Bandorian Protectorate

> "We are humanity's bulwark against the Terror." -unnamed Bandorian Supreme Leader, early 21st century
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## Founding of the Protectorate

The Bandorian Protectorate is a militaristic, highly technologically advanced and transhumanist faction in the Empire and Union universe. The Protectorate was started as a semi-secret society of people dedicated to training to protect the Earth and the human race in case of alien invasion or other dangers from space. All members of the Protectorate were required to renounce their allegiance to any specific country and pledge allegiance to the Protectorate instead. The Protectorate made its membership a public matter by unanimous agreement on 1 January 2055; by this time it had accumulated over 5 million members. The Protectorate acquired weapons and space technology from several major nations, and proceeded to establish colonies on the Moon and Mars; the Bandorian Mars colony, Covenant City, rapidly surpassed all the other Martian colonies in size, technology level and population. Once the Protectorate made its member lists public and became an open international organization, it received backing from multiple nations, including China, India, Russia, Iran, Brazil, Nigeria, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, Colombia, Venezuela, Belarus, Serbia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, Algeria, Bangladesh, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Most of the original membership of the Protectorate (approximately 80%) came from these nations, and the Protectorate government purchased its original weapons and space technology from them.

## First War of Sol

The Protectorate, since it was not in the least affiliated with the United Nations, was the first major faction of colonists to challenge UN control of the colonies. The UN responded by attacking Bandorian colonies on Mars with an orbital bombardment on 15 April 2129; many of the UN ships were targeted by Bandorian anti-ship batteries on the surface and by Bandorian, Asgardian, and civilian ships in orbit. The battle continued for 8 days because of reinforcements on both sides, but the UN took extremely heavy losses on the first day which really decided the outcome of the battle: a UN retreat from Mars. This battle, and subsequent battles in the Sol system including battles with the Asgardia Prime space station orbiting Earth and an Asgardian fleet orbiting the Moon, became known as the First War of Sol. This First War of Sol greatly weakened the UN's influence over colonies in the Sol System, and provided an opportunity for the Protectorate to move into a leadership role in fighting UN forces; the whole of the Sol system, from the Bandorian megacolony of Covenant City on Mars to tiny LABS mining bases in the Kuiper Belt, was united against the UN.

## First Interstellar War

After the First War of Sol, the Protectorate, now with increased freedom to build colonies, colonized several major systems, including Kapetyn and Tau Ceti. The colonists in the systems outside of Sol grew more and more resentful of the restrictions placed on interstellar colonies by the UN, but the Protectorate alone would not act to challenge the still-powerful UN immediately after the war, which had caused many casualties among the Bandorian forces. However, this war strengthened the Bandorian sense of unity and the recognition of the need for dedicated military facilities; before the war, each civilian was expected to have weapons and to fight individually, while now dedicated military forces were formed, although over 90% of the Bandorian population who were capable of bearing weapons still did so. The UN tried to impose new regulations and restrictions on the colonies in systems outside Sol, which angered both of the non-UN major factions who had interstellar colonies: the Protectorate and the Asgardian Alliance. As a result of the new regulations, the Protectorate and the Asgardian Alliance agreed to form an alliance and to act jointly in actions against the UN. On 12 March 2144, Bandorian forces in Tau Ceti and Kapetyn, as well as Asgardian forces in Alpha and Proxima Centauri, expelled UN diplomats from their political centers and ordered all UN ships in the system space to leave. The UN ordered all UN civilian ships to leave the space as the "rebels" as they were called at the time had ordered, and then sent in massive military fleets to blockade the inhabited planets of these four systems. Other Bandorian and Asgardian systems, including the Darkstar and Bergeron systems, sent ships to assist in breaking the UN blockades, which were strengthened by many warp interdictors, a type of ship that, in addition to its main weapons, also contained a device that, when activated, prevented ships in the surrounding area from engaging their warp drives, which at the time were the only regularly used means of FTL or interstellar travel. This meant that, once ships entered the blockaded systems, they could not leave. The Asgardian government accused the UN of attempting to commit war crimes by trying to starve the populations of whole planets with the blockades; the UN did not respond to these accusations. Bandorian forces managed to break the blockade in Tau Ceti on 15 December 2144, but the blockades in Kapetyn, Alpha Centauri, and Proxima Centauri were maintained until 2 June 2145, when the Bandorian forces managed to break the blockade in Kapetyn, then came to the aid of the Asgardian forces in Alpha and Proxima Centauri, who engaged the UN fleets with all their remaining forces at the same time in a last ditch attempt to break the blockades. These victories were largely made possible by the vast numbers of workers who manufactured military materials for use in the war; the Protectorate especially was known for its good benefits for industrial workers. The new sense of unity among the workers, as well as their resurgence as a major part of society, led to the founding of the Union of Human Workers after the war. On 6 June 2145 all UN forces retreated back to Sol, pursued by a force of 107 Bandorian and Asgardian capital ships, which forced the UN military command to stand down and come to terms. Afterwards, the UN imposed a temporary trade blockade on all Asgardian and Bandorian systems, but at the same time many systems which had been colonized by UN organizations originally declared their independence and began trading with Bandorian and Asgardian systems. Due to this bypass, the UN unofficially ended the trade embargo in August 2145.

