Peripheriae

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"The Peripheriae". Known more commonly and unofficially as: "The Outlands", consists of virtually any unclaimed space beyond the confines of the Imperium's borders. At this distance from Imperial governmental and military supervision, there are very few laws and even fewer enforcers to uphold them. Often many of the star systems in this region are unoccupied and free to be settled by anyone with the resources or will to do so. The nodes and waystations leading to these places are commonly illegal and sometimes unstable or dangerous to travel through. From these reasons The Outlands is home to all manner of individuals seeking freedom from the empire's bureaucracy and security. Frequently these will be criminals, religious extremists, political dissidents, and countless other folks or organizations who don't typically desire to adhere to the rules of roman civilization, and thus seek out the outlands as a type of safe haven.

Since the Imperium Astorum empire is constantly expanding into this region it will almost inevitably eventually come across these havens, and isolated locales. comprised of single system states, small illegal colonies, and even sometimes multi system micro nations. often which are ruled by pirate kings, Mob bosses, unscrupulous corporations, or wannabe dictators. Usually, and without much deviation the Imperium's approach is to annex these settlements into the empire. The difficulty of which can vary depending on the locale and countless variables. Sometimes the process is bloodless and quick, as the incumbent leaders are so despotic, or incompetent that the benefits of joining or returning to Rome become obvious to their subjects, who in turn welcome liberation from imperial forces. Other times these settlements try to mount an initial resistance which due to their size and lack of resources is crushed near instantly leading to a quick surrender. Finally there are the rare few that fight meaninglessly to the bitter end to maintain their independence or ideologies. instances of the latter are rare. However, not unheard of. As in the case of the death cult of Ares II which fought an imperial force to the last man. Despite these efforts though the Roman military triumphs every time through superior military training/technology and numbers.

Luckily for those who wish to continue living a life separate from the government, the galaxy is massive, and the Asotrum empire only holds but a tiny fraction of its stars in its grasp, ensuring that there is virtually no end of systems to run to or hide away in. Some outland's systems can lie so far away from imperial space that their very existence is questioned as legend or myth rather than fact.

## Lifestyle

Life in the outlands is generally rough. As would be expected from being disconnected from a greater system of logistics, production, and security. Unlike the star systems in the empire. Inhabited outland systems need to effectively be self sustaining or otherwise find some means of sustaining themselves, as most if not all have no contact with the empire. All but ensuring that outland settlements rarely grow to any substantial size or beyond a single system government. The general lack of resources, and poor living conditions also causes populations to generally turn to extreme forms of government, which frequently introduces petty dictators or monarchs into the reigns of power for outland's settlements.

For the less morally anchored settlements or organizations the answer to finding the means for survival is remarkably simple. Steal it from others. Pirates in the outlands are known to raid other outland colonies, and even at times from fringe imperial colonies that don't enjoy the same level of security as others. They will then in turn proceed to sell their ill gotten gains to virtually anyone in the outlands, often at an inflated price. Micro states have also been discovered to have gone to "war" with each other over resources or even sometimes over food supplies. Though some in the imperial scholarly disagree with the term used. as these "wars" are often tiny involving only a few small ships and tiny armies, and are more reflective of "raids". Regardless of the term used. These campaigns effects, despite the scale, can be absolutely catastrophic. due to the general precariousness of outlands life even such small disruptions or destruction can cause settlements to completely collapse into disarray, or even cease to exist. Imperial forces have claimed on more than one occasion that they have come across completely devastated settlements. Which in their desperate situation possibly led to instances of **[Redacted]** amongst their population's. Whether such stories are true or not, is often subject to debate.

Some people are drawn to the outlands by promises of well paying work. Which on the surface can be a highly attractive offer. More often than not though these optimistic dreams are rewarded by being turned into economic or outright slaves. Unlike in the empire the slave market is alive and well in the outlands with organizations and wealthy individual's trading them as though they were trading goods. There are very few limits on the types of individuals bought and sold with ages ranging drastically. When liberated by Imperial forces, these former slaves, almost as a rule, need to be sent back to the empire to receive psychological treatment and rehabilitation. Usually carried out by Salieron Wayfinders who often drift to that type of empathetic service. Luckily their treatments are successful in the vast majority of cases and the former slaves are able to return to mostly normal lives. A petition in the imperial senate on terra would eventually introduce the: "Slave Survivor's Bill". The bill introduced monetary compensation as well as other benefits to individuals who spent any length of time as a slave, and received near universal support, an extremely rare occurrence in the imperial senate.

In spite of all the misery. The presence of peaceful and even idealistic settlements can and do still exist. Often these small colonies are only a few individuals in number, and rely on their small size or mercenaries to protect them from raving pirates. While they are still annexed frequently into the empire they often welcome such actions when they arrive. As these settlements are often formed from those who have escaped persecution elsewhere in the outlands or were born in the frontier space itself.

## Culture

Culture in the Periphery is practically the very definition of "Diverse" with countless cultures, religions, and other niches being found and practiced from settlement to settlement if not from person to person. As such integration into the empire can range from a smooth transition to a long painful process of slow re-education. As planetary populations need to either unlearn existing traditions or otherwise adopt new ones. On occasion to expedite this process, the Imperium may allow as it did with old earth cultures, for periphery populations to retain some aspects or traditions of their own culture dependent on how well they integrate with imperial culture. One product of this method was the Frontier Rangers Legion. A specialized Legion within the Imperial military suited to interaction with Periphery nations or settlements. Most of its constituent cohorts can be found patrolling the borders of imperial space for pirates which they specialize in eliminating.

## Trade

Periphery settlements rarely come into contact with each other, however when they do interactions can vary wildly depending on the culture, government's, and size of the settlement. For those that are able to maintain a "Stable" relationship with each other the empire has found instances of small scale trade between them. While such instances of cooperation are rare in the periphery they are present none the less. Goods moved between settlements can seemingly include virtually anything. From food supplies, to technological goods, or even weapons and ships. Frequently this trade needs to be protected by mercenaries as the periphery is home to countless organizations of pirates.

## View of the Empire

The Periphery's view of the empire can change extremely depending which settlement you happen to find yourself on or whom your speaking to. Some see it as a overwhelming tyrant which suppresses the free will of individuals and encroaches on their own territory. Where others see it as an aspiration to eventually rise to should their settlement grow large enough.