Well, my turn. WIP but gives ya'll an idea what I'm working on and can plan around accordingly. Will continue poking at it throughout the day. [hider=Baron Michael Dovina de Sagitarii] [center] [img]http://img09.deviantart.net/f081/i/2013/226/e/3/black_by_artastrophe-d6i4ejl.jpg[/img] [b]Baron Michael Dovena[/b] [/center] [hider=Prepared Remarks of Baron Michael Dovina de Sagitarii, Medicators Congress of Sagitarii, Augustus 23rd] 'Ladies and Gentlemen, distinguished guests, and most importantly- those of you who have found time to pull yourselves away from your efforts to rid our system of an invisible plague that destroys all it touches and drives men mad- but enough about the elections. [Pause for Laughter, mostly forced] 'I would like to thank you all for this invitation. It is the first time I have attended this conference, though my lovely Julius has attended every year since its foundation. [Pause for light applause] 'I know that the work you do is of the highest importance. The scourge of the Outbreak is with us still. Whole cities lie empty across our system, waiting for reclamation teams to approach and begin the long process of reconstruction, and the jungles on Sagitarii Triarii are still quarantined until we can find a cure to the original plague. It is your research that will allow us to find and eliminate the looming threat of this scourge. Now, I do need to address a matter that has been getting some coverage lately. The news slates have been running every hour with stories of the Emperor's cuts to our reconstruction budgets. [Noises of displeasure from crowd] 'I would- please, I would ask that you have patience with this matter. The government continues to lobby His Majesty through the Guild intermediaries for more funding. I am prepared to make the journey to Terra myself if necessary. I would only ask for your support in this matter by continuing the hard work that you do. The people of this system depend upon you to rid us of the threat of the plague's return once and for all. I thank you for your time and efforts, and I wish you continued success in your research.'[/hider] [b]History:[/b] Baron Michael Dovina has reigned over the Sagitarii System for 16 years now. Born into the mercantile household of Dovena Industries during the colonization of the Sagitarii Triad, he was quarantined aboard the cruiser [i]Gilded Dominance[/i] during the outbreak of VX-29 that swept throughout the sector. The virus was never cured- merely died out and mutated into a strain that could be resisted by humans and Xenos races. In the revolutions and counter-revolutions that followed in the virus' wake, the navy remained loyal to its Imperial Charter and after a decade of infighting, the then Majority-aged Baron Dovina was installed as the monarchical head of state while the surviving planetside Proletariats formed a parliamentary government. Michael's first official act, controversially, was to allow the fleet of Reva Xem to break the viral quarantine imposed by the Navy and traverse the Sagitarii wormhole into the vulnerable underbelly of the now fallen Emperor. Then, when Reva Xem's victory was secured, the Baron gave his assent to Parliament's Royal Funding Measure. The material wealth of the Sagitarii system had been held in secure vaults all through the quarantine and Civil War. Unclaimed by its financiers due to the quarantine, by Sagitarii law the wealth reverted to the accounts of the System and the plague ravaged people soon found themselves flush with cash. The economic chaos that could be unleashed by this much money was too dangerous, and Sagitarii began lending money at an alarming rate to finance the final days of the war and the reconstruction in the after years. Today, the Baron is associated with wealth, oligarchy, and a struggling populace. Too weak to stand against Reva Xem on principle, and too focused on material wealth to build a proper fleet or fully repair his ravaged system. Within the system, Parliament and the people view him has a figurehead to rally around in the worst of times, but tension is slowly building while reconstruction progress is slow and banking balance sheets reach new highs. [b]Home System:[/b] Sagitarii System [b]Capital Planet:[/b] Sagitarii Primus. [img]http://orig09.deviantart.net/c98a/f/2006/336/8/3/planet_stock_4_by_bareck.jpg[/img] Population: 320 Million (87% Human) Primary Industries: Agricultural Goods, Financial Sector, Merchant Starships. Government: Parliamentary Democracy // Barony [b]Subjects:[/b] Originally, the Sagitarii system was founded as a human corporatist enclave with a writ of colonization signed by Reva Xem III's predecessor. Debtors, entrepreneurs, and resource acquisition firms were the first to put down roots in the system. Three planetoids with oxygen atmosphere all in the same solar system did not happen casually and many looked to get in on the ground floor of a lucrative opportunity. Less than a hundred years after the colonization effort began, the Outbreak occurred. Once the VX-29 virus decimated the system, a new framework of government had to be created between the Monarchist military and the proletariat that struggled to survive on the planets' surface. Recent immigration efforts have seen an influx of Xenos races to help diversify the population in case a second outbreak were to occur, but most Houses are unwilling to send serfs to