Located near the Romulan Neutral Zone, the Molanari Domain, an interstellar government consisting of half a dozen star systems, holds sway over several billion individuals. The Molanari themselves are a very old [cluturally], very traditional people with a long history of bringing “civilization” to other less advanced races. To this end, the Molanari began trading with the inhabitants of an adjacent star system approximately a hundred years earlier. The people of this system, the Rynar, were a pre-industrial society based on a strict caste system. They welcomed the Molanari with open arms, accepting what they believed to be favorable trading terms and receiving goods from their new partners.
Approximately seventy years ago, the Molanari arrived at Rynar with a fleet of ships and several hundreds of thousands of soldiers. They quickly conquered the planet and quelled the uprisings as best they could, attempting to avoid as much loss of life as possible. Nevertheless, the Rynar suffered massive casualties, their population reduced from nearly a billion to 750,000,000. The Molanari established a new political system headed by an imperial governor, imprisoning members of the old regime that failed to go along with their new masters.
While the Molanari are not normally a brutal race, they have made it quite clear that they are in control and any public gathering expressing negative attitudes toward the government are quickly and harshly put down and the protestors jailed. Further, purges of those determined to undermine imperial rule, involving mass arrests and sometimes even public corporal punishment, have become almost routine within the past decade.
Her Imperial Majesty Ariana XXVII of the Molanari Domain is not a vicious tyrant by any stretch of the imagination. It is her honest belief that the Rynar are childlike and in need of the civilizing influences that her empire can provide. The empress herself is largely unaware of how the Rynar are treated; her advisors and members of the parliamentary body, the Molanar Assembly, screening and editing all information eventually received by the throne.
The Rynar Liberation Movement, headed by a charismatic former-lawyer-turned-activist called Jornak Siva, has orchestrated various non-violent activities to protest the government’s policies. He has been arrested several times and spent a total of eight years in “reeducation centers,” but he perseveres nonetheless, determined to see his cause succeed and to see Rynar free of what he sees as the tyrannical rule of a foreign monarchy.
The second rebellious coalition is the Rynar Unity Coalition, a group not necessarily opposed to the Molanari Domain’s presence on their world, but one that wants to see Rynar included as a full member in the Molanari political system, including membership on the Molanar Assembly. These rebels are mainly government workers and civil leaders working from within to change the system. The Rynar Unity Coalition is led by imperial magistrate Nordak Ornol, a Rynar member of the planetary government. They, like the Rynar Liberation Movment, are non-violent.
Finally, the Order of the Sword, a fanatical religious order, is also opposed to the Molanari Domain’s control of their world. The Order practices the outlawed Rynar religion and has earned the ire of the imperial governor for its flagrant disregard for the law. Furthermore, the Order of the Sword is also a violent group, resorting to sabotage and even assassination in the name of liberty, much to the chagrin of their peaceful contemporaries. The Order of the Sword is led by the fanatical Rector Levak Mostral, a Rynar cleric.
The imperial governor uses the activities of the Order of the Sword to justify the implementation of increasingly harsh policies of the Rynar. He has raised taxes and increased the visibility of his armed soldiers in response to the violence. He has also directed several mass arrests and detention of suspected rebels, claiming that they are all members of the Order when most, in fact, are members of one of the pacifistic movements. These actions have led to an escalation of violence on both sides.
Most recently a number of Rynar children were accidentally shot and killed by Molanari soldiers who were trying to detain suspected rebels. This has sparked a new wave of anti-Domain sentiment amongst the populace, leading to the governor’s request for additional troops on Rynar.
Recent activities of the Molanari Domain have not gone unnoticed by the Federation. Due to the proximity of Rynar to the Romulan Neutral Zone, Starfleet fears that the Rynar may call on the Romulans to assist them in their fight for independence, leading to a change in the political status of the region. To avoid such a situation, the leadership of the Federation has dispatched a diplomatic envoy to Molanar (at the request of certain unnamed elements within the Molanari government) to speak directly with the empress, showing her the truth about what is taking place on Rynar (and other Domain “holdings”). The goal is to gain the independence of the occupied worlds or, failing that, make changes that will benefit the populace and eventually lead to their freedom.
I've been spending almost half an hour toying with it and wondering how I could incorporate it (or part of it) into my campaign ... unfortunately I can't see how I could . But I still like it. I'll keep it somewhere just in case ...
Are the Order Of The Sword the only "terror-nuts" or do the other two groups use terror-tactics?
The Order of the Sword is the only group employing terrorist tactics, ranging from bombings and industrial sabotage to assassinating prominent Molanari and Rynar government officials. The other two groups are wholly pacifistic (which is why the Federation is outraged by their treatment).
What other "holdings" are there? Other conqured worlds?
Yeah, my notes suggest that the Molanari Domain also controls other worlds that they've conquered and/or colonized. I was thinking that one of their other worlds (a colony) decided that they, too, were sick of "taxation without representation" and decided to revolt. The war was long and hideously violent (on both sides), but the Molanari colony world, Nyrika IV, gained its independence over 300 years earlier, eventually joining the UFP in the 2250's.
Because of their history with the Domain, the Nyrikans are particularly interested in assisting the Rynar (even to the point that they have been covertly funneling weapons, explosives, and other materials to the rebels in the Order of the Sword).
That's a little more of the concept. I'll slap some more up here in a while.
mactavish out.
[This message has been edited by mactavish (edited 05-21-2001).]
Funny thing is I was planning an adventure about a civilization at the RNZ border that has some internal conflicts and the Federation gets involved, etc.
Only thing I was not too clear about was the culture and political organization of those aliens.
And then you come along with this great idea. I am sure gonna use it for my own group if you don't mind.
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. But I still like it. I'll keep it somewhere just in case ... 
