Neo-Terran Directorate

Synopsis
The Neo-Terran Directorate stands as 'the Guardian of Sol' and is the core remnant of the old Terran Empire. Its population is overwhelmingly Terran; its technology is advanced, its people are proliferous and highly varied, its views are violent, and its core social value is order. It is one of the few factions to not be a willing participant of the Galactic Senate, instead it enjoys an ambiguous relationship with its members from a distance, whereby there is communication but not compliance. It is widely considered to be about the only faction that would welcome (if not re-invoke itself) the return of the old Terran Empire and is thus feared, yet it is powerful enough to stand apart, particularly following its creation of the FTL Drive and the subsequent chaos that ensued within known space.

Foundation
The Neo-Terran Directorate was formed from the ashes of the old Terran Empire. The first Terran colony of Alpha Centauri in the Alpha Centauri system was designated the point of retreat and reorganisation for any Imperial Star Force vessels and personnel who could not make it to Sol, or escaped the Helios Network crash. The highest ranking fleet officer of the ISF remaining was Rear-Admiral Alexi Procter, who attempted to assume control of what was left. Unfortunately, like much of the rest of the Terran Empire, deprived of the central bureaucracy and leadership of Terra that had been the cornerstone of Imperial rule, the Imperial fleets and Alpha Centauri were falling into disarray. Procter responded by declaring himself Provisional Director-Commander of Alpha Centauri, and taking executive control of all military and civil authority. Any who opposed the Directorate found themselves imprisoned or executed, but few did as most welcomed a return to order. As it became apparent that the remaining loyal Imperial worlds and races were a distinct minority amongst hostile anti-Imperial forces, Procter believed it expedient to distance the new Directorate from the old Empire and thus named it the Neo-Terran Directorate. The remaining Terrans who were loyal to Directorate rule in lieu of Imperial rule were known as Neo-Terrans.

The Second Age
Director-Commander Proctor and his faction were wary of the Galactic Senate that was established, viewing it as a direct challenge to the re-establishment of Terran rule. The members of the Galactic Senate were equally wary of the Neo-Terran Directorate, fearing that it would become another Terran Empire. To stop a Third Terran War from occurring, Proctor negotiated special 'Associate Member' status for the Neo-Terran Directorate within the Galactic Senate. This decision nearly tore the Neo-Terran Directorate apart, fracturing it as hard-line Terran supremacists condemned Proctor as "consorting with the enemies of Terra". Proctor himself was killed during an effort to supress a rebellion in the Vega system. His successor, Director-Commander Antonidas Goulburn, decided to concentrate remaining Neo-Terran assets and control in the five key systems surrounding the old Sol system; Sirius, Altair, Capella, Deneb, and Alpha Centauri itself. Under his successors, the Neo-Terran Directorate was able to observe the activities of the Galactic Senate while nursing their own power and research, hoping that one day the paths to Sol could be re-opened. As the Galactic Senate grew more corrupt and erratic, there was increased Neo-Terran dissent over continued tolerance of it, leading to the Altair Rebellion and the Scouring of Altair, which reduced the active Neo-Terran systems to four.

The Third Age Begins
With the discovery of the FTL Drive, the Neo-Terran Directorate rejoiced as it believed that this was the opportunity to renew their duty to re-unite and re-establish Terran rule. Its new Director-Commander, Gustavus Pakenham, is surprisingly xeno-tolerant and seems uncertain as whether to break from the Galactic Senate and advance down the path of the First Terran War or whether to aid the Galactic Senate in stabilising the situation and to seek a less confrontational path for the Directorate. His choice may determine the fate of all Terrans...

The Government of the Neo-Terran Directorate
Director-Commander Procter established the structure of the Directorate which still stands today, being a curious form of elected oligarchy, as the diverse positions on the Ruling Council of Neo-Terra are elected by the people to whom they are held as relevant, such as the Dominar of External Affairs being elected by the Diplomatic Corps, suffrage extension and type dependent on occupation and seniority. The Director-Commander is elected from the Ruling Council and stands as the Overlord of the Council, and is the effective ruler of the Neo-Terran Directorate as a whole. There is also, however, a legislature that checks and approves the directives of the Council, which is the Directorate Secretariat. The Secretariat consists of all former system, planetary and regional governors, who are required to serve in the Secretariat until their death, following their retirement from local duties. The Director-Commander appoints the governor of each system, each planet and each region of each planet. Traditionally, appointments usually go to citizens of the capitol, Alpha Centauri, but since the activities of Governor-Lord Toldaris in the Altair Rebellion, it is not unknown for appointments to go to Neo-Terrans of other planets and systems within the Directorate. Each Governor-Lord is responsible for implementing the directives of the Ruling Council, as approved by the Secretariat.

The Military of the Neo-Terran Directorate
Following the collapse of the Imperial Star Forces of the Terran Empire, Rear-Admiral Procter attempted to reform the military of what would become the Directorate, breaking it up into Aero-space Command and Terrestrial Command, believing that separating the two would prevent military rule through internal competition. Since the defection of much of the Terrestrial Command in support of the traitor Governor-Lord Toldaris, the Neo-Terran military has since been reunited into the Directorate Star Forces. The Star Forces are controlled by the Arch-Admiral who is an elected member of the Ruling Council of Neo-Terra, all members of the Star Forces swear fealty to the Director-Commander (as C-in-C) as well as to the Directorate itself, however.

