Union of Progressive Peoples

Union of Progressive Peoples
Headquarters:	Earth
Founded by:	Germany Russia Spain Chinese/Asian Nations Cooperative (support only)
Years active:	From 2108 onward
Territory:	Spinward Outer Veil Rimward Outer Veil Spinward Outer Rim Territories
Ethnicity:	Human
Allies:	Hyperdyne Corporation
Rivals:	Independent Core System Colonies Three World Empire United Americas

"Trust your enemy to be your enemy, but never trust your neighbor to be your friend."

―UPP saying (from Alien: The Roleplaying Game)

The Union of Progressive Peoples, often referred to as the UPP, was a wide–reaching socialist interstellar superpower formed in 2108 by a coalition of nations led by Germany, Spain, and Russia. Notably, the Union of Progressive Peoples was the only major federation of its era not to be influenced by corporate concerns, a fact that often put it at odds with its rivals, namely the United Americas and the Three World Empire.

Overview

The UPP was a powerful socialist bloc that controlled a vast albeit resource-poor sector of space, with a minimal presence in the Core Systems and major presences in the Outer Veil, the Outer Rim Territories, and the Frontier. Virtually since its formation, the UPP was stuck in a state of cold war with the United Americas, and although the UPP lagged behind its rivals in the space and arms race, they still maintained a formidable interstellar fighting force. Indicative of their inferior technological prowess, most of the UPP's advanced technology was apparently reverse-engineered from that of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation and Lasalle Bionational.

History

Formation and early activities

The Union of Progressive Peoples was created in the wake of a civil war on the former Paraguayan—and now United Americas—colony world of Torin Prime in 2108. Former European Union member states Germany and Spain joined with Russia in direct response to the perceived combined threat of the Three World Empire and the United Americas, while additional joiners included Vietnam and several other Asian and Eastern European nations. The UPP received massive support from the Chinese/Asian Nations Cooperative, which initially declined to fold into the UPP due to ideological conflict. Between 2108 and 2111, several worlds from the spinward Outer Veil expressed dissatisfaction with corporate greed and seceded from the 3WE, while others were annexed. Lacking the forces needed to retake those colonies, the 3WE chose not to intervene. In 2117, the UPP became a member of the United Nations Interstellar Settlement Corps, a restructured version of the United Nations Interplanetary Corps. In the first half of the 2150s, the UPP supported rebels on the 3WE world of Helene 215 against the '51 New Deal and left the UNISC after the United Americas annexed the planet and the Marines raided one of their secret supply bases on Lebanon II. During the Core Conflict, the Hyades Cluster mining colonies revolted and seceded to the UPP, leading to clashes with the Marines until the '65 UA/UPP ceasefire.

The UPP attempted to subjugate the Frontier world of 8 Eta Boötis A III in 2162, but an independent planet, supported by the planet's old regime, requested the United Americas' help, which led to the infamous Tientsin Campaign. The three year-long conflict decimated the once lush world, and left it in ruins with no decisive winner. Following that incident, the UPP was locked in a state of cold war with the United States Colonial Marine Corps and United Americas and signed the Pang Ho Treaty. In 2179, the UPP was rumored to be behind the destruction of both the Hadley's Hope colony on LV-426 and a Colonial Marine rescue team by nuking the site from orbit. In the same year, the UPP station Rodina, located on the border of the Neroid Sector, suffered a severe unidentified viral contagion and was destroyed by the UPP battlecruiser SSV Nikolai Stolko.

In the early 2180s, due to overpopulation and poor resources, the UPP intensified its efforts in colonizing the Frontier, launching more incursions into colonial space; as a result, standoffs between its Space Operating Forces and the United States Colonial Marine Corps became increasingly common. Further complications arose; United Americas Intelligence suspected the UPP of supporting the J'har rebel faction on Torin Prime and allying with them to enact an uprising in the Tartarus Sector. In 2183, the UPP discovered a cache of David 7 synthetics at the former Weyland Corp Corinth Colony on the annexed planet of KOI-571.02; those synthetics were refurbished as combat androids at the nearby Ouragan Testing Facility and deployed throughout the Union in defiance of the 2151 New Deal agreement, which forbade the use of synthetics in combat.

The Darkstar Program

"Darkstar" was the codename of a covert bioweapon development program headed by the Ministry of Space Security. After obtaining top-secret Weyland-Yutani data on the Xenomorph species, efforts to obtain a specimen of their own were launched. Though initial scouting mission to LV-426 proved fruitless (Wey-Yu sensor markers in the area eventually picked up on UPP incursions), scientists at Rodina Station had eventually managed to create their own Ovomorph, but the egg was more akin to the Neomorphic Egg sacks found on Planet 4. When coming into close contact with the egg, it will emit a cloud of spores, infecting nearby hosts with a human/Xeno hybrid known as a Bodyburster. However, the forced destruction of Rodina following unknown events resulted in the loss of all data on how the creature was created. Luckily, a UPP salvage team would acquire remnants of Plagiarus praepotens cells.

Lab sites were subsequently established across the UA border and Bordline Region. Although unable to reproduce the same creature as before, scientists managed to reconstruct the damaged chromosomes into a Neomorphic genome, successfully conjuring Neomorph specimens. The UPP have since preferred producing these 'Heomopfs' over the traditional Xenomorph XX121, as their extremely short lifespan proved a viable and controllable bioweapon, albeit with the troubling catch of a Neomorph corpse producing Egg sacks, rendering nearby areas hazardous.

After subsequent experiments, Darkstar had also managed to acquire pure Plagiarus praepotens samples, and an effort to create Xenomorph specimens promptly followed; the UPP had since established three Xenomorph hives on remote moons. However, two of the hive's Queens were removed for the purpose of Project Morana, a covert psychological experiment in which a Queen's mental frequencies were broadcast over nearby colonies, driving inhabitants to psychotic behavior.

