Die Weltbund is a loose confederation of worlds comprising the Mapepire, Die Weltbund,
Liberty Hall subsectors in the Beyond & the Harem subsector in the Foreven Sector. The worlds
though wholly owned by the Sternreiters, the planetary governments are allowed
much selfrule. There is a caveat to this political freedom as it determined by the steady
flow of wealth into the Sternreiters bank accounts.
The first explorers to this region were persons who believed they were descendants of the
German-speaking space pioneers of Terra. This belief has become the national cult & the main
unifying factor among the rival noble families of Die Weltbund. The language &
much of the culture is an archaic, idealistic form of early space age German scientists.
Despite this belief in being descended from technocrats, DW remains largely non-industrial. There
are three main reasons for this development. The first & main reason
is the vast natural resources (the main reason these planets were settled) has made the Sternreiters
very rich exporting raw goods & made them litte disposed to industry.
Secondary, was the various wars between rival DW nobles, & the increase of piracy between the
2nd-8th centuries Imperial. These internal struggles tended to target the more developed centers,
dropping the tech level of many planets. The third reason was the fear by the noble families of
creating a upperly mobile middle class that would threaten the hegemony. Some of the results of the
later fears is much of the operation of essential services (the Navy, Stern-Hansa, for example) are
nationalized & run by bureacrats on Bundestag, the captial of Die Weltbund.
Though the family rivalries have faded, there still remain many sources of conflict. The Bundestag
on planet Bundestag, consists of members of the Sternreiter families, & planetary representives
appointed by Sternreiters. This much resented by many of the planets, several which rebelled &
formed the League of Free Worlds. For the last 3 centuries there has been an undeclared war
between DW & LOFW. There is ongoing conflict between DW and the pirate Duchy of St Foy.
Both the LOFW & St. Foy conflicts
have disrupted trade routes & decimated the already overstretched resources of SternHansa, the
national ( & only legal ) shipping firms. This has led to Stern-Hansa to employ drastic measures,
paying (under the table) bounties to the DW Navy to encouraging the latter to capture starships &
trained crews to replace Stern-Hansa's losses. SternHansa has also a clandestine arrangements
with the corporation Tuablin to supply trained slave crews & mind control drugs/devices. These
measures has created many enemies among merchant crews particularly among free traders, gaining
much sympathy for LOWFIA (League of Free Worlds Insurgent Army) terrorists.
Another source of conflict is the rivalry between the Sternreiters and the rising power of the
confederation bureaucrats who control the capital Bundestag, the Navy, & SternHansa.
The nobles control most of the wealth & the national assembly & the lawmaking powers., The
bureacrats control the executive, & judicial, powers plus the Navy, transportation network. As the
bureaucrats increasing their political clout, the nobles have become to
fear for loss of power & prestige. Most families have opted to fight, either by clandestine
manuvering against the bureacracy or by legislatiion. The Von Manwaring & Hauser-Marck
families have opted to ally themselves with the bureaucrats.
Then there is the bureaucrats against the bureaucrats. Corruption is rampant throughout
the government, particularly among Stern-Hansa & the Navy(the latter having many captains &
commands little better than pirates). In the navy conflict centers around Grand Admiral Reiter
Horst von Wessel, who was pushed through by reformist members of the
nobles & the navy after DW's humiliating defeat by the Duchy of St. Foy. His infamous
order to shoot first when encountering strange vessels was a effort to stem illegal ship captures by
which many DW naval officers practice. On the practical side, his naval reforms have increased
the morale & effectiveness of the naval forces. In his years as Grand Admiral he has survived 11
attempts on his life, 2 by LOFWIA, 5 by naval personnel, & 4 by parties unknown.
Then there is the smuggling problem. With Stern-Hansa's problem many planets have resorted to
sell outside DW space via smugglers, both free traders, & corsairs. Also many
noble families have increased the size of their system & issued letters of marque to unaligned pirates
operating out of Liberty Hall, Mapepire, Delta, & Metchi'Alagwa
sectors. Many of the corsairs wear the uniforms & shipmarkings of the system navies
of the planets that hired them. This make for a many sided fight between St. Foy, LOFWIA,
unaligned corsairs, privateers, Stern-Hansa, DW Navy, & various system &
noble space forces.
DIE WELTBUND & LEAGUE OF FREE WORLDS form much of the
background for the High Tortuga campaign. Some of the information on this
page is copyright PARANOID PRESS' excellent THE BEYOND book. The
noble families, LOFW(IA), the political
structures & conflicts are my own.
Enjoy, Darkhstarr
THE NOBLE FAMILIES & THEIR HOLDINGS
The following is a list of noble families of Die Weltbund & the systems they
control.
VON BECK: LIEBESLIED DW 0406, NERVENHEILANSTALT LH 0707
LIEBESKINDER DW 0105 (Family seat of power), ABWEHR DW
0109
EWIG WEIBLICHE DW 0401.
