Shinsakai (FT)

Shinsakai is a planet in the Coreward Frontier.

The planet's main inhabited landmasses are the large continent of New Osoba and the cluster of large islands known as Enojima Archipelago.

History
Discovered and very lightly colonised by the Empire just before the Empire-Federation War. Following the war, the Imperial province on the planet voted to stay with the Puppet Empire. The Imperial Remnants maintained footholds nonetheless. The rest of the planet was considered a free-for-all for the Federation states, and the colonies at Togakushi and Forge Valley were established by some states.

Forge Valley joined the Coreward Alliance and declared independence from the Federation. Togakushi eventually followed suit. The Imperial Province switched allegiances to the New Empire and a battle was fought between the New Empire and the Alliance against the Federation for the world. After the New Empire was formed and went back on their word about not interfering with Coreward Alliance politics (due to their fight with the New Axis affecting the Coreward states), the Coreward Alliance transformed into the Confederacy and became opposed to the New Empire. Togakushi and Ventura did not want anything to do with this and left; Togakushi because they are independent-minded and Ventura because they were an Imperial ally.

Shilka was also established at some point after the Federation left.

Shilka Cooperative
Main article: Shilka Cooperative

A kleptocratic city-state on the Shilka River, the Shilka Cooperative is a bizarre mob-run state that has carved a galactic niche for itself being the subject matter experts for "doing shady shit". Officially neutral, all of the hyperpowers officially claim to be opposed to them but everyone knows that the Kazoku, Nomenklatura, and One-Percenters alike maintain offshore accounts in Shilka.

Togakushi
Main article: Togakushi

The true worker's paradise. Togakushi was originally a penal colony that evolved into a refugee area following the Second Hyperpower War. The former prisoners and the refugees banded together to build a fiercely-independent communist society based on the workers controlling the means of production. Togakushi is rich in natural resources and is often referred to as the lifeblood of Shinsakai, and heavy mining activities occur across the country.

Enojima
The Imperial province on Shinsakai, the heart of the Empire's operations in the system and an island of order amidst the chaos. This is quite a literal analogy as the Imperial Province of Enojima controls the Enojima Archipelago, granting them access to verdant farmlands and fishing grounds. Stretching from the equator to the antarctic circle, the Enojima Archipelago's 7,800 islands feature widely varied terrain, from tropical wetlands to deserts and icy peaks in the south. The capital of Enojima is the mega-city of Onomachi, the largest city on Shinsakai, which stretches across four entire islands linked with state-of-the-art bridges.

Forge Valley
The Confederate State on Shinsakai, on the coast of the Mar Sara Ocean. Located in harsh, cold and mountainous terrain, Forge Valley largely relies on resource extraction and support from its Confederate backers to maintain itself. The biggest city is Backwater Station, which is also the main spaceport. The Confederation carries out mining efforts elsewhere in the State.

Rubok
The first moon of Shinsakai. A corruption of Ryuboku (流木) that has caught on.

Kotoku Base
""Cleanup on Sublevel 36... Some prick's experiment got loose again.""

- 1st Sergeant Supitayaporn Shinku, Bakunin Moderator Corps

Kotoku Base is one of the largest lunar colonies on Rubok, with a known population of around 750,000, though the number is believed to be much higher.

Kotoku started out as a religious colony established by the Observance of Vigilance cult, though funding problems and the arrest of many cult leaders by the Federation led to the project stalling. When information on the project reached the Exonet, a large amount of groups and individuals across the Human Sphere began providing funding and assisting with the completion and expansion of the colony. These groups are mostly outcasts and persecuted communities from all over the Human Sphere, using Kotoku as a sanctuary within which they can live their lives in peace.

The surface elements of Kotoku Base are like any other lunar colony, with the Kotoku Spaceport and a sprawling surface city known as the Forum. These areas are official common spaces and are patrolled by the Moderator Corps, the closest thing to a law enforcement agency, military, or government that Kotoku has. The Moderator Corps is led by the Moderatus, who is the de facto representative of Kotoku Base in international affairs, and serves a three-year term. The Forum is home to numerous marketplaces and entertainment districts where all manner of goods are bought and sold to foreign visitors. Tourism plays a major role in Kotoku's external economy, and the colony leverages its seedy reputation to market itself as a risky destination of adventure.

