The Union of Progressive Peoples

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**THE UNION OF PROGRESSIVE PEOPLES**

A socialist government that controls a vast area of colonized space, the Union of Progressive Peoples is also the most resource-poor of the interstellar nations. Although impoverished and overcrowded, in the UPP the workers control the means of production. A state of cold war exists between the UPP and their long-time rivals, the UA—and standoffs between the Union of Progressive Peoples’ Space Operating Forces and the United States Colonial Marine Corps become more and more frequent every year.

**HISTORY**

In the early 22nd Century, the UPP was formed by China and Russia in direct response to a perceived combined threat of the Three World Empire and the United Americas. Locked in an ever-escalating arms race with these capitalist conglomerates, the UPP has always managed to stay only one step behind them despite the fact that they will not deal with Weyland-Yutani or any other corporations. Additional member states include Vietnam, Germany, Spain, and several other Asian and Eastern European countries. At the time of its inception, many androids were already in use within the member states of the UPP. They were not, however, granted citizenship status of any kind. Now, over sixty years later, they are still just considered machines and the property of the state.

**PHAM DINH**

GOVERNOR GENERAL OF THE UPP FRONTIER COLONIES

Governor General Dinh is a battle-hardened UPP Navy commander who has served in many campaigns. While younger commanders would see the posting to the Frontier as a chance for advancement, for Dinh it is a punishment. Nearing retirement, she wants nothing more than a posting back on her home colony world, where she can be close to her daughter and grandchildren. Dinh believes in the greater good of the people, however, and will make the best of her assignment—seeking out new resource rich worlds along the Frontier to claim for the poor citizens of the UPP. She is not afraid to go to war to protect her nation’s interests, and has never backed down from an engagement.

**MILITARY AND ORGANIZATIONS**

**SPACE OPERATING FORCES:** The elite commandos of the UPP are known as the Space Operating Forces. Said to be roughly equivalent to the United States Colonial Marines, the SOF has a similar regimental breakdown. They maintain a fleet of warships and transport vessels, have their own dropships, and use massive, two-story armored trucks for troop deployment. While the SOF have their own AK model pulse rifle, they also use wrist-mounted AK suit guns that allow hands free firing while wearing compression armor.

**MINISTRY OF SPACE SECURITY:** A national security agency and secret police, the MSS gathers both internal and external intelligence for the good of the Union of Progressive Peoples. The Ministry maintains a number of operatives throughout the Frontier, undercover on both UPP controlled worlds and United American colonies. MSS spies have infiltrated top corporations and stolen their military designs. They monitor their own citizenry to make sure they stay true to the Union. In the UPP, they say trust your enemy to be your enemy, but never trust your neighbor to be your friend. The MSS is why.

**LEADERS**

The UPP is a socialist government with a president as the head of state and a premier who presides over the state council. The UPP Frontier is overseen by a Governor General and naval task force, and each colony has its own mayor.

**LOCATIONS**

Most of the discovered planets within their borders are resource poor, causing the UPP to constantly push deeper into the Frontier in search of rich, habitable worlds. As the UPP never developed atmospheric processors, they do not terraform. Instead, if a world is inhospitable, they will build a colony beneath the surface or construct habitation domes upon it. Because of this, the scattering of naturally habitable worlds the UPP has are overpopulated. Notable worlds include New Kiev, Qi Xi III, 17 Phei Phei, Xiang Colony, and the Chiu and Wan An outposts.

**RELATIONS**

The UPP is in a state of cold war with the United Americas. Over the past few decades, limited engagements have seen border worlds change hands or even be destroyed. Some twenty years ago, a regime change on the independent world of 8 Eta Boötis A III led to what became known as the Tientsin campaign—a bloody conflict where the UA backed an independent planet’s attempt to keep a UPP aligned government from taking power. The conflict decimated the once lush world and left it in ruins.

More recently, the UPP are rumored to be behind the destruction of both the colony on LV-426 and a Colonial Marine rescue team. The allegations are that a UPP Space Operating Force nuked the site from orbit in response to a Weyland- Yutani bioweapon under development there. Ironically, while it was W-Y who accused the UPP of the attack, they also deny there were any bioweapons at Hadley’s Hope. Much of the UPP’s more advanced technology appears to be reverse engineered from W-Y designs, something that neither Weyland-Yutani nor the UA are particularly happy about.

**CURRENT ACTIVITIES**

The people of the UPP are hungry. As the UPP discovers a new planet on the Frontier, colonization ships are immediately dispatched to help alleviate the overpopulation problem of their existing member worlds. Citizens don't get to decide who is moved to a new colony world. They are simply moved for the greater good of the Union. These expansionist tendencies have the United Americas concerned, and a large amount of Colonial Navy and Marine resources are devoted to protecting borders from UPP incursions. There have been many false alarms. Imagine the relief a two-man Colonial Marshal office feels when an armada of UPP ships entering a neighboring system turns out to be a colonization expedition and not a warfleet.