The Star Trading Conglomerate, most of the time shortened to The Conglomerate, is or – to be more precisely – was an isolated nation located in the far west of known space, north-west of the United Star Commonwealth, with the Kingdom of Eirangard and its many vassals behind its eastern extensions, bordering the Star Kingdom of Persica and to some extent the Doradion Conclave, in what most would describe the outer rim of the second generation colonies, roughly 140 light-years away from the Sol system.
It consists currently of four fully colonized planets inside a stellar nebula with various supernova remains like neutron stars and matter clouds at its center. On one hand, this creates a beautiful green miasma traversing the region, on the other hand, it also restricts the amount and occurrence of habitable solar systems. So far only a few termini connections have been found leading in and out of the area, or connecting star systems in the region.
The governmental structure has an almost feudal character despite the fact, that the nation is officially a republic and it is also perceived by its residents in that way. The government officials are seen as bestowed with very high honor and even more ruling power over their jurisdiction. Big economic decisions are delegated and enabled only for families with ties to government officials, mimicking the liege system of the medieval period. To fail acting according to the moral codex coming with this high honor though is also the end of the career for an individual tasked with governing. This balance and the fact that the officials have to be reinstated every 5 rotations make the system a lot more flexible when it comes to personnel questions inside the government than is usual for quasi-feudal systems.
The society inside the nation has a rural character with smaller towns and communities being the center in most people’s daily lives while just a few very big cities are concentrating most of the economic ecosystem. This is a result of the rough start during the first colonization of the capital or “hometown” Dustcrown. Dustcrown itself is not a particularly habitable planet. It is located in a twin-star system and due to tidal forces locked in its rotation. Therefore one side is a hot desert devoid of life and the far side is an icy wasteland with huge glaciers and no sunlight.
All of this combined with an almost 800 year spanning isolation has made them harsh but curious people with a newly found thirst for other cultures and traveling, which they seem to enjoy more and more in recent years. Although merchants have already traveled successfully across human space, a quirk in the genome inherited by the "Dalaran-archetype" shared by most people born on Dustcrown or in the STC has significantly weakened their immune system. Travelers visiting stations or worlds outside the Conglomerate usually have to wear protective masks and gloves to keep their weak immune from collapsing under the attacks of foreign strains of diseases otherwise common and harmless to the local population.
Table of Contents
Etymology
“Dustcrown” was given its name in the earliest days during the arrival of the first settlers to the planet. The mountain ranges going around the whole planet looked like a small band of gold in their eyes, while the constant sand storms on the dayside of the planet give the impression of waving seas. To make matters worse the planet they wanted to colonize in the first place wasn’t even this one. A small bug inside of the navigation A.I. caused a slow but long-lasting drift in the wrong direction and with their former target system never reached, the sleeper ship originally sent during the Deep Seed Project kept going until its fuel was almost empty. The A.I. then apparently decided to exit FTL in this star system to at least save the passengers on board.
With resources being scarce due to the small habitable area, traveling long distances and trading was a necessary means of survival in the first 500 years of colonization. During this time the small band of settlers, which survived the first harsh years without supplies and no major industry developed, spread across the planet claiming valley by valley, rediscovering the planet and abandoned settlements all other the planet, reclaiming their culture and technology bit by bit.
Focussing on old traditions and lost home cultures, they kept the name “Dustcrown” to remember their ancestors, once arriving on this planet, off course by many hundreds of light-years without fuel or anywhere else to go.
The demonym “Dalarans”, which is how the people in the Conglomerate call themselves, is a fairly recent development, considering all of the nation’s history. It came up in the years following 3264 when a nationalistic movement gained track, empowered by a public outcry after the incidents caused after and in the Emancipating Pirate Revolt. The loss of their main shipyard, constant raids, and resulting food shortages triggered a major shift in public opinion and unified the population in a nationalistic way against the impending threat at the time. Strengthening the bond connecting the people from Dustcrown and the settlers from Dalarnas’ End, the name Dalarans was chosen to demonstrate the combined will to overcome the most challenging of threats as one, even as they were terrorized by a force from outside their reach. At first, the actually used name was “Dalarnans” but over the years the pronunciation was slurred and it became “Dalarans” which was easier to spell out.
Cartography
All five major planets of the Star Trading Conglomerate are situated inside a stellar nebula around a pulsar, the remains of a supernova that is theorized by astrophysicists from the Panepistimio Aeronautikon in New København to have happened 590 million years ago. The whole region can be roughly split up into four spheres of general influence, with termini bridges as their centers, with two of the spheres currently controlled by the Star Trading Conglomerate. The three earliest colonized planets are in the most remote areas of the nebula, furthest away from other major interstellar nations, whereas the newest addition to the Conglomerate’s area of influence is bordering the edge of the nebula functioning as a gate between the region and the rest of the currently developed galaxy. The stellar geography greatly prohibited a further and wast exploration of neighboring systems, as it mostly is fairly difficult to navigate through the dense interstellar gas clouds and as there was no reason to necessarily do so, with still more than enough space and resources on the currently colonized worlds to supply at least 20-30 billion more people. Most of the commercial and private travel inside the Conglomerates spheres is along the officially mapped routes from and to the planets and between Talisinkin and Pentue Tahdet. Ironically, nowadays the otherwise travel prohibiting nova remains in the area are used as reference points to guide traveling ships safely through the densely packed nebula. The Conglomerate's controlled territory is roughly shaped to form an elongated oval, spanning around 35ly on its long axis, but only about 16ly on its short axis.
Vindarnahem
The home of all fortune winds is the Conglomerate's core region, both historically and economically. Four of the five most prominent and developed planets as well as over 85 percent of its population are located here. The important planetary systems are loosely grouped around the Pentue Tahdet system, the region's termini bridge system, housing the TRADE DEFENSE FORCE's main military installation, and the industrial colony Siirandra. All major systems are connected via several strings of interstellar routes, cautiously mapped and surveilled by local navy forces, protecting the capital world of Dustcrown but also functioning as emergency response vessels for travelers in need, as the cartography of the nebula can damage or confuse ship-based sensors, endangering personnel and passengers en route through the region.
Dustcrown
Main Article - Dustcrown
The harsh and unforgiving home planet of the Dalaran people. Despite its limited capabilities to support large numbers of people it still is the economic and industrial center in Conglomerate controlled space. At the moment the sole functioning shipyard is near this planet, providing civil and military shipbuilding capabilities to the systems. The reason why is mainly, that Dustcrown has due to the historic development, the nation’s biggest industrial infrastructure. The fact that near the middle of the great desert on the sun-facing side of the planet, the crust consists of big chunks of silicon carbide plates, laying around in the desert does also help to ensure keeping big industrial complexes. This discovery in the early days of space travel sparked an industry hiding underground, using these plates to create light and easily accessible heat shielding and armored plating. Most of the civilian and military vessels operated by the TRADE DEFENSE FORCE use this material as layered shielding or for high-temperature machinery. Although as much as there is easy access to silicon carbide, there is also a lack of many heavy elements on Dustcrown. Especially in the early days of the colony, this slowed development down considerably. Most heavy elements today are imported via asteroid mining.
Dalarnas’ End
Main Article - Dalarnas’ End
Dalarnas’ End is a habitable moon around a perfectly yellow gas giant named “Marble”. Sulfur compounds in its upper atmosphere make it yellow and as there are no storms visible it almost looks like a small star, although with no visible light coming off. The moon itself is mostly flat with very few mountain ranges but many lush forests and wast swamps. There are few variations in climate around the moon, due to volcanic activity and a considerable greenhouse effect taking place. Its mediate temperature is around 298 K, resulting in tropical and subtropical climates from the poles to the equator. More or less equally distributed seas, oceans, and swamps provide an overall high humidity and excellent conditions for farming flora and fauna.
Due to the close proximity of the gas giant, ionizing radiation levels are relatively high. This created an ecosystem of plant life that has a natural resistance to cancerous mutations. This allowed for the development of a rich plant-based biosphere. Small crustaceans and insects are also quite common, larger vertebrates and more complex lifeforms on the other hand do not exist. The upper atmosphere is full of biosphere-related waste gases like the mentioned sulfur compounds and also complex hydrocarbons like carbon dioxide and methane. The air in large swamp areas is usually saturated with different gases that make it unbreathable for humans. Extensive drainage of swampland and deforestation has been shown to be effective in reducing toxic gases and making it habitable.
To allow for constant colonization, the ionizing particles need constant treatment and cleaning efforts. Several orbital cleaning operations are used as mobile platforms to collect and dispose these particles into the gas giant, away from the moon. With all these efforts still underway and successful, nowadays Dalarnas’ End is considered the agricultural heart of the Conglomerate, providing almost 90 percent of the food and most of its medical supplies. The moon was colonized in the first half of the year 3209, shortly after the first FTL capable Conglomerate ship left the then newly built orbital ship assembly near Dustcrown.
