As far as I can work out from the wiki, at the point in the timeline that Oolite is set, Galcop is only one of several political organisations in the known galaxy. There is also the Federation, which includes the Sol system (and from which Galcop secceeded), the Empire and possibly others.
At some point in the future timeline, the Empire will undermine and destroy Galcop.
Which leads to my question. Why, when offering the constrictor mission, does your contact introduce himself as
"Captain Curruthers of Her Imperial Majesty’s Space Navy"
Why are the Empire working in Galcop space?
(Possible handwavium solution - although Democratic, Xeer is actually a constitutional monarchy, and Curruthers works for the locally-raised squadron seconded to GalCop)
Fluff - Galcop and other regions
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Commander McLane
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The more commonplace explanation is that the rather pompous title refers to the ruler of Lave, which is a dictatorship in Elite/Oolite-terms, and sort of the capital of GalCop.
It cannot refer to the Duvallian Empire, because the Duvall family only knows male succession. Therefore a female imperial majesty ("Her...") would be impossible.
It cannot refer to the Duvallian Empire, because the Duvall family only knows male succession. Therefore a female imperial majesty ("Her...") would be impossible.
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another_commander
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IMHO, the best Elite-universe explanation so far is given in El Viejo's recent creation, Kaxgar. The only other explanation I can give is simply the fact that Ian Bell and David Braben are British and they just made a reference to the Galactic Navy, in the same way one would talk about the Royal Navy today (e.g. http://www.naval-technology.com/project ... ortsmouth/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Navy ) - minus the "Imperial" of course, which was probably added for extra effect and nothing more.
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Cody
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The 'Imperial' bit is probably from Victorian Britain... and the heyday of the Royal Navy.
One of Queen Victoria’s many titles, from 1 May 1876 to 22 January 1901, was Her Imperial Majesty The Queen-Empress.
One of Queen Victoria’s many titles, from 1 May 1876 to 22 January 1901, was Her Imperial Majesty The Queen-Empress.
I would advise stilts for the quagmires, and camels for the snowy hills
And any survivors, their debts I will certainly pay. There's always a way!
And any survivors, their debts I will certainly pay. There's always a way!
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Selezen
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The real-world reason for the discrepancy is that B&B wrote the game and Robert Holdstock wrote the manuals, and the only information they shared was the names of planets, races and ships. Mr Holdstock created the entire concept of GalCop himself. 
I have a thing on my site about the co-existence of the various factions:
http://hughesd.co.uk/elite/unlocking_the_frontier.asp
I spend probably far too much time than is healthy expanding the known Elite universe, and the Imperial Majesty thing is something I have already thought about (and written about somewhere too). In my "pocket universe" the discrepancy is explained by using analogy to the workings of the British military and its relationship to the government and monarchy. Lave's "tyrant" is Her Majesty Queen Wossname the Wossnameth, and she is the traditional figurehead of the Galactic Navy in the same way that the British queen is leader of the armed forces of that country. She has nothing whatsoever to do with the running of the GalNavy, but they serve in her name whilst taking orders from their local government and their commanding officers.
I have a thing on my site about the co-existence of the various factions:
http://hughesd.co.uk/elite/unlocking_the_frontier.asp
I spend probably far too much time than is healthy expanding the known Elite universe, and the Imperial Majesty thing is something I have already thought about (and written about somewhere too). In my "pocket universe" the discrepancy is explained by using analogy to the workings of the British military and its relationship to the government and monarchy. Lave's "tyrant" is Her Majesty Queen Wossname the Wossnameth, and she is the traditional figurehead of the Galactic Navy in the same way that the British queen is leader of the armed forces of that country. She has nothing whatsoever to do with the running of the GalNavy, but they serve in her name whilst taking orders from their local government and their commanding officers.