Hard Contact -- A Space Opera GSRPG

[AKuz]

The Antaran Imperial Sovereignty​

Empires Rise.

Empires Fall.

Civilizations burst onto the galactic scene, expand, grow, thrive, rule-

-plateau, stagnate, ossify, degenerate, decay-​

-die.​

And for the last four hundred and fifty thousand years the Antaran people have watched that cycle perpetuate itself over and over again. At times they have even participated, ruling vast empires that touch every corner of the galaxy or being reduced to isolated enclaves hanging on to interstellar travel with memorized rituals little better than superstition.

At a half million years of continuous civilization (four hundred and fifty millennia of that time as a spacefaring people) the Antarans possess one of, if not the, oldest states in the galaxy.

Indeed, various Antaran Empires have at various points been the pre-eminent power in the galaxy. On at least three occasions (The Antaran 1st, 4th, and 17th Empires) an Antaran Empire ruling from their capital at Astyrial has been the sole sovereign state in existence with all other peoples subordinate to the Alabaster Mask of the Antaran Dynasts.

The Antaran Sovereignty of today is in truth the last surviving remnant of the Antaran 17th Empire, a rump state controlling the traditional imperial core and inner periphery after twelve thousand years of imperial decline, provincial separatism, and the emergence of new species.

With the Sovereignty an ossified aristocratic edifice figureheaded by a powerless line of dynasts unable to reign in merchant elites, powerful nobles, jealous bureaucrats, and independent minded local governors, Antaran elites initially regarded the emergence of the Humans from Sol with arrogant disdain despite their close surface level resemblance.

For the Combined Euphrates Command initial contact with the Antarans fed preconceived notions of Human excellence. Subsequent Human aggression and brinkmanship took advantage of the hesitancy and weakness of the Antaran state to extract concessions that served them well in their initial interstellar expansion.

In fact the energetic expansion of Terran domains and the way in which they had humiliated the stagnant Sovereignty inspired radicals within the Antaran periphery who desired a return to old glories. Due to these radicals' desire "to mix Antaran dignity and civilization with Human ambition and vitality" they adopted the moniker of the "Vitalists", and they moved quickly to court Human aid in striking a blow against the decayed Antaran state.

For their part, Human thinkers had racially designated the Antarans as "near human" and "humanoid", due to the striking physical similarities between the two peoples, leading the CEC to consider the Antarans as a potential Auxiliary race of administrators and technicians.

Having already slated the Antarans for subjugation, openly regarding the Antarans as the "Greeks to our Romans", the CEC was quick to take advantage of the Vitalists entreaties, and subsequently a mixture of staged uprisings and gunboat diplomacy ripped much of the Antaran periphery away from the Antaran core leading to a crisis that shook the Sovereignty to its very heart.

The only bright spots in these early days were local officials and military commanders taking matters into their own hands and forming defensive enclaves that resisted Human expansion. Though cut off from the Antaran Core, by leveraging local production and alliances with neighbouring powers these enclaves staved off conquest -in many cases holding out until the defeat of the CEC by simply being too much of a hassle to reduce when better targets presented themselves.

As one of the first victims of the Human wars of conquest, the Antarans found themselves reeling from multiple expansionary wars, each one taking more territory from the Sovereignty even as Human treatment of their Antaran "citizens" grew worse and worse, fading from patronising fetishization to contemptuous abuse.

Yet even as the Antaran upper class reeled from blow after blow to their way of life, free Antarans stepped forward to resist the onslaught, joined by the previously forgotten Dynasts. Donning once more the Alabaster Mask of Imperium, members of the Imperial family personally stepped forward to lead fleets and oversee administration, dusting off ancient privileges and using the threat of popular action to marginalize those elites who thought to resist.

From previous experience of having been on both sides of the coin, the Antarans knew the millennia of humiliation and abuse they would be in for if the Human Empire established itself across the galaxy, and they fought with that understanding in mind. Under the leadership of the Prince and Princess Admirals and Generals, an entire generation of Antarans bled themselves white in the fighting, pouring everything they had into the conflict and serving as a nucleus of resistance that took in refugees from not just the Antaran periphery, but from across the galaxy.

Despite this fierce resistance, momentum remained in the Human favour -until the formation of the Great Coalition. Finally on the offensive, the Sovereignty engaged in brutal fighting that turned the Antaran periphery that had been such an early Human conquest into one of the most contested regions of space.

Far from making the advance easier, the presence of Vitalist collaborators made the offensive even more hellish as generations who had known nothing but Human propaganda fought tooth and nail against their cousins. In many areas the fighting took on the tenor of a civil war as Antaran fought Antaran, entire sectors burned into wasteland by a combination of enraged revanchism and fanatical resistance.

However, the civil conflict was not limited to the Antarans alone as a large segment of another subject race, the uplifted Canids, joined the war effort. For years Antaran soldiers and spacers fought alongside their Canid comrades on the most brutal of battlefields, forging an unshakable bond that went up to the highest levels of the Antaran nobility and officer corps.

And so, when the dust cleared the Antarans found themselves once more in control of their old borders, with massive Antaran fleets and armies occupying CEC worlds alongside their new Canid Comrades, and the legendary Princess-Admiral Valcyne one of the victorious commanders dictating terms in orbit of Earth itself after one of the proudest victories in the Antaran people's long history.

And with victory came entropy.

Overburdened with refugees in the core, bled white of their most productive population, and finding themselves in control of massive swaths of restive territory that barely recognized the Alabaster Mask, the Antaran economy crumpled overnight without the impetus of a war of survival.

Forced to demobilize much of their military, the new Antaran Empress Valcyne XXVII is now faced with the prospect of rebuilding a civilization that sacrificed everything for victory. And though she is personally popular and much of the rust that had accumulated on the Antaran state has been blasted off by a century of emergencies, the tasks she is faced with are immense.

Within the Antaran Imperial Core the economy has been hollowed out by war production and massive resources expenditures, worsened by the addition of billions of demobilizing soldiers.

This is further exacerbated by the accumulation of a century's worth of displaced persons, many of whom have known no other life than that of "Imperial Guest Resident" status within the Antaran Sovereignty. But now that victory has arrived, the Antaran populace is clamouring to see the refugees repatriated to governments that they have never known or have changed utterly since their flight.

And the problems of the core are nothing compared to the problems of the periphery. Not only has the periphery been turned into a wasteland by a decade of total war and scorched earth tactics, but many sectors were still under CEC control at the end of the war and between Vitalist collaborators and Human deadenders there are still pockets of resistance to the reassertion of Antaran control.

Just as worrying, the enclaves that were the bright spots at the start of the Human conquest were not just enclaves of Antaran control, but of the rulership of the Antaran Elites who have missed the memo on their irrelevancy. Now fused by a century of warfare into a military elite, these rogue officers officially swear loyalty to the Alabaster Mask but have disobeyed the general demobilization orders and are now displaying worrying signs of independence that are taking hold within the rest of the military.

Domain Name: Antaran Imperial Sovereignty

Species: Antarans (Space High Elves)

(Though the Sovereignty has hundreds of other species within its borders, the vast majority of the populace are Antaran, and many Antarans live elsewhere as the remnants of ancient periods of galactic hegemony.)

Drive: 5
Domain: 10
Military: 3


9 base points spent on Domain. 9 flaw points, 3 spent on tech, 2 on Military, and 4 on Drive


Technology:
-Drive: 2
-Military: 2
-Domain: 2

Flaws: Scraping the Barrel [3], Refugee Crisis [2], Rogue Military [2], Holdouts [2]

Spoiler: Flaw descriptions

Scrapped the Barrel [+3]: The Antaran Sovereignty threw *everything* into the war once they realised that Human conquest spelled the end of Antaran dignity and civilization. Yet they still bore the brunt of those conflicts and now with the end of the war the Antaran people are spent.

Refugee Crisis [+2]: An old and established power with ancient treaties linking the Antarans with many of the galaxy peoples the core worlds of the Sovereignty ended up becoming safe harbor to a large refugee population. However many Antarans wonder why 200,000 year old agreements leave them forced to aid aliens from across the galaxy leading many Antarans to now demand they be returned to their homes.

Rogue Military [+2]: During the Human Conquest many isolated Antaran commands and provinces held out against the Terran Flood and continued the fight until ultimate victory. However these commands have gotten used to operating autonomously and refuse to stand down, especially with…

Holdouts [+2]: Many in the periphery dreamed of an 18th Antaran Empire and saw the rising Human Empire as their path to restored greatness. Believing that by merging the Grace of Antaran Civilization with Vital Human Savagery the resulting union would rule the galaxy. Now that the fighting is officially over many Human dead enders and their Antaran Collaborators still maintain small pocket Empires on the Sovereignty's periphery.

Preferred Location: X>O>Y

Declarations:
-What you expect to get from the humans at the treaty:

Humanity must be put under a period of custodianship to rebuild their shattered worlds and psyche. But they must be treated with an even and compassionate hand to prevent revanchism or dissolutions. After all, which species here hasn't tried to conquer the galaxy and exterminate the lesser species at least once.

Your factions opinion on the orbiting races: Uplifter

They must be placed under the guardianship of the galactic leaders to ensure their prosperity and protection.

Opinion on the Assembly of Species role: Traditionalist

As we said at its founding, this is an important tool to preserve galactic civilization, and mutual prosperity.

Two rivals for your polity: Kazed Empire

Allies: The Sadu Schudda, Consociation of Kuhana

League Faction: Hierarchy

-

Spoiler: Antaran Military Deployments

Unit Designation	Location	Notes	Current Status
Silver Imperial Banner Fleet	Sol	Personal Unit of Empress Valcyne XXVII. Imperial Banner Fleet. Life Guards Units. Category 1 Formation	Preparing to return to Astryial Kia
White Imperial Banner Fleet	Astryial Kia	Homeworld Defence Fleet, Imperial Banner Fleet under Grand Prince-Admiral Coryn. Category 1 Formation	Defending Astyrial Kia
Violet Imperial Banner Fleet	Sol	Imperial Banner Fleet, under the command of Grand Princess-Admiral Alessa. Category 1 Formation	Preparing to return to Astryial Kia
Gold Imperial Banner Fleet	Koprulu	Imperial Banner Fleet, under the command of Grand Princeps-Admiral Nalvet. Category 1 Formation	Preparing to return to Astyrial Kia
Red Banner Fleet	Koprulu	Banner Fleet, under the authority of the Celestial Grand Staff. Category 2 Formation	Preparing for Occupation duties
Blue Banner Fleet	Rico	Banner Fleet, under the authority of the Celestial Grand Staff. Category 2 Formation	Preparing for Occupation duties
Green Banner Fleet	Sol	Banner Fleet, under the authority of the Celestial Grand Staff. Category 2 Formation	Preparing to return to Astryial Kia
Indigo Banner Fleet	Tor Lenly	Banner Fleet, under the authority of the Celestial Grand Staff. Category 2 Formation	COIN duties against holdouts
Black Banner Fleet	Tor Ahthar	Banner Fleet, under the authority of the Celestial Grand Staff. Category 2 Formation	COIN duties against holdouts
Bronze Banner Fleet	Astryial Kia	(Technically a) Banner Fleet, under authority of the Imperial Diet. Category 4 Formation	Pissing off the Empress via inaction
Tor Dolleon Ribbon Fleet	Tor Dolleon	Personal fleet of the Marquess Dolleon. Category 2 Formation	Patrol and home defence duties
Lyn Synlal Ribbon Fleet	Sol	Personal fleet of the Grand Duc Synlal. Category 3 Formation	Preparing to return to Lyn Synlal
Lyn Lenly Ribbon Fleet	Lyn Lenly	Personal fleet of the Grand Duc Lenly. Category 4 Formation	Patrol and home defence duties
Lyn Veryia Ribbon Fleet	Sol	Personal fleet of the Grand Duc Veryia. Category 4 Formation	Preparing to return to Lyn Veryia
Lyn Ahthar Ribbon Fleet	Lyn Ahthar	Personal fleet of the Grand Duc Ahthar. Category 3 Formation.	Patrol and home defence duties
Lyn Renala Ribbon Fleet	Lyn Renala	Personal fleet of the Grand Duc Renala. Category 2 Formation.	Patrol and home defence duties
2nd Ribbon Fleet "Rifle of the People"	Koprulu	Category 3 Formation. Supported by Astryial Kia populace, under authority of Celestial Grand Staff	Preparing for occupation duties
4th Ribbon Fleet "Starlit Eternity"	Lyn Ahthar	Category 3 Formation. Supported, raised, and under the authority of the Eternal Order of the Labyrinth	COIN duties against holdouts
7th Ribbon Fleet "Beacon of Liberty"	Lyn Lenly	Category 4 Formation. Supported, raised, and under the authority of the 4th Centarum Movement.	COIN duties against holdouts
10th Ribbon Fleet "Glory of Astryial"	Sol	Category 4 Formation. Raised and supported by Astryial Kia populace, under authority of Celestial Grand Staff	Preparing to return to Astryial Kia