The von Beck family is the driving force behind opening up DW's starlanes to
outsiders.
They also issue the most letters of marque, & maintain a first-rate merc
training center.
They also main active clandestine contact with Imperial diplomats & agents.
Allies: von Bayern & Beyer. Opponents: Hauser-Marck, von Manwaring.
Heavily influenced by the contact with the Zhodani, the von Becks & their
troops affect Zhodani dress & equipment, as well as interest in psionics.
Current leader, August Manfred IV, Graf von Beck.
HALBERSTADT: PLATZ LH 0701, MAXIMUMMER Mapepire 0209
(Family seat of
power), BEINBRUCH DW 0202.
The Halberstadt family has the least interest in politics, & are most involved in
maintaing their wealth & prestige. Thusly they are actively involved with
investments on Mapepire Balsayn & Beaumonde, they also supply raw
materials to the latter planet. As a result of
their business dealings, they moved their seat of power from Platz to
Maximummer in 896.
Another family influence by Zhodani contact like the von Becks, but
aggressive in the development of psionics for political reasons.
Current leader, Werner Erich, Graf Halberstadt.
BEYER: NUSS HAREM(Foreven sector) 0810 , SCHLOSS ADLER LH
0702,
MANSAGT DW 0305, REICHENAU HAREM(Foreven sector)
0710(Family
seat of power).
The Beyer family has a close alliance of the von Beck family. The most
militant family it has the largest private fleet in DW space. Its privately owned
naval bases on Nuss &
Reichenau have been shared with the 6th & 11th DW fleets since an
Bundestag edict
passed in 893. The Beyer family openly opposes the bureaucrats in the
Bundestag. The
reformist Grand Admiral von Wessel is a member of a distance branch of the
Beyer
family. Like their allies the von Becks they mimic Zhodani dress but not the
interest in psionics.
Current leader: Karl Gustav von Thaler, Graf Beyer
VON SIEMENS: QUATSCH DW 0108 (Family seat of power), BIERSTUBE
DW 0208
GASTHOF DW 0303, ABEITLUNG DREI LW 0602(currently in revolt).
One of harshest critics of Grand Navy & bureaucratic abuses, the von Siemens
family
crippled by its ruthless exploitation of its planets. Several of its systems have
broken
away & the mining colonies of Schreck & Geist in the Abeitlung system are
currently
in revolt.
Current leader, Friedrich Wilhelm VI, Graf von Siemens.
VON BAYERN: STAATSBIBLIOTHEK LH 0708 (Family seat of power) IP
MAPEPIRE
0207, GUL MAPEPIRE 0207.
Crippled by revolt & overexploitation of its systems, the von Bayern is the
weakest of
the Sternreiters families. Despite this (or because of it) they the most
aggressive reformers
in the Bundestag. They have also founded in 812 an archive on their home
planet famed
even outside Die Weltbund. Though a close ally of the von Becks, they eschew
clandestine
activity against the government.
Current leader, Magdalena II Maria, Grafin von Bayern
VON MANWARING: DREI FARBEN LH 0705 (family seat of power),
ZEBEN DW 0501
Another family weakened by the same problems as the von Bayern, the von
Manwarings are the main target (besides Stern-Hansa & government sites) of
LOFWIA raids. They
are close allies of the bureacrats & many family members serve in the DW
Grand Navy.
They are deadly enemies of the von Beck family.
Current leader, August Maximillian III, Graf von Manwaring.
VON KEPPEL: NIETSCHZE DW 0309, ILSE DW 0305, WOLFEN HAREM
(Foreven
sector) 0709.
A family destroyed by intrigue & opposition to the Bundestag, its former seat of
power on Nietschze is claimed by the Hauser-Marck family as part of a legal
settlement. However,
a popular uprising (& destruction of the B-Class starport by LOFWIA in 1001)
has prevented occupation by Hauser-Marck agents. Currently, the Bundestag
& the Grand
Navy is staying out the dispute. Many members of the Bundestag would like to
see the
planet handed back to the von Keppel.
Current leader, Werner IV, Graf von Keppel(currently residing on
Guildheim/LH).
HAUSER-MARCK: OBERPRASIDENTEN DW 0308 (Family seat of power),
FELDHERRHALE DW 0107. RECKINGHAUSEN LH 0704
Though having lost many of its systems to LOFW, Hauser-Marck is the 3rd
richest family
& field the 2nd largest private navy in DW-controlled space. Hauser-Marck
plays a deft game politics as the Grand Navy & the bureaucrats closest
Sternreiter ally. It also has a profitable alliance with Tuablin, acting often a
middleman. They are enemies of the von Keppel, Van Bayern, & von Beck
families. They are behind the treason conviction of Werner IV's precessor,
Gerhard Maria II in 989.
Curren leader, Maximillian Werther, Graf Hauser-Marck
HISTORY(all dates Imperial)
|
-778 to -764 First exploration in the area by far traders under Hans Herzog & Erich
Maria Beck.
