Society of St. Andreas

Society of St. Andreas
State Profile
Founding Year	2830
Capital world:	St. Timalin
Controlled system(s):	1
Government
Head of State	Prior General
Military
Army	Pontifical Swiss Guard
Military Intelligence	Holy Alliance (Santa Alleanza)

History

The Society of St. Andreas is a religious movement formed in the aftermath of the Amaris Civil War in 2765, pledged to protect what remains of the Vatican Secret Archives (Archvium Apostolicum Vaticanum) and the vast resources of the Vatican Library (Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana). There are at present over 16 million living on the world of St. Timalin, along with a few thousand on each of the moons orbiting the planet, St. Chaeryl and St. Daniel.

The origins of the Society begin with the order of Pope Clement XX to remove the Vatican Archive to the Ducal Palace on Alarion. Over the course of a year, the vast majority of the Vatican Library and the Vatican Secret Archive, including paintings, sculptures, and hundreds of thousands of books, artifacts, scrolls, and scientific research, were smuggled off of Terra. Aware that Amaris had instructed his intelligence services to recapture the Vatican Library, the Swiss Guard proposed moving the entirety of the library deep into the Periphery until the Amaris Civil War had reached its conclusion. By December 2766, the Swiss Guard collected their families and as many refugees as possible on three Star Lord-class Vatican JumpShips and abandoned Alarion. Their course from Alarion to St. Andreas is largely unknown apart from two uninhabited worlds in the Free Worlds League – one of which produced a prayer card for the funeral of Oberst Kosovskaia – and the existence of a mass grave marked by a large ferro-aluminum crucifix on Algenib. Notable in the mass grave was the burial of a Swiss Guard in full regalia, which genetic testing later proved to be the body of Brunegg.

Though it is unclear from the Interstellar Expeditions report why they stopped at this particular system, by 2768 the Swiss Guard had reached St. Andreas, quickly naming it after their former Oberst; spectrographic data from the IE discovery of St. Andreas in 3032 suggests that the deep black flora of the planet would prove useful in hiding any evidence of settlement. It remains unclear when Kosovskaia was declared a saint, though such a declaration implies contact with what remained of the Catholic Church on Terra. The last remaining leader of the Swiss Guard – Oberstleutnant Daniel Nikolaus – deposited the families and refugees of the Swiss Guard in the St. Andreas system with strict instructions to care for all of the artifacts left to them, mostly treatises on agriculture and geology. In 3088, an uninhabited system 55 light years away was discovered to have a partial JumpSail bearing the papal arms, a potential, albeit solitary, clue as to the location of the Vatican Library and the remaining Swiss Guards.

Though very much aware of their pedigree, the Swiss Guard seemed outwardly shocked that humanity had survived the Amaris Civil War. After this revelation, the population of St. Andreas and its two outward moons cooled considerably to the presence of IE personnel and outsiders.

Evidence of the Vatican Library's presence on St. Timalin was scant, though what was present was highly prized and cared for. The moons surrounding St. Timalin evidenced a higher degree of technological sophistication due to the presence of Mule-class DropShips. To the few thousand inhabitants of each, IE observed, it was their duty to remain at their posts until the return of the Vatican JumpShips. Those present professed a belief that the three saints – St. Andreas, St. Chaeryl, and St. Daniel – would reappear when the time was right to return to Rome.

Society

The Society of St. Andreas is led by a prior general, elected from the ranks of the Swiss Guard, who serves the Society for life. The prior general has what the IE report calls near dictatorial powers over the religious, administrative, and military branches of government. The outlying moons appear to behave as communities without the need of a prior general. Monastic communities and other religious orders all exist under the protection of the Prior General, which presumes the existence of the support structure of the Catholic Church: hospitals, schools, press, charitable work, and above all missionary work.

The Society of St. Andreas conditions its citizenry with a focus on two virtues: duty and religion. Unlike the Catholic Church of New Avalon, the Society of St. Andreas does take on the characteristics of a religious order, emphasizing a monastic life among their priests and religious focused on the study of scripture and the use and making of sacred images, particularly of their three patron saints, as well as a focus on the Resurrection. Christmas – though oddly, not Easter – remains a point of emphasis within the Society, as well as Martyr's Day, which seems to honor both St. Kosovskaia and Pope St. Clement XX. Masses on Christmas Day and Martyr's Day are led by the prior general himself.

Unlike the Swiss Guard of the fifteenth century, priests and religious are permitted to serve in the ranks of the Swiss Guard, though it is unclear when this tradition was developed. Devotion to the three Swiss Guardsmen charged with protecting the Vatican Library – Oberst Andreas Kosovskaia, Oberstleutnant Chaeryl Brunegg, and Oberstleutnant Daniel Nikolaus – is prevalent among the entirely Catholic population, revering each as saints.

