
 Black Eagles: An unstable bomb that the Romanovs hold onto out of fear.
 Corporations: Boring.
 Rebels: Interesting.
Janissaries
Faction Type: Osmani Subfaction
Capital World: Akran
Quote: “The body is weapon and battlefield alike.”
Brief Overview: The Janissaries are the Osmani’s most infamous military force. They embrace the
tactical advantage of radical cybernetic augmentation, replacing limbs with weapons and removing
living organs in favour of more armor and redundant cybernetic backups. Their ships have integrated
crews that merge operator and system into a single unit.
Their reputation is still tarnished by war crimes committed decades ago, and they are hated and
feared throughout most of known space.
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History: Cybernetic augmentation is an unpredictable process. Variations in brain chemistry, in
immune system response, and in psychological and physical fitness matter a great deal. Some people
cannot tolerate any cybernetic enhancement; others, like Janissary candidates, can be remade to suit
any purpose.
The first Janissaries were selected from among the crew and passengers of the original Osmani
colony ship. In those desperate years, there was no question of refusing the Sultana’s call - those
crew members who matched the genetic profile were made Janissaries, willing or not. They were the
test subjects for the early experiments in cybernetic augmentation, and the Osmani homeworld was
conquered by their efforts. Since then, they have been the Sultana’s chosen instrument, remade to
deal with whatever perils the Osmani encounter. They are the first to explore new worlds, the first to
respond to disasters.
Any Osmani who fits the Janissary genetic profile is obliged to join the unit. They leave their family and, arguably, their species behind - when they are augmented to the limits of both technology and
biology.
During the brief Second Interstellar War, the Osmani conquered several Mandate worlds. They
subjected the population of those worlds to the same screening process. Those who qualified were
forced to become Janissaries. In the eyes of the Osmani, it was an honor. The Mandate considered it
an atrocity. The use of ‘forced’ cybernetic conversions prolonged the war by years, and are still held
up as an example of Osmani infamy. After the war, these new recruits were unable to return home - or
perhaps unwilling, as their loyalty was hard-coded into their altered brains and their modifications
could not be reversed.
Politics: The Janissaries are a breed apart within the Osmani - not wholly Osmani, not Mandate,
strangers to both sides. In many ways, they are exactly what the Mandate assumes all Osmani to be terrifying machines with only the smallest vestiges of humanity left in them. There have been
numerous clashes between Janissary garrisons and Mandate forces in the years since the Osmani
expanded into Mandate space; Janissaries are proud of their elite status and notoriously quick to take
offence - and as they are living weapons, offense swiftly escalates to bloodshed when Janissaries are
involved.
Key Figures:
 “Iron John” Varinger: A former pirate who commands a rapid-reaction strike force, originally
intended to protect isolated Osmani outposts against pirate attack. In recent years, their foes
are more likely to be Rebel scouts or Black Eagle raiders.
How The Janissaries See…
 Themselves: The Osmani way is the best way forward for humanity. We defend that ideal.
 The Imperator: A pale shadow of the Sultana.
 The Mandate: We obey their laws — as the Sultana commands.
 The Grand Fleet: They thought themselves invincible. We broke that delusion, and now the
Rebels have broken them.
 The Corsairs: We too were made from the damaged and the defeated. There is strength in
being rebuilt.
 Romanovs: Dangerous and unpredictable.
 Arkwrights: They aggressively defend their trade interests and would damn the rest of the
galaxy if it improved their profit margin.
 Europans: Their Unknown Legion serves the same function as we do in Osmani society —
but where we are loyal beyond death, they have to bribe their warriors to fight for them.
 Black Eagles: Worthy combatants, but unwilling to admit that the baseline human body is a
weakness that should be shed.
 Corporations: Mostly harmless. Mostly irrelevant.
 Rebels: If they do not threaten Osmani worlds, we shall have no quarrel with them.
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Rebels
Faction Type: Major faction
Capital World: Alzar
Quote: “Death to tyrants!”
Brief Overview: The Rebels are a loose alliance of different groups, united only by their opposition to
the Mandate. They come from the Fringe worlds, that halo of new colonies settled in the last century.
The Separatist movement has been growing for decades, but it is only in recent years that they have
become a force to be reckoned with.
History: Individual separatist movements formed within a few short years of the colonization of the
Fringe worlds. On some systems, they wanted self-rule or greater representation back in the core. On
others, the locals called for better conditions, for better pay, or even for better worlds through
terraforming. On still other fringe worlds, the colonists there were exiles or dissidents who went out in
search of a new homeland, free from the restrictions of the places they left behind. When the
separatists’ demands were ignored by the Houses, some protested, some stopped working, and some
fought back. A hopeful few sent emissaries to the distant court of the Imperator on Novy Petersburg.
Imperator Piotr responded to these pleas by dispatching a punitive fleet to the fringe colonies. He
intended to put a quick end to the violent protests, but his actions succeeded mainly in uniting the
previous disparate separatists. The various Fringe worlds banded together to resist the Mandate and
focused their anger on the Romanovs. The Separatist movement even managed to cobble together a
small fleet of fighting ships, but they were absurdly outnumbered and outgunned by the Grand Fleet in
its heydey. The Separatists were crushed in a series of battles, ending in a thorough military defeat at
Tagesha.
A military defeat, though, is not enough to stop a movement. The punitive fleet pushed more worlds
away from the Mandate. The Rebels went underground and organized, establishing bases and supply
lines across the Fringe worlds.
Imperator Piotr died, and his son Nikolai took the throne. Of all the concessions he gave the Rebels in
the treaty of Albemar, the greatest was not mentioned in the treaty: time. The Rebels built more ships:
small frigates at first, minnows compared to the giant capital ships of the Grand Fleet, but even a giant
can be taken down by a swarm of tiny foes. Later, as they constructed secret bases in uncharted
systems, they were able to construct much larger and more powerful ships.
Twenty years ago, the Rebel offensive began. Slowly at first, in a handful of systems, the Rebels
fought to throw off Mandate rule. Now, they are a spear aimed at the heart of the Mandate, a bloody
wave swallowing sector after sector with frightening speed. With the loss of the Grand Fleet, there is
little to stop the Rebels from reaching Novy Peterberg.
Politics: The Rebels have no grand overarching ideology. They are united in their hatred of
oppression by the core worlds and in their desire for change, but nothing else is certain. Officially, all
debate about the future has been postponed until the war is won. The Rebel leaders know that the war
is the only thing keeping their coalition of worlds continue. Iif their headlong advance ever slows down
— if they stop to negotiate instead of fighting — then the Rebellion would likely fall apart. Only the
threat of a common foe keeps them together.
Key Figures:
 Duncan Heller: The head of the Rebel council.
 Irina Savinkov: Commander of the Rebel fleet.
