The Southern Republic

INCENSE Ribbons of incense filled the young lieutenant's nostrils as he entered the brothel to check for terrorists. A silver stream of water trickled into a stone pool. Far off, he heard the lazy music of chimes catch the evening breeze. How his muscles ached, how much he longed for a rest. He shook his head to clear the cobwebs. The enemy was everywhere; this he could not afford to forget. The patter of footsteps along the corridor. His throat tightened and he placed his hand over his holster. Where was his backup? The nightmare reports whipped through his head. The rebels have been out of control — just last week an officer was killed and disemboweled by a Saragossan terrorist disguised as an elderly priest. The entire 5th Cavalry Legion (the Knights of Saragossa) was gripped with paranoia. The enemy was invisible, watching, mocking, lurking in the eyes of the grocer, of the children playing on the street. “Candy Sumi at your service.” The bead curtain swished and parted and an exotic blossom of a creature emerged with a tray in her hands. Her face was as smooth and pale as Eastern silk, her lips as red as crushed roses. Her eyes shone round with surprise when she saw the lieutenant’s gun. “Oh, please, sir. I don’t mean any harm,” she gasped, and shrank against the bamboo wall. The contents of the tray spilled and clattered on the floor. His gaze softened. What a beauty she was, a butterfly, so delicate and fragile. Not like those brawny army girls who always had something to prove. How much he missed the soft touch of a woman not trained to kill. “Sorry, miss. It’s a routine check.” She bent down to clean up the morsels of food and massage oils that lay strewn on the ground. Her hair was disheveled, and she sniffled back tears. “Madam will beat me if she finds out I’ve been so clumsy.” She flayed about like a wounded bird. He looked behind him— still no backup. He put his gun back in its holster and kneeled next to her. He was close enough to smell her perfume, and to hear the thin hollow sweetness of her frightened breathing. The voice of caution faded into an echo. A tear slid down her cheek. Irresistible, he thought. A dumpling, a mouthful. She smiled up at him shyly, and offered him a piece of cake. “Would you like some? It’s Saragossan delight.” He swam in the pools of her sad eyes. The cake was delicious and he licked the powdered sapa sugar from his fingers. She put her hand to her cheek and giggled. “It’s nice to see you smile,” he said, his mouth full. A gust of wind scattered the chimes into a shiver of sound. The ugly world outside the room melted away. The horror of battle, the wailing of orphaned children and the vermin terrorists submerged and disappeared into the innocence of her tender lips. He ran his finger along her collarbone to the edge of her robe. ”Any more of that cake?” Suddenly, a pain shredded through his insides like a thousand knives as his stomach and intestines ruptured. The room and her face swirled away in a whirlpool of agony. Candy wiped the crumbs of poison from her arm. She wrinkled her pert little nose at the body in front of her. ”Republican scum,” she yawned.

1.1 LAND OF THE SNAKES The very mention of the Southern Republic conjures many images. To her rivals, she is a source of constant concern and the homeland of the most imperialistic people on Terra Nova. To her allies, she is a land of ruthless cunning that has kept them under her heel as much by the force of arms as by the insinuation of freedoms to come. To her citizens, she is the most free and democratic land on the planet. Republicans know that they are not separated by caste or class, that everyone born under the Republican banner has as much opportunity for advancement, and that Republicans will never be told how to live their lives by anyone. They will fight to the death to preserve these freedoms. Undeniably, the Southern Republic is the mightiest nation on Terra Nova, perfectly capable and willing to exercise her influence the planet over. The Republic is not the black nation of evil that its enemies make it out to be, however. It is a land of bountiful resources, breathtaking natural beauty and seemingly impenetrable mysteries. Republicans love their home with a fierceness that many find disturbingly fanatical. They do so because their nation has fulfilled its promises to them. Since its inception, the Republican state has promised its people social, economic and political prosperity — and it has delivered. In the social sphere, the Republic is home to a staggering variety of cultures and an incredibly artistic world. From Ashanti to Ankara, most Republicans live among unparalleled beauty. These same citizens also receive guarantees on education, safety and health that allow them to live the good life. Economically, the Republic has largely prospered since its creation and its products are consumed by millions both near and far. The policy of conquest thatthe state has followed allows it to fuel internal prosperity, which in turn leads to a high standard of living. Political prosperity translates into international supremacy. The people are happy to see the state on top of the global heap, dominating the South and facing the North head on. Most Republicans rightly feel they are leading the good life. The league is certainly not above reproach, however. Its prosperity is based on twin foundations of internal control and external conquest. Internal stability is based not only on prosperity, but on a well-developed system of propaganda and state terror. Republicans are taught from an early age to trust their government and stay out of politics, while phenomenal resources are spent to maintain secret police who identify and eliminate those who refuse to keep quiet. Externally, the Republic keeps the whole South in chains and although it may loosen them for cooperative allies (such as the Mekong Dominion) it does not hesitate to heap heavy handed military oppression on those who are troublesome. Perhaps the greatest fault in the Republic is its leadership. Current Prime Minister Louis Philippe deRouen, using his ties to the military and his phenomenal charisma, has broken the traditional bureaucratic channels to power in the Republic. While the state has, since its inception, been kept together by a strong and unified bureaucracy, it is now ruled largely by a single man. DeRouen has enemies and weaknesses of his own, and were he to fall, he might take the whole nation with him.