Unit Designation	Location	Notes	Current Status
Silver Imperial Banner Army	Sol	Personal Unit of Empress Valcyne XXVII. Imperial Banner Army. Life Guards Units. Category 1 Formation	Preparing to return to Astryial Kia
White Imperial Banner Army	Astryial Kia	Homeworld Defence Army, Imperial Banner Army under Grand Prince-Admiral Coryn. Category 1 Formation	Defending Astyrial Kia
Violet Imperial Banner Army	Sol	Imperial Banner Army, under the command of Grand Princess-Admiral Alessa. Category 1 Formation	Preparing to return to Astryial Kia
Gold Imperial Banner Army	Koprulu	Imperial Banner Army, under the command of Grand Princeps-Admiral Nalvet. Category 1 Formation	Preparing to return to Astyrial Kia
Red Banner Army	Koprulu	Banner Army, under the authority of the Celestial Grand Staff. Category 2 Formation	Preparing for Occupation duties
Blue Banner Army	Rico	Banner Army, under the authority of the Celestial Grand Staff. Category 2 Formation	Preparing for Occupation duties
Green Banner Army	Sol	Banner Army, under the authority of the Celestial Grand Staff. Category 2 Formation	Preparing to return to Astryial Kia
Indigo Banner Army	Tor Lenly	Banner Army, under the authority of the Celestial Grand Staff. Category 2 Formation	COIN duties against holdouts
Black Banner Army	Tor Ahthar	Banner Army, under the authority of the Celestial Grand Staff. Category 2 Formation	COIN duties against holdouts
Bronze Banner Army	Astryial Kia	(Technically a) Banner Army, under authority of the Imperial Diet. Category 4 Formation	Pissing off the Empress via inaction
Tor Dolleon Ribbon Army	Tor Dolleon	Personal Army of the Marquess Dolleon. Category 2 Formation	Patrol and home defence duties
Lyn Synlal Ribbon Army	Lyn Synlal	Personal Army of the Grand Duc Synlal. Category 3 Formation	Preparing to return to Lyn Synlal
Lyn Lenly Ribbon Army	Lyn Lenly	Personal Army of the Grand Duc Lenly. Category 4 Formation	Patrol and home defence duties
Lyn Veryia Ribbon Army	Lyn Veryia	Personal Army of the Grand Duc Veryia. Category 4 Formation	Preparing to return to Lyn Veryia
Lyn Ahthar Ribbon Army	Lyn Ahthar	Personal Army of the Grand Duc Ahthar. Category 3 Formation.	Patrol and home defence duties
Lyn Renala Ribbon Army	Lyn Renala	Personal Army of the Grand Duc Renala. Category 2 Formation.	Patrol and home defence duties
2nd Ribbon Army "Rifle of the People"	Koprulu	Category 3 Formation. Supported by Astryial Kia populace, under authority of Celestial Grand Staff	Preparing for occupation duties
4th Ribbon Army "Starlit Eternity"	Lyn Ahthar	Category 3 Formation. Supported, raised, and under the authority of the Eternal Order of the Labyrinth	COIN duties against holdouts
7th Ribbon Army "Beacon of Liberty"	Lyn Lenly	Category 4 Formation. Supported, raised, and under the authority of the 4th Centarum Movement.	COIN duties against holdouts
10th Ribbon Army "Glory of Astryial"	Sol	Category 4 Formation. Raised and supported by Astryial Kia populace, under authority of Celestial Grand Staff	Preparing to return to Astryial Kia

Note on Banner Fleets:

Banner Fleets and Banner Armies are regular formations raised under auspices of the Veiled Palace itself and personally sworn to the reigning Dynast and them alone. They are held to high standards of conduct, drill, and equipment as the heirs to a half million years of military tradition as even the democratic, egalitarian, and multi-species galactic powers of former eras of Antaran dominance employed Banner Fleets.

However, in the modern Sovereignty, four Fleets and four Armies (White, Silver, Violet, and Gold) have been singled out as Imperial Banner Fleets under the personal command of the Imperial Dynasty and are considered the cream of the Antaran military. To be a member of an Imperial Banner unit is to be granted the greatest honour possible. Those in the Imperial Banner fleets often say that it is "Better to be a custodian on an Imperial Banner auxiliary than an admiral on a Ribbon Fleet dreadnought".

Each Imperial Banner Fleet is commanded by a Grand Princess/Prince/Princeps-Admiral of the Dynasty and is answerable only to the Dynast themselves.

It was only during the current conflict that the Silver Banner Fleet was granted Imperial Banner status for their actions under the command of Grand Princess-Admiral Valcyne at the Battle of Triton and promoted from a Category 2 Formation to a Category 1 Formation. Though it is not strictly traditional, the Silver Banner Fleet remains under the personal Command of the Empress while also serving as her Life Guards.


Note on Ribbon Fleets:

Ribbon fleets are secondary formations raised without the involvement of the Imperial Government but are still granted leave by the Sovereign to operate as long as their primary oath is to the ruling Dynast and they obey the directives of said Dynast and their Celestial Grand Staff during times of war.

While most Ribbon Fleets are raised and commanded by the nobility under lines of patronage, many are volunteer formations formed by local communities or associations and often their primary allegiance is not to the Alabaster Mask but to their patron or community.

As the training, doctrine, and equipment of each Ribbon Fleet varies, they are sorted into Categories by inspectors from the Grand Staff and the patrons of individual Ribbon Fleets might seek to have their fleets sorted into inappropriate categories for their own reasons. However most Ribbon Fleets are Category 3 and Category 4 F

Notes on Doctrine:

Under Antaran military doctrine Imperial Banner Fleets are designated as "Category 1 Formations" and assigned the most critical tasks. Regular Banner Fleets are considered "Category 2 Formations" and are considered suitable for all frontline combat duties.

Ribbon Fleets, with their varying levels of training, drill, and equipment are often Category 3 and 4 Formations. Category 3 Formations are considered suitable for defensive operations and low intensity warfare. Below them, Category 4 Formations are suitable only for supporting Category 1, 2, and 3 Formations during their operations and should not be deployed independently, even for training exercises.

*Aristocratic titles are translation conventions from Palace Antaran

** while other categories of formation and unit previously existed, wartime measures saw them folded into the current system and previous privileges revoked asan emergency mesure

***the Army, being subordinate to the Fleet, has adopted similar structures, and armies are considered subordinate to the fleets they are attached to.

 

[Laplace]

The Sadu Schudda
Species: The Sadu Schudda are predominately the descendants of large, gas giant native life, having conducted radical transsophont experiments on themselves. In their current state, they continue to be vaguely cetacean, vaguely jellyfish like, and vaguely nothing at all familiar fungal-plantlike organisms cybernetically implanted in a variety of void bodies, ranging from juvenile aerospace craft to multi kilometer long void bodies- ships, in other words. They are so suited for void life that if you took them out of their void bodies, they would likely immediately die without access to their vast exoskeletons. They also count other radical voidborn transsophont experimenters in their midst, as well as certain permanently nomadic shipdwellers as part of their state.

Spoiler: The Sadu Front of The Hyper War

The Sadu Schudda Front of the Hyper War

Far on the eastern fringes of the Galaxy, the Sadu Schudda maintained their uniquely voidborn and mobile way of industrial production. Certain planets would be intensely mined for a short period of time, milking gigantic quantities of biological feedstock, minerals, and other such materials to be further refined in voidborne manufactoriums. Then these planets would lay fallow, as the Sadu pods rotate through other sectors and for the recently mined planets to recover from intense ecological devastation.

As a consequence, these planets, when not currently being exploited, had every appearance of being empty of inhabitation. Quite reasonably, the CEC, having recently conquered the Royal Palatinate and the Cacophony, saw Sadu Schudda space as being unexploited. Virgin territory to resettle refugees on. It was a massive propaganda effort-- virgin space, so near a conduit, without the hassle of exterminating the locals? Sign up and get your plot of land today!

Of course, when the Sadu returned, they were furious. To them, the seizure of their industrial lands were a violation of sovereignty that could not and should not be stood for. To the CEC, the Sadu were manifestly not using the land, and therefore shouldn't complain all that much that their planets were being filled up. Matters were not helped when several Sadu Schudda industrial pods began crust cracking operations on certain colonized planets, causing mass deaths on the colonists there, who believed it to be a bluff. It was not. The CEC declared war, the perfidity of the Sadu Schudda were not to be stood for, followed by their puppet monarchs of the Palatinate and the Cacophony. In response, the Sadu Schudda broadcasted their intent to carry out massed strategic bombing on all stolen planets should their eviction not be carried out posthaste.

Against the might of the Palatinate, the Cacophony, and the CEC war fleets, the Sadu had to their name several pods who carried out security operations, a vague understanding of the intricate mechanics of raid and counter raid, their advantages in mobile industry. The war was thusly characterized by Sadu war-pods tasked with blockade evasion delivering orbital bombing packages on settled planets, while large concentrations of war fleets reaved the sectors. Sometimes, they returned with Sadu corpses held on proud display. Other times, they returned with nothing but air. And more and more towards the end, they did not return at all. Still, Sol believed that the Sadu front was by and large a sideshow- easily handled by the local force concentration and their satrapies.

They believed that the Sadu Schudda would be relegated to nothing more than a minor annoyance. With Yaboth wiped out, it was more optimal to focus their efforts on the Bug War. This culminated in a Sadu Schudda divisional command allying with the shipborne refugees of Yaboth capturing the Hurawn Gate, shutting off easy travel to the Eastern Galactic Fringe. Simultaneously, unrest in the Royal Palatinate and the Cacophony reached a head, forcing the defeat of their puppet monarchs. Emboldened by this change in air, the Sadu Schudda began mounting massed naval assaults, slowly and bitterly forcing the naval fleets of the CEC and collaborators out of their space, quarintining the planets, and with the other nations of the Eastern Galaxy, took step by bloody step towards Sol.

However, this victory has not healed all wounds. The colonists have been bound together under the bitter experience of experiencing a near constant siege. The Cacophony and to a lesser extent the Palatinate allege that the treatment of the civilian colonists is an outrage, to which the Sadu Schudda carelessly reply, "the hell do you care? They were CEC stooges." Victory can paper over many cracks, but still they remain.

Government: Representative democracy.
Location: F
Drive: 5 : 2

• Subspace Voidsong: The Sadu Schudda are capable of generating an FTL signal that propagates through the Labyrinth to send information accurately and almost instantaneously at each other natively. Coupled with their small population, this allows for clannish, tight nit cohesion.
• Ancestral Memories: New Sadu Schudda, grown from their parent's spores, exhibit encoded genetic behavior. This allows them to effectievely pass on memories, culture, and a measure of technological prowess.

Military: 6 : 1

• Subspace Voidblink: Properly constructed void bodies are capable of rapid engagement of their Labyrinth Drives, allowing them to dip into FTL and reemerging into a new location.

Domain: 5 : 3

• Advanced Shipwombs: Sadu Schudda shipwombs are amongst the best in the galaxy.
• Mobile Manufactoriums: Each Sadu Schudda has internal manufacturing organs that allow them rapid, quick deploy manufacturing sectors right on top of resource nodes, be that mineral rich planets, asteroids, or dense stellar nebulae.
• Voidwarp Engines: The Sadu Schudda have a special sort of engine, proprietary tech, that allows them to achieve thrust to weight rations far in excess of the cutting edge. This allows them to haul superheavy loads as well as gaining increased speed for lighter vessels.

Flaws

• Ethnic Tension: Rival ethnic groups live within your state, and often jockey against one another for position and resources. Should these affairs not be carefully managed, it may grow to open violence.
  • Since the basic unit of representation in the Sadu Schudda is per ship, many members of the Schudda who aren't actually ships, but rather, crews on the ships, believe that they are afforded non sufficient rights.
• Voidborne: Your people have lived without a planet for long enough that they have gotten used to living aboard spacecraft. As a result, your people struggle in terrestrial environments.
  • As the Schudda are, as part of government policy, ships, it's rather difficult for a twenty kilometer long void body to alight on a world with an active gravity well. They do their best with proxies.
• Low Yield: The rate of procreation of your people is painfully slow with the population growth less than ideal and making maintaining population during times of trouble a nightmare.
  • Why cut corners on your children? The Sadu Schudda maintain high quality voidyards that take years, even decades, to create a new Sadu Schudda, from microbial spore to kilometer long vessel. They're excellent: robust, durable, and upgradable, but it takes ages.
• Gluttunous: Your people require more resources than other species to survive—and expect even more to maintain their standard of living—leaving a notable strain on your economy.
  • Starship fuel doesn't come cheap! The rare cybernetic-bioaugment blend that the Sadu Schudda use to maintain themselves, even less.
• Holdouts: Elements of the human military have refused to obey the CEC's order to stand down and surrender, and have gone to ground in your territory, thanks to pro-human sentiment having a hold over large parts of your population.
  • The Sadu Schudda are fairly, probably, might be, sure that there's definitely some weird CEC guys down in some of the planets in their territory.

Declarations

• What you expect to get from the humans at the treaty: The Sadu Schudda expect mining rights to the new Itkan Government, a non insigificant stake in their mining and processing industries. Furthermore, the Sadu Schudda demands free passage, untaxed by tarriffs or harrassed by border control, through the domains of the CEC and their vassals. Also they want the Moon.
• Your factions opinion on the orbiting races: Exploiter- If they can understand us, then they can trade with us.
• Opinion on the Assembly of Species role: Traditionalist: if it ain't broke, why fix it?
• League: Prosperity

Rivals

• Minzotl Co-Prosperity Sphere: You unfairly oppress the citizenry of the Sadu Schudda. You close your borders. You withdraw your hands. You cut into our buisness with tarriffs and taxes. You send your border security to harrass us. Well, so we do the same with you.
• The Heavenly Cacophony: Your name is correct. You are a cacophany. We have detected MLUs (micro labor units) on our planets. We have evidence of your citizenry attempting intrusion. Go through the proper channels to apply for exploitation rights on our planets. Otherwise, we will break out planetary scale sanitization efforts.

