The Houses of Tapani - The planets of the Expanse are governed by the Tapani noble houses, each one made up of several families and each family having nobles of different ranks.  Lords/Ladies are the upper echelon of society.  They own substantial resources and control large portions of government, both within their own house and with sector-wide decisions.  Barons/Baronesses also hold significant assets of their houses and are the lowest rank to carry full hereditary titles.  Knights may come from many walks of life, including commoners.  Only if a knight was born to a significant family will they be allowed to ascend to a Baron.  Knights are addressed as Sir or Dame depending on gender.  While etiquette is important among nobility, a simple "My Lord" or "My Lady" will usually suffice if one does not know the rank of the other.  Each house controls a particular region or province within the sector and are responsible and obligated to defend it.  To do so each house has a navy and an army referred to respectively as the House Fleet and the House Guard.  There are seven houses indicated by their crests above; to learn more, select their house crest.

The Government - While the individual house territories are governed internally, the Expanse at large is controlled by the Great Council (with over 2,000 members) which convene on the sector capital of Procopia.  Each house receives a number of votes based on the total population of its province and none of the houses carry enough votes to completely dominate the government.  In order to get their own way, houses form alliances called coalitions with each other to accumulate the necessary votes.  The Great Council is lead by a Prime Minister who is elected once every five years by a majority vote among council members.  Generally the prime minister is from the most powerful house of the leading coalition, but there have been times in the past where a charismatic leader was chosen from a lesser house.  Within the Great Council is the true governing body known as the Senate, which is made up of 80 members appointed by their predecessors and presided over by the prime minister.  While the Great Council is largely responsible for passing various laws and ordnances, the Senate's duty is to decide on tariffs, negotiations, taxes and armaments.  Furthermore, for dealing with foreign policy, finance, and internal security, the prime minister may bypass the Senate and take the proposals to the Council of Ten, an elite group of (actually 35) senior Great Council members.

Procopia - For thousands of years the center of the political and social game in Tapani Sector is the sector capital and neutral world of Procopia.  It is a world of the elite for the elite; its island chains are dotted with many private manors and preserves for the sector's most powerful and influential families.  One large island, Estalle Island, in the southern hemisphere is home to the Great Council.  Follow the link for more information.

The Freeworlds - A collection of worlds bound by loose agreements for protection and economic gain make up the League of Tapani Freeworlds.  The major Freeworlds lie directly on the Shapani Bypass, but there are other systems scattered around that form the entire League.  For more on the Freeworlds, select its seal above.

The New Republic - Currently the New Republic has several member systems, all confined to the Freeworlds region.  The bulk of its naval assets are deployed to Fondor, where it is planning to rebuild the shipyards that once rivaled Kuat in scale and production.  Although it is not a member system, Tallaan allows the New Republic to maintain its sector headquarters in their system in an arrangement similar to the one Tallaan established with the Empire decades before.  The New Republic has little influence on the houses with the exception of House Pelagia where the NR Navy has deployed over a squadron of warships to help its allies gain control of the Expanse.

The Empire - Since the demise of Emperor Palpatine, Tapani Sector has experienced a downhill slide.  The Empire withdrew most of its warships to help bolster defenses in the galactic core and the remaining forces were either destroyed by the rebels or were purchased directly by one of the great houses.  However, long before the Galactic Empire came into being the Expanse was considered an Empire all its own and as such the Imperial ideals are deeply rooted both in the nobility and in the commoners.  Even House Pelagia with its heavy influence from the New Republic has not embraced its supposed "equality" standards.  House Mecetti and House Melantha would gladly support a return of the Empire to the region but for different reasons.

The Mining Guild - This galaxy-wide organization has a vested interest in most companies that mine, refine or transport raw materials (rawmats.)  Although the organization itself is decentralized, it has enormous power in all of the Tapani houses and within the Freeworlds.  While the Guild focuses much of its efforts on recruiting new companies into its already burgeoning membership, it is able to provide those members with substantial assets in the form of trade fleets, political lobbying, legal representation and Guild Enforcers to protect them.

Megacorps - A number of galactic megacorporations have their home offices within Tapani Sector.  Many of them were born out of the sector itself and others chose to relocate to Tapani during the Galactic Civil War to avoid Imperial nationalization.  Some companies are sponsored by one of the noble houses while others are located in the Freeworlds.  Although many of these companies are associated with the Mining Guild, there are a number of them that are associated with other industries. 

Recent History - Shortly after the Battle of Hoth, a faction of the Rebel Alliance known as the Justice Action Network (JAN) staged an attack on an Imperial Torpedo Sphere being refitted at Tallaan, causing heavy damage.  While the Emperor had been content with letting the noble houses rule in their own fashion, this dastardly attack forced his hand.  Within months warships arrived to secure the sector; however, direct Imperial occupation was short lived, for during that same year the Emperor was killed at the Battle of Endor.  During the waning of the Empire as the dominant power in the galaxy, resources were pulled from Tapani Sector to deal with the defense of the core worlds.  In the end, the few warships left were absorbed by the local governments due to the increasing tension within the region.  With the rise of the New Republic, the Freeworlds gained more influence than ever before, with several systems becoming members.  Due largely to economic sanctions and a handful of border skirmishes, House Pelagia (with New Republic support) took back four systems from House Calipsa that it had held prior to the Great Jedi Purge: Kamper, Setolio, Betolio and Netolio.  As a result, a sector-wide recession is in effect.  Political shifts in the sector have disrupted the Mecetti-Reena-Calipsa coalition that has ruled for decades.  The government is currently deadlocked as the Melantha-Reena and Pelagia-Cadriaan-Barnaba coalition each have five votes; the Mecetti-Calipsa coalition is on the outside with four votes.