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A peaceful nation until 1950, Falcania prospered but did not make itself noticed. A rather dull country, you may say. All until April 1950, when Terranea invaded the sub-Pacific Border. Falcania was hit hard, with the Terri forcing themselves upon the country. Within a year, it was under total occupation, with the TDF [Terri Discipline Force] patrolling the streets with rights to do whatever they wanted. The TDF, also known as Blackies because of the black suits they wore, were permanently at war with the Falcanian Militia, who wanted freedom. Led by Cmmr Falcon, they fought tooth-and-nail with the Terri, and finally, on August 1 1954, they won a critical battle. Having driven the TDF to the capital Mathdon, the FM destroyed them and were victorious. Falcon was crowned King Falcon I on the battlefield.
All was great until August 1 2004, when a Terri assassin killed him whilst he was celebrating his Golden Jubilee. His son, then Cmmr Falcon II, suceeded to the throne, proclaiming his country a "free kingdom" in memory of his father. |
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Falcania |
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Winging It Since 2004 |
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The average Falcanian is covered in downy feathers, and most have wings, though only about 45% of the population can fly unaided. About 70% of the population have retractable, keratinous claws.
Falcania was engaged in a few global events. It was a founding member of the now-defunct SDL, and maintains good relations with some of the nations who were in that organisation. Falcanians participated in engagements with Starblaydia and Hockey Canada. The Falcanian National Football Team disbanded after one crushing defeat in the AOCAF, but Julian Marquis gave the nation some measure of fame during a regional Formula AO Grand Prix tournament.
One notable moment of controversy was the colonisation of New Nestia, formerly Diamindokere. In response to the mounting housing crisis, Falcania permitted the colonisation of the largely uninhabited island, without consulting other powers in the region. Several objected, notably Sarzonia, who formed a naval blockade. Falcania responded that the blockade was welcome to fire on the unarmed civilians in the airships. Sarzonia allowed the colonists to past, but relations between the Free Kingdom and Sarzonia were tense for a very long time.
Falcania entered a brief but bloody civil war shortly after the death of King Falcon II in a plane crash. The power vacuum was filled by a local noble, Lord Tarrick of Mathdon, who proclaimed the nation a "Protected Union," seized control of the press, closed the ports, grounded all flights in and out of the country, and sacking government staff and civil servants en masse. A group of 80 of these, loyal to the King, attempted to prove in court that there were no defects (as claimed by Tarrick) in the design of the King's royal plane, and that sabotage must have been responsible. After two members of the prosecuting team were killed, the loyalists went underground, and began fighting a guerilla movement against what was increasingly becoming a police state.
The precipitating moment in the conflict was the Riot in Palace Square. One of the founding members of Quicksilver, Smith Cockroft, seemingly betrayed them to the protectorate. They were to be publically executed when Cockroft appeared to have made his own attempt on the Lord Protector's life, before escaping into the crowd. Cockroft later appeared publically, proclaiming his crusade against the protectorate and against the loyalists of Quicksilver, as relics of the past, in the face of his own New Republic of Falcania. Just over half of the standing military was loyal to him, and defected to the side of the Republic. Shortly after, Sarzonian intelligence services began funding the Loyalists of Quicksilver, believing that the regime they offered was less damaging than the authoritarian Protectorate or the militaristic Republic.
What followed were three years of bloody fighting between the Republic, the Protectorate and the Loyalists. The turning point came when it became apparent that the Republic seized control of the entirety of Falcania's strategic nuclear deterrent. The order was made to destroy Mathdon using the Tercel nuclear warheads. However, Quicksilver agents had stolen the warheads much earlier in the war, as a last resort against either side. Frustrated by the failure of the mission, Cockroft ordered all his troops to march on Mathdon, and level it using conventional weaponry, destroying all the buildings and massacring innocents as well as soldiers. Quicksilver took the opportunity to capture the main Republican base of operations in New Nestia. The decision proved controversial, as many had voted for the loyalist troops to stay in Mathdon defending it from the oncoming genocide, but the decision passed by one vote to win the war and not the battle. However, in the process, they cut off the Republic from the reserves they had been expecting.