Ally

• Yan Yaboth Arks: We are most glad to see another embark on the path of true life, that is, adequately scaled void based life. Our stores of self modification are opened to you. Let us swim together in the arcadian gardens of stars and join our songs in sync.
• Antaran Sovereignty: In ages past, battle seeking Sadu Schudda long journeyed from our ancestral stars to the worlds of the Antarans, where they served with distinction and equitable recompense. Many of our greatest names served in the Ultraviolet Banner Fleet- why should we reject them now?

Geographical Data

• Sectors: KAJAYTSAN, CHEYEHIP, SAHEYGAAR
• Capital: VOM-ANOKOLOR: VOM-ANOKOLOR is the sacred capital of the Sadu Schudda. It is a nebula that none outside of the Sadu know the precise location of. It is also possible that the nebula is commonly traveled and the Assemblies of the Sadu are held in secret.

DIVISIONAL DEPLOYMENTS

• THE HOME FRONT
  • DIVISION 26 [1 Army, 1 Fleet]
  • DIVISION 61 [1 Army, 1 Fleet]
  • DIVISION 57 [1 Army, 1 Fleet]
• FRONT Z2
  • DIVISION 85 [1 Army, 1 Fleet]
  • DIVISION 82 [1 Army, 1 Fleet]
• FRONT Z1
  • DIVISION 45 [1 Army, 1 Fleet]
  • DIVISION 39 [1 Army, 1 Fleet]
• FRONT SOL
  • DIVISION 81 [1 Army, 1 Fleet]
  • DIVISION 73 [1 Army, 1 Fleet]
  • DIVISION 00 [1 Army, 1 Fleet]

 

[ORE]

The Serene Olm State

Species: Olm blind cave dwelling salamanders who live extremely slow paced lives to preserve energy only to spend it in mighty sprints. Many Olm enter a state of torpor for long periods.
Flag design thoughts: two olm intertwined biting each other's tail in a yin yang kinda thing
Conduit Location: J, K, I

Drive: 5
Military: 4
Domain: 3

Tech Rating:
Drive: 2 Advanced Healthcare(Olm can live indefinitely barring traumatic injury and thanks to advanced Olm medical technology this rarely happens, giving them an exceptional sense of continuity and collective experience)
Military: 2 Blackout Beams( As a sightless species, the Olm do not need light to percieve and operate. Using blackout beams to remove the light from an area blinds their foes allowing them to move in for the kill)
Domain: 2 Crystal Singing ( Though the lightless caves of the Olm may be poor in nutrients they are rich in raw resources. While another species may struggle to map and mine the deep veins of planets the Olm have mastered unusual ways of finding and extracting mineral deposits such as their legendary indestructible crystals)

Coming Out The Shell +3 While the Olm has always been a part of the galactic community they have never really been an active part of it, moving at there own sedate pace while the whirlwind of politics and war wages beyond their territory. The recent Hyperwar has shaken the Olm from their torpor and many younger, more active

Declarations:
What you expect to get from the humans at the treaty: The Olm want a peace treaty. No seriously, they don't really understand this idea of reparations-either the war is over and we are at peace and going home, or it is not and we have yet to wipe out the foe. That being said if they wouldn't mind getting some foodstuffs and grain- calories are great and rare.

Your factions opinion on the orbiting races: : Why your people seek to bring less advanced races into the fold before they can naturally reach it themselves could be for a number of reasons, altruism being the most common. Uplifting of races however is a dangerous prospect, humanity being given numerous aid to unseat the Ulvorians which led to the destruction of the Hyper War.

Opinion on the Assembly of Species role: Traditionalist: The Assembly of Species has been a galactic institution for centuries with it serving as a meeting place of equals to share ideas, trade and for mediation of conflicts. Humanity's refusal to operate within the Assembly should have served as a proper warning for the rest of the galaxy for what was to come next. An idiom spoken by many ship mechanics, if it ain't broke why fix it?
Rivals: Kazeed Empire: Its not just that the Olm find the Kazeed determination to get mass death and purging distasteful. Its also that the hearing of the Olm is incredibly powerful and sensitive and the Kazeed WILL NOT STOP SCREAMING. It is actively painful, please stop, please just stop.
Tfenr Ecumene: The Olm have been disrespected before but the passive aggressive patronizing manner of the Tfenr has begun to make them genuinely wroth at least by Olm standards of wroth and some think a lesson in manners would be educational for the Ecumene
Allies: Royal Palatinate of Gynnaire, The Olm cannot see the Gynnaire, but their chemo-, mechano-, and electroreceptors all agree that they are adorable and must be protected. There is no evidence to the rumor that the Prince of the Palatinate has potential to fulfil ancient Olm prophecies, no evidence at all.
The Divine Axiom: The Olm remember the axiom when they were created 50000 years ago fondly, and are pleased that all that time has (mostly) not changed them. The Olm remember the Axiom at their best and see all their actions in the best light. They are a race that remembers and they respect memory.

League Faction: Neutral-The Olm are so far behind in terms of following galactic political trends that the new style of leagues has completely passed them by. If the current Olm interest in trying to keep up

Military Deployment:
The Olm Home Fleet:
2 Fleets 2 Armies In Olm Home Sector



Olm Expeditionary Forces
1 Fleet 1 Army Ikta Occupation Force
1 Fleet 1 Army Paxillus Elimination Expedition
2 Fleets 2 Armies part of Coalition forces in Sol sector

As a species the Olm developed in lightless cave systems where nutrients were poor except on rare occasions of feast that broke the famine. A sightless species with a tendency to lower body activity to near nothing in lean times the Olm live long by excerting themselves rarely and rarely understand the way that other species panic and rush. Originating in nutrient poor deep caves the planets the Olm dwell are so marginal to another perspective the war passed them by initially. An ancient race that has been part of the galactic community from the beginning through that long history they had never once done something of note and always voted abstain. When they actually voted for war it was something of a shock to discover they could vote. Joining in the sixth year of the war and fighting at Triton station Though other nations may have been more famous for their victories or sacrifice they still joined the fight and fought their share- for when necessary an olm will fight and fight hard and they has a tremendous reserve population lying torpid.. But now that the war is over the Olm seem reluctant to entirely withdraw as they once had before, but are still eager to return to serenity. 1The war is over-what is this talk of "revenge"? that is a waste of calories. The real question is if they will try and keep pace with a fast galaxy or enjoy the serenity of a slow pace.

---

The Sauron Society
Government: Stratocracy
Species: Sauronites, a gene engineered warrior races spun from dinosaur lineages and retooled to be bipedal and anthropomorphic
Flag design thoughts: an abstract design of the pillar of Orthanc.
Conduit Location: A,N, W

Drive: 5: The Sauron are not disunited, but they are somewhat rudderless-they have never been free and are unsure what this means
Military: 8: The Sauron were designed from the beginning for war and they thrive on it,
Domain: 4: The territory of the society was originally CEC land earmarked for stay behind operations they seized when they revolted. It is not a large area, and it is heavily scarred by the war.

Tech Rating:
Drive: 1
Military: 3: Genebred war machines: Not only are the Sauronites in their own right exceptional soldiers with incredible strength and a natural squad instinct, but they have inherited much of the CEC's biological weapon research. In the deep vaults lie many monstrosities that even Dr. Sauron hesitated to unleash on his foes, and the tools to make more.
Domain: 1


Flaws
Low Yield (1) The Sauronites were not meant to be an independent and self sustaining species. Sauronite scientists are still struggling to understand the process that created them and how to ensure that they are not the only generation of their kind.
Spatial Fluctuations (1): The Conduit seized by the Sauronites in their revolt was not entirely unscathed in the fighting. It seems to still work fine its probably all good, right?
Caste System (1) The Sauronites were designed with different genelines specialized in different roles. Of course an NB Sauronite is going to handle the artillery, and a JC is the ranking officer, that's how things were designed, are you suggesting Dr Sauron was incorrect?????
Gluttonous (1) Put simply, it takes a great deal of meat to sustain the muscle mass of dinosaur super soldiers.
Dependent on another power (2) It took a power with a long record of war service against the CEC and a certain amount of influence to vouch for the Sauronites as allies and galactic community members, the Sauronites are grateful and know who they owe.
Holdouts (2): The Sauronites were not the only segments of the CEC military ordered to begin stay-behind sabotage operations in the area and despite the surrender of the CEC and revolt of the Sauronites many of them are still stubbornly operating.


Declarations:
What you expect to get from the humans at the treaty: A future- to be more specific the Sauronites want all the research and records related to their creation and design to ensure they can ensure a second generation. They also would like sections of the CEC fleet and other military materiel, its what they are used too and they like armaments
Your factions opinion on the orbiting races: Shunner, the Sauronites don't have anything *against* orbiting races, but only having been a state for a handful of years and considering themselves deeply indebted to another one they hardly think they are in a position or time to care about orbiting races. Maybe in a generation or two with the war over and the future ensured. For now we're busy.
Opinion on the Assembly of Species role: Consolidator: The Sauronites don't envision themselves as taking a leadership position in a more consolidated council but think it only logical that a stronger state with a leading council be formed (to whom the Sauronites could be the fist)
Rivals: WIP
Allies: WIP
League Faction: Hierarchy: The Sauronites like order the chain of command and structure. The galaxy needs a strong and benevolent hand to ensure peace order and justice



After the loss of the olympus mons Dr. Sauron Skywalker Braukenhaus, was given unlimited budget and limited time by CEC high command to produce super soldiers for the war effort like the successful hades program. The good doctor took small amounts of DNA of the greatest warriors in human history and combined it with dromaeosauride gene lines to create a race of super soldiers. A new humanoid race, bread to fight and serve. Though highly effective as the war turned against the CEC they were increasingly used for suicide and spite operations something that the Doctor protested again as not only a waste of his "beautiful children" but also "a superior species". When he was executed for his defeatist talk his creations revolted en masse, joining the coalition as a species in their own right and turning on the CEC. Now that the war is over, the "Sauronites" find themselves for the first time a free people with a chance for peace and to settle their own future, and little idea on what to do with this.

 

[Scrivener]

THE KAZED EMPIRE​

"ATTENTION, HUMANS! WE HAVE ATTACHED MULTIPLE ANTIMATTER ENGINES TO THE SURFACE OF YOUR MOON. IF YOU DO NOT SURRENDER TO THE KAZED EMPIRE, WE SHALL DEORBIT YOUR MOON ONTO YOUR HOMEWORLD'S SURFACE! YOU HAVE TEN HOURS."

GOVERNMENT TYPE: CASTE-BASED EMPIRE
LEADER: EMPEROR THAST THE NINTH
LOCATION: Z
RIVALS: TFENR ECUMENE, SOPHONT FEDERATED COMMUNAL REPUBLICS
ALLIES: YSHARIN KHERATA

KAZED MILITARY DEPLOYMENTS:
- KAZED EXPEDITIONARY VENGEANCE FLEET (3 FLEETS, 2 ARMIES) (SOL)
- KAZED OCCUPATION FLEET (7 FLEETS, 8 ARMIES) (GRONK)​

The Kazed species evolved on the barren world of Kalaann, a world bathed by radiation from the neutron star it orbited. Although the surface was inhospitable to almost all life, the oceans and caves were safe for the cephalopodic Kazeds to inhabit. Over a process spanning hundreds of thousands of years, the Kazeds eventually developed incredible intelligence, learned how to fashion their environment into a vast system of underground factories, and built radiation-proof casings that allowed them to venture onto Kalaann's surface, where they built mighty cities, developed space travel, and eventually built an empire.

For a space-faring race, the Kazeds were quite isolationist, preferring to stay within their cities and space colonies to focus on advancing their scientific prowess and artistic ability (yes, the Kazeds do have an appreciation of art). When first contact was initiated with the Imperial Ulvor Union, the Kazeds reluctantly greeted them, sent a small delegation to the Assembly of Species, and promptly proceeded to ignore the rest of the galaxy for the next eight hundred years. The only notable diplomatic meeting with foreigners after that was the signing of a defensive pact with the IUU to defend against the Gronk Satrapy, who kept launching irritating raids into Kazed space.

When the IUU began to collapse and the CEC rose to prominence, the Kazeds initially didn't pay close attention. The humans had only arrived on the galactic scene a mere hundred years ago; who would think that they would go on to conquer half of the galaxy? Everything would be fine.

Then humanity invaded, and the hated Gronks marched alongside them. Kazed space would become the frontline of Human expansion, as millions of Kazed caste warriors desperately tried to hold the tide against CEC ships and millions of Gronk shock troops. Entire planets became battlegrounds, pockmarked by craters from asteroids thrown at their surfaces. For almost ten years, the Kazeds bled at the hands of upstarts and barbarians, until they were finally forced from Kazed territory.

Then the great offensive began.

The Kazed Empire would storm into Gronk space, exterminating all who resisted, and raising their flag above the Gronk homeworld. Then they turned their eyes to Earth; three Kazed battlefleets would lead the charge that broke through Saturn's defenses. And when the moon was taken, the Kazeds did the unthinkable; eighteen antimatter-powered engines were attached to the surface of Earth's moon, and a threat was issued that if humanity did not surrender within ten hours, then the Moon would be deorbited onto Earth's surface, obliterating the homeworld of humanity.

Admiral Albert Ortman surrendered. He was, however, two hours late. And the Kazeds always kept their promises.