## Second War of Sol

After the First Interstellar War, the UN decided that it must, at all costs, reduce the Bandorian and Asgardian presence in Sol. At this time, the UN agreed to a long-term plan to make an alliance with the Asgardians in the future, but decided to launch attacks on Bandorian colonies and naval forces in Sol to drive them out of the system. On 3 June 2149, the UN announced a crackdown on crime in Sol, which was full of pirates at the time. However, UN punitive forces were mainly deployed to Mars, where the Protectorate had many colonies, most notably Covenant City, as well as other locations throughout Sol where there were significant numbers of Bandorian citizens. Bandorian citizens in some areas of Covenant City armed themselves and prevented UN troops from entering their neighborhoods, prompting an escalation by the UN, which then deployed armored vehicles and more troops to break through the barricades. The UN Navy also began to randomly attack Bandorian ships throughout Sol, and placed a blockade of an entire fleet of UN ships around Mars. The Protectorate Navy won several battles throughout Sol, and even forced two squadrons of the UN fleet blockading Mars to retreat due to heavy losses, but was unable to gain a significant strategic advantage or break the blockade. Meanwhile, Bandorian civilians and some military personnel on the surface of Mars were desperately fighting back against the UN troops, but due to the blockade, the UN was able to keep bringing in reinforcements. An estimated 300,000 Bandorian civilians and military personnel on Mars were captured, and according to UN records, they "disappeared" after leaving the surface of Mars on prisoner transports. In addition, throughout Sol, an estimated 150,000 Bandorian civilians and 40,000 military personnel were killed. In late October 2150, the Protectorate leadership decided to negotiate a ceasefire with the UN and evacuate all its citizens from Sol to avoid further deaths. On 5 November 2150 the ceasefire came into effect and the evacuations began. At the time the decision was very unpopular in the Protectorate, but most Bandorian historians conclude that it was necessary, as the Protectorate military at the time just wasn't strong enough to defeat the UN, and a continuation of the war would simply have resulted in a worse defeat for the Protectorate. A memorial to the victims was established in Mystic, and after the Second Interstellar War the Empire continued to preserve the memorial.

