Apilonia (Earth II)

The Kingdom of Apilonia
Flag
Anthem: I Vow to Thee, My Country Royal anthem: God Save the King!
Capital	Royal District, Seattle
Largest	Los Angeles
Demonym(s)	Apilonian
Government	Constitutional Monarchy
• King of Apilonia	William V
• Prime Minister of Apilonia	The Right Honourable Sebastian T. Barnes
Area
•	12,686,790 km2 (4,898,400 sq mi)
Population
• Estimate	22,731,4235 (2020)
GDP (PPP)	estimate
• Total	$14,163,000,000,000
• Per capita	£62,547

The Kingdom of Apilonia is a sovereign nation-state in Earth II, largey based in North America, with some territorial holdings elsewhere in the world dating back several hundred years. The modern Kingdom is a democratic state, with a written constitution and organised as a Constitutional Monarchy. The Kingdom is bordered to the North by the Republic of Skrælland, to the East by the Empire of Layarteb, to the South by the Republic of Mexico, and to the West by the Pacific Ocean.

History

Foundation of the Kingdom

The Kingdom of Apilonia is a constitutional monarchy, borne out of the Apilonia Company, a private joint-stock company formed in 1600 with the expressed goal of establishing settlements on the rumoured and as-yet unexplored Pacific Coastline of North America. The Apilonia Company faced staunch opposition from other such efforts, particularly those empowered and funded by European Kings, but was able to fund itself through a novel approach. The Chief Executive of the Apilonia Company, Sir Francis Hawkins, began to recruit wealthy, but not aristocratic, families as well as merchants and other artisans, with a promise of titles of nobility in the New World, which would have been very difficult for them to attain in their European homes. These initial investors, who put up the bulk of the funds required to build the ships and gather supplies for the expedition, would be rewarded with vast estates and titles once the New World was successfully settled, essentially ensuring that the new nation being settled would be organised as a constitutional monarchy. Although the Apilonia Expedition, as it was now officially known, was not lacking for capital, it was in urgent need of settlers, which were recruited from all over Europe.

The initial investors, concerned about retaining control of their own colony, adopted a written constitution which focused political power in the hands of the Crown and the Nobility. The large number of settlers that were required for the expedition were largely split into two classes depending on their ability to pay for their own passage and afford taxes upon arrival in the New World. Those settlers that could pay their own passage, and immediately contribute to tax revenue, received the deed for a parcel of land, with the option to pay more to increase the size of their grant, becoming the landed gentry of the envisioned Kingdom, known as Landed Yeomen. Those settlers who could not afford to purchase passage, much less pay tax immediately upon arriving, received loans from the Apilonia Expedition Trust and did not receive a land grant, instead living as tenants on the land of the Nobility or a Landed Yeoman, and became known as zero-balancers. Critically, and revolutionary for its time, all citizens held equal protections and rights guaranteed by the constitution, however the three groups formed distinct social groups. This system survived for nearly a decade after the initial founding, before a more traditional immigration policy was adopted.

The Apilonia Expedition first landed in North America in 1607, initially in Canada before exploring further westwards, settling at places like Toronto, Winnipeg and Edmonton before reaching the Pacific coastline and founding Seattle, Vancouver and Portland amongst others. In general, across this narrow swath of settlements ; expansion was quick and vigorous as Nobles and Landed Yeomen were eager to explore and settle their own domains, which meant that it was mere weeks before the Apilonian settlers came into contact with the natives. Early Apilonian history was shaped by encounters with the Native Americans that already resided in the New World, as an initially friendly meeting gave way to negative relations due to both the language barrier and cultural differences. Initial hostilities with the natives made it fundamentally clear that the Crown would need a military force of its own to defend the Kingdom, as well as to keep potentially troublesome Dukes in check out on the frontier.

