Diplomacy

The frontier independence of Sultonia extends to its governmental structures, which are few and far between. There is oversight, of course: committees and delegates are drawn from the planet, and they fight fiercely for Sultonia’s best interests. On the ground, however, folks organise themselves. Sultonia is home to a panoply of cliques, communes, companies and concerns, many of which govern no more than a few miles of land apiece and all of which hold an equal claim to the ears of the planet’s representatives.

Political processes on Sultonia are accordingly slow and staggered affairs. But the Sultonia attitude of “make-do and mend fences” generally prevails; even the most embittered neighbours will lean on each other when a storm knocks out their shared power lines. It’s a rough system, but it works well enough.

As Sultonia develops and its population grows, thoughts turn towards the day when it is no longer at the fringe of the Alliance. Some wish to find lost home-worlds: others dream of new frontiers. The ARDENT launch is the catalyst for a generation of Sultonian navigators, scouts and survivalists to leave the hard soil and seek their places among the stars.