Børneholm
Main Article - Børneholm
The third planet suitable for colonization discovered by the Star Trading Conglomerate is an oceanic world with deep blue seas and 3 small continents with many more islands covering the surface. It was discovered after a small exploration vessel, the “Hieron of Syracuse”, took an attempt to catalog the outer planets and asteroids of the Dalarnas’ End system and found another possible extrasolar route through the stellar gas clouds to a neighboring system on the far edge of the solar system.
Once in orbit around the planet, legend says the crew of the vessel started to cry seeing the beauty of the planet for the first time. How much reality is to that story however is unclear, as some big marketing organizations quickly began to lure in mining executives and wealthy businessmen to invest in the development of deep-sea mining operations and grand hotel projects, shortly after the official colonization took place in 3290, using this exact story as a catch-up to attract customers. While Børneholm is undeniably a pretty planet, so are many oceanic planets which makes it not stand out particularly in comparison to other tourist destinations in the galaxy.
One of the more unfortunate elements, that make the planet less of an ideal tourist destination is the fact that there is no native life on the planet. The atmosphere is not yet ideal and still contains high amounts of toxic metals and compounds that would normally have been filtered out by millions of years of biological activity. The massive introduction of single cellular and multicellular life in recent years, started a promising development as oxygen levels start to rise and the oceans are already teaming with various ecosystems. Robust lichen and moss species are slowly terraforming the few large islands that allow for the creation of settlements. Help from atmosphere scrubbers and massive planting efforts have doubled the amount of oxygen and lowered the toxic elements to a degree, where survival without life support gear is possible. First conventional holiday resorts are in various stages of development, slowly replacing the habitat and underwater stations.
Pentue Tahdet
With the colonization of Børneholm in 3290, the government of the Star Trading Conglomerate feared that the rapid development and population growth that had happened in the years before might put too much of a strain on the existing planets in the near future, and therefore developed their first exploration vessel that was particularly designed for the discovery of terminus connections. As they only had heard from these phenomenons via captured transmissions from outside the nebula, the efforts were not very successful during the first two years of the mapping program. In 3293 however, the adjacent systems around the three already colonized were mapped and with this, the first successful terminus jump was performed by a Conglomerate vessel in the Pentue Tahdet system. As termini connections are often found in pairs, the second connection from Pentue Tahdet into another star system outside of known space at the time was found one year later. Since then the TRADE DEFENSE FORCE of the Star Trading Conglomerate operates several anchorage stations that form a mega station area that houses several million individuals in the otherwise uninhabitable system.
The yellow dwarf star’s largest satellite – a Saturn-type gas giant – is mainly used as a transition hub for ships leaving either towards Jättarnasmal or to the other colonized solar systems near the Dustcrown system. The planets gases and orbital rings are mined to extract the organic compounds and gases used in the spacecraft engines, making the main station around it a large refueling hub in the region.
Siirandra
Main Article - Siirandra
Siirandra is a former mining outpost in the fringes of the Pentue Tahdet system. It was colonized in 3300, in midst of the largest interstellar conflict in Conglomerate history before the reconnection, as the need for new resources and metals grew exponentially, so having a mining facility in such close distance to enemy forces was worth the risk. During the first years, it also functioned as a small logistics bridgehead for navy forces, effectively contributing to the wellbeing and affordability of the mining efforts. Despite it being an inhospitable wasteland with a thick, toxic, and non-breathable atmosphere, its population and industry have grown massively in recent years. It mostly consists of Methane and Carbon dioxide with small amounts of sulfuric compounds, therefore making contained habitats and environmental protection suits obligatory. Despite these weaknesses, the relatively high atmospheric density, pressure, and inherently inert nature have some benefits for human colonization as well. The pressure is high enough to not need special pressurized vacuum suits and habitats, easing construction and living costs. The inert atmosphere benefits the main industry of the planet, ship deconstruction, repair, and refitting. Large and otherwise fragile components can be stored without the need for proper containment, and welding can be done with only very basic equipment.
Since the failure of several export businesses, targeting large habitat ships, the landscapes on the planet's surface are dominated by small hills and valleys, containing dome cities of various sizes and shipwrecks littered around them, waiting to be deconstructed. The largest of them are half-completed hulls of the Onaila-class habitat ships, big as mountains and halfway sunk into the ground, with heights of up to 3 kilometers and stretching across entire valleys. The first domes have been built especially near these resting areas, employing entire communities only to deconstruct them and to extract the valuable resources for later usage.
Jättarnasmal
The giant's vale lies relatively far west to the pulsar and the central Conglomerate areas, creating a separate and new center of economic and logistic efforts around the Talisinkin system. In addition, several small mining colonies have been set up by various actors in the area, generating a great expansion of industrial capacity in the region in recent years.
Talisinkin
Main Article - Talisinkin
Discovered in 3340, the Talisinkin system is the newest acquired by the Star Trading Conglomerate and is also located nearest to the core regions. It has safe FTL entry points coming in from the systems around the nova remains which spurred large amounts of travel through the system directly from the beginning. Therefore the planet and the solar system are heavily patrolled, especially as the adjacent star systems around are still mostly uncolonized and only poorly mapped. The planet itself is a relatively cold planet with large ice shields on the poles and two moons while revolving around a classical g-type star. It is surely destined to have a bright future ahead being already the biggest commercial trade hub for international goods, also connecting the raw resources and farming products from developing planets and mining colonies in the whole nebula area with the high tech and consumer goods coming from the outer galaxy and the Conglomerate’s central systems. During the reconnection incident in 3370, it was the first planet contacted by the Alliance exploration vessel coming through the nebula where all previously mentioned planets are located.
The planet and solar system are a declared free trade zone with no restrictions or tariffs to import and export any goods imaginable. Access to the system is not prohibited, creating the largest de facto freeport in the western reaches of known space. The planet and its orbit are jurisdictions of the Star Trading Conglomerate, collecting fees for giving space on orbital stations or land to build up shop. This caused population size in the system to explode and grow from a few million to several billion individuals in only 10 years. Although travel to other star systems in the region usually requires a permit, the foreign and domestic ships in the solar system itself are generating so much traffic, that specific routes had to be established for safe travel and the orbital stations have to be permanently expanded to fit new hangar and docking space.
History
Main Article - Dalaran History
Journey and Arrival (2577 - 2680)
Unfortunately damaged navigational equipment and a failing emergency system caused the small colony ship "Argonautica" to wire off course for over one hundred years, leaving the original colonists - previously headed for a habitable world in a star system just to the galactic west of today's Kingdom of Eirangard - stranded on a barely habitable, tidally locked planet around two stars. The planet then named Dustcrown due to its massive deserts and mountain ranges.
With the landfall and simultaneous crash landing of most of the colonists in 2680, while the leading captain Leopold Stromsø died alone on board the ship. Only a relatively small percentage of the former 2500 colonists survived the first days, while the rest fought for their survival.
The First 250 Years (2680 - 2900s)
As excavations and archeological findings suggest, the first years and possibly decades on Dustcrown were dominated by semi-nomadic groups mostly living in natural caves or partly sheltered valleys. Since the colonists lost almost all access to technology during this time, there exist no written records from this time, only fragmented remains of dysfunctional tools and items left behind. It can be stated however early settlements grew over time and stable yet slow growth in population size occurred.
Several Dalaran folk tales are said to have their routes in this first time period from 2680 to the 2900s, the legend of the glowing cave men being the most well known. The stories tell of strange sightings in old caves where glowing people would live in the shadows, only eating fungi and lurking in the shadows. While individual stories differ quite far in their description of them, the aspects of glowing and cave-dwelling are consistent. Modern scientific research also showed that the native Dalaran population is able to temporarily host bioluminescent bacteria in their bloodstreams and skin cells, giving the myth a possible kernel of truth.
Colonization Era (2950s - 3040)
The oldest written texts in Dalaran history date back to the year 2950. As these texts strangely feature specific dates and timestamps in line with standard earth-bound practice, it is believed that the early colonists somehow managed to keep and operate time measurement instruments, how these looked like is unfortunately lost to history.
The oldest towns mentioned are København and Malmö two historic settlements underneath Dustcrowns present capital New København. As stated the two cities apparently served as capitals on a 5-year basis.
The following decades were marked by the first rapid population growth and the spread of new settlements and states, all across the habitable zone of the planet. Resource instabilities, political strife, and a lack of available technologies saw great conflicts erupt every now and then, also the first mentioning of a global religion the "children under the suns" fall into the years from 3020 to 3040.
