Imperial Collage of Heralds, Information Division
Document TAK-0114/4
001-2370T

The Terran Magellanic Empire
The Terran Magellanic Empire is the successor to the Terran Empire in the
Greater Magellanic Cloud. Whilst it still owes theoretical fealty to the
Terran Empire, there has been no contact with the Terran Empire for over
1,000 years and the Magellanic Territories have continued whilst awaiting
contact to be reestablished. Its formal name is "The Magellanic Territories
of the Terran Empire", but it is usually referred to as the Terran Magellanic
Empire, or more frequently in recent times, simply the Magellanic Empire.
Whilst the Empire never technically fell (Imperial rule and the Imperial
bureaucracy were maintained on Breakout throughout the Second Dark Age), the
current Empire can be best said to date from the proclamation of the Babylon
Accords in 2127T.

Government
The founding documents for the Terran Magellanic Empire are the Babylon
Accords. These accords set forth the basic structure of the Empire and
provide for its administration. These were put forth by Viceroy Henry IV in
2127T and found rapid approval within the former Terran territories within
the Cloud. The Accords set forth the roles of the various arms of the
Imperial government and established a system of checks and balances to
prevent the abuse of power and adequate representation for all Imperial
worlds. The Empire's capital is located on Babylon {Yumazaca 2517} one of the
three worlds under direct Imperial control.

The Empire is governed by the Viceroy of the Imperial Magellanic Territories
acting as proxy for the Terran Emperor or Empress. The Viceroy is assisted
and advised by the Magellanic Assembly (formal name "The Terran Imperial
Magellanic Assembly"). The Assembly consists of representatives from all
worlds not directly administered by the Imperial Government and is chaired by
the Viceroy or (more often) his or her Chief Seneschal. Whilst the Assembly
is theoretically simply an advisory body, its approval is required to raise
taxes or levies on worlds not directly answerable to the Empire; and it would
be an extremely reckless or bold Viceroy who would act without its approval.
The representatives to the Magellanic Assembly are appointed directly by the
individual worlds according to whatever procedures are decided upon locally.
The current Viceroy is Sarah III, Princess of Breakout, of the House of
Chang. She assumed the role in 2368T with the death of her father Martin VI.
Though the position of Viceroy is technically non-hereditary, it has been
held by the hereditary Prince or Princess of Breakout since 959T.

The Viceroy is assisted in his or her role by the Imperial bureaucracy and
the Imperial nobility. The Imperial nobility theoretically consists of all
those Peers who hold their patents of nobility directly from the Emperor or
Empress (as represented by the Viceroy). In practice however only the High
nobility are directly involved in Imperial government. These nobles act as
proxies for the Viceroy within their respective territories, ensuring that
the Viceroy's policies are carried out.

The Imperial bureaucracy is divided into five 'branches': The Imperial
Magellanic Scout Corp (IMSC), the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of
Justice, the Imperial Exchequer and the Collage of Heralds. The IMSC's role
is four fold: to maintain communications within the Empire, to conduct
exploration outside the Empire, to maintain diplomatic relations with other
states, and to investigate breaches of Imperial law. The Ministry of
Defence's role is to coordinate the defence of the realm. The Ministry of
Justice's role is to prosecute breaches of Imperial law and enforce such
punishments as may be imposed. The Imperial Exchequer is responsible for the
financial management of the Empire; making forward predictions, keeping
detailed records and managing the day to day accounting required for an
interstellar state. The Collage of Heralds' role is rather nebulous; it
basically serves as an all purpose bureaucracy filling in the gaps left by
the other four branches to ensure the efficient functioning of the Imperial
government.

