Lyran Democratic Republic
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Lyran Democratic Republic Dark Star County (pre-Y145), Democratic Dark Star County (Y145-154) |
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| Founded: | Y145 (As Democratic Dark Star County), Y154 (as LDR) |
| Government: | Socialist democracy (male suffrage only) |
| Capital: | Demorak |
| Known Species: | Lyrans (some Ranel and Phelen) |
| Neighboring Powers: | Lyrans, Hydrans, Klingons |
| Affiliation: | Neutral |
| Major Enemies: | Enemy's Blood Duchy (Lyran Duchy) |
| Known Allies: | Orions (Y154-Y157) (Mercenary contract) |
The Lyran Democratic Republic is a semi-independent nation which split from the larger Lyran Star Empire in the Star Fleet Universe. The republic only survived for 50 years, but made an impact on the sector.
[edit] History
The LDR began its existence as Dark Star County (named for a black hole within its territory) in the Enemy's Blood Duchy of the Lyran Empire. This fuedal state was typical of its type in the Empire. The ruling nobles owned all undeeded land and most businesses, and were expected to run their state like a profitable business, sending profits to the Duke (and him to the Crown). In the Dark Star County, the Count and his family were particularly corrupt, and were cutting anything that did not produce any immediate profit. The shortsightedness of this finally caused the county administrators, who did all the real work, to be fed up.
In Y145, they arranged for the Count's entire family to come home for a holiday celebration. In the middle of things, a palace coup moved in and exterminated the County family 'to the last cub.' The ringleaders, deciding on a democracy with universal male suffrage, informed the Duke of the change of government, and said that the Democratic Dark Star County would do business as usual.
The Duke was not happy. While not particularly fond of the dead Count, he found it unacceptable for non-nobles to rise up as such (it set a bad precedence). He decided to crush the nascent rebellion, and install his second-eldest son as the new Count. This move alarmed those outside the Duchy, as putting the presumably loyal son would give the Duke a leg-up in Kingdom politics. As a result, when the DDSC called for help, elements from other Duchies were there to help. The war was brief, ending with the death of the Duke and the royaly sanctioned autonomous statehood of the DDSC.
In Y153-4, another war flared when elements within the DDSC conspired to perform a sister revolt in the neighboring Hidden Dagger County. The war was brief, as pressure from other Duchies, and the Hydrans, prevented the full power of the Duchy from being brought against the renegade county. After the war, the county declared itself to be the completely independent Lyran Democratic Republic.
Over the next few years, several minor crises struck. Orion meddling resulted in a brief border war with the Klingon Empire, which ended in reparations from the Empire. Another border incident, this time with the Hydrans resulted in the Hydrans providing the LDR with Gatling phaser technology in Y161.
While at the corner of three powerful neighbors was dangerous, all three saw the convenience of a nominally neutral power. During both the Four Powers War and the General War, the LDR maintained contact with all sides, and organized prisoner transfers and such. When the ISC Pacification Campaign rolled in, the LDR was left unmolested due to its lack of any true territorial ambitions.
In the end, the autonomy of the LDR proved to be its downfall. At the height of the Andromedan Invasion, the invaders saw a small state with few solid allies. In Y195, the Andromedans launched an all out assault on the LDR, quickly crushing it utterly, leaving them a significant area where they could operate with relative freedom.
The survivors of the LDR fled back into the Empire, though some traveled further to the WYN Cluster.
[edit] Fleet
Being a small nation threatened on multiple sides, the LDR made the most out of every resource for its fleet. They made heavy use of armed auxiliaries, and when the catamaran to trimaran designs were available, the LDR converted any ship they could, to include designs that the Empire had not even considered. (The Empire actually gave the LDR equipment and technology to buy some of the designs that they were impressed with). The main limitation was that many ships were so densely packed with weapons and equipment that they could not operate far from bases due to maintenance needs. As it was a defensive fleet, this was not considered a handicap.
[edit] Culture
With the revolt came a new style of government, implementing widespread socialist values and techniques. This extended to the point where naval crews normally covered their rank insignia, addressing each other as Comrade. As some of the inefficiencies of this system became evident, the LDR shifted to adapt to more workable models, while staying a socialist nation.