-742 Settlement of Mansagt system by Beyer, Beinbruch by Halbetstadt, & Abwehr by Beck.
-711 Settlement of Quatsch system by Siemens, Zeben by Manwaring.
-680 Settlement of Ilse by Keppel, Gasthof by Herzog.
-664 Settlement of Oberpasidenten by Hauser-Marck.
-645 Settlement of the rich mining world of Jeldemnar.
-508 to -383 Age of expansion. Most of Die Weltbundt subsector & 1/2 of Harem (Foreven
Sector) subsector colonized.
-380 to 318 Trade Wars.
-356 Hauser-Marck/Manwaring/von Siemens alliance formed by treaty of Quatsch.
-347 Beck/Keppel alliance formed. Beyer/Bayern join in 343.
-322 Gasthof successfully invaded by forces of the von Siemens family. Massacre of the
Herzog family.
-320 Battle of Zeben. Inclusive encounter between the Beck/Beyer/Bayern/Keppel fleets &
the
fleets of the Hauser-Marck/Manwaring/von Siemens alliance.
-318 to -311 Congress of Nassau. Peace treaty signed between rival nobles. Die Weltebund
articles of confederation created, signed in 311. Nassau renamed Bundestag & made
capitol of Die Weltbund. Wilhelm von Beck first prime minister.
-250 to -232. Outlander Wars fought against interlopers from the Spinward Marches.
Gradual
fall off of trade.
-170 to -138 Von Bayern/Hauser-Marck War. Eventually ended by action of the other
noble
houses by Treaty of Bundestag (-134).
-99 to -84. Sparked by activities by Keppel, von Beck & von Siemens families, trade outside
Die Weltbund revives.
-22. Trade treaty with the Republic of Alekhine (later Alekhine Syndicate).
-1 to 123. Expansion into Liberty Hall subsector.
212 First encounter with Mal'Gnar.
244 to 287 Pirates based on Thieves' World(later St. Foy), Alator, & Schiasz (later
Guildheim)
because an increasing menace to transport.
277 Von Beck squadron repulsed from Alator.
283 Fraldanhalla colonized.
290 Treaty of Herzog-Ritiiliszh opening trade routes between Die Weltbund & the
Mapepire
Cluster worlds.
298 Starport on Gasthof raided by Alator pirates. Die Weltbund naval ensues.
310 to 313 Alatorian war.
313 Battle of Maxotr(Alator/LH system). Combined noble fleets crush the Alatorian fleet.
Ground installations & population centers reduced by ERW missiles from orbit.
316 Alator renamed Schloss Adler & colonized.
322 Pirate assault on Lieblied wiped out. Punitive raid on Thieves' World by
von Beck/Keppe & on Schiasz by von Manwaring/Halbetstadt end the era
of massive pirate raids.
414 First contact with trading vessels from the Republic of Alekhine(later
Alekhine Syndicate)
417 Die Weltbund/Mal'Gnar War. Mostly fought by Keppel/Halberstadt forces.
431 Colonization of Die Weltbund starts expansion into Mapepire subsector.
438 to 441 Colonization of IP , Gul, & Maximummer in the Mapepire subsector.
440 to 442 Kargharsg pirate fleet eliminated. It's starport & city of Ghyujost on Thieves\
World nuked.
501 Fraldanhalla, overexploited & gutted is abandoned by the von Manwarings. 88% of
inhabitants die over the next 3 decades.
504 Congress of Karlsbad. Creation of the Die Weltbund Grand Navy. Nobles'
fleet units are ceded into the new navy. Headquartered on Bundestag.
511 to 543 Quasi-War with 3rd Imperium. Ended by treaty of Wesqhot(542).
540-607 The Golden Years. Trade flourishes.
564 Descendants of Sciasz pirates found the Guildheim Trade Association & open
negotiations with DW.
588 to 612 2nd colonization of Die Weltbund by deported prisoners & dissidents.
614 to 643 Re-organization of DW government. Rise of professional bureacracy.
608 to 717 Piracy Increases in the Liberty Hall subsector. Lack of naval bases hampers
countermeasures. Several noble shipping lines cease function.
678 The Cooulter Pirate Guild re-coloinizies Thieves' World. Starport of Resef
built the following year.
683 to 704. Reorganization of Grand Navy. Bases established on Schloss Adler(691)
Oberprasidenten (691), Staatsbibliothek (696).
692 Treaty of Judex. Exclusive transport charter granted the Alekhine Syndicate.
The freed resources are applied to the Grand Navy's growth.
703 to 711. Reduction of pirate bases in the Die Weltbund sector.
720 League of Free Worlds organized on Die Weltbund/Mapepire.
757 Resef, starport & capital of Thieves' World destroyed by the 6th & 3rd Fleets. Last
use of nuclear weapons on ground targets.
781 to 790. Volkerbad, a retreat for government officials built on Schloss Adler.