Links back to the Europe, and the other places from which immigrants hailed, provided a wealth of opportunities for the Nobility, and the Landed Yeomen (many of whom were already merchants), and as a result trade became an early focus for the Kingdom. Although land trade routes would be explored and used, the dangers of crossing the vast continent encouraged most merchants to favour the sea, establishing a maritime tradition for the Kingdom, and Apilonian merchantmen were soon plying the trade lanes, particularly as early European settlers in the Far East. The now elderly King Francis identified the need to protect Apilonian shipping and ordered the establishment of the Royal Apilonian Navy, under the direct command of (and financed by) the Crown, which was formed around four frigates. The RAN would continue to grow over the following decades, in line with the expansion of the Apilonian Merchant Fleet, and was the pet project of successive monarchs after King Francis’ death in 1624.

The Rise and Fall of a Colonial Empire

The Persian Gulf

Within only a few decades of the founding of the Kingdom, Apilonian merchants were conducting a roaring trade across the Pacific and Indian Oceans, as well as with the occupiers of the coastline of the Persian Gulf. Initially these trade routes were profitable and peaceful, as they were mutually beneficial in most respects, however it soon became common knowledge throughout the region that Apilonian ships would be rich pickings, forcing the fledgling Royal Apilonian Navy to expand rapidly in an effort to counter these attacks, particularly prevalent around the Straits of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf. After a time, it became obvious that the Navy would have to institute a convoy system, as there were simply far too few Apilonian warships to go around otherwise, beginning of a long tradition of a surprising degree of co-operation between the civilian merchant shipping companies. In general, the presence of an Apilonian warship was usually sufficient to convince would-be pirates that the potential prize was not worth the risk of engaging a warship in battle, however the pirates in the Persian Gulf became increasingly audacious over the years, stretching Apilonian naval resources to breaking point.

On 11 August 1672, three years into the reign of Queen Adrienne, Her Majesty’s Ship Vigilant, a 32-Gun Frigate under the command of Captain Sir Edward Saganami, was escorting a convoy of six merchantmen when the group was set upon by five pirate vessels, including two similarly-armed frigates and three gun-brigs, outgunning the Vigilant by quite a large margin. Despite this, Captain Saganami ordered the convoy to scatter before turning to engage the pirate. After a long, complex engagement, Vigilant was able to sink one enemy frigate and two of the pirate brigs, before being sunk herself by the remaining (damaged) frigate and brig, by which point the convoy had managed to successfully scatter and suffered no losses. This engagement was reported back to the Kingdom by the RMS Prince Adrian, and Saganami would soon become venerated by the Royal Apilonian Navy, and the ‘Saganami Tradition’ is the yard-stick by which all future Apilonian officers are measured. The engagement cemented the RAN’s preeminent position within the Kingdom, and would enjoy significant funding, political and public support, until the modern day.

In the aftermath of this engagement it became fundamentally clear to Her Majesty’s Government that a permanent Apilonian naval presence in the Persian Gulf was necessary. After a failed attempt at negotiations with the Bahraini leadership, the Royal Apilonian Navy conducted a bombardment of the island followed by an assault by the Royal Apilonian Marines; securing the island within a week. After a precarious few months, the island received a full garrison and a Royal Governor, being formally declared the Crown Colony of Bahrain, shortly after which the construction of a Naval Dockyard at Manama was started. Although the establishment of an Apilonian naval base in the Persian Gulf helped matters, and dramatically decreased both the strain on the Navy and the success rate of pirate attacks, harassment by the pirates continued over the following years. After proof of a conspiracy by the Emir of Qatar to support the pirates against the Apilonian ‘invaders’ reached the Governor of Bahrain, a punitive expedition was launched that resulted in the full conquest of Qatar in 1704, which was subsequently absorbed as the Crown Colony of Bahrain and Qatar. Never the less, despite the example provided by the Qatari Incident, pirate attacks continued and soon became an unacceptable provocation to an increasingly important Apilonian presence in the region. As such, in the years that followed additional troops and guns were transported from North America into the Persian Gulf under as much secrecy as was possible.