Founding of the First Global Nation (3040 - 3149)
All throughout the 3030s into 3040 a massive war over resources took place on the planet, presumably killing as much as 30 percent of the population of the time. The end of the war saw the destruction of the two capital cities København and Malmö, as well as early expeditions into the sunward facing desert region, followed by jumps in technological development from salvaged equipment. The reconstruction, spreading of new machines, and unification of the city-states under one government in the following years initiated a first golden age on Dustcrown, allowing for rapid industrial expansion and exploration around the globe.
Early Exploration Period (3149 - 3264)
Several miners revolts and a general shift towards a totalitarian police state from 3149 onwards mark the end of the first golden age. Interestingly the first successful space program was also initiated at this time. Reengineered data cores and technology from the old colony ship Argonautica allowed for the reinvention of space flight. By 3209 the first orbital shipyard was completed and several interstellar exploration missions had already been conducted. Including the discovery of Dalarnas' End, the first planet to be colonized by Dustcrownians.
The new colony was established in 3210 and grew quickly, with especially politically more liberal people wanting to start a new life with more freedom and adventure than possible on Dustcrown. Dalarnas' End's high humidity and oxygen-rich atmosphere led to massive farming efforts being made, forming the colony into a vital calory and medicine producer.
Emancipating Pirate Revolt (3264 - 3266)
55 years after the colonization of Dalarnas’ End in 3209, the built-up civil rights movement tensions and developing cultural differences between Dustcrown and its colony sparked what is today known as the “Emancipating Pirate Revolt”. Liberal and emboldened by their almost independent lifestyle apart from Dustcrown, a strong female-led group – formed at first on Dalarnas’ End and later also on Dustcrown – demanded the reformation of governmental structures where women were heavily oppressed and discriminated against – only valued as caregivers and mothers – keeping the Dalaran people alive. As these traditions stemmed from the harsh history of the colonization of Dustcrown and were highly ingrained in the worldview of many at the time, the high lords of Dustcrown refused to speak with members of this movement and tried to use heavy law enforcement to end all protests by force.
The highly coordinated members of some militant parts of this movement just, on the other hand, had awaited this scenario and used the resulting violence to claim moral superiority and with that captured military equipment, especially space ships, with the biggest coup being the capturing of the orbital shipyard around Dustcrown. Once in control of the station and the ships tied to it, they used the new and powerful engines of heavy freighters built there to move the station out of orbit and even out of the solar system, forming the Independent Cloud Corsairs a few weeks later as a result.
Year of Dust (3265 - 3266)
This was a shocking moment for the aristocratic trade lords of Dustcrown, seeing their pride and mostly their invested wealth flowing away into the darkness. Seen as a great victory by many in the civil rights movements, even though they had nothing to do with it, it drove them to many victories in cities all over the planet, overthrowing the oppressive systems put in place slowly over many decades. Local councils were quickly formed in cities, where the protesters defeated the former government officials, declaring new people’s republics and the end of the aristocratic ruling.
The following weeks were marked by chaotic attempts to call out independent states and more violence in many cities. As structures became clearer and the majority of cities banded together to form a unified republic – again with New København as its capital – the former militant protesters came back and declared themselves the ruling force, saying they represented Dustcrown as well as the colony of Dalarnas’ End.
Without a suitable space force and no capabilities to produce new ships, but also not willing to bow before the militant group, the cities across Dustcrown and Dalarnas’ End were constantly raided for over a year, following the first refusal of paying tribute. This fateful year of destruction and ravaging famines, is the most impactful event in modern history for the Dalaran people, creating the governmental structure and parts of the culture seen in today’s society.
First Expansion Period (3266 - 3321)
In 3266 after the defeat of the raiders in a battle over New København, the second Nation of Dalaran, today’s Star Trading Conglomerate was established with representatives from Dustcrown and Dalarnas’ End.
The next years saw a strengthening of military force, mostly against outside threats and as a protection of trade routes, with navy officers highly respected by merchants and in the general public.
Also, new industrial and scientific space installations like the “Discus Aeternus” and others were built in the Marble and Dustrown systems gradually shifting more life and industrial capacity into orbit around the planets and into the solar systems. During this more or less peaceful period of around 29 years which also saw the discovery of Børneholm in 3290 – a new colony accelerating the growing wealth and technology of the Dalaran nation – trade and exchange became more and more sophisticated. Soon the planets depended on each other for their wealth as their industries became more diversified and entangled.
The Exodus (3295 - 3296)
The so-called Exodus event happening over a few months in 3295 and 3296 was a massive and largely uncontrolled private colonization attempt of two star systems discovered simultaneously in 3295. It also sparked several large conflicts with then-unknown and largely private vessels with STC orbital naval vessels, causing the government to lose control over the newly discovered systems, their only termini system, and also causing the largest interstellar conflict known in STC history.
The Corsairian Wars (3296 - 3321)
Directly following the Exodus, the conflicts known as Corsairian wars happened during a time span of 25 years, seeing large battles and the almost defeat of the STC, due to the navy's old and unreliable technology.
Using unconventional distortion tactics and reengineering of captured Cloud Corsair technology, in the end, the STC was able to reconquer their former termini system around the star Pentue Tahdet and defeat the Corsairian forces, forcing them out of STC space. It was not possible however to reestablish communications with the two colonies in the new star systems, as the termini bridges seem to be sabotaged by yet not fully understood methods. Experts speculate about the possible use of gravity mines or similar mechanisms.
Second Expansion Period (3321 - 3370)
The following years saw extensive stellar cartography efforts by Conglomerate science vessels, in search of new and habitable star systems, being able to compensate for the heavy losses made during the previous years of war. A deep space exploration mission in 3340 around the nova remains was finally successful. The found planet Talisinkin had almost ideal conditions, being only slightly colder than average with large icecaps as a result. Wast continents of tundra and taiga, with fertile valleys and glacier lakes, generated another yet smaller and cautious expansion and colonization process. The colony grew quickly with valuable resources and farming grounds being easily available. Despite the relatively long travel times between the planet and the other worlds, trade was done extensively, especially as many retro-engineered technologies from the conflict prior made FTL space travel easier and cheaper than ever before.
Reconnection and Modern Period (3370 - Today)
With the arrival of the Alliance termini exploration ship “Glooming Blossom” over Talisinkin in 3370, another chapter was opened for the Dalaran people, now a prosperous and advancing yet small star nation. Previously, their lack of technological development in comparison to any major galactic power had led to the general doctrine within the Conglomerate government to not actively attempt to re-establish communications with other major galactic powers. The fear was to be simply consumed by one of the more advanced and aggressive empires possibly waiting directly outside of their territory.
With growing impatience coming from within the Dalaran people and great economic possibilities seemingly achievable, the STC has slowly opened up in recent years, allowing more and more organizations, merchants, and everyday individuals to live, work, and travel in Conglomerate space. USC or sharaadi merchants, selling advanced goods and exotic items quickly became prominent all over the nation, especially since growing tensions and slowed commercial activities in the east showed the value of strong ties with neighboring countries.
New orbital facilities, ranging from habitat stations to defense systems and industrial complexes have caused the latest economic growth spurts, paired with large population growths on nearly all colonized planets. While internal factions are causing increasing and fierce debate over the political future and the STC's international political situation is still largely uncertain, today's Dalaran people are largely optimistic about the future and eager to explore new possibilities.
Government
Today’s government of the Star Trading Conglomerate is structured in a three-branch system, much like most other governments throughout the galaxy too. Where it differs from some however is the entanglement of economic success and political structure in the Dalaran society.
Every district, which consists of a 256th of the total population of one planet, is lead by two governing officials whose positions give them a wide variety of independence and power. These governing officials known as "Lower Granteurs" are the only officials directly voted in by their constituence. They usually split their representative and legislative influence, co-working in making decisions and giving permits out to individual citizens or families. While usually not permitted to actually pass new laws and guidelines in their districts, they delegate public construction and funding efforts. They also delegate a chosen individual - usually a member of one of the most important families in their district - to the “Union Council” named planetary parliament. With this delegation it is of crucial importance that even the slightest hint of nepotism or corruption is avoided, only highly educated or economically successful individuals are acceptable based on their actions and accomplishments. Each district also functions as a hub for any created goods and marketplace for the purpose of organization and delegation of trade goods, trying to ensure the efficient distribution of any devices or products. More details on that will be given in the Economic Structure section.
The planetary parliaments’ delegates are delegated into office for 5 years every term and work together in parliament as the legislative branch of the government, bringing in bills and voting to commit them to the Directorial board which usually confirms them. Above all, the Conglomerate's governments work with the understanding that the prime directive of political doctrines is the fluent organization and distribution of resources and goods necessary for a sustainable and lasting supply for its governing population. Reaching a post-scarcity society is the sought-after ideal.
