Orichalc Regional Defense Association
The Orichalc Regional Defense Association (ORDA) is an intersystem military alliance in Alpha Crucis Sector, consisting of 13 Solomani Confederation worlds near the Imperial border in Orichalc Subsector, along with Water in the neighboring Auva Subsector. ORDA member worlds agree to coordinate Navy Home Guard procurement, training, and patrols and provide mutual support in times of disaster or crisis. The alliance was founded in its present form in 1014 by wealthy and populous Cthonia (Alpha Crucis 0515), which has leveraged its leadership position to gain economic and political advantages. The association is sometime informally referred to as the Protectorate of Cthonia, a reference to a former pocket empire founded in the Long Night and also dominated by Cthonia.
ORDA worries about its uneasy position on the Imperial border. Unlike most Naval Home Guards in the Confederation, the planetary naval forces that make up ORDA include many starships and jump-capable SDB tenders giving it significant power-projection capability. ORDA’s well-trained squadrons regularly exercise with the Confederation Navy and are known for their discipline and tactical skill. Although legally entitled to such a navy by the Charter, the Cthonian armada has given cause for concern to Confederation officials.
Most worlds that belong to ORDA also advocate the Solomani Cause. There is evidence ORDA has provided covert tactical support for Solomani guerrillas operating over the Imperial border. Even within the Confederation, the growing political and military capabilities of Cthonia have made some neighboring worlds uneasy.
The Confederation might well intervene, if it were not for the Cthonian Navy's unique training methods. The Cthonians employ an innovative technique - "electro-psychoanalysis" to the popular media - which combines psychological testing with intense study of neural activity. Using this technique, the Cthonians can single out future leaders at a very young age and recruit them into military schools. As the Protectorate has recently opened the program to other Solomani worlds, the Confederation stands more to gain by leaving the Cthonians in peace.