## Second Interstellar War

All three of the major powers focused on building up their naval and military power over the next few decades, although the Protectorate also focused on exploration and colonization of new systems. Seeing the Protectorate making reasonable efforts to expand, the UN decided to launch a propaganda campaign presenting the Protectorate as an aggressive, militaristic power seeking to expand into the territory of the other major powers. The UN also cultivated diplomatic relations with the Asgardian Alliance, joining forces in a new faction that came to be known as the Union. The Asgardian Alliance largely made this alliance due to their concerns about the Protectorate; however, the only real reason for their concern was caused by the UN's propaganda campaign against the Protectorate, presenting them as an overaggressive, expansionist power trying to take territory from the other major powers. The Union, fueled by the major naval and military buildup of its component factions in the years after the First Interstellar War, was a very formidable military opponent at this time. The Union military officials planned the campaign for nearly three years before actually attacking the Protectorate. On 23 March 2189, a massive Union fleet of over fifty capital ships attacked the Bandorian colony of New Arkhangelsk, a system which at that time had scarcely 5 million citizens. Seven other smaller Bandorian colonies were attacked on the same day by smaller squadrons of Union ships. The Protectorate Navy was quick to respond, attacking several major Union shipyards as well as a former Asgardian spy station and shipyard complex located in interstellar space near the Mystic system. This spy station was taken by the Protectorate and was not recovered by the Union after the war. The Protectorate government, headed at the time by Supreme Leader Rodion Gordunov, noted that all the smaller colonies which were attacked were former UN systems which had declared their independence and then requested membership in the Protectorate; Gordunov also called the attacks war crimes as the Union's orbital bombardment of these planets and moons had largely targeted civilian areas, resulting in large numbers of civilian casualties. Throughout the war, the Protectorate forces fought valiantly, but were heavily outnumbered; though they scored some victories early in the war, by the time of the war's end in 2196, the Protectorate had lost most of the systems it had gained before the war and its forces were in hiding or retreat in all of its systems, including Tau Ceti.

## Founding of the Empire

Gordunov had been assassinated by a Union agent on 4 July 2190, and the new Supreme Leader, Vasily Spiakov, fled to the Darkstar system with many remaining Bandorian forces on 28 March 2196 after several decisive Bandorian defeats, unofficially ending the war. While Spiakov headed a government that was nominally called the Bandorian Protectorate, he only controlled 10 systems at first. In Tau Ceti, now renamed Alpha Imperatoris, the rest of the massive Bandorian navy gathered; Grand Admiral Lu Weng, the most senior military commander in the system at the time, founded the Galactic Empire; he controlled 24 systems originally, and he named them after the letters of the Greek alphabet. Tau Ceti was renamed Alpha Imperatoris at this time, and the other 23 original Imperial systems were also renamed. However, some rebels in the outer reaches of the Tau Ceti system still declared their allegiance to the Protectorate, and fought against the Imperial forces; they even held Mystic 5 at one point, but were later forced into the outer regions of the system. The Protectorate government under Spiakov signed a peace treaty with the Empire on 14 July 2197, and condemned the rebels, who became commonly known as the Renegades around this time. The Union of Human Workers, which had unofficially supported the Protectorate in the war, and which boasted over 5 billion members at this time, also pledged its support of the Empire. This alliance, as well as the counter-alliance between the UN and the Asgardian Alliance, lasted until the fall of the Empire at the end of the Empire-Union War in 3506. However, even in its seeming death the Protectorate still won a major victory, for by 2200 all the former UN colonies outside Sol had declared their independence. Many of these colonies became dependent on the Empire, but they were really in a state of anarchy until the fall of the Empire, when these colonies, along with many former Imperial systems that were now independent, joined together to form a new faction: the Alliance of Independent Settlements.

## State of the Protectorate during the Imperial period

At the beginning of the Imperial period, only 10 star systems (Aerasia, Ambria, Batronov, Darkstar, New Arkhangelsk, New Kursk, Nodogorov, Praetoris, Smolensk, Velray) declared their loyalty to current Bandorian Supreme Leader Vasily Spiakov. On 14 July 2197 Vasily Spiakov signed a treaty with the Empire, which resulted in an alliance between the two factions. The conditions of the treaty included Spiakov condemning the Renegade rebels, as well as discontinuing any Bandorian claim to the 24 systems currently held by the Empire; the Protectorate was also required to guarantee that they would not try to claim any unexplored systems which the Empire claimed in the future. This provision was also applied to the Empire, which would refrain from laying claim to any systems currently held by the Protectorate, or any systems which they claimed in the future. Independent systems which applied to join one of the factions were required to first sign a document granting permission for their military forces to assist the other faction if required. The treaty also resulted in major sharing of military technology and joint deployments, with forces from each faction assisting each other in minor and major military actions. The Protectorate lost approximately 90% of its navy and 75% of its army to the Empire, vastly reducing its military status. It took the Protectorate until roughly 2500 to build up its military forces to be even close to their former size.