In Mathdon, the Protectorate fought to the last man, and the Republic had overextended themselves. Many hundreds of thousands had lost their lives in Mathdon, and the city was completely destroyed by the time Loyalist troops marched in from the rear. The Republic troops, weakened by the loss of their reinforcements, and the valiant fighting of the Protectorate troops in their own terrain, had been nearly completely wiped out. Loyalist troops marched into the remains of Mathdon, and as the remaining Protectorate and Republic troops surrendered, Quicksilver declared the war over.
Lord Tarrick had committed suicide to evade capture, and Smith Cockroft is missing to this day, presumed deceased. Unbeknownst to the world, Quicksilver had hidden amongst their number a young man who was the lovechild of the old King (a work experience boy nicknamed "Birdie"). He was crowned King Falcon III in the new capital, his birthplace of New Shirley.
The new King began immediate reforms in three main areas: government, economy, and the military. He established the Falcon's National Corporation, which functions as just one of a number of rapidly-established corporations designed to attract business to Falcania (and successfully quickly restart the economy).
The monarch appoints the Council of the Nation, who meet in the capital to govern. They have fixed terms of four years, and their salaries are paid by the Falcon's Treasury, more specifically as employees of the Falcon's National Corporation. The Treasury does not maintain income from taxation of the people, but instead one of the duties of the Council is to invest stocks & shares in successful Falcanian corporate interests. When the markets flourish, the Treasury flourishes, and business has been good.
People are appointed to be Directors the council by the Falcon, often under the advisement of the appointed Chair of the Nation. The people chosen are usually captains of industry, but less commonly they are celebrities, military officers, media types etc. They are given budgets out of the FNC, which are used to govern the nation.
A side-effect of this form of governance is that commerce is one of the primary concerns of government. Directors are appointed (often compulsorily) from their executive day jobs, like jury service, and want to feather their nests for their return. However, because the Treasury prospers from these business interests, this is not seen as a bad thing.
There are three main military traditions in Falcania. There is the King's standing military maintained by the FNC, there are smaller corporate mercenaries possessed by Falcanian private military contractors (who do a great deal of overseas work) and there are popular militias.
The new standing military consists of two branches; the Defensive Superiority Force (DSF) and the Combined Strike Force (CSF). The DSF is tasked with defence of the realm. They primarily maintain an air force, stationed in air bases around the nation's territories, as well as maintaining coastal defences and patrolling Jayla's border with the no-man's-land. They also liase with popular militias (see below).
The CSF is tasked with defence of Falcania's overseas interests. The organisation maintains a highly-trained and well-equipped standing army (the Skymarine), specialising in assault strike tactics, particularly using paradrop techniques. It also makes great use of pioneering hybrid-airship technology to maintain rapid and reliable logistical support to forward command centres, and full wings of fighters and bombers aboard three of the six commissioned Phoenix-class Airborne Aircraft Carriers (FAV Phoenix, FAV Feather, FAV Vulture in service, FAV Hawk under construction, FAV Raptor and FAV Condor slated).
The CSF also comprises the twelve supersonic strategic bombers of the Merlin Programme that carry Falcania's nuclear deterrent. The CSF has been criticised for being over-specialised, but it uses tactics and units that have had a proven track record of working as part of military coalitions, for example during the conflict in Starblaydia where the capacity to project air superiority, tactical and strategic bombing, and rapidly seize ground targets was invaluable.
Several companies offer a variety of military services, and contract their services out to foreign regimes, etc. The largest of these field small air forces as well as sizeable armies. Falcanian mercenaries have a reputation for being pricey, but worthwhile.
Towards the end of the war, the Falcanian people formed militias to defend their homes from the ravages dealt by the three main forces of the war. These militias stand to this day, as a reminder to the King of the power of the people. They liase with the ASF and also with local law enforcement corporations.
Twenty years after the war, the future looks bright for Falcania. |
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Falcania |
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Winging It Since 2004 |
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Posts: 776 |
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