Capital: Isle of Man
Population: ~44 million (mostly Human with a sizable population of Warfists at around 3 million)
Currency: The Pound Sterling
Language: English, Gaeilge, and Manx (mostly by the Warfist communities)
Government: A Parliamentarian Republic under the rule of a Lord Protector who has powers to dissolve parliament when necessary.
Cloning/Uploading Status: Cloning is limited and taxed in various capacities in the three Isle lands, but uploading is permitted with a fee.
Economic Focus: London Stock Exchange, Banking, Shipping, Manufacturing, various service industries
Military Focus: An extremely powerful maritime fleet, Iron Fortresses, The Neo Model Army and its Iron Fortresses, an independent and far-reaching Merchant Navy in both sea and space, and The Marines.
Tyxan Hybrid (Tybrid) Status: Legally recognized and protected (and shanghaied into the Navies!)
The land once known as the United Kingdom was considered a minor power by the time the System Defense Coalition was at its pinnacle. China, India, New Atlantis built in the Pacific Ocean, the various colonies in the Solar System, and the various South American countries were the real movers and shakers of the System Defense Coalition. Content with licking its wounds after playing a very major role in the last war before NATO disbanded, the United Kingdom played it low, contributing little aside from what was obligated from all nations on Earth. While this led to the United Kingdom being left behind economically as they had little space presence and were still distrusted by the other nations for the previous war, when the Tyxans obliterated the System Defense Coalition it left the United Kingdoms mostly unscathed; only London was harvested and the coastline terrorized with mutations and lab-grown monstrosities.
The British government quickly consolidated, declared martial law, and spent most of its first few decades keeping civil order and eliminating threats like Krakenoids in the sea and the London Deep Ones that emerged from the coastlines a few years after London was harvested. As resources dwindled, technology began reverting to late Cold War levels, and civil unrest increased to dangerous levels as well as a war with the Irish, the Government became even more authoritarian and militarist, putting down food ration riots with machine gun fire and flushing out Separatist cells. The Monarchy, already put on the backburner in favor of the military-Prime Minister led government, was officially disbanded as after a failed coup led by the last of the Windsor Family occurred in the light of increased power in the military and select members of Parliament. The Prime Minister, now named the Lord Protector to appease a few of the monarchists with a sense of nobility, was given more executive powers than ever before and can do virtually as they please with the Parliament, whose only real goal was to provide a sense of what the various counties had in mind and local opinion. The seeds of the Protectorate of the Isles was planted during these Dark Centuries.
When the Aeiou came to the Isles, they found a authoritarian republic with a Lord Protector residing over a pro-military parliament . While the Aeiou were hoping to bring back the monarchy like ye olden days, they knew it would be quite a pain to change a system that already is (sort of) working, so they decided to trade off the Monarchy part of the old British Empire with the Maritime stuff. Equipping the Protectorate with advanced technology, the Protectorate's navy, already formidable during the Dark Centuries against French, Germanic, and Scandinavian pirates and petty lords, became as powerful as the best System Defense Coalition's maritime fleet. A sizable Warfist population was also brought in to bring technical experience to the shipbuilding areas, notably in the heavily-industrialized and militarized capital on the Isle of Man. The Protectorate began to take their role as Earth's defenders of trade routes, whether by sea, sky, or space.
The Protectorate of the Isles is a Parliamentarian Republic ruled by the Lord Protector and their council of five hand picked Major-Generals, each representing either England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and the Isle of Man. The Lord Protector and the Major-Generals can dissolve Parliament or exclude anyone from Parliament for any number of reasons. Unlike the Greenland Sea-Cities where Parliament is ruled purely by military officers and admirals, a majority of the Protectorate's Parliament are civilians. That being said, many MPs usually try to follow the Protectorate's agenda set down by the Lord Protector at the risk of dissolution, and quite a few have ties with the military itself. Local governments are given great control of their counties and provinces; being able to form their own militia, conduct capital punishment, declare State of Emergencies, and even decide military action against anyone outside of Earth. In return, these provincial governments have to report suspicious activities to Protectorate agents, maintain any Iron Fortresses on their land, and send reports on potential and promising New Army or Merchant Navy recruits.
The Protectorate, once a recluse in the global stage when it was the United Kingdoms, is earnestly and fervently putting itself as the defender and representative of Earth's global and galactic trade. The London Stock Exchange is one of the most popular indicators of Earth's economic health, and hundreds of consultation firms, financial or otherwise, exist in the Isles to keep the goods and investments flowing. Manufacturing is also important, with the ports cities like Liverpool, Edinburgh, and Glasgow being popular stops for both repairs of ships and final-step manufacturing of various goods (both legal and illegal). Ships to and from the Atlantic that do not head in the Iberian SuperState, the Icelandic Free Association, or into the various African ports always head into the Isles. It is said that the Isles is the heartbeat that makes the global trade infrastructure of the Atlantic possible.