settle the planets, for fear of another outbreak. The people of Sagitarii used to be proper proletarian serfs, working their jobs day in and day out. The savagery of the viral outbreak encouraged a new streak of independence among the survivors, though. The Prole Parliament serves at the pleasure of the Baron at the moment, both sides knowing that pushing their agendas too far will see the system destroyed fully in civil war. It doesn't stop certain agent provacateurs from trying to bring this about... [b]Flagship:[/b] Gilded Dominion [img]http://www.therobotsvoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/starship1.jpg[/img] [b]Fleet:[/b] The Sagitarii fleet is currently a joke among the other Houses in the Imperium. At the dawn of the Civil War that saw Emperor Reva Xem rise to power, they had a small but cutting edge flotilla that was sought after by all sides of the conflict. This jockeying ceased when the fleet had to enforce the sector's quarantine after the VX-2901 virus broke out and killed millions. Its only contribution to the war was when the fleet admirals conveniently looked the other way whilst Reva Xem's vulnerable troopships used the Sagitarii wormhole to invade the Loyalist planet of Thiles on its other side. Today the fleet is woefully out of date, equipped to stand up to pirates and rebellious houses only capable of using standard FTL routes to enter the system. The Sagitarii Merchant fleet stands in stark contrast to the military- Parliamentary Measure 1302 established that all Merchant vessels built in the Sagitarii system be built to meet Imperial Privateer Standards. Should parliament order a general mobilization (or Quarantine) the home fleet would see its numbers swell with numerous armed merchantmen capable of standing up in a fight. It should be noted that a General Mobilization is viewed as a political impossibility- doing so would kill the economic lifeblood of the System and cause a cascading collapse in numerous markets throughout the galaxy. Then again, the ascension of Emperor Reva Xem to the throne was also viewed as an impossibility... 2x Cruisers: [i]Gilded Dominion[/i], [i]Glittering Fist[/i] 6x Destroyers 7x Corvettes (2x Cloakship variants) 1x System Defense Station orbiting Sagitarii Primus [u][b]Important Advisors or Other Characters:[/b][/u] [b]Consort to the Baron, Doctor Julius Harteford-Dovina:[/b] [img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/f1/d8/29/f1d829539d5d6e23f43beb09d4e14d0e.jpg[/img] The Baron's lawful husband, Julius came from a proletarian family in the system and was leading a reconstruction effort on Sagitarii Secundus. The two engaged in a lengthy courtship over email and at Reconstruction functions within the system. A regal wedding took place a dozen years ago on Sagitarii Primus and the two conceived a child, Ines Harteford-Dovina I, via an anonymous egg donor six years ago. While Michael Dovina looks to external affairs, he relies on Julius to run interference with the system's Parliament and help direct the ever dwindling Reconstruction funds provided by Reva Xem to their best uses. [b]Chairwoman of the Joint Armed Forces, Admiral Elizabeth Saunders:[/b] The current head of the limited fleet and armed forces of the Sagitarii system, Saunders knows her mission is more to keep the peace within the System's borders rather than take the fight to their enemy households. The greatest arrow in her quiver is the Privateer fleet, a nuclear trigger that could destroy the fortunes of entire corporations if it were mobilized for war. She currently lobbies for new funding to build new vessels or to purchase more up-to-date craft from the Varion System, and liases with the FTL Guilds. [b]Lady Tiama de Agoen, Head of the Home Investment Party:[/b] Current head of the Loyal Opposition within Parliament and Michael Dovina's confidant within the legislature. Tiama has steered the H.I.P. toward a more liberal stance, favoring higher taxation of out-system accounts to finance reconstruction and investment in the cities. The party was dealt a stinging defeat in the last round of elections due to a public relations disaster when its elder statesman was found to be laundering funds into private projects. Tiama came to power on a promise of cleaning up her party and fighting for renewed home investment. [b]Lord Hyle Foley, Prime Minister:[/b] Current head of Parliament, head of the Economic Expansionists. Hyle rode to power on a wave of support from proletariat voters looking to see the Sagitarii Navy begin to flex its military and economic muscles. His budget has allocated significant funds to develop new warships for the Navy while slashing reconstruction efforts on Sagitarii Triarii. It is expected the Baron will sign the budget despite popular opposition to the document. To not do so would be a significant break from tradition. [b]Ines Harteford-Dovina I:[/b] The daughter of the Baron Michael and his Consort Julius. Ines has been shielded from the political lives of her fathers and has been granted a degree of privacy by the press of Sagitarii. However, she is quickly approaching the age at which it is appropriate for noble children to be fostered at other courts- something her parents have so far resisted, but may not be able to avoid forever... [/hider] Edit: Question [@Polybius], before I finish things up, do you have an ETA on the first post?