 Olympe d’Ambreville: The Rebel’s leading diplomat and philosopher.
How the Rebels See…
 Themselves: A force for change and freedom from the corruption of the Mandate.
 The Imperator: What gives her the right to rule over us?
 The Mandate: Corrupt and stagnant.
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The Grand Fleet: A portent of the future. The pride of the Mandate, brought down by the
cleverness and conviction of the common people.
The Corsairs: An act of barbaric desperation, to give warships to criminals and butchers and
then set loose them on the galaxy. Any Corsairs with a conscience should switch sides
immediately!
Romanovs: Degenerate aristocrats.
Arkwrights: Greedy tyrants.
Europans: Deceitful and selfish for the most part.
Black Eagles: Blood-thirsty beasts, the hunting dogs of the Imperator.
Osmani: A strange people, but who are we to judge their ways?
Corporations: Vampires, intent on draining the Fringe worlds dry.
Commonwealth of Penrose
Faction Type: Rebel Subfaction
Homeworld: Penrose
Quote: “Never let your sense of morals keep you from doing what is right.”
Brief Overview: The Lords Penrose are — or were — nobles from House Arkwright who ruled a
cluster of colonies in the Fringe worlds. Instead of fleeing when the Rebels invaded the Penrose
worlds, they switched sides. They have volunteered to serve as diplomats and ambassadors to the
courts of the Mandate.
History: The Duchy of Penrose was an Arkwright colony, one of the first Fringe Worlds to be settled. It
marked the end of civilization, the last world on which one could get a decent drink before proceeding
into the wild worlds of the frontier. It became the industrial engine of the Fringe, processing raw
resources from many colonies and shipping goods off to the hungry core worlds. It was the Arkwright's
jewel, their dream of a new phase of colonization made manifest. It was the prototype for a new era of
discovery and development.
In the early days of the Rebellion, Penrose was attacked many times by poorly organized raiders. It
was, for the Fringe Worlds, the symbol of Mandate authority. Most Fringe worlders had only heard
legends of distant worlds like Novy Petersburg or Victoria, but Penrose was right there, only a Gate or
two away. As the attacks continued, the Arkwrights fortified Penrose, placing an increasing proportion
of their military might on that world.
Then, when the new Rebellion began in earnest, the Duchess of Penrose switched sides. She
declared that she was part of the Rebellion, changed her domain into a Commonwealth, and
"volunteered" to speak for the Rebels in the court of the Mandate. The Rebels mistrusted — and still
mistrust — the newly-minted Governess, but they cannot deny that the sudden addition of Penrose's
military and industrial might to the Rebellion upset the balance of power in known space. Before the
Grand Fleet vanished through a sabotaged Gate, the “treachery of Penrose” was the worst blow the
Mandate had suffered since the Pandoran plague.
Politics: The Commonwealth of Penrose survives through politics. The Rebels would prefer to seize
complete control of the Commonwealth and bring down the ruling family, but they cannot ignore the
debt they owe Penrose or the possibility that they will need the Governess as a mediator in future. The
Mandate considers the Governess to be a traitor, but the former duchy is a sanctuary for Arkwright
nobles and pro-Mandate refugees from across the fringe worlds.
As long as the two sides remain locked in mortal combat, Penrose endures.
Key Figures:
 Governor Wilhelmina Penrose: The “great traitor” to the Arkwrights.
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How the Commonwealth of Penrose Sees…
 Themselves: We have listened to the complaints of the Rebels, and their cause has merit. If
the Mandate is to be reformed, instead of torn down and thrown into anarchy, then other
nobles must join us.
 The Imperator: Romanov intransigence brought us to this point. She should step down —
and her family too. Let someone else take the Mandate throne. Perhaps someone who can
speak to both sides of this civil war...
 The Mandate: A great and once-glorious institution that has been allowed to fall into disrepair.
It must be reformed and restored.
 The Grand Fleet: The ships of the Grand Fleet are scattered through the Fringe systems.
They should be brought under armed guard to the neutral space of the Duchy and impounded
until the war is over.
 The Corsairs: An example of the Mandate’s desperation. Better to seek a diplomatic solution
than give such power to unpredictable criminals.
 Romanovs: The Romanov dynasty has always been blinded by its idealism. Now is the time
for compromise.
 Arkwrights: The Arkwrights made mistakes in their colonization of the Fringe worlds, that is
undeniable — but Arkwright industry can mend them.
 Europans: The Europans are a reasonable and generous people, and they serve as our
diplomatic back-channel into the Mandate.
 Black Eagles: Dangerous, vicious warriors who need to be restrained.
 Osmani: The Osmani are famed for their ability to adapt to new circumstances. They can
adapt to live within a reformed Mandate
 Corporations: The fortune of the Commonwealth is founded on mining, and this industry
must continue.
Wilders
Faction Type: Rebel Subfaction
Homeworld: None
Quote: “We went out.”
Brief Overview: Until recently, everyone in the Mandate considered the Wilders to be a myth. Stories
about bands of nomadic explorers that stole Gate technology — or obtained it from the Osmani — and
went wandering about the galaxy seemed absurd.
Now, it’s clear that the Wilders are very real. With their expertise in Gate construction and starship
operations, the returning Wilders have proved a major asset to the Rebellion.
History: The Wilders descend from the original Separatists, who fought a brief and futile war against
the Mandate some fifty years ago. Some of the survivors of that conflict went underground and
established the present Rebel movement. Others left known space altogether, defying the Mandate’s
ban on exploration. Their numbers were bolstered by pirates and other travellers who fled the core
worlds. They are closely akin to the Archipelagist movement of the Black Eagles.
The Wilders rarely settle on planets. Instead, their ships function like the old slow-haul colony ships,
staying in flight for decades without docking or landing. A Wilder ship might wander for years without
encountering another living soul. The crew/families on board become strange and insular as they
confront the vast emptiness of the cosmos.
The full extent of the Wilders’ Gate network is known only to them. Wilder speech is an
incomprehensible mix of riddles and technical jargon, making it difficult to question them about how far
they went and what they discovered.
Politics: The Wilders turned their back on the Mandate long ago. Have they returned now to take
revenge on their old enemies, or to loot the ruins of the core worlds after the war? They keep their own
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counsel and seem unworried when others project fears onto them. They show little interest in
participating in Rebel politics. They are compatriots rather than committed members of the Rebellion.
Key Figures:
 Captain Whetu: Whetu’s squadron discovered one or more tomb worlds — failed settlements
founded by other colony ships from Earth — and they sometimes trade in rare relics from
those lost worlds.
How the Wilders Sees…
 Themselves: The only free people in known space.
 The Imperator: The great enemy. She must be cast down.
 The Mandate: Jailers who stole the stars.
