[h2]Yet another info dump to get the ball rolling...[/h2]

[h3]The Colonial Empire[/h3]

[hider=The Empire]
The Colonial Empire can best be described as a quasi-democratic federalist corporatocracy. While the name might conjure images of imperialism, in truth is is the major corporations that hold the power over the Empire and it's chief legislative body, the Colonial Senate. The colonies have their own sub-sovereign governments and elected representatives that serve in the lower legislature, known as the Colonial Consortium. Unlike the Senate, that votes and drafts legislation, the Consortium merely puts forward motions for the Senate to consider. The Consortium creates the illusion of democracy and fair representation from the colonies and is led by the Consul, an elected offical.

Unlike the Consortium, the Senate is appointed by the Emperor, and may serve indefinitely. Senators are typically incredibly wealthy, and head the various corporations that dominate the colonies. They're sole purpose is to maintain the status quo, keeping the corporations in power and pass laws that benefit them and their bottom line. 

The Emperor oversees the Executive Branch of government, and is elected from among the Senate for a lifelong term. The Emperor is the figurehead of the Empire, and the face of government, but in truth is position is largely ceremonial and does little else but keep the Senate in line.

The Prime Judicator is a powerful position within the Empire, some might say more powerful then the Emperor himself. The Prime Judicator oversees the Judicial Branch, and carries out the letter of the law as determined by the Senate, but also interprets those laws and able to review and them strike down. The Prime Judicator also directs Imperial Security, or IMPSEC, the Empire's law enforcement agency, and the Imperial Navy.
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[h3]The Story So Far...[/h3]

[hider=Story so far...]
To briefly sum up recent events so you guys can have some context for your bios, we are now thirty years from the Colonial War, a massive conflict that saw the emergence of the Colonial Republic and its attempt to overthrow the Empire. The Republic failed. While it was able to make headway within the colonies, it wasn't able to make any inroads in the Sol System, the Empire's base of power. After six years, the Empire was able to wear down the Republic and drive them underground.

The powers that be recognized the danger posed by ideologies and the Republic's quest for sovereign colonies. Over the years the Empire began to dismantle its burgeoning military, and passing laws to foster private military contractors. While PMCs always existed, they began to gain incredible power, and overshadow the Imperial Navy and colonial militias. The corporations believed that by building self sustaining armies and navies loyal to credits, they would destroy any capability for the Republic to emerge and wage an effective war against them.

The discovery of the insectoids of the Helix Nova System furthered their goal, creating a perpetual enemy to focus the populace and give the support needed to finish converting the Imperial Navy into a prison fleet, a process that had been evolving slowly since the war ended. 

With the Imperial Navy converted to a prison for dissidents, and legions of soldiers of fortune to maintain the defense of the corporations, it seemed the colonial order was ensured. However, the plan backfired. Corporations were now able to field their own private armies and exploited this new paradigm to eliminate their competitors. And so the Corporate Wars began. Corporations began employing mercenaries against their competitors, attempting to gain greater control of the colonies. 

It began as a shadow war, covert operations of a small scale. Soon it became a proxy war, with terrorist and revolutionary front organizations used to mask the escalating violence. Before lone, the Empire was torn apart in a bloody civil war. 

Admiral Mance Murdoch, a powerful mercenary was able to restore peace. He did this by forming the Mercenary Federation, a union of mercenaries with their own code. They became a powerful voice among the mercenaries, and grew stronger every day. The mercenaries laid down their arms as a collective after Bennet IV was decimated in nuclear fire. It had become clear to Murdoch, and most mercenaries, that they were being used as tools of mankind's destruction, and as the bloodshed escalated, so too did corporate control over the mercenaries. The corporations had no choice but to make a truce, and order in the empire was once again restored.

Today the Federation is the only collective of mercenaries in the colonies, and they represent the vast majority of private military firms. Revolutions, corporate sabotage, and general conflict is still prevalent in the colonies, but no longer in such a scale to put the fate of mankind in question, and merely just enough to ensure a cozy profit for the discerning mercenary.

[b]Timeline [/b]
	~ 2964 . The Colonial War Begins
	~ 2970 . The Empire defeats the Republic at the Battle of Azure's Ridge, Victory is declared and the Republic goes underground.
	~ 2980 . Insectoids are discovered on Helix Nova, and the Imperal Navy finishes its conversion to a prison fleet.
	~ 2983 . The Corporate Wars begin.
	~ 2985 . The Mercenary Federation is formed.
	~ 2986 . The Corporate Wars end.
	~ 2995 . Present year. Profitable conflict is maintained.

[b]The Mercenary Code[/b]
	~ Give quarter when quarter is asked for.
	~ Merc captives are to be ransomed back to their respective company, allowed to work off the ransom, or set free.
	~ Civilians are not to be harmed outside of contract parameters, unless they take up arms.
	~ A flag of truce, in white, is a sacred agreement for both sides not to harm one another.
	~ Failure to comply with any or all of the code will result in presidential review and possible expulsion from the Federation.
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[h3]Sign Ups[/h3]

[hider=Sign ups]
I think we're ready to take the next step and begin thinking about our characters and companies, and here's hoping more join us for the ride. As I said earlier, this game is going to be in a format to resemble a comm forum. So our IC's should have a uniform format in order to fit this theme, but before we get to that, let's get the Character Sheet out of the way.


[hider=Character Sheet]
Image (A portrait of your character, optional)

Name: Pretty self explanatory.

Date of Birth: Date of birth, yo. Our present time is 2995 C.E. (common era)

Rank: Your self appointed rank. As far as the federation is concerned, you begin the game as a commander, and offer promotions as you grow your company.

Bio: Some background information on your character. 

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[hider=Faction Sheet]
Image (Your company logo, unlike the character portrait, this is mandatory.)

Company Name: Your company name... obviously.

Specialty: Stealth, hacking, ship to ship combat, etc. Basically a summation of your overall play style. This is no way intended to limit how you play but merely to help me determine your starting bonus. 

Bio: Background information on your company.
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When we get to the point of writing ICs, which I hope will be next week, try and have a thumbnail picked out for your forum avatar, most likely your commanders portrait or company logo, should be about 130x130 - 200x200. 
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