Governments
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Lunar Management Corp. JDEG Mars Asteroid Belt Deep Space Population Figures Please note that the information contained here has been slightly tailored for the RPG, and should not be considered Gundam canon.
However, over the near two centuries in which the Federation has governed, its administrative staff has grown decadent and corrupt. With only 3.5 billion people living on the Earth and the majority of mankind living in Space, many of the wealthy on Earth saw themselves as the privileged few, and stopped taking interest in the affairs or needs of the colonies. The Federation controlled all of the resources necessary for life, with the sole exception of the JDEGs shipments of Helium 3. They also controlled the military, and travel between the Earth and the colonies. Even when Zeon declared its independence, most of the Federations officials believed it would only be a temporary problem, and easily manageable. They were in for quite the wake up call. Now, the Federation controls less of the Earths land mass than the Duchy of Zeon, and has completely lost its dominance over the space colonies. The current regime is trying to change its policies while fighting a war, and trying to catch up with the military strategies employed by Zeon. Minovsky Particles and Mobile Suits had changed the face of warfare, and the Federation had been too skeptical to make proper use of new technologies. In space, the Federation still has a few small holdings. The loyalist colonies at Side 7 were moved within range of Luna II, the Federations single remaining space fortress. Luna II is a military base made out of a gigantic, hollowed out asteroid, originally used in colony construction. While Zeon has been able to control orbit and keep Federation fleets within a days travel of Luna II, the power of the asteroid fortress has been able to keep Zeon from controlling space entirely. On Earth, the Federations main battle lines are drawn in Mexico, France and Thailand. South America, the home of EF headquarters at Jaburo, is completely free of Zeon rule, and they still maintain bases in England and India. From here, EFGF analysts are working on ways to assault Duchy forces and retake their territory. Finally, the Federation controls the entirety of Earths oceans. The Spacenoids of Side 3 were never fully capable of understanding naval warfare, nor have they been able to control a sufficient number of coastal bases to resupply their fleet. Most of humanity sides with the Federation in this war, even those of the colonies. While Zeon had obtained a large amount of sympathy and popular support amongst mankind prior to the war, their actions during the first few months of conflict horrified everyone. The people on Side 1, 2 and 4 to a large degree support the Federation, and many enlist into the EFSF and EFGFs numbers, even though their colonies are currently controlled by Zeon. Beaureaucratically, the Federation is a democratic entity, electing administrative officials broken up into ten different regions, namely North America, South America, Europe, North Africa/Arabia, South Africa, Russia/Siberia, Central Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceania. Until recently, each Side, as well as the Moon, had their own representatives as well. The Federation military is broken into two divisions, the Earth Federal Space Forces, and Earth Federal Ground Forces. Each of these is broken into an Army, a Navy and an Air Force. Unlike the Zeon military, there is very little conflict between these entities, and they largely work together to accomplish their goals. General Revil is the supreme commander of the Federation military, and since the war, has also been extremely influential in administrative policy making. He is seen as the one man that is keeping the Federation from falling totally to the might of Zeon.
In modern Side 3, nearly everything is monitored through propaganda and information control. The entire Side is kept inside a perpetual Minovsky particle cloud, presumably to protect against Federation attack, but it serves the double purpose of preventing outside news organizations from making it to the citizens of Zeon. Travel to the other Sides for non-military reasons, even to the neutral power of Side 6, is very difficult and requires weeks of paperwork and background checks. The current populace in Side 3 only knows what the Zabis deem they need to know. And what the Zabis deem they need to know is that the war is going very well. While it was impossible for them to hush up the near total destruction of Sides 1, 2, 4 and 5, the civilian death counts were greatly understated. The general public had no idea that following Lourm the Duchies military apparatus was already almost exhausted. They had no idea that the third Earth Drop Operation attack on Honolulu was completely unsuccessful, giving the Federation total control of the Earths oceans. They had no idea that children who could be identified as Newtypes were being stolen from their families and forced to work in weapons development projects. And they had no idea that the Federation was developing mobile suits of their own. But even with these forms of control, the general public of Side 3 is weary. Although Minovsky interference provided an excellent buffer towards learning outside information, it was impossible to keep everything from getting in, and there are many who have doubts in the Zabis motives or their ethics. But the most radical amongst dissenters are silenced by secret police, and the overwhelming majority of Zeon citizens believe that they do deserve independence from the Federation. The argument is what a reasonable cost of that independence should be. Another fact of life for Zeon citizens, is that military recruits are getting younger. Zeon has many weaknesses in terms of its military might, but the most pronounced is probably its lack of people. At the start of the war, Zeons population numbered close to two billion, and the Federations close to 9 billion. While the Duchy won nearly all of its battles in the first three months of the war, every Zeon soldier had to kill five Federation soldiers just to break even in terms of casualty ratios. There are few survivors of the original mobile suit teams that fought during the One Week War, and many who did survive deserted, having seen the atrocities they were forced to commit firsthand. What this has created is a military with an elite of impossibly skilled veterans, and numerous green recruits, who are getting younger by the month. The Duchy has not yet instituted a draft, but they may be forced to do so as the war goes on.