## Perth War

The Protectorate and the Empire fought alongside each other from almost the beginning of the Perth War, first deploying together in the Battle of Caska. Grand Admirals Ruslan Kusnetsov and Sergei Komarov were the chief strategists of the human forces, and in 3206 they developed the Roi Shershnei, a powerful cluster missile weapon that proved highly effective against the Perth ships. In 3207 the Imperial Alliance between the Empire, the Protectorate, the UHW, and the Union was formed, which lasted until 3227. Together these forces defeated the Perth, who, according to the official records, committed mass suicide. The Perth War was devastating to humanity; over a billion lives were lost, and the damage done to infrastructure was severe. The leaders in the Protectorate and the Empire at the time wanted to pursue a diplomatic solution, but they were overruled by the Asgardian and UN leaders, who formed a major part of the Imperial Alliance; these individuals wanted to destroy all Perth warships before attempting to negotiate an end to the war. After the death of Sergei Komarov, which was officially caused by a Perth agent sabotaging his ship, Grand Admiral Kusnetsov joined the forces of those who wanted to destroy the entire Perth navy. The invasion forces in the six Perth systems were mostly composed of UN and Asgardian warships, as the Imperial and Bandorian fleets had suffered major losses in the penultimate campaigns.

## Empire-Union War

On 29 October 3498, Emperor Han of the Galactic Empire, Supreme Leader Mi Xinchiang of the Bandorian Protectorate, and Union of Human Workers Leader Karen Foss signed a mutual defense treaty, following the suppression of a massive rebellion within the Empire that was funded and supported by the Union; the Union had begun attacks on Imperial ships, mainly civilian convoys, in July 3498, after accusing the Empire of "suppressing democracy" and "committing genocide against its citizens". At its height in 3495, the rebellion had boasted 15 million combatants; but by January 3498, all the rebels had been captured or killed. After the signing of the mutual defense treaty, the allies began a series of naval battles against Union ships in all their territories, mostly focusing on the outer colonies. This strategy caused the Imperials and their allies to be spread too thin to mount any effective offensive campaigns, while the Union devastated their forces in swift attacks. An estimated 40 million civilians were killed over the course of the war, and infrastructure in many Imperial systems was badly damaged. By 3505, the Imperial Navy had lost over half of its ships, and two-fifths of its shipbuilding capability. The Protectorate and UHW Navies suffered losses too, but nowhere near the scale of the Imperials. In April 3505, the Union launched a massive offensive in the Mystic system in an attempt to blockade it and capture the Emperor and his family. From 16 June 3505 to 7 September 3505, Union troops landed on Lionus and occupied parts of the regions of Imperia, Ashton Falls, Snowfall, Crystal Lake, Upper Oksland, and Lower Oksland. The Union troops were ultimately forced to leave Lionus with estimated losses of over 260,000 soldiers. The strategy of attempting to capture the Emperor and his family was changed in December 3505 to killing the entire Imperial family by an orbital bombardment, due to high losses among the Union ships (over 200 Union capital ships were destroyed by this time). Thousands of Bandorian subcapital ships rammed Union capital ships in suicide attacks, which caused severe damage because they were fitted with cargo pods filled with antimatter. On 15 June 3506 the Union commenced an orbital bombardment of Lionus which killed the Emperor and all his relatives except his daughter Tai, who had managed to escape to Vecrolla. When Tai learned of her family's death, she sent a broadcast to the Imperial fleet and military commanders ordering them to join the Protectorate, then killed herself to avoid being captured by Union forces. In the moments after the broadcast, which became known as Tai's Last Command, over 2,000 Imperial and Bandorian subcapital ship pilots launched suicide runs against Union capital ships; 358 Union capital ships were destroyed in moments. Twenty minutes after the broadcast had ended, 10,000 Union troops landed near the Imperial palace on Vecrolla, but they were driven off the planet just two hours after landing. The Protectorate and UHW Navies worked together in a last-ditch effort to drive the remaining Union ships out of Mystic, and on 20 June 3506 the last Union ships retreated from the system. Unfortunately, many former Imperial systems were captured by the Union, even if just for a brief time, and they underwent a period of extreme oppression at the hands of the Union (mainly the Asgardian Alliance). While the Protectorate had lost a third of its navy during the war, they gained far more than they had lost by the integration of the former Imperial Navy into the Protectorate Navy, as well as considerably more territory and industrial capability.