EVIDENCE AND IMPUNITY As the rain covered the countryside with its gray pall, Sergent Maistar Bukmin approached the smoldering husk of a dilapidated barn. The dark mud squelched under his boots, and the rain poncho he was wearing made the annoying scraping sound that all garments of their kind did. When he climbed over the fence that encircled the property, a uniformed policewoman ran over waving her arms madly. Without a word, Bukmin flashed his badge as he walked by. He could almost hear the wheels churning in her head as she turned and fled towards her superior. He activated his crime-scene recorder and stopped to examine some indentations in the ground, and noted their direction, depth and spacing. “Maist, what are you doing here?” Bukmin stood and turned. The man who stood in front of him had the eyes of a veteran; he continued to serve despite the prosthetic leg that marked him as a patriot. “Hello Chalpin. Sorry to intrude, matters of the State and all that. What have your people uncovered so far? “You …” The Great Plains Police marshal struggled to control his anger, and eventually spat out a reply. “A fire that started because of some crossed wires hardly constitutes national jurisdiction.” “Well, perhaps you’re right Chalpin, I’ll just poke around here a bit more and be on my way. Good day.” Bukmin waited for the marshal to walk off a few paces before he followed what could only be footprints towards the wreckage, taking care not to step on any of the indentations. The trail led up to the barn, and ended at the wreckage. Bukmin measured the position of the prints relative to the edge of the barn, then pulled out an electronic compound detector, and took some readings. Traces of various carbon compounds, magnesium and ammonium nitrates showed up with compounds normally found in a barnyard. He then trudged up to the farmhouse and listened for a bit at the door — he heard civilians inside. Bukmin rapped at the door twice and entered. “Morning folks, I’m Sergent Bukmin from the Southern Republic Intelligence Directorate and I’d like to ask you a few questions.” Bukmin always used SRID’s full name to keep suspects and witnesses nervous. “First, do you know of anyone who would want to cause you harm?” “No, I can’t think of anyone, can you Mathilde?” The woman sitting beside him shook her head no. “Has anyone done any drilling in this area recently? Even drinking wells could be important.” “Yeah, our old one got blocked up, and a new line was dropped to the stream beneath our place last Season, why?” Bukmin replied “I’m not so sure that the GPP investigation is correct about the cause of the fire.” After looking around for another hour, Bukmin knew he was right. He had seen it all before. This land was right in the way of a proposed new superhighway; these ranchers were holding back millions in profits without realizing it. Another clear case of sabotage, committed with impunity by the corporations of the so-called Committee for Rightful Environmental Exploitation. Once he was in his car, Bukmin added his film and notes to his CREE file — someday he would get it to someone with enough political clout to bring the bastards down.

2.1 GEOGRAPHY The physical geography of the Southern Republic is best described as a smooth progression of foothills, savannahs, mountain chains, wetlands and verdant jungles. The variety of environmental zones can be traced to great variations in topography (the Southern Alps being its single biggest element) and the inherent instability of the Terranovan atmos￾phere. Micro-climates and sudden shifts in precipitation are commonplace in the Republic. The overall climate is tropical, with two rainy seasons (Spring and Autumn). Weather is usually sunny with flash storms in the dry seasons, and average temperature is relatively constant (around 32° C) over the cycle due to Terra Nova’s negligible axial tilt . Precise weather prediction, however, is difficult because of the micro-climates. In the Great Southern Plain, a violent tornado can appear and disappear in less than thirty minutes. It is no surprise, then, that advance warning systems have been perfected in the Southern Republic more than virtually anywhere else on Terra Nova. The southern hemisphere as a whole is best known for its dense jungles and the Republic has its fair share. The drainage basin of Lake Esperance and much of the surrounding terrain are covered in a thick tropical forest that runs uninterrupted into both the Humanist Alliance and Mekong Dominion. The Republic is home to a variety of other types of flora, however. The Great Southern Plain stretched for thousands of kilometers, expanses of grasslands and clutches of saps ferns running from the badlands to the Southern Alps. The Alps themselves bear denser forests on their backs, feeding a thriving forestry industry, especially around the city of Ankara. Marginal biomes also exist within the Republic, including the desert savannah to the north, the small patches of polar tundra to the south, and the high mountain peaks in the league’s heart. Fauna matches flora in diversity, although the lush jungles are home to the greatest number of species. Terranovan wildlife like the deadly water viper even share ecological space with creatures imported from Earth, including chameleons and lowly mosquitoes. 2.1.1 SARAGOSSA AND THE GREAT SOUTHERN PLAIN The topography of the Southern Republic varies widely from north to south. At its northern edge, the city-state of Saragossa lies in a valley between gently sloping foothills at the base of the Saragossa Range. The range itself starts kilometers north of the city proper and boasts the nation’s second highest peak at an altitude of 6233 meters. Mount François-Albert (once Mount Perrault) was renamed after the first man to successfully ascend the treacherous mountain in TN 1499. The foothills surrounding Saragossa are home to numerous verdant valleys and small lakes in which the climate is pleasantly warm, while the fauna consists mostly of small trees and lush green grass. South and east of these hills and valleys lies the Great Southern Plain. Plagued by seasonal tornadoes, this smooth expanse of grass is broken by the occasional small mountain, huge outcropping of volcanic rock or deep ravine. The least tropical of the Republic’s regions, the plain features few trees and even the small forests look bent and gnarled under the hot Southern sun. Although the overall climate is very hot and dry, micro-climates with slightly more rainfall exist in pockets, and are ideal for growing grain. The largest of these micro-climates is the region surrounding Aquitaine, where croplands stretch from horizon to horizon. 