The Directorial Board
The Directorial Board consists of currently 128 members with 32 members from each colonized planet. Every member was previously a member of a parliament and is voted into the board by the members of the parliament. His or her vice candidate will then take the free seat in the planetary parliament. The main function of this comity is the creation and enforcement of interplanetary and international government. It creates guidelines and laws which impact the whole of the Dalaran nation but rarely interact with the local planetary governing. It also oversees the military actions carried out in the nation, which range from patrols between space installations, destroying or capturing pirate raiding parties as well as granting protection permits for space-based businesses like asteroid mining and trading. The head of the board is directly elected by the population and has the title of Highest Chancellor of Commerce. One term in the Directorial Board is 5 years, and to be eligible, they need to have close relatives that are involved in at least one governmental logistic or production contract, that had by then lasted longer than a year. This criteria is used to show how honorable and law abiding their extended sphere of influence is. They previously also had to be in a local parliament for at least two terms to be eligible.
Since the number of colonized planets has grown in recent years the Directorial board also grew. With potentially more planets being colonized in the future, the board will grow even more. A fact that took several members of the board to bring forward a bill to change the way how the number of members is set up.
Although the Directorial Board usually does not interfere with local governing it nonetheless has the right to strike a veto and change a bill coming from a planetary parliament, which is then sent back to the parliaments to again submit it until a compromise is found. If this happens more than 5 times in one legislative period or if the matter of the bill affects more than the planet it came from and no compromise between the affected planets can be found, the Directorial Board then has the opportunity to decide via an internal 60 percent majority vote – backed up by an expert commission – what would be the best solution for the proposed bill. Since this process usually takes a lot of time, there aren’t many cases in which this procedure actually took place.
Deciding on a day-to-day basis how the individual laws have to be interpreted lays in the responsibility of the high and local courts. These independent bodies work in tandem with the legislative branch and consist of very experienced and highly educated lawyers and judges.
Interplanetary Trading Ministry
Main Article - Interplanetary Trading Ministry
The Interplanetary Trading Ministry is the most influential bureaucratic body in the nation with jurisdiction over most space-faring activities, organizing trade outside the planets and structuring the supplies for the Trading Defense Force, the nation’s orbital military branch. Only acting under the advisory of the Directorial Board, the ministry is dislocated from planetary politics and usually works outside local government. This limits its capabilities to work on the planets since it is not permitted to enforce laws or guidelines on the surfaces themselves but has to rely on local officials. Many activities have been moved into space installations, for this reason, giving orbital military branches easier access to resources and testing opportunities for new equipment.
Risk Evaluation Department
As a remnant from the early planetary republic founded in 3049, the Risk Evaluation Department (RED) is one of the oldest still operating departments in the Conglomerate's governmental structure. After the devastating civil wars, it was founded as a centralized attempt to prevent anything as devastating from happening again. The department is tasked by the government to set up education appropriate to teach children the dangers and inherent problems seen with organized religions in any form. Its officers are also tasked with the evaluation and observation of domestic and foreign organizations that are known to have religious tendencies. All private and public organizations have to register themselves at the department, declaring their goals and main objectives. If a goal is deemed to have a dangerous influence on the overall society, an organization is then declared not suitable for public consumption and effectively shut down or forced to move its operations out of the nation. During the evaluation process, department officials mainly focus on practices and potential doctrines or codexes that members have to follow in order to be a part of it. If structures are too strict and requirements for members are too curbing, restructuration orders might be given or the organization will not be allowed to operate in Conglomerate jurisdiction.
If foreign organizations are declared dangerous and incompatible with general Conglomerate society, an official warning document will be created and this organization will be put on a heavy restriction list, collecting any possible threads that seem dangerous enough to allow for a restriction of political and cultural exchanges. For example, organizations like the Church of Eos from the Covenant of Edom or the Holy Empyrean Church are viewed as on the most dangerous end of the spectrum, and actively practicing individuals are only allowed access if special declarations of containment and privacy are signed. For church officials, access is denied altogether.
Moreover, special certifications are handed out by the ministry to respected individuals or organizations with ties to the government - called kababrieva - that allow them to capture and confiscate any possessions of organizations that have been declared dangerous and illegal in Conglomerate territory. The gained goods can then be sold in government-run installations with a RED office, usually for a fraction of its market value. If the goods are considered not important for national security or of no significant value, they can be given to the finders and then are registered as private property found by its new owner.
Political Factions and Influential Groups of Interest
While local political parties are usually restricted to the planets they originate from, There are several interplanetary interest coalitions, that group together in the Directorial Board to form factions in the assembly, representing topics and points of view that affect the nation as a whole. While most of these organizations are loyalists to the STC government and how it is currently operated, there are some groups that seek a more radical change. The biggest factions sometimes have members accounting for a not-insignificant portion of the population eligible to vote. While they are not strictly political parties in the traditional sense, they very much influence and represent certain political views and goals.
Technocratic Republic Union
The biggest faction in the STC openly calling for drastic changes to the political and bureaucratic system. While usually not totally opposed to having an elected group of people to make up the government, certain wings inside the organization have called openly to abolish open elections altogether. Nevertheless, the central position is the abolition of the democratic voting system in favor of a technocracy, where the individuals ruling have to have at least a scientific doctorate in the field of government their work in, favoring experts from engineering, science, and medicine over career politicians. A central AI, overseeing officials' work and decisions, correcting beforehand when mistakes might have occurred is also often seen as a central element of the aspired system. Geoengineering, massive construction programs, and an extensive focus on technological development above all else, usually paired with expansion into other nations' territory as well as total annihilation of any unwanted groups like the Independent Cloud Corsairs or similar factions operating outside traditional legal boundaries have central positions in published manifests. Heavy automatization and usage of technologies often seen as dangerous if unchecked Von-Neumann probes, unshackled AI, or nanobots, for example, are being proposed to use extensively to achieve the faction's goals.
One very prominent example that has caused some controversy is the Union's plan to flip Dustcrowns rotational axis to turn the planet from a barely hospitable tidally locked planet into a standard garden world. The proposal called for the construction of large towers on both poles with very powerful fusion engines on each top, with which the axis should theoretically be flipped 90 degrees within a time span of about one hundred years.
Independent Restoration Front
Not large in numbers but backed by very wealthy libertarian individuals, the Independent Restoration Front's determined goal is the reunification of the STC with the Independent Cloud Corsairs, as they see the ICC as the rightful successor to the historic planetary government from before the modern state was founded. They view today's government just as oppressive as the old government which can only be fixed by another revolution guided by the values expressed by the ICC. They aspire to a direct democracy, where every decision has to be voted on by every eligible individual. Who is eligible to vote for different matters however would not be equal for every citizen. They propose a similar structure to what is believed to be used in the ICC, where your rank inside the military hierarchy determines when one is allowed to vote. Under their system, every citizen would get a basic rank that they can improve by reaching certain positions inside the society. While there would be a central group of people who would decide the general direction of the nation as a whole, in the faction's new state most districts and settlements would operate with relative autonomy.
Separate Way Initiative
While the Separate Way Initiative does not necessarily call for drastic changes to the Conglomerates governmental structure, it favors a more feudal style of leadership and also demands to cut off most outside influence and cooperation. They want the STC to reclude itself completely from the other democratic star nations, limiting contact only to repel incoming ships or conquer certain planets and systems if they should become vital for expansion plans in the future. Rumors that a potential coup d'état would be backed up by the Persican royal family and influential benefactors from the Eirangardian empire can not be officially confirmed but also not be dismissed.
To create a counterweight for the more transformative factions, most political parties and influential persons are banded together in their own organization, creating a network of connections and opportunities for those with higher goals inside official structures.
Loyalist Progression Assembly
The organization operates largely on non-political issues, creating space for a wide variety of political positions. Its only position is one firmly alongside the existing Conglomerate state. Otherwise, any political direction is present and welcomed, guaranteeing an open forum for discussions and conflicts, as long as they happen within the boundaries of the accepted political system. Roughly 76 percent of individuals active in the political and economic realm have an official membership or allegiance with the organization. Yearly sponsored fairs, festivals, and sporting events make up for a big portion of the organizations' popularity with the Dalaran people.
Military
Main Article - Trade Defense Force
Most of the ships in the Conglomerate navy are repurposed freighters, their cargo holds now filled with weaponry, heavy armor added to the outer hull sections, and – at least for the bigger ship types – forward-facing heavy axial guns are mounted at the front.
Most ships in the navy today are Emporos class-derived frigates, flying as convoy protection with freighters on their routes between the colonies and space stations.
Some common ship types seem to be:
The Hoplite-class Heavy Fighter
The Emporos-class Frigate
The Knarr-class Cruiser
The Miljø-class Drone Carrier
The Tera-class Corvette
The Kaapata-class Transport
For a complete list of known ship types see Trade Defense Force main article.