801 to 878 Imperial Scout Service active in the Liberty Hall subsector.
803 Psi's from the Imperium colonize Thieves World, renaming St. Foy.
811 Die Weltbund rejects a treaty with St. Foy.
820 Treaty of Gunderlin. Three way trade agreement with the Mapepire Cluster,
Die Weltbund, & Alekhine Syndicate.
833 Die Weltbund/Mapepire successfully revolts from DW. Renamed Friedland, the
rebels make several alliances within the Mapepire Cluster worlds.
836 Fraldanhylla with volunteers from Friedland & corsairs revolts from DW.
840 Fraldanhylla negotiates an Imperial scoutbase, trading Imperial recognition.
845 Grau/Yhuillah Accord. Treaty between the Halberstadt family & the planet
Kilogren signed by Baron Jarger von Grau (the von Grau are a cadet branch
of the Halberstadt), agent for Graf Ernest II Halberstadt & Yhuillah, Matriarch
of Kilogren. The treaty arranges for the exhange of technical help by the
Halberstadt in exchange for psionic support from the Kilogrenese. Nullified by
the Mansfield/Druiishi affair (1020).
855 Graf Jurgen von Beck first noble to employ Eshenilli.
860 DW naval forces begin to raid in the Mapepire & Harem subsectors
875 to 881 Mal G'nar War. Ended by the inclusive battle of Jus'Hill (880) & the Treaty
of Gutter
884 First embassy from the Zhodani Consulate.
889 t0 890. Hauser-Marck abandons Jeldemnar, exhausted after overexploitation. The left
behind colonists & their families are unable to sustain the colony. Many survivors join
corsair band LOFWIA.
894 The von Siemens familt cede Zhawlty Nawsh to the Zhodani consulate in exchange
for ships & technological aid to the DW navy.
899 Lady of Ormizhand Affair. Parallel Lines Starliner taken by DW frigates in the
guise pirates. Though the naval personnel are unpunished, the DW government pays
an indemnity to Parallel Lines of 8 Million credits.
901 to 908 Die Weltbund/Imperium War. Started by seizure of Imperium merchant
shipping misjumping into DW space. DW 2nd, 7th, & 13th Fleets destroyed by Imperial
taskforce at Battle of Wolfen. Entire Foreven systems of DW under Imperial control
by 906. DW sues for peace. Treaty of Reichenau. DW pays 47 billion Cr. indemnity
& releases all seized merchantmen & crew.
903 to 912. Die Weltbund/Alekhine vs Webrunners/Mal'Gnar War. Webrunners bring
shipping to a virtual halt in the trailing/coreward areas of DW. Alekhine 2nd &
Die Weltbund 8th Fleets defeated at Battle of Dernier Cri. War ended by Treaty
of Mal'Imau. Alekhine Syndicate collapses. Dernier Cri ceded to Mal'Gnar
908 Successful Revolt of Hel by LOFW. Later asks for and gains the protection of
the Mal'Gnar.
910 Dreamers' World (Harem/0107, Foreven sector) under members of the Keppel
family break away from DW & form an Alliance with the Ros Confederation.
911 Stern-Hansa formed as a national shipping confirm. Alekhine Syndicate vessels
seized & incorporated into the firm.
912, 918, 919. Major raids by Webrunners repulsed with great loss.
917 First raids by solitary Dark Goddesses corsairs.
920 to 937 Webrunners/Dark Goddesses/St. Foy form an alliance, increasing pirate in this
period.
924 LOFWIA founded on Friedland by Lars Neisch. LOFWIA destroys the
merchant merchant academies on Schloss Adler & Drei Farben same year.
927 Stern-Hansa makes an informal arrangement with Tuablin, Ltd to supply merchant
crews. This pact is aided by variour members of the Navy.
932 to 941. Famine of Platz. Revolt arises & is crushed in 938.
934 Raid into St. Foy systems destroys 7 corsairs.
950 Famine on Quatsch. Alekhine, informally run the Keppel family, joins LOFW.
952 Revolt on mining colony of Geist, Zeben system. Crushed in 953.
944 Publication & suppression of 'The Crash of Empires', a scurious account of how
the actions of DW's government & nobles will lead to its dismemberment in
3 centuries.
956 Raid into St. Foy beaten off with loss of 3 warships.
961 Raumjaeger raid on St. Foy damages orbtial dock, captures 1 corsair & 4
merchantmen
966 Raumjaeger strike team kills Armida II, Duchess of St. Foy on Guildheim.
972 DW agents blow the yacht of Jacquetta, Duchess of St. Foy
972 to 974 DW/St. Foy War.. Marred by inept handling of DW naval forces. Stern-Hansa
losses lead to end of hostilities.
979 to 980. DW forces sweep the Eataoin Shirdlu system of corsairs.
980 Etaoin Shirdlu's starport destroyed by 13th & 6th Battlefleets. Mobile base
moved into system to maintain quarantine.
