On April 22nd, 2089, military space surveillance satellites from 9 seperate nations began tracking
a group of objects that had entered the periphery of the Solar System. Within weeks, these objects
had been picked up by civilian observatories and when they became public knowledge, the
members of the United Nations Security Council revealed that they were almost certainly artificial
in nature and on a direct course with Earth.
When the ships finally arrived in orbit on February 17th, 2090, the outcome was apocalyptic.
A hastily assembled orbital defense network was swept aside and powerful alien weaponry
annihilated dozens of cities in the opening few hours. Whether this strike was meant to
force some sort of unconditional surrender or the first step in a genocidal campaign
was never determined. A coordinated intercontinental ballistic missile launch from silos and submarines
across the world disabled the largest and seemingly most powerful alien warships. Further
orbital bombardment would be limited and sporadic.
Over the next seven years, mankind fought a desperate war across the world. In ruined
cities and ash-choked landscapes, remnant military forces engaged a horrific enemy whose
advanced technology and resources made defeat seem inevitable. Over a third of the planet
was occupied, and those who managed to escape brought with them reports of horrifying alien
atrocities and spires which poisoned the atmosphere around them. But even in the darkest ruins
of the world, far from the frontlines, there were those who resisted.
An improvised emblem meant to mark the location of hidden munitions and clandestine airdrops
slowly grew into a worldwide symbol of defiance. It was painted onto tank barrels and aircraft
wings, carved on the stocks of rifles, emblazoned on artillery shells, and branded on the corpses
of the enemy. When humanity achieved the unthinkable and the last remnants of the alien armies
retreated from the Solar System, this symbol was placed on the flag of a new nation, one
that united all of mankind: The Greater Terran Union.
Yet in its earliest days it existed simply as a last ditch effort to prevent the complete
collapse of human civilization. While the enemy had been defeated, the planet was in
ruins. The global economy had been erased, famine was rampant and the highest governing
bodies of every major state had been destroyed, alongside tens of millions of their citizens.
As the last organizations still capable of operating effectively, an international coalition
of various military forces assumed the responsibilities of civil governance.
With the survival of humanity in question, the measures taken were severe; strict rationing,
a mandatory one child policy, and widespread martial law. Every available resource was
put toward reconstruction and opportunities only afforded to those whose knowledge or
expertise could directly benefit this great effort.
Millions more would suffer and die in vast relief camps where the barest necessities
were exchanged for gruelling physical labor. The price was immense, and even those in the
highest echelons of the provisional government were horrified by the actions taken to preserve
civilization. Across the decades however, the situation began to improve. Crop yields
increased, global communication was restored, cities were rebuilt and the harshest measures
imposed on the population were repealed. Eventually, manned space flights resumed and the dissection
of derelict alien starships still in orbit revealed astonishing new technologies and
fields of study. Every effort was made to prepare the planet
for a second attack, but by the middle of the 22nd century, it had still not arrived.
In 2153, plans were announced that would see the emergency military coalition dissolved,
replaced with either a worldwide civilian government or perhaps, according to a few
proposals, divided into several sovereign states resembling the pre-war nations of Earth.
In a planet-wide referendum, the first and only one of its kind, the fate of humanity’s
post-war government was left in the hands of its people.
In an unexpected landslide, humanity placed its faith in the system that had led them
through reconstruction, transforming the emergency military provisional government into the sole
governing body of the human race.
On July 11th, 2156, the Greater Terran Union was proclaimed.
The most striking aspect of this new society is the implementation of a tiered citizenship
structure. A mandatory four year period of national service either within the military
or other recognized institution grants every citizen certain rights, while higher tiers
and their associated privileges and responsibilities are typically accessible only to those who
have achieved a high ranking within the Union’s national reputation system.
Citizenship tiers determine everything from the type of employment a person is allowed
to seek and whether limitations exist on their freedom of movement, all the way down to the
amount of water allotted to their showers each month. The system remains fluid, with
citizens often gaining and losing tiers multiple times over the course of their lives. A reduction
in a citizens tier is one of the most common sentences for minor crimes, with usually specific
criteria assigned for its reinstatement. While advances in technology and production mean
that even the lowest tiered citizens can enjoy comfortable lives, the system serves to promote
duty to the state and a responsibility to humanity as a whole. It also acts as an effective
tool used to combat wastefulness or corruption, albeit at the expense of personal liberty.
The predominant status of the military within the Union’s citizenship structure means
that almost every position of authority is held by individuals who have either completed
their service or remain a part of the armed forces, with rare exception. While the government
and military remain nominally independent of one another, the Greater Terran Union has
increasingly come to resemble a stratocracy as the lines between civil and military service
become harder to discern.
