Introduction
The Star Kingdom of Rigel is a member of the Terran Sphere. It's inhabitants are mostly human and it's immigration policies are considered to be xenophobic. The capital is Rigel Prime in the Rigel system, and the system itself is also the namesake of the Kingdom. Rigel is considered to be among the foremost Terran powers but shares - at best - cool relations with the other factions, including the Solar Union. It is a growing galactic power with a robust economy, military, and technology base.
The Kingdom is a charter member of the TAIC.
Unique among the modern galactic powers for it's de jure feudal monarchy, wherein those in positions of power are granted land and titles in return for military service and taxes, the Star Kingdom of Rigel is seen as backwards to the uninitiated. However, their brand of feudalism is wholly unlike those of the old societies of the galaxy. In truth it is a de facto representative oligarchy.
A further oddity is that the Kingdom features an official state religion: Rigel Gaianism.
Factfile
Holdings
288 systems
- 321 Planets
- 466 Moons
- 889 Space stations
Government
Capital: Carthagonova, Rigel Prime, Rigel system
Type: Feudal Monarchy/Representative Oligarchy
Chief Governing Body: Baronial Court
Head of State: King Siranac III
Notable Government Agencies:
- Office of Foreign Affairs (OFA)
- Office of the Exchequer (OEX)
- Office of Internal Affairs (OIA)
- Office of Fleet Command (OFC)
- Office of National Defense (OND)
- Office of National Security (ONS)
- Office of National Intelligence (ONI)
Civilian Information
Population: 97 billion
Species: Human
Religion: Planetary Relievism
Lifespan: 125 to 250 T-years
Languages: Anglic, Sindarin
Economy
Type: Mixed
Currency: Canath
General Imports: Livestock, medicines, technology, wealth
General Exports: Foodstuffs, raw materials, spacecraft, technology, weapons
Communications
Quantum 8-bit relay network
Background
The Star Kingdom began life in 3381, making it a millenial faction of the Terran Sphere. From it's inception, the violent nature of it's parent star made life difficult and numerous colonists were lost to famine and radiation. Over the years the colony adapted it's technology from within with minimal assistance from outsiders. This established an individualistic mentality in the leadership at large.
In 3460 Rigel, still a collection of colonies, formed a constitution and those who claimed land became, in effect, nobility. In order to secure their influence as local leaders the self-styled Barons of Rigel allied and formed the now-famous Baronial Court. In 3516 they elected one man, King Siranac I, to serve in an executive capacity and established the current flat tax model throughout the new Kingdom.
The first military orders began to appear in 3508, swearing fealty to the King. The first order to be formed and do so were the Kinghts of Rigel. Over the next century three more orders were formed: the Knights of Gryphon, Knights of Manticore, and the Kinghts of Pegasus. A fifth was created following the Edict of Gaia, the Knights of Gaia, and is a militant arm of the Relievism movement.
In 3525 the Kingdom achieved self-sufficiency and briefly entered a phase of autarky until a few new industries became firmly entrenched in Rigel. This era ended in 3562 with the Edict of Cambion that re-opened Rigellian markets to the outside. As a net exporter of goods, wealth flowed into the young Kingdom's coffers and enabled King Nasaric I to expand his influence at the behest of the Barons.
The Kingdom entered a 400 year long period of annexation and expansion at this time.
In the year 3654 the first Rigellian colonies were well underway, bought and supplied by the Kingdom. Although the Kingdom annexed several formerly independent colonies it was Queen Mabrica II who adopted the ideals of a new movement promoted by the Gaian Emissaries. It concerned the terraforming of worlds and was known as Planetary Relievism. She began to codify the movement. Seeing the opportunity to expand the Kingdom at no cost to it's inhabitants, the Barons soon agreed to sponsor the movement and it was made the official state 'religion' of the Star Kingdom. This sparked revitalized expansionism as well as a technology boom. To that end, Queen Mabrica II and the Twelfth Baronial Court are regarded as Heroes of the Kingdom for their efforts to better the realm.
The adoption of the religion was called the Edict of Gaia.
