Difference between revisions of "Sozvezdie Soviet"

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{{Infobox Country
 
{{Infobox Country
|native_name                = Военно-воздушные силы в изгнании
+
|native_name                = Созвездие Совиет
|conventional_long_name      = Soviet Air Force-In-Exile
+
|conventional_long_name      = Sozvezdie Soviet
|common_name                = Soviet Air Force
+
|common_name                = Sozvezdie Soviet
|image_flag                  = VVS flag.png
+
|image_flag                  = Soviet Flag.png
|image_coat                  = VVS star.png
+
|alt_flag                    = <!--alt text for flag-->
 +
|image_coat                  = Soviet Rose.png
 +
|alt_coat                    =
 
|symbol_type                = Roundel
 
|symbol_type                = Roundel
|national_motto              = ''[[Wikipedia:Ulysses (poem)|"To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield"]]''
+
|national_motto              = ''"From each according to their imagination, to each according to their need."''
|national_anthem            = <!--''[[name of/link to anthem]]''-->
+
|national_anthem            = ''The Internationale''
 
|royal_anthem                = <!--''[[name of/link to anthem]]''-->
 
|royal_anthem                = <!--''[[name of/link to anthem]]''-->
 
|other_symbol_type          = <!--Another symbol, e.g. Hymn-->
 
|other_symbol_type          = <!--Another symbol, e.g. Hymn-->
 
|other_symbol                = <!--another symbol text-->
 
|other_symbol                = <!--another symbol text-->
 
|image_map                  = <!--e.g. LocationCountry.svg-->
 
|image_map                  = <!--e.g. LocationCountry.svg-->
 +
|alt_map                    = <!--alt text for map-->
 
|map_caption                = <!--Caption to place below map-->
 
|map_caption                = <!--Caption to place below map-->
 
|image_map2                  = <!--Another map, if required-->
 
|image_map2                  = <!--Another map, if required-->
 +
|alt_map2                    = <!--alt text for second map-->
 
|map_caption2                = <!--Caption to place below second map-->
 
|map_caption2                = <!--Caption to place below second map-->
|capital                    =  
+
|capital                    = [[Korolevgrad]], [[Luna]]
 
|latd=  | latm= | latNS = <!--capital's latitude degree/min/dir-->
 
|latd=  | latm= | latNS = <!--capital's latitude degree/min/dir-->
 
|longd= |longm= |longEW = <!--capital's longitude deg/min/dir-->
 
|longd= |longm= |longEW = <!--capital's longitude deg/min/dir-->
|largest_city                = <!--Largest city or settlement: -->
+
|largest_city                = [[Korolevgrad]], [[Luna]]
|largest_settlement          = [[Korolev Air Force Base]], [[Kandor City]], [[Luna]]
+
|largest_settlement          =
|largest_settlement_type    = Base
+
|largest_settlement_type    =  
 
|official_languages          =  
 
|official_languages          =  
|regional_languages          = <!--Officially recognized languages-->
+
|regional_languages          =  
|languages_type              = <!--Other type of languages -->
+
|languages_type              = Languages
|languages                  = <!--Other languages list-->
+
|languages                  = English, Russian, French, Japanese, Arabic, Sindarin
|ethnic_groups              = <!--List/breakdown of ethnic groups-->
+
|ethnic_groups              = 88% metahuman<br/> 10% cylon/cyborg<br/> 2% free infomorph/AI<br/>
|ethnic_groups_year          = <!--Year of ethnic data (if provided)-->
+
|ethnic_groups_year          = 2022
|nicknames                  = VVS<br/> USSRAF<br/> Those Commie Bastards<br/> The Fen Socialist's Eating Club<br/>
+
|nicknames                  = Soviet Air Force<br/> VVS<br/> Those Commie Bastards<br/>
|membership                  = [[Fenspace Convention]]
+
|demonym                    = Soviets
 +
|membership                  = [[Fenspace Convention]]<br/> [[United Federation of Planets]] <small>(member state)</small><br/>
 
|government_type            = Soviet-style democracy
 
|government_type            = Soviet-style democracy
|leader_title1              = Generalissimo-For-Life
+
|leader_title1              = Generalissimo
|leader_name1                = [[S. Malaclypse Fnord]]
+
|leader_name1                = [[Malaclypse Fnord]]
|leader_title2              =  
+
|leader_title2              = First Secretary
|leader_name2                =  
+
|leader_name2                = [[Joseph Lacroix]] <small>(also Justice & Equality)</small>
|leader_title6               =  
+
|leader_title3               = Central Committee
|leader_name6               =  
+
|leader_name3               = Khadija Samad <small>(State)</small><br/> [[KJ DuPree]] <small>(War)</small><br/> [[Josh Brenner]] <small>(Communications)</small><br/> Erik Chatterton <small>(Labor & Finance)</small><br/> [[Deidre Griest]] <small>(Science)</small><br/> [[Minerva Weatheral]] <small>(Education)</small><br/> Jessamine Oldbuck <small>(Trade)</small><br/> Oliver Adler <small>(Infrastructure)</small><br/> Chisa Tsukada <small>(Culture)</small>
|sovereignty_type            = Independence
+
|sovereignty_type            =  
|sovereignty_note            = from United States
+
|sovereignty_note            =  
|established_event1          = Declared
+
|established_event1          = Declaration of Abandonment and Vendetta
 
|established_date1          = October 13, 2008
 
|established_date1          = October 13, 2008
 
|established_event2          = Kandor Treaty
 
|established_event2          = Kandor Treaty
 
|established_date2          = March 28, 2010
 
|established_date2          = March 28, 2010
 +
|established_event3          = Admission to Federation
 +
|established_date3          = May 2, 2022
 
|established_event9          =  
 
|established_event9          =  
 
|established_date9          =  
 
|established_date9          =  
|allies                      = [[United Federation of Planets]], [[Crystal Millennium]], [[Stellvia]], [[Gearheads]]
+
|area_rank                  =  
|population_estimate        = 250
+
|area_magnitude              =
 +
|area                        = <!-- major area size (in [[Template:convert]] either km2 or sqmi first) -->
 +
|area_km2                    = <!-- major area size (in square km) -->
 +
|area_sq_mi                  = <!-- area in square mi (requires area_km2) -->
 +
|area_footnote              = <!-- optional footnote for area -->
 +
|percent_water              =
 +
|area_label                  = <!-- label under "Area" (default: Total) -->
 +
|area_label2                = <!-- label below area_label (optional) -->
 +
|area_dabodyalign            = <!-- text after area_label2 (optional) -->
 +
|population_estimate        = 6,201
 
|population_estimate_rank    =  
 
|population_estimate_rank    =  
|population_estimate_year    = 2015
+
|population_estimate_year    = 2022
 
|population_census          =  
 
|population_census          =  
 
|population_census_year      =  
 
|population_census_year      =  
Line 53: Line 69:
 
|population_density_sq_mi    =
 
|population_density_sq_mi    =
 
|population_density_rank    =
 
|population_density_rank    =
|influence                   = Minor
+
|GDP_PPP                    =
|achievements               = Three first landings inside the Solar System: [[Mercury]], [[Triton]], [[Neried]]
+
|GDP_PPP_rank                =
 
+
|GDP_PPP_year                =
Five first approach interstellar missions: Tau Ceti, Epsilon Indi, Delta Pavonis, Sirius, Procyon
+
|GDP_PPP_per_capita          =
 
+
|GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank    =
First AI-only combat squadron
+
|GDP_nominal                =
 
+
|GDP_nominal_rank            =
First all-AI [[astroball]] team
+
|GDP_nominal_year            =
|stereotype                  = Daredevil explorers & combat pilots mixed with politically annoying filmmakers.
+
|GDP_nominal_per_capita      =
 +
|GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank =
 +
|Gini                        =
 +
|Gini_rank                   =
 +
|Gini_year                  =
 +
|Gini_category              =
 +
|HDI                        =
 +
|HDI_rank                    =
 +
|HDI_year                    =
 +
|HDI_category               =
 +
|currency                    =
 +
|currency_code              =
 +
|time_zone                  =
 +
|utc_offset                  = <!-- +N, where N is number of hours-->
 +
|time_zone_DST              =
 +
|date_format                = <!-- numeric dates (dd-mm-yyyy, yyyy.mm.dd, etc.) plus era (AD, AH, etc.) -->
 +
|DST_note                    =
 +
|utc_offset_DST              = <!-- +N, where N is number of hours-->
 +
|influence                  = Minor/Major
 +
|achievements                = Multiple interplanetary and interstellar missions<br/> Discovery of Tannhauser Gate<br/> Project Artemis scandal<br/>
 +
|stereotype                  = Neutral/Chaotic Good adventurers who find neat things and spread the wealth. To everyone. Regardless of whether or not the powers that be want the wealth spread.
 +
|drives_on                  = <!-- vehicles drive on the left or right of the road -->
 +
|cctld                      =
 +
|calling_code                =
 +
|image_map3                  =
 +
|alt_map3                    =
 +
|footnotes                  = <!--for any generic non-numbered footnotes-->
 +
|footnote1                  =
 +
|footnote2                  =
 +
|footnote7                  =
 
}}
 
}}
  
The '''Soviet Air Force''' (in Russian, ''Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily'', or ''Military-Air Forces'', acronymed '''VVS''') is a minor fen faction founded by the crew of the ex-Soviet Space Shuttle USSR ''[[Ptichka]]''.
+
The '''Sozvezdie Soviet''' (Russian, “Union of Stars,” previously known as the '''Soviet Air Force-In-Exile''' or '''VVS''') is a minor [[Faction Guide|Fen faction]] and [[United Federation of Planets|Federation]] member state founded by the crew of the ex-Soviet Union space shuttle orbiter ''[[Ptichka]]''. The faction is based on [[Luna]], with facilities on both near and far sides. Its largest city is Korolevgrad, situated around Korolev Air Force Base on the west rim of Daniell Crater. The Soviets are best known as deep-space explorers and socialist agitators. Soviet expeditions were the first to enter the [[Tau Ceti]], [[Epsilon Indi]], [[Delta Pavonis]] and [[Zeta (1) Reticuli]] systems. The faction was also the first independent group to join a larger faction in 2022 when the Soviet agreed to join the United Federation of Planets as a sovereign member state.
  
