Codex: T.S.C.

The main governing body of Terra.

History

Earth's government, growing out of the United Nations in the early 25th Century. While humanity doesn't play a huge role in the galactic scene, the exploits of adventurers like Victor Steele have done wonders to put mankind on the forefront of public thought, especially as adventurers and colonist line up for the newest Planet Rush. Terra itself is far-removed from the "fringes" of U.G.C. space, and therefore strongly emphasizes that it cannot and will not protect its citizens outside its borders. This firmly localized policy has caused a significant population build up in the core worlds of Coalition space, while human pirates and outlaws are free to roam unimpeded through foreign space on the fringes with little fear of interference.

The T.S.C. is governed by a Parliament based on Terra, with duly elected representatives from all Coalition-controlled worlds representing the public interest. Though all member planets must abide by Coalition law, they are each free to individually govern themselves in any way they see fit within that scope -- one human planet may be a metropolis visited by a thousand alien races each day while another may be a domineering dictatorship under a mega-corporation's thrall.

It should be noted that, while the Coalition would like to imply that they are the face of humanity, the truth is there are hundreds of colonies and stations filled with humans outside Coalition jurisdiction. While the T.S.C. is the most prevalent human government, it is by no means the only one. The Terran military is relatively strong and technologically advanced, but highly concentrated in the core worlds. T.S.C.S. Odyssey, the flagship, is one of the most advanced starships in the U.G.C. Most Terran starships are slow, lumbering vessels with exceptional armor and moderate shields, but relatively low weapons power: they rely primarily on firing lines for combat effect, and starfighter escorts and planetary bombers are the primary force projection for Coalition fleets.

With the new planet rush beginning and with hundreds of thousands of colonists waiting and raring to go, Coalition presence in the fringe has increased somewhat, with a small fleet of cruisers and escorts patrolling the edge of Coalition space, ready to respond to emergency distress calls put out by the colonists -- a rare exception to the localization policies the fleet usually observes. However, this does not by any means guarantee safety, and any human colonist or explorer operating beyond Terran space is strongly warned that they may be on their own if disaster strikes.