The real Newtypes are forced into the Flanagan Agency at Granada. This is a place many Zeon soldiers know about, but almost none know what actually goes on there. They simply know it is a place you do not want to be in. Newtypes are dissected in order to provide scientific insight into their powers, or pushed to lengths with Psycommu to see how far they can go before dying. Those who resist are brainwashed through combinations of drugs and hypnosis until they become mindless, willing soldiers. Those who do not resist are often so traumatized by their experiences that by the time they are cleared to be sent to battle, they are racked with various psychotic disorders. Beaureaucratically, the Duchy of Zeon is a dictatorship. Duke Degwin Sodo Zabi is the ruler in name, but in practice his hitleresque eldest son, Ghiren Zabi, runs the show. Ghiren is obsessed with the third Reich, to the extent of calling his secret police the SS, and making his closest aides learn German. While his official title is Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, the most patriotic of his men call him Fuhrer. Degwin himself has started to regret starting this war, seeing the toll it is taking on the people and the countries ethics. However, he knows that it is too late for him to stop his son. Militarily, the Duchy has split their forces into three main branches, each led by one of Degwins children. The Terrestrial Assault Force, led by Garma Zabi, controls all Earthside operations, while the Space Assault Force, led by the elder Dozle Zabi, controls Space. The Mobile Assault Force, led by Ghirens younger sister Kycillia Zabi, is in charge of weapons testing, and acts as a relief force to both Space and Earth, with a degree of autonomy to support either front as needs arise. The Flanagan Agency and the Newtype division is Kycillias personal pet project. Finally, a smaller but shadowy fourth group, the Schutzstaffel, acts as Ghirens personal informants, keeping patriotism high amongst the military, and dissent low. SS soldiers wear pure black uniforms, and are feared by the other divisions. They operate under direct orders from Ghiren, and often do not follow standard military protocol or procedure. The splits between these divisions of the Duchy army have created forms of sibling rivalry amongst each other. They often fight over what objectives should be, and rarely ask each other for assistance when they are in trouble. Each division is concerned with capturing war glory for their own personal Zabi. Degwin has not yet announced an heir, and it is believed amongst some that whichever of the four Zabis becomes the greatest war hero will inherit the throne.