998 to 1093. The Age of Shroudships. Die Weltbund is hit heavily by these pirate vessels.
999 SORAG base on Zhawlty Nawsh.
1001 First Eshenilli center on Quatsch
1022 Beaumonde Industries becomes the major weapon system supplier for DW.
1031 LOFWIA destroys Stern-Hansa's training centers on Oberprasidenten & Bundestag.
1044-51 Halberstadt in conjunction with Beaumonde Industries build a B-class
starport of Kilogren. Kliogren Psis now operating on DW escorts & pirate hunters.
1054 to 1098 Smuggling increases as Stern-Hansa declines.
1060 Stern-Hansa opens a clearinghouse for Tuablin on its headquarters complex on
Bundestag.
1063. Treaty of Mapepire. Treaty of cooperation between Guildheim, The Mapepire
Cluster, Trelyn Domain, The Eslyat Magistry against the menace of shroudship.
Within a decade the shroudship menace is all but eliminated.
1067. Ghuaveyt Accord. Secret accord between Dark Goddesses, Webrunners, St. Foy
& several independent corsairs to forgo the use of shroudships.
1068 Stern-Hansa secretly offers a bounty to Grand Navy personnel for captured ships
crews to maintain its fleet.
1070 to 1084 Increased Inperial Scout Service activity in Liberty Hall. Two scout/couriers,
Regaiunis & Tylour disappear in 1082.
1082 to 1084 4th Frontier War. DW naval units raid Imperial shipping.
1087 St. Foy corsairs successfully raid Schloss Adler & lay minefield. Battleship Hans
von Bayern & 2 destroyers lost to mines, 11 other vessels damaged.
1090-1094 Die Weltbund/St. Foy War. Battle of Lieblied (1091) when 4th Battlefleet
intercepts St. Foy squadron attempting to lay mines in Liebslied system. 5 corsairs
destroyed & 3 captured. Corsairs prevent merchantman movement except by Battle-
fleet escort by 1092. Battle of the Asteroids. 1st Battlefleet manuvered into minefield.
Loss & damage of capital ships causes panic among their escort resulting in route.
Admiral Gerd Schussel commits sucide. LOFWIA agents successfully send nuke-
armed sucide merchantmen against the 4th & 11th Fleets at Schloss Adler.
Treaty of Guildheim ends war in 1094. Die Weltbund recognizes St. Foy as a sovereign
nation. St. Foy raids decrease after this. DW cashiers all its senior admirals.
1096 Famine on Quatsch.
1096. First LOFWIA bombships destroys Grand Navy destroyer in Schloss Adler system.
1097 Von Beck/Beyer naval reforms.
1101 Fiedler von Hauer-Marck made Grand Admiral. Negotiates in secret with the
Zhodani.
1106 Kasper August von Grau new resident on Kilogren. This begins a covert campaign
against the planet's matriarchs in order to control Kilogren's psi's.
1107 to 1110 5th Frontier War. Active raiding into Harem subsector at Imperial shipping.
Imperium retaliates by giving aid to local corsairs & issuing letters of marque.
1109 Under pressure from the Imperium, Beaumonde Industries ceases its arrangement
with DW.
1109 11 LOFWIA bombships attack 3rd Fleet off Nuss. battleship Dieter Rausch & cruiser
Blauwald destroyed.
1111 Main fishery of Drakkenmarine on Nervenheilanstadt destroyed by LOFWIA
bombships despite presence of 3 Grand Navy destroyers. Investigation reveals
captains bribed to ignore attack. 2 captains tried & executed in 1112. The 4rd
captain, Max Mueller, flees with his destroyer Z-212.
1112 Admiral von Hauser-Marck convicted of treason. Admiral von Wessel new Grand
Admiral. Ends bounty agreement with Stern-Hansa. Offers amnesty & commissions
to corsairs of DW origin.
1114 to 1119 Nervenheilanstalt revolts. Eventually brutally suppressed by the navy.
Von
Beck family take action in the Bundestag, supported by many of the representatives.
Hermann Geist, commander of naval squadron courtmartialled & naval forces removed
from system. Von Beck forces under Baron Manfred von Beck move to rebuild.
1115 Battle of Losader. Corsairs lead by a strike cruiser capture grain convoy, destroying
its 4 escorts & 6 LOFWIA corsairs trying to destroy the convoy.
1117 The House of Lords (corsair squadron) inflict major damage on Grand Navy
blockade destroyers, allowing resupply of rebels on Nervenheilanstalt.
1120 Mansfeld/Druiishi affair. Kilogren, after defaulting on a loan to the Halberstadts,
place Kilogren under blockade by two destroyers & a flighter tender. Luftgrenadiers
take control of orbital moon defense systems. Blockade smashed by the House of Lords
exposing von Grau involvement. DW embassy expelled from Kilogren.