2.1.2 THE SOUTHERN ALPS Further south, past the city-state of Timbuktu, the great plain ends in an impressive wall of cliffs and mountains. Although the peaks here are not as sheer as those in the northern hemisphere, they are nevertheless very impressive. Many ballads have been written about the beautiful Southern Alps and, as a result, these mountains have a special place in the hearts of Republicans. They are often used as a symbol of prosperity and pride; many a recruiting poster has the Alps in the background coupled with the slogan “Defend our Nation’s Pride.” At the western end of the Alps lies the city-state of Bethany, where the peaks are less jagged and not as high as the rest of the mountain chain. Bethany stretches along the base of a huge valley between Mount Gérard, Mount Émile-Zola and Mount Kulin. The Bethany Valley is a fertile jungle which has been almost fully converted into one massive sapa planta￾tion. Its micro-climate is hot and humid with rainy seasons that last all Spring and Autumn. Ecologists believe that if it were not for the many natural drainage wells leading to the MacAllen system, the valley would be submerged under a gigantic lake. Further east, the Southern Alps reach staggering heights with many peaks surpassing 5000 meters. This is where the highest peak in the league can be found. Mount Bukûtu, at 6855 meters, dwarfs any other mountain in the Republic. Here the air is thin and the climate cool and dry. Many small mining towns can be found between the high peaks; the biggest is Harrisville and has a population of 6700. It is a wealthy community and home to the largest diamond mine in the southern hemisphere. The Southern Alps end near Ankara. Here the mountains are rounded with long, gentle slopes. This elevated region receives the greatest quantity of snow in the SR, and it is the only place where Southerners can enjoy winter sports such as skiing and icejetting (see 6.4.2 Sports, p.92). Here the climate is temperate with heavy snowfall falling in Spring. The city-state itself, however, enjoys warmer temperatures since it is located at a much lower altitude at the base of the Alps.

2.1.3 THE REUNION PLATEAU The vast Réunion Plateau is located east of the Alps. At an average altitude of 3000 meters, the plateau has a very distinct micro-climate. Cool and humid for the most part, it is a perfect environment for growing high-altitude crops such as cawfee and hemp. This climate is also excellent for many fruits such as apples, strawberries and térémi (a hybrid fruit species very popular in desserts). The Réunion Plateau also boasts the Republic’s deepest body of water, Lake Chantilly, with a depth of over 1000 meters in some areas. Because of the lake’s murky waters and cold temperature (a frigid 7 degrees in Summer), it has never been fully explored. Despite this, many believe the lake has hundreds of caves that lead to the MacAllen network of underground rivers which laces across Terra Nova. The city-state of Innsmouth is located in deep valleys and vales that stretch further east of the plateau. The climate is warm all cycle round and the soil is very fertile, rich with minerals and sediments. Perfect for agriculture and raising cattle, this region is filled with farms and pastures. Rivers and lakes are found everywhere, the area is serene that many campgrounds exist to accommodate a moderate number of tourists. 2.1.4 LAKE ESPERANCE Directly south of the Innsmouth region lies the Esperance Basin. Many scientists believe that at one point the basin was actually a huge lake. 18,000 cycles ago, the area just west of this lake was hit by a large meteorite. The water drained into the impact crater and formed what is now known as Lake Esperance. The former lake bed turned into fertile wetlands surrounded by the thick jungles which were once the shorelines of the ancient lake. Here the climate is warm and humid: the average temperature varies between 25°C and 35°C and the two rainy seasons account for an annual rainfall well over 2000 milimeters. The Esperance Basin is home to two city-states, Port Oasis and Siwa Oasis, and contains the biggest river on Terra Nova, the Siwa River. The source of the Siwa, Lake Huneke, is located at the northernmost tip of the basin. A large shallow lake, it is a favorite vacation spot of well-off Southern families. Lake Esperance proper is adjacent to the basin. The single largest body of water on the entire planet, it is also a symbol of national pride. Four out of the five largest cities in the Southern Republic can be found along or near the lake’s shore: Ashanti, Marabou, Port Oasis and Newton. The lake is surrounded by thick verdant jungles to the north and south, by scum infested bogs and swamps to the west and by the basin wetlands to the east. The climate in and around the lake is hot and humid, although much more so in the south. Further south, past Newton and Lake Moustache, the jungle thins out as the verdant tropical region fades into temperate and polar zones. The south pole is home to an expanse of sparse grasslands and some tundra, caused by colder temperatures (which reach the freezing mark on occasion), higher overall elevation than the southern basins and low precipitation. This area is sparsely inhabited, but is the site of some military establishments guarding polar borders. 2.1.5 INFRASTRUCTURE Travel between city-states is fairly easy, since all twelve are linked by a well-maintained infrastructure of high-speed railroads and superhighways. Furthermore, Port Oasis, Siwa Oasis, Marabou and Réunion are connected by the gamma maglev line. Although all city-states have at least one airport, these are rarely used by the average civilian — atmos￾pheric conditions make it difficult for planes to fly and the only airline in the Republic, Empire Airlines, is government￾owned and charges exorbitant fares. Travel on Lake Esperance is also possible via Espoir Hydrofoil, the Southern Republic’s only passenger boat line. Life on the Lake  Lake Esperance is truly a unique wonder on Terra Nova. The only true salt-water sea on the planet, it is home to a variety of plant and animal life unknown elsewhere on the globe. Reptilian sea birds dive from great heights to catch fish, many of whom travel in great schools. These schools can reach gargantuan proportions, thousands of small sea creatures swimming together