Interest Check: Grand Space Political Setting

...okay, so maybe I've been playing a bit too much of the Wing Commander series lately. So sue me.

I'm sending out ze interest check for, as the title says, a Grand Space Political Setting. Ooooh, just that title already sends shivers down my spine. I'm interested in a harsh future not entirely unlike that of the Dune or Warhammer 40k settings, although recognizably different and unique. Actually, let's go through what I'm thinking of and what I ain't right now.

• I am interested in a very large-scale storyline here. Space empires 'n' shit, yyyyeah.
  
• I am interested in individual characters within that storyline.
  
• I am interested in a great deal of large-scale political intrigue.
  
• I am interested in the smaller-scale personal interactions between the characters. Romance is viable, as long as I can read it without turning green and gagging.
  
• I am interested in a pre-determined placement; we're all in the same boat here, literally. Actually, we're all in the same super-awesome spaceship. It might have a jacuzzi. Maybe.
  
• I am not interested in playing an Empire vs Empire game. You don't get to be the grand high poobah, and you don't get to command legions of jedi, even if that's what gets you off. You play one man (or woman) in a large and ever-expanding universe.
  
• I am not interested in a swashbucklin', rip-roarin' action-packed romp. You don't get to be an army of one, and we're not playing Star Wars. Yes there will be laser shoot-outs and space dogfights, but that's not what it's about. Space Cowboys will be shot on sight, unless "Knights of Cydonia" is playing in the background. I'll come back to that last bit later.
  
• I am not interested in mimicking or revamping any fictional universe or storyline. Despite the analogy, this isn't Warhammer 40k or Dune, so let's not have any tyrannids or Bene Gesserit please.

Now for the actual setting. Despite the huge distances we're traveling, the vast majority of everything happens inside one single ship, captained and manned exclusively by a very dangerous, very mysterious, and possibly very crazy man. The characters are effectively stuck with him in this ship for better or for worse (and whether they like it or not), and have little choice but to be party to his inscrutable plans for mankind.

The man is known as by the moniker Phoenix Hellfire, real name unknown and irrelevant. He is cunning, intelligent, and unpredictable. His past is unknown, but his record is legendary. He is a wild card, insulting and attacking all the wrong people and escaping with his hide intact every time. Every political leader knows him or knows of him, and every smuggler who is any sort of smuggler has probably had some sort of run-in with him. He is the one taking the characters on their crazy voyage.

The setting is post-earth. Predictably enough, the planet was destroyed by nuclear war. In the centuries (and possibly millennia) since then, mankind has changed considerably. Cultures have mixed and blended, racial lines have blurred and sometimes vanished, to the point that "white," "black," and "Asian" are about as close as you'll ever get to recognizable definitions. English is the primary language everywhere, although idioms and phrases from other languages have slipped into common use in different places, and are considered perfectly normal speech. Roughly ten different political entities have emerged, as follows.

• The Frontier States are the buccaneers of space, the men and women who colonize and terraform new planets for human use. They are not so much a straightforward political entity as they are a business, selling new planets for literally astronomical profits.
  
• The New European Union is the ultimate result of earth's western society. America, shriveled from nuclear war, eventually joined, but the union is primarily exactly what the title suggests: the remnants of the European nations and their culture. It is generally considered the most "civilized" of the major political entities, and maintains a military force that is strictly defensive.
  
• The People's Galactic Republic is the pseudo-communistic government that evolved from the People's Republic of China. They are extremely powerful, and still pack an incredibly amount of manpower.
  
• The Royal Russian Empire has absolutely nothing to do with Russia any more, but the name has stuck for so long that it seems permanent now. It is nowhere near becoming the empire, but it is a mighty force to be reckoned with still.
  
• The Holy Roman Catholic Church has prospered in the post-earth universe. No longer merely a church, it now governs a powerful selection of planets, and the council of cardinals governs in the (permanent) absence of a pope. They have a habit of training especially powerful religious assassins, and are locked in a perpetual struggle with the Brotherhood of Islam.
  
