STUN

"The Core Worlds are wildly different from the outer rim you two are so used to. From the tech to the scale of everything, it's nowhere near the same. Even Torgallon would look like a small trading post here. The most notable difference is probably the STUN. I mean, look. No big wars, no annexing small states, no remnants of collapsed empires, none of that. There's a sense of unity here. The politics are also rather different due to that, less belligerent countries like Anakrion and more covert stuff and subtle manouvering."

— Jon

 

The Space Territories of the United Nations.

  The super-state type entity that manages the center of human space and keeps the peace. Originally, at least. Encompassing about 18 000 star systems and hundreds of thousands of nations and city- and habitat-states in total, it manages an overarching community, trade system, and military, all in order to foster unity and keep the peace and, if need be, as definitely be, fight a large-scale war should one happen. Largely centered in the Core Worlds.  

History

Formed after the devastation and heavy damage of the Fourth World War, the STUN was formed from the then very disorganized and barely functional United Nations, which had lost much of its relevance over the last few centuries as humanity expanded over the Solar System and then the close-by stars and established something of an interstellar civilization. During that time, the Third World War had encouraged what was functionally a predecessor of the modern STUN, though one that didn't survive the test of time.   Initially, the STUN was established by some core nations of Earth, with the main goal being continued peacekeeping and prevention of another major war like the Fourth World War. It expanded rather fast, and merely a few decades after its creation, nearly all of the Sol System, as well as several nearby star systems were under its wing. After some time, it started to properly establish itself, collecting taxes and building up a military force, one that would become the ASTUN.   And, for the next five and a half centuries, it succeeded. It grew in size and influence, as did its forces. Countless small skirmishes within and between STUN member states happened here and there, but as long as they didn't threaten to spill over in any meaningful way, they were no issue. If they did, the ASTUN would intervene, usually forcing a peace or at least a de-escalation between the parties; from preventative action within STUN space to interventions near the borders. Notable events include the three task forces sent against the Machine Empire of Cine to slow its expansion and as a warning, to the border conflicts with Second Core nations, to the ongoing eternal wars of Endured Wrath.   That is, of course, until the The Coalition of a thousand Free Worlds emerged. Founded by a large amount of nations unhappy with the growth and taxes of the STUN, it would poise itself as an enemy of the supernation, growing to encompass a very large swathe of human space in two decades. Then, it declared war, and the The Fifth World War began, and human space was engulfed in a war larger than any before it.  

Politics

 

ASTUN

The ASTUN, or Alliance of the STUN, is the military wing of the STUN, and a major part of its function as peacekeepers and potential combat forces. It is an entirely military entity, formed from the materiel and people collected via the STUN's tax systems.  

Structure

The highest authority in the ASTUN is the Committee of Generals of the ASTUN. This group consists of usually ten or so people of the highest rank in the ASTUN, Star-Cluster General. These people each command large sections of the ASTUN, though as always, interstellar communication being so slow necessitates subdivision and delegation of tasks and responsibility. Much like with the rest of the STUN, the ranks and organization of the ASTUN is intricate, and goes all the way down to individual squads and starship roles. Also like the STUN, it holds several headquarters throughout the Core Worlds. These double as star-forts, with capacity to house, command, and repair fleets of significant size, as well as considerable firepower and defensive abilities of its own.   The actual military elements of the Alliance are generally organized into star-cluster-based troops. The size of these clusters varies, outer regions usually being composed of ten or so stars, and the inner regions of the Core Worlds tend to two or three stars. These forces, called Cluster Ready Defence Forces (CRDF), are headquartered in a specific region of the cluster, usually in one of the Lagrange points between the most important planet and its parent star. Here, the stations that harbour the fleet manage their respective CRDF, hosting various things from command centers, docks, living areas, and the like. Many can get to very substantial in size, often being multiple habitats linked together. The ASTUN also has various outposts in nearly all of its systems, from military bases to resupply stations and reserve fleets and easily mobilizeable defence arrays.   Fleet and army compositions are highly varied, often inheriting elements of the militaries of their origin. There is standardization; the rank hierachies and ship classification are the same all through the STUN, yet most of what you find are often very different from each other. Due to the proximity to the Core Worlds, most are not exceptionally far apart in technological level, but the quality of the troops and equipment tend to be. Naturally, more wealthy places can produce better and more equipment, while nations with a heavy military culture or a situation which forces a focus on military matters, can often contribute more.  

Military Doctrine and Strategy

The ASTUN is primarily focused around being a defensive force. The organization of a given CRDF ensures a quick response to local attack, and the density of traffic, settlement, and STUN infrastructure even somewhat far from the Core Worlds allows for information of the attack to be dispersed throughout the STUN. From there, nearby forces can be diverted and dedicated as necessary, and the general nature of the attack's origin easily shared.   In battle, the ASTUN, naturally, varies due to the nature of itself. That said, generally, tactics involving larger ships and heavy weaponry over smaller ones are the norm and encouraged. This allows managing large fleets and disparate fleets better, as well as leveraging the powerful industrial capacity of the Core Worlds. The technological advantage present over most of its opponents is also a large factor in strategy; this leads to many ASTUN forces being significantly more capable than their opponents, even if you compare ones of similar size and composition.  

Ranks

While the ASTUN does have its own ranking system within its relatively few dedicated forces, the STUN's constituent nations' militaries also have theirs, and they are generally preferred to align with the ancient code of NATO standard grade scaling, nowadays known as just the Standard Grade Scale.   The Standard Grade Scale.