Over the following decades the Kingdom of Apilonia fought a number of campaigns against the Pirate States in the Persian Gulf, defeating each in term and imposing harsh terms upon them for the expense, in blood and treasure, of bringing them to heel. In effect, these treaties, which included a total maritime truce (giving rise to the term, Trucial States), effectively resulted in these coastal emirates becoming Apilonian protectorates in all but name, until this was made formal in 1892. Under the terms of the various treaties, the Apilonians were able to extract a number of major concessions from these states, effectively securing the Apilonian position in the Persian Gulf, in return for a promise to protect these states after the Protectorate Treaty of 1892. As a result of the treaties, the Kingdom had almost exclusive access to an extensive market and became a major source of income for the Kingdom.

Indeed, the economic importance of the Persian Gulf to many major Apilonian trading companies, into the 20th Century, was demonstrated when, from the late 1930s, the Sultanate of Oman began to interfere, politically, economically and militarily, in Apilonian interests inside the Trucial States. This, combined with threats in the Mediterranean to Malta, as well as other Apilonian colonies, created a perfect storm that resulted in a sharp economic downturn for the Kingdom as a result of both the lost income and the increased military expenditure required to resist these attacks. This led to a series of incidents in the Persian Gulf between Apilonian warships, attempting to enforce compliance with various treaty conditions, and Omani military ships attempting to intervene. Over the following years this resulted in a steady low of influence over the Trucial States who steadily moved away from Apilonian camp, despite economic and political sanctions as a result. The Sultanate of Oman attempted a similar strategy against the Crown Colony of Bahrain and Qatar, however by this point these were long-standing Apilonian territory and a successful assimilation process had resulted in a general loyalty amongst the populous.

Despite the political defeat for the Kingdom in 1974, when the former Trucial States fully rejected their former status by joining the United Arab Sultanate, the Kingdom was still determined to maintain its influence in the region, powered by the presence of the booming Crown Colony of Bahrain and Qatar, as well as enforcing Apilonian naval superiority in the Persian Gulf. This was largely achieved by deliberately provocative close transits by Apilonian warships into Sultanate waters, as well as insisting on a (rather expensive) policy of shadowing all Sultanate naval vessels outside of their own waters by an Apilonian vessel. This occasionally led to hot standoffs, typically in which naval shore missile batteries fired a shot at an Apilonian warship only to be shot down by defensive weapons. It would only be in the 21st Century that a Freedom of Information (FOI) request revealed that Apilonian Captains were authorised to retaliate ‘in full’ if their ships were actually hit by an enemy missile. In short, the Admiralty’s position was that Apilonian weapons systems and training would be sufficient to prevent damage to their ships and that contemptuously ignoring such attacks would send the appropriate methods. This tit-for-tat provocation continued well into the 21st Century.

Government and Politics

National Government

The Crown

The Senate

The Parliament

Ducal Government

The Duke

The Ducal Assembly

County Government

The Earl

The County Council

Military, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence

Royal Apilonian Military

Main articles: Royal Apilonian Navy, Apilonian Army, and Royal Apilonian Air Force

The Royal Apilonian Military (RAM) is the military forces of the Kingdom of Apilonia, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces and the the Armed Forces of the Crown, consisting of the Navy, Army, Air Force and Coast Guard. The King of Apilonia is the commander-in-chief of the RAM, with political direction being the concern of the Prime Minister, whilst military policy is the concern of the Ministry of Defence. The RAM draws its personnel from a large pool of paid volunteers, although conscription has been used in the past it has not been required in many years although legislation remains on the books to facilitate a draft in the event of a total war situation. The Royal Apilonian Military enjoys a substantial budget, $679 billion in 2019, with significant capabilities in both defence and power projection due to its large budget, resulting in advanced and powerful technoligies which enables a widespread deployment of forces around the world.