 The Grand Fleet: The servants of the enemy.
 The Corsairs: Who?
 Romanovs, Arkwrights, Europans: They’re all the same. All fighting to be kings of a very
small hill.
 Black Eagles: Our closest kin. They owe the Romanovs nothing anymore. They should join
us out in the great darkness.
 Osmani: Why should we exchange one set of chains for another?
 Corporations: Of little interest to us.
Bloody Squadron
Faction Type: Rebel Subfaction
Homeworld: Alzar
Quote: “All officers of the Imperator’s navy shall uphold the laws of the Mandate and ensure the
protection and prosperity of humanity.”
Brief Overview: The Bloody Squadron are former members of the Grand Fleet, who lost their
positions in the recent purges. They left Mandate space and joined with the Rebels, although they
insist they are still ultimately fulfilling their oaths to the Imperator.
History: Since the foundation of the Mandate, the House of the Romanovs and the title of Imperator
have been intertwined. By law, the Grand Fleet serves the Imperator alone and is not part of the navy
of any one of the Houses. The Captain-General of the Romanovs and the Imperator of the Mandate
may, on occasion — or, indeed, always — be the same person, but the Grand Fleet is not to be used
to advance Romanov interests alone.
That, at least, is the intention. The actuality is very different. After the disastrous Siege of Feduykin,
the Romanovs slowly took direct control of the Grand Fleet by drumming out officers from other
Houses and promoting their own supporters. By choosing loyalty over all other virtues, they stripped
the Grand Fleet of the majority of its best officers. At the time, the Fleet seemed invincible even with
tyros in command.
Properly, the term “Bloody Squadron” belongs only to a particular squadron of ships whose
commanding officers were unjustly accused of breaching the Articles of War. Rather than face a
Romanov show trial, they took their ships and crews over to the Rebel side. In practise, any ex-Grand
Fleet ship or crew fighting for the Rebels is said to be part of the Bloody Squadron.
Politics: The Bloody Squadron pride themselves on their honor and adherence to the Articles of War.
They believe that they are the true Grand Fleet, not the corrupt, biased mockery that comprises the
current Fleet. They believe that the Mandate must be reformed, not destroyed, and that if they can
only free the Imperator from the influence of her evil advisors and show her the true state of her
domain, all will be made right, and they will be restored to their proper place in the Fleet.
Key Figures:
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Admiral Hansard: She served as a temporary Lord High Admiral under Imperator Nikolai
during those times when his relationship Admiral Suvarov grew so stormy the two could no
longer work together. Political scheming by Romanov dukes forced her to retire, and she
settled in the Duchy of Penrose. When the Bloody Squadron fled the Mandate, they sought
her out for assistance, and she became their effective commander. The admiral is too old to
command a ship in battle, but her command of logistics and strategy is legendary.
How the Bloody Squadron Sees…
 Themselves: Stalwart champions of a lost golden age.
 The Imperator: Her grandfather knew the value of the Fleet. Her father was too weak and left
the Fleet in the care of unworthy, greedy nobles. She can redeem us, even as we redeem her.
 The Mandate: To serve the Mandate, even in exile, is the highest honor.
 The Grand Fleet: The true Fleet is the shield of humanity against all evil — but the true Fleet
is lost and must be restored.
 The Corsairs: Some of them are our fellow officers, unjustly purged by the corrupt
Romanovs. We call upon them to join us!
 Romanovs: The Romanov Imperators have all been wise and honorable leaders. Their
cousins and courtiers, though, are venal and corrupt.
 Arkwrights: Pride has always been the Arkwright weakness. They must learn that there is
honor in serving.
 Europans: They have great influence in the courts of the Mandate, and they can help bring an
end to this civil war.
 Black Eagles: The Grand Fleet has always drawn on the strength of the Black Eagles, but
their attacks on the Rebels must stop — or we will show them that it takes more than strength
and ferocity to win victory.
 Osmani: Dangerous outsiders, who must be brought fully into the Mandate. Half measures
inevitably lead to no quarter.
 Corporations: They have too much sway at court and should be brought to heel.
Mercenaries, especially, are far too numerous and well-armed these days.
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Pirates
Faction Name: Pirates
Faction Type: Major Faction
Capital World: None (although some claim Libertalia)
Quote: “Prepare to be boarded!”
Brief Overview: Since people have transported goods over open spaces, there have been pirates.
Modern pirates resemble their historical counterparts in their desperation and cunning, although they
tower above them in terms of their technology. Their purpose remains the same: to accost other ships
and strip them of their valuables by any means necessary.
History: The rise of private ownership of spacecraft brought piracy riding in its wake, starting even
back before the exodus from Earth. After the colony ships settled their initial planets and began
exploring the systems around them, pirates arose in each of the surviving civilizations as well. The
modern age of piracy exploded with the creation of Gates, giving cutthroats ample targets for their
avarice, and it went nova during the War of Unification. Most factions hated the pirates that plagued
them, but at the same time, they did little to discourage pirates from attacking their rivals.
While pirates seem as common a plague of ships as rats and other breeds of vermin, they rarely
organize beyond the occasional simple partnership. Most of them respect a tacit agreement to leave
each other alone, if only because corporate transports offer much fatter and easier targets. If someone
could manage to band all the pirates in the galaxy together under a single banner, they might be able
to field a force to equal the Grand Fleet, but the few times anyone’s come close to trying this, old
rivalries tore such hopeful pirate armadas apart.
With the creation of the Corsairs, many pirates took the Imperator up on her generous offer of amnesty
to take up arms against the Rebels. Some of them had even been working with the Rebels at the time,
but they didn’t let that stop them. The pirates who are left are bloodthirsty sorts dedicated to profit,
plunder, and debauchery above all other concerns.
Politics: Pirates take great pains to stay out of any political conflicts, seeing the people who fight in
them as either powerless puppets or ideological fools. To their minds, anyone is a potential target, and
they’re happy to take any survivors from their raids and save them from the ongoing war by pressing
them into their service.
Key Figures:
 Captain Dread: A man of Caribbean descent, Dread uses the trappings of voodoo and
mysticism to inspire fear in his foes. It’s all hokum, and he knows it, but he’s also inspired a
legion of followers who buy into it all even harder than he does. Few of them actually work on
his starship, but they do him the service of spreading his legend throughout the stars.
 Captain Inés Carnaval: A woman of Brazilian descent, Captain Carnaval is the unofficial ruler
of the anarchist colony of Libertalia. She’s mostly retired from active piracy, preferring to cut
deals and throats in her home port instead, but she is one of the most revered pirates in the
galaxy.
 Captain Jacinto Dushko: The current face of organized crime group Vorovsky Mir, Dushko is
the closest thing to a pirate lord in the galaxy. The amoral bastard killed his way into his
position, and he’s killed dozens more to keep it.