==History==
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{{TOC limit|3}}
 +
== History ==
 +
The Soviet originated in an online conspiracy-fantasy RPG that began in the early 1990s and ran until 2005. The final iteration of the game’s players remained in close contact with each other and ultimately became the inner circle of early Soviet leadership. In 2007 the players – now calling themselves the Order of Saint Grimace<ref>A reference to the game that remained entrenched in Soviet lore, to the point of having a [[Awards and Chivalrous Orders in Fenspace|special award]] “for those who get the joke” named in its honor.</ref> – gathered together at Dragon*Con and drew up plans to purchase, transport and then restore the last surviving spaceworthy ''Buran'' shuttle to operational condition, and then “have adventures or something.”
  
The faction was unofficially founded 25 September 2008, shortly after ''Ptichka'''s first full-power ground test. The party celebrating the newly functional (if not yet flying) Shuttle wore on into the night, and somewhere around three in the morning on the 26th the few crewmembers still awake and (not quite) sober declared themselves to be the Soviet Air Force "in exile, awaiting the day when the bourgeois capitalists are swept from the Earth and stars!"
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Over the course of 2008 the Order proceeded to buy ''Buran ''1.02<ref>Known informally by Baikonur workers, and then forever after, as ''Ptichka''.</ref>, have it hauled to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and refit it using copious amounts of [[handwavium]]. By the time the handwavium panics started the process was too far along to abandon, and the Order continued working until October 12, 2008, when local, State and Federal agents surrounded their working hangar and demanded the Order’s surrender. What happened next would become a thing of Fen legend: the Order used ''Ptichka''’s gravity drive to explode the hangar and, in a hail of law-enforcement gunfire, abandoned the planet Earth. Once in orbit, the Order renamed themselves the Soviet Air Force-In-Exile “awaiting the day when the bourgeois capitalists are swept from the Earth and the stars,” swore nebulous vendetta against the entrenched powers of Earth, and got down to having adventures.
  
The joking declaration was more or less forgotten until 12 October, when agents of the American government stormed the hangar where ''Ptichka'' was being refit. The ensuing standoff ended with ''Ptichka'' and her crew running for atmosphere with a good chunk of the US military establishment hot on their heels. In orbit, the crew took stock of their situation. They had successfully evaded capture by the Americans, but in the process had lost almost everything but what was aboard ''Ptichka''. None of the crew had any serious connections to the Trekkies or Warsies, and were effectively cast adrift. It was at this point that somebody remembered the half-drunken declaration of the Soviet Air Force. Not having any better prospects, the crew took a vote. In a 5-2 motion, ''Ptichka'''s crew dissolved and reformed as the Central Committee of the Soviet Air Force in Exile. The Committee's first act was to appoint (over his strong and rather loud objections) shuttle commander [[S. Malaclypse Fnord]] as Generalissimo-for-life.
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The Soviet Air Force threw itself into interplanetary and interstellar exploration, discovering several new exoplanets and providing high-quality data on worlds within the solar system. The amnesty attached to the 2010 [[Kandor Treaty]] allowed the VVS renewed access to Earth, which allowed them to build up contacts within terrestrial space agencies looking for a mule for their planetology programs, among other things. In 2011 the VVS successfully smuggled three surplus barrels of handwavium to NASA officials at Kennedy Space Center; this handwavium was used for the [[Project Artemis]] refit of the shuttles ''[[Discovery]]'', ''[[Atlantis]]'' and ''[[Endeavour]]''.
  
Newly organized in the face of adversity, the VVS next focused on establishing a niche for themselves. Since most of the people in Fenspace were too busy building The Future to really take a hard look around them, basic scientific research fell to the wayside. Into this niche is where the VVS flew, first making contract deliveries for [http://en.wikipedia.org/CNES CNES], [http://en.wikipedia.org/NSAU NSAU] and other small 'Danelaw space agencies, then building on those successes to begin operating independently.
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During the [[Boskone War]] the Soviet Air Force was part of the initial [[Operation Great Justice]] patrol and rapid-reaction force. Newly-minted MARS marine units were instrumental in the capture of [[1186 Turnera|Asteroid 1488]]. Soviet forces fought in most of the major battles of the war, and were part of the final task force sent to capture Boskone Prime. The VVS also during this time made their landmark expedition to the [[Delta Pavonis]] system, where they discovered the [[Tannhauser Gate]] artifact and the wormhole link to the [[Zeta (1) Reticuli]] system.
  
An old habit of randomly breaking out a video camera and taping things paid off unexpectedly in early 2009, when a hastily-edited YouTube video of ''Ptichka'''s stop at the [[Ceres]] waystation became a flash hit on Earth. The realization that people - even mundanes - would pay to see real images of space meant that the VVS now had a new revenue stream. The Ceres video was rereleased as ''Lonely Planet: Ceres'', with generally higher quality video and audio. Downloadable through the VVS' Luna-based website, ''Lonely Planet'' proved a modest success.
+
The Soviet leadership was implicated in the 2014 Project Artemis scandal in the United States, leading to the barring of Soviet citizens from the US after “one epic trolling session” between [[Malaclypse Fnord|Generalissimo Fnord]] and the Congress. The VVS continued interstellar operations as well, focusing on Tannhauser Gate and its twin Night’s Door in the Zeta 1 system.  
  
The lure of the space beyond the solar system proved irresistable to the Central Committee, and as the Trekkies had proven that FTL flight was possible the VVS were among the early interstellar pioneers. ''Ptichka'' made her first interstellar flight in 2009, journeying to the Tau Ceti system and surveying the planets there. A second interstellar flight to Epsilon Indi in 2011 sealed the VVS' reputation as explorers of the first magnitude.
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In 2016 the VVS voted to dissolve as a paramilitary force and reconstituted itself as the Sozvezdie Soviet, featuring a civilian government over the paramilitary structure. Around this time the Soviet also began offering assistance to left-wing groups on Earth looking to find greener pastures in Fenspace.  
  
The VVS were part of the initial group headhunted by the [[SOS-dan]] for their political and military support. The decision seemed odd at first, as the VVS was only lightly armed compared to the Republic Navy or even ten Browncoats selected at random. However, the extremely devious minds on the Central Committee more than made up for the lack of armament. ''Ptichka'' was refit with moderate weapons and put to work as a convoy escort and fast strike vehicle, earning several battle stars for her effort. Meanwhile, the Committee reached out to the Senshi militia, offering advanced equipment in exchange for commandos.
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On May 5, 2022, the Central Committee of the Sozvezdie Soviet, as directed by the All-Union Soviet, signed an accord of annexation between the minor faction and the [[United Federation of Planets]], marking the first time in Fen history a smaller faction willingly joined a larger one.
  
GREAT JUSTICE was also the impetus for the VVS' expansion project. Until 2012 the Soviets had been the core group of nine on ''Ptichka'' with a handful of support people scattered about, mostly friends and family who were in on the original caper but weren't in the area on launch day. The Committee had kicked around expanding the VVS before, but the demands on their time kept them from exploring the option. Suddenly thrust into the front lines of a war, the Committee realized they needed a hell of a lot more support than they had, and so began the great leap forward.
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== Politics ==
 +
The Sozvezdie Soviet is a council-based democracy. The Soviet Basic Law establishes a legislative branch composed of the entire adult population<ref>In practice, this means any sapient being with a functional age of 18 human years or older.</ref>, an elected executive branch to administer the government and an elected judiciary to arbitrate interpretation of the law.  
  
Politically, the VVS supported GREAT JUSTICE from the Convention until mid-2013, when [[With Liberty and Great Justice|questions regarding Commander Suzumiya's leadership]] caused a major schism in the OGJ command ranks. The Soviets ended up backing the group headed by ''[[Stellvia]]'' owner [[Noah Scott]], a decision that led to the creation of the [[Nikaido Foundation]].
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The legislature (the All-Union Soviet) operates on a tightly monitored public forum and a voting system designed and operated by the Ministry of Communications. Every citizen past the age of majority may cast votes when the soviets are in session. Sessions are held weekly except during emergencies, though debate and discussion of issues goes on constantly. The average Soviet will vote at least twice a week, though the issues voted on will tend to be local events and not large-scale legislature.
  
== Government/Law ==
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Day-to-day governance of the Soviet falls to the Central Committee, an elected council which performs the basic executive functions and operates the dozen or so extant Ministries which keep the Soviet functioning. The Committee also acts as a ratifying body for All-Union Soviet decisions; this may be overridden by a 2/3 majority of the All-Union Soviet. The nominal head of government is the First Secretary, a member of the Committee elected by his or her fellows. When necessary, official head-of-state figurehead functions may be handled by the Generalissimo, a lifetime post.<ref>No provisions are made in the Basic Law as to how to elect a new Generalissimo when the current one dies, retires or otherwise slips the net. It’s expected that faith will manage, somehow.</ref>
  
The Soviet Air Force is largely democratic. All members with sufficient sapience to understand the ground rules are allowed to debate and vote on most decisions affecting the VVS as a whole. Each independent spacecraft or facility qualifies as a "soviet," which can vote on issues relating directly to them. The Central Committee acts as a ratifying body, much like the UN Security Council or American Senate. The VVS soviets can override a Committee veto, but it requires a 2/3rds majority of all soviets to work<ref>Most of this is still theoretical, as the VVS expansion is only a few years old and still quite small. In practice, the VVS follows military hierarchy with the Committee as the general staff.</ref>.
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=== Elections and political parties ===
 +
Elections are held every five years, starting from the reincorporation date of the VVS into the Soviet in 2016<ref>Elections of a more informal nature occurred in the VVS ranks, usually for promotion of officers, during the 2008 – 2016 period.</ref>, though the First Minister may dissolve the government and request new elections at any time. All Central Committee posts are up for election, which may cause significant turnover in government. Since the 2022 annexation, the All-Union Soviet also votes on and approves the person or persons sent to represent the Soviet on the Federation Council.
  
The VVS Uniform Code of Justice follows the [[Articles of Convention]] to the letter. Violating the UCJ means a court-martial followed by (if found guilty) turning the offender over to whichever jurisdiction the offense was committed in, usually the Kandor City police.
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The political landscape of the Soviet has successfully managed to precipitate political parties out of the swirling ether. So far the parties are largely rough delineations without any formal structure to them, and the nature of Soviet and Fen politics may end up keeping them that way for some time. The parties appear out of the mists every election cycle and return to the mists once the elections are over. There can be as many parties as there are Soviets in theory, however four major groups have formed in the 2016 and 2021 election cycles. The '''Social Democrats''' are the party of the old guard, and is primarily concerned with maintaining Soviet infrastructure and influence against capitalist incursion. The '''Infosocialists''' are the most successful of the radical parties, taking a hard line on freedom of information and allying themselves with the [http://www.pp-international.net Pirate Party International]. The '''Internationale''' is the radical wing of the Social Democrats, interested in encouraging Soviet-style democratic movements elsewhere in Fenspace and on Earth. The '''Transhumanists''' are the youngest of the parties, largely built around the perennial Minister of Science and her loyal minions in Korolevgrad and Black Mesa.
  
