Dominion of Sakta

## The Dominion of Sakta

The **Dominion of Sakta** is an interstellar constitutional monarchy and representative parliamentary democracy originating in the Din System.

Sakta was formally founded in maybe 8 or 10 years ago, I guess, as Empress Tanis' first official act on the throne, having drafted the  Imperial Reformation Act in the interim period between her ascension and her father's abdication.

Sakta traces its roots back to the joining of the native theran species with human colonists of unclear origins, who had made their way to Akanda. It was preceded by the Izeran Empire, which arose from the Szera Autocracy, the post-revolutionary government that deposed the Akandan Republic.

## Etymology

"Sakta" is a portmanteau of the Rihansu word for "rebirth" (sakt) and "Izera."

## History

Long ago, when the native therans were still in their Stone Age, human colonists of unknown origin came from far beyond the Din system and landed, supposedly to colonize the planet. Most of the records from this distant past were lost to various conflicts and circumstances, or else never existed in the first place, but somehow or other the natives came to possess and understand the human colonists’ advanced technology. As the therans advanced rapidly, the human colony stagnated as, for reasons now lost to history, they received no aid from off-world.

As the natives industrialized, multiple wars broke out over territory and resources, leading to numerous global conflicts. Largely through conquest, the **Akandan Republic** came to control most of the planet, including the human colony, resulting the destruction or capitulation of its rival factions. Akanda's first world-wide nation, it sought to unite all therans under a single, idealistic democratic government. The residual tensions from the various wars remained relevant even several generations later, and the fledgling democracy was plagued by sabotage and civil unrest. None of the would-be factions ever gained or regained an advantage over the dominant one, however, instead dooming the Akandan Republic to a slow death, rotting away from the inside due to corruption and rampant crime.

The slow death of Akanada’s first one-world government caused poverty and wealth disparity to explode, leading to a small class of wealthy elites that controlled everything and viciously exploited just about everyone else, all while vocally insisting that there was still democracy. Interestingly, it was during this period that therans first achieved advanced space-flight, as well as numerous other technological advances, though they lacked the infrastructure or political will to mass produce it. Several off-world, resource-extraction-based colonies, eventually joined by a few colonies in near-by star systems, were set up. Mila Arak is said to have begun preaching at around this time.

Inspired by the rebellious attitude of this new religion’s faithful, as well as some revolutionary ideas from ancient human ideologies, Nijar Szera capitalized on widespread resentment in the population and led direct, mass actions against the government. Eager to overthrow their oppressors, exploited workers forged an alliance of convenience with the persecuted members of the new religion, eventually teaming up with disgruntled military officers as well. Once that had occurred, the old order stood no chance. The revolutionaries staged a bloody coup, promising to “throw off the shackles” of the previous regime and establish a “strong government” that would “rule for the common people.”

Together, leaders from the three groups – workers, a religious minority and military defectors – formed a kind of informal dictatorship, casting off all notions of "democracy." Nijar was placed at the head of this government, and the nation became known as the **Szera Autocracy.** Together they wasted no time in implementing reforms, seizing vast amounts of privately-held wealth and redistributing it according to his egalitarian ideas. Though, records show he also made sure a good amount of that redistributed wealth found its way to his allies, in addition to his enshrining Arakism as the state religion and ensuring that the new military was amply supplied.

Near the end of his life, Nijar began consolidating more of the government’s power within himself and his position, before handing his rank down to his son, a move that many of his fellow autocrats mimicked. Within 40 (standard) years, the Szera line had been declared royal, and before the turn of the century, the Emperor held absolute power. **The Izeran Empire** was formally founded shortly after, solidifying the transition from a group of autocrats to an absolute monarchy. The descendants of Nijar’s collaborators were appointed as governors of Izera’s colonies. By the third generation of the Szera line, the nation’s monarchs were much less ideologically polarized, and adopted considerably more moderate political positions.

And then I suppose some other stuff must have happened, but...

The annexation of Izera by the The Nomads/The Great Interstellar League severely impacted the country's political culture, public confidence in the government, and the overall stability of the nation. The Empress of the time capitulated after only a brief period of resistance, an action that was and sometimes still is viewed as deeply controversial. Izeran servicepeople participated in several of the League's conflicts, including the Final League-Pact War. As the end of the Final War approached, tremendous civil unrest erupted across Izera and public confidence in the monarchy reached an all-time low.