through the reefs and crags of the lake bed. Especially colorful fish are known to inhabit the Ashantite Reef, giving the world-famous beaches of the city of passion spectacular submarine rainbows when the water is especially clear. Further away from shore larger sea crea￾tures can be found, many of which are related to the serpents and sharks that hunt in the MacAllen caves elsewhere on Terra Nova. Unlike lake Clearwater in the Norlight Confederacy, which features a panoply of islands, Lake Clearwater is very deep. Roughly a kilometer out to sea, the bottom falls away into a giant depression with the thick Antarctic mantle. These depths are rumored to hide many unknown species of wildlife and rumors of giant “kraken” lurking at the lake’s bottom have become a standard part of Republican folklore. Setting out to find these creatures is now a tradition and every Spring a few brave explorers travel out in submersibles to try and locate their elusive prey. Most of these trips are unsuccessful, but a few never return and continue to fuel the rumors.

2.2 HISTORY OF THE SOUTHERN REPUBLIC In colonial times, the region that would become the Southern Republic was home to a unique arrangement between the Terran corporations and the colonists. Although the diversity of the region gave it great potential, the Eurasian corpora￾tions that purchased the lands failed to properly exploit their acquisitions and profits were disappointing. Colonists were never provided with the resources they needed to set up a viable life in the South. Sooner or later their frustrations would explode in acts of vandalism, brush wars over the resource-rich Badlands, and finally the violent Loaber Revolt (see sidebar). This finally proved that corporations lacked the mind-set needed to run a civilization; another solution was needed. By TN 830, the regions of Port Oasis, Ankara, Ashanti, Bethany, Marabou, Reunion and Timbuktu had all been sold to their citizens, who became responsible for every aspect of life within them. This period planted the seed of the Republican character. Strong individualism and a great number of shared interests and experiences forged the individuals of these regions into one people. This period of growth and stability lasted until the dying days of the Human Concordat, when tensions mounted and anti-colonial sentiment ran high. Abandonment left the South uncharacteristically aimless for several cycles. During Reconstruction (often called the “Lean Years” in the South), city-states formed as extensions of the semi-autonomous states that already existed. These cities immediately began to battle amongst themselves over re￾sources. Over a thirty cycle period, the city of Galapagos was destroyed and Hurnet was abandoned to oblivion. As a former supply house for the Concordat military on Terra Nova, the city-state of Marabou emerged from the Lean Years with a vibrant economy and a driven population. Marabou’s military was far larger and more aggressive than those of its neighbors, and it is a testament to the good nature of its people that Mayor Emile DeGarmo had to cajole the population into approving his plans for conquest in TN 1534. DeGarmo’s vision of a unified South was spurred by his own ambition as well as a certain jealousy and fear of Yuri Gropius’ Humanist Alliance, Terra Nova’s first league, which had been growing since TN 1482. It was a hard sell, even though it was a forgone conclusion that no local cities could stand in Marabou’s way. DeGarmo was able to convince his city to authorize a raid on Siwa Oasis but was assassinated before the attack took place. His death catapulted his plans of conquest to the foreground as Marabou assumed he had been killed by their foreign enemies and authorized an all out assault by DeGarmo’s army of conquest, the Marabou Marauders. In TN 1534, the Southern Republic sprang to life with the invasion of Siwa Oasis.  Emile DeGarmo Born in Marabou in TN 1488, Emile DeGarmo is both revered and reviled as the father of the Southern Republic. DeGarmo lacked for nothing as he grew up and his sole weakness was his poor physical health, traced to a weak immune system. His mind was unparalleled, however, and he took control of Barons Muni￾tions in TN 1515; he reshaped it with a no nonsense approach, garnering fear and respect from his employees. His egotistical personality made him few friends, but most people recognized that he could be a powerful ally and an even deadlier adversary. DeGarmo was jealous of Yuri Gropius’ accomplishments, and from this came the “The Logic of Combination,” DeGarmo’s treatise on unifying the South. Unfortunately, DeGarmo’s document, while ambitious, contained a proviso that he was to lead this new nation. This clause caused many attempts at peaceful negotiation to end in failure. Many claim that it was over the negotiating table that DeGarmo’s humanity was finally buried in a torrent of resentment. He dedicated the remainder of his life to force Marabou’s neighbors into alliance. His life was ended by an assassin's blade as he set out to personally lead the assault that would catapult his name into history. Though he could not enjoy his dream, there is no question that DeGarmo would have been proud of his brainchild. Although all of Marabou assumed that Siwans had assassinated DeGarmo, historians have long wondered whether DeGarmo’s local rivals might have been responsible. General Wilfred Vyres, commander of the Marauders, was DeGarmo’s greatest supporter, but there is no doubt that he benefited greatly from the assassination. The question of DeGarmo’s murder remains unanswered to this day.  The Loaber Revolt The Loaber corporation, based in the Aquitaine region, was one of the most profitable colonial ventures on Terra Nova, and the grain producing giant settled thousands of workers on the world. A freak storm in TN 752 destroyed much of that cycle’s harvest and the corporation distributed shares to workers in lieu of their wages. Embittered farmers demanded they be paid what was owed them. When Loaber refused, the workers revolted, destroying corporate headquarters and holding some mid-level executives hostage. Horrified, the Human Concordat dispatched the military to deal with the problem. The farmers raised the stakes and savagely eliminated their hostages, fighting a running battle with the military into the Badlands. Some claim that this group stumbled into the harshest environment on the planet and emerged as the Sand Riders. The Loaber Corporation itself never recovered from the unrest and was purchased by Hadrias, a Terran rival. It was Hadrias’ vice-president Doman Anasta who first suggested that the colonists take direct control of the land in exchange for long term arrangements with the corporations. This plan proved successful and laid the earliest foundations of the Southern Republic.

