So picture this then, fine men and women of the fork!

It's 2015 (or 2945 in UEE time). Putting the finishing touches into place, Sailor and PF Command give the general order for the armada to advance into Orion, and certain death and war with the Vanduul. Screams of thrusters (yes I know it's space but bear with me!), the sizzling of lasers, the streaks of light and explosions, scar the blackness of space, flashing across the stars, while those few humans down below on Armitage, see naught but flickering flashes and the shriek of plummeting wreckage. Such is the fate of what lies ahead.

Now let us fast forward a few days, weeks, perhaps even months (maybe a year) and the war is over. It's mark is still visible but somehow, against all the odds, Operation Pitchfork has risen above the Vanduul menace and triumphed! Orion is liberated at last, the brutes broken and pushed beyond the boundaries of known space. Music, dance, celebrations rise from the remaining forces and a triumph of ships fly through the air of Armitage, greeted with cheers and cries of happiness from those below.

Proudly bearing his many Scars and wounds, Sailor dictates a message to Earth and the seat of UEE power. They have done, what those politicians in suits and robes have not. They seized the initiative and broke the back of the Vanduul. They have put Squadron 42 to shame. Orion is back in the fold of humanity. The reply is swift and angry:

The Citizen Fleet has made a terrible mistake and doomed humanity! They have been arrogant in their beliefs of victory and are ordered to make a full withdrawal from Orion, due it's danger, return to Earth and be placed under arrested and charged with destabilizing the State! After all those months of work and sacrifice, OPPF are nothing more than anarchists, ignorant peasants, traitors and scum to the Imperator. They should be heroes of mankind, not branded as monsters! A general meeting of the Citizen initiative is gathered. PF command explain the situation. The looks their supporters give them, is much worse than the most bitter defeat. So now PF must consider the options, how to respond to such slander?

Pack it in and begin that long trek to Earth and willingly turn themselves in? They? The liberators of Orion, the heroes of the People?!

How about flee from Orion entirely with the fleet, find somewhere else to hide from the UEE's hounding persecution? No that won't do! Not at all! What about the fates of the humans below, those they had rescued from a life of oppression by barbaric aliens? What would the UEE do to them in their absence? Torture them? Perhaps just shoot them in the head without a second thought?

Or perhaps there is a third option...it's risky, it's downright dangerous and it could more than likely lead to further warfare. Yet PF command know that they and their brethren have already been to hell and back for the people of Armitage. What's one more trip to them? They were getting a bit restless anyway.

The third option? A push for Sovereignty!! If the UEE dare not come this way for their own kin, it was the turn of the Pitchforkers to assume responsibility, to protect the system they had fought for, for so long. From a simple initiative, to fully-formed System wide Nation! Yes that would be the Ultimate symbol of defiance, a message to the people of Armitage that they are no longer alone! To the UEE, it's a message. We're always ready for one more brawl...but we ain't going anywhere!

Operation Pitchfork has come to an end.  Now in its place, The Pitchfork Republic of Orion arises to stake its claim in the galaxy...

Well there you are, that is my little premise for my idea.

The point is, if that scenario were to occur or we felt after the battle (in the unlikely event that we win), what do we do with Orion?

My answer is that we band together under a new banner and form a Sovereign Nation!

Now the mechanics for said nation, probably won't be in the beta but that's not to say that we can't have a go.

The name I chose 'The Pitchfork Republic of Orion', was simply a name I found cool sounding but I'm perfectly open for suggestions.

If we were to declare a new independent power, what kind of Government would you like it to be? And what's the name you'd call it.

This is just for fun so lets here the ideas!

I'm not expecting for too much UEE hostility. If they didn't have the time and energy to take Orion away from the Vanduul, they'd be even less inclined to try to do it when it would serve no purpose except painting them as villains. The last thing they want to do right now is inflame people's passions even more, further risking a civil war.

But I like your idea. Some people have already discussed it in the shoutbox on occasion. When (if) the day comes that we take Orion and we discover there is a power vacuum there, either because the UEE still has no interest in the system, or because they have come hostile to the movement, I for one cast my vote for the free Pitchfork Republic.

Since there is already going to be a system in the game that allows voting for the UEE elections, I wonder if we could ask CIG to implement one for a Republic if that's what we end up having to create. Though honestly, that's so much work I imagine CIG might just have the UEE shows up and helps consolidate the territory into the empire.

I like this idea. However, it would be a horrific amount of work to organize and implement.

I don't think CIG is putting in the mechanics for player-controlled systems, and I think Chris Roberts explicitly said it was something that would not happen.