Princess Tanis, not long after her father announced his intention to abdicate, announced that she would implement several broad and powerful reforms as soon as she came into power, and drafted the Imperial Reformation Act, which would later serve as the basis for Sakta's constitution. The democratization, civil liberalization and renaming of Izera effectively quelled the unrest, though it was still met with considerable resistance. Some feared a return to the Akandan Republic, other felt it was not actually democratic enough, but a considerable majority welcomed the change.

## Government

As a federal monarchy, Sakta’s head-of-state is technically the Empress, though the Crown’s powers are limited by a constitution. The Saktan monarch can call for a referendum, but only with the support of at least half of the Assembly. It can propose new legislation or amendments to existing legislation, though it cannot pass anything into law without the support of the Assembly and the Senate. The Crown can, however, unilaterally appoint 40% of the Senate’s members.

The legislature is divided between the Assembly and the Senate. The Assembly is a democratically elected body whose members are known as Assemblymen or Members of the Assembly (AMs), elected through a Proportional Representation system. The First Minister, the de facto head-of-state, is elected internally from and by the Assemblymen, and is typically the leader of the party that forms government.

The Senate is comprised partially of persons directly selected and appointed by the Crown, with the remaining 60% of its members being appointed via a national election, much like the Assembly.

The political party that currently - and throughout the Dominion’s short history, most frequently - forms the government is the New Saktan Democratic Party, a decidedly socialist and socially liberal party. The current First Minister, and the leader of the NSDP, is Hianye Vera.

The Official Opposition is the Saktan Prosperity Party, a generally centrist party advocating Third Way-like politics.

Not far behind in terms of votes is the third party, the Royalist Party of Sakta, whose primary goal is to reorganize the Dominion of Sakta into the Izeran Empire and hand over total control to the Crown. Otherwise they are an economically left-leaning but socially conservative party.

## Military

The Royal Dominion Armed Forces is a robust, well-funded and technologically advanced fighting force. Although recent governments have put more of an emphasis on space-based forces over other sectors, the overall preparedness of the nation’s military maintains. Soldiers of all branches typically make extensive use of cybernetics - such as shoulder-mounted weaponry, small personal drones and networked senses - and although the military doctrine tends to favour defence, personnel are equipped and trained in such a way to allow them to be flexible and adaptable.

## Infrastructure

Civilian life also makes extensive use of cybernetics, though these are generally subtler and universally less powerful than those available to the military and some law enforcement agencies. Most notably, young children receive a “neurocomputer” brain implant within the first few months of their life, enabling them to, at roughly 8 Standard Years of age, learn a Standard Month’s worth of textbook material in a matter of minutes. Though; for the newly learned knowledge to take hold in students’ minds, it must be practised regularly and for several consecutive weeks, though after that the knowledge is usually never forgotten. This system leaves children with a great deal more free time than more traditional means of education, and so they are usually left at state-funded daycares or in the care of a babysitter, who is sometimes a robot.

The status of A.I. is somewhat contentious, as many still resent the rulership of the Nomads while others clamour for further technological advancement. As a result, while A.I. are common, their intelligence must always be limited and their roles must always be subservient to citizens.

Most of Izera’s major cities require thinking on a three-dimensional level, as they tend to be designed around the notion that “upwards” is better than “outwards.” Thus, citizens had to become comfortable with regularly changing altitudes by fairly drastic amounts for simple daily commutes. A complex web of mid-air plazas, elevators and bridges connect buildings for pedestrian traffic, and personal vehicles are all capable of free, in-atmosphere flight. These vehicles are all managed by sophisticated traffic A.I., and not actually driven by Izeran citizens, due to the increased risks posed by mid-air traffic accidents. For those without personal vehicles, and without the money for regular taxis, public transport does exist; a rough equivalent to a monorail system spans all major cities.

## Culture

About 50% of Sakta’s population still subscribes to a religion originating with the pre-League days of the revolution and the Izeran Empire. This is Arakism, based on the teachings of the Prophetess, Mila Arak. This has led to martial arts, swordplay and gardening all becoming important aspects of Saktan popular culture. The rest of the population, meanwhile, is divided up among a myriad of different religion from across the galaxy.

The average Saktan is afforded tremendous political and civil liberties, though only the latter is broadly treasured. Curiously, a great deal of affection for the institution of the Crown still exists very strongly in the hearts and minds of many Saktans, often leading them to criticise and question the efficacy and necessity of their democracy. This had given rise to a major political party whose primary desire is to restructure the nation back into the Izeran Empire. Although this party has yet to advance past its status of “third party,” it remains an influential part of Saktan political scene.