How the Pirates See…
 Themselves: In a world plagued by corporations and run by incredibly powerful aristocrats,
only those outside the law can truly be free.
 The Imperator: She was born into a terrible position, and she did a great thing by offering
amnesty to those willing to accept it. But does the freedom to be a citizen of the Mandate
really make you free?
 The Mandate: A laughable attempt to try to get the powers that be from slicing each other’s
throats.
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The Grand Fleet: They were a joke before they disappeared, and the vanishing made for the
best punchline ever. They’ve only gotten funnier since.
The Corsairs: It’s hard to blame people for taking a decent offer to become respectable sorts,
but they should see the Imperator’s just using them for the kinds of skills and ruthlessness her
own people lack.
Romanovs: These are the most fun people to rob. You should hear them squawk about
“property” and “rights” and “revenge”—I mean, “justice.”
Arkwrights: They really do think a lot of themselves. That kind of overconfidence makes them
ripe for the plucking.
Europans: These people put on a fine show for their bravery, but they buckle like babies at
the first threat. Candy for the taking.
Black Eagles: The lapdogs of the Mandate. They take themselves far too seriously, and they
never have anything worth stealing. Give them a wide berth.
Osmani: These people sold their souls to technology, obligating themselves to their Sultana
for life. On top of that, there’s no market for their spare parts.
Corporations: Ah! The fattest targets of them all. The fact that the various governments only
barely tolerate them for the riches they provide makes them even more tempting to find in your
crosshairs.
Tomb Robbers
Faction Type: Pirate Subfaction
Capital World: None
Quote: “It belongs in a museum! One that will pay me handsomely for it!”
Brief Overview: Known space is littered with secret weapons caches the Romanovs left behind after
they formed the Mandate. The Tomb Robbers work to break into them, avoid their automated defense
systems, and escape before the self-destruct sequences reduce them to loose atoms.
History: After the War of Unification, the Romanovs mothballed many of their spare starships and
weaponry, saving them for a day when they might be needed again. To keep them out of the wrong
hands (any hands other than theirs), they sealed these valuables away behind automated defense
systems that could only be disabled by people with the right genes. They seeded these secret caches
all around the known galaxy, knowing that they could use them to equip and launch a fleet anywhere
they wanted to—even inside the territory of a rival—before anyone could stop them. The Imperator
activated a few of these caches to help arm her Corsairs, but the rest of them remain well-hidden and
well-protected.
The Tomb Raiders have dedicated themselves to locating these caches, opening them up, and
emptying them out. The automated defenses make this incredibly difficult and risky, as they not only
include lethal countermeasures but often also feature a self-destruct system to ensure that those who
find a way to break into the cache cannot profit from it.
The Tomb Raiders are a loose conglomeration of treasure hunters who trade information about the
locations of such caches and work together to research and defeat their defenses on an ad-hoc basis.
Their Holy Grail is the Imperator’s Sceptre, which she loaned to her most trusted Corsairs. It contains
the genetic key that can unlock those weapons caches. Absent that, though, the Tomb Robbers
continue their quest on their own, wary of treachery from all corners—and especially from within.
Politics: The Tomb Robbers are nominally apolitical, although the main market for their stolen goods
is, of course, the Rebels. There are those among them, however, who don’t care for the money as
much as the chance to put their collective thumb in the Imperator’s eye.
Key Figures:
 Alexio Taquio: Lex is the self-styled Lord of the Tomb Robbers. This started mostly bluster
and bravado, but after he managed to break into and clean out a record three Romanov
caches and survive, people started looking to him for solutions. The Rebels are especially
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fond of him, but he staunchly keeps them at arm’s length, not trusting them any farther than
the Mandate.
Manuela Carmesim: Manuela sees herself as a pirate, first and foremost. She’s as amoral as
they come, using people for their skills until she has no further need for them—and then killing
them to make sure no one can use them against her. She’s in this for the money and nothing
else.
Valter Simão: Valter claims to be as cold-hearted as Manoela and as apolitical as Alexio, but
his sympathies lie with the Rebels. He’s been known to go after caches the Corsairs are
heading for to cut them off just in time. And if he can’t rob the tomb, he’s happy to watch it
blown to pieces instead.
How the Tomb Robbers See…
 Themselves: Dedicated opportunists going after the greatest treasure hordes humanity has
ever left behind. It seems such a pity to let such valuable gather dust and rust.
 The Imperator: Her ancestors were some of the craftiest people around. Fortunately, they
passed their genes on to her...
 The Mandate: Ignore them. If they knew what they were doing, they’d have emptied all these
tombs themselves.
 The Grand Fleet: When you come to rely on automated technology, don’t be surprised when
it works against you.
 The Corsairs: Smart people who sold whatever souls they had left to the Mandate—and left
plenty of clues behind in the caches the Imperator gave them to plunder.
 Romanovs: The only thing of real worth these people have left is their genetics. It says
something about their failure to progress that they keep their greatest treasures behind locks
and traps rather than putting them to use.
 Arkwrights: Word is that some of the Arkwrights hid their leftover armaments away as well. If
only we could find them!
 Europans: They would rather talk than fight, but they might well prove to be the best market
for our, um, salvaged goods.
 Black Eagles: It’s odd how determined the Black Eagles are to stop us since it’s their
Romanov masters keeping them from enjoying these wonderful toys.
 Osmani: Now there’s an intriguing group of people. We wonder what they’re keeping hidden.
 Corporations: We love them. It’s always great to have a broad base of customers for your
goods, after all.
Vorovsky Mir
Faction Type: Pirate Subfaction
Capital World: Nostrovia
Quote: “Nice starship you got there. Shame if something were to happen to it.”
Brief Overview: Vorovsky Mir the criminal organization that provides the pirates with the infrastructure
they need to maintain their way of life. They often aren’t pirates themselves as much as fences, fixers,
launderers, and other leeches who make a fortune by helping out those willing to take the biggest
risks.
History: With the rise of piracy in the wake of the founding of the Mandate, demand for people to help
sell the pirates’ plunder skyrocketed. It wasn’t long until a woman by the name of Paolina Nevsky
stepped forward to answer that demand. She brought together a number of smaller organized crime
families to found Vorovksy Mir, named after the ancient Russian concept of lawful thieves.
The people of Vorovsky Mir are honest crooks, an elite breed who adhere to a common code of honor.
The most vital part of this code is to keep promises made to other thieves. Those who fail to do so are
hunted down and mutilated, crippled, or killed.
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Today, Vorovsky Mir forms the illegal infrastructure that keeps the other pirates in relative comfort.
They have their fingers in every pie, taking a slice of most illegal transactions. In return, they provide
protection for their customers and clients and settle disputes between them without turning to any
government for help.
