EXODE - Space Colonization

Achea is a planet colonized by the Space Federation in year 2143 and part of the second and larger wave of colonization.

Achea benefited from large operations of mining on surrounding asteroid fields and became an economic focus in the 22nd era.

It developed one particularity with the habit of keeping 95% of its entire industry off-planet, with all refining stations and factory stations there, keeping only limited vehicle production on planetary grounds.

It evolved in the later half of that century into a main urban and corporatist hub, mostly thanks to the exploitation of the asteroid fields and resulting wealth.

Achea became known much after for being the center of culture and spread of the infamous Achean Gangs, following events that were also remotely related to the Drachian Revolution.

Achea initially had workers “mostly invisible” from the sight of corporate members on the planet, making the planet adopt a culture mostly similar to Persea and its ruling elite.

The planet was spared in nation wars and later corporation wars, with the exception of the sindrovian raid, local piracy and some small-scale battles.

This was thanks to a surprising policy of ceding control to whoever showed the largest force and declaring itself mostly neutral otherwise, as neither the corporate elite or the industrials were feeling part of a larger faction.

What started as two social classes with rich corporates and clubber socialites on one side and asteroid workers on the other, merged in the later quarter of the 22nd century, and especially during the 23rd century when asteroid mining completely rescinded.

Workers came back to the urban areas with their own culture.

An initial segregation started at that time but contrary to Persean events, the segregation backfired on Achea.

The situation devolved rather quickly with gangs taking rapid control of the city.

At that time the Space Federation got its hands full with the Drachian Revolution.

As the Federation lost initial battles against Admiral Zalchius Drachian and understood that it risked its very dissolution, they felt forced to make a deal with the Achean Gangs to stop its revolt.

The Gangs rejected secession ideas and kept Achea within actual control of the Federation. But they also benefited from a lot of exceptions and authority that they could keep for themselves on the planet.

This was beneficial to the Space Federation at the time considering the huge cultural influence of Achea and its armed street gangs already spread to many if not all urban planets. Risking a total war with Acheans was also risking destabilization in many worlds where their associated gangs would revolt.

Additionally, the Federation no longer had the same kind of monetary gain to make on Achea. It was still a huge city hub and a notable vehicle production infrastructure, but had a very declining corporate population and a lot of corruption already.

This meant that conceding authority on Achea looked like the clever thing to do to avoid unrest in many other more relevant star systems.

The Federation abandoned the corporate assets there and left them “to manage things on their own”.

Corporate bosses who tried to take control to the capitol city quickly learned their mistake.

Their successors learned to negotiate.

Achea became a “local exception”.

The Gangs had complete authority as long as they left some corporate, police and federal grounds alone.

This started, of course, the permanent street wars between gangs for control of its territory; but the same gangs also followed some internal code of conduct and preserved some base assets from the conflict.

The collection of corporate buildings and infrastructures they called "Kompacs" became protected by the local warlords and forever-changing "Celeb Crew", with the ruling group of a gang making deals directly with the corporate elites and extracting taxes from them.

Achean Gangs also protected anything exporting and selling assets to the rest of the galaxy or producing local services, albeit of course while extracting some local tax and goods from it for themselves.

Services not considered worthy or at least very useful to local citizens were burned down, but most of the economical structure was otherwise kept intact.

Citizens were still encouraged to become productive members if they were not member of Gangs but were kept safe otherwise. Individual gang members were even forbidden from associating or relating with them, effectively making the world of citizens separated from the world of the ruling gangs.

Another social class called “Latos” emerged to negotiate with the Gangs in replacement of random individuals.

This organization guaranteed safety of any non-production member, such as kids and old people, and even some education and food support, but gave also organized recruitment for the Gangs.

Latos were also forced to follow some kind of “street code of honor”.

They faced fatal prejudice if they betrayed the Gangs, hid resources from local taxation, but also and more surprisingly even if they mistreated their own citizens.

In that case citizens could complain directly to the Gangs and Gangs could act toward corrupted Latos, acting as direct judges and executioners.

They became quickly reputed for being extremely hard on Latos who mistreated their own.

Researchers underline that this is probably because of how Achean Gangs perceive reputation, projected leadership and loyalty.

