Lemasian Empire

Battle Emblem of the Lemasian Empire and Principality

Founded in 2671, The Lamasian Empire and its descendent state, the Lamasian Prinicpality, are a major Human nation and one of the two main players on the galactic stage.

Originally a major mining claim belonging to the Earth based Musk Industries corporation, a Great House of Sol, the expidition leader from Musk Industries, Charles G. Lamais secretly re-appropriated supplies intended for the frontier mining operations in order to construct a hodge-podge defensive fleet and declare independence from UNISET.

## Lemasian Military

The Lemasian Royal Navy Core (RNC) field a fleet designed for reliability and hardiness. Most Lemasian capital ships focus on extremely high damage frontal weapons with flexibility and defensive capabilities being supplemented by their extremely deadly Corvettes. Lemasian battle doctrine involves investing heavily into positioning and area control to force enemies into the line of fire of thier main weapons and landing a few decisive blows. Lemasian broadside weapons tend to focus on area control rather than outright offensive capabilities and act as a severe deterrent for any enemy corvettes attempting to approach from the flanks.

Lemasian corvettes are renowned for being some of the most effective in the galaxy and are predominently designed to suppliment the Capital ship's offensive and defensive capabilities, rather than act as an independent force.

The hardy and high-damage Authority corvette serves as the backbone of any Lemasian corvette deployment, providing a good balance of range, speed, damage and manouverability to suppliment the somewhat unweidly main weapons of the lemasian fleet. The Swordfish corvette with its high fire rate laser cannons is specialised at shooting down enemy torpedoes and corvettes attempting to approach the mothership and Vanguard corvettes deploy Kamimaru Effect barricades to incoming heavy weapons such as Capital Ship projectiles and even beams.

## Life In the Empire

Due to a combination of the abundance of rare earth minerals in the Lemasian region and the relative smallnesss of the region being only 7 inhabited star systems which are mere light years apart, Space travel and immigration are very cheap in the Empire. This has lead to an uncommonly strong sense of national identity among the Lemasian people, with ideas exchanged freely among citizens irrespective of distance.

The Lemasian people hold art and creative endeavours in very high esteem, and hold a particular veneration for the classical antiquity era of human history. Lemasian design and architecture exhibits strong influences from classical greek and roman designs.

Lemasian citizens enjoy a high standard of living and GDP per capita in the region is exceptionally high. The average Lemasian citizen is wealthy enough that they compare with a lesser nobleman in any other nation. In addition, Lemasian cities are designed with comfort in mind, including a substantial amount of parklands and public recreation facilities to ensure the continued desireability of living in the empire.

## History

### The Star Eater Era

In 2651 Musk industries’ survey arm discovers a system exceedingly rich in Rare Earth Minerals. A massive supernova in the region imbued large quantities of the substance in a cluster of systems mere light years from each other. This was the greatest single source of RE minerals thus-far discovered in the galaxy. Star Eater’s guidelines permitted 20 years of exclusive exploitation of a given find before any house was forced to surrender claimed lands to the ownership of UNISET to be leased at the government’s discretion to any or all of the great houses who wished to compete.

The Musk industries expedition leader, Chuck LeMais, recognised that the richness of this newly discovered region would destabilise the market, and however prosperous it might make him for the next 20 years, the days of rare earth minerals ruling the economy would come to an end once competition took hold. By this point in time gene therapy and advanced medical technology meant that an average aristocrat could expect to live in excess of 200 years, and such a brief moment in the sun could never satisfy LeMais.

In relative secret, Lemais re-appropriated UNISET support packages to kick-start local agriculture in his newly inhabited systems rather than the industrial colonies they were intended for. With necessities provided for locally, he used the remainder of the 20 year period to construct a relatively secret military fleet utilising the exceptionally rich mineral resources available at hand. Given the difficulties and expense of communicating across the vast distances between Earth and the newly founded colony, these activities were fairly easy to conceal, and at the end of the exlusivity period, UNISET were surprised to discover an active military fleet guarding the borders of the fully self-sufficient region. The Lemais region became the first fully independent human government since the 22nd century.