The Conglomerate's ground forces are also usually repurposed civilian designs, at least considering domestic inventions. Most military ground vehicles are derived from heavily armored mining machinery. Bladed discus launchers are used as standard firearms in combination with heavy crawlers that are capable of transporting troops through very rough terrain and have been seen to carry heavy weaponry. The main bulk of combatants however is made of robotic infantry, usually bought from and made by manufacturers located in the United Star Commonwealth.
Relations
Although not a lot of international treaties have been signed by the Star Trading Conglomerate, since 3370 it has established positive relations with several countries outside its region, for example with nations like the Star Kingdom of Persica or the United Star Commonwealth. Diplomatic and economic relations are especially tight with the latter, as advanced high-quality goods like robotic components, electronic systems, and certain weaponry are in high demand. Several large trade agreement contracts have been ratified since the early 3400s, opening the otherwise very protectionist STC market for investments from USC entities. Nowadays, several large investment and development funds, with strong ties to the USC are operating in the STC, commercial USC spaceships are a common sight, owned by merchants and corporations from both nations. In return, deep space mining operations from entities originating in the STC have become a more common sight in the outer USC regions. Most exports from the STC into the USC today are raw or refined basic resources mined and processed in the STC, where production costs usually are quite a bit lower than in the USC.
Naturally – as the Intersystem Alliance was the first major nation the Dalarans encountered in 3370 – they also established relatively neutral yet well-meaning relations with them, as well as with the Meritocracy of the Threshold even though both nations are quite far apart geographically.
At least trade agreements and generally neutral or productive but restraint diplomatic relations have been established with the Atlantean Empire, the Kingdom of Eirangard, and the People's Coalition. These openly autocratic or monarchic nations are viewed by Dalaran political analysts and historians with slight skepticism, as the open concentration of power into too few hands is believed to create inherent instabilities due to infighting and paranoia within the ruling families or parties. Their relative secularity on the other hand is seen as something positive, even if there might be disagreements on other political and cultural fronts.
Ships and citizens of the Migrant Fleets of Sharaad are a common sight in Conglomerate space as their roaming territories border in relative proximity. Many import-oriented corporations in the nation are joined ventures of Sharaadi and Dalaran merchants as it is currently not allowed for foreign citizens to conduct independent business inside conglomerate space. The Dalaran merchants profit greatly from these ventures as they get easy access to goods from other nations and connections to the vast Sharaadi trading networks. The Sharaadi merchants on the other hand can benefit from the enormous profit margins possible on the rapidly developing Dalaran market that almost accepts any product whatever quality the goods might have since any domestic products are often years behind in development. The deep religiosity of many Sharaadi can lead to problems on individual levels and they are not particularly liked in broader society but their image of being excellent merchants with wide-spanning trade networks and easy access to needed goods lets many at least tolerate them as quite reasonable and cultured people.
There have been no reported diplomatic relations with the Holy Dominion of the Empyrean See to this date. Whereat the least formal contact has been made through diplomatic cables to ensure the international recognition of their independent sovereignty, there is no sign for something similar with the Empyrean See. As the unofficial Conglomerate's doctrine of avoiding and suppressing organized religions is very strict on outside missionary work and social influencing of such organizations - primarily in regards to the nation's early history and the CUTTER-wars -, there is the widespread belief in governing circles that good relations and reasoning with people confined by a strongly organized religion like in the Empyrean See is simply not possible. Therefore trying to establish direct contacts is seen as a waste of resources at best and often more dangerous than anything else. The quite large distance between the two nations also helps to keep this doctrine although indirect contact has been made through relations with other nations in the eastern periphery, in general, and the Sharaadi specifically.
The Covenant of Edom is viewed in a similar fashion as the Empyrean See although not as direct a thread due to its relatively high distance even beyond the eastern reaches of the theocratic hegemony. Although the Church of Eos has been categorized as an organization of the highest danger category. Nonetheless, the Edomites' love for extravagant goods and rare jewelry, as well as anything luxurious and expensive, is seen as excellent export opportunities for small and middle-sized artisanal companies focusing on the international market. As long as the exchange of goods happens strikly outside of national territory.
Relations with the United Norcian Republic are a bit complicated at the moment since their cultural values differ wildly from those in the Conglomerate. However, there have been small trade missions going on with the quiet acceptance of both nations’ governments since 3415. A recent worsening in relations with the small star nation in the far east due to the so-called 'donut incident' in 3420 came as unexpected to the STC's government as is it unclear what exactly happened. Conglomerate officials only learned about this after a video message from a very upset Norcian ambassador reached an ITM communications cruiser in which the ambassador demanded reparations worth two times the nation's annual GDP and screamed something about dishonored citizens and a war. With the nations separated by at least several weeks, making a possible armed conflict very unlikely and laborious, and Norcian military assets mostly bound to their disproportionate amount of large stationary installations, the imminent threat was categorized as minimal and the message and its content mostly ignored. Seven previously decommissioned deep-space patrol craft however were brought back into service near the eastern border regions, just in case.
A growing portion of both the general STC population and politicians are convinced by allegations from still unknown origins that claim the Empire of Gaennaan does in fact not exist and is an attempt by the Interstellar Alliance and other large powers to keep outsiders out of the region where the Empire is located. Some rumors claim they have seen strange alien spacecraft in the northeast of human space and mysterious signals that come from unexplored regions of space.
Combined with a lack of possibilities for most people in the STC to travel these vast distances and not significant political relevance to communicate with a nation that far away, the Directorial Board has yet to make a decision if they try to establish any kind of political relations with the Empire and is de facto treated as non-existent. If there are operations planned for proving or disproving the claims of alien life and strange signals in the area is unknown.
Contact with southern states like the Ysthian Federation or Altaari Union in the far south and west of the People's Coalition has been sparse if non-existent. The sparsely populated and even less charted regions in between the STC and any nation further south than the USC make travel extremely complex and time-consuming if not outright dangerous.
The Star Trading Conglomerate is also complaisant towards the Interstellar Commission for Law Enforcement and Security, even though there exists no official regional office in STC space. Oversight and activities of INTERSEC are therefore very limited and sporadic, especially as local jurisdiction is not clearly set up and neither USC nor Persican based INTERSEC offices are specifically designated to administrate STC space.
Economy
Economics inside the Conglomerate are heavily focussed on differentiation and interdependence between the planets and systems. As with almost any of the macroeconomic structures, interdependence is partially favored and kept alive on purpose to maintain full control over the expanding nation and its planets.
Economy System Functionalities
The economic and taxation system in the Star Trading Conglomerate revolves around a few principles:
Trading goods are tax-free, although a permit is needed for every good and this license costs monthly fees.
Trading services require no permits but are taxed.
If a combination of both is used, only the tax is lowered to the percentage the service takes:
low price good but expensive service = low tax
high price good, low price service = higher tax
The permits for trade are handed out by the local district and/or state governments. Based on either immediate need by individuals or companies or through state-owned contracts for development and construction projects, special contracts with guaranteed income and a stable customer base are sometimes set up for public auction.
All produced products have to be declared and integrated into the official market network, allowing easy access to all producers. Premade contracts between customers and producers are only allowed to cover 50 percent of the annual production of the producer.
Production usually is not limited to permits. To sell them beyond the local market, on the other hand, requires a trading permit.
Producing a good at two different locations at a time requires a trading permit too.
Settlements with less than 1000 inhabitants are exempted from the official market restrictions and only need to declare their goods if they are sold outside their settlement.
These settlements are automatically declared as special economic zones and only individuals who are registered in the specific zone are allowed to trade freely.
Merchants can apply for special permits to import goods into these settlements.
Individual's income from employment is taxed based on a rank system with gradually increasing percentages as the income differs from the median income to a maximum of 50 percent.
The collected taxes are used to provide all basic services like public transportation, maintenance of public infrastructure, healthcare, unemployment insurance, and pensions.
International Trade
One of the more notable trade goods that are exported into other nations outside the immediate region of the Conglomerate is the Lysuten Gemstones. These crystals are transparent minerals with bioluminescent bacteria colonies in them, causing them to glow in eerie lights. The rarest colors and purest stones are exchanged for record prizes and a sought-after component of luxury items in various other nations. The quite common gemstones on the dark side of Dustcrown are a unique occurrence that makes them a rare trade good that contributes a significant portion of the nation's income of international currency.
This income is often used to buy much-needed technology and blueprints to create products for the Dalaran people that can be compared to foreign goods. Especially high-technology items are in high demand, although domestic products usually still lack behind in quality and capability. The other source of income for the Conglomerate is the export of edible delicacies and locally produced raw materials, as the rich asteroid fields and farming colonies make large quantities of easy to produce bulk cargo available at relatively low cost. The only highly refined product that is found to find a market outside the nation, are processed sheets of thermal shielding, naturally occurring on Dustcrown in its raw form and then refined to be used in spaceship hulls.
