Ionian Senate

The **Ionian Senate** is the chief political authority and governing body on the planet of Io. Founded as a successor of the Llwendolyn Senate of old, the Ionian Senate functions as the primary decisionmakers in relation to all law and policies for both the Arks of Io and the colony of Europa. The senate comprises of at least sixteen members who are democratically elected to represent their constituencies within each of the six Arks. The Senate also provides funding and infrastructure to Ionian society, including public transport, the Ionian Defense Forces and exploratory and trading ventures within the Jovian System. Secretly, the Senate also involves itself with confidential research projects of both a military and technological nature to secure its future.

Despite the massive responsibility placed upon them, the Senate have a poor reputation for mismanagement of resources, overly bureaucratic procedures and a tendency for outlandish proposals. A notable example is the gradual defunding of the Sentinels, a group dedicated to defending the Ruined Ark of Asmodia, due to a flagrant dismissal of the seriousness the threat from the Shadow. This has lead to a general distrust of politicians and the among the populace, leading several settlements to disavow the government and become self-sustaining, like Lindow and Belias Island, or become ruled by different entity, as seen with the Zeon Corporation in Klaybury.

From the Ionian year 2175 onwards, the Ionian Senate became compromised by the arrival of a group of Ganymedean infiltrators to the Shattered Planet. These aliens, who would adopt the name Façade, were able to assume the identities of influential figures to manipulate Io for their own needs and win over native Ionians who desired the same. It is believed that several members of the Senate and their supporting institutions have been either replaced by or in cahoots with Façade, leading the Shattered Planet down a path to further destruction. Façade's influence over the Senate reached in zenith in the Ionian Year 2195, when they assassinated fellow Senator Thalin Daiboros and successfully pinned the murder on Detective Logan Horn, kickstarting a devastating series of events well beyond the government's control. Further problems then arose shortly after, when a group of Shadowhunters from the Sentinels brought news of a terrible threat to all of Io and entreated their assistance.

## Prominent Members

### Qethosian Senators

* **Senator Kern** -Representative for Qethos District 1 and Speaker of the Senate.
* **Senator Aurell** - Representative for Qethos District 2
* **Senator Thalin Daiboros†** - Recently elected representative for Xiros.

### Alabhastarian Senators

* **Senator Linoda** - Representative for Alabhastar District 1
* **Senator Earlin** - Representative for Alabhastar District 2

### Etropan Senators

* **Senator Dune** - Representative for Etropa District 1
* **Senator Rendelwin** - Representative for Etropa District 2

### Ishtarian Senators

* **Senator Celdrei** - Representative for Northern Ishtar
* **Senator Gorwin** - Representative for Southern Ishtar

### Asmodian Senators

* **Senator Baarut** - Representative for Asmodia

### Scientific Consultants

* **Dr. Obadiah Oshi** - Freelance Consultant and the so-called "Father of Radiation".
* **Dr Hugo Hain****†** - Chief engineer of the Arcmond Reactor.
* **Dr. Ignatius Hellebore** - Patriarch of the Hellebore Family and head of Hellebore Pharmaceuticals.

### External Collaborators

* **Straugalus** - The Emissary of Ganymede
* **Façade** - Ganymedean infiltrators who have compromised the Senate for their own goals.

## Associated Organizations

The following organizations are closely associated with the Ionian Senate and often answer directly to them.

### Ionian Defense Forces

#### Qethos

* **Llwendolyn Defense Force**
* **Xiros Defense Force**
* **Klaybury Defense Force**
* **Arcmond Defense Force**
* **Veshar Defense Force**

### Military Organizations

* **Marshals of Etropa** - Law enforcement organization who keep the peace in Etropa
* **The Sentinels** - Military organization dedicated to fighting the alien and extraplanar
* **Mastiff Station** - Secret military research facility

### Ionian Agencies

* **Ionian Extractive Authority**
* **Ionian Geological Survey**