Prior to the war, Riah enjoyed the same sanctions Zeon did by the Federation, and its people supported Zeon to a large degree, understanding Federal bigotry and oppression. However, their opinions changed following the disaster that was the first month of the war. The Riah Republic is now somewhat more supportive of the Federation than of Zeon, although it refuses to become involved in the war militarily, in order to avoid the other Sides fate. The Republic houses a small peacekeeping force as a garrison military, but it is nothing compared to the industrialized might of the ZMF and EFF. Following Lourm, the Federation was forced to recognize Riah as an independent nation, and out of necessity now treats them with respect. Zeon and Riah have always enjoyed a healthy relationship, and although Riahs people do not agree with the Zabi regime, they hold nothing but admiration for the Duchies civilians. Both Federation and Zeon soldiers spend their shore leave here, and many of the wealthiest individuals in both powers have set up residence in Side 6 until wars end, thinking it the safest place to live in the Earth Sphere. Military action within Side 6's borders is prohibited, and the majority of the time these rules are followed. Riahs garrison forces are quick to respond when they are not. Riah also sponsors a large, state run humanitarian mission in tandem with the CMC, doing their best to rescue survivors of the war, still littered across Sides 1, 2, 4 and 5. Many people are still trapped inside sections of derelict space colonies that were unharmed, only waiting until they run out of power, food, water or oxygen. Zeon and Federation are too occupied to do their own relief efforts, so Riah and the CMC have taken up the call. Large numbers of war refugees have been introduced to Side 6, causing the normal political problems that refugees always do. Governmentally, the Republic is a democracy, with an administrative government at the colony of New Mycenae. Each space colony inside Riah has its own Governor, and acts as an independent state within a larger Republic. As with any space colonies, some have reputations for being organized in certain ways, legally or industrially. New Mycenae's bunch coupling of New Sparta is used as the military headquarters of the Republic, while Neo Vegas is famous for its gambling and entertainment industry. The colony of Baldur Bay is known for its Zeon sympathies, and it is rumored that the Flanagan Agency operates from it, scouring Side 6 for candidates for their Newtype program. Likewise, the colony of Libot is known for being very supportive of the Federation, and it is rumored that a secret Federation MS testing facility is hidden within its walls. Not exactly a government in terms of nation states, the CMC was originally created by the Earth Federation as an independent organization, in charge of the meticulous work required in moving resources between the space colonies. Prior to the war, all space travel inside of the Earth Sphere was managed by the CMC. They had jurisdiction over civilian flights, their ships were used to ferry industrial product, and they controlled all the refueling way stations littered across key areas of the Earth Sphere. CMC administrative headquarters was in the oldest of the space colonies, Side 1's Shangrila.
The CMC also has holdings in Deep Space, and still controls what civilian space travel still occurs. Mars is technically run by a provincial CMC government on Amador City, although the Martian people have slowly started to govern themselves. Especially since the war began, the CMC has neither had the resources nor interest to govern Mars. The Corporation also manages less than a handful of way stations in Deep Space, assisting what adventurers still exist in their travels throughout the solar system. Much like the CMC, the LMC was a corporation created in order to manage transportation and necessities on the many domed cities of the moon. A billion people live on the moon today, and they have largely escaped the horrors of the war. Following the early months of the war, the Federation was no longer able to control the Lunar cities, and much like the surviving space colonies, each Lunar city has begun to govern itself. The LMC has been reorganized, in a way slightly different than the CMC. While the CMC used its economic and corporate power to fill the vacuum following the destruction of so many colonies, the LMC has simply bowed to the wishes of the Lunar city governors, and links the Lunarian cities together. On Side 1, the CEO of the Colony Management Corporation is in charge, but on the Moon, each individual city governor has a say. The city of Von Braun, the largest and oldest on the moon, is generally the most influential, and has the greatest voice in terms of political policy. While most of the Lunarian cities do not want to be involved in the war, their views are somewhat more extreme than those of Riahs. The cities on the moons nearside, IE those facing Earth, are generally more pro Federation, while those on the far side facing Side 3 are more pro Zeon. One lunar city facing Side 3, Granada, has actually agreed to side with Zeon. It is used as the MAFs chief base of operations and houses the Newtype soldier project. It is the only Lunar city actively involved in the war. Lunarians are viewed by Earthnoids even by Spacenoids as something of a selfish people. They are seen as scrooges, con artists, primarily concerned with their own economic gain and unconcerned with the needs of others. This is not really the case, but it is true that each lunar city has an underbelly of gangs and organized crime. Lunar cities are not as hospitable as the colonies, and the poorest and most disadvantaged of peoples migrated to Earth instead of the colonies in the early Universal Century years. The Lunar cities are protected as neutral territory by the Antarctic Treaty, much like Shangrila and Side 6, and sometimes the militaries take shore leave here, although it is not as popular as the colonies of Riah. However, the LMCs limited military is chiefly concerned with the protection of their cities, and they do not disturb battles that happen on the barren areas of the moon. Very little fighting goes on there in any event, as the moon is deep within Zeon territory.