---

SPECIES STATISTICS​

DECLARATIONS

The Kazed Empire is a member of the Hierachy League in the Assembly of Species. They, personally, do not like being in the Assembly of Species, but view their eight-hundred year old membership as inherently necessary, lest the Kazeds be sidelined by a united galactic community (Orban much?). They have a Fillibuster opinion on the Assembly.

Before the Hyper War, the Kazed Empire took a stance of neutrality on the Orbiting Races. After the rise of the CEC, however, the Kazed Supreme Council and Emperor has become notably xenophobic, and have shifted to a stance of exploitation. A repeat of humanity cannot be allowed to happen.

As for Kazed demands; the Kazeds, having had their territory directly invaded and having spent much of the war desperately fighting against Gronk hordes and Human spacecraft, demand either the complete extermination of humanity and the Gronk or their enslavement. The Kazed Emperor is a notable advocate for letting the Moon deorbit completely and smash into the Earth's surface. Human scientists and technology should be distributed to the powers who contributed the most to defeating humanity (which just so happens to include the Kazed Empire), while the Gronk homeworld is to be annexed by the Kazed Empire in retaliation for their century-long raids and recent campaign of conquest.

Kazed Imperial Intelligence considers the Tfenr Ecumene and the Sophont Federated Communal Republics as their primary galactic rivals due to their stances of pacifism and reconciliation towards humanity and the Gronk. In response, the Kazed Empire has allied itself with the Ysharin Kherata (@Red Robyn).

BENEFITS

Drive: 6 (Tech 1)
- Due to Kalaann's neutron sun, every Kazed embryo is grown in an artificial womb, allowing for the modification of Kazed genetic code. This has resulted in the average Kazed possessing an IQ comparable to that of Albert Einstein, although thanks to the complexities of modern technology this doesn't count for much anymore. It has, however, allowed for a great deal of cultural cohesion, and the average Kazed conversation consists of arguing over galactic politics, the latest scientific theories, and the optimal place to install a coffee dispenser.

Military: 7 (Tech 3)
- The Kazed Empire's miniaturization of military technology has advanced to the point where a single Kazed Warrior Caste member utilizes a armored casing that can be compared to a literal flying tank, capable of destroying buildings with its energy disruptor gun. The specialized casing variants are even more destructive, while the latest Kazed battleships employ antimatter torpedoes, multiphasic energy shielding, and incredibly scary "atomic decompilers", which are extreme long-range heavy energy howitzers powered by opening a rift into the Labyrinth itself. And of course, one mustn't forget the nine years of planning and construction it took to build the antimatter engines that deorbited Earth's moon.

Domain: 5 (Tech 2)
- The Kazed Empire is maintained by a massive system of automated factories and starbases, and its economy is planned by massive quantum computers cooled by the methane lakes of distant moons.

FLAWS

Coming Out The Shell (+3)
- The Hyper War greatly disrupted Kazed society both materially and culturally, and forcibly reintroduced the Kazed Empire to galactic affairs after eight hundred years of isolation. There is currently a massive surplus of Warrior Caste members occupying Gronk space and Earth, while back at home, foreign ideas are starting to leak into the populace, with a few Kazed scientific members beginning to consider modifying their own genetic code in order to adopt alternative forms (which goes against standard Kazed teaching that their bodies are perfect as is). The Kazed Emperor and Supreme Council greatly disapproves of this, and have begun to become more paranoid.

Paranoid Intelligence Institutions (+2)
- The Hyper War was a great shock to the Kazed Supreme Council and the Emperor, and after scrambling to halt the Human-Gronk advance, decided to combine the many intelligence agencies within the Kazed Empire into a single one; Kazed Imperial Intelligence, which answers to the Supreme Council and Kazed Emperor alone. Given recent events, they are incredibly paranoid, and possess several of their own highly advanced stealth ships.

Mass Climatological Collapse (+2)
- Given that the average Kazed almost never ventures outside their house without using a casing, the Kazed Empire never really cared for such things as "global warming" and "climatological collapse". The Hyper War only accelerated the process of mass extinction on many Kazed worlds, as entire planets were strip mined for resources. The problem has gotten to the point where many Kazed planets are beginning to lose their ozone layers and even magnetic, forcing exposed Kazed colonies to begin moving much of their industry underground in imitation of their homeworld of Kalaann, lest they all be boiled alive by their own stars.

Unpleasant Conduct (+2)
- After eight hundred years of isolation, Kazed diplomatic capability is nearly nonexistent. Deorbiting Earth's moon didn't help their reputation.

Caste System (+1)
- The Kazed Empire utilizes a caste system; the Emperor and his Supreme Council stands at the top, while the rest of the population is divided into equal Warrior, Administrator, and Scientist castes. Foreign nationals and dignitaries are usually treated as equals, while barbarian species like the Gronk and Humanity are treated as slaves.

 

[Fancy Face]

Polity name: League of Free Planets

Species:

Spoiler: Background

As the the Imperial Ulvor Union convulsed under the weight of humanity's challenge to its hegemony and the costs of its own ambition, numerous systems would break away from their weakening grip. The League of Free Planets was one such state-disgusted by the Imperium's betrayal of its old ideals and its increasingly high handed rule, the League began life as an alliance of several rebelling systems, many of which were populated by the Imperium's own former colonists, demanding greater freedoms and a more open government. The initial success of the rebellion would prompt a number of imitators, and the League would expand substantially at the Imperium's expense, resulting in the coalescence of the initial loose alliance into a state of its own, one that would champion the old ideals the Imperium had forgotten. The League is a stalwart member of the Assembly that is highly invested and active in galactic affairs, ready and willing to bring the light of Freedom to the rest of the galaxy.

Or at least, that's how the story goes. The truth is altogether more complicated. The League is certainly a more open society than the autocracy that preceded it, being a federation of systems lead by elected officials with semi-robust civil liberties, and able to have emerged relatively quickly as a prosperous state, buoyed by its powerful industry and staunch commitment to trade. It was able to convince numerous other planets and systems to join it in defecting from the IUU, and continually fend off the Imperium's attempts at reclamation. Its military, given so many negative examples to draw upon, remains firmly subservient to its government, bearing a strong sense of pride tempered by obedience. Most of its population still believes in the grand mission and the national myth. It remains one of the most successful democratic states in the galaxy, the initially weak ties of alliance reforming into an actual effective, unified government.

But at the same time, it has in many ways simply provided its own spin on the sins of its galactic "father"-the founding species of the League, the Vorgarr, the Kui, the Crorruks, and the Ulovors themselves, still occupy positions of outsized power and prominence within its government, a government that has increasingly grown more and more dominated by nakedly nepotistic political machines and the interests of powerful business magnates. Many of those species that were sidelined by the IUU inevitably found themselves sidelined by the LFP in turn, just in a "softer" fashion, their economies unable to compete, their voting power irrelevant. In the end, the League has steadily transformed from an idealistic conclave of dreamers into a galactic powerbroker with its own entrenched interests and empire, perfectly capable of compromising on its ideals in order to suit its own interests, and quite prone to doing so.

The LFP would weather the chaos after the collapse of the IUU to emerge as a rival to the Ikta and their Human backers, sparring with both over the old territories of the Imperium. It would be this same rivalry over the corpse of the IUU that would eventually lead to them joining the Hyper War, out of a mix of idealism and ambition. The resulting conflict would be bitterly fought and costly in the extreme, but the League's own territory would be spared the worst of it. In the wake of the war, the LFP currently stands at a crossroads. It still clings tightly to its mantle as a democratic vanguard, but there are those within and without who decry the League as simply another attempt at imperial dominance, the IUU come again, and there is a growing movement within its own Conclave that demands just that-a firm, strong hand that will bring freedom and stability to the Galaxy in the wake of Humanity's hubris. Though they have yet to name their preferred candidate for Archon, they have been aggressively courting the famed Ulovor Grand Admiral Lelywn, hero of the last stages of the Hyper War and Hammer of the CEC. In opposition to them stands the current incumbent Archon, Wai-Sarr, a soft spoken Kui who, having stewarded the League through the final stages of the war, counsels staying the course, channeling ties with the Assembly to create a lasting peace and a galactic community favorable to LFP ideals and business interests. The upcoming elections promise to be a bitterly contested affair, and it is an open secret that Wai-Sarr's victory rests on them turning the upcoming peace talks into a victory for their cause.

Vorgarr - Four armed bipeds with a modest head of hair, taller than most humans and broad and bulky.
Kui - Quadrupedal reptiles who never stop growing as long as they live, thin and sinewy.
Crorruks - Small, bipedal "frog men".
Ulovors - Tall, hairless bipeds.

Drive: 5
Military: 5
Domain: 5
Tech Rating:
- Drive: 2 (A highly sophisticated FTL media apparatus that employs some of the best universal translation software in the Galaxy, automatically finding suitable metaphors and allusions from a viewer's own knowledge base)
- Military: 2 (Stellar Fortresses are vast battle stations that dwarf actual warships, acting as mobile logistical support for battlefleets, armed with massive shipyards and fully functional amenities)
- Domain: 2 (Advanced anti gravity generators allow for increased ease of manufacturing, incredibly built up urban centers, and large mega structures)

Flaws:
Ethnic Tension +1 - Those species outside of the initial four founders are marginalized politically, socially, and economically, acting as little more than a source of raw materials or labor and manpower. This has sparked some bitterness and unrest, with only a few desultory attempts at reform that have failed to address the actual root of the problem.

Hyper Specialized Worlds +1 - Entire planets have become nothing more than a singular piece of highly complex and intricate vertical supply systems for the League's business interests, whose own deals with one another have only grown more arcane and entwined.

Political Gridlock +2 - The League's Conclave has grown increasingly mired in factionalism and internal politicking, more and more reliant on the bargains between vast political machines and favor trading to get anything done. Currently, it is bitterly divided between two political blocks existing in an uneasy, unsteady equilibrium.

Greased Gears +2 - The League's prosperity relied a great deal on favorable laws for business and a lack of restriction on exports. Unsurprisingly, this has facilitated a great deal of arms trading outside of its own borders, with the drydocks and shipyards only growing more busy with the end of the war.

Preferred Location: U - M - T

Declarations:
- What you expect to get from the humans at the treaty: Humanity and its allies must accept responsibility for the war, pay reparations in the form of economic and technological concessions, abandon their occupied territories, dissolve their current autocratic regimes, and be subject to a period of demilitarization and political tutelage under the oversight of the Assembly. Furthermore, client races must be freed and allowed full autonomy and independent action, and there should be a number of strategic territorial concessions to prevent the outbreak of another war.
- Your factions opinion on the orbiting races: Exploiter
- Opinion on the Assembly of Species role: Consolidator
- Two rivals for your polity:
- And one ally:
- League Faction: Freedom



Polity name: Minzotl Co-Prosperity Sphere
Species:

Spoiler: Background

As long as their history records, the Zotl were a community of strictly hierarchal short amphibious crustaceans, ruled over by a caste of egg-bearing monarchs whose spawn made up all Zotl within the hive. And as long as they remember, the Min existed alongside them. The Min are a race of sentient coral, incapable of communicating or affecting their environment normally but each possessed of some amount of psionic ability. Individually, a Min is of little consequence, only capable of small pushes or exertions, but in large numbers, they become far more potent. Perhaps most important, this ability allowed for them and the Zotl to communicate before each had even developed a proper language, leading to a close and fruitful symbiosis. The Min provided shelter and material to the Zotl, who in turn gave protection and food. The elegant spiraling towers of the hives steadily grew, clawing at the sky itself, and inevitably, one royal line surpassed all others and united the twin-species for a push into space.

There, the Minzotl's coral ships would have the misfortune of encountering the Imperial Ulvor Union as their first neighbors in the stars. The Union, as was their custom, distilled the intricacies of the Minzotl into that which was useful for them-a highly organized species with a strict hierarchy that could be easily exploited, and a numerous race of all-psionics. The Zotl would be utilized for forced labor, transported offworld in vast numbers, their royal lines rendered nothing more than overseers and taskmaskers. A far worse fate awaited the Min, when it was found that crushing and consuming their remains could enhance one's psionic abilities, or merely produce a pleasant euphoria. Under these conditions, many would see death as preferable, and violent resistance did not take long to erupt. The cooption of the royals by the IUU would backfire, instead leading to the breakdown of the hive structure as the lower castes increasingly turned to rebellion.

This was the situation the CEC's agents would discover, as they covertly searched IUU territory for points of tension that could be utilized. Unsurprisingly, most of the Minzotl's resistance movements were happy to align themselves with the CEC, coordinating intelligence and attacks in exchange for weaponry and expertise. The Min's numbers had been terribly culled, and they eagerly utilized their psionic powers for coordination, terrorism, and espionage. For the Zotl, the old hive society no longer existed. The royal lines were corpulent, indolent and removed from their own people, increasingly culturally akin to the Ulovor whose bribes and regard they sought, whilst the once mighty warrior caste had become thuggish enforcers over the increasingly restive and independent worker castes, whose once carefully regulated numbers and characteristics were becoming altered due to disruption. Repression was the only thing that could keep this castle of sand together, and it drove more and more Zotl into looking farther afield for inspiration and answers. One of these Zotl, perhaps the most important, would be Tzaol.