The Xenomorph XX121AB Goreburster was an additional creature developed by the MSS - a Chestburster of enormous size that secreted explosive toxins after birth. The UPP also experimented on living humans using Chemical A0-3959X.91 – 15, creating Anathema that were considered for use as battlefield vanguards. Ultimately, the UPP prioritized developing the Neomorph as a feasible bioweapon.

Organization

Leadership

With its seat of power located on Earth, the UPP was a socialist government with a president as the head of state and a premier who presided over the state council. The UPP Frontier was overseen by a Governor-General and naval task force, and each colony had its own mayor. The UPP Frontier Governor as of 2183 was Governor-General Pham Dinh.

Space Operating Forces

Main article: Space Operating Forces

The elite commandos of the UPP were known as the Space Operating Forces. Said to be roughly equivalent to the United States Colonial Marines, the SOF had a similar regimental breakdown. They maintained a fleet of warships and transport vessels, had their own dropships and used massive, two-story armored trucks for troop deployment. The SOF also had their own AK model pulse rifle.

Ministry of Space Security

Main article: Ministry of Space Security

A national security agency and secret police, the MSS gathered both internal and external intelligence for the good of the Union of Progressive Peoples. The Ministry maintained a number of undercover operatives throughout the Frontier on both UPP controlled worlds and United American colonies. MSS spies infiltrated top corporations and stole their military designs. They monitored their own citizenry to make sure they stayed true to the Union.

Locations

Most of the discovered planets within the UPP's borders were resource-poor, providing an impetus for the UPP to constantly push deeper into the Frontier in search of more habitable worlds. As the UPP never developed atmospheric processors, they lacked terraforming capability and, as a result, if a world was inhospitable, the UPP would build a colony beneath the surface of that world or construct habitation domes upon it. Because of this, the sparse collection of naturally habitable worlds the UPP had settled were overpopulated. Prominent planets in the UPP included New Kiev, Qi Xi III, 17 Phei Phei E, Xiang Colony, and the Chiu and Wan An Outposts.

Diplomacy and Relationships

Three World Empire

Just like with United Americas, the UPP was in a state of cold war with the Three World Empire. Both entities having major stakes in the Outer Rim, they had somewhat tense relations.

United Americas

Both factions fought against each other during the Tientsin Campaign in 2162. They were in a state of Cold War since the end of the conflict. While there had been limited engagements during the Cold War, since 2183 UPP engaged in more and more border conflicts with the UA over disputed worlds.

Weyland-Yutani

As a capitalist entity, Weyland-Yutani was everything the UPP despised, even more since W-Y accused them of having nuked Hadley's Hope on LV-426. The UPP's refusal to cooperate with private corporations resulted in them falling behind in the space race. However, to W-Y's great displeasure UPP had since reverse-engineered many of their technologies. Notably, the UPP discovered an old W-Y cache of David 7 synthetics within Corinth Colony inside their borders, reprogramming them as Combat Androids.

Lasalle Bionational

As with other corporations, they were not in good terms with Lasalle Bionational, even more since UPP managed to embed spies within their administration to steal their research for their own.

Seegson

It was rumored that the UPP had covertly commissioned Seegson's Working Joes as an artificial combat unit. This was later proven true with the emergence of the 'Dzho Automaton', also known as the "Fighting Joe".

Non-canon appearances

Alien 3: The Unproduced Screenplay

"The UPP was a collective of wannabe Bolsheviks who thought misquoting Karl Marx made them socialists. They were amateurs, lacking the Marines' training or focus, not to mention hardware. On the face of it, the Marines could eat them for lunch without working up a sweat. But any group whose members put their ideology above their own lives were extremely dangerous."

―Alien 3: The Unproduced Screenplay (novel)

The faction originated in an unproduced script for Alien³ written by William Gibson. In the screenplay, which picks up after Aliens, the USS Sulaco drifts into an area of space claimed by the Union of Progressive Peoples due to a navigational error. The ship is boarded by UPP commandos as a result, one of whom is attacked by a Facehugger hiding in the entrails of Bishop's mangled body. The UPP then takes possession of Bishop's body and the Xenomorph genetic material with which it is contaminated for further experimentation.

Throughout the script, the UPP acts as an ideological and political opponent to the unnamed faction to which the main characters belong. The two factions are said to be engaged in an ongoing arms race, mirroring the opposition between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, although the UPP's equipment and technology is displayed as being significantly behind that available to the main characters. While the two factions never engage each other during the course of the story, much dialogue is devoted to their tense, hostile relationship. At the end of the story, the main characters are saved by a UPP commando, and Bishop proposes that their respective governments need to put aside their differences and unite against the threat posed by the Xenomorphs.

Aliens: Infestation

After investigating the Sulaco, the marines of the USS Sephora quickly discover the presence of hostile UPP soldiers, as well as Xenomorphs that have established a Hive aboard the ship. After encountering and defeating the Xenomorph Queen, the Marines descend to the surface of LV-426 to continue their investigation. There they discover that the UPP is attempting to harvest Xenomorphs for their own use. The Marines eliminate the UPP presence in the area and destroy their Satcom.

Appearances

• Aliens: Infestation
• Alien 3: The Unproduced Screenplay (comic)
• Alien III (audio drama)
• Alien 3: The Unproduced Screenplay (novel)
• Alien: The Roleplaying Game
• Colonial Marines Operations Manual
• Alien: Into Charybdis
• Aliens: Fireteam Elite (mentioned only)
• Scylla and Charybdis (mentioned only)
• Heart of Darkness
• Aliens: Dark Descent (mentioned only)
• Aliens: Bishop
• Building Better Worlds