== Organization ==
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=== Law and criminal justice ===
 +
The Soviet Basic Law follows the [[Articles of Convention]] closely, with a large and comprehensive declaration of metahuman rights not found in the standard Articles. Trial and punishment are most often handled within a soviet or handed off to a nearby soviet for impartiality purposes.
  
Originally, the VVS was an one-horse faction based almost entirely onboard ''Ptichka'' or at their apartment/hangar building in Kandor City. After the expansion project, the force split into two seperate commands under the overall control of the Central Committee and the Generalissimo.
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=== Military ===
 +
{{quote|What good’s Utopia if the bad guys steal it from you?|20px|20px|KJ DuPree, X-COM}}
  
===VVS Central Committee===
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[[Image:X-COM Blazon.png|thumb]]The Extraterrestrial Combat Unit (X-COM) was the Soviet’s main military force. The unit was originally put together to free up resources – mostly ''USSR Ptichka ''– from combat duty during the [[Boskone War]]. X-COM consisted of fast strike spacecraft and marine detachments, favoring a high-mobility “hit fast, hit hard” doctrine when engaging Boskonian forces. X-COM infantry units, the Militarized Armed Response Senshi (MARS) were developed as a joint project between the Soviet Air Force and the [[Sailor Armed Militia|Senshi Militia]] during the war, and consisted of combat-trained Senshi led by Soviet officers.
The Central Committee is the primary executive/administrative group for the Soviet Air Force overall. The Committee oversees budgets, maintains the faction webservers, pays the property and payroll taxes, acts as the main buffer between the VVS and the world at large and generally does their level best to keep the whole organization from keeling over at a moment's notice.
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The Committee also handles things that are considered "outside the perview" of the major branches. The most notable of these is the [[Black Mesa]] research facility at [[2700 Baikonur]]. Everything involved with Black Mesa is classified at the highest level and as the research is not ''directly'' connected to EXFOR or X-COM the Committee takes direct control.
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Soviet citizens are required to spend a minimum of six months upon attaining citizenship in X-COM for training in the ancient arts of hurting people and getting along with other factions.
  
At present the Committee is composed of the original crew of ''[[Ptichka]]'', on the grounds that a) it was their idea and b) they were there first. As the VVS expands it is likely that the nature of the Committee will change.
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X-COM drew down significant forces after the Boskone War and the signing of the 2014 PEPPER treaty; most of the fleet units were demilitarized and some of the MARS units returned to Senshi control. After the 2022 Federation annexation, the majority of active X-COM units were absorbed as a subdivision of the Starfleet Marine Corps; the remainder joined the Red Banner Fleet.
  
VVS Central Committee is based out of [[Korolev AFB]], Luna, the site of the Soviet's first home base. Despite the expansion project there are no plans on moving the Committee to a new location at this time.
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=== Relations with other factions ===
 +
Despite their joining with the United Federation of Planets, the Soviets maintain their own diplomatic relations with other factions, as well as independent commitments to the metanational structures of the Convention.
  
{{Infobox Military Unit
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The Soviets retain their major shareholder status in the [[Nikaido Foundation]] and the [[Space Patrol]], and X-COM’s main duties involve regular operation with [[Great Justice]] forces. Relations remain good with the [[Crystal Millennium]], as new Senshi rotate through MARS units on a regular basis.
|unit_name= Deep Space Exploration Forces
+
|image=[[Image:exfor-shoulder-patch.png|150px]]
+
|caption=EXFOR shoulder blazon
+
|dates= 2013 - present
+
|country=
+
|allegiance=
+
|branch=
+
|type=
+
|role=
+
|size=
+
|command_structure= Soviet Air Force
+
|garrison= [[Korolev AFB]]
+
|garrison_label=
+
|nickname=EXFOR
+
|patron=
+
|motto=
+
|colors=
+
|colors_label=
+
|march=
+
|mascot=
+
|equipment=USSR ''[[Ptichka]]''<br/> MCU ''[[Columbia]]''<br/> GCU ''[[Yuri Gagarin]]''<br/> MCU ''[[Xenu Express]]''<br/> MCU ''[[A Series of Unlikely Explanations]]''<br/>
+
|equipment_label=Ships
+
|battles=
+
|anniversaries=
+
|decorations=
+
|battle_honours=
+
|disbanded=
+
<!-- Commanders -->
+
|commander1=Col. [[Kat Stewart]]
+
|commander1_label=Commander
+
|commander2=Lt. Col. [[Zib Stewart]]
+
|commander2_label=Deputy commander
+
|commander3=[[Minerva Weatheral]]
+
|commander3_label=Operations manager
+
|aircraft_attack=
+
|aircraft_bomber=
+
|aircraft_electronic=
+
|aircraft_fighter=
+
|aircraft_helicopter=
+
|aircraft_helicopter_attack=
+
|aircraft_helicopter_cargo=
+
|aircraft_helicopter_multirole=
+
|aircraft_helicopter_observation=
+
|aircraft_helicopter_transport=
+
|aircraft_helicopter_utility=
+
|aircraft_interceptor=
+
|aircraft_patrol=
+
|aircraft_recon=
+
|aircraft_trainer=
+
|aircraft_transport=
+
}}
+
  
=== Deep Space Exploration Forces (EXFOR) ===
+
The “special relationship” between the Soviets and [[Stellvia Corporation]] has come under strain in recent years, due to the Soviet stance on infosocialism and freedom of information and the 2018 revelation that the [[Whole Fenspace Catalog]] had been released in a doctored format.
The Soviet Air Force's main focus has always been the exploration of deep space. Despite their forays into combat operations during the Boskone War and afterwards, the Central Committee is more interested in putting resources towards exploration and research. The '''Deep Space Exploration Forces''' (abbreviated '''EXFOR''') were established in 2013 during the VVS expansion project.
+
  
EXFOR's primary mission is to explore the outer reaches of the Solar System and the Local Neighborhood, seeking out new life, new civilizations, etc. and bring back plenty of hard data and quality video to impress the proletariat. The VVS documentaries are a signature trademark of the faction; every EXFOR mission has video shot, most of the raw footage ending up on public video websites like YouTube. The best footage is - when anybody has the necessary time - assembled into feature films or Discovery Channel specials.
+
Soviet relations with mundane space agencies remain strong, though links to JPL were severed by the Artemis scandal. [[TSAB]] and the Soviet remain in their blood feud.
  
The first official mission under the EXFOR banner was the 2013 [[Delta Pavonis]] expedition. The Pavonis expedition was also the first VVS mission involving a full fleet of starships, multiple backers from both Fenspace and Earth, the deep-space trial of the VVS-designed, UFP-built ''Gagarin'' class light cruiser and the first fen operation to make the cover of National Geographic. EXFOR followed up the success of the Pavonis mission with survey missions to Sirius and Procyon and a followup mission to Delta Pavonis to rknzvar gur Gnaaunhfre negvsnpg ybpngrq va beovg nebhaq gur bayl unovgnoyr cynarg va gur flfgrz.
+
=== Future plans ===
 +
''See article: [[Autonomous Alliance]]''
  
EXFOR is based out of [[Korolev Air Force Base|Korolev AFB]], on the outskirts of [[Kandor City]], Luna. Ships that are unable to ground at Korolev are parked in standard lunar orbit or move to open space at the Lagrange-2 point behind Luna. EXFOR also maintains unmanned science stations on Mercury, Titan, and in orbit around Proxima Centauri.
+
As of 2022, the Soviet’s long range plans involve greater integration of the Soviet system of government with the Federation’s republican government. The end goal of this integration is to successfully convince the Federation’s citizens that the Soviet style of syndicalist democracy is and should be the way the Federation is governed.
 
+
=== Extraterrestrial Combat Command (X-COM) ===
+
{{Infobox Military Unit
+
|unit_name= Extraterrestrial Combat Command
+
|image=[[Image:x-com-shoulder-patch.png|150px]]
+
|caption=X-COM shoulder blazon
+
|dates= 2013 - present
+
|country=
+
|allegiance=
+
|branch=
+
|type=
+
|role=
+
|size=
+
|command_structure= Soviet Air Force
+
|garrison= [[Gagarin Crater AFB]]
+
|garrison_label=
+
|nickname=X-COM
+
|patron=
+
|motto=
+
|colors=Red and Yellow
+
|colors_label=
+
|march=
+
|mascot=
+
|equipment=[[1st Air Army Squadron A]] (Azu Squadron)<br/> [[1st Air Army Squadron B]] (The Rocketeers)<br/> [[1st MARS Company]]<br/> [[2nd MARS Company]]<br/> [[Angry Marines|3rd MARS Company]]<br/> ROU ''[[Frank Exchange of Views]]''<br/> ROU ''[[Laugh While You Can]]''<br/> ROU ''[[Complaint Department]]''<br/>
+
|equipment_label=Units
+
|battles=[[Boskone War]]
+
|anniversaries=
+
|decorations=
+
|battle_honours=
+
|disbanded=
+
<!-- Commanders -->
+
|commander1=Col. [[KJ DeRosia]]
+
|commander1_label=Commander
+
|commander2=Lt. Col. [[Shad Houben]]
+
|commander2_label=Deputy commander
+
|aircraft_attack=
+
|aircraft_bomber=[[Tupolev Tu-95X|Tu-95X]] "Cosmo Bear"<br/> Tupolev Tu-22M "Backfire"
+
|aircraft_electronic=
+
|aircraft_fighter=VVS Factory Ga-XX "Firefox"
+
|aircraft_helicopter=
+
|aircraft_helicopter_attack=
+
|aircraft_helicopter_cargo=
+
|aircraft_helicopter_multirole=
+
|aircraft_helicopter_observation=
+
|aircraft_helicopter_transport=
+
|aircraft_helicopter_utility=
+
|aircraft_interceptor=[[VVS Factory Ga-15|Ga-15]] "Fearless"
+
|aircraft_patrol=
+
|aircraft_recon=
+
|aircraft_trainer=
+
|aircraft_transport=[[OGJ Troop Transport|J4500 University Coach]]<br/> [[VVS Factory Ga-38|Ga-38]] "Canary"<br/> Ga-77 "Crashdown"
+
}}
+
The '''Extraterrestrial Combat Command''' (abbreviated '''X-COM'''<ref>The Central Committee has always had a sense of humor about these sorts of things, so yes, the combat wing of the VVS is named X-COM ''exactly'' for the reason [http://www.xcomufo.com/ you think it is.] The amazing thing is that the VVS got there first.</ref>)  was offically set up in 2013 as part of the expansion project. The original force had been an armed ''Ptichka'' and a platoon's worth of Senshi. Once the expansion project grew to the point where ''Ptichka'' wasn't needed as a front-line ship, she was returned to research duties and X-COM stepped in to take up the slack.
+
  