By Achean culture, top gang officers risked prejudice and their own life if they misrepresented their leader by being unjust in handling their members or if they disobeyed orders. They bear a lot of responsibility in all operations and can be held accountable for a lot of their actions.

Latos can thus be perceived as “their own officers toward citizens”. A wrong-acting Lato, acting independently, and to do direct harm to his own, and even worse for his own personal benefit, is then something they cannot even comprehend and will never accept.

And as Latos also avoid the dangers of street life this is perceived even as more dishonorable and less acceptable.

This made organization of Achea somewhat “stable” and “acceptable” for citizens with Latos protecting them, negotiating with the clans and bearing the blame (in replacement of individual citizens) if anything wrong happened.

Citizens, in turn, brought regular wealth and services to the planet. They could not become rich and had to provide many things to the Gangs, so this was not an ideal situation, but they also received food and free education.

Corporate external influence was heavily suppressed, and at that time any dream of freedom within the Federation on other federal worlds was also diminished.

Federal propaganda was indeed compromised on Achea even since the Drachian Revolution. Failure to contain and suppress some truths made the planet flourish on independent thoughts.

Though Achea never seceded and Gangs respected their part of the deal with the Federation, the planet remained politically neutral with some inclination toward its own independence.

Gangs fight for territory control but also follow some “street rules”.

The “Crew”, the ruling group of a gang, constitutes an important part of these rules.

The Gangs have implicit rules about the number of positions in a Crew and by extension the maximal size of a Gang itself.

By tradition the Crew moves in two vehicles, usually racers and quadribogs and no larger vehicle. This implies that extending the number of positions in a Crew almost has no use after some limit is attained.

No Gang Leader broke this rule and habit for dozens of years.

It gives bad reputation to even imply you would like to rule all of Achea.

Trying to control “more than you can chew” is very ill-regarded on Achea, giving too much to a single part of the Crew just as well, and expanding the number of Crew positions beyond what is customary is also unheard of.

All these implicitly determined a soft limit to the “maximal territory” a single Gang can enjoy as its own.

Instead, it is well perceived to keep Rivals free, well alive and somewhat not exterminated, to permanently show them that with all the more freedom you gave them to act, you still just have more "kluth" than they do.

“Showing”, “clubbing”, proving that your Suprine and racers are best, are almost as important factors to climbing the social ladder as gunfights and actual raids.

And even when some Gangs are perceived as the “best” or “ruling one” for a time, the scene then changes quickly.

Acheans feel this change not as something bad but as an element giving them the freedom to exist again and have meritocratic gains.

It could be analyzed that if the reliance of Acheans is heavy on guns, vehicles, drugs, "fostas" and fashion, it is the latter that influences their culture the most and this one does not tolerate anything repeating or permanent.

Acheans are also never lazy, always ready to prove themselves in dangerous challenges, and there is no bigger challenge than to declare rivalry toward the largest ruling Gang.

This makes Achea a lively scene of street battles, fame and ever-changing rulers. And separately, with some form of justice and protection toward its citizens and an immense protection against corporate rule.

Though it is by no means a paradise and is more like a “black market reliable network” than a model of true civilization and freedom, one could argue that Achea still protected some basic rights, assured control of an entire planet and that it developed immunity to Federal manipulations and abuse of powers.

While retaining, however, a constant moving environment on the streets and violence that can erupt about anywhere to gain some territory.

Achea is thought as an exception in most criteria.

Acheans acquired official control of their planet without even having to associate themselves with the Drachian Republic or other frontier worlds.

Though it was mostly thanks to having spread the Achean culture and its related gangs to all Federation, and then implicitly blackmailing the Federation into respecting its boundaries and never bomb the planet, this still resulted in actual control in a way that never had to engage in conflict outside of its planet.

This is also much more official and opposed to the Syndicate ways, which acts instead as an interstellar power-hungry influence, a little more in the shadows on the worlds it actually controls, but always trying to gain monopoly, permanent and uncompromised authority.

Achean is an ever-changing battleground on the streets and even its race contests or meetings, be it with guns or on the social ladder, but has learnt to isolate its corruption.

It also exported its street tradition to all Federal worlds, becoming an influential cultural pillar for black market, street life, fashion, tradition and rules, and in 2325 was one of the many influential cultures that composed the Space Federation.