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Laconia is Mars. The Martian ideal taken to the next level.
Winston Duarte, Persepolis Rising

The Laconian Empire is a sovereign authoritarian colonial empire that encompasses the totality of human-controlled star systems, spreading across the Milky Way galaxy.

With Mars in decline a large force of Martians abandoned their planet and nation taking much of the navy with them to found the new Empire. Unlike the Martian Congressional Republic which was a militaristic nation under a democracy the Laconian Empire took the Martian ideals but under a Dictator instead of democratic government.

It was formed as a despotic state and developed into a massive colonial empire.

History[]

Breakaway Martian fleet[]

Knowing that the colonization of the worlds beyond the Ring gates would lead to economic disaster for Mars, MCRN Admiral Winston Duarte secretly organized a secession from the MCR (Martian Congressional Republic) by a significant portion of the MCRN (Martian Congressional Republic Navy).

After a Ring Builder shipyard was discovered in the Laconia system by an MCRN probe, Duarte and his most loyal secessionist conspirators used their ranks and positions within the MCRN to keep knowledge of the existence of Laconia station from leaking to the rest of the MCRN or MCR government. Sole access and control by the secessionists to the advanced builder technology and materials on Laconia station would allow them to upgrade their existing fleet and create new ships which would incorporate advanced Builder technology at every level, following the MCRN preference for overcoming disparities in total fleet size by maintaining a technological edge in ship design.

Breaking away from the Martian Congressional Republic could not succeed if the rest of the MCRN and UN (United Nations) fleets were able to intervene. To prevent this, Duarte contacted many of the more radical factions of the OPA (Outer Planets Alliance), including the Marco Inaros faction, and secretly supplied them with intelligence, materials, and numerous smaller MCRN ships. With the radical OPA factions united under Marco Inaros, the Free Navy would launch a Belter war against their traditional oppressors in the Sol system. This war would occupy the MCRN and UN fleets in Sol system and allow the Laconian secessionist ships loyal to Duarte to move towards the Slow Zone and the Laconia System uncontested.

Up to a third of the entire MCRN fleet, including the Donnager-class battleship Barkeith, joined this First Fleet. The Barkeith did not make it into the Laconia System as it was destroyed in a Ring gate anomaly.

Free Navy Conflict[]

Main article: Free Navy Conflict

With the establishment of the Free Navy and the defected MCRN forces in the Laconia System, Winston Duarte proceeded to establish a new government on the planet Laconia with himself as High Consul. Within months the shipyard at Laconia Station was functioning and had launched its first ship, the Proteus. This ship was used to transport rail guns to the Slow Zone where they were installed on the Ring Station to ensure the Free Navy could hold on to the Slow Zone for as long as possible before the Sol powers would inevitably retake it.

When the Free Navy forces were defeated, the newly formed Empire of Laconia sent a repeating broadcast through the Laconia Gate warning all ships not to enter or be destroyed. All probes sent through the Laconia Gate in the following years were either disabled or destroyed.

Isolation Period[]

For three decades the Laconian Empire continued to develop as a police state consisting of the Laconia System and its residents. The police state itself usurped control from a research settlement present in the Laconia System before the arrival of Duarte's breakaway MCRN fleet. For thirty years, travel through the Laconia Ring Gate was prohibited and a veil of secrecy was enforced.

Third Battle of Medina Station[]

Main article: Third Battle of Medina Station

After years of developing and testing the Magnetar-class battleship, the Heart of the Tempest, from the Orbital construction platforms, the Laconians announced to Medina station that they would be entering the slow zone and planned to pacify all forces. When the Tempest with the Gathering Storm entered the slow zone, it disintegrated the Tori Byron with its Magnetic field projector weapon, after which Laconian Marines in power armor boarded Medina station. With this, the Laconian Empire took control of the Slow zone.

Laconia-Sol Conflict[]

Main article: Laconia-Sol Conflict

After discovering that the gamma rays caused by a magnetic field projector weapon could prevent any ship from making transits through any Ring, the Laconian empire moved up its plans to take the Sol system, attacking earlier than originally planned.

The Laconia Empire was unmatched in the Sol system, with the Heart of the Tempest under the command of High Admiral Anton Trejo. During the Tempest Jovian battle, it decimated the fleets of the Earth-Mars Coalition and the Transport Union with its alien regenerative outer hull and weaponry. As the Tempest entered the Belt, it eliminated Pallas. The destruction of the asteroid resulted in a three minute time skip by the Unknown Aggressors and the Tempest to retreated from the battle.

The conflict ended with the Battle of Point Leuctra, where EMC fleet forces and Transport union forces made a final stand against the Heart of the Tempest with a nuclear strike against the lone Laconian ship. Even with this, the Tempest survived and defeated the remaining Sol forces. This resulted in Earth, Mars, and the Transport Union surrendering to the Laconian Empire.

