Fiction:French Andromedan Colonies

"Forty years ago, we ventured to Andromeda. We had nothing: a few ships, some food, and the means to keep ourselves alive for a little while. We labored and toiled for years to build this place, and it was hard work. It puts things into perspective when you realize that we are not outcasts, criminals, or exiles. We chose that hard life, we suffered for it, we lost, and we endured. The fact that we are here today, for me, is an affirmation of the terrific qualities that define us. Because of them, and because of the friendship of our allies, we survive, and we prosper. In that, ladies and gentlemen, the ongoing Andromeda Experiment is a resounding success."

- David Favre, 2798

The French Andromedan Colonies, also referred to as French Andromeda, compose an administrative region of France located in Segmentum Draco of Andromeda Galaxy. A semi-sovereign territory of roughly 17,000 systems isolated from France for four decades, it has developed its own laws, identity, and presence in Andromeda as a member of the Andromedan Galactic Commonwealth. Frequent contact with France has only recently been reestablished, a strange reunion brought about in part by the signing of the Franco-Tybusen Accords in 2795.

Founding
"Give us the means and we will establish a colony for you where no man has gone before."

- Petition to the French Parliament, 2753

Projects for extragalactic colonization existed in France since the invention of the hyperdrive, drawing from the four corners of the Republic the rebellious and adventurous eager for a fresh start elsewhere. Most of these resulted in deep-space colonies in distant arms of the Milky Way, kept alive through timely shipments of supplies and materiel until they could become self-sustaining. In the 2740's, new plans were drawn for a completely extragalactic experiment as had never been done before by a human nation. The "Andromeda Experiment," as it soon came to be called, would require that the colonies immediately become self-sustaining with very little to no help from France.

The idea was championed by a group of private French citizens who considered themselves explorers and adventurers. They recruited experts to plan every minute detail of the project and, once it was fully-formed, they went public. Advertising through the hypernet, they managed to garner millions of volunteers from the four corners of France within a few weeks. A petition was then given to the French Parliament in 2753 for their support in the form of ships, materiel, and supplies. "Give us the means," it read, "and we will establish a colony for you where no man has gone before."

The proposal was passed both the National Assembly and the Senate after much debate and scrutiny with overwhelming public support. The Andromeda Experimenters were acclaimed as heroes. Within three years, a massive colonial fleet was constructed, complete with factory ships, deployable Dyson swarms, an armed escort, and enough supplies to last the colonials several years in darkspace. Meanwhile, French probes in Andromeda looked for suitable sites for French colonies and were programmed to relay their findings to the colonial fleet upon its arrival. After a lengthy selection process, ten million colonists boarded the colonial fleet in waves. They would be kept in stasis for two years during the lengthy voyage to Andromeda.

After much clamor and public ceremony, the colonial fleet departed from the edge of French space in 2796. The lead ships were draped in the French tricolor as a matter of ceremony. When the fleet reached Andromeda two years later, these were still perfectly intact, but had turned into a perfect, pristine white, bleached by cosmic radiation.

Through the massive amount of information gathered by French probes, the colonists were able to find eight habitable planets near to one another. These eight gave the colonists plenty of room to grow and became an essential part of their cultural identity, represented by eight stars on the Andromedan colonial flag.

A rocky beginning
Though a colonial government and constitution had been agreed upon before the voyage started, the eight colonies had little contact with each other from 2758 to 2760 as each wrestled with its own planetary environment. By 2760, the colony on Richelieu had emerged as the first self-sustaining French Andromedan colony, mostly due to its low population in comparison to the others and to the planet's habitability. Other colonies were not so well off, some on the brink of crisis. That year, the governor of Richelieu called for a convention between the different planets where they might discuss their respective problems and attempt to find collective solutions. A few days after its convening, the atmosphere of the conference had turned poisonous, with desperate representatives from each colony attempting to extricate help from the others, but nobody, including Richelieu, had the resources to spare to really do anything. After a week, the convention dissolved as, one by one, delegations stormed out of Richelieu's town hall.

A general air of mistrust persisted between the colonies for months, though the governor of Richelieu was not deterred. Slowly but surely, he worked his way into the good graces of some of the colonies and managed through these relationships to subtly mediate exchanges between colonies that needed something that was in surplus elsewhere. Near the end of 2760, things had relaxed enough that he was able to try again. A second convention met in the Richelieu town hall, though this time he made its purpose clear: they were to form a centralized colonial government. Many of the colonies agreed and called for the revival of the constitution which had been drafted five years prior.

However, when it came time to decide the capital of the colonial legislature, arguments began to arise. The suggestion had been made the Richelieu, as the linchpin, should be endowed with the honor. Others lay claim to it as well, Ida on the grounds that it was the most populated, Hamlet because it was the largest, Trith because of its position near the center, Macé because it had the least problems, and Panjas because it had the most. In the end, it was decided that the legislature should move from colony to colony every six months in order to give attention to each colony evenly.