Local Government
The Babylon Accords allow each individual world within the Empire to
administer itself as it sees fit. This has lead to a very wide variety of
local governments within the Empire. However there are some common features
of most local administrations. Most commonly, worlds are administered (at
least formally) by a noble, who will owe fealty either to a higher noble or
to the Emperor or Empress directly. However it is not at all uncommon for
such nobles to merely be titular heads for some other form of government.
This is a holdover from when the Magellanic Territories were directly ruled
by Terra. At that time almost all Imperial worlds were administered by a
hereditary noble on behalf of the Emperor or Empress. However during the
Second Dark Age many former Imperial worlds changed their actual type of
government, whilst retaining the forms of the previous Imperial
administration. Only in a very few instance have the old Terran Imperial
forms been entirely abandoned. Many worlds have joined together to form
multi-world governments (the Diadochi states) and these states exist within
the Empire as component parts of the Empire.

The Babylon Accords provide for each local government to make and enforce
laws within their own territory and provide for a system of extradition for
criminals to be returned to the appropriate jurisdiction. Each government may
conduct diplomatic relations with other governments within the Empire and
make binding treaties with other Imperial local governments. Local
governments may raise and maintain armed forces to defend their territory.
Indeed some arrangement for armed forces to assist in the greater defence of
the Empire is a requirement of the Accords. In short the local governments
within the Empire only surrender a small degree of their sovereignty to the
Imperial government. The commonly held precedent is that any power not
specifically assigned to the Imperial government is held by the local
government; though this practice holds no legal force and is disputed by most
Viceroys.

The Nobility
There are two basic types of nobility within the Empire: the Imperial
nobility and the Local nobility. All nobles hold a patent of nobility and
ultimately owe fealty to the Emperor or Empress, who is represented in the
Cloud by the Viceroy as his or her proxy. The Imperial nobility are those
nobles who hold their patents directly from the Emperor or Empress. The Local
nobility are those nobles who hold their patents through some intermediary
noble or nobles.

Noble ranks are hieratical in nature and are ranked (termed precedence) as
follows: Knight, Baronet, Baron/Baroness, Marquis/Marquesa,
Viscount/Viscountess, Count/Countess (the title Earl is often substituted for
that of Count), Duke/Duchess, Archduke/Archduchess, Grand Duke/Grand Duchess,
Prince/Princess, Emperor/Empress. Though Viceroy is not a noble rank and
indeed technically the Viceroy does not need to be of noble rank (the only
non-noble Viceroy was Mordred Alaman [626T - 631T]), the Viceroy is
considered to be part of the Imperial nobility, holding a precedence one less
than the Emperor or Empress or two less if the Empire is currently ruled by a
Regent. Knighthoods and Baronetcies are generally for the individual's
lifetime only whilst the higher ranks are generally hereditary (though this
is not always the case). Hereditary nobles are termed Peers and
non-hereditary nobles are termed Chevaliers. Peers with the rank of
Archduke/Archduchess and above are termed High nobles, those of rank
Marquis/Marquesa to Duke/Duchess are termed Seigneurs, whilst lesser Peers
are termed Squires; there is no specific distinction between the various
ranks of Chevaliers.

Any Peer may petition the Collage of Heralds to create a lesser noble owing
fealty to them; or since some Peers hold more than one title, may simply
reassign one of their existing hereditary titles to another individual
(subject to approval by the Collage of Heralds). The Emperor or Empress may
personally bestow a noble title without resort to the Collage of Heralds and
this power now resides in the Viceroy as Imperial proxy. However this power
has only been used very sparingly by the Viceroys (only twice in the past
100 years) and in all cases the Collage of Heralds has later ratified these
appointments (though this is not necessary). In certain circumstance, an
Imperial noble may transfer direct fealty from the Emperor or Empress to some
intermediate noble, in doing so becoming a Local noble (though such changes
require approval by either the Collage of Heralds or the Emperor or Empress).
It is likewise possible (though extremely rare) for a Local noble to become
an Imperial noble.

The Imperial Military
There are three arms of the Imperial military: The IMSC, the Imperial Navy
and the Imperial Marines. The Imperial Navy and Marines maintain their
headquarters at Riyergrock {Yumazaca 2925}, location of the only Imperial
military depot; whilst the IMSC still maintain their headquarters on Nemesis
{Newlands  0920} inside the Principality of Breakout.