Joint Rapid Reaction Force

Spearhead Forces

The Spearhead Forces are assets of the Joint Rapid Reaction Force that are maintained at very high readiness, typically no more than seventy-two hours, in order to respond to a crisis on very short notice. The Spearhead Forces are responsible for providing an immediate response on short notice, and preparing a landing zone to receive additional forces. The Spearhead Land Element consists of a Special Forces unit, backed up by an airborne battalion, deployed from Apilonian territory, or a Marine Commando, deployed from an amphibious assault ship, and are designed to get Apilonian boots on the ground as quickly as possible. The Spearhead Naval Element is a far more ad hoc arrangement, typically consisting of two destroyers or frigates, an attack submarine, and a Royal Fleet Auxiliary support vessel, however these are drawn from ships already underway in a given theatre, rather than ships based in home waters, to ensure a rapid response.

First Echelon

The First Echelon is a larger collection of military assets maintained at high readiness, typically between seven and ten days, responsible for following up Spearhead Forces in the event that a larger intervention is required, and is capable of unsupported operations of up to thirty days (the timeframe at which military operations are capable without Parliamentary approval). The Maritime Task Force almost always consists of a Carrier Battle Group (CBG) assigned to the theatre, although in the absence of such an asset an ad hoc force can be put together from regional forces. The Joint Landing Force is larger deployment of troops, typically either a Commando Brigade, provided by the Royal Apilonian Marines, or an Airborne Brigade, provided by the Royal Army, designed to have as small a logistical footprint as possible to facilitate rapid deployment. The Composite Air Squadron consists of fighters, strike aircraft, and support assets designed to provide a degree of air power to the First Echelon deployment, typically drawn from regionally-based squadrons.

Second Echelon

Law Enforcement

Municipal Police Departments

In chartered cities and major municipalities, law enforcement is the responsibility of a Municipal Police Department, raised and administered by the City and exercising its jurisdiction primarily within city limits. The only distinction required to operate a Municipal PD, rather than a County Sheriff, is to be a formally chartered city, technically separate from the County in which it resides. However, typically only larger towns and cities can afford or require a municipal department, and as such smaller towns and cities will typically receive law enforcement services from their County Sheriffs, although some satellite towns of larger cities contract their law enforcement to a nearby municipal department. Typically, Municipal PDs are large, capable organisations with a wide range of capabilities, the largest in the Kingdom being the Los Angeles Police Department.

County Sheriffs

Within each County, the smallest administrative sub-division of the Kingdom, law enforcement is the primary responsibility of the County Sheriff, an elected individual almost always with a law enforcement background. Depending on the County, the Sheriff may hire and deputise as many ‘Deputy Sheriffs’ as are required, meaning that Sheriff’s Offices (or, more rarely, Sheriff’s Departments) can range in size to two or three deputies to massive organisations employing thousands, such as the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. As the Country Sheriff is elected, and confirmed by the County Earl, or County Council in counties without a noble, it is the main means by which accountability of law enforcement is maintained. The County Sheriff will typically also administer a County Jail, and is responsible for the protection of Magistrate’s Courts and County Court’s within his jurisdiction.

Intelligence Services

Royal Secuirity Service

Main article: Royal Security Service (Apilonia)

The Royal Security Service (RSS)

Justice and Crime

The High Court of Justice

The High Court of Justice is the highest court within the mainstream courts system within the Kingdom of Apilonia, responsible for hearing all appeals, both Criminal and Civil, from the Crown Court, for criminal matters, and the Ducal Courts, for civil matters. The High Court also concerns itself with Kingdom-wide issues relating to Judicial Review, and cross-jurisdictional financial and corporate law, dealing with these issues at first instance.

King’s Bench Division

The King’s Bench Division is the senior division of the Apilonian Courts, serving as both a Supervisory Court with jurisdiction over all inferior courts, and as an Review Court in which the validity (in law, not in merits) of official decisions be challenged. Any official action, either by an inferior court, local authority, or Government official, may be challenged, by someone with sufficient interest in the case, by Judicial Review. This process is not an appeals process, the merits of a particular case are not considered in the Judicial Review process, instead the King’s Bench is primarily concerned with specific, typically important or potentially wide-reaching, questions of law; as such, most criminal and civil appeals are not to the King’s Bench. As a result, most of the cases referred to the King’s Bench are Judicial Review of the official actions of a Government official, in which there is sufficient question of the legality of such action to not be disposed of at a lower court. The King’s Bench is, therefore, the main mechanism by which the Government is held accountable to the rule of law.