With the partial market opening towards the USC, international goods became a more common sight in the STC's domestic economy. The import of advanced electronic and robotic components resulted in a near market dominance of these foreign products on the Dalaran markets. While exports of raw materials, purified elements, an basic chemical molecules has increased drasticly, some fear an increase of USC influence, as several large corporations have begun to create vast investment funds, increasing their presence on the otherwise rather protected STC market. Next to domestic designs, the reliable and robust USC freighter designs have also become a common sight, as merchants from both nations enjoy to use them as flexible yet capable trading vessels.
Habitat Ship Trade
Anticipated as one of the next big things in international trade by the Star Trading Conglomerate, as the reconnection event happened, the Conglomerate established a national manufacturing venture, where the building and resource capacities of companies from across the nation were bundled together in a massive shipyard in an asteroid field near Siirandra. The corporations managed to build up a factory and the necessary supply lines able to support the production of 12 Onaila-class habitat ships per standard earth year. These massive ships with 15 kilometers and 4-kilometer wide habitat cylinders are able to support up to 500.000 people at maximum, creating large logistical hubs wherever they are located. As the export of any goods with Conglomerate technology was nearly non-existent from the beginning, and tech used tech lacked behind generations of what was considered standard in the international market, only a few orders for these ships were coming from outside the region. The first 6 ordered and delivered from developing worlds and mining colonies inside the Conglomerate. Other than this order, not even 10 more were ordered and built, proving the enterprise a huge failure and loss of capital for individuals and corporations.
The mining colony of Siirandra, located in the same system as the shipyard, became basically the center for ship break-up and scrap works. Several half-finished hulls are in orbit or on the planet's surface, waiting to be salvaged and repurposed. As the production capacities for these ships have been scaled back to only two of them per year, many of the construction jobs shifted from construction to deconstruction jobs. Since then, the colony has established itself as the place in the region to get almost every ship component for a little prize, as the second-hand trading and modification business thrived under the friendly and sometimes very loose regulations.
Planetary Infrastructure
The district structure mentioned earlier in the government section – which is intertwined with the economic structure of the Conglomerate – led to the creation of typically one major city per district, which also works as a commercial and social center for the region. All big physical markets, logistic centers, and businesses are usually located there with the exception of businesses solely focussed on services or small-scale consumer applications like restaurants, small grocery stores, recreation, healthcare, etc. this creates a two-way system of resource flow, first from the rural areas into the hubs and the processed goods later back to the people living outside the big cities. The big cities or districts are then connected by a global distribution network where supply and demand generate a continuous flow of resources providing stable supply in every connected part of the planet. At the end or center of each global network then is the starport. These structures and areas consist of the usually largest logistic center on the planet and many landing and starting pads for countless transport ships from and to the planet. These starports are usually not suited for passenger travel, but solely consist of row after row of warehouses as well as some military supply facilities. Due to their pollution, need for space, and general noise creating nature, a typical starport is located way outside a major monopoly region or big settlement, depending on the size.
Orbital living structures and asteroid mines
Big orbital housing and trade hubs around planets like Dustcrown or Børneholm are widely considered the pinnacle of civilian space technology inside the Star Trading Conglomerate. Growing for over 150 years the now by far biggest of these structures is the “Discus Aeternus” around Dustcrown. In its current form, it is segmented into three separate and independent stations orbiting at 1500 km height above the surface, forming a partial complete circle. Several kilometers long metal rods with positioning beacons on each station are used to keep the stations in precise order relative to each other, ensuring a very high level of safety in an otherwise sometimes very crowded and messy orbit.
Considered to house some of the most luxurious apartments and even houses, the stations around Dustcrown are a number one spot for high society members and wealthy individuals in general, providing everything from constant fresh supplies of the best foods and beverages the nation has to offer, to most comfortable personal transportation and even lush gardens on the station. The orbital rotations and automatic light regulation systems imitate a ca. 24 hour day, much more preferred by those individuals than the sometimes difficult to comprehend nonstop sunlight on Dustcrowns surface.
In addition to the luxurious living stations around the most important planets, there exist a plethora of smaller yet still massive stations in all colonized star systems. While the smallest of these stations are merely more than orbital warehouses with populations in the low thousands, the biggest stations often have whole cities and artificial environments in them, with parks, wildlife and sometimes even small mountains. They usually function as hubs for smaller stations near them, with large docking ports, vast storage facilities and recreational districts, allowing visitors to enjoy free time activities. They have developed a similar function as the district cities on the planets, although they aren’t yet integrated into that specific logistic structure. At this point, they all fall under the jurisdiction of the interplanetary trading ministry, which works directly under the Directorial board and has gained considerable political influence in the past 50 years.
Guiding orbital traffic and commercial activities around the major colonized planets in Conglomerate space are the so-called Vallutrym space stations. They function purely as major logistic hubs, delegating all incoming and outgoing interplanetary transport. Their general structure usually consists of six large towers that are placed in a ring formation as a central structure with dozens of mooring segments going out from there. They also feature vast storage capacities for any good that is destined for the individual planet they are placed around. The systems defense fleet is usually stationed there to defend these very valuable and critical stations from any outside threats that may occur. In recent years some of these stations have been upgraded by additional commercial modules ranging from office spaces to small manufacturing plants.
Science and Technology
Only after a small space industry was established in the early 3200s and asteroids could be exploited, many “old” technologies like fusion reactors and DMRs could be reinvented/ rebuild from old blueprints and reverse engineered artifacts salvaged from the first colony ship. Compared to other star nations the technologies used by the Conglomerate seem either outdated or quite strange since the development was hindered for many years, and due to a lack of heavy elements, other solutions were needed to be found. Technologies regarding energy harvest, transmission, or storage are highly advanced, due to the necessity of widespread and highly efficient energy transfer on the Dustcrowns surface. Also, particle and plasma physics are uncommonly advanced for a society with this long of a “sleeping” period in terms of technological development.
FTL technology and knowledge about the termini alike, stem from the “Argonautica” and from captured transmissions, coming to the nebula and being received by the antennas of the ship shortly before it crashed onto Dustcrowns surface respectively. With Dustcrown being approximately 200 ly away from the centers of human activity, the news about termini discovery had reached the ship around the year 2927, just months before it crashed after the last drop of helium-3 was burned in its low powering reactor. The AI of the ship was long dead at this point, only redundant secondary systems were still working consequently helping considerably to reduce the energy consumption and keeping the ship’s systems online for that long.
Civilian Transportation
Winged hybrid airships are usually the most common type of transportation seen in rural areas in the Conglomerate. While monorail systems connect the major cities and industrial districts, airships often take the role of giving personal and cargo transport between small towns and communities, leading towards and from bigger cities. Most designs feature a cylindrical elongated main body with a flattened bottom. A pointed front and end section gives them an almost birdlike body structure. In combination with small delta wings and jet engines near the tip of these, the bigger versions are sometimes called “flying penguins”. With their dark-colored top surface, covered in solar cells, and brightly white bottom surfaces, for some the resemblance seems almost striking. Although penguins are not native to Dustcrown or any of the colonies, knowledge of these birds was recaptured after Argonautica’s data core was recovered and soon they became a very popular feature in Ikarian pop culture. In 3404 a request was made to bring in a small colony of these birds to Dustcrown where they would live near the glaciers all around the planet.
Hook shuttles are a staple in the civilian orbital transport system. As their name suggests, they work in tandem with orbital skyhook systems. These skyhooks rotate around a planet and also around themselves with their ends reaching into the atmosphere and high into orbit. They are usually up to a few thousand kilometers in length and pretty massive, each skyhook large enough to transport a large passenger transport or cargo transport out of the planet’s atmosphere. There are some variations in size, with the largest able to carry many thousands of tons into orbit and smaller variants only suitable for smaller individual personal transportation vessels. This provides very low-cost access to space even for most normal people, enabling a vast travel, holiday, and recreation industry across the planets and in space. Their rotations around the planet and themselves are matched in a way that the ends of the skyhook systems seem to stay still for a moment when at their lowest and highest points. This allows for easy access and departure from the constantly rotating system.
Energy Infrastructure
Living on a tidally locked planet has some advantages after all. The very consistent energy flux onto the planet helped the Dalaranian people to develop quite impressive solar energy collection technology. big solar farms cover the underground mining operations in the sun-facing desert regions on Dustcrown, shielding them from the heat and providing constant high electrical energy. Large energy-transportation grids get energy from these farms to the big cities near the terminator, providing many gigawatts of power without the need for large power storage facilities. This system was crucial in the early development of the nation, as fusion technology wasn’t available yet and many heavy elements were rare. Nowadays the planets aren’t dependent on this technology anymore, especially the colonies with normal rotation periods, but on Dustcrown these farms still make up for about 75 percent of the total energy production on the planet. Orbital facilities also profit massively from this technology as the solar collection is the most affordable way of energy production for most stations in space and relatively robust without the need for constant maintenance.
