Free Systems Alliance / FREESYSTEM

The Free Systems Alliance (FSA) is a collection of ideological radicals striving to create a society of independent liberated peoples across the stars. Made up of anarchists, environmentalists, industrial unionists, and a broad variety of ideological strains; the FSA is a largely decentralized organization functioning as a confederation of peoples from across the known universe.

A Hazy Founding

Though the founding of the organization is not fully known, the earliest recorded mention of the FSA can be traced back to graffiti scrawls in the Nyx System around the time of 2660. Drawn to Delamar in the wake of the founding of Levski, it’s broadly accepted that the group was made up of militant sections of marginalized people & workers seeking to avoid the oppression of the United Empire of Earth. The Free Systems Alliance participated in efforts with the broader People’s Alliance of Levski to support the establishment of the port of Levski, but broke away from the group around 2713 when it became clear that the People’s Alliance was more interested in creating its isolated pocket of freedom than with the liberation of all peoples from the oppression of the UEE and other empires.
Seeking to pursue a policy of greater liberation for not only humanity, but for Banu, Xi’an, and Tevarin alike, the FSA set out from Levski with a platform which rejected projects of freedom that were confined to any borders.

Toward Confederalism

From 2713 forward, the FSA has operated in a clandestine manner with little published information on the location of its members or gatherings. Though founded as a singular group in Levski, the organization has grown to become a confederation of peoples from across the ‘verse. While names & information of members remain obscured, the organization has been willing to publish the names of local groups who claim affiliation with the FSA; notably “Tanaka’s Vengeance” claiming origin on Borea, the “Ghosts of Garro II” a successor group to Tide (who was instrumental in the Garron II uprisings), and the Tevarin “Children of Kaleeth”. Over the next 200 years, the alliance would operate in a secretive manner, on occasion claiming responsibility for anti-Imperial actions across the UEE or the fringes of the Xi’an Empire; with glimpses of black-clad figures instrumental in uprisings, and their white cog & crescent logo tagged on the side of burning military vehicles.

A Century of Calm

With the downfall of the Messer regime in 2792, the organization endured a century or so of relative quiet compared to the 2 centuries which came before. While their presence as a revolutionary group proved instrumental to opposing the rampant authoritarianism of the Messer era, the group claimed responsibility for only a scant few number of actions between the end of the 28th and beginning of the 30th century; their symbol instead showing up mainly in acts of industrial sabotage against the massive Corpos and on food & supply shipments to remote worlds often cut off from regular UEE trading routes.

A Legitimacy Crisis & the FSA Resurgence

As the universe entered the 2920s, the FSA’s symbology became increasingly prevalent among the industrial & resource worlds of the UEE. The stalling of the SynthWorld project and its economic impacts upon the UEE, led to increased levels of income disparity between the empire’s wealthy and its working classes; something which proved instrumental to a renewed FSA presence. With an increased number of Vanduul raids upon human worlds and a major economic decline, the frequency of FSA sightings has increased over the past 30 years. Along the front between the Vanduul and the UEE, sightings of the cog & crescent have been reported in some settlements and space stations which have been victims of Vanduul raiding. Additionally, the past 20 years have brought an increased amount of grain & arms entering the UEE & Xi’an markets bearing a stamp of the infamous cog & crescent.