The Systems of the Neo-Terran Directorate
The Capitol System is that of Alpha Centauri, known by the name of its foremost planet and the first Terran colony, Alpha Centauri, its people known for adaptability, learning, intelligence, and arrogance. The Capella system is best known as the de facto HQ of the Star Forces as its Central Academy is based there, and as a result its people are known for being tough, serious, and fanatically loyal to the Directorate. The Sirius system is known for its significant agriculture, being 'the Breadbasket of Neo-Terra', with much of its population and land given over to the production of food which makes it one of the most important systems in the Directorate. However, while its people are renowned for their attention to detail, diligence and skill, they are mocked in other systems for their widely perceived dullness. The Deneb system is known for its heavy industries, manufacturing everything from girders to pocket communicators. Its people are also known for their skill, but also for their instinct for technology to the point of much of the population casually adopting cybernetic implants. (Both cybernetic and genetic enhancement are legal, and indeed encouraged in Neo-Terran society - though excess in either is considered to be trading away too much of an individual's original soul.) The Altair system is technically still part of the Neo-Terran Directorate, but has not been inhabited since the Scouring of Altair and as such has no standing forces or administration as it no longer has any worlds suitable for colonisation and thus may only be considered a former system in the Directorate.

Life and Society in the Neo-Terran Directorate
Citizen-subjects are free to undergo both pre- and post-birth genetic manipulation and cybernetic enhancement, and almost all of them do so, but not usually to nearly as extensive a degree of the Homo Sapiens Novus. As a result, most Directorate citizens live far longer than unadapted Terrans and often have better physical and mental traits. The choice to undergo such enhancements is purely voluntary however, and few change themselves or their children "to excess". That said, surprising numbers of well-known Directorate public figures have clearly been heavily enhanced, like the 'eternally youthful' Arch-Admiral Nanako Bellico.

The life of a Directorate citizen-subject is largely determined by their early life (pre-puberty), where throughout their mandatory early schooling, their work and activities are determined entirely by themselves and their family as they wish. However, upon the age of 12, the young citizen-subject is asked to enrol in a devoted academy, be it the DSF Central Academy on Capella, the Imperial University on Alpha Centauri, the ancient Royal Agricultural College of Sirius or even the School of Advanced Engineering Studies on Deneb. If they decline to choose at that stage, they are permitted to continue general local schooling until the age of 18, however, those that decline a devoted study tend towards more basic and low-level positions and achievements. Most Directorate citizen-subjects choose a career at 12, and thereby go to travel to one of the major centres of study and research for their chosen path, few of them merely opting for their system's percieved stereotype. (Indeed, there is extensive travel and population movement within the Directorate, as travel costs and requirements between Directorate systems is surprisingly lax.) After undergoing dedicated study (and sometimes further genetic or cybernetic enhancement) until the age of 21, the newly qualified citizen-subject is free to choose what they wish to do with themselves from that point on, in terms of working for a company, seeking continued study into an academic path, or working for a public corporation (with the notable exception of members of the DSF who choose which branch of the service to join, as restricted by their capabilities).

Regardless of which path is chosen, each citizen-subject serves the Directorate in their own way. While taxes are among the highest in known space, this pays for an unparallelled level of education, health care, and general services and infastructure (all of which are controlled by public corporations). As a result, unemployment is unheard of in Directorate space for citizen-subjects, and the standard of life is outstanding. Such prosperity encourages large families, which are larger than in most Terran societies due to the Directorate's firm principles of individual freedom of choice outside of duty ('duty' in the Directorate, largely meaning employment in the Directorate). Due to those principles, polygamy, single-sex relationships, and adoption are all freely engaged in throughout Directorate society, due to the Directorate's attitude of 'personal affairs/preferences = personal business'.

Despite such liberal social support and principles, Directorate law is harsh in certain ways. Any major signs of rebellion, such as Nationalism on the part of a system, planet, moon or station - is punishable by exile or public execution. Murder, rape, and other violent crimes often carry severe penalties up to, and including, the voluntary death penalty (where if it is made clear to the guilty party that their crime will result in their being permenantly imprisoned, they can choose to terminate their life immediately via a less drawn-out and painful means). Minor crimes usually result in a sentence of temporary incarceration, mandatory public service, or fines. Policing in the Directorate is extensive and is upheld by the Directorate Militia while legal judgement, interpretation and due process is granted via the Directorate Legal Service.

Overall, life for Directorate citizen-subjects is long, advanced, protected and largely free. It has been criticised by members of other empires for being either 'too controlled' (referring to the career selection process and the requirement of employment) or 'too free' (due to the liberal policies in regard to literature, marriage, education, birth control, cloning, and other areas that are considered controversial outside of the Directorate). That said, immigration to the Directorate is highly popular while emigration is almost non-existant, the regulations guiding both being strict.