Weapon Technology
Besides pretty standard small laser and particle lance weapon turrets, there are some homemade weapon types around in the Conglomerate that are used by their military space forces. The three most prominent inventions are the hypergole-pyrogel cannons, the experimental plasma lance, and the kamikaze-style plasma blade array. The hypergole-pyrogel cannon uses a chemical combination of hypergole reacting liquids that are mixed and stored at cool temperatures and very high pressures. Once they are shot out by pellet guns a second, smaller catalyst round is fired directly after it, which starts an exothermic reaction in the solution after a beforehand determined time span. After the reaction started a 2300 K hot cloud of sticky burning chemicals expands in the direction it has been shot. This can be used to spray enemy ships, where the liquid then sticks to the outside hull and slowly burns itself through the ship, or as an active defense system, where the liquid is sprayed over a wide area and then lighted, effectively creating a burning barrier in space which catches incoming missiles of fighter craft. The drawback with this is obviously that the own fighter usage is prohibited as well.
The experimental plasma lance is basically a particle beam weapon. A small antimatter bomb is exploded outside the main chamber system and the so-created plasma is held in place by a large magnetic field created by the ship around it. Through one small opening and supported by a magnetic projector array, a continuous stream of plasma is then ejected in the desired direction.
The plasma blade array is a built-in system of the Tera corvette, which creates a confined blade of plasma and is used to cut through other ships by ramming them.
Design Philosophy
Civilian Design
Flowing and smooth lines, incorporated rounded bodies and ergonomic handles are trademarks often shared by industrial goods designed and produced in the STC. While they often sacrifice compact designs for certain style elements, they are usually constructed to be as comfortable as possible, compensating for their larger sizes. Ground vehicles designed by Dalaran companies for example, often have more volume and mass relative to products from other nations, while incorporating a certain style philosophy to the fullest, even if it means that their technical capabilities have to be reached with more massive machinery.
Spaceship Design
Interestingly this is only partially true for spaceship and military designs. Even though they often feature design elements similar to civilian designs, they usually compensate for their larger size and mass by reducing the ship's overall density. Unpressurized sections, partially open hull segments, and separation elements more akin to bare struts and minimalistic frameworks give most designs a certain unfinished or unrefined look, even though their capabilities often are just as optimized in their field of use as others. The drawbacks are, that most ships of Dalaran design are not able to descent into planetary atmospheres very fast, and relative to other military vessels they sometimes lack the close combat defense capabilities of foreign designs. Their design doctrines fluctuate between very long-range concepts, keeping enemies at bay and ultra short-range tactics, capturing and disabling targets sometimes even via direct contact maneuvers.
Demographics
Being a nation far outside most populated areas of humanity and also only having proper contact with other nations for about 50 years, 99.85 percent of the population are native Dalarans. 0.14 percent are Sharaadi merchants with permanent residences, mostly on one of the many freeports partially run by them. The rest - making up about 0.01 percent of the overall population, roughly 1.2 million individuals - are people mainly coming from the NIB area. Most of them live on Talisinkin, as it is the Conglomerate's most accessible and well connected planet. As religions and the practice of one is illegal in the STC, there is officially no person living in Conglomerate space that is aligned with one of the many religions present in various other nations.
Sozioecologic Minorities
“Shaders” and “Dirt Gliders” are mostly interchangeably used terms for poor persons or subcultures who are forced to live in housing without direct sunlight or work in jobs underground and sometimes live there too. They are usually looked down upon by different portions of the population. Especially the people living most of the time underground suffer from different symptoms due to the lack of natural sunlight like growth problems, a surprisingly high percentage of albinoism, and sometimes even very limited social skills. Individuals from this social class have been seen to use bioluminescent skin covering much more often and more intense variations as in the rest of Dalaran society.
“Marble Kids” is a term used by certain subcultures on Dustcrown for anyone who was born in one of the colonies. At first, it was a reference to mostly farmers from Dalarnas’ End, who were more libertarian and progressive than most people on Dustcrown at the time. They sometimes were seen as weak and not as strong-willed since they lived in a more hospitable environment with green fields, woods, and generally warm but stable and more pleasant climate.
Culture
Spoken Languages
Anglodanish is a mix of modern versions of Danish, Swedish, and Norse with English influences stemming from the long-lasting globalization process on earth in the early third millennium. It is the first official language in the Star Trading Conglomerate and spoken as their first language by 53 percent of the population with nearly every person in the nation having at least basic knowledge of the language.
Anglobaltic emerged in the 2300s after the cultural heritages in the baltic region mixed together over time. Influences from Lithuanian, Latvian, and Polish vocabulary and grammatics dominate the language mix. It is the second official language in the Star Trading Conglomerate and fluently spoken by around 47 percent with most Dalarans understanding it at least.
The second biggest national language is Neofinnish. It is a remix of Finnish and Estonian and had a great influence on naming customs and certain phrases in Anglobaltic and Anglodanish. Its greatest influence however came with the cultural heritage of the early Neofinnish speaking settlers, as they made up roughly 30 percent of the surviving population. One of the earliest written texts are recited Finnish and Estonian poems or humouristic proverbs.
Coastenplatt is a fairly old and obscure language present in the southwestern regions of the Danish peninsula and on northern central Europe along the north sea coastline. In a cultural revival, by local groups living in the area, the language was reinstated and used again in private environments. After the emigration, it continued to be used by the settlers until this day.
Religion
Due to the bloody history with the religious cult of the Children under the Suns, organized religion is seen as a relic of the distant past, with no place for something like this in modern society. Even though the remains of folklore-like habits and originally for religious purposes utilized holidays exist in the Dalaran culture, a sincere mentioning of something resembling actually organized gatherings for faithful purposes is discarded as dumb or unenlightened and archaic.
Cursing in the name of the two suns which Dustcrown orbits – Helios and Baldur – is nonetheless a common theme, as well as sayings of wisdom that include being nice to the suns or following the guidance of the winds, with those winds sometimes having personal attributes that give semi-deity status to them.
General City Layout
Big cities in the Conglomerate are usually very densely populated. The architectural style is mostly consistent with the way cities were traditionally built on Dustcrown. Due to the fact that Dustcrown is tidally locked, all residential buildings usually face their windows in the direction of the sun. This results in mostly triangular-shaped buildings with two sides facing the suns and one in the shadow. They are typically cladded in bright white stone, reflecting and refracting as much sunlight as possible. To avoid too many dark spaces in permanent shadow and to ensure enough living area exposed to direct sunlight, the biggest cities are usually built on mountainsides, climbing along with them in multiple levels stacked on top of each other. This creates very high and dense city structures, where one can barely tell apart individual buildings from streets and promenades. Each level has also parks and plants planted all around the open spaces and public areas. Nonetheless, it is unavoidable that there are some buildings and windows facing away from the sunlight. These are usually built very late in a cities development as a means for the housing of rapidly growing populations in many areas. These buildings are often very cheap and mostly inhabited by the poorest members of Dalaran society since anyone who can afford them tries to get an apartment or house with at least one sun-facing window. To make life in the cities on Dustcrown a little bit more pleasant most bigger cities are also built in a way that disperses the winds around them or slows them far down, creating only light breezes inside the cities. They are strong enough to exchange the air and prevent warm and moist climates that plaque other cities on other planets but are light enough to make normal activities possible without looking like after days on high seas.
Furthermore, every settlement, township, or city on Dustcrown has at least one central bell tower at or near a central place. These towers are used not as religious buildings but for public timekeeping measurement, as the orientation via day and night cycles is impossible. The bells ring with specific melodies at intervals what is supposed to be earth standard time of 8:00, 12:00, 16:00, and 0:00 respectively. Although, as the connection between Dustcrown and Earth had been lost for such a long time, earth standard time has only been reestablished again in 3410 as a delegation of diplomats traveled to earth and realized that Dustcrown standard time was offset to Earth standard by six hours and forty-three minutes.
On planets like Dalarnas’ End, Børneholm, or Talisinkin which are not tidally locked, these dense and leveled city layouts are used in a similar way, despite not being oriented in only one direction but radially outwards without residential buildings in permanent shadow. This architectural style lets the biggest cities dominate their surrounding areas as high and bright pillars of civilization in the mostly still uncolonized nature of the colonies.
Literature
“The savings of princess Mysonokis” is one of the most known short poems in the Conglomerate. Written in 3265 it is considered the most influential piece of literature with a political context in the early years of the second interplanetary republic. This may appear strange to people from other nations who have read the story since it is filled with cliches and generally very strange characters who do not seem to be representative of the Dalaran culture at the time. Another reason why it may appear strange to historians is the fact, that it was written in the fairly unusual language Coastenplatt, only actively spoken in a few districts near the Fjorden Sea, an area in the south of Dustcrown consisting mostly of mountain ranges and the biggest ocean on the planet.
