From USS Takeda Shingen

Contents 1 Geology 2 Colonization 2.1 Penal Facility 15 2.2 Population 2.3 Rebellion & Overthrow 2.4 Independence 3 The Family 3.1 Family Relations 3.1.1 New Siberian Government 3.1.2 Ferengi Empire 3.1.3 The Federation 3.1.4 The Orion Syndicate 3.1.5 Section 31 3.1.6 Foreign governments and intelligence services 3.2 Hierarchy 3.3 Membership 3.4 Revenue Sources 3.5 Galactic Stability 4 Cultural Aspects

Geology

Charted approximately 100 years before colonization the planet was judged barely habitable with insufficient resources to attract volunteer settlers and detailed surveys were not preformed until 75 years later. Initial scan data revealed an average temperature at the equator to be near zero degrees Celsius with a very thin biosphere. Detailed surveys later revealed a highly active lithosphere resulting in frequent volcanic and geologic activity. The result of this activity and the planet’s makeup is a highly mountainous geography with high concentrations of phosphates, sulfates and nitrates.

Colonization

Presence of high concentrations of nitrates led the Russians to seek volunteers for colonization however harsh conditions on the planet were not conducive to that venture. Eager to gain control over such a large source of nitrogen the Russian government took more direct action and established Penal Facility 15.

Penal Facility 15

The initial construction of the base and prison complex took two years and was preformed by tele-operation until the final stages. The government then transferred the majority of their prison population to Penal Facility 15 where construction on mining and factory facilities began.

Population

The initial population of PF15 was approximately 3% guards employed by the Russian government who maintained the spaceport, a small cellblock for violators and the orientation facility where new arrivals were made accustomed to the rules. 40% were political prisoners. 50% were citizens who, having declared bankruptcy, were attempting to work off their debt. The remainder was minor criminals and repeat offenders. Exact statistics are unknown.

Rebellion & Overthrow

Construction of extraction and processing facilities took a further two years. When nitrate exports began the facility proved lucrative enough to pay for the construction costs in just over a year due to the initial low cost of construction, low labor costs and high market value of the export product. Nitrogen was in high demand throughout the sector for use in terraforming as well as in agricultural operations and most of New Siberia’s exports were used in those applications. Over the first twenty years of operation the facility ran relatively smoothly and grew steadily. After twenty years the population had grown to approximately three million, still maintaining roughly the same distribution of violator types. Serious problems began to arise as the debtor population became increasingly unhappy with their inability to work off their debts. The political prisoner segment of the population was becoming restless watching the fruits of their labor enriching the government that had imprisoned them. The combination of these two elements, many of them highly trained in other professions, the minority criminal population and the nitrates they processed inevitably overwhelmed the security force and repelled subsequent attempts to retake the facility.

Independence

New Siberia was acknowledges as an independent system after developing a constitution. Russian objections were overridden by other parties when New Siberia agreed to sell their products on the open market. Currently New Siberia produces a large market share of the sector’s processed nitrates, phosphates and sulfates. Rumors indicate the planet is rich in precious metals and stones, but as none has been traded off world this is unconfirmed.

The Family

“To each according to their gold pressed latinum.” Large elements of the New Siberian population were not happy selling their products to Russian buyers. They began an extensive smuggling program. This continued until unchecked for a number of years until the election of Vladimir Mikolovitch to Premier. He started a major crackdown in smuggling and organized crime, going so far as to arrest major players in the developing crime syndicate known as The Family. His famous speech on the floor of Parliament, “Phosphate is phosphate, sulfate is sulfate and if you stick your hand in the fire you get burned,” was not a caution against continued anti-Russian bias as many outside New Siberian society would say. By this time the Russian government had been absorbed into the Federation. Instead the speech was against the growing subversive element involved in galactic politics. Mikolovitch was assassinated shortly after the speech. Early leaders of The Family expanded their operations from smuggling outward though they were honest in their own ways. Protection rackets were limited to areas where people needed protection and were often more effective than local law enforcement. Family run casinos and lotteries, were primarily used for money laundering, also funded local community development and charitable organizations. Their brothels were said to the cleanest in the galaxy. They were as likely to smuggle contraband as they were to smuggle move medical supplies past blockades. While one public face of The Family is quite benevolent and somewhat like Robin Hood the other is unforgiving and brutal. Targets of The Family most often disappear leaving no witnesses. Other are made grisly example of, their mutilated remains left in public as a warning to others. Style differs from murder to murder, often borrowing from old Earth mafias but also adapting to fit location and available equipment.

