Powerplay Annual Summary
The Powerplay Annual Summary is an attempt to contextualize the activities of these commanders in light of other events that affected the political dynamic of the galaxy from June 3301 to June 3302. During that year, 10 of the galaxy’s most influential leaders extended incentives to entice members of the Pilots Federation to support their causes. In addition to financial incentives, unique ship modules were made available to pilots who proved their loyalty.
Preparation
Planning for the future consumed a significant portion of the annual budget for the major powers. The supporters of the galaxy’s leaders sifted through thousands of systems in an attempt to meaningfully advance the cause of their leaders. Approximately 400 billion credits were spent on intelligence gathering, propaganda, bribes, blackmail and numerous other methods to incentivize populations to join the causes of the galaxy’s most powerful leaders.
The supporters of Princess Aisling Duval surpassed the spending of all other powers, accounting for over a quarter of total spending by fronting approximately 110 billion credits to spread her propaganda materials far and wide. In contrast, supporters of Senator Denton Patreus fronted the fewest credits, providing approximately 15 billion credits to distribute the senator’s marked arms.
Expansion
The ethos of each faction played a part in determining the costs of extending each power’s influence. Powers with a militaristic ethos leverage their naval might and exert influence by force, while powers with more economic and humanitarian ethos exert soft power by hauling various types of cargo.
The cost of expanding influence was approximately 120 billion credits for powers projecting soft power. Militaristic powers destroyed over 11 million vessels in various campaigns to claim territory.
Control
Maintaining authority in distant and disparate systems represents the single greatest expense for most powers. Members of the Pilots Federation were employed to undermine the interests of opposing powers throughout the year. Approximately 6.5 million vessels were confirmed destroyed by these commanders during this time. Over 1.2 trillion credits were spent by the supporters of each leader to counter undermining, administrative upkeep and overhead.
The supporters of Emperor Arissa Lavigny-Duval surpassed the spending of all other powers, accounting for over a quarter of total fortification spending by fronting approximately 320 billion credits to distribute garrison supplies throughout her domain. In contrast, supporters of Pirate Lord Archon Delaine fronted the fewest credits, spending approximately 37 billion credits to collect marked slaves from the Kumo Crew’s exploited territories.
Total Support Costs
The total cost to the supporters of the top ten powers in the galaxy was approximately 1.8 trillion credits.
The Federation:
Following the tragic loss of President Jasmina Halsey and Vice President Ethan Naylor in May 3301, Secretary of State Felicia Winters became Acting President of the Federation while search and rescue parties actively searched for the lost Starship One. A vote of no-confidence in the Liberal Administration under Acting President Felicia Winters led to the appointment of President Zachary Hudson in early June. Following the appointment of President Hudson, Congress agreed to a substantial rise in military spending, and naval shipyards throughout the Federation began producing vessels at maximum capacity.
Felicia Winters assumed a new role as Shadow President when Hudson took office, and focused her efforts on providing aid and incentivizing populations to join the Liberal Party. Though she has chided President Hudson at times, she has not openly challenged his authority as he so often did as the Shadow President under President Halsey’s administration. This has resulted in the impression of a far more unified Federation with a significantly stronger military profile.
In January, President Hudson launched an initiative to search for the wreckage of Starship One. The initiative proved successful, and resulted in the rescue of several survivors in escape pods, including Jasmina Halsey. The former president was later admitted to a psychiatric facility on Mars for extended care and review.
President Zachary Hudson began the year with 35 control systems. By year’s end, his supporters among the Pilots Federation allowed him to secure 82 control systems, and 1134 exploited systems, with a combined population of 955.6 billion.
Shadow President Winters began the year with 29 control systems. By year’s end, her supporters among the Pilots Federation allowed her to secure 73 control systems, and 976 exploited systems, with a combined population of 590.9 billion. All other powers gained and lost control of numerous systems, but Winters never lost control of any of her systems.
The Empire:
The Empire was faced with an uncertain future when Emperor Hengist Duval disinherited his only son in December 3300, declaring him unfit to rule. Shortly after the declaration, Emperor Hengist fell deathly ill, and slipped into a coma. An attempt upon the Emperor’s life was discovered in April, but attempts at attribution were inconclusive. A second attempt to assassinate the Emperor after he recovered from his coma was successful, triggering two internal crises. With an unclear line of succession, several likely candidates vied for power, while Imperial investigators traced the Emperor’s assassins to an insurgency known as Emperor’s Dawn.