UNISET immediately attempted to take the region back by force, but the newly formed Lemasian Empire's warships proved more than capable of defending their territory. The original UNISET offensive saw the destruction of half a dozen UNISET and Lamasian capital ships before UNISET forces retreated from the region. Over the next 4 years, UNISET made isolated attempts to retake Lamasian planets near the border, but the conflict was never pushed too hard, for fear that escalation into a total-war scenario would prove disasterous for both sides. Despite the border conflicts, Emperor Lemais was happy to conduct limited trade with the old Earth government, and this being the easiest source of RE minerals available to them, UNISET were all but forced to oblige.

### The Lamasian Empire

In the early years of the empire, Lemais' share of Rare Earth Mineral gave it a stranglehold on the galactic market. With the borders secured and trade established, the fledgeling Lemasian Empire experienced an incredible economic boom.

During the reign of Lamais, his empire included 7 of the richest systems in known space, each of which were dotted with enough agriculture and mining operations to sustain themselves with no central government support. Lamasian citizens enjoyed a high standard of living, and due to the abundance of warp-capable spacecraft were able to travel at will from planet to planet. This freedom of movement promoted a strong sense of cultural unity in the Lamasian region, which contributed to its ongoing stability.

Day to day governance of any individual system was left in the hands of a feudal lord carrying the title of Prince, who swore fealty directly to Lemais.

### Reintegration with UNISET

When the Emperor Lamais died with no heirs in 2038, the Lamasian Princes found themselves at an impasse. Lemais was beloved, by the rich and poor of his systems alike, and as representatives of the individual systems that they governed, none of them could ascend to the throne without threatening to destabilise the entire region. In lieu of an official succession, the 7 lords formed a council, to which they each were accountable, and which made decisions by democratic process amongst the 7. So was formed the Principality of Lamais. Unsurprisingly, the Lamasian princes proved less capable of leadership than thier charismatic predecessor, but even as public approval of the royal institution suffered, the Lamasian region retained a strong sense of independence from the rest of human civilization.

Due to the relative personal expense of space travel in the UNISET ruled regions of human space, a cultural understanding of history from Earth has largely atrophied. UNISET colonists cannot afford the transportation costs required for non-essential items such as art or literature.

Space travel in Lemasian space, on the other hand, is so cheap and the distances so relatively short that art has been well preserved, largely acquired via trade with Earth in the early days of the empire. Lemasian culture has come to venerate the art and culture of old-Earth. As migration and expansion has continued in UNISET space, most of the best historians, cultural experts and fine artists find a home in the Lemais empire, whether by migration or by virtue of their birth and training. So legitimate is their claim to this history that even within the borders of UNISET space, many regard the Lemasian people as the true children of old earth.

In part due to this strong cultural link, a movement swells in UNISET space advocating for the re-integration of Lemasian territory into the fold.

The Lamasian princes, struggling to maintain stability on thier own and largely detested by the citizens they govern, yet reticent to step down from the personal power they each wield strike a deal. The Lamasian region is officially ceeded to the governance of UNISET. It is permitted to keep its warships as a ‘citizens militia’ provided that they provide support to peace keeping missions for UNISET.

The Lamasian Region is classified as a semi-independent region of UNISET, with UNISET laws and regulations applied. Borders are opened between UNISET and the Lamasian provence and the princes themselves are henceforth established as planetary presidents, though without election and immune from the term limits that usually accompany the title in UNISET owned areas. UNISET delegates are dispatched to every Lamasian settlement. Compared to the average UNISET citizen, Lamasian commoners are mostly fabulously wealthy, and the former imperial systems enter a boom period as exports to the rest of UNISET space open up.