While rumors persist of there being an actual World of Thieves somewhere, Vorovsky Mir isn’t set in
any single place. It pervades all of known space. Wherever someone “knows a guy,” Vorovsky Mir is
there.
If Vorovksy Mir can be said to have a home, it’s the planet Nostrovia. This place has been hidden,
found, and relocated a dozen times, keeping the Mandate from ever nailing it down and destroying it.
If one Nostrovia is discovered, those who escape set up another somewhere else, call it “the real
Nostrovia,” and let the legend live on.
Politics: Ostensibly, Vorovsky Mir is apolitical. In truth, they are one of the most political organizations
around, as they have hundreds of politicians on their payroll, from locals all the way up to the highest
levels of the Mandate. Still, they do not advocate for any group over another. If anything they foment
the kind of chaos they believe is good for their kind of business by setting their own people against
each other—knowingly or not.
Key Figures:
 Ulisses Urquiza: Ulisses is the current manager of Vorovsky Mir. The decentralized nature of
the organization ensures that no one is truly in charge of the entire thing. Members follow their
code, not a person. But Ulisses is the most influential person among equals. He rose to his
position by a combination of charm, brutality, and a strict adherence to the code of honor. He
once spent a year in a Mandate prison, and when he broke out, he found his spot in Vorovsky
Mir still warm and waiting for him.
 Nema Carmesim: Nema is the mother of the Tomb Robber Manuela Carmesim. She trained
her daughter to become the greatest thief of all time—after she retired to become the most
successful fence. Manuela has become Nema’s biggest client, making them an unbeatable
team.
 Ronan Kurst: Ronan is the epitome of the honorable thief, the model to which all others in
Vorovsky Mir aspire. He has no aspirations other than to become the best possible thief, and
that has kept him alive for so long by keeping him out of the battles for control of the
organization.
How the Vorovsky Mir See…
 Themselves: We are the grease in the wheels, the people who actually make sure that
anything gets done. Without us, commerce and progress within known space would grind to a
halt, both inside the Mandate and out.
 The Imperator: Anastasia is that most troublesome of rulers: a pragmatic idealist. We’re
impressed she made her deal with the Corsairs, but that hasn’t softened her stance toward the
rest of us crooks one bit.
 The Mandate: You’d be surprised how many of us actually work within the Mandate. It’s so
corrupt at this point that it would fall to pieces if we weren’t there to keep it propped up.
 The Grand Fleet: Let’s just say we don’t miss them at all.
 The Corsairs: We’re proud of our friends who have gone straight, and we wish them luck. We
just hope they never forget where they came from.
 Romanovs: Over the years, these have been some of our best customers.
 Arkwrights: The Arkwrights like to pretend they have nothing do with us, but who do they
think they’re kidding?
 Europans: We feel most at home among the Europans. They love their seedy dives, and
we’re only to happy to make homes out of them.
 Black Eagles: Never turn your back on these people. They’re dangerous, but at least they
understand honor.
 Osmani: We’ve made some solid inroads among these people, but it’s hard to put your full
trust in someone when half their body belongs to someone else.
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Corporations: Have you ever seen anything more beautiful than an organization that cares
about nothing other than profit?
Libertalia
Faction Type: Pirate Subfaction
Capital World: Libertalia
Quote: “Live free or die!”
Brief Overview: Libertalia is an independent colony formed by pirates who just want the rest of the
galaxy to leave them alone so they can enjoy their spoils in peace. They know that they might only
have this place for a brief flash of time, so they’re determined to make the most of it they can.
History: With the disappearance of the Grand Fleet, Captain Deep Jain decided it was time to make
one of his long-held dreams a reality. Together with his two most respected compatriots, he made his
way to a distant colony known as the Devil’s Rock and conquered it without firing a shot. He then
declared it to be the free world of Libertalia and invited pirates of every stripe to come and join him in
their spacious new homeland.
Pirates flocked to Libertalia in droves, drawn by the promise of total lack of government on a world
bolstered by a mutual protection pact against any outside attacks. So far, they’ve managed to rebuff all
of the Mandate’s tentative advances against them, but they’re well aware that’s because the Rebels
give the Mandate far more trouble than the pirates.
Libertalia does not allow any ships in that are registered with any particular government. That includes
the Corsairs, many of which once berthed there. They don’t want to be co-opted by any outside
influences or—worse yet—be betrayed from within. They allow all pirates in automatically though.
It takes a concerted effort to be banned from Libertalia, but it has happened. Those who attack others
who are already there, without cause or apology, are banished. And those who are all too ready to sell
out their fellows to the Mandate (or any other organization) are expelled as well.
Politics: Libertalia refuses to ally itself with anyone else, but it is entirely political. In the end, the
people of Libertalia would like to be recognized as an independent government and accorded all the
respect that comes along with that—including the freedom to live by as few restrictions as possible.
Key Figures:
 Captain Deepak Jain: The charismatic Deep is the driving force behind the founding of
Libertalia. Once one of the most successful pirates around, he yearned for a new challenge
and set his sights on the concept of Libertalia. While it’s the Council of Captains who
supposedly run Libertalia, Deep’s word with his fellow captains carries more weight than any
other.
 Captain Ghostbeard: A renegade Osmani who forsook his original name, Ghostbeard’s
favorite tactic is to ambush his target, seeming to appear out of nowhere. He’s the most
ruthless of the three top captains on the council, and he rarely asks permission before taking
the hard actions the others are reluctant to endorse much less commit.
 Captain Anabela Dulce: The youngest of the trio of captains who helped set up Libertalia,
she sees herself as a champion of the downtrodden. When people who have been wronged
have nowhere else to turn, they come to La Dulce and her team of highly skilled crooks for
whatever justice they can find.
How Libertalians See…
 Themselves: We’re the luckiest people around. We get to live in a society free of rules and
restrictions and chart our own course among the stars. How can you beat that?
 The Imperator: No one is more imprisoned by their own blood than Anastasia. If she can
never have our loyalty, she at least deserves our pity.
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The Mandate: It represents everything wrong with today’s society: consolidated control over
most of humanity. And for what?
The Grand Fleet: The only way the Grand Fleet’s current situation could be improved would
be if they were to disappear entirely.
The Corsairs: Sad to see such good pirates trade their freedom for a handful of hollow
promises. Isn’t that what we always fought to avoid?
Romanovs: Power has calcified around this ancient family, and it’s only a matter of time
before they become statues—crumbling mementoes of a supposedly better time.
Arkwrights: The only difference between the Arkwrights and the Romanovs is that the
Romanovs beat the Arkwrights.
Europans: Same goes for the Europans. They’re all just different stripes on the same
toothless tiger.
Black Eagles: It’s a damn shame such fine soldiers wound up brainwashed to believe they
owe the Romanovs anything. There might have been hope for them.
