THE RED EMPIRE OF MARS

 

The Red Empire of Mars formed slowly over-time, with some of its branches emerging later, but many of its structures were actually instituted before the Red Empire was formed by the True Emperor. Anakeris Constantin was their father, but the True Emperor was the first proper Emperor.

 

Leader’s Title : The Emperor

Political Basis : Hereditary-based Empire

Ruling House : Constantin (the Imperial House)

Associated Houses : [To Be Confirmed]

Rulers :

            Current : None

1. Emperor [To Be Confirmed] Constantin, The Red/True Emperor

2. Emperor [To Be Confirmed] Constantin, The Red/False Emperor

Stance : Borgite moving to Hardline Borgite, and then teetering in final days towards Extremist Borgite

Allies : None

Enemies : [To Be Confirmed]

Colours : Primary red, with black trim (symbols in gold solid)

Symbol : Double-headed gold eagle (the “Red Eagle”, but only the Emperor’s was displayed with red highlights)

Capital System : Sol                      

Capital Planet : Mars

Capital City : Olympus Mons City

Palace/Headquarters : Red Palace

Regions : The entire colonised galaxy, Core, Mid-Sectors, Boundary and Frontier until its collapse

Military : See below; Praetorian Guard, but also the House Armies and House Navies, and at times the Damned Regiments

Currency : 1 Imperial Crown = 16 Shillings, and 1 Shilling = 64  Pence

Slavery : Tolerated in Houses (viewed as a local law matter)

Branches :

• Governors Assembly – The Planetary Governors, typically hereditary, but in control of the local House

• Solar Administration – The civil service of the Red Empire, hereditary but often appointment changed, and had minor houses within it.

• Imperial Senate – The House Lords formed the House Lord Senate, and were the upper court of the Red Empire, always hereditary or by command of the Red Emperor. Lower or minor Houses formed the wider Imperial Senate, the lower branch. House Lord Senators and Imperial Senators would carry titles of either House Lord or just ordinary Lord, but also Baron, Duke, Marquis, etc.

• The Praetorian Guard – the combined army and navy of the Red Emperor

• The House Armies – land units in command of either House Lord Senators or Imperial Senators

• The House Navies – naval units in command of either House Lord Senators or Imperial Senators

• Star Communications Network – the communications and stargate arm of the Empire, once a separate organisation like the Interstellar Merchant’s Guild, but fully subsumed into the Red Empire

• Imperial Intelligence – the intelligence network, heavily compromised eventually by StarCom’s secret Central Intelligence Department

• Clerks of Records : the official imperial historians, but also charged with creating databanks and records of everything fact in the colonised galaxy

• Imperial Courts of Justice : Trained, housed and created new Justiciars and Adjudicators. Nine Circuits of Justice in every House, but all ultimately subservient to the Imperial Circuit.

• Imperial Courts of Enforcement : Trained, housed and created new Enforcers, controlled by the Houses

• Imperial Circuit – highest court in the Red Empire

• Execution Corps – small unit of Imperial Executioners, subservient to the Imperial Circuit

• Condemned Regiments – Penal pseudo-military units of people (forerunners of the Epsilon-class) condemned to fight and die for the Emperor, often fought on the forefront of dangerous ExCol missions

• Dark Inquisition – a super-secretive group, formerly part of Project Dark, they were part of Imperial Intelligence and also controlled the Condemned Regiments, who fought the Cult of the Emperor and tried to root out issues within the Red Empire. Loyal solely to the True Emperor’s father, and then the True Emperor, they were the watchers of all Imperial branches. Aware of StarCom secrecy, they were focusing on StarCom when the False Emperor took control. False Emperor ordered them quietly exterminated, but a few survived. Also not known, perhaps even by the Emperor, but they were a smaller subdivision of the Inquisitors of Commerce of the Interstellar Merchants Guild.