## Twenty Years' War

After the reunification of the Bandorian and former Imperial territory, the new citizens of the Protectorate, and their Supreme Leader, Mi Xinchiang, wanted revenge for the Asgardian Alliance's betrayal of the Protectorate all those years ago in the Second Interstellar War, as well as the wars that led to the split between the Protectorate and Empire, and the defeat of the Empire in the Empire-Union War itself. Armed with massive numbers of new warships, the Protectorate's leaders decided to prepare for a war of vengeance. After a planning and buildup period, the Protectorate completed several superweapons which it could use in the war, including the Morana-class superlaser arrays, interstellar missiles (which were always held as a threat, but never actually used, and were actually inferior to the Moranas in destructive potential), clone armies, and antimatter weaponry. Mi Xinchiang formed many special units known as Vengeance Squadrons, which were equipped with weapons using antimatter where practical. The war went well for the Protectorate from the beginning, with the UN's last dreadnought being destroyed in the opening offensive, along with a large number of capital ships, space stations, and military installations targeted by the Moranas. While only a few systems were taken by the Protectorate during the war, they inflicted massive casualties on the Union military forces, destroying by some estimates up to 75% of all military infrastructure in the Union.

## Manufacturers and Subgroups

The Bandorian Protectorate has many manufacturers and internal organizations, and it is known for its promotion of strong and sustainable industry. The two most notable Bandorian organizations are the Duskhan League, an organization focused on interspecies diplomatic relations, and the Santonian Order, an influential elite paramilitary organization. The Protectorate has many allegiant ship manufacturers, including Bandoria Stardrive, Brock Industries, Imperial Shipyards, Kordon Shipyards, Mystic Drive Yards, New Severodvinsk Shipyards, Riredius Shipbuilding Co, Seldar Industries, Spirit Shipyards, and Triskelion Stardrive (these were the major ship manufacturers allegiant to the Bandorian Protectorate as of 1 January 4025).

## Organizational structure of Protectorate military forces

The Protectorate has separated its armed forces into two different major sections: the Space Forces, and the Ground Forces. The Ground Forces include the Air Force, Disruptorguards, Guards, Shock Troopers, Nocturns, Hovertanks, Rocket Artillery, Artillery, Airspace Defense, and Planetary Robotic Warfare regiments, and Oceanic Warfare fleets. The Space Forces include the Protectorate Navy (separated into Battle Fleets, Transport Fleets, Supply Fleets, Troop Transport Fleets, and Carrier/Supercarrier Task Forces), the Tactical Assault Corps, the Cyber Warfare units, the Space Robotic Warfare regiments (composed of drone controllers and their drone units and used exclusively in space) and the Space Marines; the Flagship of the Protectorate Navy, usually a super dreadnought, also has its own special escort group. In addition to the regular military forces, each Bandorian star system has its own System Defense Force, and local militias. All Protectorate citizens are required by law to be proficient in the use of at least one weapon, which they must own, and an estimated 97% of all Bandorian citizens have served in the armed forces at some point of their lives. Bandorian children begin military training at the age of ten. Each regiment in the Disruptorguards, Guards, and Shock Troopers elements of the Ground Forces has 1,000 soldiers assigned to it. Each Space Marines regiment has 5,000 soldiers. Most of the special ground equipment regiments have 40 pieces of equipment, depending on the type. For example, Airspace Defense regiments have eight full batteries of airspace defense systems per regiment, while Hovertank regiments (formerly Tank regiments; most tanks in the Protectorate armed forces were phased out in favor of hovertanks by the time of the Twenty Years' War) have between eight to 40 vehicles depending on the type of tank or hovertank assigned to the regiment. The Nocturns, as a special unit, do not openly publish their unit strength, as they assigned to missions in widely differing numbers as needed and are rarely deployed in general combat. Each Bandorian Air Force aircraft squadron, as well as squadrons of subcapital ships in the Space Force, has 8 starships or aircraft in a squadron, and 40 in a flightgroup. Larger units composed of five flightgroups are used in wartime, and are called space regiments or air regiments in the case of aircraft. The Tactical Assault Corps is structured slightly differently compared to other units; it consists of 70,000 troops, grouped in seven 10,000-soldier units known as Echelons, which are then separated into ten 1,000-soldier units known as Banners. The Tactical Assault Corps is used in situations that require a rapid resolution, typically to put a stop to rebellions or to turn the tide of a major battle in a longer war. It was established on 9 November 3890 as part of the Bandorian military reforms after the First Kroll War.