The King’s Bench consists of fifteen High Court Judges, one of whom will hold an initial hearing to decide if the case is fit to bring before the Court (to filter out frivolous or unarguable cases), and typically up to five judges will sit on a Judicial Review panel.

Appeals Division

The Appeals Division of the High Court of Justice is, for the most part, the court of last resort for all appeals coming out of the Crown Court, as although the Apilonian Senate retains the right to hear appeals, and the Crown to commute punishment or pardon, these are treated as outside the normal judicial system (and are thus very rare). Unlike the King’s Bench, which concerns itself with appeals on the basis of points of law, the Appeals Division is more concerned about points of fact, although significant weight is granted to the ‘facts’ determined at the Crown Court. As such, appeals are typically only successful when there is new evidence casting doubt on the conviction, evidence of improper procedure or inadequate counsel, or cases in which there is deemed to be an error in the lower court’s fact-finding process.

The Appeals Division consist of a number of five regional circuits, each of which has a panel of three High Court Judges:

• 1st Circuit
• 2nd Circuit
• 3rd Circuit
• 4th Circuit
• 5th Circuit

Financial and Corporate Division

The Financial and Corporate Division of the High Court of Justice deals with Kingdom-wide business law, trusts law, probate law, insolvency, and land law in relation to issues of equity. It has specialist courts (the Patents Court and the Corporate Court) which deal with patents and registered designs and company law respectively, as well as the Tax Court. The Financial and Corporate Division works closely with the Financial Conduct Authority, the Kingdom’s financial regulator. Typically, Financial and Corporate Division judges are selected for having a suitable expertise and experience in the financial markets or a background in the financial industry.

Criminal Courts

Crown Court

The Crown Court is the highest court of first instance for criminal cases within the Kingdom, and the venue for all criminal jury trials, for determining sentences on defendants committed to them by the Magistrate’s Courts, as well as for hearing appeals against judgmenets by the Magistrate’s Courts on summary offenses. Strictly speaking, the Crown Court is one unified body which sits in dozens of locations all over the Kingdom, rather than individual instances of the Court, although they are usually termed with their location in their name; the Vancouver Crown Court, for example.

1st Circuit

• Seattle Crown Court
• Spokane Crown Court
• Portland Crown Court
• San Francisco Crown Court
• Sacramento Crown Court
• Los Angeles Crown Court
• Dan Diego Crown Court
• Carson City Crown Court

2nd Circuit

• Boise Crown Court
• Billings Crown Court
• Cheyenne Crown Court
• Salt Lake City Crown Court
• Phoenix Crown Court
• Denver Crown Court
• Albuquerque Crown Court

3rd Circuit

• Dallas Crown Court
• Houston Crown Court
• San Antonio Crown Court
• New Orleans Crown Court
• Baton Rouge Crown Court
• Little Rock Crown Court
• Tulsa Crown Court

4th Circuit

• Sioux Falls Crown Court
• Omaha Crown Court
• Minneapolis Crown Court
• Des Moines Crown Court
• Kansas City Crown Court

5th Circuit

• Ottawa Crown Court
• Toronto Crown Court
• Winnipeg Crown Court
• Calgary Crown Court
• Vancouver Crown Court
• Anchorage Crown Court

Magistrate’s Court

A Magistrate’s Court is the lowest court in the Kingdom of Apilonia, and the only level that is not, officially speaking, one court sitting at multiple locations. Almost all criminal proceedings start at a Magistrate’s Court, either by holding trials for summary offences, that is more minor crimes (such as public order offences and many traffic offences), or preliminary hearings for more serious ones, as well as some civil matters. The Magistrate’s Court hold limited sentencing powers, typically community service, fines and short custodian sentences, whilst if it is found that there is a case to answer for more serious offences (such as rape, murder), they are committed for trial at the Crown Court, which has a much wider range of sentencing powers. As a trial held at a Magistrate’s Court is before a board of two or three Magistrates, rather than a jury, defendants in some crimes (known as either-way offenses, as they can be handled at either level) may elect for trial-by-jury at the Crown Court.

