Terran Empire

## Overview

*"It is with a heavy heart that I assume the mantle of total rule. This is not a burden I ever intended to carry, but the current situation necessitates no alternative. I can only assure the people of Earth of the silver lining amidst the clouds of famine and destruction; we will have order, and then we will have peace."*

~ Giovanni Benrossia - 1st Emperor of Terra, circa 2125.

The Terran Empire was a humanocentric, imperialist autocracy that existed during the 21st, 22nd and 23rd centuries. It was formed on **Earth** in the **Sol System** during the early 22nd century following the conclusion of the Third World War. During a period of widespread famine, destruction, and lawlessness at the end of the 2100s, a faction of military remnants from the former warring superpowers joined forces and agreed to rebuild humanity under a military autocracy. This later developed into an interstellar empire with an established political ideology behind the ever-continuing control of its pseudo-military imperial rulers.

### **Third World War: 2050-2061**

The Third World War (also known as the 11 Years War) was a global military confrontation between the Atlantic & European Treaty Organisation (AETO) and the Sino-Pacific Alliance (SIPA) brought about as a result of dwindling fossil fuel resources at the end of the 21st century. The war was characterised by an extensive use of cybertechnological and asymmetric warfare in its early years before witnessing an escalation into some of the largest conventional military confrontations seen since the Second World War. The final year of the war was dominated by an extensive and escalating use of unconventional capabilities before culminating in widespread nuclear exchanges towards the end of 2061.

During this period, massive swathes of the planetary population were killed and infrastructure was devastated. The war was halted before total destruction occurred by the surviving AETO-SIPA military leaderships, who effectively staged coups against the surviving political leaderships of their respective nations in order to avert the extinction of the human race. A state of global martial law was declared under a jointly-agreed leadership council comprising the surviving senior leaders of both alliances, and the remaining resources of the planet were tasked towards recovery and redevelopment.

### **Early redevelopment: 2061-2082**

The early years of redevelopment were difficult, with the planetary population continuing to decline as the secondary effects of global warfare continued to have their effect. The population reached a nadir of 1.2 billion in 2118 before stabilising and beginning to recover. The scarcity of resources led to an extreme centralisation of socio-economic activity beneath the ruling military structures of each planetary region, with cooperation on limited surpluses between neighbouring jurisdictions negotiated between the various military sub-councils.

During this time, the military leadership began a unifying propaganda program to stifle dissent and maintain compliance during the rebuilding process. This propaganda took on a distinctly imperialist theme in terms of its wording and imagery, promising a future of 'bread and peace' under a central planetary rule. Whilst this campaign of persuasion was met with varying success across different planetary areas, the majority of the population was initially supportive of the new military regime - even if simply due to a lack of other choices available. This would soon however change as the military council refused to cede even a semblance of power to a population now beginning to engage in more than simple survival.

### **First Imperial era: The First Emperor (2082-2107)**

In early 2082, a disagreement between the military sub-councils of the remnant United States government and the Russian Alliance resulted in a narrowly-avoided civil war utilising what remained of the planetary nuclear arsenal. Alongside this, civil unrest was beginning to ferment across key planetary territories against what was considered to be a heavy-handed military rule with no semblance of accountability. The crisis resulted in discussions of reform amongst the ruling military council to establish a constitutional system that would placate the population whilst still maintaining centralised control.

A decision was made to utilise a system of limited constitutional monarchy with some democratic accountability into the regional military sub-councils. This followed the thread of central, imperialist propaganda promoted during the early redevelopment period as the desired avenue for planetary unity and peace in the post-war period. An elective monarchy was declared, with General Giovanni Benrossia - the sitting Chairman of the AETO-SIPA alliance at the time - taking on the mantle of Emperor. The remaining members of the council maintained their military rank and designated command areas whilst also taking on the titles of Imperial Ministers. Upon the death of the monarch, this Imperial Planetary Council would meet to elect a new monarch from within their own number.

At the national and sub-national level, regional military commanders were redesignated as Governors and had their own sub-councils of ministers comprising local military commanders and administrators. Assemblies of democratically-elected representatives were formed on an approximate basis of democratic centralism, where local assemblies elected representatives to regional assembles and so forth up to the level of a Global Assembly. These assemblies maintained a semblance of democratic control over their respective levels of executive government; however, the reality of the situation resulted in these democratic representatives taking on a primarily rubber-stamp role for the centralised operations of the post-war imperial government.

The reign of Emperor Giovanni Benrossia lasted until 2107, when he died at 75 from complications related to gradual-onset radiation poisoning - an occupational hazard for many members of the post-war planetary population. He was replaced by Admiral Omar Shafiq of the Middle Eastern Imperial Region, who continued the extensive redevelopment work of his predecessor.

### **Second imperial era: Rebuilding and Re-exploration (2107-2200)**

The second imperial era saw a concentrated and centralised rebuilding effort across the planet. Over the course of the next 93 years, a series of imperial administrations under two separate monarchs rebuilt infrastructure, rediscovered technology, and re-established cultural and economic development across Earth. Public dissent against the imperial regime stood at an all-time low as living standards soared, although dissent was brutally supressed on a number of occasions that were largely hidden from public knowledge. A substantial breakthough occurred in 2156 when the imperial government launched the first new satellite in nearly two centuries, followed by the first interplanetary exploration and construction starships in 2190. The planetary-based Terran Empire became an interplanetary political body, and the spoils of the Solar system were rapidly seized beneath the aegis of the imperial flag.

### Third imperial era: Interstellar expansion (2200-)

During the last decade of the 22nd century, a major breakthrough in applied physics and engineering occurred with the development of the Hyperdrive. This allowed the hasty retrofit of civilian and military