Osmani: You have to respect how the Osmani saw a way out of a terrible situation and took it,
consequences be damned. Why they kowtow to the Mandate is a mystery.
Corporations: At least the corporations only want your money, not your soul. And relieving
them of their money is damn fine fun.
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Interstellar Free Trade
League (IFTL)
Faction Type: Major Faction
Capital World: Victoria
Quote: “Let nothing stand between humanity and the stars!”
Brief Overview: Originally a loose association of free colonies and independent traders, the League is
now a powerful but largely invisible political force within the Mandate. The League has its own fighting
ships to escort convoys through pirate-infested systems, and it works closely with the Gate Transit
Authority to keep the Gate network secure and open for business.
HIstory: The League is nearly 300 years old, dating back to the wild Expansion Era when the Gate
network was first built. Back then, there was no agreement or interstellar law governing Gate travel, so
different systems had different rules. Some worlds demanded crippling tolls to use their Gates; others
gave priority to their own ships; some systems had a dozen competing Gates, while others struggled
to keep even a single one functioning. The League lobbied for universal access to the Gate network.
The League initially supported the Romanov bid to take control of the Gates during the War of
Unification, but it switched sides to support the Arkwrights later on. Despite the support of the
corporations, the Arkwrights still lost the war and were forced to join the Mandate. Ever since, the
League has continued to pressure the Mandate to open up new systems for colonization and
exploitation.
Politics: The League is often dismissed as a puppet of the Arkwrights. In fact, while the two are
closely associated, the League wants to see an end to all the ruling houses. A Mandate composed of
independent worlds engaged in mutual trade would be far more efficient than a Mandate made up of
five squabbling Houses who put their own feuds and rivalries above all else. The League has even
made secret overtures to the Rebel leadership through the Duchy of Penrose, hoping to secure trade
agreements once this civil war comes to an end.
Key Figures:
 Baron Fuchs: An Arkwright baron and president of the IFTL, Fuchs is known for his support
of mercenaries and his willingness to take direct action to solve problems facing the League.
How the Interstellar Free Trade League sees...
 Themselves: Champions of freedom and aspiration in the Mandate.
 The Imperator: Her father was sympathetic to our cause. Let us hope that his heir is equally
wise.
 The Mandate: Protecting the Gate network is a worthy purpose, but the Mandate has gone far
beyond that. It needs reform.
 The Grand Fleet: The Fleet kept the pirate menace in check! Without them, who will defend
trade from the thieves and barbarians of the uncharted systems?
 The Corsairs: The Imperator has made a very... courageous decision by entrusting her future
to such dangerous individuals.
 Romanovs: Romanovs spend money like water. They squander it on entertainment and
pleasure, or waste it on hubristic grand projects.
 Arkwrights: Our closest allies — but it would be unhealthy for one faction, even them, to
dominate the Mandate.
 Europans: Europan bureaucracy is stifling. They need to open their worlds up to free trade.
 Black Eagles: The era of the small free trader is over. Their distrust of the corporations holds
them back.
 Osmani: We welcome the Osmani to the Mandate and hope that the unjust restrictions on
trade with them will soon be lifted.
 Rebels: If they guarantee the security of the Gate network and free trade, then we can do
business with them. Their conflict is with the rulers of the Mandate, not the corporations.
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Diamond Mining Consortium
Faction Type: Corporate Subfaction
Capital World: Fountainhead Station
Quote: “Bringing the wealth of the worlds to you.”
Brief Overview: The DMC is the largest resource-extraction company in the Mandate. They operate
both zero-g asteroid mines and planetary surface cuts, then ship the raw materials back to the hungry
industries of the core worlds. The DMC helped drive the recent expansion into the Fringe worlds —
and lost heavily when the Fringe worlds rose up in Rebellion.
HIstory: There is more wealth in the galaxy than humanity could ever hope to acquire. There are huge
heavy-metal asteroids out there with enough iron and platinum and titanium to sustain a planet’s
industry for decades. There are worlds with glittering beaches covered in uncut diamonds, lakes of
hydrocarbons, surface deposits of radioactive ores that can be mined with nothing more than a
pickaxe and a hardsuit. Two hundred billion systems of low-hanging fruit, just waiting for some
enterprising explorer to open a Gate and pluck a fortune. Early in its existence, in the years just after
the advent of Gate travel, the Mining Consortium was a league of prospectors and explorers. The
galaxy was a gold rush, as wild and chaotic as can be imagined.
The Mandate's ban on expanding the Gate network forced the Mining Consortium to slow down and
dig in — literally. There were still fortunes to be made, but they came more slowly, as the corporation
had to actually work to extract the resources instead of just skimming the immediately accessible
deposits and moving onto the next site or even the next system. The gold rush era was remembered
as a golden age. The Consortium was among the loudest voices calling for a new era of expansion —
especially after the Osmani joined the Mandate and proved able to effectively exploit planets the other
powers, including the DMC, couldn't touch.
The Consortium had outposts on virtually all of the Fringe worlds and was one of the most obvious and
infamous symbols of Mandate oppression of the Fringe. Consortium Officials were the first against the
wall when Rebellion broke out, and the Consortium responded by hiring mercenaries and outfitting
their mining ships and refineries with weaponry. Even now, there are besieged Consortium stations
deep behind Rebel lines, holding out against their former indentured employees.
Politics: The Consortium is closely aligned with House Arkwright and is strongly opposed to the
Rebels. The DMC has a well-deserved reputation as cruel and exploitative, and it treats most of its
employees as disposable. There are always customers who need raw materials — and always a
steady supply of desperate people willing to work in the mines.
Primary Client: Arkwright
Key Figures:
 Associate Director Ketch: A rising star within the DMC, Ketch’s current assignment is to look
for ways to force the Rebels to retreat from key company sites so she can recover the
valuable assets stored there.
How the Diamond Mining Corporation sees...
 Themselves: It’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it
 The Imperator: We expected to see her elder brother Theodore on the throne. She has yet to
make her mark.
 The Mandate: An unnecessary drag on commerce — but now is not the time for talking about
reform. Let us win the war first.
 The Grand Fleet: The Fleet has been reduced to a fortune in scrap metal. Who now will
defend our trade routes?
 The Corsairs: The Consortium was founded by freebooting adventurers. We welcome the
advent of the Corsairs.
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Romanovs: Our second largest customer. We negotiate individual mining contracts with
different dukes — a regrettable, but necessary, duplication of effort.
Arkwrights: Our largest and most valued customers. Our mines feed their industry.
Europans: Europans place unworkable restrictions on mining in their own systems, but they
are more than willing to buy from the Fringe systems. Hypocrisy comes at a premium.