The VVS is unique in their profligate use of unmanned combat vehicles; nobody else in Fenspace or on Earth uses UCVs like the Soviets. Because of the nature of handwavium AI, the Central Committee realized early on that a handwaved spacecraft doesn't necessarily ''need'' a human pilot to function. In the beginning of the expansion the VVS focused on handwaving "plug and play" AI cores, partly because it was easy to do while on the move and still get the new recruits properly trained. The AIs could also network and operate machinery, giving the VVS the extra "hands" needed to get production lines for new ships up and running.
+
Along these lines, in 2020 the Soviet began a quiet campaign of memetic agitation among the Federation and left-libertarian microfactions on Luna, Mars and the Main Belt towards the formation of an “autonomous alliance” that would stand for four main points:
  
Soviet front-line combat operations are almost all AI-driven. Active warships have human control spaces in them, but unless there are direct orders to the contrary the ship's AI is in total control.
+
* Autonomy, self-organization and self-governance for all sapient beings
 +
* Direct democracy and forms of organization where sapients collectively decide their own future.
 +
* Mutual aid and reciprocating altruism between sapients.
 +
* The right to engage in self-defense against oppression and coercive authority and stand in solidarity with sapients so attacked.
  
Most of the human membership of X-COM is either at the staff level (the Central Committee) or part of the Militarized Armed Response Senshi (MARS) force. MARS was formed as a joint commando operation between the VVS and the [[Crystal Millennium|Senshi Militia]] during [[Operation Great Justice]]. The partnership continued through the end of the Boskone War, and the MARS units became a normalized part of X-COM as a marine unit.  
+
So far, the alliance as proved modestly successful in reaching some microfactions, but has not penetrated the consciousness of the average Fen just yet.  
  
X-COM is based out of [[Gagarin Crater Air Force Base|Gagarin Crater AFB]], on the lunar farside. Active forces are rotated through OGJ on 3-year assignments performing convoy escort, general patrol and the occasional show of force or military exercise. Rumors that MARS units have been used in [[space patrol#section 9deniable operations unit|black operations against Boskone remnants and/or intrusive 'Danelaw interest]] remain rumors.
+
== Administrative divisions ==
 +
=== Korolevgrad (Korolev AFB) ===
 +
[[Korolev Air Force Base]] is the nerve center for Soviet activity on [[Luna]] and the home port for most Soviet spacecraft. The base was initially founded in 2010, using the proceeds from the VVS’ first successful contract with the French space agency CNES to build a first-class staging base. Clark Universal Construction was hired to do most of the heavy lifting, while the VVS provided architectural designs. The base is separated into two major parts. The first part is the complex under the [[Kandor City]] dome which houses the main meeting areas, bunkhouses, canteen, staff quarters and greenhouse. The second part is the hangar complex which sits outside the dome for obvious reasons and is connected to the interior by a series of long passageways. Korolev Hangar One is the main hangar, and it is one of the more impressive (if less well-known) sights of early Fen construction. Hangar One is a 500 meter diameter cylindrical borehole cut 500 meters into the lunar surface, with 12 large landing pads attached to the sides of the borehole. The pads are arranged in a spiral running from top to bottom, an arrangement which allows all pads clear access to the exit. Hangar One is capped by an opaque dome with entrance and egress doors. The entire facility is pressurized; atmosphere containment fields maintain the internal atmosphere.
  
== Relations with other factions ==
+
The town of Korolevgrad is the largest Soviet city and part of the greater Kandor City metropolitan area. The city’s current (2022) population is 3,900, and consists mostly of Soviet ship crews and their dependents, film production staff and others. Korolevgrad is a magnet for left-wing bohemians and people who want to hang out around left-wing bohemians, and this can be seen in the colorful, quirky<ref>By which we mean “indie movie quirky,” not “handwavium quirky.”</ref> decorations on most buildings. The town soviet is led by mayor Miranda Delgado.
Generally, the Soviet Air Force has good relations with the major factions. Their important role in Operation GREAT JUSTICE, and their major shareholder status in the Nikaido Foundation and the [[Space Patrol]] keeps the VVS operating at "great power" status, despite its relative small size.
+
  
Soviet relations are particularly good with the [[Crystal Millennium]] and the [[United Federation of Planets]]. In the former, joint operations with the Sammies during GREAT JUSTICE led to the formation of the MARS units. In the latter, EXFOR's drive for increased interplanetary and interstellar scientific work impressed the Federation Council with their fervor, and Utopia Planitia's license for ''[[Gagarin]]''-class cruisers helped spur expansion of the Martian shipyard industry. Relations are also good with the [[Blue Blaze Irregulars]]; while there aren't any Blue Blazers currently employed by the VVS, the force is always willing to share information or provide assistance to any BBI operation at any time.
+
==== The Mad Chef ====
 +
The Mad Chef (no other name known nor given) is a European expat of French or English origin who arrived in Korolevgrad in late 2015 and promptly set up a restaurant (also called The Mad Chef) in the middle of town. Apparently the Mad Chef is a master of multiple cuisines, and when taken by a fey mood will immediately junk entire menus in favor of totally different cuisines, sometimes in the middle of a service. On most days The Mad Chef serves modern European cuisine, but the menu can vary from English to Japanese to Sumatran to Ancient Egyptian with very little notice.
  
The goodwill felt towards the VVS is not universal, however. The Central Committee has never been shy about expressing a strong fan-seperatist line, and this makes certain individuals on Earth and in Fenspace nervous. Most fendane-aligned factions (aside from [[Stellvia Corporation]], oddly enough) tend to be wary of the VVS, particularly since their expansion from a one-ship microfaction to a sizable fleet. Mundane governments (especially the United States) are also wary of the VVS and their growing military power.  
+
=== Gagaringrad (Gagarin Crater AFB) ===
 +
[[Gagarin Crater AFB]] is the military-industrial heart of the Sozvezdie Soviet. Founded in 2012 on the far side of Luna, the facility was designed to be as close to a 100% autonomous, self-sufficient factory complex as possible. Automated systems developed by the Ministry of Science collect lunar regolith, process it into a variety of materials and then forge those raw materials into stuff, mostly vehicle spaceframes and engines. Gagarin Crater AFB also maintains X-COM proprietary spacecraft and provides MARS training facilities; the Ministry of War is headquartered on the base.
  
EXFOR retains good relations with JPL, ESA, ISRO and JAXA, but has been in an undeclared blood fued with [[TSAB]] since early 2012. (TSAB is convinced that the VVS was directly responsible for [[Project Artemis]], which isn't really true; it was a collaborative effort, ''Ptichka'' was just the point end of the spear.)
+
The city of Gagaringrad is a small domed complex on the edge of the base, and provides housing for factory workers, dependents and X-COM personnel who don’t want to live on base.<ref>A reasonable enough thing, considering the Gagarin Crater automation requires Carl Starling’s arrangement of Raymond Scott’s “Powerhouse” played 24/7 or the machinery stops.</ref> The current (2022) population of Gagaringrad is 750; the town has seen an increase in tourism as Starfleet Corps of Engineers visit the complex to better learn Soviet weirding ways.  
  
Some anti-AI microfactions have filed protests with the Central Committee over their heavy use of autonomous vehicles in combat operations, often with many citations of ''Frankenstein'' and ''The Terminator'' as "proof" that AIs shouldn't be allowed weapons. The Central Committee's replies have been less than diplomatic, which only furthers the bad feelings.
+
=== Ptichka’s Landing ===
 +
The newest province of the Soviet is the '''Gallifrey Autonomous Socialist Republic''', located on the planet [[Gallifrey]] in the [[Tau Ceti]] system. While holding tentative claims to the entire planet, the ASR currently encompasses the town of Ptichka’s Landing on the west coast of the continent Wild Endeavour. Sited on ''Ptichka''’s original touchdown point (a small memorial plinth marks the exact spot the nose wheel touched the surface), the Landing was founded in 2019 by the Love and Rage Collective. Love and Rage is an anarchist group loosely affiliated with the [[Crystal Millennium]] but officially departed in 2018 when inevitable differences between monarchists and anarchists finally proved irreconcilable.<ref>Conspiracy theorists frequently suggest that the irreconcilable differences were engineered by the Soviet because reasons.</ref> The anarchists were offered settlement on Gallifrey by the Soviet, and 700 initial colonists took up the offer, setting up the town of Ptichka’s Landing on the banks of the River Song.<ref>I’m sorry. I’m so, ''so'' sorry... -ed.</ref>Ptichka’s Landing has a current (2022) population of 1,200, mostly Love and Rage members but also mundane exogeologists and exobiologists studying Gallifrey. The ASR technically joined the Federation along with the rest of the Soviet but the change in sovereignty is given lip service at best by citizens of the Landing.
  
