The Solidarity

Founder: Admiral Sadayo Takebiyashi, shortly after the Black Year
Current Ruler: Governor Samuel Lence
Homeworld: Hyperion
National Ideology: Weak men create hard times; hard times create strong men; strong men create good times.
Populations within Nation, approximate percentage of population: 70% human, 15% Teladi, 10% Lorian, 5% other races
Socioeconomic Structure: Military junta with elements of a command economy
History: The Scourge nearly drove humanity to extinction, but on the outer fringe of space occupied by the Terran Solidarity, there were a handful of Solidarity colony worlds that were spared the onslaught of the Scourge. The largest and most strategically-valuable of these outer worlds was Hyperion: a fortress world hosting a modest colony and a garrison of Solidarity soldiers and starships. In the aftermath of the Black Year, Admiral Takebiyashi - the commanding officer on Hyperion at the time - concluded that he was the highest-ranking officer remaining in the Solidarity Navy and declared himself the acting commander of the Terran Solidarity. With what few forces he had under his command, he secured control of a dozen or so systems containing human settlements.

Admiral Takebiyashi's government centered on Hyperion proclaimed itself a continuation of the old Terran Solidarity from the start, and even went so far as to retain the name "Solidarity". But the modern Solidarity has not even a fraction of the wealth or might of the old Terran Solidarity. It possesses a small fleet of mismatched starships, many of which are pre-Black Year warships with extensive renovations to keep them functioning long after their intended service life. The planets under the Solidarity's control are mostly sparsely-populated colonies on half-terraformed planets with little industry to speak of, and those systems are sandwiched between the Cosmic Empire, Teladi territory, and Scourge-infested space. To say that the Solidarity is in a precarious position is an understatement. The Solidarity exists in a state of perpetual martial law, and civil liberties have been curtailed at the expense of security of the state. Military officers have been in control since the time of Admiral Takebiyashi, each appointed by his predecessor free of any election or oversight. According to the junta in command of the Solidarity, this martial law has been a necessary evil imposed to ensure the continued survival of the human race in a hostile wartime situation. But the Solidarity has seen relative peace over the past 20 years, save for pirate attacks and Scourge outbreaks, and the populace is beginning to bristle from centuries of martial law. Even now, rumors of rebellion against the junta are increasingly heard in the cantinas of Solidarity colonies.