The picture becomes clearer if one takes into consideration that old archive material reveals that it was actually a language that was spoken by the original captain of the Aeronautica Leopold Stromsø, whose family came from the northern regions of continental Europe. Also, some of the first surviving colonists spoke the language although more in an informal environment since it wasn’t as useful in the communication with settlers who did not come from the specific area where the language originated from.
The story itself is not particularly original in its own right, telling the tale of a young man who decides to follow the call of rescuing the daughter of a rich lord, captured by pirates. In the story, the lord promises whoever is successful in rescuing her a valuable prize and inherits his considerable wealth once he dies. Unsurprisingly a lot of people respond and a wave of search parties roams the country in order to find her. Following a string of clues, the hero finds the pirate’s hideout and they sneak inside.
Once reaching the supposed place of her capture, Ralf realizes that the princess – whose named Mysonokis – isn’t actually held captive but leads the group of pirates into doing her bidding and raiding towns in order to get her items she desires. Her character is very broadly only defined by her greed and her spoiled worldview, causing all this trouble out of sheer boredom.
The painted picture of her and the societal problems it implicated had a major impact in transforming the central cultural values into their modern shape, by providing an easy to dislike enemy figure which represented every major social problem at the time in an overly exaggerated fashion.
Since then being called “a real princess Mysonokis” basically means behaving like a spoiled brat who is generally unlikable and both ugly in character and appearance.
A shortened version of the original soon became very popular amongst opposition parties.
The following text is the shortened poem version in its original language:
"Nich lang ists her wähn,
Da lag an een Waldstück
Ein Acker mit een Deern.
Det Deern wör echt geelig,
So eggten alle Kerl,
Doch wiet de Swaarte wugg,
Kam niemand an et ran.
Eens Dags wör et futsch und keener weete wo,
Nich een inkelter Wink,
Lag up det Ackers Stroh.
Kuum tobt de Vader schrickelk,
Schrevt rut in all Lannen,
Da ielen mennig Mannen,
To em an sien Hand.
He schickt se all wieder,
Mennig ganz wied wech,
Sien stohlen Dochter hum to söken,
Ach wat Pech, wat Pech.
Dat sökt de wilde Koppel,
In den Höhlen aller Lüüd,
Doch blot nen dummen Jung,
Verslaans up eenen Toorn.
Hoog boven kann he sehn,
Wo Rover vööl hingahn.
Mit Kisten vuller Siede,
To utkomen hörs Drömen.
Dat Glitzern in dat Kieker,
sind eenfach doch de Sporen,
To ’n Versteek de gollen Daam,
In doch so misselk Klemm.
Deep unnern in de Kamers,
In Siededook gefangen,
Da liggt oh arme Holde,
In ewigem Verlangen,
Hat nich genoog bekomen,
Von de Rovern hörs Mannen.
So windet se sük schrickelk,
Hör Frevel doch so machtig,
Dat rennt de dumme Jung,
To ’n Vader as de Störm.
Do schamt sük Lord ewig,
För sien Dochter schannelk.
De Jungskes weert Pries,
Ist nu up Lords Geheiß,
De Smuck de Dochter gollen,
Gehat van alle Kanten.
Rovt se det Volket Siede,
Makt se sük mennig Feinde,
De komen se to halen,
Noch vör de token Mörgen.
Geknüppt an eenem Siedenducht,
hangt Dochter nu in’d Sünnenlecht,
Bold eengedeckt in Vögelschiss,
Oh Mysonokis, Mysonokis."
Another example of very influential literature in the dalaran society is the psychiatry treatise “Essay on the psychiatric effects of long-term exposure to missing or artificially substituted circadian rhythms” by Dr. Samuel Nyberg, written in 3320. The psychiatrist from Dalarnas’ End was one of the first to study the whole complexity of common psychological phenomenon in dustcrownians and link them to the planet’s special environment. In the essay, he describes why people born on Dustcrown often have very resilient psyches but sometimes also tend to have the exact opposite in the most severe way. 800 years of separate development obviously weren’t enough to change the biological aspects too much But Dr. Nyberg concludes that most people either are very resilient to psychological stresses being able to endure much heavier traumatic experiences or develop severe mental problems after even slightly unpleasant events in their lives. The essay became one of the most influential pieces of modern medical literature in the treatment and examination of colonization efforts on subterranean worlds.
Trends and Fashion
In modern Dalaran society, a subtle showing of status and prosperity is much more important than showing ostentatious wealth. Small metallic replacements – usually polished to glisten in the sunlight- and fine woven clothing laced with filaments of rare elements are a common theme in Dalaran high society.
In recent years, the deliberate infusion of bioluminescent bacteria to create glowing patterns in one's skin has become very popular. Special implants are even used sometimes to let the bacteria flourish in designated areas on the body, enhancing the glow there and reducing unwanted glow in others. Over time, these ornaments were also relegated to high status and influence as the necessary operations are expensive, and the bacteria a rare depending on the species and color they have. Due to the intertwined nature of economics, political influence, and status in the Conglomerate, certain colors like yellow-golden and purple glow are only available to people with very good connections to the political leading class and the richest families.
For internationally active individuals, wearing protective headgear and gloves is mandatory, as the generally weak immune system of individuals born in the STC would otherwise likely cause serious problems. In efforts to fashionize the helmets and gloves, glowing stripes and accents - imitating the popular glowing tattoos - are often seen decorating the items. The colors used often reflect the respective colors used with the tattoos, keeping their status visible even while covered up.
Dishes and Eating Culture
Fish and rice are considered staple foods by the people in the Conglomerate. They are usually mixed with a great variety of either local vegetables or spices and appear in many traditional recipes. Dishes made out of wheat or other sorts of grains are a relatively new phenomenon since they did not grow as well in the soil of Dustcrown and only a few samples had actually survived the first landing on the planet. With the expansion and colonization of the other planets, however, these types became more common and the variety of dishes has only grown since then.
One of the more notable trade goods coming from Dalarnas’ End – next to massive amounts of food and medically used molecules – are “Marble Olives” as they are called by the local population. They are small, yellow, salty fruits that are growing natively on the moon. They are considered a local delicacy and pair very well with salmon or tuna. With fish being the primary source of protein in most of the regions, the most common dish is salmon made with marble olives on rice. There are some variations resembling sushi from Earth but most food critics would not go as far as to compare them as equal.
Emerging in 3375 shortly after the reconnection with the rest of the galaxy the company “Møbius Donuts” and their most popular product – a Moebius strip-shaped pastry filled with jam and covered in sugar grains – is considered one of the most prominent exports coming from the Star Trading Conglomerate. Since the technology used by ships of the Conglomerate is considered mostly outdated and too different to fit modern standards the exports mostly consist of local delicacies like Møbius Donuts pared with small art projects or novelty items.
Widely considered the most popular alcoholic beverage in the nation is distilled rice with fresh-cut looped grass as well as a marble olive dropped in the glass after pouring in the beverage. The mint-flavored grass reportedly mixes well with the salty olive as the two different flavors balance each other out in the cocktail.
Sports
One of the more unusual but even more excitement-creating activities in the Conglomerate is an emerging sport called “hook racing” by members of the scene. In this sport – that is often shady in nature and only semi-legal – skilled pilots of small hybrid spacecraft use the smaller skyhooks to slingshot themselves as fast as possible into different orbital planes and back, with this creating a “race track” which often goes around entire planets and through highly frequented orbital traffic zones. These races often result in crashes and many deaths every year. Due to their high velocities and unpredictable direction changes they are quite often capable of avoiding any police forces trying to stop them. Every year there is even an unofficial Grand Prix through all systems with stops on all four colonies. To cross the interstellar systems every pilot is given an unlicenced FTL ring, which attaches to their craft from a small carrier platform organized by the underground organization which also organizes the race. Although this sport is officially banned, the public opinion on it is quite positive even some high-ranking politicians quietly support it or at least do nothing to stop it from happening. A vast betting industry has also sprung up around them with huge sums of money won and lost every time the event happens.
“Dawn gliding” is a traditional sport or free-time activity quite popular in Dustcrown. Due to the constant relatively high and stable winds in the inhabited mountain regions gliding became an easy way to roam around or cross great distances very early on in the history of the planet. This sport is considerably less dangerous but very relaxing and a good way to get your mind free for a short time in the fast lifestyle in modern society. The experience of slowly gliding across planes and hills in an everlasting sunset is a truly calming experience and fairly easy to control too, given that the winds are very stable and the gliders are specially designed to use that as an advantage. On national holidays or “evenings” you can see hundreds of gliders turning above major cities almost like flocks of birds, some even in formations performing elegant dances in the sky.