==The Soviet Fleet (2015)==
+
=== The Fleet (2022) ===
{| {{table}} width="100%"
+
During the 2013 – 2016 period, the Soviet Air Force divided its forces along military (X-COM) and scientific (Exploration Forces or EXFOR) lines. After the 2016 rebranding X-COM remained separate while the EXFOR division was slowly dropped in favor of naming the fleet simply “The Red Banner Fleet.” With the merger of the Soviet with the Federation in 2022, X-COM assets that were not immediately transferred over to Starfleet’s direct control were merged with the Red Banner Fleet.
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Prefix'''
+
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Ship name'''
+
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Registry #'''
+
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Class'''
+
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Type'''
+
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Service'''
+
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Commissioned'''
+
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Ship's Emblem'''
+
|-
+
| USSR||''[[Ptichka]]''||WTF-023||Unique||light explorer||EXFOR||2008||[[Image:Ptichka crew patch.png|30px]]
+
|-
+
| LOU||''Inappropriate Response''||XC-002||Mook||assault transport||X-COM||2012||
+
|-
+
| LOU||''I Blame The Parents''||XC-001||Mook||assault transport||X-COM||2012||
+
|-
+
| GCU||''[[Yuri Gagarin]]''||NX-100||Gagarin||heavy explorer||EXFOR||2013||[[Image:Yuri Gagarin emblem.png|30px]]
+
|-
+
| MCU||''[[Xenu Express]]''||WTF-024||Unique||medium explorer||EXFOR||2013||[[Image:Xenu Express emblem.png|30px]]
+
|-
+
| MCU||''[[A Series of Unlikely Explanations]]''||WTF-025||Unique||medium explorer||EXFOR||2013||[[Image:Series of Unlikely Explanations emblem.png|30px]]
+
|-
+
| LOU||''Minor Collateral Damage''||XC-005||Mook||assault transport||X-COM||2013||
+
|-
+
| LOU||''i've got a big stick''||XC-004||Mook||assault transport||X-COM||2013||
+
|-
+
| ROU||''[[Frank Exchange of Views]]''||XC-003||Backfire||corvette||X-COM||2013||[[Image:Frank Exchange emblem.png|30px]]
+
|-
+
| ROU||''[[Laugh While You Can Monkey-Boy]]''||XC-006||Backfire||corvette||X-COM||2013||
+
|-
+
| MCU ||''[[Columbia]]''||OV-202||OV-200||light explorer||EXFOR||2014||[[Image:Columbia crew patch.png|30px]]
+
|-
+
| ROU||''[[Complaint Department]]''||XC-007||Backfire||corvette||X-COM||2014||
+
|-
+
| GCU||''[[Laika]]''||NCC-104||Gagarin||heavy explorer||EXFOR||2015||[[IMage:Laika crew patch.png|30px]]
+
|-
+
| ROU||''[[Sincere Exchange of Grievance]]''||XC-008||Thug||destroyer||X-COM||2015||
+
|}
+
  
=== Craft Inventory (2015) ===
+
==== Flagship ====
{|border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="border:\#c9c9c9 1px solid; margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; border-collapse: collapse;"
+
''see article: [[Ptichka]]''
| {{tableheader}} colspan="5"|EXFOR
+
|-
+
|{{tableheader}}|Vehicle
+
|{{tableheader}}|Origin
+
|{{tableheader}}|Type
+
|{{tableheader}}|In Service
+
|{{tableheader}}|Notes
+
|-
+
|Buran
+
|Soviet Union
+
|experimental
+
|1
+
|
+
|-
+
|[[OV-200]]
+
|Soviet Air Force-In-Exile
+
|explorer
+
|1
+
|
+
|-
+
|A310
+
|France
+
|airliner
+
|1
+
|
+
|-
+
|''Gagarin''-class
+
|United Federation of Planets
+
|general contact unit
+
|1
+
|Design licensed by UFP Starfleet
+
|-
+
|DC-8-71
+
|United States
+
|airliner
+
|1
+
|
+
|-
+
|[[Ga-38]]
+
|United States<br> Soviet Air Force-In-Exile
+
|shuttlecraft
+
|6
+
|Design licensed by Artemis Corporation.
+
|-
+
|Energia
+
|Soviet Union
+
|mothership
+
|1
+
|Construction expected to begin mid-2015.
+
|-
+
|{{tableheader}} colspan="5" |X-COM
+
|-
+
|{{tableheader}}|Vehicle
+
|{{tableheader}}|Origin
+
|{{tableheader}}|Type
+
|{{tableheader}}|In Service
+
|{{tableheader}}|Notes
+
|-
+
|Ga-15
+
|United States<br> Soviet Air Force-In-Exile
+
|fighter
+
|7
+
|To be mass-produced through 2020
+
|-
+
|[[F-EZig]]
+
|Fenspace
+
|fighter
+
|10
+
|
+
|-
+
|Tu-95
+
|Soviet Union
+
|bomber/carrier
+
|4
+
|3 operational, 1 reserve
+
|-
+
|Tu-22M
+
|Soviet Union
+
|rapid offensive unit
+
|2
+
|6 to be built through 2018
+
|-
+
|J4500 Univeristy Coach
+
|United States
+
|troop transport
+
|4
+
|More to be ordered as needed
+
|-
+
|{{tableheader}} colspan="5"|Miscellaneous
+
|-
+
|{{tableheader}}|Vehicle
+
|{{tableheader}}|Origin
+
|{{tableheader}}|Type
+
|{{tableheader}}|In Service
+
|{{tableheader}}|Notes
+
|-
+
|[[Kestrel Mk. III]]
+
|Soviet Air Force-In-Exile
+
|asteroid racer
+
|1
+
|[[KJ DeRosia|KJ's]] personal transport
+
|-
+
|[[Cirrus X-3]]
+
|Soviet Air Force-In-Exile
+
|jetpack
+
|1
+
|[[Dee]]'s personal transport
+
|}
+
  
=== Motif ===
+
''USSR Ptichka'' remains the Fleet flagship, her primary role as a diplomatic and executive transport for the Generalissimo. She still racks up plenty of flight time on the Luna-Mars run as well as trips out to the extrasolar colonies.
  
Soviet Air Force hardware tends to fall into one of three categories:
+
==== Shuttle fleet ====
 +
The Soviet maintains the second-largest fleet of [[OV-200]] series space shuttles in Fenspace.<ref>After the [[Artemis Foundation]], of course.</ref> The shuttles ''Uragan'', ''Buran'', ''Groza'', ''Typhoon'', ''Borei'' and ''Tsiklon ''take part in normal Red Fleet maneuvers and are frequently on duty in the further reaches of near space. ''MCU [[Columbia]]'' was seconded to the Ministry of Communications as a utility craft for Sandwich Films, and ''MCU Iskra'' was seconded to the Ministry of Science as a general utility and testbed for Black Mesa.
  
# USSR/Warsaw Pact aircraft.
+
==== Mixed-use spacecraft ====
# Experimental aerospacecraft.
+
The bulk of the Red Banner Fleet is composed of [[Gagarin-class]] starships. The Gagarin is in use with both the Fleet and the Federation Starfleet: the bulk of Gagarins in service belong to Starfleet, while the remainder serve with the Red Banner Fleet. Soviet versions of this design are recognizable at a distance due to their elaborate, often abstract hull markings.
# Custom-built spacecraft.
+
  
Very few of the vehicles used by the VVS are of original manufacture, particularly the Soviet-era warplanes. Most of the really interesting Soviet hardware devolved onto the satellite states when the USSR collapsed, and since none of the satellites had the infrastructure or money necessary to keep them in anything resembling flightworthy shape, a lot of impressive technology was sent to the breakers or simply corroded away in abandoned hangars. This is not to say none of this stuff is available, mind; the VVS managed to purchase three Tu-95 bombers in good condition from the Ukranian Navy. However, in many cases the VVS purchases the blueprints from the appropriate design bureau and (since 2012) manufactures the airframes themselves at their Gagarin Crater, Luna facility.
+
==== Military vehicles ====
 +
The Soviet signed the PEPPER treaty in 2014 and promptly demilitarized much of their forces. The Tu-22MX rapid offensive unit ''Frank Exchange of Views'' petitioned for and was renamed the ‘very fast picket’ ''Look! I’m A Ploughshare''.<ref>Though it still answers to “Frankie” most of the time.</ref> ''Ploughshare'' and the (in)famous [[Azu Squadron]] are the only large space combat assets still attached directly to the Red Banner Fleet; all other X-COM ships were transferred to Starfleet Command control.
  
The same is true for the experimental Space Race gear the VVS likes to play with. In most cases, the original hardware (when it still exists) are all one-off pieces, usually housed in a museum with curators with no sense of humor about the whole thing. While this can sometimes be overcome, as was the case with the VVS' most famous (and infamous) acquistion ''Ptichka'', generally it is again easier for the VVS to simply purchase the plans for the necessary equipment, then build it themselves or farm the construction out to another Fenspace firm like Artemis, Hephaestus or Utopia Planitia.
+
== Economy ==
 +
The Soviets operate on a fairly simplified communal fund model. All faction infrastructure is controlled by the state, and income from use of that infrastructure as well as intellectual property leases, contractor income, etc. is held in a common pool which can be drawn as needed by any Soviet citizen. Standards of living are reasonably high for a small frontier society, and are expected to increase with the Federation merger.
  
VVS custom designed ships are (to date) mostly exercises intended to keep the Central Committee's minds sharp during long interplanetary or interstellar transits. A "standard" custom design will take an existing concept (either a mundane or genre vehicle) and then modify it - often quite extensively - to fit parameters. So far, only one VVS design, the ''[[Yuri Gagarin]]'' class, has translated from drawing board to reality.
+
=== Science and technology ===
 +
In 2021, the Soviet spent nearly 30% of its annual budget on domestic research and development. Science missions by the Red Banner Fleet are the faction’s major export and provide a substantial part of the Soviet’s operating income. The Soviet is considered a leader in Fenspace research into [[handwavium]] and the [[Whole Fenspace Catalog]].
  