2.2.1 FIRST UNIFICATION (TN 1534-1580) The Republic’s early history is one of bloodshed, revenge, opportunism and partial reconciliation. The First Unification Campaign (TN 1534-1545) saw the incorporation of Siwa Oasis, Ashanti, Port Oasis and Ankara into Marabou’s new Republic. While historians now remember the valiant defenders of the conquered states, there were many who welcomed the Marabouin invaders and the prosperity they promised to bring with them. With Siwa and Ashanti practically reduced to rubble, Marabou ceased expansion temporarily and founded the Southern Republic in TN 1545. The Marabou govern￾ment was then faced with forging conquered territories into a nation. Funds were directed to reconstruction and pliable representatives from the conquered city-states were invited to form a new Unified Council. It was too little, too late. By TN 1547 a shadow of panic had descended upon the cities that lay within easy reach of the newly established Republic. Several supposed “collaborators” within the Unified Council also revealed themselves to be bent on vengeance and personal power. A cabal of ten of these Councilors, most hailing from Port Oasis, provided intelligence and aid to the Republic’s neighbors and helped organize an attack. An army comprised primarily of Saragossa Conclave Troops and exiled elements of the Port Oasis Defense Force assaulted Marabou in TN 1547. They looted buildings, burned the Parliament Building to the ground and actively hunted down over one hundred Unified Councilors. As planned, after a failed retali￾atory strike on Port Oasis, the remaining Councilors declared a cease fire and then turned the Republic’s attention inward. The cabal, led by Councilor Dimitri Nemen, was motivated by a desire both for vengeance and personal power. With the conquest of their homes avenged and Marabou crippled, Nemen did not dissolve the Republic: rather, he took control of it. While the economy of the league was directed at reconstruction, Nemen implemented war-time emergency measures that effectively barred all political views other than the cabal’s own. Under the auspices of the “good of the nation,” these renegades quickly silenced all opposition to their rule. League forces moved with ruthless efficiency to root out “malignancy,” and political activists disappeared nightly. With the militaries of the various city-states in disarray, the Republican state (now centered in Port Oasis) used the carrot of reconstruction and the stick of political terror to keep average citizens from rocking the boat. Within a generation after the fall of Marabou, the seeds of the Republican spirit were planted in the national psyche thanks to a dedicated campaign of propaganda most effectively presented through centrally controlled education. Siwans and Marabouins lit the first spark of the Republican belief in their own superiority. Ashantites added a dose of liberal thought to the new nation, and instilled a belief in honor and pride as the cornerstones of an individual’s being. Port Oasis’ insular society added a level of paranoia to the tapestry of Southern thinking and augmented the supremacist character of the Republic. The people of Ankara helped counter this tendency internally and underwrote laws that encouraged tolerance and cooperation among citizens, and their policies are credited with slowly cementing the league into a single nation. By the 1580s, the first generation to be born Republican were adults and few of them questioned the existence of their league — or its destiny. 2.2.2 THE EXPANSION OF THE REPUBLIC (TN 1581- 1670) The Second Unification Campaign (1581-1636) saw the incorporation of Timbuktu, Saragossa, Bethany and Reunion into the Republic. The difference between this second conflict and its predecessor was that the Southern Republic Unifiers (the SR’s army of conquest) were never assured of victory from the outset. The battles for Timbuktu and Saragossa were typical examples of the war, in which the Unifiers were mauled in the first case and destroyed in the second. Despite the fierce physical resistance of their opponents, the Second Unification Campaign proved even more devastating to the citizens of the Republic on a psychological level. Here the people were faced with opponents who hated them because of their politics and attitudes. The war was further marked by multiple acts of resistance, it was in the sleepy town of Bethany that groundwork for future violence was laid. With the majority of the populace in submission by TN 1592, acts of terror exploded around Bethany’s Republican occupiers. Events came to a head in TN 1595, when a small band of Bethanite radicals held a main city school hostage and then executed over half the children. The people of Bethany, sickened by shame, quietly provided a list of their neighbors who had any ties to the group. Ironically the most pleasant of Republicans are directly responsible for the formation of the most feared organization on Terra Nova: Les Témoins (see page 28). The Southern Republic Unifiers were destroyed in TN 1607 by Saragossa Conclave forces and the final three decades of the campaign were dedicated solely to bringing that city under heel. Following the integration of Saragossa in TN 1636, the Southern Republic turned its attention inwards. The Second Unification Campaign had taken a toll on the army and it was in no condition to face the might of the leagues that lay to the east and west. A feeling had also developed among the Estates General that it would be more efficient to conquer wholly formed leagues. These would provide far more diversi￾fied supply sources and would be easier to integrate into a super-nation than individual cities. The next forty cycles were focused on rebuilding and integrating the conquered city-states and regions. Economic efforts were coupled with a repressive political system, but personal freedoms judged apolitical were protected by the new nation. The melding of the Southern Republic into a single people was only completed much later, but many historians point to this period as the first instance where the people of the league thought of themselves as Republicans rather than citizens of a city-state.

