Systems Alliance

The Systems Alliance is the governing body of Earth and it's colonies throughout the galaxy. It is relatively new to the galactic community, but has already made a name for itself, and has been granted an embassy in the Presidium.

[note from an observer: there seems to be a lot of non-canon information in this section. According to the Codex, the Systems Alliance is not a united Earth government but a supranational body, more like NATO than Star Trek's Federation.]

History

Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun in the Sol System, was the site of perhaps humanity's greatest discovery, the existence of alien life. In 2148, a mining team on Mars unearthed the subterranean ruins of an ancient alien research station and for the first time there was incontovertable proof of alien life. Humanity was no longer alone in the universe.

The impact was profound in all areas but nowhere more so than religion. New beliefs sprang up overnight such as the Interventionary Evolutionists, who zealously proclaimed the discovery as proof that all human history had been directed and controlled by alien forces. Even established religions struggled to explain extraterrestrial life. Some tried to incorporate this newfound knowledge into their dogma, and a few tried to stubbornly deny the evidence found on Mars.

The news of the discovery dominated the media and raised questions not only about the existence and purpose of man, but questions about the aliens themselves. Foremost, were they still out there? And while these questions had served to fracture most religions they had a unifying effect in politics. It was now us vs. them and within a year the beginnings of the Systems Alliance was born.

Within a year of the discovery, Earth's eighteen largest nations had drafted and ratified the Systems Alliance charter, establishing a united Earth government (nb. this seems to be at odds with the Codex, which says Earth is divided into many governments). Shortly thereafter, the various nations of Earth pooled their military resources to create the Systems Alliance Military. The same year, 2149, the Systems Alliance discovered the Solar System's Mass Relay, previously thought to be a moon, Charon, orbiting Pluto. The Relay propelled them into space and the reach of humanity grew quickly.

The Alliance began a rapid campaign of expansion, establishing numerous colonies and constructing a large military fleet, even though it had yet to encounter another species. Eight years later, humanity made first contact. A scout fleet consisting of three frigates and two cargo vessels encountered a Turian patrol fleet. Only one of the Human ships made it back to Shanxi. The resulting First Contact War was relatively short and bloodless, lasting only months and costing 623 Human lives and a slightly higher number of Turians. The Citadel Council intervened and negotiated a peace. With this discovery, humanity leapt onto the galactic stage.

Since then, the Alliance has continued it's expansion, coming into conflict with the batarians as both species rush to settle the Skyllian Verge. The Alliance has also been granted an Embassy on the Citadel. It has been speculated that, given humanity's remarkably fast rise in terms of military, political, and economic power, that the Systems Alliance may soon be invited to join the Citadel Council. This has been a source of some concern to several other species. spoiler In one possible ending of Mass Effect, the Systems Alliance is judged to have shown itself worthy and does indeed receive a Council seat

Military

The Alliance military is respected by the Turians for its novel tactics and technology (the fact that the first contact war had more turian casualties than human should also be considered). Their strenghts lie in fire support, flexibility, and speed. The council regards the Alliance as a "sleeping giant" as only 3% of humans volunteer for military service. They make up for these numbers with sophisticated technical support (VIs,drones,artillery,electronic warfare) and emphasis on mobility and indivisual initiative. Their military doctrine is based on hitting the enemy in the rear, cutting supply line and logistics, destroying headquarters and support units. The military lives by Sun Tzu's maxim "He who tries to defend everything loses everything" keeping only a small garrisons on their colonies. However the Alliance stations powerful fleets at phase gate nexuses so that in the event of a attack they respond with overwhelming force. The Hahne Kedar company and Aldrin Labs are suppliers of the military. Alliance soldiers are geneticly enchanced and the Biotic soldiers are are trained using techniques that are remnants of the BAaT developed by Conatix Industries. The Alliance's new L3 implants are considered a significant step forward in biotic amplification.

Military Ranks

The Systems Alliance uses a modified version of the ranking system that has been used for hundreds of years. Soldiers are classified into rank-and-file enlisted personnel, experienced non-commissioned officers (NCOs), and specially trained officers.

The divide between naval personnel and ground forces (‘marines’) is small. Ground forces are a specialized branch of the fleet, just as fighter squadrons are. This unity of command is imposed by the futility of fighting without control of orbit; without the navy, any army is pointless. The marines, as a matter of pride, maintain some of their traditional rank titles; for example, marines have Privates and Corporals instead of Servicemen.

See main article: Systems Alliance Military Ranks

Economy

Along with the Alliance its seems the Economy has also risen to prominence although not the biggest it is pretty well sized and innovative. With large MegaCorps such as Sirta Foundation (inventors of Medi-Gel), Kassa fabrication who are know for making the finest body armor, Rosenkov Materials is known for making premier armor in citadel space, Exogini Corporation which was wealthy eneugh to colonize Feros, and Ariake Technologies a electronic corporation best known for their high grade omni tools. The fact that they were the main developers of the Normandy and Tantalus drive is no small feat. They are a trade partner of the Turians. Although Humans have claimed many systems such as the Attican Traverse and the Skyllian Verge many of them containing wealths of resources have been uncharted and not surveyed, so the Alliance Geological service (AGeS) offers bounties to those willing to explore these frontiers. The Alliance various national treasury are linked to the Citadel's credit network.

See main article: Systems Alliance Military Ranks

Known member worlds and installations

• Arcturus - Massive Systems Alliance Military space station
• Earth - Home Planet/Capital
• Eden Prime
• Elysium - The largest Alliance colony in the Skyllian Verge
• Gagarin Station - also known as Jump Zero
• Mindoir - Alliance colony in the Attican Traverse
• Shanxi - Colony near the Turian border
• Sidon - Small Alliance research facility in the Skyllian Verge