The IMSC is not strictly speaking a military organisation. However they
maintain a fleet of ships (including warships up to ships of the line) and
trained personnel to fulfil their duties. Most of these ships are in the
Patrol Service of the Communications Office. The IMSC maintains these
warships to fulfil its role keeping the spacelanes free from piracy and
lawlessness. During time of war the assets of the IMSC are placed at the
disposal of the Ministry of Defence and its ships serve under naval command.
Generally its ships will serve as couriers, escorts, scouts and auxiliaries;
but some of its larger vessels will serve with combat units. It must be noted
however, that the IMSC's role in keeping the spacelanes open tends to become
even more important during a war and this places a major limitation on the
number of vessels which can be made available to the Navy. However, many
former scout personnel (technically scout personnel do not retire, they
merely opt for "detached duty") are recalled during wartime and a large
number of these are seconded to the Navy and Marines.

The Imperial Navy is responsible for the conduct of warfare in space. In
peacetime it maintains a small number of active squadrons and a pool of
senior officers to provide a higher command structure during war. It also
maintains a stockpile of material and a list of reserve personnel to allow
for rapid expansion in time of crisis. In peace it is reinforced by a number
of local squadrons temporarily attached to it on a rotating basis; this not
only strengthens the Navy, but also ensures that the local forces are
familiar with current Imperial doctrine and operating procedures. During war
the Imperial Navy is further reinforced by other local units, to bring it up
to the force levels required. The Imperial Navy also encourages commonality
and interoperability amongst the Diadochi forces. To do this the Navy
maintains a large design staff and encourages the various Diadochi forces to
use the standardised designs it produces. The Navy also maintains training
establishements open not only to Imperial personnel, but also Diadochi forces
and friendly non-Imperial states.

The Imperial Marines are responsible for the conduct of warfare within
planetary environments (a planets surface and atmosphere out to 20 planetary
diameters). They are much like the Imperial Navy; in peacetime they only
maintain a small number of units, a pool of senior offices and stockpiles of
material and lists of reserve personnel. In peace they have attached a
number of Diadochi units on a rotating basis and are expanded by more
Diadochi units in wartime. They also maintain and encourage the use of
standardised equipment and organisations. In addition to this the Marines
also maintains a force of personnel (drawn from the regular combat units) for
service aboard Imperial Naval vessels. As is the case with the Navy, the
Marines maintain training establishments open not only to Imperial personnel,
but also Imperial Diadochi and friendly non-Imperial states. However in
addition to this, they also have personnel serving as cadres in some friendly
non-Imperial states.

In addition to these forces, mention must be made of two other sources of
Imperial forces. The first are the various mercenary units hired by the
Empire as are required. These are generally surface combat forces, though
starships are hired to act as naval auxiliaries on occasion. The Empire
generally uses mercenary forces in secondary theatres and for auxiliary
duties (there have been however, a small number of notable exceptions to this
policy), preferring to use Imperial and Diadochi forces as their primary
combat arms. Also, though the Imperial Marines do occasionally provide cadres
for friendly non-Imperial states, the Empire generally prefers to hire
mercenaries for this role.

The other source of Imperial forces is the Jneril Eiahya Regiment. This is a
regiment of ground combat troops at the disposal of the Empire. While it is
placed under the tactical command of the Imperial Marines it is quite
separate from them. The regiment is recruited from non-Imperial Jneril. They
serve out of a sense of honour for the Empire's intervention to save the
Jneril world of Hrali from conquest by the Mwoah. The Regiment is funded and
maintained entirely by donations from non-Imperial Jneril, though its
personnel are frequently rewarded by land grants within the Empire when they
retire and many of its members have been elevated to the nobility. This
Regiment is one of the best at the disposal of the Empire and has no
difficulty in recruitment (indeed it is frequently over strength).