2.2.3 FORMATION OF THE ALLIED SOUTHERN TERRITORIES (TN 1670-1723) Prime Minister Hazel Giano came to power in TN 1670 and her self-stated mission was to revitalize the South along Republican lines. With the army reinvigorated, she had the might necessary to impose her will. Rather than face conquest, the Mekong Dominion opted for a negotiated alliance and in TN 1678 the two leagues signed a formal alliance that effectively bound the Dominion to the Republic. Prime Minister Giano then unleashed the Southern Republican Army on the Humanist Alliance and the Eastern Suns Emirates. The Estates General was finally following up on its promise to increase the scope of Republican influence, and Prime Minister Giano was determined that, no matter the cost, the Southern Republic would rule the South. The battles that followed highlighted the ferocity and ability of Republican soldiers. The Republic, using a combination of guile and force, forced the two leagues into an uneasy submission. In TN 1681, the Allied Southern Territories was born. On the surface, the AST appeared to be a legitimate attempt to account for the concerns of four very different peoples. Each had their own place of importance in the articles of the alliance, and were guaranteed certain rights, freedoms and privileges. Unfortunately, these same articles were also rife with Republican domination, and served to hold the other member leagues in little more than servitude. Because the Southern Republic lacked the manpower to police its new territories, each league was allowed to establish its own security force to deal with internal problems, often pieced together from the defeated armies but hamstrung by low numbers. The underlying threat of the Republican military was enough to ensure that most peacekeepers were expedient in their tasks. While the AST was held together by the promise of shared prosperity, in the end, only the Southern Republic and (to a lesser extent) the Mekong Dominion benefited fully from this alliance. They gained a captive audience and receptive market for their products and services. They also knew the prestige and honor of being the sole remaining Southern superpower. The Republican dynamism so clear in the conquest of the South and the defeat of the United Mercantile Federation during the Merchant War of TN 1686-1688 did not last out the century. By TN 1700, the nation had lost much of its direction as the Estates General was drowned in political upheaval. These “Dark Days,” as they came to be known, featured near￾constant rebellion within and without the Republic. The people of the SR were still not unified and frequent outbursts of terrorism and hatred exploded along the old city-state borders. It would take the global shocks of the St. Vincent Plague and the ensuing war to bring about true national unity.  The Ghost City The fate of Hanja, a mid-sized community on the Republic’s border with the Mekong Dominion, in the jungles of the Yung An Basin, remains one of the strangest events of the eighteenth century. Under the leadership of Devon Situ, Hanja became a center for resistance to Port Oasis and the Republic. Rebels on both sides of the border used Hanja as a staging ground and a supply house for raids on Republican targets. Situ declared his community’s independence from the AST in TN 1705 after the rebellions were traced back to Hanja. Charis￾matic and clever, Situ arranged support from Northern interests and was able to hold out for almost a full cycle. In TN 1707, the Estates General passed sentence on his people and the Légion Noire was dispatched to quell this rebellion. The Légion arrived to find a deserted city-state. Those few defenders who had remained chose to fight to the death rather than be captured. The fate of Situ himself and he rest of the Hanjan rebels remains unknown to this day. Most assumed that they simply fled into the jungles they knew so well, dispersing into the rural population. Others claim that the Mekong Dominion offered them shelter and helped transport them west. More fanciful rumors persist, however, including allegations that the entire population vanished into the MacAllen cave network or became the founding core of the Blue Crescent Order. The citizens of Hanja are also thought to have had among their possessions several hundred fabled volumes from the Ashanti Public Library, destroyed during the First Unification Campaign. The city of Hanja is now largely overgrown by jungle, but is occasionally visited by those seeking the truth. Adventure Tours Ever since the ruins of Hanja were the subject of a high-budget trideo documentary from a major Port Oasis production company in TN 1931, the "Ghost City" has captured the Republican popular imagination. Two feature holofilms have been made about the city (City of the Damned and Ghost in the Jungle) and Voyages Tropicals has led several “adventure tours” to the ruins. These trips consist of a three week long stay in the ruins, using very rudimentary habitations and involving day journeys into the jungle. Visitors reach the sight thanks to aircraft flown in from VT’s private airfield south of Bethany. The cost of such a trip makes the tour a possibility only for the rich and famous, although several league-wide contests now use tickets as their grand prize. The Ministry of Culture has rejected demands that the site be preserved for academic study as a historical monument. This decision is generally thought to be politically motivated — the Ministry does not want academic attention paid to a symbol of resistance. It seems they not to have any objections to it becoming a theme park, however.

