The Terminus Conglomerate

The Terminus Conglomerate is not a democratic society, opting to give the vote only to members of the military brass possessing the rank of Major or higher. Every five years, the military brass vote on who shall represent the Forge Worlds and Ferven III-VI. These selected individuals form a ruling council – the deciding voice on all matters of state in the Terminus Conglomerate’s Ferven System.

Within the Terminus Conglomerate’s jurisdiction, Ferven’s population of mystics are shipped off to Ferven VII as soon as they graduate from secondary education. They are, of course, forewarned of this before such an event, a sizable sum paid to their family for the child they are taking away. Upon the mystic’s arrival on the ice planet, they are sent underground to one of two places; either the Conglomerate’s classified laboratories, where they are drained for their natural energies for however long they survive the process. This abhorrent practice has since become public knowledge, and the Serenity Council are currently deliberating on how to address this clear violation of sentient rights. It is unlikely that this will be permitted to continue for much longer.   Alternatively, magically-gifted humans are shipped to the headquarters of the A.R.U. (the Arcane Response Unit). In the case of the latter, the mystics are trained to be soldiers, spies, and special operations units – both in the confines and simulations of Ferven VII, and on one of the moons of Ferven VI. The life expectancy of an A.R.U. operative is somewhere around six years after their training is complete.   Ferven is a deeply militaristic system, believing that all people should learn strength and patience from a young age. As such, the youth of the Conglomerate are not coddled. It does not take long for a child of Ferven to enter into mental and physical education, typically completing both by the age of sixteen and going on to further education or the military almost immediately afterwards. Once one comes of age in Ferven, they are immediately sent in search of a career – a function to benefit the Conglomerate as a whole. After all; a lazy citizen is a citizen not worth feeding. Whatever one’s career path, it is relatively unlikely that they will ever change from it.   One exception of this, of course, is the armed forces. Many citizens of the Conglomerate join the military for a couple of terms of service as a way of earning respect amongst their peers and securing an addition to their curriculum vitae. Despite the combat training most of the Conglomerate’s people receive from a young age, it is typically expected that the military will handle all of the fighting and risk unless entirely necessary. As such, possession of a firearm beyond a pistol in Ferven is a crime punishable by death – as are a great many transgressions in the system. A population crisis naturally turns a civilisation to any means of culling that they can muster.

At this relatively early stage in their civilisation, The Terminus Conglomerate is upholding a policy of isolation. The galaxy has proven, thus far, to be a grave disappointment for mankind, with nearly every known corner snatched up by the myriad species they share it with. A mixture of their stratocratic state, the fractured state of their people, and the tense diplomatic relations with their interstellar neighbours, it is no wonder that the Conglomerate drifts ever further into the "us and them" school of thought - a philosophy found especially troubling by the Vi'dam and the Brezi, who can't help but remember their shared history.   The Terminus Conglomerate sells itself as being wholly invested in the wellbeing of Ciraculum and its civilised races - and to the surprise of many detractors, this is not a lie. However, the definition of civilised race is still a topic of contention amongst the Conglomerate and its neighbours. Critics of the Conglomerate have claimed that all a foreign species must do to lose its protected status in their eyes is inconvenience them.

The Terminus Conglomerate struggle to maintain their ever-expanding populace on their own, relying heavily on agricultural trade with their sponsors, the Sunlit'awkh, to keep their people fed and watered. Foodstuffs are rationed and regulated by the Conglomerate's humanitarian aid officers, ensuring that any and all people living under their rule have enough to survive - but not necessarily thrive.    Extra food and water rations are given to those who enlist with Ferven's military, as well as their immediate family. Naturally, this has led to the Terminus Conglomerate possessing a remarkably extensive, formidable army and navy, given their empire's miniscule size.    Security is the Conglomerate's main export, and every day of every year, men and women are eagerly shipped all around the galaxy to provide protection and a good eye to those tiny states and fallen empires willing to pay for it. More immediately, these same soldiers and starships serve as Ferven's peacekeepers, hunting pirates and slavers in the isolated corners of their home. It is practically impossible to fly into Ferven and not be hailed by a Conglomerate vessel. Arriving here for the first time, it doesn't take a genius to figure out why certain civilisations wish for their continued existence, while others rue the day that the Sunlit'awkh ever found them.

