Nova Compact

The Nova Compact is a confederation of star systems in planets in the West Bridge. Founded by the Navigator’s Chosen to ally the systems first liberated from the Silence, the Compact holds a venerable place in the history of modern Elyrion as the oldest interstellar polity in colonized space. With many of the galaxy’s most populous and powerful systems represented in its ranks, and with space straddling a stable region of the Nova Bridge containing junctions with its most important tributaries, the Nova Compact is both a political and economic powerhouse and a potent symbol of the potential of post-Silence development.

Economy

The economy of the Nova Compact is based largely on advanced manufacturing, long-haul trade, and interstellar finance. With large reaches of resource-rich space in its borders, the Compact's factories and assembly yards have ample supply raw material. The Compact's close ties to Illyria gives its shipyards and arcane manufactorums easy access to the Bluegem needed for both magitec and interstellar communications and navigation systems. Trade in the Compact primarily flows along the Novabridge, and is facilitated by an extensive network of high-capacity starports at regular intervals throughout its territory alongside an aggressive anti-piracy program by both Compact and local fleets. The Compact's longevity, stability, and relative integration has allowed businesses of all kinds to flourish, and the majority of its fully colonized worlds sustain a high quality of life for the majority of their citizens.

Despite its great size, much of the economic activity of the Compact is concentrated along the Novabridge and its major tributaries; much of its outlying regions are largely mining sectors, with comparatively sparse infrastructure largely dedicated to supporting the mining vessels and ore bulkers. Worlds such as High Steelforge with extensive pre-Silence infrastructure continue to claim a significant share of the Compact's economic activity, though this advantage has been waning with the growing productivity of previously low-infrastructure systems.

Astrotopography

The Nova Compact is naturally oriented entirely around the Novabridge, which bisects its territory for much of the length of the Wendingways. Three major tributaries, the Kamma Spine, the Pacific Way, and the Alar Line, branch off from the Bridge within its borders, at Port Auren near the rimward border, at High Steelforge, and at Kaloran Junction respectively.

The Compact shares a border with the Hledat Federal Concord on its Rer-Rimward edge. There is a de-militarized zone separating it from the Alari Empire at the turnward section of its midpoint, and below the Coreward Border is the Illyria Unnafiliated Zone.

Governance

The Nova Compact is governed by a congress of delegations from each world signatory to the Compact from which the organization derives its name. In order for a new world to be considered signatory to the Compact, its terms must be ratified by that world’s relevant authorities, and a vote of acceptance must pass Congress by a 2/3rds margin.

Delegations receive a number of votes proportional to their world’s population, though the maximum size of delegation permitted within the Congress’ chambers at any one time is limited to 5 individuals due to the limited space aboard Academa Station where Congress meets. How the votes of a given delegation are apportioned in congressional sessions is left up to their planetary government - some worlds are represented by a single delegate controlling all associated votes, others send a larger numbers of delegates representing geographic, or other constituencies. Some systems with special relations with the Compact such as Illyria send delegations to Congress but lack voting privileges. Most actions of Congress are passed with a simple majority vote, although some major actions such as declarations of war, amendments to the Compact (which additionally require at least one vote of approval from half of the Compact's signatories), and legislation significantly impacting local and planetary governance or affairs require a 2/3rds margin. Congress also appoints by majority vote the chief officers of non-elected bodies created by the Compact, including the Compact Judiciary and the Conference on Novar Unit Issuance Rates and Reserve Levels, the Compact's monetary authority, and the Compact Levies Administration, which oversees the collection of tariffs and tributes.

An Executive Council, made up of special delegations separate from the primary representatives (and limited to 3 individuals) from the two most prominent and powerful worlds (High Steelforge and Port Auren) and three other planets are elected to 10 year terms by a general vote of congress and maintain various privileges and powers in congressional proceedings. These include veto of Congressional bills and resolutions (requiring agreement of 2 or more members), the calling of emergency sessions of the chamber (requiring agreement of 4 or more members), and the power to suspend the voting privileges of delegations (requiring unanimous agreement of the Council and a majority vote of systems from the sector of the world in question). Many tasks relating to the ongoing maintenance of Compact regulations are also left to the Executive Council to determine, such as the setting of tariff rates and the issuing of directives related to the enforcement of existing regulation.

The Nova Compact functions much like a conventional federal state, albeit with limited central power. Citizens of worlds in the Nova Compact are generally free to live and work anywhere within the pact’s space. The Novar Unit, the currency of the alliance, is universally accepted within its borders, though there is no prohibition on local currencies. While the laws of the Compact are generally in force on all of its signatory worlds, their enforcement and related prosecution is generally left to local and planetary governments. The Compact maintains a small judicial service, which primarily serves to oversee trans-jurisdictional matters, and insures that they are smoothly handled by relevant local authorities. The Compact itself maintains only one court, the Supreme Court of the Nova Compact, which serves to adjudicate issues related to major Congressional legislation or the terms of the Compact itself.

Much of the Compact’s funding comes from tributes paid by each signatory world on an annual basis. These tributes can come in the form of capital or military strength, determined by the terms of the worlds admission to the Compact. The Compact conducts foreign relations with external systems and polities as a single bloc, but there is no prohibition on individual systems maintaining diplomatic missions abroad.

The Compact's military forces are divided into the Nova Compact Star Fleet and the Unified Planetary Defenses. The NCSF (as it is commonly abbreviated) is under the command of the military offices of the Executive Council, and consists of vessels, and equipment, and manpower supplied by signatory worlds, built and trained to standards set by the NCSF high command. Units typically consist of individuals from across the Compact. the NCSF is the Compact's first line of defense, and its primary means of strategic deterrence and foreign action. The Unified Planetary Defenses are the name given to the set of standards and restrictions governing military forces of individual territories or worlds. Planetary defense forces range from practically nonexistent to fully equipped star fleets. The inconsistent and often fractious nature of planetary defense forces has spawned both countless satirical jabs and a number of secession crises in border regions of the Compact.

Agenda

The Compact is primarily concerned with rebuilding the infrastructure of their worlds and establishing peace and order in their space. It provides significant aid to developing neighbors, although internal sentiments are beginning to turn against the admission of new worlds into the compact that such aid is seen as the precursor to. While official policy dictates that the military is to be used solely for defensive actions, 'proactive deterrence' and outright military intervention in foreign conflicts in which the Compact has interests at stake are far from unheard-of.

Individuals of Note

TBD