• Strategiam Corps (“the Hand”) – The Strategius were highly intelligent beings, genetically created and maintained, part of Project Dark and then emerging into mainstream imperial service. The False Emperor imprisoned or executed many of the original Strategiam Corps when he ascended the throne, and greatly curtailed their power at the same time as he disposed of their physical equivalents in the Dark Inquisition. A few were held in prison, and the StarCom Federation did not release them when they took control.

• Imperial Academy of Mars – training school for nobles (and hostages held by Emperors)

• Imperial School of Medica – Medical advancement and operation corps

• Imperial School of Astronomics – Wider-remit school of astronomy, but definitely junior to Interstellar Merchant Guilds School of Navigation. Guardians of Commerce had a remit to police the Imperial School of Astronomics with the Emperors reluctant consent.

• Imperial School of Artisans, Engineering, Commerce, Operations and Mining – also known as AECOM, although there were many local House schools and colleges, they all had to carry AECOM accreditation and be overseen by AECOM Inspectors.

• Bioarticery Corps – Responsible for ensuring medical cyborg health, but also primarily research into cybernetics and bioartificery

• Imperial Treasury And Taxation (ITAT) – Held money and resources separately from the Instellar Merchants Guild’s Bank of the Merchant Guild, also collected tax from the House Lord Senators, who had to collect it themselves from their Lords, who in turn had to collect it themselves from their people

• Exploration and Colonisation Corps (ExCol) – also known as the Explorator Corps, ExCol were responsible for exploration and colonisation. Was subsumed into the StarCom Federation post-Dissolution.

• Internal Colonisation Corps (InCol) – responsible for setting up new colonies once ExCol had found them and set up the initial foundings, waned in power as Red Emperor declared an end to colonisation but then resurged as internal colonisations took hold. Still monitors and controls new terraforming activities and internal colonisation efforts. Was subsumed into the StarCom Federation post-Dissolution, becoming just ExCol.

• Faceless Assassins – secretive organisation nominally in command of first Emperor, but definitely not the second, and also subsumed into the Shadow Council in secret without either Emperor’s knowledge.

• Note : The Interstellar Merchants Guild was technically separate from the Red Empire, but to all intents and purposes was also part and was slowly becoming subsumed into Red Empire like StarCom, up to the point where False Emperor took control. See Interstellar Merchants Guild, as it has its own structure.

• Note : The Shadow Council was a secretive organisation, originally birthed as an off-shoot from the Emperor’s Project Shadow but eventually coming to run the entire Project Shadow after the Emperor thought it terminated. Went on to form the Third Empire.

• Note : Cult of the Emperor – with strong inroads into the Imperial Academy itself, and also the House Lords Senate and the wider Imperial Senate and many other branches of the Red Empire, at times persecuted and at others supported by the First Emperor and reviled by the Second, but they were never formally recognised or admitted into being part of the structure of the Red Empire. They were, however, part of Project Light.

 

The True Emperor had ruled that Project Light's successor, Project Shadow, should be closed and replaced with Project Dark. Project Light had been part of some of the early rebellions, which the True Emperor destroyed in fiery vengeance. Project Shadow however continued as the Shadow Council in its exile, and when the True Emperor was replaced with the False Emperor – the Shadow Councils favoured – he turned against both the progenies of Project Shadow and Project Dark. Whilst Project Shadow went off to survive as the Shadow Council, the Project Dark survivors in Imperial structure suffered.

 

The False Emperor cut the Faceless Assassins apart from the Empire, but they survived. Before he disposed of them, however, he used them in prosecuting his secret extermination of both the Dark Inquisition and the Strategiam Corps.

 

It was never proven conclusively what links either Emperor had to the Cult of the Emperor, although publicly, both of them denounced the Cult of the Emperor and hunted them down. Anecdotal evidence suggested the Emperor's secretly supported and used their services. Myth also suggests the Emperors themselves were the result of Project Light’s and Project Shadow’s meddling. The truth may never be known.