Fiction:Fjord League of Northern Europe

"If it was not for the Fjord League's diligence in preserving Earth's biosphere, our world would be a wasteland."

- European Star Republic citizen.

The Fjord League is a star-spanning civilisation which formed in the latter decades of the 21st century on Earth. It is notable for a two sided aspect; officially it is a democracy that centers of liberty, as well as being pioneers in using renewable energy and environmental protection. On the other hand, it has a subculture of Neovikings and other movement associated with ancient Germanic and even Celtic tribes, known for their trade but also piracy and hired mercenaries.

The name "Fjord" league was chosen as a symbol to signify the importance of the Fjords of Norway that ancient cultures such as the Vikings used in trade and expansion.

Turn of the century
Despite the move from fossil fuels to nuclear fusion, space-based solar power and asteroid mining, the world was in a bad shape during the late 21st century, and the knock-on effect had caused mass extinctions of life on Earth, including a near-total extinction of the bees. Global warming had tripped a negative feedback cycle with the methane traps of Siberia melting. In central Asia and Africa, desertification was putting billions at risk of water shortage while other countries suffered flooding. Worse still, the the unthinkable had occurred at a time no-one would think it could; a third world war.

With the rest of the world heavily reliant on the last dregs of exploitable hydrocarbons, the people of Northern Europe decided to create their own economy based on resources that were available to them. They were critical of the newly formed European Republic and saw them as the pet of the United States that was fighting for dominance of oil and even water supplies in Asia, which before the war was experiencing amazing growth. Regrettably, nationalism and Euro-scepticism also contributed. But war inevitably came, when the United States, Canada and the European Republic made moves to steak claim over Greenland. Denmark and the rest of the Nordic League alone were unable to defend Greenland until the newly formed Earaspact backed them if the Fjord's offered them their alternative energy technologies. The British became the most divided country in Europe, some wanting to remain with the European Republic, and others who felt for affiliation to Northern Europe, given that Britain was colonised by Germanic tribes.

In the aftermath of the conflict, the Fjord League of Northern Europe was one of the first nations to bounce back. Using renewable energy; in particular geothermal (Iceland), wind, tidal and wave power. The ice retreating from Greenland uncovered fertile valleys and metalliferous ores, becoming the Fjord League's new 'breadbasket' and industrial zone. Antarctica's ice was also retreating, turning the attention of other nations from Greenland. Although the Earth's climate shift was unstoppable, the Fjords changed tactic from sustainability to finding methods of living in a warmer climate while actively trying to cool it. Concerned with the damage to Earth's environment from global warming, Northern Europeans began to clone the genomes of recent extinct lifeforms and started to repopulate the world, conserving them in the process. Geoengineering became Northern Europe's enterprising innovation, and they even achieved in reversing some global warming's effects, allowing some of the ice sheet on Greenland to persist for wildlife.

Mid-millennium
In the late 22nd and 23rd centuries, Humanity began an even international project to explore the stars, not expecting what to find. They found other humans in their local neighborhood who had been transplanted there by Precursors. They eventually found other alien species as they explored and colonised the galaxy, most of them very different (and indifferent) to humans. But inter-human politics never really changed, there was the usual stories of heroes, tragedy, discovery, war and politics as Terrans tried to create a unified federation. But they were not greatly successful, and so other great powers of the Milky Way often looked down on humans.

However on a sub-galactic level, nations like the Fjord league discovered their own roles to play in the galaxy. The League became famous for their geoengineering technologies. By the 26th century however, a tragedy occurred on Earth that required it's abandonment. Humans created the Jovar for unknown reasons around the same time.

28th century
Earth re-entered the galactic scene in the 28th century, when the Jovar had found some old cities on Earth while searching for their creators. Archaeological interest gathered members of the Seven Starr Alliance to explore the Sol System with evidence of Precursors in the past. With Earth seemingly safe to visit again, some human factions also returned, such as the Yamato establishing New Tokyo as the capital. During the beginning of the Imperial Civil War, the Jovar who requested help from the Seven Starr Alliance to defend Sol.

The Fjord League also returned to check up on the ecological status of Earth, which had improved once more to Pre-Industrial levels. But with the outbreak of the New Grox Wars, a joint-human task force from across the galaxy was distracted from defending low-use worlds like Earth while the Jovar suffered the worst. This left the small group of care-takers tasked with monitoring Earth exposed...

Political Divisions
The Fjord League is a federal union of all the states that chose to join it, and so all those states (now called provinces) have a certain degree of autonomy to function by themselves, although they all fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government.

Provinces:

Relations
Unified Nations panel - Humanity's goals are strong as a United Federation of Nations
 * Pacific Overseas Territories and American Treaty Organization -
 * European Star Republic - Shame we had a short era of conflict.
 * Kindred Coalition - We have had a long-standing friendship with our neighbours.

Alliances and warm relations
 * Milky Way Cooperative - We enjoy contributing our geotechnical knowledge with great benefits in return.
 * Especially the Ectobiomality, New Eridani Confederation, Uplifted Cetacea expanse
 * Euraspact - We look down on your imperialism but both our nations survived by innovating in the energy revolution.

Neutral
 * Yamato Stellar Empire - ''We do not like your intentions or government. But we hope you will change."
 * Republic of Texas - You are a throwback to the 20th century and refuse progress. Enjoy your oil-laden lungs!
 * Delpha Coalition of Planets - Many things can be said about the DCP. We don't think the best of them, but both our involvement with the Civilisation is satisfactory.

Enemies
 * Imperial Ottoman Directorate
 * Neoviking Pirates - Some, but not all of them are criminals who bring us shame, those who are pirates dressed up.
 * Grox Meta-Empire remnants - We have made sure you will never attack us again. Never more.

Interest
 * Milky Way Precursors - Although gone, archaeology has yielded ancient connections.