The Soviet Air Force also employs a handful of one-off fenships, mostly craft intended to fill a specific role while production lines were built and brought online. These one-offs tend to be surplus airliners bought from transport companies or boneyards, usually because the aircraft could be easily converted but sometimes because the aircraft triggered the Central Committee's sense of humor. A good example of the latter is the ''Xenu Express'', a heavily-modified DC-8-71 bought by the VVS in 2012 ''solely'' because it would annoy the [[Scientologists]] who had moved into a nearby compound.
+
==== Black Mesa Research Facility ====
 +
''See article: [[Black Mesa]]''
  
==== Vehicle Designation System ====
+
The Black Mesa Research Facility is the Soviet’s main scientific research lab. Located at the asteroid [[2700 Baikonur]], most of the lab’s normal work is considered highly classified by the Central Committee.<ref>The Federation Council (among others) would dearly love to get their hands on an unredacted report from Black Mesa, to no avail.</ref> As of 2022, most of the work at Black Mesa revolves around Project AMALTHEA (the creation of nanotechnology suitable for cornucopias) and Project RAVENHOLM (the investigation and use of paranormal energy fields – what most people would call “magic”).
The Soviet Air Force being a democratic, largely AI-staffed organization dedicated to sticking their noses where they don't belong, it was almost inevitable that they would gravitate towards the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Culture Culture] novels by Iain M. Banks. To this end, the VVS decided to lift the spacecraft designation scheme from the Culture books and use them for Soviet ships:
+
  
'''EXFOR Designations'''
+
== Demographics ==
* Contact Units (CU)
+
The estimated population of the Sozvezdie Soviet in 2022 was 6,201. The largest city was Korolevgrad, with roughly 47% of the Soviet’s total population living there. The majority of Soviet citizens self-identified as American, followed by Canadian, Japanese, Arab, and Elvish. [[Artificial Intelligence|Artificial intelligences]] make up 12% of the Soviet population; most have android or robotic bodies, though there are several free infomorphs living in Soviet networks. This makes the Sozvezdie Soviet one of the larger pro-AI factions (per capita) in the Convention.
** Limited Contact Unit (LCU) - craft with less than 50mt dry mass.
+
** Medium Contact Unit (MCU) - craft with between 50-100mt dry mass.
+
** General Contact Unit (GCU) - craft with >100mt dry mass.
+
  
'''X-COM Designations'''
+
== Culture ==
* Offensive Units (OU)
+
Soviet culture derives from a mixture of immigrant influences and strong adherence to left-wing political and social models. The culture is extremely egalitarian, moreso than the Federation’s, and has leanings toward transhumanism and other radical pro-technological ideologies.
** Limited Offensive Unit (LOU) - specialized combat vehicles.
+
** Rapid Offensive Unit (ROU) - fast medium multi-role attack craft.
+
** General Offensive Unit (GOU) - heavy multi-role attack craft.
+
  
The "USSR" designation was retained solely for use by ''Ptichka'', as the Central Committee deemed her historical significance as the Soviet Union's last great technological achievement outweighed the internal benefits of a redesignation.
+
=== Psychology and stereotypes ===
 +
Many Soviet citizens were exiled or otherwise chased off Earth due to having inconvenient politics,<ref>As opposed to the usual handwavium panic, though sometimes it was both.</ref> and as a result have no small amount of bitterness and paranoia towards the mother planet. Despite this, the Soviets maintain a large streak of openness and are willing to welcome most people into the fold.  
  
===== Service Vehicles =====
+
For the Soviets, the future belongs to them in a very literal sense. Their small size as a faction is mitigated both by the disproportionate political power their SMOFs have, as well as the size of their ideas. As far as the average Soviet in the street is concerned the Federation didn’t annex the Soviet, the Soviet annexed the Federation. Whether or not this is an accurate estimation remains to be seen.
Of all the Culture designations, the VVS refuses to use what is perhaps the most impressive of them, the Service Vehicle (*SV). In the Banks novels, the General Services Vehicles are the Culture's backbone, gigantic sentient spacecraft capable of intergalactic travel and housing millions of people. When the Central Committee decided to use the Culture ship nomenclature for the fleet, they decided to hold off on declaring any VVS spacecraft to be a SV until they had a ship ''worthy'' of such a name.<ref>For the record, the only thing approaching proper SV status in Fenspace is ''[[Greenwood]]''. ''[[Grover's Corners]]'' comes close, but falls short of the ''scale'' necessary to be a true Service Vehicle.</ref>
+
  
== Soviet Air Force members (January 2015) ==
+
=== Arts and entertainment ===
 +
Soviet arts tend towards the Bohemian, with a liberal mix of early Internet humor and a strong do-it-yourself “garage project” aesthetic. Soviet influence can be seen in the Kandor City “wavepunk rock” scene, with bands like 1,000 Years In The Moon directly referencing well-known Soviets and Soviet iconography in their songs. As a small faction the Soviet doesn’t have an established internal media market, though it does export media through film and television programming in the greater Luna area.
  
=== Central Committee ===
+
==== Soviet Film Collective Studio No. 1 (Sandwich Films) ====
''Also known as "the '''Ptichka''' Nine," or "Sandwich's Seven."''
+
Sandwich Films predates the Soviet, even predating the Soviet Air Force. Originally the project of University of California-Berkeley film students [[Katze Brenner|Catherine]] and [[Josh Brenner]], this small student film studio had planned to create a documentary about the handwave refit of ''USSR Ptichka''. When the dust settled the Brenners ended up exiled along with the rest of the Order, and eventually restarted Sandwich Films after shooting a short documentary about life at Port Ceres.
* '''[[S. Malaclypse Fnord]]''' - CinC, VVS (2008-current); captain, USSR ''Ptichka'' (2008-current).
+
* '''[[D. R. (K. J.) DeRosia]]''' - Chief Engineer, USSR ''Ptichka'' (2008-2013); CinC, X-COM (2013-current).
+
* '''[[Elena van Oorebeek]]''' - Co-pilot, USSR ''Ptichka'' (2008-2013); captain, GCU ''Yuri Gagarin'' (2013-current).
+
* '''K. Stewart''' - Science officer, USSR ''Ptichka'' (2008-2013); captain, MCU ''Xenu Express'' (2013-2014); captain, MCU ''Columbia'' (2014-current); CinC, DSCOM (2013-current).
+
* '''P. Stewart''' - Science officer, USSR ''Ptichka'' (2008-2013); co-pilot, MCU ''Xenu Express'' (2013-2014); co-pilot, MCU ''Columbia'' (2014-current).
+
* '''R. Houben''' - Master-at-arms, USSR ''Ptichka'' (2008-2013); commander, Azu Squadron (2013-current).
+
* '''J. Renken''' - Flight attorney, USSR ''Ptichka'' (2008-2013); head of ground operations (2013-current).
+
* '''Ptichka''' - Systems control officer, USSR ''Ptichka'' (2008-current).
+
* '''[[Dee]]''' - Engineer, USSR ''Ptichka'' (2009-2013); chief engineer, GCU ''Yuri Gagarin'' (2013-current); head shipwright (2012-current).
+
  
=== EXFOR ===
+
The Sandwich Films studio lies on the outskirts of Korolevgrad, and is the oldest (if not the largest) movie studio on Luna. Most of the studio output is documentaries and other edutainment programs, usually involving Soviet exploration efforts or in-the-news weird science. Sandwich Films also does camera work for terrestrial directors<ref>Usually European or ANZAC production companies, due to the 2014 American lockout.</ref> and leases unused studio space for Fen producers.
* '''[[Sora Hasegawa]]''' - Chief Engineer, USSR ''Ptichka'' (2013-current).
+
* '''M. L. Weatheral''' - EXFOR Operations Manager, Korolev AFB (2014-current).
+
* (Another 30-50 people scattered across the various explorer ships, most on loan from one university/organization or another.)
+
  
=== X-COM ===
+
==== Kandor 3 ====
* (Between 15-30 shipmind AIs and one company-strength MARS unit.)
+
The Ministry of Communications operates and maintains a cable and satellite television channel, officially known as Kandor 3 but better known to its fans as the Monster Raving Goblin Cock News Network (MRGCNN). Kandor 3 operates on a 24-hour schedule, usually showing music videos, old television shows, the occasional Sandwich Films documentary and the nightly Movie of the Week, a (sometimes pirated) terrestrial production, more often than not with accompanying Rifftrax. The real star of Kandor 3 is the independent news and opinion show ''The Chewy Gristle Commentary Hour featuring Momo von Satan and the Cock''. ''The Chewy Gristle Commentary Hour'' stars Momo von Satan (a young woman of indeterminate ethnicity with iridescent hair and an encyclopedic knowledge of profanity) and the Cock (a puppet that looks like a large, glowering penis wearing a bowtie and monocle) who proceed to recap the day’s or week’s events Daily Show-style, with Momo providing acerbic commentary and the Cock bellowing interjections at the least appropriate moment. The show is extremely popular with Nekomi Tech students, and has developed a cult following in places on Earth.<ref>Especially because the Ministry of Communications will sometimes pirate broadcast the show down to the surface on special occasions. This does not endear the Soviet with many Danelaw authorities, but whatever.</ref>
  
=== Ground Operations ===
+
== Notes ==
* '''GLaDOS''' - Operations manager, Korolev AFB (2009-current).
+
<references/>
* (Variable; usually 40 people scattered across Korolev AFB and Gagarin Crater AFB.)
+
  
==Notes==
 
<references />
 
  
  
{{soviets}}
+
{{soviets}}{{fenshuttles}}{{factions}}[[Category:Factions]][[Category:Minor Factions]][[Category:VVS| ]]
{{fenshuttles}}
+
{{factions}}
+
[[Category:Factions]]
+

Latest revision as of 22:05, 9 December 2012

Sozvezdie Soviet
Созвездие Совиет
Flag Roundel
Motto: "From each according to their imagination, to each according to their need."
Anthem: The Internationale
Capital
(and largest city)
Korolevgrad, Luna
Languages English, Russian, French, Japanese, Arabic, Sindarin
Ethnic groups (2022) 88% metahuman
10% cylon/cyborg
2% free infomorph/AI
Common nicknames Soviet Air Force
VVS
Those Commie Bastards
Demonym Soviets
Membership Fenspace Convention
United Federation of Planets (member state)
Government Soviet-style democracy
 -  Generalissimo Malaclypse Fnord
 -  First Secretary Joseph Lacroix (also Justice & Equality)
 -  Central Committee Khadija Samad (State)
KJ DuPree (War)
Josh Brenner (Communications)
Erik Chatterton (Labor & Finance)
Deidre Griest (Science)
Minerva Weatheral (Education)
Jessamine Oldbuck (Trade)
Oliver Adler (Infrastructure)
Chisa Tsukada (Culture)
Establishment
 -  Declaration of Abandonment and Vendetta October 13, 2008 
 -  Kandor Treaty March 28, 2010 
 -  Admission to Federation May 2, 2022 
Population
 -  2022 estimate 6,201 
Political influence Minor/Major
Major Achievements Multiple interplanetary and interstellar missions
Discovery of Tannhauser Gate
Project Artemis scandal
Stereotype Neutral/Chaotic Good adventurers who find neat things and spread the wealth. To everyone. Regardless of whether or not the powers that be want the wealth spread.