Tzaol was a Zotl dissident and rebel who would volunteer to "study abroad" in the CEC, becoming a liason to the humans and helping to organize a Minzotl Auxiliary Force that would aid in the war against the CEC. Tzaol was one of many Minzotl who did this, but it was one of the few who survived the purge of leadership that resulted when the IUU crumbled and the CEC now had no use for the fifth column they had been cultivating, escaping back to the homeworld to take command in the power vacuum, the CEC having only managed to unite their enemies through the attempt to decapitate them. The two species would continue to fight against the CEC just as they had the IUU, many rebel cells not even pausing to celebrate their "liberation". The war would not end even when the CEC was forced out of Minzotl space, the war fleets joining with the Coalition to fight their enemies to the bitter end. After centuries of violence and decades of war, the guns finally fell silent when the CEC at last crumbled and yielded in the shadow of their own Conduit.

Tzaol, now, rules supreme, center of a powerful cult of personality, able to enact its vision of a reformed society built on lessons from the CEC, the IUU, and the past. The royal lines are extinguished, and the warrior castes eradicated. The alliance with the Min is stronger than ever, but the hives are now a highly militarized union of collectivist communes under the watchful eyes of the dictator, the old caste system obliterated socially and biologically through careful engineering. The Minzotl have at last seized their destiny with their own hands, throwing off the yoke of two empires and bloodily securing their conduit before any others. Now then, comes the next step-the growth of the sphere until it need never fear the domination of a foreign power ever again.

Drive: 7
Domain: 2
Military: 7
Technology:
-Drive: 2 (The psionics of the Min and the chemical processes of the Zotl have been combined into a highly potent treatment regimen that allows for the rapid socialization, indoctrination, and education of newly born members of either race)
-Domain: 1
-Military: 2 (The Min provide the material for much of the Sphere's creations, but the most famed by far is the process of "forging" a colony of Min, through means as much ritual as technological, into a massive sentient suit of armor capable of self repair and feats that defy conventional physics when paired with a Zotl pilot. Such unions are for life, and highly celebrated, producing exceptional soldiers and heroes)

Player League: Equality

Flaws:
Restless Warriors + 2 - While the old warrior class is gone, the respect and glory afforded to those who make war has only grown with the great war and Tzaol's cult of personality. The Minzotl's military is full of those eager for a chance at glory, and none more so than those piloting the honored Panoplies.

Wounded Lands + 2 - Minzotl territory was occupied by two empires and the site of an intense insurgency that was met with savage reprisals. The surprising this is that it is in as good a condition as it is.

Paranoid Intelligence Institutions +2 - Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Minzotl's security apparatus is ever watchful for the next galactic hegemon who they expect to come knocking upon their door, and view all as a threat-the only question is when that will become the case.

Preferred location: H - Y - E

Declarations:
What you expect to get from the humans at the treaty: Their technology, their weaponry, their wealth. Beyond that, they are of no concern.
Your factions opinion on the orbiting races: Uplifter
Opinion on the Assembly of Species role: Consolidator
Two rivals for your polity:

Yan-Yaboth Arks - The Concordant Worlds prided themselves on their stewardship of the galaxy, stewing in their own arrogance and willfully blind to the exploitation and cruelties of the empires around them until it finally blew up in their faces. Tzaol remembers how the Concordant sat by and did nothing when the IUU turned the Min into a luxury product and the Zotl into slaves, and now they have the audacity to ask for aid. The galaxy should rightfully leave these fossils in the dust where they belong.

Sadu Schudda - The black ships, the despoilers of planets, raiders and pirates. A lawless band of living ships, always prying and seeking profit, seeking to feed upon the lands of others. The Minzotl have not been a Conduit race for long, but already relations have soured precipitously with their eastern neighbor. Their lifestyles are wildly divergent, their political goals at odds with one another, and their allies opposed. That the Sadu Shudda mostly made a name for themselves during the war by blasting apart colonies seeded with colonists from other eastern powers did not help much at all.

And two allies: The International Harmony of Collective Emancipation - The Harmony and the Co-Prosperity Sphere have a shared interest in the containment of the Paxillus, a distrust of any possible new galactic hegemon, and a deeply fraught relationship with the rest of the galaxy. When the Zotl Auxilia turned against the CEC, the Harmony was quick to step in as their new backer, and formal alliance during the Hyper War was a natural development. Moreover, Tzaol believes the Harmony might help act as a model for the Minzotl's nascent government in terms of structure, ideology, and organization. As well as, more quietly, perhaps an example of what not to do.

The Heavenly Cacophony - Unsurprisingly, the Sphere's other ally is also a result of the war. The Blizzetans and Minzotl occupied similar positions, waging war against CEC forces, the Pax, and collaborator regimes from their own species. But it would be a chance encounter with a defecting Blizzetan officer that would act as the primary catalyst for the alliance. Forced to flee the grasp of the CEC aligned Dounir, the not-yet Admiral Kess would find sanctuary among Tzaol's Minzotl resistance and repay the kindness with her expertise in training the warriors of the Panopoly to adapt to void combat and Dounir tactics. The alliance would endure post war, with Kess becoming the Regent's right-hand and arguing that the new strategic realities made the two powers natural allies, a conclusion Tzaol also subscribes to.

Deployments:
Soaring Tower [2 Fleets, 2 Armies] - Xoahuili

Burning Claw [1 Fleet, 1 Army] - Kudzu

Gleaming Shell [1 Fleets, 1 Army] - Sol

 

[Aedan777]

Polity name: The Resolute and Inviolable Charter of the Revered Clans (colloquially, The Charter)

Species: The Treluk are an avian species, incapable of flight. Their society is incredibly stratified. At the top are the Clans, a number of family structures who each command vast amounts of power and influence within The Charter, including control over entire planets. The Melvan Clan, for instance, has an effective monopoly on warship production within The Charter, and controls multiple planets dedicated almost purely towards said production. The verdant breadbaskets of the Veltok Clan are the source of The Charter's foodstuffs, and many more beyond its borders. Each Clan effectively commands their own military force, though in times of crisis all Charter members provide their military assets to The Charter's Arbitration Council.

Beneath the Clans, all work at the whims of those favored by The Charter. The Household Staff are the highest below the Clans, by quite a ways. They interact directly with members of the Clans, and serve as their most trusted servants, bodyguards, and military personnel. Those below the staff are forbidden from interacting with members of the Clans.

The remainder of Charter society sees the respect of each Treluk caste decline the more they are forced to perform manual labor. Beneath even the lowest Treluk though are alien species. Those who were "bought out" and "acquired" through the maneuvers of the Clans, those who fled to The Charter, bereft of other options. These other species are treated as scum and denied even the faint prospect of caste advancement theoretically open to Treluks.

Drive: 6
Domain: 10
Military: 2
Technology:
-Drive: 1
-Domain: 3
-Military: 2

Flaws: Ethnic Tensions (1 point), Caste system (1 point), Doves (1 point), Hyper Specialized Worlds (1 point), Have and Have Nots (1 point), Refugee Crisis (2 points), Greased Gears (2 points)

Preferred location: J, I, T

Declarations: When the Hyper War Started, The Charter saw the rise of warfare as a business opportunity, and gladly sold many warships and other weapons to the burgeoning Coalition. However the advance of the CEC and its allies, as well as pressure from the Coalition states, would force The Charter to become more directly involved. While the vast resources of The Charter and its Clans could supply a large war fleet, the still Clan based military structure and extremely limited experience with real warfare against a peer foe meant that The Charter's military was not an effective force, and took high casualties when forced into combat. As such The Charter avoided putting its forces into frontline duty wherever it could help it. Many warships produced by The Charter did see more effective service with other coalition members however.

The Charter's territory was never directly occupied and as such saw many refugees relocated to the relative safety of the Charter, which has led to rising tensions within the highly stratified society of The Charter. Many Clans are relieved by the end of the war and strongly oppose entering any other conflicts as direct participation in the war effort has not been good for business.

What you expect to get from the humans at the treaty: Financial compensation and extraction rights from worlds of humanity and its allies.
Your factions opinion on the orbiting races: Exploiter
Opinion on the Assembly of Species role: Traditionalist. A mediating body, to avoid conflict and foster trade relations between members. Little to no ability to enforce laws upon members.
Two rivals for your polity: Communion of the Hollow Heresy- A disgusting amalgamation of lesser species driven by superstition and preaching such nonsense as "equality". The irony that the revolution of the Hollow most likely prevented a CEC invasion of The Charter is studiously ignored by the Clans.

The Divine Axiom- Silk is a wonderfully nefarious invention, a method of control and exploitation so complete its victims do not even realize how captured they are. Unfortunately it is in the hands of foreign fanatics, not The Charter, and so it is a threat, not an asset.
And one ally: (Note, these will be picked after apps are selected.)
League Faction: Prosperity

Military Deployments
Home systems: 5 Armies, 5 Fleets
A notable portion of the armed forces of the Charter's Clans have remained behind to keep up public order, and to guard against opportunistic attacks, either by one Clan against another or a foreign power against the Charter.

Kudzu: 3 Armies, 2 Fleets
Ivy; 2 Armies, 1 Fleet
Oxalis: 1 Army, 1 Fleet
Henbit: 1 Army, 1 Fleet
Clover: 1 Army, 1 Fleet
Purslane: 1 Army, 1 Fleet
Goosefoot: 1 Army, 1 Fleet
The Charter contributed heavily to the campaign against the Paxillus, fearing the expansion of some all consuming swarm. Much of its strength remains here to occupy the systems, to prevent a resurgence, and to take stock of how best these systems might be exploited now that they are "free".

Indriidae: 1 Army, 1 Fleet
Mirza: 1 Army, 1 Fleet
Phaner: 1 Army, 1 Fleet
Avahi: 1 Army, 1 Fleet
The Charter was a major contributor to the campaign against the Ikta Military Council, and now constitute a significant portion of the Coalition's garrison forces in these sectors. In addition to disarmament and dealing with hold outs, Charter forces are beginning to insert themselves into the deteriorating political situation in the territories, with the ultimate goal of securing a sphere of influence for the Charter here.

Sol: 1 Army, 3 Fleets
While not as great as their contributions against the Ikta and Paxillus, the Charter also sent many fleets and armies to assist in the great push for Sol, to secure itself the greatest possible recognition at the peace table once the war was won. Charter forces suffered heavy casualties in the fighting, and maintain only a fraction of their initial strength, especially for their ground forces.

 

[Another Amoeba]

Koldaki Trade Leagues​

"They cheered us. The star dreadnoughts devoured all the fire and death the enemy could throw at them. Our cannons split the heavens, and our hulls stood like lighthouses in the tempest. We were heroes. We'd never felt like that before."​

Spoiler: Species: The Koldaki

They were born in a jungle, not in the terrestrial sense, but in the heart of a nebula so bright and dense that for most of the history of astronomical observation, the universe seemed to be only a few thousand light years across. All of space was a single, bright cloud. This cloud was the domain of monsters. The star squids, the void dragons, the filter-feeding nebula leviathans, even the paleolithic Koldaki could track their visits and life cycles across the heavens. There was so much more they couldn't see.

It would have been so easy for the Koldaki to be snuffed out. It nearly happened at least once. Starting in their early modern period, the young Koldaki had to reckon with an invasive sort of aggressive slime mold aggressively colonizing the planet. Nevertheless, they overcame. They mustered beyond their gravity well, armed themselves with the atom, and began the arduous process of becoming an interstellar nation.

To travel safely within the local star systems, all Koldaki starships grew both massive and well armed. Those first explorers with their thermonuclear warheads and stadium-sized starships are remembered as quaint but brave pioneers by the crews of the modern Koldaki behemoths. Crossing a prewar trade-dreadnought from end to end requires a few hours' walk.

In the decades before contact with another species, the task of maintaining these impossibly expensive lifelines to their interstellar colonies was captured by the great trade-houses, who grew rich until their loose coalition supplanted all other attempts at governance. Eventually, the Trade Leagues came to be known for their interstellar bazaars, when a single starship carrying millions of tons of materials would unveil itself deep in the galaxy, bringing wealth or ruin to those caught in the economic blast radius.

"Eighty-two percent on the Starwind, ninety percent on the Globe. On no ship does less than seventy percent of the crew approve of quashing all Houses' ownership stakes, and they expect us to. They're cheering us, but this is it! If we don't move now, history moves us."
—From the Records of the Final All-Shipholders Joint Meeting​

Then, the humans invaded. The merchant-houses were unexceptional in being drawn into war, though unique in the weapons they brought to bear against humanity. They found themselves belting guns, hangar bays, and armor to their already substantially bulky trade ships to create behemoths that were otherwise far, far too vast to be created for any genuine military purpose. Crude as they were, even a human battleship would balk at engaging one in a fair fight. Often at the center of pitched battles, and with their ships quite vulnerable without support, the Koldaki lodged themselves firmly within coalition politics.

The war was painful. Dozens of trade dreadnoughts were broken. All of them were scarred. Merchant houses became dashing war heroes at the same time their fortune vanished, and the colonies have never been more isolated. However, a fire was suddenly lit in the heart of a people now lauded, now respected, bold, and brave.

"Ton-for-ton, they're not worth much. And they don't really shoot straight because they're designed to defend from a Space Whale coming in from any angle. Still, they got a lot of tons."
—From an Alpha Centauri War College Lecture​

Merchants who captained battleships, trade moguls who reckon themselves statesmen, laborers who became heroes: they stood as castles, sheltered the foreigner upon their ship, and broke the humans against their armor. The Koldaki imagine something nobler, something grander, something more perfect.

At the hour of victory, a species dreams.