Imperial Justice
Imperial justice is administered by the Ministry of Justice and the IMSC.
The IMSC's Security Branch and Patrol Service are responsible for enforcing
Imperial laws and regulations. The Ministry of Justice maintains the Imperial
court system, which hears both criminal and civil cases; and enforces such
judgements as the courts may hand down. In addition to this, the Imperial
Navy, Marines and IMSC also maintain Courts Martial for breaches of the
relevant military codes.

Imperial justice generally only covers crimes which are not covered by a
local jurisdiction or crimes which have a direct bearing on the Empire (such
as treason, espionage, piracy, use of psionics or assault of an official on
Imperial business etc.). Areas under Imperial jurisdiction include: Imperial
bases, starships in or in transit to jumpspace, the extraterritoriality zone
of a starport, designated combat zones in time of war, Imperial diplomatic
missions etc. It should be noted that current serving Imperial personnel are
subject to Imperial justice at all times. However the Empire will generally
defer to local authorities where there is an overlap in such cases. The
Empire holds to the principle that no person should be tried for the same
crime twice; thus if a person has been charged with a crime by a Local
jurisdiction, they will not extradite them to face an Imperial tribunal over
the same incident. The same of course applies in reverse, though some
exceptions are made to this policy. The Empire only has jurisdiction in civil
matters when no local jurisdiction applies, in regards to contracts made
under Imperial law, or in the very rare case that an article of the Babylon
Accords may have central relevance to the action.

All Imperial courts take the form of an inquisitorial tribunal of three to
nine judges. Imperial law and custom dictates that any person called before
an Imperial court shall have legal representation if they so desire. The
Ministry of Justice maintains the Office of Imperial Attorneys for those
unable to afford legal representation, as well as the Office of Imperial
Proctors to present the indictment in criminal cases. The Empire is required
to engage private attorneys to represent it in civil cases. Imperial courts
reach their judgments on a majority basis. A dissenting opinion by a judge is
usually grounds for an appeal.

There are several different layers of courts. At the lowest level are the
District Tribunals, these generally cover a single subsector, though some
heavily populated subsectors may be divided into more than one district.
Above them are the Quadrant Tribunals, which usually cover four subsectors.
Above them are the Provincial Tribunals, these generally cover an entire
sector. Finally at the highest level is the Imperial Magellanic High Tribunal
 This is effectively two courts, an junior court of between three to seven
High Tribunes; and a senior court of the full bench of eleven High Tribunes.
Most cases will be initially heard in a District Tribunal, though some more
serious cases may be heard directly in a Quadrant Tribunal; the higher levels
acts as courts of appeal. Babylon, Riyergrock and MCN-378290 are somewhat
different as the Empire has sole jurisdiction on these worlds. Therefore
these worlds contain multiple Imperial Districts and Quadrants; and both
Babylon and Riyergrock are treated as complete Imperial Provinces in their
own right.

In criminal cases a conviction may be appealed to a superior court if given
leave by the higher tribunal. Generally the first appeal is granted
automatically, though subsequent appeals require a serious point of fact or
law to be granted an appeal. An acquittal may only be appealed on the grounds
of perjury by or on behalf of the accused. In civil cases either party may
appeal to a superior court if given leave. As in criminal cases, the first
appeal in a civil case is generally automatic, with further appeals requiring
a serious point of law or fact. One further level of appeal theoretically
exists above the High Tribunal: the Emperor or Empress themselves. This power
now resides in the Viceroy as Imperial proxy, but this has only been
exercised five times since the first Terran colonies were established in the
Cloud, only once since the Babylon Accords.