Under the reintegration treaty Lemais is permitted to retain its own independent military establishments, however when required by UNISET, Lemasian forces must be dispatched to perform peace keeping and anti-piracy missions across all of UNISET space. In addition, only a maximum number of 7 Lemasian capital ships may be present within the lemasian borders at any time which theoretically impeded the Lemasian region from mustering a fighting force capable of staging a second seccession.

### The Northern Frontier Rebellions

The UNISET peace-keeping force dispatched to put down the Northern Frontier Rebellions in 2857 was accompanied by 3 Lemasian "Gilgamesh" class Capital Ships in accordance with the reintegration Treaty. The Hope Settlement on Sothoth II having long been a hub of underground rebel groups for more than a decade is destroyed by a Lamasian warship causing thousands of civilian deaths and finally quelling resistance in the Frontier after 4 years of conflict.

In the wake of the Frontier Rebellions and their violent conclusion Lamasian citizens are horrified and outraged. Though they have largely flourished under UNISET reintegration the senseless massacre of a group of people who want nothing more than the independence to live thier own lives free from the corruptive beurocracy of far off government officials strikes a chord with the Lemasian public and leaked images of a Lamasian warship firing its cannon at a civilian settlement only adds fuel to the flames. A narrative begins to form in Lamasian space that rather than a mutually beneficial arrangement as it had initially seemed, re-integration had been a con by UNISET to use the Lamasian people as tools to do thier dirty work.

Though it has never been confirmed how the footage was leaked, it is known that an information packet was shared with all planetary president’s including it along with a report of the entire civil conflict and it is theorised that the Lemasian Princes themselves orchesrated the whistleblowing campaign.

### The Principality of Lamais

By 2864, Civil unrest in the Lamasian Province has risen to an all time high. New information about actions taken in the quelling of the Frontier Rebellion continues to emerge and the populace are crowing for a return to independence. The former princes make thier move in 2865. The Lamasian fleet capital ships stationed around planets in the province turn to bear weapons on thier UNISET counterparts as Lamasian ships on anti-piracy missions abroad fire up thier Kamimaru drives and head back toward Lamasian space. The princes personally hail each UNISET capital ship order them to leave Lamasian space immediately. Every UNISET warship ship in the province is expelled without a single shot fired. The Principality of Lamais is reinstated without bloodshed and that is the end of it, for a time.

With the principality restored, the Lamasian lords took stock of thier situation. Re-integration had been a close brush with death for the Lamasian culture and the values it held. The growing ire for the tyranny and incompetence of Earth’s beurocracy continued unabated by the restored freedom of the Lamasian people. Where once the princes had been weak in thier leadership, they had now found purpose. The political machines of the Principality spun into action, sewing propaganda within and thier borders as well as throughout UNISET space: “Earth has been corrupted. The short-sighted beurocrats at EarthGov and disaffected nobility of the Great Houses do not deserve it. The Lamasian people are the true children of Earth”.

### The Second Seccessionary Conflict and the Campaign for the Homeworld

In 2871, 16 Lamasian capital ships, 40% of the entire Lamasian fleet and the largest offensive force ever assembled, depart the Principality without warning to take and hold every UNISET system between the borders of Lamasian space and Earth. 7 of the 16 emerge in the solar system. Rapidly overwhelming the ships stationed in defense in a vicious blitzkrieg, they hover ominously low to the surfaces of Earth and Mars. A message is broadcast to the citizens of each planet: Every Beurocrat and Nobleman will be surrendered to the Lamasian forces, or else the capital ships would fire thier AC-10 Rail cannons into every government beuraeu and great house headquarters causing untold collateral damage to the cities surrounding them. To the credit of the EarthGov Beaurocrats, most surrendered themselves willingly to save the civilian population. Hundreds of Noblemen from the great houses attempted to flee in thier personal transports, but were gunned down mercilessly the second they left atmosphere by Lamasian corvettes. Within 3 days, thousands of high ranking government officials and hundreds of noblemen were imprisoned in the holds of a pair of Lamasian Capital ships and ferried back to the principality.