Beneath the Forum, in the dozens of sub-levels dug deep into Rubok, are thousands of self-contained habitats. Each habitat is fully self-moderated, and hosts everything from cults, philosophical extremists, genetic fetishists, eccentric billionaires, xenoslave traders, underground artistic communes, transhuman cyborgs, and so much more. Every possible subculture and community, and then some that defy all logical imagination, are represented in the bowels of Kotoku Base. The most unimaginably depraved and illegal things can be found in the depths, from human-animal hybrids bred for pit fights and other questionable purposes, extreme cybernetics to the point of reducing oneself to a brain in a jar, matriarchal cults consisting entirely of female clones, everything in between, and so much more. Yet the same can be said about the sheer amount of mundane things that can be found there, with some habitats being relatively ordinary in terms of culture and lifestyle... Until one realises every inhabitant in that habitat worships the idea of wiping out all intelligent life in the universe except themselves.

Obtaining a habitat is as simple as paying the fee for one, or taking over a pre-existing habitat. Some habitats have changed hands numerous times without any external parties being aware of the changes at all, and some have not been opened in over a hundred years. Within the habitats, all semblance of law and order is thrown out of the airlock - after all, with a million interpretations of what 'law' and 'order' are, how would one even enforce anything?

The only caveat the inhabitants of Kotoku Base must abide by are that while they rule their own petty domains however they see fit, when venturing into the common spaces they must abide by the laws of Kotoku Base itself and act with common decency. It is here that the Moderator Corps come in, possibly the toughest police force in the entire Human Sphere, if not the entire galaxy. Empowered to enforce the laws of Kotoku Base and the social rules (already relatively loose by modern general societal standards), the Moderator Corps face action every day against everything from gang wars, cult rivalries, genetic experiments gone loose, and the occasional Hyperpower raid attempting to arrest some criminal hiding on Kotoku Base.

It is the last point that creates the most friction between Kotoku Base and the Hyperpowers, bordering on open conflict at times, which is partly why the Hyperpowers are happy to engineer such a negative depiction of Kotoku Base among their peoples. It is after all the law on Kotoku Base that habitats may not be interfered with by external parties unless by express invitation - this applies to all, even those who do not call Kotoku Base their home. And the Moderator Corps are well-equipped enough to deal with any Imperial boarding party trying its luck... If whatever is down there doesn't get them first.

It is hardly hyperbole to claim that anything can be bought or sold on Kotoku Base. Already the exotic bazaars in the Forum make the renowned Yaji (夜市) of New Ryuhama pale in comparison, but if one is determined enough the habitat would likely hold what they are looking to buy. Some of the best geneticists, roboticists, cyborg engineers, and all-round mad scientists can be found on Kotoku Base, as well as all manner of exotic goods, from rare alien wildlife to drugged-up mechacultists capable of taking anti-tank rounds to the chest and still tear ten men apart with their bare hands.

Frontier Haven
Frontier Haven is one of the more well-known lunar colonies in the Human Sphere due to its involvement in several armed conflicts and incidents, and is infamous throughout the Human Sphere for its sponsorship of and involvement in conflicts with numerous mercenary groups.

Formed by the ex-Federation Special Forces soldier Johann "Big" Bosch, Frontier Haven was created to be a nation for soldiers, where soldiers could be free of abuse and exploitation by their governments, and fight for what they themselves believed in. This is one of the core tenets of the main ideology that Frontier Haven is based on, which ultimately calls for total unification of all nations to create a permanent peace. Bosch took over the abandoned Omicron-6 mining installation and expanded it into a lunar city combined with a military base for his mercenary company, which over time evolved into a bizarre state-like entity that counted its employed mercenaries as its citizens. A cult of personality exists surrounding Big Bosch and his leadership cadre, and a military hierarchy system is in place throughout the entire "society". Frontier Haven offers its mercenary services to the highest bidder.

There are two currencies in use, foreign currencies and a local currency called "EXP", which is gained by the 'citizens' for completing jobs and other actions like killing enemies or saving civilians.

Ranka City
Ranka City is the largest colony on Rubok, with some 5 million citizens. Ranka City is an independent presidential republic and is relatively secure due to a mixture of its own defence forces and its native Strategic Military Services mercenary aerospace warfare company. The city is comprised of numerous surface domes and habitats as well as several subterranean facilities that connect the surface installations. The largest surface done, the Central Dome, is a partial recreation of 21st-century Wanshu on Ordis, complete with an artificial bay and an artificial weather system. Other surface domes include farms and themed communities, though the majority of the population resides in underground habitats.

Ranka City's economy relies on exporting raw materials mined from within Rubok, as well as tourism. The City also supplies many of its fellow lunar colonies with essential resources, such as oxygen and water.

Kuroimo
A misshapen large asteroid caught in Shinsakai's orbit, Kuroimo is firmly controlled by the Empire, which uses it as a signals observation station while also operating mining operations and starship tender facilities.