Lesser Players of the Known Sphere

While the strength of a superpower is vast, even more so is the area of the Known Sphere. Where the superpowers' reach fails, lesser powers stand up to fill the vacuum. While smaller in scale and scope, these "lesser" nations and associations are still often quite powerful and influential in their own right, and are typically the local heavyweight in their respective regions. As such, they can be key members of the Coalition and the Alliance. Here is a catalogue of the most prominent:

The Conference of Free Stars

After the superpowers, the Conference of Free Stars is the fourth-largest political organization in the galaxy. Established by the Durin Declaration, the organization's secretariat is on New New York, with additional offices on New Boston. The Conference was founded to promote peace, security, and economic development among member nations and throughout the Sphere. As such, it also serves as a collective front and political counterweight to the superpowers. Although this interstellar association contains many of the most powerful non-aligned worlds in the Known Sphere, any independent world is welcome, and joining allows even the smallest country a voice on the galactic stage.

The Conference is primarily a deliberative body where members can discuss their mutual concerns and differences, focusing on banking, trade, technology, agriculture, industry, and tourism. However, as member governments have widely differing views on governance and political process, discussion of a member's domestic policies is considered taboo. Following the Gimil Summit, several CFS members also established a free-trade zone, which has been widely successful and grown in popularity to include nearly all of the Conference.
 

The Kingdom of Ticorman

The Kingdom of Ticorman was born in the aftermath of the First Pirate Civil War, which broke out after Pirate King Timothy Corman refused to step down after failing a Vote of No Confidence. In the final battle of the war, the Emerald Queen decisively defeated and massacred Corman and most of his followers. Only his son Edward and twelve loyal retainers survived and fled. After months on the run, Edward and his small band reached the distant world of Epsilon Vancini IV, which they renamed Ticorman, after their fallen leader.

Crowning himself Edward the First and naming each retainer a Peer of the Realm, the new king refused to accept defeat. He vowed revenge but realized that he lacked the resources to carry out his vengeance. Thus, the Corish became merchants, plying the trade routes in search of wealth. Over the next twenty years, despite starting with a resource poor world and almost no assets, the Kingdom did indeed wealthy, and became renowned for its ships and the skill of its traders.

However, when the time came to strike back against the Pirate Guild, eight of the peers, led by Lady Elizabeth Carpenter, feared losing their new wealth and rebelled against Edward I, triggering the Corish Civil War. The war ended after Elizabeth had Edward murdered, becoming the new monarch. As she consolidated her power, the defeated royalist houses were banished from the realm.

Elizabeth I proved a strong, capable leader, and the Kingdom continued to grow richer and quickly developed one of the most powerful star fleets in the Known Sphere. During her reign, the realm would also begin to develop a mutually beneficial relationship with the Terran Military Order.

However, the Kingdom's aggressive commercial policies would eventually bring it into conflict with the Republic of Akasha. The latter espoused an "Open Door" policy of free trade along the galaxy's star routes, whereas the Corish forcefully pursued preferential treatment for themselves. Eventually, this doctrinal clash would explode into a military one, the War of the Grey and Black.

After their humiliating defeat, the Kingdom became a firm ally of the Blue Planet, and fought fiercely alongside the Federal Forces during the Second War of Unification. For a time the Corish prospered, becoming stronger than ever, until the Allied invasion of their homeworld and the resulting Great Burn. Presently, while Her Majesty's government is struggling to rebuild from the ashes, the realm's merchants are still a force to be reckoned with.
 

Excerpted from: Dr. Becky Banzai, The Known Sphere: A Traveller's Guide, Kyodai Ryu Publishing, 2150