On that note, sure, if the UEE goes after us, let them come out to Orion and get us. Then they can demonstrate to their own citizens that they couldn't be asked to defend Orion against the Vanduul, but were happy to do so against their own (nominally) citizens.

If they don't go after us though, I don't think we should be asking for UEE help while waving the possibility of secession under their noses.

Well not to worry, I don't expect this either . Just for fun, shits and giggles that's all.

Organisation and implementation would be daunting to say the least. But who knows? Perhaps in a couple o years post launch...

And in any case an unofficial powerbase is better than none

MattK101, do you have a reference for that statement?

Being pro-UEE, I'm against this, but as long as the colony of Orion gets rebuilt, I don't really care if it is UEE control or a free colony-state.

But since this isn't a political movement against or for UEE, I got no problem fighting tooth and nail in space against the Vanduul. What happens afterwards, we will see.

MattK101, do you have a reference for that statement?

I think it may have been the big economy post CR did this past summer  I am not 100% sure though. I do know it came up in response to fears of player groups dominating systems and forcing everyone else to stay in high sec systems

I don't remember it saying a group of players wouldn't be able to control a system. I thought it said it would be very difficult to control one and unlikely that they'd be able to control more than one...

Orion *may* be treated as a special case in order to create lore at the very beginning to encourage large scale cooperative operations as an example of what a player base can accomplish (doubtful, but plausible). But the planet not so much as player run, but player liberated and npc run.

If Orion is taken and remains independent, I think most of us would still prefer to remain on good terms with the UEE. Plus it would still be independent for the pirate Forkers among us. Sort of a neutral ground for all decent folks on either side of the law. Or turn out to be like Texas. "A Forker is a Forker," and "Don't mess with Orion."

Personally I don't think that player groups will be allowed to invade and "liberate" Vanduul territory. Perhaps there is a mechanic that has the Vanduul return after a week or so and take it back to maintain balance. But I could be wrong. Vanduul space looks pretty big. And juicy. But that may be because they need all those systems to maintain their economy so they persist within the game environment. It seems unlikely players will be allowed to break it. Of course I suppose that is what crash testing during beta is all about. And isn't part of OP:PF about seeing how much we can break?

Bacon is Life.

One of the major premises behind the game is that the PU can be affected by the players. There is also a specific example of players taking control of economic nodes in the economy post. What happens after we liberate Orion will be an interesting question, but players CAN change boundaries and economies.

I have no doubt about that. But carving out a player based kingdom would be really pushing the boundaries. Then you'd have all sorts of copycat groups trying for the same thing. And I for one would want to repeat OPPF if it was that successful. Take all Vanduul territory for ourselves.

Just pointing out that there will be a limit on how much players can impact the galactic map. How much of a limit is only a guess at this point. But no matter what, SC will be epic and so will PF.

Bacon is Life.

I don't know how anyone would be able to rally as many disparate groups together as OPPF has to do something like this again, so I don't see this being a common event threatening to destabilize the borders of space too often. We have groups that plan on actively opposing each other willing to set aside their differences for OPPF, and we've got pirates, bounty hunters, scientists, ex-military, and police units all joining up for this. The great thing OPPF has going for it is that it's a goal that appeals to anyone who is human, whatever their alignment.

This is a big thing, and I'll be damn surprised if I ever see its like again.

I don't know how anyone would be able to rally as many disparate groups together as OPPF has to do something like this again, so I don't see this being a common event threatening to destabilize the borders of space too often. We have groups that plan on actively opposing each other willing to set aside their differences for OPPF, and we've got pirates, bounty hunters, scientists, ex-military, and police units all joining up for this. The great thing OPPF has going for it is that it's a goal that appeals to anyone who is human, whatever their alignment.

This is a big thing, and I'll be damn surprised if I ever see its like again.

qft

Two points:

1) My assumption was that governance would go to the humans living in Orion already, and maybe the people who were forced to evacuate before.

2) A lot of us are really just in it for the operation and don't have much interest in becoming a new stationed  military. Also, I am pretty sure a lot of pirates will only put aside their looting and pillaging for so long. I don't want to be around when they start again.

That, and any treaties the organizations sign about setting aside any hostilities will effectively end at the close of OPPF. Not sure how many of them will refrain from shooting at each other after that.

I like to think it would maintain within Orion. Something this epic is going to leave a lasting impression on everyone involved and I'd like to think that no matter what side of the fence people end up on that afterward they would still be cordial to each other.

I would like to hope for that as well.

Yeah, I hope Orion would be a neutral ground, so to speak, in honor of OPPF.