Civil Courts

Ducal Courts

The Ducal Courts, of which there is one in every Duchy, is a mid-level civil court within the Kingdom of Apilonia, responsible for both hearing civil cases that have a wider applicability than a single county, hearing appeals from the County Courts, and, more rarely, hearing complaints against any Ducal Officers.

County Court

The County Court of a given county is the lowest level civil court within the Kingdom of Apilonia, and like the Magistrate’s Court is the only level that is not, officially speaking, one court sitting at multiple locations. Almost all civil proceedings start at a County Court, and the vast majority of cases are handled at this level. The County Court has jurisdiction over all civil and financial affairs, not amounting to the level of criminality, and may impose fines and various other restrictions, although not jail time.

Economy

The Kingdom of Apilonia’s economy is highly developed and mixed, it’s gross domestic product (GDP) of $14.163 trillion accounting for a significant proportion of the world GDP, and is one of the largest in the world. The Kingdom’s economy is technologically powerful, with it’s various firms and business at or near the forefront of many technological advantages, particularly in computes, pharmaceuticals and medical technology, aerospace and military equipment, due in no small part to the presence of Silicon Valley in the Duchy of California and several major military and aerospace companies, including Boeing. The Kingdom also has an extensive trade network, and is consistently high on a list of both largest importers and exporters, and maintains free trade agreements with close friends and allies. The Kingdom has been able to maintain a policy of energy independence, due to its reserves of both petroleum and natural gas.

The Kingdom’s economy is made possible by abundant natural resources, a well-developed infrastructure and high rates of productivity, resulting in high levels of median household income. The Kingdom enjoys an extensive manufacturing sector, enjoying both an internal and international market, which is also true for large services industry, as well as several major financial services institutions. The Royal Apilonia Stock Exchange (RASX) is one of the world’s largest stock exchanges by market capitalization and trade volume

Health, Education and Human Services

Healthcare

Within the Kingdom, the healthcare system is complex and is administered by the Ministry of Health, which determines overall healthcare policy as well as the provision of certain programmes. The Ministry aims to provide a baseline level of healthcare to all citizens, as well as providing medical insurance to the young, elderly, the unemployed, and any other individual without their own insurance. As a result, except in emergent cases, patients on MOH insurance will typically face longer waiting times, due to being limited in the service providers available to them, whilst those with insurance will typically have a far greater access to service providers, including both non-profit and for-profit hospitals. This allows Apilonian Doctors, particularly surgeons and those working in hospitals, to be very well-paid compared to their foreign counterparts, whilst still providing medical services to the poor and deprived. The most common means by which citizens hold medical insurance is through their employers, as its provision is a key component of most employment contracts. The Kingdom is a global leader in medical innovation, with many major hospitals also being key medical research facilities, with the Mayo Clinic, for example, being a world-renowned teaching hospital.

The Royal Community Healthcare Scheme is responsible for providing primary care and emergency medicine to all citizens, typically through Ministry of Health owned-and-operated non-profit community medical centres, particularly for primary care. The Scheme also subsidises the operating costs for ducal and privately-owned medical facilities with an Emergency Room or Trauma Centre, as well as the Emergency Medical Technician services provided by state and municipal fire departments. Due to the generally lower salaries paid to those Doctors, Nurses and Medical Technicians required to operate the Scheme, doing so is seen as a calling within the medical profession, with professional training for these individuals being heavily subsided by the Ministry of Health in return for a period of service within the Scheme before a transfer to a more profitable position. Unlike secondary and tertiary care, provided by private hospitals, service provided by the Scheme is free at the point of use. Although expensive in its own right, academic medical studies have shown that the provision of primary care, and most importantly preventative medicine, has meant that in overall terms the Scheme has saved the Ministry, and the Apilonian healthcare system as a whole, proportionally more than it cost.