• The Brotherhood of Islam is the entity that resulted out of the inevitable union of the many different Islamic sects. Space has mellowed their more extreme followers, but they still send fanatical warriors to the holy war against the catholic church.
  
• The Independent Planetary Assembly is simply a gather of individually-governed planets who have gathered together to avoid being absorbed by the larger political entities. Thus far they have been successful in that much, but in everything else they are divided and are constantly arguing far too much to accomplish any greater goals.
  
• The Ivy League Alliance is something of an anomaly in the post-earth universe. Originally a society founded to preserve all remaining knowledge as the world tore itself to pieces, it has evolved into a technological superpower and now commands incredible wealth by selling its discoveries for exorbitant prices. They alone are responsible for the space-bending wormholes that allow for inter-stellar travel. They are also hardened puppet-masters, and every plot across the stars worth knowing of probably has Ivy League fingers dipped in it.
  
• The Intragalactic Neurological Network is another strange political entity. Espousing the betterment of the human body and mind, they have discovered a very basic form of Artificial Intelligence, and thus their warships are not only formidable instruments of war, but also sentient beings in and of themselves. They are also a very mystic society, and smugglers whisper rumors of strange psychic abilities lying in their augmented brains.
  
• The Clans are the semi-barbaric, ultra-militaristic forces that keep strife and warfare alive in the stars. They are unparalleled warriors, born and raised for the sole purpose of inflicting violence. Four clans exist, each with its own ominous moniker and geopolitical background on Earth: Blood Fury from the Scottish highlands, Black Angel from the vast deserts of the African nations, Silent Fang from the Norwegian warrior-myths, and Great Fist from American blood sport. They war with each other as well as with the more civilized interstellar nations, although they all share a disdain for that which is not Clan.

Tee hee, lists are fun.

Yes, I'm aware that I just turned MMA and RAW into the Mongol Hordes. Yes, I'm aware that I just turned the Catholic church into space assassins. Yes, I'm aware that this has so much offensive potential. Frankly though, if you're offended you need to take a step back and realize how awesome all of that is. All of the above are morally grey, and quite frankly the Catholic church should be flattered that they got to be so badass. I'm not using this as some kind of weird-ass commentary on society, so don't get your feathers all ruffled.

...so yeah, anything I missed? Believe me, there's a lot more I could say, but I think I'll save it for if anyone's interested. Three more-or-less dedicated contributors (i.e., active RPers) would probably be enough for me to post an actual OOC thread. Also, I'm totally aware of how cheesy some of these names are, and I did it on purpose. I like me a little cheese now and then, and Phoenix Hellfire is a bamf, so y'all's can just suck it.

Yes, I'm aware that this has so much offensive potential. Frankly though, if you're offended you need to take a step back and realize how awesome all of that is.

I don't really understand what this is, but I want in. Might I be a member of the Brotherhood of Islam? I don't think I've ever seen a Muslim character before, so that could be fun. Not that she's going to be, you know, completely traditional or anything. I'd also like to make half her face cyborg , like it was destroyed in battle (And conveinetly hidden by her Hijab), if that'll be tolerated. I'm not sure if that would put her under the catagory of 'space cowboy', but it's not like it's going to shoot lazers or anything crazy like that, it would just look cool. (Or I can not do that, whatever works.)

I've really been itching for a outerspace roleplay so, seeing as you're going to steal all the interest away from my own outer space interest check, let's hope this works!
~LittleSun1

I do think I'm interested in this. I'll give the lists a better read-through when I get home from work tonight. If I'm not dead.

Well...I'm rather up to my neck in rps, but I can't pass up the chance at some excellent sci-fi. So, color me interested.

This looks really cool

Making ze OOC thread. It is long and full of stuff.

This seems really good, and I have to get in on it. I've been lurking just waiting for something worthwhile.

This seems exactly up my ally, though when can we expect an OOC thread link?

I'm sorry, this has been delayed (but hopefully won't be delayed past tonight or tomorrow) by some personal issues. By "personal issues," I mean attempted suicide, not mine. I'll get to work on this.