Black Eagles: The Eagles have their own grubby clans of asteroid miners and pirates. We do
little business in their sphere.
Osmani: The Osmani are treacherous, monstrous, dangerous aberrations. They should never
have been allowed to join the Mandate.
Rebels: A threat to our core operations. They claim the Fringe worlds were “oppressed” and
“exploited” by the DMC. Nonsense. Those planets were empty and uninhabitable before we
developed them. You cannot sensibly compare conditions on a new colony with those on a
five-hundred-year-old core world. Growth takes time, and the Rebels have no patience.
Thouin Terraforming
Faction Type: Corporate Subfaction
Capital World: Seills
Quote: “Making worlds into homelands.”
Brief Overview: The Thouin company is a commercial offshoot of the Europan Advanced Science
Institute. The company specialises in adjusting planetary environments to make them more suitable for
humanity. Adjusting a whole planet is a long and expensive process, and doing it correctly, without
introducing unexpected complications or cascading environmental collapse, takes even more careful
study. The planetary scientists and ecologists of Thouin are the most patient of gardeners. Even with
lifespans prolonged by genetic engineering, they know they will never see the worlds on which they
begin their work reach their full bloom.
History: Earthlike worlds are jewels beyond price. Of the worlds in the Mandate that can support
human life, only a few are well suited to it. When the Mandate restricted exploration and expansion,
settlers could no longer keep travelling in search of Earth-like worlds, but had to make do with those
systems that were already part of the Gate network. The Thouin corporation brought advanced
Europan science to the problem.
On most worlds, either the environment or the humans — or both — can be adjusted. There are cities
built beneath huge oxygen tents, and there are farming worlds where gigantic low-flying artificial lights
scud over the fields each night to provide the right mix of solar radiation. There are worlds where the
average citizen goes through a fresh pair of cloned lungs every five years, and worlds that are so hot
or cold that the population can only survive at the poles or the equator. Planets as perfect as Earth are
rare — but humanity is endlessly adaptable.
Politics: The Thouin Company's services were rarely employed on the Fringe. Why bother turning a
Fringe world into a garden when you're going to strip it of its easily exploitable resources and move
on? To the Rebels, Thouin is seen as both a panacea and a symbol of the corruption of the Mandate.
The Mandate had the power to improve their worlds, but chose not to use it. “Give us Thouin!” cry the
desperate and the radiation-scarred on the Fringe. “Give us Thouin!” they demand, not realizing that
ecological perfection takes centuries.
Primary Client: Romanovs
Key Figures:
 Chief Ecologist Kines: Thouin’s head researcher. She developed a new method of planetary
surveying and planned to make a full survey of all inhabited worlds in the Mandate before the
war interrupted her efforts.
How Thouin Terraforming sees...
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Themselves: Gardeners and builders of worlds.
The Imperator: Her ancestors were wise. Humanity’s place in the universe is very precarious.
Life is fragile and must be carefully cherished.
The Mandate: A shield against the vicissitudes of fate.
The Grand Fleet: The loss of the fleet is worrying, especially as the Rebels may now target
our research and terraforming ships.
The Corsairs: An unknown factor.
Romanovs: For the Romanovs, we make garden worlds and pleasure planets.
Arkwrights: The Arkwrights place little value on ecological sustainability. Their own
homeworlds are as doomed as Earth was before the colony ships fled.
Europans: The Europans worlds are our best advertisement.
Black Eagles: We have begun a grand project. We intend to reclaim the original Black Eagle
homeworld from the plague spread by the Pandorans.
Osmani: The Osmani prefer to adapt themselves to suit their environment instead of adjusting
their environment. A more balanced approach is healthier in the long run, but we have much
to learn from them.
Rebels: Only a few of the Rebel planets are suited to human life. We can adjust their
ecologies, but it will take a long time. If they have patience — and money — we can build
garden worlds for them.
Mercenary League
Faction Type: Corporate Subfaction
Capital World: Haes
Brief Overview: The Mandate does not guarantee peace. The Romanov Imperators have managed
— barely — to keep the great powers from ever going to war again, despite incidents like the Siege of
Feydukin, but member worlds can still battle with one another over trade disputes or border skirmishes
or whatever casus belli applies.
The Mandate authorities will send peacekeepers to keep the war in check, or offer to mediate peace
talks, but they won't intercede to stop every conflict. That means there's plenty of work for
mercenaries.
Mercenary units often have advanced ships and weapons technology. It's cheaper for a minor
planetary government to hire in heavily armed experts than it is for them to buy weapons from the
Arkwrights and train their own troops.
History: The original mercenary companies were made up of ships and marines who fought in the
First Interstellar War. After that conflict, the galaxy had an excess of veteran soldiers who were in
need of work, along with a suddenly restricted number of inhabitable systems. Sorting out the new
borders in the wake of the war took decades of skirmishing and localized conflicts — all profitable work
for mercenaries.
Oddly, the pacifistic Europans are responsible for the current state of the mercenary industry. The
Europans hire mercenaries more regularly than the other Houses, so they became the default place to
go for units looking for new contracts. The hiring city of Haes is quite unlike its neighbors. It’s a camp
full of heavily armed professional soldiers, surrounded by worlds of scientists, artists, and
philosophers.
The Rebellion caused a brief, glorious and ultimately disastrous boom for mercenaries. Garrison duty
and fighting insurgents on the Fringe planets was seen as easy money — until the Rebels suddenly
gathered their strength and overran the borders, leaving many mercenaries cut off. Some have joined
the Rebels, while others are still trying to hold out behind enemy lines or have turned to piracy to
survive.
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Politics: Different Houses employ mercenaries for different purposes. The Europans, for example,
have a very small standing fleet of their own, and so they use mercenaries and their Unknown Legion
for everything from planetary defense to scouting to escort missions. Romanov dukes hire
mercenaries to tip the balance in their endless squabbles. Arkwrights commonly employ mercenaries
as cheap security for garrison outposts. The Osmani hire mercenaries as security in systems where
the presence of their Janissaries would be provocative. Most Black Eagles can’t afford to hire
mercenaries.
Persistent rumors claim that there are Rebel agents on Haes, trying to persuade mercenary units to
break their existing contracts and join the Rebel side.
Primary Client: Europans
Key Figures:
 Aris Tambur: Known as the “war propheteer,” Tambur is a broker with an uncanny knack for
predicting where mercenary forces will soon be needed. He predicted the fall of Alzar when
everyone else assumed the Rebel attack would fail. Those looking for short-term, highrisk/high-reward contracts are advised to contact Tambur.
How the Mercenary League sees...
 Themselves: Professional security forces for hire. The best of the best.
 The Imperator: None of the Imperators ever liked mercenaries — but she’ll come running to
us when the Rebels get too close.