## Organizational structure of Protectorate government

The Protectorate is governed directly by the Supreme Leader, who makes decisions affecting the whole Protectorate. However, there are certain decisions which require a vote by the people, and also a vote by the Assembly of Governors; the Assembly of Governors is composed of the governors of the systems controlled by the Protectorate. Voting age for regular Bandorian citizens is 20 to 75, though active duty military members may vote at any age. Each time before the Protectorate goes to war, a referendum vote of all the people is taken, after the people are given all known relevant information regarding the circumstances which cause the Protectorate to begin a war. In order for the Protectorate to declare war, first, a majority (>50%) of the Assembly of Governors must approve the decision, then a supermajority (>75%) of the people must also approve the decision; however, the Supreme Leader can still choose to veto the declaration of war even if it passes both the Assembly of Governors and the popular vote. Each time before an expedition is launched to a new star system for colonization, it must be approved by the Assembly of Governors. Each year (before the Protectorate's transition to a moneyless society, which was completed on 1 May 4650), the Assembly of Governors and the people both had to approve, by a 50% majority, the budget presented by the various financial ministers of the Protectorate for the year. In addition to the popular vote and the Assembly of Governors, there is a third voting chamber, the Assembly of District Leaders; Bandorian-controlled territory inside each star system is divided into "districts", and "District Leaders" are elected officials to represent those districts. Both Governors and District Leaders are elected for four-year terms, and cannot hold office for more than two four-year terms. The Protectorate has banned formation of any kind of political party, requiring citizens to research each candidate's positions on various issues before voting. The Supreme Leader deals mainly with military decisions, especially in wartime. Each Supreme Leader (apart from the Supreme Leaders from the time before the Protectorate became a public organization, whose names have been kept secret, but who were elected by the members of the Protectorate) is either named by the previous Supreme Leader or chosen by a council of twelve top-ranking military and scientific officials, known as the Supreme Presidium of the Bandorian Protectorate. Supreme Leaders rule for life, or until health issues make it impossible for them to continue their duties.

## Bandorian culture

The Protectorate as a faction emphasizes physical strength and fitness, as well as a mental capability for strategy and teamwork. In school, children are trained in military tactics and how to use various weapons starting at age ten. The Protectorate's official language is Esperanto, although Hindi, Mandarin, Arabic, Interslavic, and Portunhol are also widely spoken. Bandorians tend to use implants and augmentations more than the other major human factions, though the implants they choose are generally intended to give them improved capabilities at their job, or better combat abilities, while citizens of some other factions, most notably the Asgardian Alliance, generally have tracking implants and entertainment implants, which are almost always combined. Early Bandorian culture focused heavily on the need to harden the human race to make it a more formidable target to potentially hostile aliens; the Perth War was seen by many Bandorian citizens as a vindication of this school of thought, especially since over 400 million Bandorian citizens were killed in the Perth invasion of the Darkstar system, which was the capitol of the Protectorate at the time. After the First Kroll War, the Protectorate made a series of additional reforms to its military forces. Part of Bandorian culture is the promotion of strong families; divorce is not permitted, and unmarried couples who have children must marry within one year of the birth of their first child. Spouses may separate, in which case a religious or state organization of the choice of the spouse who did not initiate the separation procedures will take custody of the children, and separated spouses are not allowed to remarry until one of the partners dies. When the Protectorate still used money, taxes were run fairly simply, with a flat income tax of 10% with no discounts or special circumstances, and a bi-annual property tax of 10% of the total value of all property. Revenue from taxes was split to ensure maximum local investment, with 70% of tax revenue going to the local government, 20% of the tax revenue going to the district government, and 10% of tax revenue going to the Protectorate central government. On 1 May 4650, the Protectorate transitioned to a moneyless society. Though the government still allowed for use of currency when trading with other factions, it was preferred to trade in valuable metals such as gold, platinum, titanium and neutronium.