Penalties levied by Imperial Justice are varied. In civil cases they
invariable take the form of restitution and punitive damages (almost always
financial). In criminal cases they can range from fines though imprisonment
to execution. To enforce judgements, the Ministry of Justice maintains
bailiffs and a number of prisons (including the prison world of MCN-378290
{Newlands 1315}). Terms of imprisonment imposed by Imperial Courts Martial
are served in Ministry of Justice prisons if they exceed 100 days duration.
With the exceptions of those imposed by Imperial Courts Martial in time of
war, Imperially mandated executions are always carried out at MCN-378290
using the traditional method of plasma vaporisation. Any person executed
under Imperial justice forfeits all rights, titles, honours and property to
the Empire.

Non-humans within the Empire
Whilst the vast majority (around 74%) of the population of the Empire are
Terran Humans, significant minorities of non-Terrans and Non-human do exist
within the Empire. Of these approximately 15% are non-Terran Humans (10%
Efrip, 3% Akhrini and 2% others), 5% are Dk'arek, 4% are Jneril and the
remaining 2% are Ulkoyo and various Minor sophonts native to worlds within
the Empire. Most of these species have retained their native cultures in some
form, though many have been heavily influenced by Imperial culture.

Imperial law grants full and equal citizenship to all intelligent beings
within the Empire. However the Babylon Accords do not require the same of
local governments and a few do differentiate on the basis of species, despite
Imperial attempts to discourage this. Still generally non-Terrans and
Non-humans are treated as full members of Imperial society and many have
achieved prominence within it. Few Imperial citizens would be unaware of the
exploits of the Jneril General Ealr or the Dk'arek Admiral Owarkh during the
Second Mwoah War; and the Empire certainly takes great pride in the Eiahya
Regiment.

Language
The official language of the Magellanic Empire is Maganglic, a variant of the
Imperial Terran Anglic spoken in the Terran Empire. Maganglic developed in
the Principality of Breakout during the Second Dark Age and it became
widespread by its use in the Phoenix Project. Other Anglic languages are also
common within the Empire, often having official status at the local
government level. The various Non-human members of the Empire also retain
their own languages and these are protected and encouraged by Imperial decree
and custom.

Calender
The Magellanic Empire uses the old Imperial Terran calender and temporal
system. The system is based on a day of 24 hours and a year of 365 standard
days. The days within the year are consecutively numbered from 001 to 365.
Archaic divisions such as the week of 7 days and month of 30 days are still
widely used, though these are purely unofficial. The Imperial Terran calender
uses a zero year and 001-0T (14th September 2635AD in the old Terran
Gregorian calender) is the date of the Treaty of Zuukish which marked the end
of the 10th Interstellar War and the final triumph of the Terran
Confederation over the Glorani Empire. The Imperial Terran calender was
introduced by the first Terran emperor, Paul I in 297T some 5 years after the
foundation of the Empire.

There have been occasional calls for the abandonment of the old Imperial
Terran calender in favour of a more 'Magellano-centric' calender; but there
is no sign of any widespread support for such a change. However two other
calenders are widely used at a local level: the Efrip Ereyt calender and the
New Magellanic calender. The Ereyt calender uses a pentad of 5 years, each of
292 standard days numbered 001 to 292 consecutively. The Ereyt calendar uses
a zero pentad and 001-1/0Er corresponds with 094-692T. The New Magellanic
calender uses the standard Imperial Terran temporal system and a zero year,
but has its start date (001-0NM) at 213-511T (the date of the foundation of
the first Terran colony at Breakout). 

Psionics
The Psionic Revolt (589T to 642T) is still keenly remembered by the Terrans
within the Cloud; and the use of psionics is one of the very few Imperial
crimes as laid out in the original Babylon Accords. Most local governments
also have strict laws prohibiting the use, instruction in, or advocacy of
psionics. However psionics are not unknown within the Cloud. During the
Psionic Revolt many of the psionic criminals fled to the Cloud and attempted
to continue their practices beyond the reach of the Terran Empire. Many
Psionic Institutes were set up both within and without the Empires borders.
These have proven almost impossible to totally eradicate. Despite continued
efforts to stamp out this criminal practice, there still exist those who
would seek out and use such abilities for personal gain without any regard
for society as a whole.
