United Systems Alliance

Star Systems Controlled
 Government Type (IE; democracy)
 Signatories

## Overview

The United Systems Alliance was founded on November 9th 2168 during the initial stages of the war with the Balalonian Hegemony (later known as the hegemony war). The Alliance was founded with a Constitution involved though by technicality all signatories of the Alliance are still sovereign nations that merely adhere to the Constitution and a few other stipulations.

The leaders of local governments or system-wide governments are given a seat of power on the Alliance's council. Each has a vote weighted in accordance with their population relative to the population total of all systems in the Alliance. The local style of government does not matter; signatories can be of any government type so long as their citizens allow and accept that government. If the majority of the citizens of a particular government oppose it the Alliance sends in the Alliance Navy and Alliance Marine Corps to assist in an exchange of power favoring the government the citizens desire. Thusly, most governments in the Alliance are democratic in some nature or at least exceptionally careful to reinforce the quality of life of their citizens and maintain a desirable look in the public eye.

As a government the Alliance has little to no judicial power. Slavery is outlawed and capital crimes can sometimes be taken to the Alliance's court though this is exceptionally rare as most persons are tried locally by their governments. The primary source of power for the Alliance is instead voting as signatories have no contractual agreement to remain a part of the Alliance; leading to undesirable governments being voted out or ceding from the union. Both of these are exceptionally rare, however.

## United Systems Alliance Constitution

### First Amendment

The United Systems Alliance shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

### Second Amendment

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear weapons, shall not be infringed.

### Third Amendment

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

### Fourth Amendment

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

### Fifth Amendment

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

### Sixth Amendment

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

## Military

The United Systems Alliance maintains a federal level Navy and Marine corps. In order to prevent these from being abused by any senator of the Alliance the military is entirely separated and only heeds the call to war or to peace from the senate as a whole. The Alliance does pay for the military using taxes collected from local governments rather than citizens which accounts for roughly only two percent of any local government's total income. Local militaries are maintained by the governors of those territories instead of the United Systems.

Patrols of local areas are often done by local forces. However the Alliance military is allowed to enforce both local and federal laws; primarily in deep space and along shipping lanes that are not often patrolled by local forces. For this purpose Alliance Peacekeepers are often deployed which are components of the Alliance Navy and Marine Corps similar to military police though they are still, at their core, trained soldiers and operatives.

### Alliance Navy

The Alliance Navy is a cooperative effort from many governments and many different cultures. For simplicity, most roles are universal rather than specialized. However there is still a rank structure and though at times it can become informal it is nevertheless enforced to some degree. For recruitment, a citizen of any nation must merely walk into a recruiting office and provide documentation proving who they are, that they have at least passed high school, are of legal age to join the Alliance military and what qualifications they have.

### Rank Structure

#### Cadet

A Cadet is the lowest possible rank in the Alliance Navy and signifies that an individual has yet to complete their training. These are typically younger men and women who have recently joined the Navy and are expected to graduate within a few months before being transferred onto a ship. In any given training class there are upwards of over ten thousand Cadets but only about five thousand of these will graduate with the rest either being recycled into a new training program or washing out and being unable to return to military service; at least in the Navy. These individuals are taught discipline, how to perform their specific job (MOS) in the Navy and the importance of the rank structure's hierarchy. Additionally they are indoctrinated with a fierce sense of patriotism and loyalty to the United Systems above all else; learning that in order to pass they must be willing and ready to lay down their lives in service to the people of their great nation.

#### Corpsmen

A Corpsmen has graduated basic training and become a recognized member of the Navy. They are the lowest rank possible without still undergoing training in most cases. Upon the completion of their training these individuals typically work with little interference from their supervisors in most cases. Their shifts are expected to be close to fourteen hours during wartime but typically only eight hours in peacetime compared to the grueling sixteen hour workdays of basic training; which can also extend up to ninety six hours for extreme conditioning. They are recognized by a pair of stripes worn on the chest and shoulders of their uniform unlike the Cadets who have no stripes.

#### Petty Officer Third Class

A Petty Officer Third Class is referred to as 'Petty Officer' in common military slang much like the other Petty Officer ranks. An individual with this rank is typically in charge of three to six Corpsmen and is responsible for their work shifts, discipline and ensuring the health of those beneath them. They work side by side with their Corpsmen and often even perform the same tasks while still supervising their soldiers.

#### Petty Officer Second Class

Petty Officer Second Classes are a rank above the Third Class though they still perform the majority of their duties alongside these individuals. They are most often in command of two or three Third Classes whose underlings are under their indirect command. These are the squad leaders of the Alliance Navy and are typically responsible for small sections of the ship that they serve on.

#### Petty Officer First Class

A Petty Officer First Class is often in charge of an entire section of the ship that they serve on and cater to a platoon of soldiers; typically with three to four Second Class Petty Officers serving underneath them. It is expected that these individuals 'lead from the front' and are often assigned in the most dangerous portion of the ship that they serve on rather than the relative safety of other components.

#### Chief Petty Officer

Chief Petty Officers are typically in charge of an entire section of the ship; leading several platoons and coordinating them to fight fires, fix hull breaches, coordinate fire or other specific duties. They, unlike other Petty Officers, are usually found in a command center for the local portion of the starship rather than what would be considered the 'front lines'. This is due to necessity of protecting what is essentially the unit's central nervous system and their primary job is coordinating a mass of individuals rather than performing duties themselves.

#### Master Chief Petty Officer

There is only ever one Master Chief Petty Officer onboard a ship at any time. Their job is to ensure the ship has enough supplies for the individuals onboard and are mostly administrative in capacity. While they hold technical rank above only the lower enlisted, wise officers often seek their counsel before making major decisions on the fate of the vessel due to their wealth of experience in command.

#### Ensign

Ensigns mark the beginning of the Officer Corps among Alliance Navy and are the lowest rank of fighter pilots. Ensigns do not typically command ships larger than a fighter in most scenarios and while not in battle typically work alongside a Master Chief to keep the ship supplied; namely by bringing in reports for supplies and making sure all supplies are accounted for. An Ensign, however, has command authority over Marines unlike the enlisted beneath him while the Marines are involved in Naval affairs (such as a ship to ship battle when no boarding action is present).

#### Lieutenant

Lieutenants are the lowest ranking Navy members to control an entire ship; typically smaller vessels such as corvettes or torpedo ships. While they have command power over Ensigns, most Lieutenants do not command any aside from the bridge crew expressly. Instead these operations are differed to a CAC (Combat Air Controller). Most Lieutenants that are not in command of a starship of their own are put into administrative positions on larger vessels or are put in command near critical areas such as engineering or gunnery stations.