1121 Major Zhodani forces leave Zhawlty Nawsh. Only a few military personnel remain.
1121 Black Monday. Collapse of Die Weltbund's stock exchange. Recovers in 1123
1124 Calliope affair. The Calliope, a mobile dock carrying a spinal mount meson
gun for testing by the Grand Navy, disappears. LOFWIA is rumored to be behind
the theft.
The Grand Navy(Sternmarine der Grosse) of Die Weltbund consists 13th Fleets,
rotated on a random basis during peacetime among the confederation's naval bases.
Each fleet
in theory is based on a batron of 3 battleships + 1 fleet carrier & their auxiliaries; 5
cruiser divisions of 6 light or heavy cruisers, 4 destroyers; 10 destroyer squadrons of
4 destroyers each; & 16 escort squadrons of 1 light carrier, 1 destroyer & 8 close
escorts. Much of the equipment are obsolent Zhodani or designs by Beaumonde
industries either purchased ot built under license.
The navy is organized to fight corsairs, terrorists, & engage in punitive raids; not
major external threats. Standard uniform for ranks & noncoms are navy-blue
jumpsuits with high collars. The left side of collar is decorated with the Die
Weltbund flap. The right side of the collar is navy for ranks, red for noncoms, &
gold for officers. Rank badges are also worn on the right collar. Headgear
consists of a navy skullcap devoid of rank. Dress uniforms for ranks & noncoms are
navy blue jumpsuits with a tight, waist-length jacket, & a short-billed cap with a
frontal badge sporting the DW flap. The officers' are navy jumpsuits
with a similar jacket with the exception that officers' jacket bear red, yellow, &
black stripes at the cuffs. All ranks wear navy blue, mid-calf boots.
The Luftgrenadiers (which started as lift infantry units) perform as marines, drop
troops & quick response forces. There are 28 brigades of 4 regiments each
currently. Each regiment has 4 luftgrenadier battalions (2 companies with 3
platoons each), 2 grav- panzer platoons consisting of either artillery g-carriers of
light grav tanks, a transport company of 24 g-carriers or 14 armoured launches.
Most luftgrenadiers are armed with a mix of gauss & laser weapons.
Luftgrenadiers normal wear are black jumpsuits with only the DW flag on the left
side of the collar. The right collar is plain except for rank insignia. The dress
uniform is a short-billed cap much like the navy except black, & the dress jacket is
similar to the navy, except it is is leftgrenadier black. Boots are short.
ankle-length affairs with tread for everyday boots, and flatter, smoother soles.
The Raumjaegers, originally started as DW's version of the scout service. Today
they perform recon, special ops, anti-piracy & surveilance work for the navy. The
workhorse of the Raumjaegers are 100 tonne scouts of the Serpent Class;
secondhand or client state built Imperial S-class scouts. Destroyer Escorts (600
-1000 tonnes) or the newly acquired Kharis class patrol frigates ( 600 tonnes) serve
as flagships. Also, the Raumjaegers possess 24 of the Wespe class escorts (particle
accelerator armed S-class scouts) built by Beaumonde Industries for DW.
Raumjagers uniforms are similar to the navy except for being in a gray/green color.
Raumjaegers wear the same style casual & dress boots as the Luftgrenadiers.
The navy also possesses 4 mobile fortress built from nickel-iron asteroids:
Verteidiger, Zertstorer, Racher, Schild.
Grand Navy battleships are name after personages of great importance to either DW
or old Terra's space program. Carriers are named after worlds, while heavy
cruisers are named for naval heroes & light cruisers for cities or towns. Destroyers
are designated with the letter Z & a number. Frigates, close escorts and other
fighting craft between 400-1000 tonnes are designated with the letter F & a
number. Fighting craft under 400 tonnes are have the letter E & a number. Scout
& courier crafts have the letter R & a number.
Transport craft are designated withe letter H & a number, while medical ships have
the letter M & a number. Fighters are marked by the squadron ID & a number
assigned by the squadron commander.
Besides the Grand Navy there the Reitersquadrons of the Nobles. Consisting of
SDB's & a few jump capable warships in the 200-1000 tonne range, they form
system navies funded by the various noble houses. Reitersquadrons have no set
size and many are understated or overstated in numbers of ships & personnel. Many
nobles also have agreements or issue letters of marque to corsairs. Reitersquadron
ships are usually named by members of the noble families or by the crews
themselves, with no system. Von Beck & von Bayern ships are known for their
humor in naming vessels.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NAVAL BASES:
HAREM SUBSECTOR
NUSS 0810. Grand Navy 6th Battlefleet, 1st & 2nd Beyer Reitersquadron.
REICHENAU 0710. 3rd Beyer Reitersquadron on Reichenau's moon Relais.
11th Grand Navy Battlefleet on the 6th planet, Mandel.
DIE WELTBUND SUBSECTOR
BUNDESTAG 0206. Grand Navy 1st Battlefleet on Bundestag. 2nd Grand Navy
Battlefleet on 6th planet Wolfruhe.
