Royal Empire of Mara

The Royal Empire of Mara has traditionally been among the most powerful and largest of the Successor States to occupy the Milky Way Galaxy. From their ancestral home of Mara the scions of House Godwin have ruled the Royal Empire since its founding by Lucien Davion in 2361. While tracing their family line to French and British nobility of ancient Terra and ruling as absolute/semi-consitutional monarchs, the Godwins have always positioned themselves and the Royal Empire as champions of Stability, Strength and Personal freedoms in the Galaxy. This view has bred a sense of righteousness in the Godwin cause, serving as both a guiding force for the Empire's Success.

The Royal Empire of Mara is known to be good to its Mercenaries, paying them well but lacking when it comes to moving them around and often dividing Spoils of War Equally, but they pay exteremly well for defensive contracts. Their Reputation as friends of Mercenaries has granted them so called House Mercenaries such companies only accept contracts from the Royal Empire. The Royal Military is often considered one of the finest in the Galaxy, well led, loyal and well discipined.

The Founding
The Royal Empire of Mara was founded in 2361 around 20 years after the end of of the Alliance Civil War. As one of the first nations to declare its independence from the decadent and failing state of The Alliance of Terra, founded by its First Leader the First Princess Mara Godwin. She commanded the armies of the new Planet to Victory over the Alliance of Terra in the Alliance Civil War alongside the other rebellious planets, though the war was not one sided, she crushed the Terran armies at the Battle of Ingress whilst the man who would go onto be her first husband a General named Julian Windsor threw back the Terran armies at the Battle of Rio. Whilst the Alliance of Terra was focused on a war on all fronts, and the vast distances and costs involved gave the nation respite, they never became complacent and this would set a tone for the Royal Empire's Military in the future. Eventually the war ended and the Kingdom of Mara was founded as its official own independant nation under First Princess Mara Godwin and her Consort Julian Windsor, which included lands about 1/2 of the current Empire's size.

First Princess Mara Godwin "The Great"
Following the end of the Alliance Civil War, the First Princess called all the Generals, Leaders of other planets, CEO's that supported the new Royal Empire and Noteable Citizens and held the first Grand Council, after the meeting some of those involved were raised to Nobility, a few years after she formed the High Council the predeccesor to the Modern Privy Council. She spent 21 years negotiating with the other planet leaders who fought alongside her in the Alliance Civil War, and over the years united the Planets, inducting new Nobility before then officially announcing the formation of the Royal Empire of Mara. With the Godwin family is its Royal House, she quickly introduced many reforms including a law that the Nobility wont get positions based on birth but on Merit, meaning a common Citizen can achieve the same office as a Nobleman, among many reforms. The Royal Military was reformed and expanded to better defend the large borders. Her economic refroms supported Private Investment, competition between the companies and competition for Government Contracts.

She became universally loved across her Empire as she ruled for the next 40 years, alongside her husband. Princess Mara was not considered a superior warrior or expert shot, but a highly skilled tactician and politician whilst her husband was a former Veteran of the Alliance of Terra special forces. This allowed them both to focus on the area the other was weak in, though First Princess Mara gets almost all the credit, Prince-Consort Julian's role should not be understated, he formed the Maran Special Forces and personally trained them himself. She also founded the Royal Maran Military Academy and the Royal Insitute of Science, both elite Academies to this day.

The First Princess ruled for 5 years after the death of her husband, spending 61 years on the throne, 40 as First Princess of the Royal Empire of Mara, when she died in 2401 at the age of 91 she was mourned for 14 days across the Empire, succeeding her throne too her elderly son, Prince Lucifer Godwin.

First Prince Lucifer Godwin "The Wise"
When Prince Lucifer Godwin succeeded the throne he was already a middle aged man but he did introduce a few reforms before he died and some important positions, he created the position Marshal of the Armies as the head of the Royal Military, he also created the title Prince's Champion' given to the strongest most loyal soldier in the Empire, he serves not only as a Inspiring figure for the Royal Troops but also the personal bodyguard of the First Prince. He then granted the 1st Maran Hussars Regiment and Elite battle regiment of Maran Battlemechs within the elite Maran Hussars' the roll of the the honour of being the personal bodyguard regiment of the First Prince. Toward the end of his reign he reformed the High Council disliking how it had become in the 20 years since his mothers death. He reformed and renamed it the Privy Council. Which has stood as an honoured and efficient governing machine to this day. He also established a strong relation with many Mercenary forces in Maran lands, creating a strong working relationship. When he died in 2450 after 49 years at the age of 89 he had achieved much, though not considered as successful as his mother he did make the Government more efficent and increased protection of the Royal Family.

First Prince Richard Godwin
Following the death of First Prince Lucifer Godwin, his son Prince Richard Godwin Succeeded the Throne in 2450. Richard compared to his father was known to be more Cautious and Internally focused, he kept good relations with the Mercenaries, expanded the Armed forces and made sure to keep the Economy healthy with Private Industry and lucrative Government Contracts. During his rule he became wary of the return to power of the Alliance of Terra, seeing their growing strength he had heavy defences built on the worlds bordering the Terrans and mainted the Royal Navy and Army. He also increased the expansion of the Royal Army, and sought to increase relations with the Free State of Ludwig and the Genoese Republic. He was a proud man throughout his life, but knew the threat Terra now posed and prepared his nation and Nobles. He reformed and expanded the Royal Institute of Science and the Royal Maran Military Academy, expanding their capabilities and resources. He died of a Heart attack in the year 2474 after 24 years on the throne at 80 due to suffering a wound in Military training that plagued him throughout his life.