By far the youngest space-faring civilisation in Ciraculum, the Conglomerate is the second form of government to take effect in humanity's home system of Ferven in less than a century. Founded exactly one week after the assassination of Führer Thomas John Kieffer and the entire Kieffer dynasty, this stratocratic state has only existed for approximately forty years - the blink of an eye, in galactic terms. Humans are a fast-living species, however, and their history in that short time has been vibrant.    A timeline of their history can be found elsewhere, but the most significant events in the Terminus Conglomerate's forty-one-year lifespan are listed below.

• 19/04/1929: The cruiser housing the Kieffer family is infiltrated. Its reactor is overloaded, destroying the ship and killing its three-hundred crew members, the entire Kieffer line, and the terrorists responsible, in less than a second. The Kieffer Dynasty threatens to collapse in the resulting power vacuum.
• 26/04/1929: The Terminus Conglomerate is founded by Field Marshall Chamylla Traqen, when the military steps in to form an interim regime.
• 05/11/1930: Growing impatient with the Conglomerate's supposed interim regime, and emboldened by the proof of a working democratic system in Serenity, the Ferven Democrats' Front (FDF) is founded, demanding the establishment of a system akin to that of other species - one that is representative of the interests of the people. In response, the Conglomerate dub them a group of far-left extremists and xenophiles, criminalising their membership. 
• 08/08/1931: Ferven's second Forge World is established upon Ferven II. 
• 03/10/1937: Aleesia Haiken, claiming to be a distant relative of the late Führer Thomas John Kieffer, demands a return to the monarchy, with her at its head. The Conglomerate dubs her a pretender and a terrorist, prompting the founding of the fringe group known as The Valiant Return. Their leader changes her name, and is dubbed Führer Aleesia Kieffer by her supporters.
• 12/03/1943: A newly-created Dreadnought is stolen by The Valiant Return, who disconnect its transponder and fly the vessel into deep space. 
• 14/08/1950: Field Marshall Chamylla Traqen passes away of gastric cancer, at the age of 67. She is soon after succeeded by Luvyn Jostiniar, her former second-in-command.
• 17/11/1956: A mass exodus from Ferven Prime and the desertion of several naval fleets leaves the Conglomerate weakened for a time, but also buys them a few extra years to resolve their population crisis. A slave revolt and prison break from the Forge World of Ferven II also gives birth to a range of nomadic human clans. 
• 18/03/1967: Clan Ravara attacks a Conglomerate Cruiser in the orbit of Ferven VI, triggering a guerilla war between the nomads and their former countrymen. The war is brutal and bloody, and continues to this day.

The Terminus Conglomerate's territory is almost entirely localised on Ferven's planets, with tiny pockets of Human life existing on space stations and asteroids throughout the system. All in all, the Terminus Conglomerate's populace are distributed thusly, based off of census data from the year 1970 A.S.   Ferven I: Approx. 2 million.   Ferven II: Approx. 270,000.   Ferven III: Approx. 6 million.   Ferven IV: Approx. 31 million.   Ferven Prime: Approx. 24 billion.   Ferven VI: Approx. 900,000.   Ferven VII: Approx. 60,000.

The Terminus Conglomerate's home system of Ferven is relatively large, housing seven planets and numerous moons. Despite this, they are struggling to find room for their rapidly-expanding population, and every habitable patch gets closer to overflowing with every passing day. Politicians, economists and military historians all shudder to think what will happen once they do.   Neighbouring systems to Ferven are currently unaccounted for, but without the approval of Serenity's council, moving into these systems would be considered grounds for sanctions at-best - at worst, an act of war. As such, the Conglomerate has played along with Serenity's political games, for the time-being, but a worsening population crisis has not helped matters. Combined with the recent habitable world granted to a clan of the Vándorok - proclaimed enemies of Ferven - this has become a rather tense situation.

The Terminus Conglomerate possesses the largest military in Ciraculum - per capita, that is. Its numbers are as follows.

Planetary Army

• Enlisted Manpower: Approx. 22 million.
• Labour Force: Approx. 25 million.

Navy

 

• Corvettes: 384
• Destroyers: 288
• Cruisers: 144
• Battleships: 96
• Dreadnoughts: 46
• Titans: 2