OBERPASIDENTEN 0308 Grand Navy 4th & 10th Battlefleets. Hauser-Marck
4th & 5th
Reitersquadron.
FELDHERRNHALE 0107 Hauser-Marck 1st, 2nd, & 3rd Reitersquadron. Also
Grand Navy Scoutbase.
LIBESKINDER 0105. Von Beck 2nd Reitersquadron.
QUATSCH 0108. Von Siemens 1st & 2nd Reitersquadron.
BEINBRUCH 0202. Halberstadt 2nd Reitersquadron.
ABWEHR 0109. Von Beck 1st Reitersquadron
GASTHOF 0303 Von Siemens 4th Reitersquadron.
LIEBSLIED 0406 Von 4th Reitersquadron.
LIBERTY HALL SUBSECTOR
EATAOIN SHRIDLU 0601 A mobile base with 6 fighter squadrons, 8 SDB's are
rotated
on a yearly basis maintaing an active quarantine of this system.
SCHLOSS ADLER 0702 Naval base on the frozen 5th planet, Zwei Adler. 8th &
13th
Grand Navy Battlefleet. Scoutbase on Schloss Adller's 2nd moon, Pech.
RECKINGHAUSEN 0704. Hauser-Marck 5th Reitersquadron.
NERVENHEILANSTALT 0707 Von Beck 4th Reitersquadron on frozen 8th
planet,
Beckhausen. Grand Navy recently removed from this system after brutal
suppression of revolt. 33rd Luftgrenadier Regt., which mutinied & went over
to rebels rumored to be the core of new planetary armed forces.
STAATSBILIOTHEK 0708. Naval base of Staatsbibliothek's moon. 3rd, 9th, &
12th Battlefleets are stationed here, officially to protect the archives, covertly to
put pressure on the von Bayern family.
PLATZ 0701 Halberstadt 1st Reitersquadron.
DREI FARBEN 0705 Naval/Scoutbase on 4th planet, Vier Farben, 5th Grand
Navy
Battlefleet. 1st & 2nd Von Manwaring Reitersquadrons based on Drei
Farben's 3rd moon, Drei Hafen.
MAPEPIRE SUBSECTOR
IP 0207 Naval base. Grand Navy 7th Battlefleet'
GUL 0207 Scoutbase.
MAXIMUMMER 0209 Halberstadt 3rd & 4th Reitersquadrons.
The navy is currently in a state flux due to Grand Admiral von Wessel's reforms.
Piracy, extortion, & corruption have declined by naval personnel after
many officiers were cashiered in the aftermath of the Imperial 5th Frontier War.
Several of the personnel dismissed have started pirate bands of their own or enlisted
into LOFWIA.











VON GRAU: A cadet branch of Halberstadt, their members lead the military & internal affairs of the
Halberstadt A few have alliances with Hauser-Marck.
MANSFIELD: A family from the Manwaring systems. Famed as military officers.
KRAFTWERK: A family historically residing on Bundestag, politicians & traders. Six Kraftwerks
have been the CEO of Stern-Hansa.
VILZDERAAK: A non-terran family of obscure vilani descent scattered throughout the Libety Hall
subsector. Traders & Military. Zerv Vilzderaak is the Commandant of the Raumjaegers.
KEMP-RORK: A family of politicians & traders from the original Herzog worlds. They are closely
aligned with the Hauser-Marck/Manwaring alliance.
VON WESSEL: Originally from the von Keppel systems, now spread throughout the DW. Military
leaders, there many von Wessels in the DW navy as several of the nobles' fleets.
MANNHEIM: Primarily into mining & agriculture, their alliances are many & mercenary. Their
wealth gives them considerable clout with the central government. Considering many of the family's
ruthless business practices this is a could thing.
WAGNER: From the von Beck worlds, these mining & farming families are the rivals of the
Mannheims. Famed for their expertise on planetary reclamation projects
HERZOG: Formerly a noble family, the Herzogs are scattered throughout the Die Weltbund & Liberty
Hall subsectors. Friedrich Reinhardt Herzog (678-740) was one the founders & first president of the
League of free worlds.
RAKETE: A merchant family, originally free traders from Bundestag. Their main areas are in the
Liberty Hall subsector. Until the last century, they dominated Stern-Hansa.
WIESE: Family originally based on Platz, scattered after an unsuccessful revolt in 698. Hans Maria
Wiese (894-948) helped found LOFWIA with Lars Niesch. Magdalena Wiese (aka Alice Karacol,
950-1002) was the 4th Secratary-General of LOFWIA.
