Rafa Ascendent

Rafa and Speio were founded as a joint Russian colony before the Scream. Rafa now has the best shipyards in the sector, surpassing the Osario Belt in expertise although still less in output. The Rafa government and military has a reputation of cold efficient calculation in their dealings. Rafa military ships are now much more common across the southern star systems than Cobalt naval ships. The two factions share a generation-old alliance that increasingly appears to be little more than a cursory agreement.

Territory
The home twin white-dwarf system is solidly under the control of Rafa, including the rural world of Speio. The twin dwarfs result in a smaller gravitational well for slipstream space, and has encouraged starships to frequent the system to refuel and trade as it only takes 12 hours for a class-1 slipdrive to clear the system. Rafa also sits upon the charted access between the Spine and the Rimline -- any traffic heading towards the Spine and Cluster passes through Rafa.

In 3199 Rafa Ascendent founded a nearby colony on the abandoned world of Alcantara. This world was previously claimed by the Guo Yinn Union before the Rimward Flu decimated that colony in 3192 and it was abandoned. The competing claims have not been settled.

Relationship with the Arcadia
Unclear, as the Arcadia has not had any interaction with this faction.

Vladimir was a former naval officer who abruptly departed Rafa space in the summer of 3199 after the incident at the Project Shield test facility.