To protect this trade, the Isles has a powerful army and an even more powerful, utterly intimidating fleet. The Navy of the Protectorate is armed with top of the line aerial battleships that can achieve limited aerial and orbital flight, stealth cruisers, destroyers with nuclear capacities, and a Royal Marine corp armed with the best of the best in kinetic and Energy weaponry, powered armor that can skim across the sea at incredible speeds or silently swim under the darkest depths, and training in the incidents that require a more "personal" touch. Protectorate submersibles are run on AI, and are practically unmanned weapons platforms or troop transports to surprise enemies with. The Merchant Navy of the Isles are as powerful as early 21st century NATO battleships at a minimum, and many are armed and armored up to the teeth including tactical nukes. The Merchant Navy are not only a fleet of traders and cargo ships, but THE Intelligence agency of the Protectorate of the Isles, bringing in information, keeping tabs on events, manipulating said events, and on more than one occasion do black operations and wetwork missions all in the name of the Protectorate. Each Merchant Navy is a formidable agent, and most of the crew can work as their private army if need be. Dashing rogues and sinister manipulators are common themes for the individuals of the Merchant Navy.
The Neo Model Army, based on the 17th century New Model Army, is for the most part based on light mechanized infantry. Where the the Navy relied on pure power and intimidating size, the Neo Model Army relies on speed and the tenacity of the soldiers to push through regardless of challenges or cost. Cavalry Tanks, artillery barrages, and aerodyne squadrons are usually the first to engage the enemy, to soften them up in hit and run tactics and test enemy strengths and weaknesses. After the first wave retreats, Dragoon regiments speed in and make sure the enemy is not making a counter-attack and suppress them while the infantry comes in. Dragoons are the Protectorate's main Infantry Mobility Vehicle, and are very versatile in loadouts and customization; Dragoon crews are usually independent and as long as it gets the job done, it doesn't matter what they use. Once the Dragoons wreck havoc with an eclectic list of armaments and keep the enemy from pushing forward, they usually either begin flanking maneuvers or stay around to provide support for the Infantry. The Neo Model Infantry regiments, numbering a hundred each, come into battle in fast IFVs that while not as strong as Main Battle Tanks can hold their own. Equipped in combat armor and masked helmet reminiscent of the round heads of the original New Model Army, every two infantry units are equipped with assault rifles and non-reusable rocket launchers and every other infantry unit is equipped with a Lancer Rifle, a semi automatic long rifle using gyrojet rounds to punch through enemy armor. This is reminiscent once again to the 17th century version, where there was one pikeman for every two musketmen, whose task was to hold off cavalry.
Finally in the awesome arsenal of the Isles is the Iron Fortresses. While other nations have superior defenses or powerful emplacements that can shake the continents, the Isle's Iron Fortresses fits the Army's NEED FOR SPEED. Built from expensive lightweight alloys, the Iron Fortresses come in various modules and armaments that can be airlifted (with support staff inside!) by medium and heavy aerodynes or trucked by military logistic vehicles, dropped where they need to be, and can be constructed using light or even makeshift cranes with minimal training, and have enough strength to withstand a good number of tank shells. Originally created as a light rapid response emplacement that can be carried by wagon or lorry against the Londoner Deep Ones who only used small arms at best, the Iron Fortresses have been upgraded to become imposing, armored, overgunned citadels that can be built in the heat of battle and hold the line if need be, becoming a sort of futuristic blend of the castle and the Forward Outpost Base.
Amidst battling various Greeg pirate fleets that occasionally appear in colony planets and fighting oceanic terraforming wars with the Tyxans, the Protectorate has internal problems as well. Separatist and Monarchist cells have begun popping up with frightening frequency, the Krakenoids that terrorize the Atlantic are becoming more aggressive, and the AI on the newest Isle submersibles are acting....strange. But strangest of all, the Londoner Deep Ones that dwell in various parts of the coastlines are becoming smarter, using organization that isn't simply swarming with gunfire. Night raids on supply ships, bombings, and even rudimentary mechanized warfare using technical trucks and improvised patrol boats have become more common.
And on the walls of all these Londoner attacks was usually sprawled with blood messages similar to this:
"The Fisher King has been healed. The Grail has has been found."