Family Relations

New Siberian Government

The Family is not the official New Siberian government. It does not rig New Siberian elections. It does hold significant influence over elections and the legislative process. It is possible to get elected without a Family endorsement but it is impossible to win if The Family speaks against a candidate. Legislation can pass without Family influence but the phrase, “The Family suggests,” will guarantee a law to be written, passed and enforced. The Family rarely interferes in elections or the day to day running of New Siberia. Family and governmental policies, goals and philosophies are nearly always identical.

Ferengi Empire

Both the New Siberian government and The Family maintain a friendly relationship with the Ferengi. The Family maintains a cadre of lawyers for deals involving the Ferengi.

The Federation

The Family and the Federation do not have an official relationship. Members of The Family serve the Federation and Starfleet both independently and on Family business.

The Orion Syndicate

The Family does not collaborate with the Orion Syndicate except for rare, small scale dealings and then always through a third parties. The Orion Syndicate is considered too high profile and clumsy for reliable cooperation.

Section 31

The Family considers Section 31 anathema. It is judged to be a threat to galactic stability and Family members are under a standing order to report association with Section 31 whenever it is suspected. The Family reserves the most gruesome executions for members of Section 31.

Foreign governments and intelligence services

The Family will trade information and disinformation to governments and secret police in the interests of galactic stability.

Hierarchy

Few details are known about rank structure. The Family is run by between three and seven members in a council. Council members are referred to as Aunts and Uncles. All other members are referred to as Cousins. Ranks among the Cousins can only be inferred by the tone of voice and reactions among those with knowledge of the individual.

Membership

Membership is limited to humans only. Other species are frequently brought in for jobs on a contract basis. Contracts can be long term and loosely defined. Contractors are never referred to as Cousins.

Revenue Sources

The Family still gains most of its revenue from smuggling but they have expanded beyond the products of New Siberia. The will smuggle weapons, banned substances, computer and ship components, medical equipment and supplies, precious metals and gems, chemicals and even people. In keeping with their occasionally benevolent persona they have been known to hijack shipments of medical equipment and reroute them, hijack and destroy shipments of WMD and kill slavers. Their second biggest source of revenue comes from the buying and selling of information. The only restriction on this activity is The Family’s interest in galactic Stability. The rest of their income is drawn from protections rackets, casinos, prostitution and piracy.

Galactic Stability

The Family maintains that peace is profitable. This no doubt stems from New Siberia’s beginnings as a supplier of materials for terraforming projects and agricultural development. While The Family will not hesitate to profit from war their network of spies works with the goal of preventing large scale war between the largest powers in the galaxy.

Cultural Aspects

New Siberians tend to the eccentric. They tend to drink more alcohol and eat much spicier foods than average humans and attribute this tendency to their planet’s climate. They tend to be quite open about many aspects that others would consider private and yet often very close mouthed about their day to day activities and work. Most of their cities are built underground, parks and common spaces have skylights and residential buildings have windows onto them and are generally not heated to more than a few degrees above the outside air. Few, if any, New Siberians live on the surface because of the cold, frequent high winds and heavy snow in the winter. New Siberians hate being referred to as Russian. The easiest way to provoke a New Siberian into a fight is to insist that they are Russian. However referring to them as Soviet does not elicit the same response. This narrow distinction is due to the origins of the first colonists. A New Siberian would explain it thus, “Our ancestors were sent to this planet as prisoners of the corrupt Russian democracy. They had been imprisoned because of their political views or simply because they fell too far into debt. So we wrote our constitution to be more socialist but since we still talk like them we prefer to be Soviet.” The classification appears to be more of a virulent rejection of the Russian democracy that founded the colony than an acceptance of Soviet doctrine. Most New Siberians speak several languages without the aid of a universal translator. They are taught English in school by necessity due to the fact that no translation program has yet been able to translate their dialect of Russian. It is not known if this is because of wildly varying pronunciation from city to city on New Siberia or the syntax of the dialect itself. Some suspect it is deliberate sabotage to translation software that keeps the language indecipherable.