The Royal Healthcare Insurance Scheme is responsible for providing baseline health insurance to those that do not private healthcare provided by their employer, or by some other means, which accounts for approximately sixteen percent of the population. Under the terms of the Apilonian Healthcare Act of 1988, which founded the Scheme, it’s insurance is only accepted by certain hospitals, including all Crown and Ducal Hospitals, Municipal medical centres and certain private facilities, resulting in higher waiting times compared to holders of private healthcare.

Education

Primary and Secondary Education

Within the Kingdom, the education system is administered, primarily, by the Ministry of Education, which determines overall policy and the provision of certain programmes. Primary Education is universal across the Kingdom, and is free-at-the-point of use; designed to allow all Apilonian children access to an education up until the age of fourteen, the National Curriculum being designed to give a broad and general knowledge base, both for day-to-day life and academically. At the age of fourteen, guided by both teachers and parents, a student will typically have two paths down which to proceed: Secondary (or High) Schools and Technical Schools. The Secondary School continues more traditionally academic subjects, typically with a view to preparing the student for application to a University, or a variety of non-technical roles as a non-graduate. The Technical School, focuses on more technical subjects, providing the less academically able student with a number of practical skills, which would provide the student with a means of making a living as a tradesman or artisan. Both schools cover the years fourteen to eighteen, and attendance remains compulsory, although both the parents and the student in question have the final say on which type of school they attend; no students are forcibly placed into either pipeline against their will.

Another option available, on a strictly voluntary basis, are the three Military Foundation Colleges; the Royal Naval College, Monterey, the Army Foundation College, Roswell, and the Air Force College, TBC. Although all differ in organisation and, to some extent, curriculum, all three colleges are designed to provide an alternative option to the conventional education system for youths, male and female, interested in a career in the Armed Forces. Although there is no service-commitment, successful completion of the MFC Syllabus results in automatic appointment to the service branch’s respective Officer Training College, although this may be declined. The MFC’s are one of the Kingdom’s greatest equalisers as, although very popular with the Nobility and Landed Gentry, whose school fees provide the bulk of the funding, admission is strictly as a result of passing an entrance exam, in which they were tested in languages, history, geography, arithmetic, algebra and geometry, all of which would be learned in universal Primary Education. This means that even prospective cadets from poorer households have the possibility of gaining admittance, and all three Colleges provided bursary schemes to support such cadets. Prospective cadets apply in their last year of Primary Education, and are appointed to their College in the Academic Year in which they would turn 14.

Although the Military Foundation Colleges all follow the National Curriculum, there is also a focus on developing leadership, navigation, and other useful military skills, in preparation for potential military service, with Physical Education and sports a key part of this. All Cadets at the Military Foundation Colleges wear the uniform of their respective service, and are taught military discipline and drill amongst other such topics. In addition, there are regular training camps, as well as opportunities during holidays to spend time with operational units, including ships at sea, under careful supervision. Great care is taken, particularly in modern times, to emphasise that there is no call-up liability for MFC Cadets, and they are not deployed operationally or to combat-zones (aside from short-durations spent with operational units on a voluntary basis), although they can be deployed in support of the local community. At the end of their four-years at their Military Foundation College, over seventy-five percent accept appointment to Officer Training.

Tertiary Education

Infrastructure

Transport

Personal and Public Transportation

Personal transportation in the Kingdom is dominated by the automobile, with over eighty per cent of Apilonian workers commuting to work via private vehicle over public transport, resulting in one of the largest automobile markets in the world and car ownership is near-universal, with the only major exceptions being the largest cities where there are extensive public transport options available, such as Los Angeles. The dominance of the automobile is enabled by an extensive highway system, linking together major population centres as well as more rural areas, as well as the National Road Network, which has existed far longer.