Drive: 8
Domain: 5
Military: 3
Technology:
-Drive: 1
-Domain: 1
-Military: 1

Spoiler: Flaws

Haves and Have Nots [1]: The great trade magnates have, except for a bare handful, seen the starships that were the source of their wealth annihilated in the war, yet they still possess a lock on the Trade Leagues' intangible assets and formal, legitimate political power.
Scrapped the Barrel [3]: Anchoring the battle lines of the coalition navy in a dozen battles, the Trade Leagues' stock of star dreadnoughts were whittled down to a bare few. Aside from the immense loss of capital, it is near-impossible for any shuttle or small ship to safely transit Koldaki space. The Trade Leagues cannot transport soldiers, goods, administrators, or assets from one world or another without tasking one of their few remaining great ships, leaving the Trade League more closely bound together by shared culture and idealism than anything else. When one of these ships is used for any purpose except trade, the economies of a dozen colonies falter. Their ability to use these ships to respond to Stellar Megafaunana is nil. Even within colonized solar systems, space is no longer safe due to rewilding after weapons and defensive platforms were stripped for the fleet, necessitating the abandonment of significant resource extraction capacity as indefensible.

Preferred location: P, T, R

Spoiler: Declarations

What you expect to get from the humans at the treaty: It is the policy of the Trade Leagues that the future warmaking capacity of the humans and their allies must be destroyed and that restitution must be provided, on humanitarian grounds, for the destroyed Trade Dreadnoughts. They struggle within the bounds of their formal power structure to delineate precise diplomatic stances, but their flamboyant emissary Trade Lord Vomyr has historically set his sights primarily against the enemy governments, not the enemy people.

Your faction's opinion on the orbiting races: Shunner. Themselves being not much of a coherent government until recently, the Koldaki feel it is up to the orbiting races to determine their relationships with the Conduit races on their own, so long as the Conduit races do not violate the natural rights of the orbiting races' people. There is no fundamental difference between an Orbital government and a Conduit government except in terms of capability, though this relative lack of power can justify being given less importance in pan-galactic institutions. They see no particular need to make any effort towards the Orbitals.

Opinion on the Assembly of Species role: Traditionalist. Historically, the Trade Leagues have viewed the Assembly of Species as an important but broadly powerless deliberative body much like their own system of government. The postwar Koldaki people have much more respect for the notion of the Assembly as a central bub for a grand brotherhood of species, a true successor to the Coalition, but this is not yet policy.
League Faction: Prosperity

Two rivals for your polity: The Heavenly Cacophony and Mandeville Hives
And Two Two Allies: The Communion of the Hollow Heresy and the International Harmony.

Spoiler: Deployments

Conduit System:

Koldak​

Subsectors:

Poveste
Zhakhu
Hiflingr​

Fleets

Home Fleet​

1 Fleet Koldak​

Terran Front​

2 Fleets Terra
1 Fleet Magellan Station​

Paxillus Occupation Authority​

1 Fleet Ivy
2 Fleets Kudzu​

1 Fleet Gronk
1 Fleet Indriidae
1 Fleet Sulphide​

Armies

Home Armies​

1 Army Koldak
1 Army Colonies​

Paxillus Occupation Authority​

1 Army Ivy
2 Armies Kudzu
1 Army Oxalis
1 Army Clover
1 Army Goosefoot
1 Army Purslane
1 Army Henbit​

 

[Furrybacon]

Royal Palatinate of Gynnaire
Enlightened Neo-Absolutist Monarchy​

Species: Gynnaire - Demure and skittish humanoids with thick and colorful coats of fur. Rarely any larger than 5 feet tall. Humans have identified them to look like Terran "Rats" due to their fur and long nose.

Drive: 7
All Hail the Promised Prince!

Domain: 7
As far the eye can see and deeper.

Military: 4
Quantity was the Quality we know

Technology: (Your polities tech levels.)
-Drive: 2 (Emotive Amplifications Net - the Palatinate maintains a complex socio-suggestive telecommunications network that was designed to advanced propaganda techniques enhance emotional responses in Gynnaire, such as loyalty to the true prince and fervor in war.)

-Domain: 2 (Advanced Modular Construction - the ornate preferences of the Gynnaire bely a true underlying genius - and that is the their tact for an extreme modularity in construction. There exists no part that cannot serve a dozen purposes nor fit in a dozen locations - and look beautiful too! Even as the war degraded the Palatinate 's aesthetics, their modularity remained.)

-Military: 2 (Arc Ground and Naval weaponry - the Palatinate did not invest heatedly in its military, but did maintain the sciences. Its Military prefers to use concentrated Arc Weapons - guns and cannons that fire concentrated beams of electricity that lash out across a battle space cutting metal and frying electronics alike.)

Flaws:

Recently liberated The Palatinate was in the way. That's the truth of it. The Gynnaire spent most of the war fighting on their own soil, in their own cities, in their own homes. It was not till the wars end, with the Promised Prince having held the Gynnaire together through sheer force of will, when the last of the Terrans were expelled from the Palatinate by force of arms.	-3
Haves and Have Nots Even before the war with the Terrans, the Palatinate was divided between those with, and those without. Gynnaire traditionally live in large family units, but those units are not equal within or without. The master of each Clan is far wealthier than any single member, and the most powerful clans are richer still. This divide has been enflamed by the all encompassing fires of the Hyperwar. This is furhter exasperated by the wide network of Orbitals who were forcibly uplifted into the Palatinate.	-1
Paranoid Intelligence They should have seen this coming. The Old King, in his cowardice, had stymied the efforts to prepare for the terran advance. But That's not an excuse. The Kandant Society, the Security Service of the Palatinate, should have seen the invasion coming. But they were powerless. They could only watch as more than a decade of Terran opression stamped out the life of billions of Gynnaire. They should have seen this coming. They won't let it happen again. They will start with the Skitterlock loyalists. Root. Them. Out.	-2
Holdouts When the Terrans murdered the old king and sent Prince Willowbane to ground, they installed a new monarch. A Traitorous pretender known as King Skitterlock. Though unpopular and demonized by the masses loyal to Prince Willowbane, the rightful heir to the Palatinate, he had more than a decade to establish a network of shadowy loyalists and staybehinds. Even Got Terran Protectors. King Skitterlock might be dead, his skull rotting on a pike outside the Palace, but those loyal to his traitorous house persist in the shadows of the Palatinate. They will have to be destroyed, lest they pose a threat to the state and Prince who was Promised.	-2
Spatial Fluctuations The humans did something with out Conduit. Bastards. It isn't working right. Solar Sailoers have always talked about ghosts in space, but it really seems true now...	-1

Preferred location: K, F, P

Declarations:

What you expect to get from the humans at the treaty: Vengence! The complete and total dissolution of the Terran System, and the complete and total dissolution of their industries and arms, and the complete and total dissolution of their allies as well.

Your factions opinion on the orbiting races: Exploitor.

Opinion on the Assembly of Species role: Consolidator.

Two rivals for your polity:

The Heavenly Cacophony
- The Cacophony present a strategic rivalry that supersedes the Princes general amnesty for Coalition Allies. This is heightened by historical skirmishes, League Politics, and the disarray of the Cacophony's hierarchy which causes concern among the Grand Princes's court of Marshals. Kandant Society Agents regularly predict rogue military invasions by the Cacophony that never materialize.

The Yan Yaboath Arks
- The Arks present a strategic rivalry that supersedes the Princes General Amnesty for Coalition Allies. Gynnaire officials find the Yan Yaboath unpleasent and, frankly, covet their territories. The Gynnaire populace has seen hereto unfounded rumors of Yan Yabotah eating Gynnaire children become common inspite of evidence, further compelling an agressive goverment footing - asusming those rumors weren't created by the Kandant society for just that purpose.

And one ally: the Serene State of Olm
Though visually terrifying for many Gynnaire, the Olm have proven time and again the Palatinate's best friends. Gynnaire paradoxically don't find the Olm's pace nearly as frustrating as other species and particularly the Gynnaire tradition of using food in greetings has made friendship generally easy and long lasting.
Ally two:
> Charter investments in the Palatinate date back to its seizures of the Hyzerian Conduit. Owing to similar societal structures, lack of competitive interests, and then a long chain of sufficiently fulfilled contracts, fiscal ties between Treluk and Gynnaire financiers devised considerable interchange. Particularly, there was a group of Gynnaire technical experts and lay mechanists who lived on Royal Comission in the Charter. When the Hyperwar Came, and the Palatinate was overcome in a coup, the enclave of Gynnaire technical experts in the Charter argued, successful, that the language signed with the Palatinate meant the treaties were personal ties to the lineage of the Royal Family, which meant that the Charters financial institutions recognized Willowbane, not Skitterlock, as the rightful head of government. This was a major boon for the Loyalist's resources. The true Palatinate managed its debts well enough that it's not a subservient debtor to the Charter, but strong ties reinforce shared interests in the stability of the Willowbane Monarchy and the Charter's investments and ambitions

League Faction: Hierarchy

Description:

They called my people vermin. But now it is they who scatter beneath my feet.

- Grand Prince Shar-a Hyg'illan / Grand Prince Wisp of Willowbane
​

Demure and skittish, the Humans nicknamed the Gynnaire "rats" - and that was one of the better names. The Gynnaire Palatinate is a considerable domain, with the Gynnaire pentient for large eusocial family groups teeming in grand cities built as much below ground as above. Despite what a clan structure may imply, the Gynnaire are an awefully hierarchical race, both within the clan strucutres and between them - but retain a strong degree of eusociality. Though not ideologically Doveish, the Gynnaire had nonetheless generally neglected their armed forces in the Conduit Age in favor of rapid expansion and fementing complex networks of personally loyalty to the monarch - an old trick of the first Palatinate Kings that secured their dominion over their homeworld of Helon. the Gynnaire were largely content - but too close to Terra.

When the Hyperwar began, the Gynnaire were in the way. Unwiling to become subservient to Sol, the old King walked a doomed path of appeasement with the Terrans - one that left him dead and most of the Palatinate under occupation under the weight of a military campaign they were simply unready for. It fell to the Grand Prince, whisked away by his loyalists in the Kandant Society, to rally the Gynnaire after the destruction of their military and keep the fight going.

He did.

Brutal bloody war followed. Empowered as the Divine heir to the Palatinate, the Prince commanded, and his subjects obeyed, throwing themselves at the Terran Warmachine with anything they could gather - ships, tanks, guns, bombs, rocks. It was a brutal war that extracted a brutal toll. Years of war across the breadth of the Gynnarie space that lasted nearly the entire conflict. Held together by the force of will of Grand Prince Willowbane, the advance of the Coalition and collapse of the Terrans marked an silence of the guns that the Gynnaire had not known in years - and a Grand Prince who was just short of god for many of his kind - but not all.

A small portion of the Palatinate remains loyal to the Terran backed usuper. The illegitimate King Nhas Tor Komahda (Echos within Skitterlock) rejected by most of the Gynnaire and government nonetheless has his loyalists, even as his head rots on a pike outside the Imperial Palace...


ADDENUM ON PALATINATE HISTORY
The Palatine has a surprisingly advanced base of technology, despite years of war and toil. Gynnaire eye for aesthetic has guaranteed a surprising level of ornate beauty across its designs - but popular image caused by terran propaganda and wartime necessity will often portray the Gynnaire as using cobbled together scrap for laserguns.

The Palatinate actually encompasses more than just the Gynnaire, who are the current hegemons of their conduit. The Gynnaire Kings have had no compulsion against exploiting Orbital species by bringing them into the Royal Fold, never quite as equal as the Gynnaire but more than secondary citizens. Their Loyalties were split during the reign of the False King, with those who remained loyal to Willowbane now set to rise in status and influence. Those who were not will not be so lucky.
The Royal Palatinate founded its first extrasolar colony some six centuries before the start of the Hyperwar. An ambitious Orbital beneath the hegemony of a decaying Conduit species, their ambition won them not one, but twl humiliating military defeats at the hands of the still powerful Conduit masters, the Hyzear Co-Prosperity Sphere. This did not daunt the Gynnaire monarchs, as despite the defeats their core territory had never come under occupation and through their growing industrial prowess they were set to outpace the decaying Co-Prosperity Sphere. Through an aggressive expansion strategy and an undaunted Imperial approach to other Orbitals, they slowly postured themselves to unseat the Prosperity Sphere. However, never a martial society, they needed help to make that usurpation a more than an economic probability byt dramatic affair.


It was about two centuries before the Hyperwar when the Co-Prosperity Government bumbled into the bad graces of the Imperial Ulvor Union, and the Palatine's chances changed. Opportunistic and now throughly outpacing the Prosperity Sphere in industrial might, the Gynnaire launched a series of small wars to seize important worlds from the Sphere. Unable to bring their ancient might to bare with the IUU staring down their border, thr Co-Prosperity Sphere collapse, and the Palatinate rose in its place, an staunch ally of the Union in the Assembly of Species but, conspicuously, never an equal. The Union held their help over the Palatinate for political and economic consessions - and the Gynnaire Kings never forgot it.


When those hairless apes from Terra began to Skirmish with the Union, the Gynnaire were initially pressured to help the Union deal with it. But sensing in the Union the same weakness that destroyed the Co-Prosperity Sphere, the King Koas Har'la Fonnalos [Echo of the Mindseye] opened the Palatinate's factories to mankind. Wealth flowed in. The Union was brought low. The Palatinate grew in prominence.


And then the Terran Warmachine -built in part with Gynnaire investment- didn't stop spinning.