In 3804 the Kingdom ceased annexing colonies and instead focused on establishing new ones.
The year of 3854 saw the military orders of knights undertake the First Relief Crusade. The orders had been forced to adopt the new state religion and were pressed into service under what was now known colloquially as the Church of Relief. The crusades were organized to safeguard terraforming operations against aboriginals and pirates alike, as well as other Terran nations or aliens.
This led the Rigellians to expand away from Sol, as opposed to toward it, and has also significantly delayed border contact with the Solar Union. King Nasaric II oversaw the establishment of the final colony in 3991 and his successor, King Racanis II formally announced an indefinite freeze on all recognized colonization efforts in the Edict of Cessation. Private enterprises continued to grow.
By the year 4000 the Kingdom had grown to no less than 275 star systems in size.
Under Queen Carimba III the Sixth Centurial Census established a population of 90 billion.
The kingdom would not expand again until the year 4400 under the current king, King Siranac III, nulling King Nasaric II's infamous Edict of Cessation in the process. The Twentieth Baronial Court has focused largely on improving the Rigellian military in the face of new conflicts within and without the Kingdom. The aging Star Armada is undergoing sweeping reforms to doctrine and technology alike.
Contemporary Life in the Kingdom
The largest portion of the Kingdom's inhabitants are of the yeoman caste. The yeomanry consists of private citizens, entitled to buy and own land and not limited in their individual freedoms. They form the voting public and participate in the regular elections of their local and planetary leadership. As a whole they recognize their power due to the widespread availability of information and frequently flex their political muscle. A protest or revolt is generally regarded very seriously by the Baronial Court.
The leading cause of death for most Rigellians (the yeomanry within and without the Rigel System) is radiation poisoning and various as yet incurable genetic cancers. Workplace accidents are the second most numerous cause of death. However, the Star Kingdom is involved in numerous disputes within the Terran Sphere at large concerning rights abuses, including the denial of quality healthcare to the nominal serf caste. Further issues arise from widespread legalized gambling and prostitution.
The life expectancy of a yeoman born in the Kingdom is 218 T-years.
Though it comprises only ten percent of the Kingdom's population, the serfdom encompasses a variety of persons who have not met the expectations society has placed upon them. They are aliens (non-humans), derelicts, and felons. Not all serfs are relegated to this station for all their lives but very few will ever rise to join (or rejoin) the ranks of the yeomanry. Indentured servitude is the primary method of debt satisfaction in the Kingdom.
The nobility consists of less than two percent of the entire Rigellian population.
As is expected of a society founded upon a feudal model, military service is considered compulsory for most Rigellians. More often than not these short enlistments rarely see service outside of a Planetary Defense Force. Thus, combat is out of the ordinary unless the conscript elects to re-enlist or become a career soldier, or the PDF is based on a frontier or new colony. Levied men and women may elect to join the various paramilitary forces of the Rigellian Armed Forces instead.
According to recent polls by the Baronial Court the inhabitants of the core worlds are generally satisfied and enjoy a high standard of living in no small part thanks to the influx of resources pouring in from various valuable colonies. It has been noted by leading economists that, in order to maintain this standard of living, expansion must continue. Whether this be peacefully or militarily is irrelevant and the Kingdom continues to grow steadily even at the expense of alien lifeforms.
The colonizing standards of the Kingdom have been challenged by several reactionary groups, protesting and even giving voice to destroyed or displaced aborigines. Rigel's Church of Relief does not view non-humans as sentient beings and will take drastic measures to remove native lifeforms from their worlds. The Kingdom has been accused of genocide by external and internal parties alike. Only a small number of Barons echo the sentiments of what are officially considered 'fringe groups'.
Further political polling, performed by the Court University on Rigel Prime via the extranet, has revealed that the primary concerns on the minds of Rigellians are pluralism and political corruption, with a dominant secondary issue regarding religion; there is an undercurrent in the populace which desires secularism from it's political representatives, rather than the adherence and drive of the Church of Relief. Despite this, more than 70% of all Rigellians identify themselves as relievists.
The average yeoman earns 220 Canaths per day and pays a flat tax at a rate of 32%.