Although passenger trains were the dominant mode of transportation until the mid-twentieth century, the introduction of jet aircraft, and the completion of the Interstate Highway, resulted in a rapid decline in intercity rail passenger demand during the 1960s. This caused Parliament to authorise the creation of a state-owned Apilonia Railroad Corporation (ARC, operating under the trading name ApiRail) in the 1960s to maintain limited intercity rail passenger service in most of the country, providing a vital link to more rural areas where the passenger train may be the only means by which poorer citizens can travel. Nevertheless, NRC services can be very limited outside of the Pacific Seaboard, and limited trans-continental routes.

Cargo Transportation

The vast majority of cargo transportation in the Kingdom is provided by the trucking industry and the freight railroad industry. Overall, trucks of various sizes are responsible for the majority of freight movement overland, due in no small part to the variety of sizes of commercial motor vehicles, with the remainder being transported by freight railroad, of which there is an extensive network of tracks, only a small proportion of which is used for passenger services. Typically, most supply chains will make use of both methods, depending on the distance involved. Less common, albeit increasingly so, is freight aircraft, particularly for next-day delivery, which naturally comes at a premium.

Civil Aviation

The Kingdom has a thriving civil airline industry, benefiting from the existence of aerospace giant Boeing, that connects the Kingdom to the rest of the world. Although the industry itself is entirely privately owned, most major airports in the Kingdom are publicly owned. In addition to smaller regional carriers, the Apilonian civil aviation industry is dominated by two competing airlines; Apilonian Airlines, based in Dallas, Duchy of Texas, and Royal Airways, based in Seattle, Duchy of Washington. Apilonian Airlines is the larger of the two, both in terms of fleet size and revenue, although Royal Airways is not far behind, all things considered. Both airlines principally operate aircraft produced by Boeing.

Apilonian Airlines largely focuses on transpacific and transcontinental flight, and is considered the ‘flag-carrier’ for the Kingdom, although it does operate some domestic flights to compete with Royal Airways. Apilonian Airlines was a major pioneer of the hub-and-spoke model, in which the majority of domestic flights are intended to bring passengers from further afield to the various hubs for long-haul, high-capacity flights overseas. In support of this, Apilonian Airlines operates a ‘bank’ system, in which numerous domestic flights arrive in a short span of time in any of a number of flight banks into the hub airport, allowing for far shorter connection times, a key draw when competing with direct, but typically more expensive, flights offered by Royal Airways. In terms of customer experience, Apilonian Airlines has a reputation for a solid, if unremarkable, offering for business and first-class passengers and a tolerable experience for economy. The Boeing 747 has been the backbone of Apilonian Airlines long-haul fleet for decades, and is in the process of being replaced by the latest generation, the 747-8, with the smaller Boeing 737 principally serving domestic routes. The airline has three major hubs; Dallas-Fort Worth, its primary transatlantic gateway, Los Angeles, its key transpacific gateway, and Phoenix, its primary gateway for flights into the Empire of Layarteb, particularly in South America.

By contrast, Royal Airways is a key innovator in the point-to-point business model, in which smaller, but more fuel efficient aircraft are used to operate lower-demand routes to smaller destinations. In many cases, Royal Airways is the only transpacific or transatlantic flights linking secondary airports in Europe and Asia to Apilonia, principally to Seattle or Minneapolis-St Paul, or linking secondary airports in Apilonia with major destinations such as Hong Kong, Nanfang or London. This has allowed Royal Airways to diversify its competition with Apilonian Airlines, particularly in the transpacific market, serving a number of destinations not served by Apilonian Airlines. The development of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, with its relatively small size but impressive range and efficiency, has proven particularly profitable for Royal Airways, and makes up the bulk of its fleet. Royal Airways has a reputation for a high-quality offering with its First Class directly competing with Far East carriers in a western style; less gaudy but undoubtedly luxurious, it's Business Class being the first choice for all bussiness users in the Kingdom, whilst also offering both Premium Econony and Economy seats which consistently receive positive reviews. This high quality comes at a price, of course, however Royal Airways operates a highly competative frequent-flyers programme to reward loyal customers.