**ROYAL PALATINATE OF GYNNAIRE**



**Capital & Gynnaire Homeworld: Helon Sector**
3 Fleets, 2 Armies

**Conduit Sector: Hyzear Sector**
2 Fleet 2 Armies

**Khurßaeka Sector**
1 Fleet 2 Armies

**Citann Sector**
1 Fleet 2 Armies

**Vunduce Sector**
1 Fleet 2 Armies


---Forces outside the Palatinate---
Yutkark Occupation Ensign
Grand Marshal Drecha Ni Charcason (Flinch by Watersedge)
3 Fleets, 2 Armies
Sulphide

Coalition Service Ensign
Grand Marshal Raes Ni Roeafeal (Light By Littletree)
3 Fleets, 2 Army
Sol

 

[clockworkchaos]

The Universal Fraternity of the Children of the Precursors​

Government: Zane-Theocratic with Democratic elements(and held leadership of the Fraternity as a whole)
Tierien -Monarchical
Xanolac - Democratic
Rante - Communist

Currently officially lead by Zane, given none of them are older than five the real control the have is... doubted by other races
Leader: They've love to have one! (several Zane are promoted by various factions as leaders, but since official rules state that priesthood cannot be entered into until the twelve year, none are formally priests)

Species: Zane- Primary species caste of priest/scientists, thought not the engineers. Hermaphrodite species with a set of long arms and 'delicate' build , got genocided by a human virus. Few kids from stored DNA are all that's left.

Tierien - Humanoid looking species, acted as Merchants-shippers in the Caste system.

Xanolac- Insectoid species. Governed heavier space based construction, such as stations and major constructions. Due to odd caste rules, also controlled a significant portion of the heavier combat ships.

Rante- Larger species described by humans as 'elephant-clams' with dedicated tentacles for both fine and heavy manipulation. In charge of approval of zoning for planetary colonization.

Drive: 2 (1 free points)
Domain: 6 (5 free points)
Military: 9 (3 free, 5 flaw points)
Technology:
-Drive: 1 (no points): any tech they had here was lost in the genocide of the Zane, while this genocide may have halted new research in other fields, the principles and engineering was more widely disseminated
-Domain: 3 (2 flaw points): Advanced Genetic/biological Engineering, both for species creation, terraforming and even self modification. The fact that one of the most advanced geneticist species in the Galaxy was wiped out by a plague has led to speculation (™)
-Military: 2 (1 Flaw points): Zane shielding is based on precursor knowledge, while not up to that level, it is still considered impressive
Player League: Hierarchy


Flaws: (8 total)
Caste System: The Universal Fraternity was founded by the Zane, who, after discovering several precursor data caches, managed to uplift themselves, and following that became uplift other species in what some might call a bit of an imperialism.

Mass Climatological Collapse: 'Operation GodFall', was the first attempt to bring the Fraternity to heel, using mass asteroid drops on planets that successfully rebelled as well as untaken systems, leading to mass bio-system collapse.

Political Gridlock: With their political caste destroyed, the 'guides' of the Fraternity now consist of several Zane children created via use of the DNA on artificial wombs, the eldest of them around five years. Nearly all the races of the Zane have helped to sponsor and foster at least one new guide, and which one is in charge is…. controversial.

Destroyed Conduit: In one, last desperate attempt, "the herdsman" an infamous HADES squad commander, led a black ops mission to destroy one of the Fraternities conduit's, a mission that succeeded, and added one more devastated world to humanity's tally. While it would delay Zane retaliation, it would not stop them.

Preferred location: V, M, E

Declarations:

Humanities plan for the The Universal Fraternity was, in theory a good one, simply usurp the Zane as the dominant species, and keep it's hierarchy. It might have worked, if they could have shown any of the other species any respect. While the Zane were always conscious of keeping the rest happy, humanity expected to be obeyed, leading to mass rebellions. When faced with this, and unable to muster their full forces from other fronts, Hades Squad was sent in, to do what was needed. Ultimately this cumulated with the genocide of the Zane via a created plague,

Ironically in the immediate war, this proved to be a very short-lived victory. The Zane, once controversial and not approved of by other castes, became martyrs who could do no wrong. Their controversies were forgotten, and a symbol to rally around with one goal, to drive back the humans who had killed their beloved spiritual guides and ruined their worlds. Fierce and fanatic combat typified the later stages of the war, though thanks to delays from Hades Squad the Fraternity did not enter the war proper until it's later stages and has a more intact fleet from it

What you expect to get from the humans at the treaty: All participating members of Hades Squad extradited, along with anyone giving orders. (that Hades Squad is not here and earth can't is a detail… they may not entirely understand or choose to understand)


Opinions
Assembly-Consolidator: The strength of the galaxy was able to defeat the human menace yet it was the bickering between the supposed equals that ensured the Coalition took longer to win. If the Assembly could be reorganized a select few or even one proper leader could provide leadership to the galaxy stopping the rise of any future human style threats from emerging. What exactly this set up would look like is open for debate among even the consolidator faction yet the idea has grown traction during the Hyper War.

Orbital- Uplifter: Why your people seek to bring less advanced races into the fold before they can naturally reach it themselves could be for a number of reasons, altruism being the most common. Uplifting of races however is a dangerous prospect, humanity being given numerous aid to unseat the Ulvorians which led to the destruction of the Hyper War.

(note these are their official stances pre Zane-genocide, currently while they are officially uplifted, they are having enough trouble holding themselves together)


Two rivals for your polity:
The Charter - They hold the Klideu'k in bondage through debt
The Holy Remnant - You of all should understand the need for communication and peace

And two allys:
Klideu'k Sphere-Host- A species targeted for genocide, that the rest of the galactic community still excludes them is a abomination
The Maxifun Omniconglomerate - Imagine what they could accomplish with longer lives

League Faction: Neutral

DIVISIONAL DEPLOYMENTS - In progress

• The Children
  • The Holy Guard of the Fraternal land
    • 1 Fleet
    • 3 Armies
• The Gronk front
  • The Armies of the Zane's Forgive our failure
    • 8 Fleets
    • 3 Armies
• FRONT SOL
  • The divine retribution for the Zane
    • 3 Fleets
    • 6 Armies

 

[Potato Anarchy]

The International Harmony
(Full: the International Harmony of Collective Emancipation)
(More commonly: the Harmony of Masks)

"When you free one soul from bondage, you have saved a world - and when you condemn one soul to chains, you have locked away a universe."

Basic Statblock
Drive: 3 (Tech 1)
Military: 5 (Tech 3)
Domain: 7 (Tech 1)
Flaws: Coming Out of the Shell, Refugee Crisis
Freedom, Consolidator, Uplifter
Claims: Q>R>H

Executive Summary: Collectivist otters saw actual existing aliens as the Hoarders out of their old political nightmares and cut themselves off from outsiders, turning into a garrison state devoted to maintaining their independence from a fallen galaxy. The Hyperwar upended their isolation and its assumptions, and now they're wrestling with their own contradictions as they try to bring emancipation and enlightenment to their orbital neighbors while keeping the conduits safe from the next would-be galactic hegemon.

Species & General History

"The collective will of the emancipated chooses to:
1. Restrict the transit of all outsiders to the legal minimum allowed by the Assembly of Species. [...]
4. Secure our radiosphere from observation by parties hostile or unknown. [...]
7. Establish the Ministry of Antithesis to study and restrict general knowledge of the galaxy beyond emancipation. [...]
12. Charge certain classified organizations with studying the technological capabilities and military intentions of galactic powers [...]"
-- from the Motion of Isolation

Spoiler

The International Harmony of Collective Emancipation is the product of the Lutrirulo Sarkany, who are still by far its dominant species. Resembling otters or other mustelids, they are lean, sinewy omnivores best adapted to living in littoral areas of earthlike planets on both sides of the shoreline, with visually striking aquaculture cultivating kelps, algae, and shellfish and a habit for building soaring towers with underwater foundations (and, in denser constructions, joining them together with arching bridge-wings far above the water).

Sarkany modernity saw weaker than usual pressures towards centralization for a variety of cultural and physical factors, and three world wars between increasingly ideologically-sorted blocs. The International Harmony emerged as one of those blocs during the second world war, which saw the world divided between them and a traditionalist-aristocratic league following the defeat of a commerce-focused bloc knit together by megacorporations and trade judges; they then won commanding position in the cold war that followed and purged the aristocrats in the Liberation War.

It was this unified but eclectic Harmony which oversaw the Sarkany's expansion into space and their technological maturity, and ultimately the construction of their Conduit. Meeting the galactic community dominated by the Ulvor was a shock. Between the Liberation War and Conduit Day, many Sarkany had come to believe that no species could reach space, much less survive modernity and build a conduit, without embracing something like their own collectivism. The discovery that many instead resembled the most abusive 'Hoarders' out of their old history books (and propaganda) turned that half-serious belief into a collective psychic trauma.

Within a year of Conduit Day, the International Harmony approved the Motion of Isolation and established a strict quarantine between their space and the rest of the galaxy with only precisely metered exceptions. Rents could be collected from travellers through the conduit, but remaining in any space claimed by the Harmony was met with rapidly escalating threats and use of force. Outsiders came to refer to the isolation cordon practices as the Black Curtain after a popular Ulvor wit's description of it and the rigorous anti-SIGINT methods it entailed. Within a few more years, Harmony intelligence had concluded that their isolation would inevitably be met with violence from foreign thieves, and all Harmony policy began to revolve around ensuring independence from Hoarders. The original threat case was mostly built around invasion by the Imperial Ulvor Union; later the Combined Euphrates Command would become the focus, and shortly before they joined the war the Paxillus became an increasing focus.

Sarkany belief, based on their three world wars and a certain overreaction to their splintered politics, was that disunity was the greatest disadvantage in war whether it ran hot or cold. Centralization of power soared as the Harmony shifted from being a coordinating power overseeing many member states to an increasingly directorial role responsible for all "foreign policy and independence operations." Early curiosities about technological wonders from elsewhere in the galaxy were all shunted aside in favor of military research. It was good to die free, but better to make someone else die for your freedom.

There had been, in truth, a long process of hollowing out the ideals that had once inspired the Harmony, and it started long before the Motion of Isolation. The trappings forged earnestly and in blood by dreamers, reformers, conquerors and revolutionaries across its many member states got wrapped around most of a century's worth of cold war imperialism, and the Unification Era saw them draped instead over the vanities and influence games of jealous institutional bureaucracies, the ministerial families spread across them, and unofficial syndicates. But the Isolation Era brought a new level of vicious contradiction to the Harmony as internal security became an obsession and external security something like a religion.

The Hyperwar threw off every calculation and assumption involved. It was too big, too total, and too not about the Harmony. At first there was an effort by some to just stay out of it; the CEC hadn't gotten around to directly attacking the Harmony yet, so why borrow trouble when every threat case was going to war with every other one? The rapid expansion of the Paxillus threat nearby supplied part of the reason to care; a quiet regime change rippled through the Harmony with a series of arrests and demotions supplied the rest as the military and internal security apparatus threw their weight behind a more interventionist, aggressive response; going to fight the Paxillus and the Humans in someone else's space instead of waiting until it was Sarkany planets being scarred.

This pattern, of military necessity and innovation alike driving surprising bouts of empathy and opening up, would continue throughout the war and send ever-messier waves through cloistered Harmony society, including their formal joining of the Coalition in Year 6 and their first direct deployment to a front involving neither their local neighborhood nor the Paxillus when their ships arrived in the second wave of the Battle of Triton. The Motion of Isolation was formally repealed in Year 10 of the Hyperwar. The new Motion of Symphony passed last year.

Skipping more detail here because I'm starting to run on and wax encyclopedic, but I've got the core beats down. Harmony refugee populations now include at least a dozen species and more cultures. Two species-blocs are of particular note, both for their success at integrating into the Harmony and for what they represent about the changes coming to it:

The Karka Oz are a phenotypically similar race of wolverine-like exiles who see the Sarkany as their fey, elven counterparts and who were the original orbital hegemons of the sector now called Goosefoot. They don't maintain any claim to the territory, though it still has some emotional significance to their history; they split off from the Karka Mot who were their homeworld's dominant culture as a splinter society dedicated to radical transkarkanism and living in space, achieved hegemony as a nomadic war-fleet, and then were driven off by the arrival of the Paxillus. As far as anyone knows, the Karka Mot were entirely wiped out by the horde. The Oz universally shave their fur and cover themselves with cybernetics, tattoos, and other body modification.

The Karka Oz fleet won member-state status in the Harmony during the third phase of the Hyperwar, the first and so far only majority-non-Sarkany state to do so. Their peculiar blend of military and democratic traditions is impenetrable for most outsiders to interpret but has proven accommodating to immigrants, and has allowed other refugee populations significant voice inside the fleet while maintaining the predominance of Karka Oz practices and interests. The fleet is increasingly the home of technological experimentation inside the Harmony; the Karka Oz are comfortable with most Harmony practices but fundamentally committed to innovation and change in a way that is no longer consumed by the war effort.

The Ruhamoli are the slow-breeding fae lithoid heirs to an ancient, crepuscular empire turned Ulvor client state who built the conduit at the center of what is now Kudzu. The very model of a stagnant, backsliding conduit race exploiting its central position to extract trade concessions from their orbitals, their civilization was shattered and decimated by the re-emergence of the Paxillus. Some of those who escaped did so on Karka Oz packships, and followed them to the Harmony; over the closing years of the twilight phase of the Hyperwar most of the rest of the Ruhamoli diaspora has traveled to Harmony space to rejoin them.