While Senator Denton Patreus’ fleets spearheaded the fight against the Emperor’s Dawn insurgencies, the matter of the Imperial succession was hotly debated in media and on the Senate floor. Senator Torval pledged her support to Senator Patreus, and Senator Patreus in turn pledged his support to Senator Lavigny-Duval. With popular support split between the two princesses, Aisling and Arissa, the Senate ultimately voted in favor of Senator Arissa Lavigny-Duval’s bid for the throne, and she was declared Emperor in October 3301. Short months later, Patreus, who had been promoted to Admiral of the Fleet during the intervening months, declared Emperor’s Dawn to be no more.
A peripheral conflict broke out on the borders of the Pegasi Sector as the Kumo Crew captured Arawere and invaded Cuchua in June and July. Attempts to apprehend the Pirate Lord Archon Delaine in a swift campaign failed. Imperial fleets were forced to fall back into a more defensive posture along the border with the Pegasi Sector as Emperor’s Dawn and threats along the Federation border necessitated redeployment.
Emperor Arissa Lavigny-Duval began the year with 26 control systems. By year’s end, her supporters among the Pilots Federation allowed her to secure 65 control systems, and 890 exploited systems, with a combined population of 506.6 billion.
Princess Aisling Duval began the year with 14 control systems. By year’s end, her supporters among the Pilots Federation allowed her to secure 61 control systems, and 748 exploited systems, with a combined population of 348.8 billion.
Senator Zemina Torval began the year with 20 control systems. By year’s end, her supporters among the Pilots Federation allowed her to secure 65 control systems, and 895 exploited systems, with a combined population of 498.8 billion.
Senator Denton Patreus began the year with 14 control systems. By year’s end, his supporters among the Pilots Federation allowed him to secure 55 control systems, and 679 exploited systems, with a combined population of 465.3 billion.
The Alliance:
Unique among the superpowers in that it experienced no significant crises and did not lose its head of state, the Alliance took the opportunity to shrewd investments in its future through a number of political maneuvers. Prime Minister Edmund Mahon’s trade protectionism policies proved very appealing to dozens of regional trade centers.
Though relatively unaffected by a harsh political climate for much of the year, a blockade was established by Federation-aligned corporations intent upon forcing several of the Alliance’s preferred trading partners to rescind trade agreements with the Alliance. Twelve systems acquiesced under the blockade. In response, Prime Minister Mahon’s representatives began offering trade agreements deep within Federation territory, seeking to sap the profits of the aggressive corporations at home, as well as abroad.
Prime Minister Edmund Mahon began the year with 15 control systems. By year’s end, his supporters among the Pilots Federation allowed him to secure 107 control systems, and 1,447 exploited systems, with a combined population of 984.4 billion.
Independents:
Sirius was haunted by the specter of the Highliner Antares all throughout the year. The disappearance of Starship One in May was disturbingly reminiscent of the loss of the Antares some 50 years earlier. An off-the-books investigation into the disappearance of the Antares was being conducted by Federal Vice President Nigel Smeaton, who was murdered in January. Smeaton’s investigation files contained some information that authorities hoped would enable them to locate the wreckage of the Highliner Antares. Sirius Gov CEO Li Yong-Rui commissioned a search for the Antares in late December 3301, and by mid-January 3302 the wreckage of the Antares was located.
CEO Li Yong-Rui began the year with 13 control systems. By year’s end, his supporters among the Pilots Federation allowed him to secure 60 control systems, and 791 exploited systems, with a combined population of 413.7 billion.
Relatively few people had even heard of Utopia or Simguru Pranav Antal by the time he enlisted the aid of members of the Pilots Federation. Since that time, Utopia has grown exponentially and earned some renown as enforcers made it a point to establish a presence in some of humanity’s most far-flung colonies, including Takura and Maia. Though his influence has grown significantly during the past year, Pranav Antal’s agenda still remains something of an enigma.
Simguru Pranav Antal began the year with 8 control systems. By year’s end, his supporters among the Pilots Federation allowed him to secure 53 control systems, and 631 exploited systems, with a combined population of 178.1 billion.
It was easy to dismiss what was perceived as yet another group of pirates on the fringes of human space. That dismissiveness permitted the highly ambitious Archon Delaine to claim territory in the Pegasi Sector and the surrounds. A mere month after the disappearance of Federation President Jasmina Halsey, the Kumo Crew occupied systems inhabited by approximately 20 billion Federation citizens. Several million Imperials in the vicinity of Arawere were also exploited by that time, including thousands of Imperial Slaves who were smuggled across Imperial borders and sold into unregulated slavery in the Kumo Crew’s black markets. The Pirate Lord weathered months of direct Imperial opposition with the aid of supporters from the Pilots Federation.
Pirate Lord Archon Delaine began the year with 9 control systems. By year’s end, his supporters among the Pilots Federation allowed him to secure 47 control systems, and 607 exploited systems, with a combined population of 185 billion.