Editing Lunar Reckoning 69 (section)

== The Setting ==

The "Lunar Reckoning" itself began after the Lunar Revolutionary War of 2154, a massively destructive conflict which killed over one billion people across the solar system. The first war fought in space, numerous atrocities were committed by both sides, but foremost among them was the deployment of Relativistic Kill Vehicles against the Earth by Lunar Republic leader Leon Naples...mere minutes after Earth's government ATLAS surrendered and declared the Moon its own nation!

In 2155, the shattered governments that remained - ATLAS and its subset the Martian Terraforming Administration on one side, the Lunar Republic and the Jovian Dominion on the other - formed a new interplanetary government known as the Union, and declared 2155 to be year one of the so-called Lunar Reckoning. The ecological damage the Earth sustained became the focus of the Union's economic activity, and today nearly all of Earth's population lives in so-called "Megacities".

Though the Union strives for peace, war has continued unabated against nationalists, NGOs, subversives, armed warlords...but today, the game has changed. In LR 59, at the end of the Last Colonial War, an APU pilot known as the "Blue Magus" declared herself independent of any nation, corporation, or army. She began a new era of conflict, where elite pilots with modular, heavily modified APUs turn the tide of battle toward their own philosophy and ideals...whatever they may be.

In her honor, they are known as Mages.

'''Some more specific notes:'''
* '''Earth''' is where most people still live, and is slowly recovering from the damage caused by ecological neglect, conventional warfare, and the RKV attack. Almost all of the population now lives in the Megacities, self-sufficient environments which produce their own resources and stretch both vertically and horizontally. Due to the collapse of nation states during the Lunar Revolution, most Terrans think of themselves as citizens of an individual city or geographical area rather than of a nation. The Union struggles to keep the peace, nationalist forces fight for their freedom from the Union's system, and subversives seek to destroy both in favor of their own order.
* The '''Orbital Colonies''' were built in the 21st and 22nd centuries by ATLAS. Envisioned as mankind's future alongside Mars, the Colonies instead became known for their aristocracy, as the rich moved into the climate controlled, perfectly planned and maintained habitats. The machines used in colony construction eventually led to the APU. The Colonies are also known for an underclass who struggles for recognition. A series of conflicts called the Colonial Wars was directly responsible for the emergence of Mages.
* The Moon, better known as '''Luna''', has declined since the Revolution. Most of its inhabitants live in domed cities or deep subterranean habitats for protection against solar rays. The colony predated ATLAS and the emergence of this autocratic authority caused the Lunar citizens to suffer more and more, especially as ATLAS used it as a dumping ground for 'undesirables' in Earth's population. Even though its heyday is gone, there are still those who fight for the Republic that barely was, and Its citizens are known largely for being unusually tall, graceful in low gravity, and general exuberance.
* '''Mars''' was the focus of ATLAS' efforts and the birthplace of the APU. Still undergoing the terraforming process, Martians live in towns and suburbs and cities, travel along immense freeways in cars and 'cycles, and come into conflict - street gangs, modern-day cowboys, and thieves prey the Martian frontier. A group called Free Mars desires independence and comes into conflict with MarsSec, the Martian police and military organization...but the two of them as often work together as not to protect the Red Planet from threats!
* '''Jupiter''' and the asteroid belt are the frontier of mankind's future, and the lynchpin of its resource gathering efforts. The beginnings of the Jovian colonies are shrouded in mystery, as the Jovian Dominion hid themselves for decades before revealing their existence to Earth and ATLAS. Today, Jovians are known for their eccentric natures, the extravagance of their colonies in orbit and on the Galilean moons...and the hard life they lead in the Belt, full of pirates and secret organizations that prey on asteroid miners!