Human empire realized[]

Having conquered all of human-controlled space, the Laconian Empire set itself up as the primary power in control of human civilization in its entirety. Over the course of four years, Laconia became the center of humanity, with centers of culture, science, and entertainment. The Laconian Empire empowered the new Association of Worlds and the old Transport Union and had their headquarters moved to Laconia Capital City.[1]

Slow Zone Catastrophe[]

Main article: Slow Zone Catastrophe

A weapons test in the Tecoma System against the Unknown Aggressors backfires for the Laconian Empire as the system's neutron star collapses and releases a gamma-ray burst that enters the Slow Zone. This causes a time skip during which all human structures in the slow zone, including Medina Station and the Eye of the Typhoon, are destroyed.

Back on Laconia, High Consul Duarte was also affected by the time skip, as he had been injecting himself with the Protomolecule for several years. Duarte was left comatose, unable to communicate with anyone, and seemingly reacting only to nonexistent things around him. Admiral Trejo returned to the Laconian Empire as Acting High Consul while Duarte's ailment was kept secret from the general public.

Underground-Laconia Conflict[]

Main article: Underground-Laconia Conflict

The Slow Zone had become too dangerous for humans to permanently stay in and the Laconian Empire lacked the ships required to guard all the gates from the other side. Destroyers were sent to the more important systems, but their navigation beacons in the Slow Zone were continually destroyed by the Underground.

In the Sol system, the stolen destroyer Gathering Storm engaged the Heart of the Tempest drawing it into a trap that destroyed the battlecruiser, greatly diminishing Laconian power in Sol. This was witnessed by the entire system and encouraged dissent against the Laconian Empire.

The Underground then used this morale-boosting event and weakness in the Laconian Empire to launch a major offensive with a fleet of over two hundred ships. They entered the Laconia System and managed to draw off the last remaining Magnetar-class battleship from Laconia allowing a four-ship wave to destroy Laconia Station and with it the Laconian Empire's ability to produce new vastly-superior ships to those used by the rest of humanity.


the Ring gates would lead to economic disaster for Mars, MCRN Admiral Winston Duarte secretly organized a secession from the MCR (Martian Congressional Republic) by a portion of the MCRN (Martian Congressional Republic Navy).

This fleet participated in the Battle for the Sol gate attacking the unsuspecting UNN battleships from the flank. The fleet then proceeded into the Ring space and traversed to the Laconia gate after warning the Free Navy that the other side will be mined. The Barkeith did not make the transit as it fell victim to the Ring network anomaly and was destroyed by the Ring Entities.

Personnel had already landed on the planet Laconia and had begun preparations to operate a Ring builder station, as well as using the stolen samples of the Protomolecule provided by the Free Navy.

On Laconia an already existing science misson was on the planet when the military arrived. These people were incorporated into the new nation, and Laconian soldiers would also partake in teaching school classes.

Using materials from Laconia the Empire built six heavy railguns and provided them to the Free Navy to fortify the ring space.

Experiments were being formed by the military on the ringbuilder station in orbit over the planet, and after they successfully activated it their leader Winston Duarte denied further requests from the Free Navy to aid in their war; telling Marco Inaros that all future comms requests would be denied and that he was a useful distraction but no longer needed.

Structure[]

  ?  This section's content needs citations, references, or sources.

The Laconian Empire is a totalitarian dictatorship in which all institutions are following the orders of High Consul Duarte, who rules with absolute authority. Duarte considers himself uniquely qualified to control the future of the human race. Purpose of the Laconian Empire is it to unite the divided humans in all systems and avoid, according to Duarte, inevitable wars over ownership of the Slow Zone. To avoid the inevitable infighting upon his death Duarte lets himself get injected with a highly experimental serum on protomolecule basis, that is supposed to grant him immortality.

The entire state is built almost exclusively around the military, reminiscent of their namesake the fabled Spartan state and not surprising considering that virtually all members of the fleet were either military personnel themselves or relatives of such. Though it should be noted that other non-military branches such as the Laconian Science Directorate or Laconian Survey and Exploration Directorate are mentioned to exist. It seems that over time, Laconia has expanded and become less and less militaristic with more civilian branches. Nevertheless, the Laconian Navy is woefully small, considering the vast expanses of hundred of systems that need to be controlled.

Official media is heavily censored and controlled, with civil rights almost entirely non-existent.

Technology[]

In addition to the initial MCRN technologies they brought with them, the Laconians have inherited, replicated and in some cases improved upon Ring Builder technologies. These include Duarte's personal protomolecule-derived enhancement serum, the protomolecule derived Magnetar-class battleship and Pulsar-class destroyers of their Imperial Navy, and Ring-Builder-designed directed energy weapons, self healing armor, and antimatter power sources, among other devices. Existing Ring Builder artifacts in the Laconians' possession include the Laconia station shipyards and, briefly, the Adro Diamond. As well as Ring Builder technology, the Laconian empire made vast improvements on existing human technology, particularly in naval areas, such as 'frictionless' railgun ammunition and greatly increased missile capacity in its warships.

Timeline (Presumed)[]

  • 2358/2360-Laconia enters exile
  • 2389/2390-Laconia reveals itself to the interstellar community, coming out of exile.
  • 2394/2395-Laconia becomes the center of culture, art, science, and entertainment for the Interstellar Human Community

See also[]


References[]

  1. The Expanse Novel Tiamat's Wrath - Prologue: Holden
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