United Colonial Nations

The United Colonial Nations (UCN) are the current ruling government of Earth and, indirectly, of its colonies. It encompasses the United Colonial Army and the Interplanetary Strategic Alliance.

History
The UCN was founded by a coalition of Earth's richest companies and governments in the aftermath of a global nuclear war in 2060. In response to the resource shortage on Earth that caused the conflict, the UCN began a space colonization program in search of new resources and allowed other companies/governments to fund their own colonization projects, but under the strictures of the global owners. During its infancy of its expansion, the UCN was swamped by the management of the new colonies and relied on stiff economic penalties and overwhelming military force to keep the colonies and habitats in line. In 2113, the UCN dissolved the UCN Defense Force and formed the United Colonial Army, the only legally permitted military force on Earth and her stellar dominions.

In 2116, the UCN suffered the loss of six colony ships to a massive solar flare which financially damaged their efforts in interstellar colonization. The UCN desperately resorted to open up bidding on the colonization rights of the Alpha Centauri system, in which the Helghan Corporation won the bidding rights. As colonization stretched to Alpha Centauri and Altair, in an effort to enforce Earth's rule on the colonies and prevent rebellions without stretching its own military dangerously thin, the UCN founded and funded the Interplanetary Strategic Alliance, a unified defence alliance for all existing and future colonies.

The increasingly rigid rule of Earth prompted a group of colonies to split away from the UCN and to create the Independent Colonial Strategic Alliance, a rival colonial alliance. However, despite gaining its independence, the ICSA never managed to be an actual threat to UCN's supremacy.

First Extrasolar War
During the late 22nd century, the UCN grew concerned of the Helghan Administration's stranglehold over star travel and space trade, areas which were traditionally under UCN control. Frustrated by the Helghan Administration profiting off colonial endeavors that the UCN itself has underwritten, the UCN levied stricter controls and tariffs on all space traffic, and heavily tax the colonies—that money was then used to expand the UCA, creating new and advanced warships designed to destroy ISA fleets and control dissent in the colonies.

The Helghan Administration refused to follow the new regulations and after failed multiple attempts to negotiate with Earth, seceded from the UCN and ignited the First Extrasolar War. In 2201, the UCA Navy and ISA Alpha Centauri destroyed the Administration's forces and arrested its civil servants. The UCN Senate gave ISA Alpha Centauri authority over Vekta and sending loyal UCN civilians from Earth to expand the Vektan colony to curb future unrest from the Helghan corporate populace. This measure in the aftermath of the war was to send a clear message to the other colonies to recognize the UCN's rights to regulate and tax space shipping is never challenged.

The UCN's harsh punishment over the Helghan Administration, however, created violent tensions between the Earth minority and Helghan corporate majority, and leading to millions of disaffected Helghan colonists to resettle on planet Helghan, where the UCN formally recognized the Helghan Administration as a sovereign nation and declared Helghan to be their territory in perpetuity while subjected to ISA blockades and restrictions until diplomatic relations are normalized.

Second Extrasolar War
Following the outbreak of the Second Extrasolar War, the UCN dispatched UCA reinforcements to Vekta and aiding the ISA against the Helghan Empire. The UCA fleet nearly suffered complete destruction from the Helghast-controlled orbital defense platform which was prevented by the actions of four unlikely heroes, led by an ISA soldier Jan Templar. Following the defeat of all Helghast forces on Vekta, the UCA fleet declared the situation in Vekta stabilized and withdrew from the system after the UCN ordered the ISA to restore the Helghan blockade but without taking any other offensive action. However, the ISA refused to allow the Helghast go unpunished and launched a disastrous counter-invasion of Helghan.

In May 2360, the Helghast attempted to launch a massive invasion of Earth and eliminate the UCN leadership by eradicating all life on the planet with irradiated Petrusite weapons. However, the Helghast's attempt was prevented by civil war between the Helghast factions led by Admiral Orlock and Jorhan Stahl, and the efforts of a small ISA force that destroyed the Helghast fleet and subsequently causing the Terracide.

Jurisdiction
The UCN relies on all of its colonial resource support by taxing them a fraction of their resources such as food and minerals. Any attempts to resist are met with overwhelming force as resource-depleted Earth cannot afford to have its flow of vital commodities halted for any prolonged period of time, otherwise Earth's population would starve. As a result of its overwhelming power, and willingness to use it, some detractors viewed the UCN as a tyrannical institution.

Military
The United Colonial Army is the UCN's primary military. The UCA is intended to protect Earth and its colonies from insurrections and the bulk of their forces are kept off-world where they can deploy on a moment's notice. The UCN's colonies that are out of reach from Earth are defended and policed by the Interplanetary Strategic Alliance, which answers directly to the civilian government of the UCN rather than the military command of the UCA.