The Sozvezdie Soviet (Russian, “Union of Stars,” previously known as the Soviet Air Force-In-Exile or VVS) is a minor Fen faction and Federation member state founded by the crew of the ex-Soviet Union space shuttle orbiter Ptichka. The faction is based on Luna, with facilities on both near and far sides. Its largest city is Korolevgrad, situated around Korolev Air Force Base on the west rim of Daniell Crater. The Soviets are best known as deep-space explorers and socialist agitators. Soviet expeditions were the first to enter the Tau Ceti, Epsilon Indi, Delta Pavonis and Zeta (1) Reticuli systems. The faction was also the first independent group to join a larger faction in 2022 when the Soviet agreed to join the United Federation of Planets as a sovereign member state.

History

The Soviet originated in an online conspiracy-fantasy RPG that began in the early 1990s and ran until 2005. The final iteration of the game’s players remained in close contact with each other and ultimately became the inner circle of early Soviet leadership. In 2007 the players – now calling themselves the Order of Saint Grimace[1] – gathered together at Dragon*Con and drew up plans to purchase, transport and then restore the last surviving spaceworthy Buran shuttle to operational condition, and then “have adventures or something.”

Over the course of 2008 the Order proceeded to buy Buran 1.02[2], have it hauled to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and refit it using copious amounts of handwavium. By the time the handwavium panics started the process was too far along to abandon, and the Order continued working until October 12, 2008, when local, State and Federal agents surrounded their working hangar and demanded the Order’s surrender. What happened next would become a thing of Fen legend: the Order used Ptichka’s gravity drive to explode the hangar and, in a hail of law-enforcement gunfire, abandoned the planet Earth. Once in orbit, the Order renamed themselves the Soviet Air Force-In-Exile “awaiting the day when the bourgeois capitalists are swept from the Earth and the stars,” swore nebulous vendetta against the entrenched powers of Earth, and got down to having adventures.

The Soviet Air Force threw itself into interplanetary and interstellar exploration, discovering several new exoplanets and providing high-quality data on worlds within the solar system. The amnesty attached to the 2010 Kandor Treaty allowed the VVS renewed access to Earth, which allowed them to build up contacts within terrestrial space agencies looking for a mule for their planetology programs, among other things. In 2011 the VVS successfully smuggled three surplus barrels of handwavium to NASA officials at Kennedy Space Center; this handwavium was used for the Project Artemis refit of the shuttles Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour.

During the Boskone War the Soviet Air Force was part of the initial Operation Great Justice patrol and rapid-reaction force. Newly-minted MARS marine units were instrumental in the capture of Asteroid 1488. Soviet forces fought in most of the major battles of the war, and were part of the final task force sent to capture Boskone Prime. The VVS also during this time made their landmark expedition to the Delta Pavonis system, where they discovered the Tannhauser Gate artifact and the wormhole link to the Zeta (1) Reticuli system.

The Soviet leadership was implicated in the 2014 Project Artemis scandal in the United States, leading to the barring of Soviet citizens from the US after “one epic trolling session” between Generalissimo Fnord and the Congress. The VVS continued interstellar operations as well, focusing on Tannhauser Gate and its twin Night’s Door in the Zeta 1 system.

In 2016 the VVS voted to dissolve as a paramilitary force and reconstituted itself as the Sozvezdie Soviet, featuring a civilian government over the paramilitary structure. Around this time the Soviet also began offering assistance to left-wing groups on Earth looking to find greener pastures in Fenspace.

On May 5, 2022, the Central Committee of the Sozvezdie Soviet, as directed by the All-Union Soviet, signed an accord of annexation between the minor faction and the United Federation of Planets, marking the first time in Fen history a smaller faction willingly joined a larger one.

Politics

The Sozvezdie Soviet is a council-based democracy. The Soviet Basic Law establishes a legislative branch composed of the entire adult population[3], an elected executive branch to administer the government and an elected judiciary to arbitrate interpretation of the law.

The legislature (the All-Union Soviet) operates on a tightly monitored public forum and a voting system designed and operated by the Ministry of Communications. Every citizen past the age of majority may cast votes when the soviets are in session. Sessions are held weekly except during emergencies, though debate and discussion of issues goes on constantly. The average Soviet will vote at least twice a week, though the issues voted on will tend to be local events and not large-scale legislature.

Day-to-day governance of the Soviet falls to the Central Committee, an elected council which performs the basic executive functions and operates the dozen or so extant Ministries which keep the Soviet functioning. The Committee also acts as a ratifying body for All-Union Soviet decisions; this may be overridden by a 2/3 majority of the All-Union Soviet. The nominal head of government is the First Secretary, a member of the Committee elected by his or her fellows. When necessary, official head-of-state figurehead functions may be handled by the Generalissimo, a lifetime post.[4]

Elections and political parties

Elections are held every five years, starting from the reincorporation date of the VVS into the Soviet in 2016[5], though the First Minister may dissolve the government and request new elections at any time. All Central Committee posts are up for election, which may cause significant turnover in government. Since the 2022 annexation, the All-Union Soviet also votes on and approves the person or persons sent to represent the Soviet on the Federation Council.

The political landscape of the Soviet has successfully managed to precipitate political parties out of the swirling ether. So far the parties are largely rough delineations without any formal structure to them, and the nature of Soviet and Fen politics may end up keeping them that way for some time. The parties appear out of the mists every election cycle and return to the mists once the elections are over. There can be as many parties as there are Soviets in theory, however four major groups have formed in the 2016 and 2021 election cycles. The Social Democrats are the party of the old guard, and is primarily concerned with maintaining Soviet infrastructure and influence against capitalist incursion. The Infosocialists are the most successful of the radical parties, taking a hard line on freedom of information and allying themselves with the Pirate Party International. The Internationale is the radical wing of the Social Democrats, interested in encouraging Soviet-style democratic movements elsewhere in Fenspace and on Earth. The Transhumanists are the youngest of the parties, largely built around the perennial Minister of Science and her loyal minions in Korolevgrad and Black Mesa.

Law and criminal justice

The Soviet Basic Law follows the Articles of Convention closely, with a large and comprehensive declaration of metahuman rights not found in the standard Articles. Trial and punishment are most often handled within a soviet or handed off to a nearby soviet for impartiality purposes.

Military

What good’s Utopia if the bad guys steal it from you?

—KJ DuPree, X-COM

X-COM Blazon.png
The Extraterrestrial Combat Unit (X-COM) was the Soviet’s main military force. The unit was originally put together to free up resources – mostly USSR Ptichka – from combat duty during the Boskone War. X-COM consisted of fast strike spacecraft and marine detachments, favoring a high-mobility “hit fast, hit hard” doctrine when engaging Boskonian forces. X-COM infantry units, the Militarized Armed Response Senshi (MARS) were developed as a joint project between the Soviet Air Force and the Senshi Militia during the war, and consisted of combat-trained Senshi led by Soviet officers.

Soviet citizens are required to spend a minimum of six months upon attaining citizenship in X-COM for training in the ancient arts of hurting people and getting along with other factions.

X-COM drew down significant forces after the Boskone War and the signing of the 2014 PEPPER treaty; most of the fleet units were demilitarized and some of the MARS units returned to Senshi control. After the 2022 Federation annexation, the majority of active X-COM units were absorbed as a subdivision of the Starfleet Marine Corps; the remainder joined the Red Banner Fleet.

Relations with other factions

Despite their joining with the United Federation of Planets, the Soviets maintain their own diplomatic relations with other factions, as well as independent commitments to the metanational structures of the Convention.

The Soviets retain their major shareholder status in the Nikaido Foundation and the Space Patrol, and X-COM’s main duties involve regular operation with Great Justice forces. Relations remain good with the Crystal Millennium, as new Senshi rotate through MARS units on a regular basis.

The “special relationship” between the Soviets and Stellvia Corporation has come under strain in recent years, due to the Soviet stance on infosocialism and freedom of information and the 2018 revelation that the Whole Fenspace Catalog had been released in a doctored format.

Soviet relations with mundane space agencies remain strong, though links to JPL were severed by the Artemis scandal. TSAB and the Soviet remain in their blood feud.

Future plans

See article: Autonomous Alliance

As of 2022, the Soviet’s long range plans involve greater integration of the Soviet system of government with the Federation’s republican government. The end goal of this integration is to successfully convince the Federation’s citizens that the Soviet style of syndicalist democracy is and should be the way the Federation is governed.

Along these lines, in 2020 the Soviet began a quiet campaign of memetic agitation among the Federation and left-libertarian microfactions on Luna, Mars and the Main Belt towards the formation of an “autonomous alliance” that would stand for four main points:

  • Autonomy, self-organization and self-governance for all sapient beings
  • Direct democracy and forms of organization where sapients collectively decide their own future.
  • Mutual aid and reciprocating altruism between sapients.
  • The right to engage in self-defense against oppression and coercive authority and stand in solidarity with sapients so attacked.

So far, the alliance as proved modestly successful in reaching some microfactions, but has not penetrated the consciousness of the average Fen just yet.

Administrative divisions

Korolevgrad (Korolev AFB)

Korolev Air Force Base is the nerve center for Soviet activity on Luna and the home port for most Soviet spacecraft. The base was initially founded in 2010, using the proceeds from the VVS’ first successful contract with the French space agency CNES to build a first-class staging base. Clark Universal Construction was hired to do most of the heavy lifting, while the VVS provided architectural designs. The base is separated into two major parts. The first part is the complex under the Kandor City dome which houses the main meeting areas, bunkhouses, canteen, staff quarters and greenhouse. The second part is the hangar complex which sits outside the dome for obvious reasons and is connected to the interior by a series of long passageways. Korolev Hangar One is the main hangar, and it is one of the more impressive (if less well-known) sights of early Fen construction. Hangar One is a 500 meter diameter cylindrical borehole cut 500 meters into the lunar surface, with 12 large landing pads attached to the sides of the borehole. The pads are arranged in a spiral running from top to bottom, an arrangement which allows all pads clear access to the exit. Hangar One is capped by an opaque dome with entrance and egress doors. The entire facility is pressurized; atmosphere containment fields maintain the internal atmosphere.

The town of Korolevgrad is the largest Soviet city and part of the greater Kandor City metropolitan area. The city’s current (2022) population is 3,900, and consists mostly of Soviet ship crews and their dependents, film production staff and others. Korolevgrad is a magnet for left-wing bohemians and people who want to hang out around left-wing bohemians, and this can be seen in the colorful, quirky[6] decorations on most buildings. The town soviet is led by mayor Miranda Delgado.