Nervenheilanstalt, a Die Weltbund
system
The Bundesarmee is made up of three armies under the command of General Erich Hans
Molder. The 1st is stationed on Bundestag of 7 armoured regts. & 44 infantry regts. The
2nd on Oberprasidenten consists of 11 armoured & 38 infantry regts. The 3rd, on Schloss
Adler has 7 regts. of armour & 8 of infantry. The main purpose of the army is to maintain
security & protect the government & its installations. Planetary security on other planets
are maintain by planetary or noble military forces. Unlike the Naval troops, the
Bundesarmee eschews grav vehicles. Instead they prefer tracked or wheeled AFV's &
APC's usually armed with lasers or missiles.
STERN-HANSA

Die Weltbund's national shipping line was founded in 467 as a joint corporation by all the Reiters.
Nationalized & subsidizied by the goverment in 648, operating within & outside DW space. Originally
competing with other DW concerns, free traders, & foreign transport lines, Stern-Hansa became a
monopoly in 910. This has been a poor decision, since in its heyday Stern-Hansa never had enough
tonnage & personnel to service internal & external shipping needs. The destruction of Die Weltbund's
merchant academies by LOFWIA terrorists & recent (1108) expulsion of DW students from Guildheim
Merchant Academy has served to further weaken service. The company has made do with captive
servile crews supplied by Naval impressment or by the services of Tuablin, LTD. This has stressed
relations with neighboring systems already made bad by the lockout of foreign shippers. The resulting
smuggling & piracy has dropped profits by 57% over the last 2 centuries. Tonnage has been made by
Stern-Hansa secretly offering bounties to Grand Navy units for capturing ships & turning them over to
S-H depots. This has resulting in DW light naval forces raiding outside their territory & acting no
better than pirates. Foreign pressure, including Imperial has resulted in the current Grand Admiral
cracking down on illegal seizures. Smuggling has become rampant through the coreward & spinward
systems of Die Weltbund territory, often with the complicity of local officials & even some nobles. Due
to the attrition rate of ships, Stern-Hansa, except for some VIP yachts, abandoned passenger service in
1057. For the past 14 years Stern-Hansa has operated in the red, & only the government through
subsidies & purchase of cargoships from foreign shipyards has kept the company going.
Klaus Erich Kraftwerk is the current CEO of Stern-Hansa, a position he has held for four years.
Besides maintaining the Stern-Hansa/Tuablin, LTD. connection, he has increased bounties for
captured tonnage & on the heads of prominent pirates three-fold since he took office. Unlike most of
his predecessors, he has no illusions of being able to maintain S-H's monopoly any longer. To this end,
he has spend much time lobby the government to ease the restrictions against foreign traders, in
particular free traders & small companies which ease S-H's load while not threatening its profit margin
Stern-Hansa crews are very status bound, with classes aboard Stern-Hansa ships consist of
offizer(officer), mostly from the middle & upper class. These make up- the bridge crew, the
cargomaster, & chief engineer. Stern-Hansa does get the best spacemen (partially due to the high
attrition rate) since most of those go into the Grand or Reiter navies, in fact many ship captains are
merely administrators. The next class is the scharr(crew), the rank & file of the ship's crew,
cargohandlers, stewards, gunners, engineers, etc. The third class is the vertag scharr, the slave crew
either bought by Stern-Hansa from slave depots or 'criminals' captured by the navy, all of whom are
trained spacers. Due the inadequate training facilities, these slaves make up the bulk of the technical
crew aboard all but the highest rated ships carrying luxury goods. These crew are under some degree of
mind control drugs or devices This arrangement is not perfect & it rumored at least two dozen ships a
year are sabotaged by their vertag scharr. Its rumored due to execution or side effects to mind control
about 20% of vertag scharr die each year.



Stern-Hansa uniforms are utlitarian jumpsuits in variations of black & white except for the Vertag
Scharr which wear white. uniforms. The offizers wear a white jumpsuit with a black peaked beret,
black gloves & hard boots, & black & white epaulets & a black belt with the Stern Hansa symbol.
Rank is designated by silver on black pips: three for captain, two for first officer & chief engineer,
& one for 2nd, 3rd, & fourth officer, purser, & medical officer. Cadet offizers wear no rank pips.
Scharr wear a white jumpsuit with black shoulders & three blak stripes, one down the front of the
uniform & one each running from the shoulders to the cuff. Header gear consists of a floppy white
beret with a black denoting job or department, the Stern-Hansa logo is dsiplayed on the belt & on
the upper right chest of the uniform. The right cuff contains a commo device & computer while the
left contains crewman's personal items or minitools. The Vertag Scarr uniform consists of a white
jumpsuit similar to the scharr but with the company logo on the upper chest. The suit is sealed &
can only removed by special key to prevent runaways. The right cuff contains a commo device &
computer while the left is usually loaded with nutrients fed directly in the wearer on a scheduled
basis and/or drugs to keep the slave under control The vertag scharr wears a soft cap with a small
Stern-Hansa logo & a plaque denoting their assigned duty aboard ship. Each vertag scharr has a
small microchip plantaed in the back of their neck just below the skull. This microship is a means
of identification & a homing device.
Vertag Scharr Uniform