Territory
The territory of the French Andromedan Colonies, often referred to as French Andromeda, is located in Segmentum Draco of the Andromeda Galaxy. Composed of roughly 11,000 systems, it is split up into different administrative regions similar to France's préfectures, though legally one step lower. Out of the eight original colonies settled in 2758, only four still remain inhabited, though these have grown into bustling metropolises and the center of government, society, trade, and culture. The capital of the territory is the planet Richelieu.

Notable planets

 * Capital planet symbol.png Richelieu (51 billion) - The oldest and most populous planet, Richelieu is the very nucleus of the French Andromedan Colonies. It is there that the government holds its seat in buildings like the Préfet's Office and the General Assembly. Numerous monuments stand in honor of countless heroes, triumphs, and tragedies which have become a part of the colonies' forty-year history. Thanks to intelligent policies on behalf of its governors, it has also become an attractive center of trade, hosting fairly successful markets and exchanges which draw developing tier 3 and tier 4 civilizations in the colonies' sphere of influence, though it does not come close to rivaling planets like Alcanti, Araveene, or Galactica in wealth, influence, or prestige.
 * Planet symbol.png Casse-pied (32 million) - An outpost at the edge of the Andromedan French sphere of influence, Casse-pied commands a strategic position near the DI-TIAF hyperlane from behind a massive hyperspatial fissure. It hosts a military base, important trade infrastructure, and a massive array of transwarp rings meant to propel craft past the fissure in order to merge with the main Andromedan hyperlane network. While it was originally meant for military and government use, it became an important part of trade infrastructure when it was made available to the public.

Trade routes
French Andromeda is wedged between two intergalactic hyperpowers, the Draconid Imperium and the Tybusen Intergalactic Allied Federation and as such has advantageous access to the massive trade route that connects them. A pair of hyperlanes were constructed to link the French territory to the main Andromedan trade network, A-Lane and B-Lane, giving Andromedan French ships access to nearly the entirety of the galactic inner-rim. Due to the hypersptatial landscape of the region, however, a bypass had to be created to link B-lane to the main DI-TIAF hyperlane in the form of transwarp rings in orbit of Casse-pied.

The main trade hubs of French Andromeda are in the old colonies, inviting the goods and services of merchants from across the sector, especially from nations with which it has trade agreements. The Draconid Imperium, French Quadrant Colonies, Tybusen Intergalactic Allied Federation, and Mardvaeli Republic are among the Colonies' most frequent trade partners. Richelieu in particular boasts a strong economy which has greatly benefited the growth of the colonies as a whole.

Armed forces


Flotte Coloniale The Colonies maintain a proficient and powerful military force to safeguard their interests in Andromeda. Born out of the military escorts that accompanied the first colonial ships to Andromeda, the Flotte Coloniale (English: Colonial Starfleet) fields French equipment dating back to the 2740’s and 2750’s. Given the distance to mainland France and the difficulty with which the two communicated, the Colonies kept using the technology they had arrived with even after France has adopted new materiel in the 2770's and 2780's. This divergence was intensified as the Colonies began to upgrade the old French equipment with innovations gained through their experiences in Andromeda, creating unique variants which cannot be seen anywhere else in the French Republic.

By the time of the Gigaquadrantic Conflicts, the Colonial Starfleet was caught the middle of an awkward transitionary period: As communication with France in the Milky Way became easier and less costly, especially after the alliance with the Tybusen Intergalactic Allied Federation was signed, the Starfleet began to modernize, incorporating modern French materiel like the Céleste-class and Mirage Roi alongside older equipment like the legendary Superbe-class battlestar.

Fleet
Starships=

Foreign policy
Though it is de jure a part of France, the Andromedan Colonies have acted independently on the Andromedan political scene for forty years. At first, their foreign policy was defined by its close ties with the Draconid Imperium, and then by their membership of the Andromedan Galactic Commonwealth. These dealings have taken a backseat to the national French foreign policy to the point where it can be questioned whether or not they are a sovereign player anymore, which casts a shadow on the legality and legitimacy of many of its agreements with foreign powers.

Andromedan Galactic Commonwealth
"As citizens of Andromeda, we are proud of our membership to the Commonwealth."


 * Green face.png Draconid Imperium (trade agreements, alliance)
 * Green face.png Mardvaeli Republic (defensive pact, lasting friendship, trade agreements)
 * Blue face.png Brood of War
 * Blue face.png United Free Peoples Coalition (trade agreements, trade route)
 * Blue face.png The Divinarium
 * Yellow face.png Fordan Empire
 * Yellow face.png The Hegemony
 * Yellow face.png The Coalition
 * Yellow face.png Shymiran Divisional Federation
 * Yellow face.png Solonese Union
 * Yellow face.png Liberated Zarni Sodality
 * Yellow face.png Clanden Admiralty

Allies
"We are bound to do great things together."


 * Green face.png Tybusen Intergalactic Allied Federation (alliance, declaration of friendship, access to hyperspatial infrastructure, trade agreements)

Neutral
"Hm?"


 * Yellow face.png Kicath Empire
 * Orange face.png Dominion of the Xhodocto

At War
"You have made an enemy of the French. That is not a wise move."


 * Red face.png Drakodominatus Tyranny †