Arellia

        Arellia is a society of militaristic mice with a penchant for order, justice, and discipline. Though they will vigorously defend their homes and interests, as well as those of their allies, they show little interest in colonizing and will not attack if not provoked. Arellian culture is governed by military protocols; “civilians” are limited to the very young and the very old. Their society runs similarly to a network of cooperative bases, and different military branches have expanded to take on roles traditionally viewed as civilian enterprises. The result is an organized, efficient society with no tolerance for criminals or shoddy worksmanship. Patriotic pride holds Arellian goods and services above other races’, and commerce with other worlds has suffered somewhat by the lack of interest in imports – especially those not ferried in by Arellian Merchant/Marines. This pride also extends to their service record – though Arellia maintains the largest standing army and operating fleet in the Alliance, very few Arellian youths opt to serve their country through SpaceFleet.

        This – and the superpower’s tendency to square off against the larger Platyrian Empire, often in defiance of Alliance edicts, over matters ranging from minor breaches of protocol to territorial violations and matters of interstellar law – has led the Alliance to wonder if it risks losing Arellia as an active member. Ambitious campaigns aimed at recruiting Arellian cadets into SpaceFleet have been launched, and measures put in place to minimize the loss of Arellian commanders at the end of their tours of duty. Incentives aimed at keeping the mice in SpaceFleet and away from their homeland forces include high-ranking placement, accelerated advancement, and the choice pick of missions. Mid-career retirements and honorary discharges have all but ceased, in an effort to capitalize on Arellians’ pride in their honor and military standing.

        Despite fears of losing Arellia’s alliance, teams of Arellians and Alliance researchers continue to make breakthroughs in the realms of science and technology, and many within the federation of planets believe this relationship – if not a military alliance – will survive whatever else may come.

        And while I did not plan this, a comparable real-world analogy to extraterrestrial politics in this series comes to mind. Arellia would be the American military. Not necessarily the United States as a whole, but definitely our military mindset, minus the seven hundred dollar toilet seats. The Alliance would fill the role of the United Nations – a conglomerate of capable worlds/nations banded together to better respond to galactic/worldly events. The Platyrian Empire would, of course, fit the bill of the USSR, given that Arellian/Platyrian relations are somewhere around what American/Soviet ones were in the 1980’s. The two aren’t exactly at each other’s throats, and the threat of war isn’t as severe as it had been, with both superpowers making a big show of trying to get along and cooperate, but they’re still making the rest of the kiddies uneasy. I’m not certain if this places Vyceria in the role of Chechnya or East Berlin, but I’ll bet you this: if the analogy’s “Iron Curtain” were to fall, you may rest assured it would land squarely on Drake, because I’m just vindictive like that.