2.2.4 THE ST. VINCENT PLAGUE (TN 1723-1729) Few events had as tremendous an impact on Republican society as the St. Vincent Plague. This deadly affliction killed and maimed countless Republican children and led to a destructive global war. While polar armies clashed, the people of the Republic discovered their patriotism. The St. Vincent’s War was unique because the Southern Republic received the wholehearted support of all its citizens and of the vassal states. This acceptance cemented the character that modern Republicans display, one of fierce national pride and undying loyalty to the political institution that controls it. On the home front, the formation of the youth guard, the child welfare council and the enactment of procreation contracts transformed Republican child-rearing philosophy, and made it obligatory to show the resources needed to provide for children before having them. The war helped to intensify the popularity of religion. Crowds of people flocked to the many newly-constructed houses of worship in search of answers. In short, the war brought the South together in a way that no one would have ever imagined possible. It failed to last. Old animosities floated to the surface and the Southern Republic suffered its defeat in the conflict because of internal pressures. By TN 1728, the Southern economy was strained and thousands were dying in assault after assault. The Mekong Dominion finally refused to support this pointless endeavor any longer. Mekong factories ground to a halt and the Southern offensive lost its momentum. Faced with punishing the Dominion while fighting the North, the Southern Republic became even more resolute. The Estates General ordered every citizen of the AST to comply with its decrees of continued struggle. One by one, the members of the AST stood up to the Southern Republic and refused. The repercussions were predictable. The Estates General put every manner of threat forward to cajole the other leagues into cooperating. Their gambit failed and a vicious Northern counter-assault finally broke the Republic. Realizing that its situation was untenable, the Southern Republic backed down and signed a peace accord with the CNCS, and then turned to bury their dead. The popular reaction to the end of the war was a complex mixture of resentment and comprehension. Hard-line patriots felt that the Mekong Dominion and the other vassal states had betrayed the Republic and demanded punitive action, but an undercurrent of opinion in favor of the end of hostilities made itself felt as well. Indeed, as more and more Republicans died on the altar of St. Vincent, a sentiment that this was not an honorable war slowly grew among veterans and civilians alike. When orders came down for punitive expeditions to be sent into the Mekong Dominion, the feeling grew and rumor has it that mass mutiny became a real threat. This may have accelerated the end of the war. 2.2.5 PEACE, UNDERSTANDING AND UNREST (TN 1729-1900) For one hundred cycles following the St. Vincent’s War, the Southern Republic rebuilt all that had been lost. The physical damage was great. Two city-states had been severely damaged, but it was Republican society that had suffered the gravest wounds. While the army clashed once again with Northern forces in the Badlands, citizens from the Republic made efforts to visit other AST leagues. Naturally, Republicans still felt their culture was superior, but their openness to other cultures was seen by other AST members as a hopeful sign. Indeed, embers of the unity that had characterized the early cycles of the war were built upon such that more and more common people came to see the AST as a permanent institution instead of a temporary conquest. While the citizenry visited and formed friendships, Republican politicians entered a ferocious era of intrigues, backbiting and power struggles. Blaming everyone else for the disaster of the St. Vincent’s War, many prominent leaders fought for the reins of control. The level of animosity in the Estates General slowly trickled its way down to the rest of society and citizens soon found themselves without essential government services. These events sparked a new wave of social unrest at the cost of many Republican lives. In TN 1836, terrorist activity, led by the Saragossan People's Front for Independence, blazed across the expanse of the Republic and the AST. Buildings were destroyed, geothermal power distribution grids were shut down and normal Repub￾lican citizens were harassed whenever they set foot outside of their homeland. Over two hundred incidents of disruptive activity occurred over the next six cycles. After a lengthy investigation, SRID uncovered that many of the terrorist were receiving funding from an Emir of the Eastern Suns. Emir Timothy Shirow was covertly supporting the SPFI, among others, as part of a twisted attempt to prove his power to his brother Ethan, great grandfather of Nigel. Timothy quietly disappeared from public life as soon as his guilt was established, but the damage had already been done. His actions tore asunder the trust that Republicans had forged with their Southern neighbors. Inside of two generations, the Southern Republic reassumed its role as dominator of inferior leagues. Most common Republicans were right behind their government in returning to an imperialist disdain for their neighbors. Fueled by propaganda, Republican employers returned to old-style policies of paying foreigners much less, of supporting slave rings in the Mekong Dominion and ESE and of generally demanding that they be treated as royalty when abroad. Some Republicans, however, were able to keep their heads. Largely drowned out by the roar of the imperialist majority, some voices called for understanding and cooperation. Republican higher education became a focal point for this debate, with many academics being openly sympathetic to the vassal states. This lead to a purge of Sir Isaac Newton University, the Republic University of Newton and Ankara University in TN 1852.

