Novan Commonwealth Infodump & Questions

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So my creative writing side went berserk. I got this. If you have questions, post below.

The Commonwealth

Among the truly benevolent nations of the galaxy is the Novan Commonwealth. Dedicating itself to exploration, knowledge, and bettering itself, the state is seen as the most welcoming of any nation.

With 17 systems in the Draconis March, the Commonwealth is a positively tiny nation. A total population of 7.54 billion spread over 11 worlds makes for a fairly comfortable living area. Recently, the Moboquestrian Republic elected to become an automonus region within the Commonwealth as part of a plan to prevent the genocide of the Mobians by the Steigiforme.

Military and Space
The Commonwealth has never been overly military. With less than 180 ships, now reduced to 110 by the Imperium War, the nation has enough naval power to drive off invaders and keep pirates at bay, though mounting large-scale operations taxes defenses.

The ground forces of the military are seperated into several groups. First, the Infantry. With two battalions, the Commonwealth Fusiliers and the Queen's Own Infantry, they mass just over 30,000 soldiers. One artillery regiment, the Novus Artillery, maintains 2,000 troops and 570 guns. The remaining forces are split between the covert operations Dark Prince's Company, the reconassaince 42nd company, and the Princess Patricia's Corps of Marines.

Culture
Taking its cues from a great many old Earth cultures, the Commonwealth has quite a few odd and different customs. The normal greeting is a bow from the waist, whereas greeting a friend is normally a kiss on the cheek. That is, face, for *you* people. The "thumbs up" known to most of humanity means something similar to "I'm seeing your sister" here, although nobody remembers how that came about. Many humans consider the apparent intimacy of the Novans - their habitual hugging, holding hands, and the like - strange. The Novans themselves ignore this. Though according to either legend or storytelling, a group of pirates stumbled across the colony in the early 2250s. Apparently, they didn't get a chance to attack before the Novans dispensed hugs and invited them in, thus creating House Meinholl. The House neither confirms nor denies this.

Speech is mostly unaccented, similar to the North American nations of old Terra. Several words of German, French, Swedish and, to a degree, Japanese have worked their way into Standard. Things such as "stein", for a basic one, are common, as is the French "au revoir".

Food is a fairly important part of any culture. Here, food is mostly what humans eat, although the multispecies nature of the nation means that other dishes often crop up. A normal Novan meal is raw or very lightly cooked meat, local vegetables, and often some type of bread or similar. Drinks are most often water, a resource Novus has in abundance, or lightly alcoholic juices or relatively soft drinks. Dishes such as curries also flourish among those who prefer thoroughly cooked meat, as that is uncommon.

Many species reside in this nation. Foremost are humans (though our biologist tells me they'e technically "Novan"), one of the more common races in the galaxy. The Novans have some adaptations to the world, such as a powerful immune system and a slight resistance to the effects of alcohol, as well as a body water level of 76%.

Also prevelant here are Mobians, as well as some scattered groups of Solari, and a few small communities of expatriate Strigiforme. All are accepted and welcome, though they tend to settle off Novus itself. The most recent addition to the nation are the diminutive Aurin.

There are four official languages of the Commonwealth. Standard, the first, is English "with some bits added on". The second, and almost as common as standard, is Mundyyn, a mix of Latin and some words created by the Novans. The third, rarely used, is Sellak, very similar to old German. This is reserved for use by high courts and old families, normally. Since the inclusion of the Mobian Republic into the Commonwealth, the New Equestrian language has been included on the official languages list.

Novus
The world itself. Novus Mundus, the homeworld of the Commonwealth, is the planet originally colonized by the Terran Federation settlers in 2235. The world is 98 percent ocean, with a small set of island just North of the equator. Here, a total of 127,457 people live, mainly government personnel and old families.

The only other inhabited world in the Novus system is Nerrus, a forest world preserved as a sanctuary. Recently, a group of Aurelian colonists requested to stay there, and were allowed to build their own colony, which applied for Commonwealth membership shortly thereafter.


Houses and Fiefdoms

Mainly for ceremonial purposes, the nation has several families which originally presided over the planet Novus.

--House Korriman--
Traditionally the great merchants of the land, House Korriman has slowly shrunk to include only 3 people. Currently, the House is led by Lady Ellen Korriman, currently the Ministress of Trade. Her brother Sir Markus is the current Prime Minister, and sister Rose is serving aboard an Explorer vessel.

--House Meinholl--
The great warriors, this family has maintained the tradition of having many children. Currently headed up by Lord Argus Meinholl, commander of the battlecarrier Prometheus, with 3 other adults and 7 children.

--Duke McCallin--
The only Duke in the Commonwealth, McCallin wears the title well. The Minister of Internal Affairs is a descendant of the first Duke, fittingly enough.

--Sir Terrence Petothel--
The oldest Knight of the Commonwealth, Petothel is the retired commander of Pegasus, the nation's first true capital ship. He spends his days aboard his sea yacht on Novus, enjoying the sights and meeting new people.

Royalty

The Royal Family of Novus, the Kay family, is the much-revered and universally loved line of royal blood. Starting with His Grace Sir Samuel Kay, leader of the original colonists, the line has descended the years until the current ruler, Her Majesty Queen Arianne II.

Mainly figureheads and serving personnel, the royal family nonetheless presides over the nation, with their "doors open" policy that led to their friendliness to and protectiveness of the population.


OOC, I may update this in the future. This was just for lulz, and will also serve as a reference in the future.

Ad astra per aspera.

[Crash Override]

French.

[Error]

French.

Okay.

[Chairman_Tiel]

Spanish.

[Professor Fenway]

When Russian for French Fries, there's no time for Ger-men to Pol-and survey the populace.

[Ivan2006]

When Russian for French Fries, there's no time for Ger-men to Pol-and survey the populace.

Spoiler:

[Chairman_Tiel]

offtopic banbanbanbanbanban

[Error]

Indeed it is, and indeed it will stop.

[Professor Fenway]

When Russian for French Fries, there's no time for Ger-men to Pol-and survey the populace.

Spoiler:

It only works for American accents.

Translation: When rushing for french fries, there's no time for yer' men to poll and survey the populace.

But yes this is off topic.

On topic: Why.

[Ivan2006]

I request for "New Equestrian", one of the former languages (besides Mobian English) of the MQR, to be recognized as an official language, allowing for people who grew up on Equestria or Equestrian colonies to commmunicate their interests in official, legal or similar matters.

[Error]

Fair enough, and updated.

[Chairman_Tiel]

When Russian for French Fries, there's no time for Ger-men to Pol-and survey the populace.

Spoiler:

It only works for American accents.

Translation: When rushing for french fries, there's no time for yer' men to poll and survey the populace.

But yes this is off topic.

On topic: Why.

I think Yemen would've worked better there.