 The Mandate: Good soldiers in the right place do more to protect humanity than all the
speeches and laws in the universe.
 The Grand Fleet: So, the greatest fighting force in history? How’s that working out for you?
 The Corsairs: Call them what they are: mercenaries, paid in liberty instead of coin. But you
can’t eat your freedom or fuel your ship with it.
 Romanovs: The definition of a Romanov is a noble who lectures you on how dishonorable
your career is while he shorts you on the pay.
 Arkwrights: Right now, there are lots of Arkwright lords trying to hire mercs with “dead souls”
— deeds and contracts tied to planets conquered by the Rebels and so offered for a fraction
of their true value. If the Rebels lose, then anyone who took souls as payment in lieu of credits
will make a fortune, but that’s a big gamble.
 Europans: They don’t pay well, but they’re reliable and like their mercenaries to be well
equipped, so their contracts often include a refit clause at their expense. Of course, all that
may change if the Rebels get too close.
 Black Eagles: The best mercenaries I’ve known come from the Eagle worlds.
 Osmani: They’ve got the money, but they’re more trouble than they’re worth.
 Rebels: We’ve never taken sides within the Mandate, so why should we turn down the Rebels
if they come to the hiring hall?
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The Mandate
Secret Factions
These factions are rumored to exist, but may or may not be real.
Third Section
Faction Type: Secret Faction
Homeworld: None
Quote: “The Mandate is too important to be left unguarded.”
Brief Overview: There is, of course, no such thing as the Third Section. Stories about secret bases
and monitoring posts, about hidden fortresses somewhere in Romanov or Europan space (or, in wilder
rumours, somehow hidden inside the Gate network), or about legions of spies and agents are, of
course, just conspiracy theories.
A few elements are common to all stories of the mythical Third Section. They have undercover agents
in positions of power and influence throughout known space, with the exception of the Osmani sphere.
Their headquarters is somewhere in either Romanov or Europan space. Their loyalty is to the Mandate
itself, not to the person on the throne. Some Imperators have had their help, while others were bitter
enemies.
Their loyalty to the Mandate is so intense that it has become a form of mystical devotion, and the
whole organisation has taken on occult trappings. The symbol of the Third Section is a skeleton key,
which refers to both to their omnipresence and to their sacred relic that contains the preserved DNA of
the first Imperator, which allows them to use the network of supply depots and caches seeded by the
Mandate for emergencies.
History: There once was an organisation dubbed the Third Section. In the turbulent years immediately
after the formation of the Mandate, the first Imperator was faced with a problem. Her forces and their
allies had forced the surrender of the other great houses and seized control of the entire network of
Gates — for the good of humanity — but her position was far from secure. She needed time to rebuild
human civilization, and a second civil war would be a disastrous body blow to the forced consensus of
the Mandate. She therefore established a secret branch of the United Colonial Guard, the Third
Section, with the mission of infiltrating the defeated houses, as well as her own fleets and vassals, in
order to identify potential threats to the Mandate. The Third Section was given all the resources and
equipment it desired, with no oversight or accountability.
Some forty years later, as is clearly recorded in the official histories, the Section was shut down.
According to some rumors, the Section refused to accept this command. Their orders were to
safeguard the Mandate by any means necessary, so they refused to dismantle their secretive
organisation, which by that point had agents throughout the galaxy. The Third Section considered
themselves to be the Mandate's secret defenders, loyal to the ideal of safeguarding humanity, not to
the person on the throne. And thanks to their vast resources and networks of spies, they could easily
survive without continued support from the Mandate.
Not all of these conspiracy theories are completely absurd. Certainly, the Mandate has reactivated
certain spy networks to deal with various crises and challenges, like the integration of the Osmani or
the early wars with the Rebels on the Fringe, and certainly the Grand Fleet has a naval intelligence
section that sometimes undertakes independent actions without direct oversight from Novy
Petersburg. Only a paranoid lunatic, though, would lend credence to the idea that those spy networks
are part of one vast and ancient network of sinister conspirators who have manipulated the Mandate
from behind the scenes for centuries. Why, paranoid lunatics of that sort probably think that the late
Imperator was assassinated for daring to challenge the Third Section!
Politics: The biggest argument against the theory that the Third Section still exists is the Rebellion. If
there was a secret organisation lurking in the shadows that was dedicated to the preservation of the
Mandate, surely they would have done something to stop the Rebel advance towards the core worlds?
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The Mandate
If the Third Section has protected the Mandate in secret for centuries, where are they now that they
are really needed?
Pandorans
Faction Type: Secret Faction
Homeworld: None
Quote: “The wages of sin are death.”
Brief Overview: The Mandate was made inevitable by the horrors of the Pandoran war. The
Pandorans tried to wipe the humanity out with weaponized plagues and nearly succeeded. In
retaliation, the Romanovs and their allies annihilated the Pandoran homeworld.
Ever since, though, there have been rumors that some Pandorans survived. According to the tales,
these Pandorans still plot the destruction of the human race. They are the Mandate’s bogeymen,
monsters who lurk in the darkness between the stars.
History: The full history of the Pandoran colony was lost in the fire of orbital bombardment at the end
of the Pandoran war and may never be known. It can be assumed, though, that they left Earth on one
of the many colony ships and were lucky enough to discover a habitable planet. Their colony thrived
and grew. They made great scientific advances, especially in the field of genetic engineering.
Then they changed. Was it a traumatic event — perhaps contact with another civilization, or the rise of
some charismatic tyrant — that triggered their obsessive xenophobia? Or was it a civil war, the fear of
an enemy from within? Whatever the cause, the Pandorans became a people who believed
themselves at war with the rest of the cosmos.
When an Arkwright ship opened an exploratory Gate to the Pandoran system, the Pandorans took it
as an act of war. The full story of that bloody war — and the worse atrocities that followed — is told
elsewhere. It ended with the complete defeat and extinction of the Pandorans.
The first Imperator banned any more research into Pandoran biological weapons, and any captured
weapons were destroyed.
We now leave history behind, and enter fully into speculation. There are three competing versions of
the Pandorans’ supposed return.
Some believe that some captured Pandoran scientists were spirited away to secret research facilities,
where their development of biological weapons continues to this day. Every House in the Mandate,
with the exception of the Osmani, has been accused at some point of harboring Pandoran war
criminals.
Another theory claims that the surviving Pandorans went underground and survive as a secret society,
a doomsday cult that has spent nearly 200 years preparing for revenge.
Recently, the success of the Rebellion prompted the suggestion that the Pandoran survivors fled
known space and are the secret masters behind the Rebels.
Politics: If the Pandorans still exist, and if they still have the same beliefs as their predecessors, then
they may seek the extinction of all non-Pandoran humans. Triggering a massive Mandate-wide civil
war would be a logical first step towards such a goal...
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