The Mad Chef

The Mad Chef (no other name known nor given) is a European expat of French or English origin who arrived in Korolevgrad in late 2015 and promptly set up a restaurant (also called The Mad Chef) in the middle of town. Apparently the Mad Chef is a master of multiple cuisines, and when taken by a fey mood will immediately junk entire menus in favor of totally different cuisines, sometimes in the middle of a service. On most days The Mad Chef serves modern European cuisine, but the menu can vary from English to Japanese to Sumatran to Ancient Egyptian with very little notice.

Gagaringrad (Gagarin Crater AFB)

Gagarin Crater AFB is the military-industrial heart of the Sozvezdie Soviet. Founded in 2012 on the far side of Luna, the facility was designed to be as close to a 100% autonomous, self-sufficient factory complex as possible. Automated systems developed by the Ministry of Science collect lunar regolith, process it into a variety of materials and then forge those raw materials into stuff, mostly vehicle spaceframes and engines. Gagarin Crater AFB also maintains X-COM proprietary spacecraft and provides MARS training facilities; the Ministry of War is headquartered on the base.

The city of Gagaringrad is a small domed complex on the edge of the base, and provides housing for factory workers, dependents and X-COM personnel who don’t want to live on base.[7] The current (2022) population of Gagaringrad is 750; the town has seen an increase in tourism as Starfleet Corps of Engineers visit the complex to better learn Soviet weirding ways.

Ptichka’s Landing

The newest province of the Soviet is the Gallifrey Autonomous Socialist Republic, located on the planet Gallifrey in the Tau Ceti system. While holding tentative claims to the entire planet, the ASR currently encompasses the town of Ptichka’s Landing on the west coast of the continent Wild Endeavour. Sited on Ptichka’s original touchdown point (a small memorial plinth marks the exact spot the nose wheel touched the surface), the Landing was founded in 2019 by the Love and Rage Collective. Love and Rage is an anarchist group loosely affiliated with the Crystal Millennium but officially departed in 2018 when inevitable differences between monarchists and anarchists finally proved irreconcilable.[8] The anarchists were offered settlement on Gallifrey by the Soviet, and 700 initial colonists took up the offer, setting up the town of Ptichka’s Landing on the banks of the River Song.[9]Ptichka’s Landing has a current (2022) population of 1,200, mostly Love and Rage members but also mundane exogeologists and exobiologists studying Gallifrey. The ASR technically joined the Federation along with the rest of the Soviet but the change in sovereignty is given lip service at best by citizens of the Landing.

The Fleet (2022)

During the 2013 – 2016 period, the Soviet Air Force divided its forces along military (X-COM) and scientific (Exploration Forces or EXFOR) lines. After the 2016 rebranding X-COM remained separate while the EXFOR division was slowly dropped in favor of naming the fleet simply “The Red Banner Fleet.” With the merger of the Soviet with the Federation in 2022, X-COM assets that were not immediately transferred over to Starfleet’s direct control were merged with the Red Banner Fleet.

Flagship

see article: Ptichka

USSR Ptichka remains the Fleet flagship, her primary role as a diplomatic and executive transport for the Generalissimo. She still racks up plenty of flight time on the Luna-Mars run as well as trips out to the extrasolar colonies.

Shuttle fleet

The Soviet maintains the second-largest fleet of OV-200 series space shuttles in Fenspace.[10] The shuttles Uragan, Buran, Groza, Typhoon, Borei and Tsiklon take part in normal Red Fleet maneuvers and are frequently on duty in the further reaches of near space. MCU Columbia was seconded to the Ministry of Communications as a utility craft for Sandwich Films, and MCU Iskra was seconded to the Ministry of Science as a general utility and testbed for Black Mesa.

Mixed-use spacecraft

The bulk of the Red Banner Fleet is composed of Gagarin-class starships. The Gagarin is in use with both the Fleet and the Federation Starfleet: the bulk of Gagarins in service belong to Starfleet, while the remainder serve with the Red Banner Fleet. Soviet versions of this design are recognizable at a distance due to their elaborate, often abstract hull markings.

Military vehicles

The Soviet signed the PEPPER treaty in 2014 and promptly demilitarized much of their forces. The Tu-22MX rapid offensive unit Frank Exchange of Views petitioned for and was renamed the ‘very fast picket’ Look! I’m A Ploughshare.[11] Ploughshare and the (in)famous Azu Squadron are the only large space combat assets still attached directly to the Red Banner Fleet; all other X-COM ships were transferred to Starfleet Command control.

Economy

The Soviets operate on a fairly simplified communal fund model. All faction infrastructure is controlled by the state, and income from use of that infrastructure as well as intellectual property leases, contractor income, etc. is held in a common pool which can be drawn as needed by any Soviet citizen. Standards of living are reasonably high for a small frontier society, and are expected to increase with the Federation merger.

Science and technology

In 2021, the Soviet spent nearly 30% of its annual budget on domestic research and development. Science missions by the Red Banner Fleet are the faction’s major export and provide a substantial part of the Soviet’s operating income. The Soviet is considered a leader in Fenspace research into handwavium and the Whole Fenspace Catalog.

Black Mesa Research Facility

See article: Black Mesa

The Black Mesa Research Facility is the Soviet’s main scientific research lab. Located at the asteroid 2700 Baikonur, most of the lab’s normal work is considered highly classified by the Central Committee.[12] As of 2022, most of the work at Black Mesa revolves around Project AMALTHEA (the creation of nanotechnology suitable for cornucopias) and Project RAVENHOLM (the investigation and use of paranormal energy fields – what most people would call “magic”).

Demographics

The estimated population of the Sozvezdie Soviet in 2022 was 6,201. The largest city was Korolevgrad, with roughly 47% of the Soviet’s total population living there. The majority of Soviet citizens self-identified as American, followed by Canadian, Japanese, Arab, and Elvish. Artificial intelligences make up 12% of the Soviet population; most have android or robotic bodies, though there are several free infomorphs living in Soviet networks. This makes the Sozvezdie Soviet one of the larger pro-AI factions (per capita) in the Convention.

Culture

Soviet culture derives from a mixture of immigrant influences and strong adherence to left-wing political and social models. The culture is extremely egalitarian, moreso than the Federation’s, and has leanings toward transhumanism and other radical pro-technological ideologies.

Psychology and stereotypes

Many Soviet citizens were exiled or otherwise chased off Earth due to having inconvenient politics,[13] and as a result have no small amount of bitterness and paranoia towards the mother planet. Despite this, the Soviets maintain a large streak of openness and are willing to welcome most people into the fold.

For the Soviets, the future belongs to them in a very literal sense. Their small size as a faction is mitigated both by the disproportionate political power their SMOFs have, as well as the size of their ideas. As far as the average Soviet in the street is concerned the Federation didn’t annex the Soviet, the Soviet annexed the Federation. Whether or not this is an accurate estimation remains to be seen.

Arts and entertainment

Soviet arts tend towards the Bohemian, with a liberal mix of early Internet humor and a strong do-it-yourself “garage project” aesthetic. Soviet influence can be seen in the Kandor City “wavepunk rock” scene, with bands like 1,000 Years In The Moon directly referencing well-known Soviets and Soviet iconography in their songs. As a small faction the Soviet doesn’t have an established internal media market, though it does export media through film and television programming in the greater Luna area.

Soviet Film Collective Studio No. 1 (Sandwich Films)

Sandwich Films predates the Soviet, even predating the Soviet Air Force. Originally the project of University of California-Berkeley film students Catherine and Josh Brenner, this small student film studio had planned to create a documentary about the handwave refit of USSR Ptichka. When the dust settled the Brenners ended up exiled along with the rest of the Order, and eventually restarted Sandwich Films after shooting a short documentary about life at Port Ceres.

The Sandwich Films studio lies on the outskirts of Korolevgrad, and is the oldest (if not the largest) movie studio on Luna. Most of the studio output is documentaries and other edutainment programs, usually involving Soviet exploration efforts or in-the-news weird science. Sandwich Films also does camera work for terrestrial directors[14] and leases unused studio space for Fen producers.

Kandor 3

The Ministry of Communications operates and maintains a cable and satellite television channel, officially known as Kandor 3 but better known to its fans as the Monster Raving Goblin Cock News Network (MRGCNN). Kandor 3 operates on a 24-hour schedule, usually showing music videos, old television shows, the occasional Sandwich Films documentary and the nightly Movie of the Week, a (sometimes pirated) terrestrial production, more often than not with accompanying Rifftrax. The real star of Kandor 3 is the independent news and opinion show The Chewy Gristle Commentary Hour featuring Momo von Satan and the Cock. The Chewy Gristle Commentary Hour stars Momo von Satan (a young woman of indeterminate ethnicity with iridescent hair and an encyclopedic knowledge of profanity) and the Cock (a puppet that looks like a large, glowering penis wearing a bowtie and monocle) who proceed to recap the day’s or week’s events Daily Show-style, with Momo providing acerbic commentary and the Cock bellowing interjections at the least appropriate moment. The show is extremely popular with Nekomi Tech students, and has developed a cult following in places on Earth.[15]

Notes

  1. A reference to the game that remained entrenched in Soviet lore, to the point of having a special award “for those who get the joke” named in its honor.
  2. Known informally by Baikonur workers, and then forever after, as Ptichka.
  3. In practice, this means any sapient being with a functional age of 18 human years or older.
  4. No provisions are made in the Basic Law as to how to elect a new Generalissimo when the current one dies, retires or otherwise slips the net. It’s expected that faith will manage, somehow.
  5. Elections of a more informal nature occurred in the VVS ranks, usually for promotion of officers, during the 2008 – 2016 period.
  6. By which we mean “indie movie quirky,” not “handwavium quirky.”
  7. A reasonable enough thing, considering the Gagarin Crater automation requires Carl Starling’s arrangement of Raymond Scott’s “Powerhouse” played 24/7 or the machinery stops.
  8. Conspiracy theorists frequently suggest that the irreconcilable differences were engineered by the Soviet because reasons.
  9. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry... -ed.
  10. After the Artemis Foundation, of course.
  11. Though it still answers to “Frankie” most of the time.
  12. The Federation Council (among others) would dearly love to get their hands on an unredacted report from Black Mesa, to no avail.
  13. As opposed to the usual handwavium panic, though sometimes it was both.
  14. Usually European or ANZAC production companies, due to the 2014 American lockout.
  15. Especially because the Ministry of Communications will sometimes pirate broadcast the show down to the surface on special occasions. This does not endear the Soviet with many Danelaw authorities, but whatever.