A true cultural mosaic, Sakta has a reputation for welcoming immigrants and incorporating their traditions and customs into itself. Breaking from its distant past, Saktan-born humans are citizens fully equivalent to therans, and the two groups very much share the same culture. Immigrants are also treated as equals, of course, regardless of species.

Although there were once thousands of distinct languages spoken on Akanda, including several human languages or variants of them, the various nation-states that engaged in conquest throughout the planet's history frequently sought to impose their customs on others and eliminate any cultural competition, including different languages. These instances of mass cultural destruction only intensified with the rise of the Akandan Republic. As a result, modern-day therans and Saktan-humans speak a language known as Rihansu, a complex mixture of several old theran dialects and some variants of human languages.

## Approximate Timeline (By Dotur66)

Blimey, m8, d'you mind? It's not bloody finished yet, innit?

1. Rough Historical Timeline:
	* I Don't Know, Maybe 2500 Years Ago?
		+ "So I says to 'im, I says, "wot's all this 'agriculture' rubbish?" It'll never catch on, I tell ya... BLIMEY, PEOPLE'VE COME FROM THE SKY!"
	* I Don't Know, Maybe 2400 Years Ago?
		+ "Cor, bruv, this 'industrialization' fing is bloody brilliant, innit?"
	* I Don't Know, Maybe 2200 Years Ago?
		+ "M8 I WILL FOOKING FITE U M8 I WILL BASH YER 'EAD IN M8 YEW SLAAAAAAAAAAAG!!!"
		+ Let's Have a Big, Huge War Every Other Century or so.
	* I Don't Know, Maybe 1900 Years Ago?
		+ "Hello, I'm the Akandan Republic, and this is my favourite store on the Citadel."
		+ "I didn't vote for you..."
		+ "SHUT UP, IDIOT."
	* I Don't Know, Maybe 1500 Years Ago?
		+ "D'you know wot? I'm fookin sick of all this rubbish. It's a right load o' wank, it is. Fookin' *bourgeois* fookin' bein' right bastards. I cannae stand for it!"
		+ "Are you Scottish or Cockney?"
		+ "UNDER MY NEW REGIME, I CAN BE BOTH! VIDA LA REVOLUCION! OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!"
		+ "But space colonies!"
		+ "THEY ARE NOW COLONIES OF THE REVOLUTION!"
	* I Don't Know, Maybe 1480 Years Ago?
		+ "THE REVOLUTION IS COMPLETE, COMRADES! Ours will be an empire that stands forever! And I shall call the nation... The Interstellar Empire of Me, Nijar Szera, Who is The Greatest and the Best! The Coolest and the Strongest! Like No One Ever Was!"
	* I Don't Know, Maybe 1430 Years Ago?
		+ "We're just gonna call the nation 'Izera,' actually, and maybe chill with the rhetoric."
	* AND THEN NOTHING HAPPENED FOR A LONG TIME, OKAY? SHUT UP! YOU DON'T KNOW! IT MIGHT BE POSSIBLE!
	* I Don't Know, Maybe 60 Years Ago?
		+ "Hello, I'm The Nomads, and this is my favourite store on the Citadel."
		+ "Revolucion..?"
		+ "That's nice, dear. Now put on this bonnet and sit quietly."
		+ "Fiddlesticks!"
	* I Don't Know, Maybe 40 Years Ago?
		+ "That's a cute colony you have there, Inoue-san."
		+ "Whatever, Izera-chan!"
		+ "It's way too close to my stuff, however, so I'm just gonna relieve you of it."
		+ "N-NANI?!"
	* I Don't Know, Maybe 10 Years Ago?
		+ "Izera-chan! Give me back colony-kun!"
		+ "Well..."
		+ "No, Izera-chan! I wish to be with you forever!"
		+ "C-Colony-kun?!"
		+ "Okay! You heard, colony-kun, Inoue-san! Now bugger off!"
		+ "Kusso..."
	* I Don't Know, Maybe 8 Years Ago?
		+ "Hey, the Nomads aren't looking! Let's do the whole 'revolucion' thing again, citizens!"
		+ "But monarchy, you've been too cooperative with the Nomads! We no longer trust you fully!"
		+ "Shit... Uh... HEY, LOOK! DEMOCRACY! WOW, I'M SO HIP AND COOL!"
		+ "Wow, that truly is both hip *and* cool! Truly the monarchy is bretty gud.
		+ "Phew."
	* Now, I Guess?
		+ "Man, democracy is *so* mainstream."
		+ "Does that mean I can have absolute power back?"
		+ "... I guess it's not *that* mainstream."
		+ "Drats."