The vast majority of the population on St. Timalin is located near Calvary Hill, a city that is mostly preindustrial and powered by what appear to be coal-fired power facilities. Central to Calvary Hill is a massive stone keep sheltering a Mule-class DropShip still bearing the pontifical coat of arms of the Holy See.

Technology

The most advanced weapons systems understood by the Priory itself seem to be their pristine Mauser 960 assault rifles, which the Swiss Guard actively and competently use for training. This not only suggests that parts for such weapon systems can be reproduced, but that ballistics and ammunition are in equal supply within a population only known to use coal-fired power plants. The DropShips on St. Chaeryl and St. Daniel are also well maintained according to the detailed instructions left behind, both of which are Star League–era technology and continue to maintain both life support and fusion power despite being three centuries old, with domes surrounding each Mule-class DropShip.

While IE was unable to detect radio or HPG transmissions from St. Timalin to the two moons, clearly both moons remain in contact with the Priory. There is evidence that the Priory has in its possession holographic projectors that can recreate images of the Vatican before the Amaris coup as well as images of the Society's patron saints. The presence of monastic communities and religious orders suggests some degree of sophistication with regards to the works of the Church: hospitals, schools, charitable works, missionary activity and so forth. Unfortunately, the IE report does not provide much if any insight, perhaps due to the distrust exhibited by the Society after they were made aware of humanity's survival off world.

Most importantly to the IE, the existence of the Vatican Library and the Vatican Secret Archives on St. Andreas would present itself to be more than just a historical artifact. The Vatican Archives would not merely include renaissance art and ancient manuscripts but as those familiar with the Vatican Library would know, would also include up-to-date Star League–era scientific research and development. The presence of a handful of agricultural and geological texts not commonly thought to be associated yet most certainly included with either the Vatican Library or the Vatican Secret Archives suggests that the contents of neither were limited to theological matters.

Military

The remaining Swiss Guard on St. Timalin consist of approximately one regiment, trained ostensibly for the return of the Swiss Guard DropShips and their eventual return to the Vatican on Terra. Much of St. Timalin's industry consists of agrarian pursuits in the deep black and purple forests of the planet. Small tool shops are utilized to repair the slowly failing and ultimately cannibalized DropShips, though this indicates a higher level of technological sophistication than anticipated. There is no mention in the Interstellar Expeditions report of the presence of 'Mechs of any kind, nor is there evidence of aerospace assets, conventional weapons, or weapons of mass destruction.

Industrial Centers

Calvary Hill remains the center of industrial production for much of St. Timalin, though it is unknown how much industry is dispersed among the population. While the IE report leaves unclear the actual degree of technological sophistication the Society of St. Andreas may actually possess, there is little evidence that any of it is employed in any meaningful form.

Relations

The practice of conferring sainthood upon a Catholic is not something the Society of St. Andreas would have done of its own accord were it operating independent of the Holy See. Such an act implies some degree of connection with the Catholic Church on Terra, as they would be the only true and legitimate Catholic Church that would be recognized by the Swiss Guard. Another indicator is that new priests would have to be consecrated by bishops appointed by the Holy See; new bishops would have to be appointed (or at the very least in extreme conditions confirmed) by the pope himself. Though not explicitly stated in the Interstellar Expeditions report, such telltale signs indicate that the Catholic Church does have some degree of contact with the Society of St. Andreas. While the IE report indicates that the Priors General were shocked to discover there were not only survivors after the Amaris coup but a schism between the Catholic Church and the Church of New Avalon, the question remains as to whether or not heads of specific religious orders – particularly the Society of Jesus (Jesuit), the Order of Preachers (Dominicans), or the Orders of Friars Minor (Franciscans) among many others – would have knowledge of this through the presence of a papal nuncio attached to the Vatican Diplomatic Corps. The high likelihood of the presence of Jesuit adjudicators or of cardinals in pectore assigned to or located on St. Andreas remains probable.

It is unknown what sort of contact the Society of St. Andreas has with the Marian Hegemony due to the Swiss Guard's presence on Algenib in 2768, or whether the Marians had any knowledge of the presence or existence of the Society before the publication of the IE report in 3095. Both the Society and the Hegemony use Latin as their official language.

While initially the IE contact with the Society in 3032 was positive, relations cooled quickly among the population once it was discovered that humanity had not only survived but was still resolving the aftermath of the Amaris Civil War. The duty to remain prepared for the return of the Vatican JumpShips remains imperative for the Priory.

Bibliography

• Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2
• Interstellar Expeditions: Interstellar Players 3