2.2.6 THE JUDAS SYNDROME AND THE WAR OF THE ALLIANCE (TN 1900-1917) The Judas Syndrome was a war of intrigue and deceit in which the major figureheads of the time had spies planted everywhere. These agents realized that the time was ripe for turning a quick profit and sold out their masters to the highest bidder. As Northern, Southern and Badlands agents silently stalked and killed one another in Terra Nova’s worst shadow war, the governments of each league heated up their rhetoric. A war was in the offing, but no one dared move because they could not know who would betray them. To the average citizen, the Judas Syndrome, like much of the last sixty cycles, was business as usual. The touchdown of Earth Forces in the Badlands was another matter entirely. While most Terranovans took up arms to defend their homes, Republicans fought out of a sense of outrage that Earth would dare return and demand submission after abandoning them. The people of Terra Nova rallied together to fight a common foe. Enrollment for the military skyrocketed, numerous citizens’ groups materialized to undertake a number of supporting roles and people put in double shifts to produce materials for the war effort. Makeshift field clinics were established and citizens sacrificed their lives defending others, even those not of the same league. The Great Plains Police and its leader William McKinley are remembered especially fondly for aiding the Republic by providing reliable reconnaissance and peacekeeping, even while portions of the league lay under Earth control. More than just military might, the will and determination of Terranovans won the War. The Southern Republic was battered by the Earth forces that attempted to take control of the planet. The invading Colonial Expeditionary Force bombed several outlying production-based communities into oblivion, devastated several industrial city-states, and shredded whatever military units that they could in open combat. Rather than causing Repub￾licans to shrink away from the horrors, these acts served to bolster their national pride and spirit. The politician in the Estates General played the role of concerned parents protecting their children, and the Republic galvanized around them. The cost of the War of the Alliance was horrible by any estimate, with hundreds of thousands dead and cities shattered across Terra Nova. Republicans remember the civilian and military casualties as martyrs who gave their lives in defense of their homeland. Yet they also believe that those who died were doing their duty to their people, and they think that they would have done the same in their place. Republicans will not, however, forget the dedication that their citizens showed towards them. Established by Louis Philippe deRouen, the “Monument du Peuple,” or the Citizens’ Monument, stands in the middle of the Soulice National Cemetery in the Albigen region. This monument is dedicated to all who gave their lives for the Republic, and it features a diverse gathering of Southerners who stare proudly ahead, defying history. The simple plaque on the bottom of the statue reads “For the valiant defense of our homes, we thank you.” 2.2.7 POST-WAR PERIOD (TN 1917-1933) The War of the Alliance resulted in a temporary unification of all of Terra Nova’s citizens. As one, they fought the clutches of an imperialist aggressor. They lived and died together in a common and brutal struggle to retain their identity as a sovereign world. North and South put aside generations of mutual fear and suspicion and worked towards the only goal that they both felt counted: victory. With the ashes of the War of the Alliance cooling, the Southern Republic entered a new era, bolstered by the positive afterglow of victory. In the minds of most Republicans, this renewed strength is tied to Louis Philippe deRouen, who rose to the Prime Minister’s chair in TN 1921. Charismatic, strong and wildly popular, deRouen has become personally identified with the glory of the Republic. Those in power know that deRouen is a dangerous man. Having defended Kenichi Tanaka, hero of the Battle of Baja and current Lord Chancellor of the ESE, from charges of dishonorable behavior, the future prime￾minister has the backing of the armed forces. Taking advantage of weaknesses in the bureaucracy, the traditional locus of power in the Republic, deRouen became his nation’s leader and eliminated many of his dangerous rivals. Since then he has fostered a cult of personality and now exercises personal control over the state. He has powerful enemies, however, including AST Lord Protector Jacques Molay and politician Georges Herbert Xavier. To the general populace, the lessons of war have not gone unnoticed. A majority of Republicans are reluctant to return to the battlefield. The nationalist sentiment may be too strong to resist, however, as the Estates General works itself, and some citizens, into a political frenzy. The military is increasingly aligned with those arguing for war and the reputation of the armed forces gives their opinion great weight. Some say deRouen may also be seeking a war to bolster the strength of his military allies. Unfortunately for all concerned, there seem to be no more interceding forces to head off a collision between North and South. The regional situation is also fracturing. Cowed into submission by the threat of the Republican Army, the vassal leagues of the AST watch with ever-increasing frustration as their lands are raped for the glory of the Republic. Many citizens of the AST are growing tired of Republican domination and Emir Nigel Shirow’s uprising in the Eastern city-state of Basal is simply the latest in a long line of examples that the union is cracking at the seams. Unrest is also a problem in the Mekong Dominion and Humanist Alliance, where cultural differences may well mask large scale resistance. The Republic fully realizes that if all the vassal states were to break off at once, there would be little it could do to stop it. As such, Port Oasis struggles to keep resistance isolated and manageable.