Executive power is held collectively by the National Council, composed of 21 marshals,
each responsible for leading one of the nations federal executive departments. Criticism that
this council has been too slow to respond to time-sensitive issues and too weak to lead
the powerful federal bureaucracy has led to the appointment of a High Marshal - a position
accorded the status as first among equals and granted special representational duties.
Marshals are typically appointed to serve a 20 year term although various circumstances
can result in longer or shorter periods of service.
Legislative powers are held by the National Assembly, a unicameral body that has grown
to become almost ceremonial in nature, having rarely rejected a government proposal in its
history. While a de-facto single party state, various opposition parties approved by the
Greater Terran Union maintain nominal representation within the assembly although all must remain
subordinate to the national interest.
Both the National Council and Assembly are headquartered in London, owing to that city’s
status as one of the first major metropolitan areas restored in the post-war era. London
also serves as the regional capital of the Albion Commissariat, one of 17 administrative
divisions established across the world. These commissariats roughly correspond to the borders
of pre-war nation states, such as the United States of America or the European Federation,
while others govern large sections of the world in such a way never before achieved.
A principal goal of the commissariats is to foster and promote the cultural dimension
of worldwide integration, in which pre-war nationalist, religious, sexist, and ethnic
divisions are eliminated. While no single language has been granted official status,
Arabic, Chinese, English, Hindi, Russian, and Spanish are predominantly used in internal
affairs. Proposals for a single global language have occasionally been made, without success
as of yet.
The state’s policies emphasize a “diversity of identity” combined with a “commonality
of values” with individual practices and beliefs tolerated so long as they do not conflict
with the core tenets of the nation. The ability for every citizen to participate in the civil
and political apparatus of the state without discrimination or repressession is one such
tenet, not in the pursuit of any utopian ideal, but rather in the pragmatic belief that natural
talent which might benefit the human race must be supported regardless of who possesses it.
The most critical element of the Terran State is the armed forces, which retains the ability
to assume direct control over the nation in the event its civil leadership were killed
or incapacitated.
Land Force Command remains the largest and primary branch, responsible for the operational
readiness of the nation’s conventional ground forces. A wholly mechanized army, it utilizes
a combined arms doctrine in which an enemy’s forward defenses are broken by overwhelming
force at which point fresh uncommitted mobile operational reserves are sent to exploit the
strategic depth of an enemy front.
Air Command is the second largest branch, dedicated to achieving air and space superiority
as well as facilitating rapid global mobility and strategic bombing. Advancements in aerospace
technology has seen the deployment of Air Command assets across the solar system, typically
unmanned satellites and drones, but also manned squadrons and picket ships.
Smallest among the major services is Fleet Command which maintains a largely automated
armada of ballistic missile submarines that continuously circle the globe in anticipation
of a second alien invasion. As developments in space continue and larger ships are constructed
in orbit, there have been renewed calls to transition the service into the Terran Union’s
space warfare branch and the creation of a seperate maritime service.
Land, Air and Fleet Command all maintain their own separate component services, including
specialized Naval and Orbital infantry, as well as distinct special operational forces.
Units across all three services have inherited the traditions and customs of previous armies
and units from across the globe, resulting in an eclectic military culture.
While the supreme goal of the military, and by extension the Greater Terran Union, has
been to defend the Earth against any further attack, in recent years a new objective has
been declared. Advanced technologies have pushed the boundaries of human expansion and
the devastation wrought across the Earth has left an insatiable need for raw materials
and resources. Already the first mining and research outposts have been established across
the Solar System and construction has begun on a wave of starships that will depart for
distant worlds. A generation of sacrifice and hardship will soon be rewarded, for as
mankind prepares to embark on the greatest journey in its history, it marches towards
this uncertain future united in purpose and determined to never be caught unprepared again.
Every wonder encountered shall be utilized, every terror overcome. And when those responsible
for the murder of millions are found, every injustice will be repaid a hundred and then
a thousand times over. The entire galaxy will know that they came to the wrong neighborhood,
and knocked on the wrong door.
In Stellaris Invicta, the Templin Institute guides the Greater Terran Union into an uncertain
future, one you can influence. Every Saturday we’ll live stream our progress on our Twitch
channel, and viewers and patrons will have the opportunity to vote on decisions, help
name planets, ships, leaders and more. If you miss the livestream, you can catch up
on what happened when the stream is published the next day to the Templin Archives channel.
Then, once a month we’ll produce a video like this one, detailing everything that’s
progressed in the Greater Terran Union’s struggle to achieve galactic supremacy.
The first livestream of Stellaris Invicta begins one hour after this video has gone live,
we hope to see you among the stars.