The Royal Family
The First Prince is the leader of the Royal Empire of Mara and the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Armed Forces of Mara(RAFM). The First Prince has the right to appoint or dismiss any noble or government official and may rule by decree, though there are some limits when it comes to the rights and freedoms of the nobility and the people. Only a member of House Godwin may become a First Prince, but only if they have achieved 18 years of age and have served at least three years in the military. Beyond their official powers, much of the strength of the First Prince lies in House Godwin's personal wealth. While official figures are not made public, in 2496 it was believed they owned vast landholds on at least a dozen worlds (including the so-called 'Golden Five') and were major shareholders in at least twenty large corporations. The First Prince may also bestow the title of Prince's Champion  on any individual, traditionally a senior RAFM Field Marshal or War Hero   who is either a trusted friend or family member, to act with their authority on military and political matters when the First Prince is unavailable. It should be noted that the term "Prince" is gender-neutral in its Royal Empire usage, although First Princess Mara Godwin used the female "Princess" in her titles.

The First Prince is also surrounded by the Royal Court, a term which refers to two distinct concepts. The first is the physical building complex which surrounds the Royal Palace on Mara, in which is housed the Ministries which see to the running of the Empire. The second is the social season held every spring for three months, where nobility and political leaders from across the realm are invited to the Royal Palace to partake in grand balls, game hunts, and some wheeling and dealing.

The Privy Council
Created by Lucifer Godwin as an alternative to the High Council, the Privy Council is a group of the highest advisers to the First Prince and is extremely important in the running of the day-to-day affairs of the state. Acting as an advisory council to the First Prince, the Privy Council was given many of the powers once held by the High Council: recommending military and government appointments, overseeing the running of the state bureaucracy, and determining the line of succession or the appointment of a regent upon the death or retirement of the First Prince.

The Privy Council is a small body and most of its members naturally reside on Mara, allowing it to react quickly to new events, though when needed members may also empower a deputy to speak on their behalf. From the military are seated the Prince's Champion, the Marshal of the Armies, and the heads of the eight military departments (the directors of the Military Marches may also sit as non-voting advisers). The Prime Minister and an elected member of the High Council also sits on the Privy Council. Lastly, the Ministers in charge of each of the eight Ministries which oversee the governing of the Royal Empire sits on the Privy Council.

High Council
The High Council was formerly a governing body equal to the Prime Minister and, for a time, the First Prince of the Royal Empire. Each member world and associate world was represented on the Council with a delegate and from among their members they elected a Delegate to serve until life or impeachment by three-fourths of the High Council  It had the power to appoint representatives to foreign governments, approve treaties and enact laws. As the High Council grew in size, the limitations of interstellar travel and communication made it slow and unwieldy in responding to new events, while the political acumen of the Godwin family began to rob it of some of its power. The High Council eventually became nothing more than a rubber stamp for the Godwin's, until it began to fail even at that task as it became bogged down in parliamentary maneuverings. While most of its powers have since been transferred to the First Prince and the Privy Council, the High Council still acts as a forum to debate policy, put forward recommendations and enact regulatory changes.

Ministry of Imperial Intelligence Services
The Ministry of Imperial Intelligence Services is the Overarching body of the Intelligence Services of the Royal Empire of Mara. The Ministry was created to coordinate the operations from two different intelligence branches (DMI, MIIO) It makes its a lot easier for the two because they have a central point when they have doubts if their action overlap with others. The separation of Intelligence gathering efforts into a military focused organization (DMI) and a civilian-led organization (MIIO) allows the DMI to focus primarily on military related matters, while the MIIO considers nearly everything else. In addition, the fact that there are two "competing" agencies producing the same product insures that the First Prince, Privy Council and RAFM High Command gets relevant and accurate data.

Department of Military Intelligence
The RAFM's Main intelligence agency, the DMI is responsible for gathering knowledge about enemies and potential enemies of the Royal Empire any way possible and defeat or confuse enemy intelligence operations via sabotage, misinformation, or other means. Operators of the DMI can be equally as ruthless as their counterparts in the other successor states.

The Ministry of Information, Intelligence and Operations
Formed in 2288 the Ministry of Information, Intelligence, and Operations (MIIO) is the civilian intelligence arm of the Royal Empire. Its military counterpart is the Armed Forces of the Royal Empires' Department of Military Intelligence.

The MIIO was created during the Alliance Civil War to address a problem with Military Intelligence: at that time all information on other realms was gathered and analyzed by the DMI, and military officers would decide what (if anything) their civilian counterparts needed to know. It consists of two departments, Royal Intelligence Services and Royal Secret Services.

Royal Intelligence Services
The Royal Intelligence Service (RIS), commonly known as RIS, is the foreign intelligence service of the government of the Royal Empire, tasked mainly with the covert over space collection and analysis of intelligence in support of the Royal Empire's national security. RIS is a member of the country's intelligence community and its Chief is accountable to the Ministry of Information, Intelligence and Operations. It is rumoured to hold nothing back when gathering information through torture or drugs, but these claims are often dismissed as untrue.

Royal Secret Services
The Royal Security Service, also  RSS is the Royal Empire's  domestic  counter-intelligence and  security agency and is part of its intelligence Ministry alongside the  Royal Intelligence Service (RIS). The service is directed to protect Royal Empire Soverignty  and economic interests, and counter  terrorism and  espionage within the Royal Empire. RSS  is a member of the country's intelligence community and its Chief is accountable to the Ministry of Information, Intelligence and Operations.