For generations the JDEG was nothing more than a corporation, its workers doing their jobs and then returning to homes on Earth. However, eventually the permanent residents on the Jovian mining bases became so large that the corporate headquarters was moved to Jupiter, and then the momentum of things shifted. Now the situation is the opposite, the JDEG having a few corporate holdings on the moon, mars and Side 6, but most of its workers are permanent residents of the Jupiter Sphere. The Joves as they are called have yet to build any rotating space colonies, and because of this they often live long parts of their lives in zero gravity. This makes Jovians taller, thinner, and often gives them a slightly alien appearance. They are still human beings, but something does not look quite right about them. Some with the most pronounced Jovian features actually find gravity to cause physical pain, and stay away from rotating grav decks and space colonies whenever possible. The JDEGs corporate monopoly on Helium 3 is their one power as a people, and they guard this power tenaciously. Energy Fleets are well guarded and defended, and people are not allowed to see the secrets and records hidden within the bowels of Jovian spaceships. Their business is their lifeline, and they treat it with an almost religious reverence. Administrators in the corporation are the oil barons of the space age, and are some of the richest men in the solar system. This has been the policy of Jupiter for more than fifty years, but it is slowly starting to change. The JDEG is now constructing colonies in the Jupiter Sphere, ignoring the Federations ban on new colony production. They are also building cities on the four Galilean moons, and mining them for resources. While their colonization project is far from finished, the JDEG hopes that in ten years they will be as prosperous as Side 6 has proven to be. Slowly but surely, war refugees are starting to migrate to the gas giant, seeing it as a frontier far from genocide and war. The people of Mars live in semi-underground mining villages, dotted all across the surface of the red planet, which have been practically ignored by the Federation and the CMC for years upon years. Industry on Mars is severely limited, and the only real city on the planet is the capital at Amador, tucked deep within the crust of Olympus Mons. While Amador is still controlled by the CMC, the rural areas of Mars have begun governing themselves, and their people are restless, and feel they deserve their own independence. Life on Mars, compared to other areas of human habitation, is the harshest in the solar system. Extremely low temperatures and hellacious dust storms eat away at its citizens, and working conditions without the proper infrastructure create a mining environment that is extremely dangerous. These conditions have made modern Martians a hearty, practical people, and most are extremely strong and resilient. This is not because they are particularly healthy as a race, it is because only the strongest Martians survive very long. It has also given Martians a very serious look at religion, Catholicism having a strong hold on the red planet.
The people of the Asteroid Belt live in small pockets of humanity, spread out over an extremely wide area. A lot of mining still goes on in the Belt, and larger asteroids are sent rocketing towards Jupiter or the Earth, although more often to Jupiter in recent years. When an asteroids useful mineral content dries up it is turned into a habitat, and used to house the Belts citizens. This process causes the civilized areas of the Belt to constantly spread out, and life on the rims is much more disorderly than that in the center. Many of these Asteroids are equipped with rotating gravity decks, and the people of the Belt are not quite as unhealthy as those of the Jupiter Sphere. With the lack of order in the region and the difficult working conditions, the prosperous must be physically fit. The spread out nature of the Belt has turned it into a place resembling the Caribbean during the Earths days of high piracy. Habitats in the Belt vary from being peaceful to extremely cutthroat, and pirates travel from sector to sector, intercepting shipments and selling them in other sectors of the region. No single group of pirates is strong enough to intercept the Jupiter Energy Fleets, but smaller traders must always be watchful. The piracy on the belt has picked up since the war began, the now crippled Federation and CMC unable to do anything at all to police the region. Zeon also houses a small base inside the Belt, which it uses as a deep space outpost, and insurance against the JDEG siding with the Federation. Its sovereignty is recognized by the people of the Asteroids, and many of the people in the Belt trade with Zeon exclusively. Very few people live in Deep Space, but it is not without inhabitants. In order to enable safe travel across the solar system, the Colony Management Corporation created about a half a dozen outposts, at varying distances between the Earth, Mars, the Belt and Jupiter. These outposts orbit the sun on carefully planned trajectories, and can be used as way stations in case an accident occurs in the void. The largest of these is Lighthouse Station, which houses about 40,000 people, and is positioned halfway between Mars and the Asteroid Belt.
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