Their old imperium is repugnant to the Harmony, the very image of the Hoarders Outside that saw the Black Curtain pulled firmly shut, and the Harmony actively refuses to exercise any claim in its name. The community now sheltering under the Harmony's wing have complicated feelings about it; their politicians are quiet and viciously cross-pressured but their artists and intellectuals are increasingly loud, popular figures inside the Harmony (and especially its refugee population). The Ruhamoli are the voice of contradiction knocking on the Harmony's door - blunt about their host's own imperial excesses, impatient with its socioeconomic orthodoxies, and too proud to entirely conform in the name of being accepted, but with a wealth of old resources and information that make them hard to ignore.

Drive Stat & Technologies

"Stars, but they're gorgeous. And loud. I can't ever really translate for someone else the feeling of going behind the Black Curtain for the first time and watching all their feeds start to hit our comms. We knew from liaison ops with their fleet that they were these like, slender amphibious Karka-likes, but the military culture is so sardonic and dry compared to the rest of them. The Polyphony is full of shouting and crying and singing and laughing and so, so, so many arguments.

Sometimes we call them the Karka Tenger, the Sea Karka. The Brine. That's what it felt like. Diving into the deepest blackest sea and emerging into a hidden world full of light and intoxication and beautiful, fickle cousins we never knew we had."
-- Flight Commander Irakli 301:13, Karka Oz syndic & historian

Spoiler

The Harmony's socioeconomic system is aging and filled with legacy code, and the glue provided by an unending war effort is now rotting away. The siren call of their age-old ideals is stronger and more meaningful than it has been in centuries, but their status quo isn't rolling over without a fight, and that's without even getting into the sheer number of alien refugees or the question of their expressed interest in Uplift operations.

Still, this is an illness born of dynamism and new opportunities more than locked-down flaws they can never overcome. Old ministerial families, Harmony polemarchs, celebrity news anchors, old-line member states and starry-eyed new alien refugees are fighting viciously for influence as centuries of foreign ideas and technologies flood into Harmony space all at once, but it's anyone's guess which influences will sink and which will swim.

Drive 1: Harmony Bureaucracies & the Polyphony
Though their unchecked power, blinding degrees of internal stratification, and other imperial excesses are part of what the Harmony is struggling with, Harmony bureaucrats have high-status, dynamic, sought-after jobs which they are undeniably good at. They have tracked, managed, and organized everything imaginable at some point in the past several centuries and they take pride in it. The Symphonic Era is bringing an unprecedented reshuffling of their practices and arrangement but they will never stop caring about what they do.

Despite their regimented reputation, the Harmony never entirely quieted their expansive media landscape, which merged emotional, dramatic state propaganda with a wide social internet they call the Polyphony. Though content and participation restrictions seem incredibly high to many outsiders, it is a rich web of culture, reference, and influence that has sustained an ability to marshall collective sentiment and steer society's preferences.

Military Stat & Technologies

"Flare out. Weapons hot. Estimated enemy spore-tonnage 13k. Estimated backup zero. Situation excellent. I am drawing aggro."
-- Synergist Defies Reaction during successful escort mission, Hyperwar 11.

Spoiler

The Harmony's military has eaten first from every table for almost two centuries, with everyone else sacrificing to ensure they have what it takes to hold off the Outside (whether they were the Ulvor, the Humans, or the Paxillus). Officially the Collective Liberation Force, a subset of the international bureaucracy of the Harmony that acts as a combat command for forces generated by Harmony member states, most practical decisionmaking is now firmly in CLF hands.

Harmony veterancy has been shredded by their final push into the roots of the Paxillus infestation and by the need to support operations both there and supporting allies at other fronts. Volunteer battalions with unprecedented numbers of non-Sarkany soldiers and experiments in using drones as main combatants have kept the force structure filled out and even growing as combat performance and expertise suffer; this is dramatically more pronounced in army units, who have been taking the brunt of the final phase of the war.

Military 1: Exosuits & Advanced Cybernetics
Exosuits have a long history among the Sarkany, and also among the Karka, for whom it ran together with their extreme cultural transkarkanist enthusiasm for body modification. Harmony spacesuits are lovingly maintained and recieve more societal investment than in many peer races, and all military personnel have a considerable amount of cybernetic enhancement to suit their occupational specialty. As the Harmony reinvents itself as a multi-species organization they have leaned into the anonymizing universal imagery of the retro rounded-plate space helmet.

Military 2: Semi-Autonomous Kill Vehicles & the Local Tacnet
The signature Harmony long range fire is the SKV, a hybrid drone-missile that can be deployed from far-off artillery carriers with enough loiter and semi-independent operation capabilities to leave final targeting decisions in the hands of small unit leaders at the front and operate for a time as suicidally enthusiastic local aerospace support. Much of the technological innovation making this not just possible but practical is not in the SKV itself so much as the hyper-efficient local tactical communication nets that connect them to their operators; the SKV is significantly "dumber" midflight then when it is connected to squad level computers or the artillery carrier mother node. The local tacnet generally makes rapid and surprisingly detail-dense communication effective for local units generally, giving them effective live minimapping and rich SIGINT capabilities.

Military 3: All-Domain Stealth Manifolds & the Flare
Once a philosophical or emotional desire and then an increasingly practical necessity for combatting Paxillus hordes, the Harmony's stealth technology is a mature complex of many overlapping tools and capabilities rivaled by few in the galaxy; they maintain that the best human stealth tech was stolen from them, though this is a questionable assertion. In many cases it borders on the power of illusion within the specific domains of war and concealment; the arsenal includes spoofing, counter-emissions, and lures along with tricks for running silent and undetected. Most distinctive is "the Flare," the sudden switch from running silent to a ruinous ECM explosion over all enemy domains of perception that comes with a great burst of light and noise and static as their units move into rapid assault.

Domain Stat & Technologies

"The surprise cultural hit of the quarter in the Ulvor successor states is The Dance of Factors, a Ruhamoli opera produced by a multispecies studio in Harmony space that lets operagoers play and feel through the career of a mid-level factor agent on a Sarkany colony world as the Hyperwar begins. It's been almost eight years since any new Ruhamoli operas have been produced at all, and the combination of their familiar addictive immersion with the inside look at Harmony society has proven irresistable to local consumers. The infatuation doesn't entirely seem to be shared, as so far several efforts by Ulvor artists to get export licenses for Harmony space have been denied by the Ministry of Antithesis..."

Spoiler

The Harmony have not stood still since the shock of Conduit Day, and their expansion through the rest of their sector has continued through to the present. Their current economic success stands on the back of being one of the polities whose industrial base was least directly hurt by the Hyperwar, and while some reconstruction is underway its chief challenge is the sheer number of refugees they are trying to accommodate.

Domain 1: The Dance of Factors & Ruhamoli Opera
The Harmony economic system is almost entirely state-run at a philosophical level but riotously diverse beneath the surface, as befits an area where member-state authority has surrendered the least to central Harmony standards. The many layers of interdependence, experimentation, and received wisdom that keep its balance runs back at least as far as the second Sarkany world war, and is referred to broadly as 'the Dance of Factors' (which can alternately be a synonym for "the nonstrategic sectors," "economic practices," or "the career path of Factor agents"). It is the backbone of the Harmony's ongoing expansion and past ability to sustain the Hyperwar. While not especially distinctive from the conduit race baseline in most ways, it features especially intuitive, fluid, and algorithmically-aided data visualization and charts, as well as unusually extensive use in commercial and even small-scale industry of exosuits or other external prosthetics, personal cyberware, robotics, and communication networks.

It is, perhaps ironically, the Ruhamoli who have been the most valuable inheritance for the Sarkany when it comes to dealing with other species; their deep artistic canon and its distinctive associated sensory immersion is familiar and charismatic to many in the region and across the galaxy, and brings with it a web of connections, understandings, and shared metaphors which have proven essential to dealing with the riotously diverse refugee population inside the state and communicating clearly outside it. It is also at a base level one of the Harmony's most valuable exports.

Flaws

"Unidentified vessel, this is Perihelion Brings Clarity. Your current trajectory will take you into space that the International Harmony has declared off-limits to nonmilitary vessels. Please adjust course to match ours and prepare for inspection. If you wish to seek asylum, you must state your intent within the next twenty minutes or this interception will grow kinetically complex."

Spoiler

Coming Out of the Shell: The Black Curtain Falls
Harmony society is still overwhelmingly Sarkany society, and they are not used to dealing with outsiders. The end of the Motion of Isolation has exposed Sarkany without security clearances to more information about, . The presence of refugees - both those who are "guests of the Harmony" and those who have obtained citizenship as part of the Karka Oz Fleet - means that people have personal relationships with aliens in a way that would be unthinkable a generation ago and many still reflexively view as scandalous.

Politics, culture, perspective and ideology are at the forefront of the Harmony's struggle to come out of the shell. The security services are generally more comfortable with aliens and the outside, though that doesn't always mean positive views. Home front centers of power - ministerial families, local cultural groups, member state governments (especially those who never expanded off the homeworld) - tend to be loci of implicit or explicit xenophobic resistance.

Refugee Crisis: The Deluge
The Harmony's limited success at holding off the Paxillus and the New History Organization made them a destination for refugees - at first a few desperate convoys who dared the Black Curtain because nothing was worse than death, then a steadily increasing rain of the homeless and distraught as it became clear that the Harmony was not turning people away. At some point the military began actively seeking out and protecting refugees without ever quite getting explicit authorization for it. Now they have another whole civilization's worth of people washing around in space with at least a dozen civilizations worth of culture to go with them.

Dealing with these populations has driven some of the most vicious political disputes in the Harmony's history, though pro-integration (for certain values of integration) forces are the current ruling regime.

Inconveniently several refugee cultures, most prominently the Ruhamoli and more indirectly the Karka Oz, disagree with elements of Harmony political orthodoxy - most prominently the total collapse of religion in the Harmony sphere, its Sarkany chauvinism, its imperial qualities, its economic system, and the often theoretical nature of its democracy.

Politics

"Mosaic Station today welcomes a new component sector, this one built by the International Harmony of Collective Emancipation! Infamous for maintaining one of the smallest embassies on record, exceeded chiefly by the Kazed and the Olm, the Harmony are now adding seventeen times the cubic space and hundreds of staff as part of their ongoing integration into the Coalition. Their diplomats tell us that they are converting their old station into a museum dedicated to the civilizations lost to the Paxillus..."

Spoiler

What you expect to get from the humans at the treaty?

1. Preservation and dissemination of all records related to the Paxillus, especially regarding their origin and manipulation by the CEC.
2. Preservation and dissemination of all CEC & NHO diplomatic correspondence, intelligence archives, military documents, and other political or otherwise classified information of historical import.
3. Preservation and dissemination of all records related to CEC espionage in Harmony territories, especially regarding technology transfer.
4. Donation to the Paxillus Containment Authority* of all CEC technologies related to containing or manipulating the Paxillus.
5. Technology transfer reparations regarding various economic and productive technologies.
6. Strict exposition trials clearly documenting and prosecuting the war crimes and oppression of the CEC.
7. Strict organizing restrictions on human political groups advocating revanchism, apologism, and supremacism.
8. Strict political reconstruction of human society under Assembly supervision.
9. Opening of all political and research institutions connected to the New History Organization to inspectors at any time to ensure total compliance with other points.
10. Cooperation from all security organizations operating within former NHO territories to ensure total compliance with other points.

(*Proposed coordinating board slash alliance between polities enforcing the quarantine of the Paxillus.)

What political League? Freedom

To some extent, this is a marriage of convenience: all the other leagues are much worse fits. Maybe they end up here because they unquestionably talk like the Freedom League, and in politics sometimes that matters.

But Freedom also rhymes most closely with the Harmony's old ideals and their determination to leave a better galaxy for the next new conduit race to discover than what they were confronted with, and it speaks to the guarantees they have tried to keep with their citizens even when everything else goes wrong. They are in Freedom because they want to be, and it speaks to who they think they are.

What role for the Assembly of Species? Consolidator

For all their mixed to negative feelings about the Ulvor empire on the whole, the Harmony have a weirdly intense fascination with Emperor Ushta and his role in fighting back the Xalon (who the Harmony often connect, metaphorically or otherwise, to the Paxillus). They see their role now as to continue the forward march of productive synthesis, iterating the Assembly towards a more structured state that will better resist the next revisionist invasion.

What opinion of the orbital species? Uplifter

While there are "strategically convenient" subtexts that color the shift over the course of the Hyperwar from a historical shunner opinion to the Harmony's now firm commitment to Uplift, it is also at this point socially untenable to be truly hypocritical on the matter or to be less than committed to the project. The majority of refugee populations inside Harmony space are from orbital civilizations, and the Karka Oz member state is led by orbitals, and the dream of helping others avoid dark fates has caught fire in the entire Harmony imaginary.

Allies & Rivals

Ally: The Minzotl Co-Prosperity Sphere

Sometimes it's easier to make your first foreign alliance if you do it entirely via the CIA.

Ally: The Koldaki Trade Leagues

exosuit bros

Rival: The Charter of Revered Clans

The International Harmony's first contact was with the Chartered Clans. Their cultural assumptions did not mesh well, and the subsequent dark comedy of manners and trade propositions turned a few short months into century's worth of parody, criticism, and historiographical debates. It was Charter traders who were the first to be turned back by the drawing of the Black Curtain, and the Charter were the last northern power that the Harmony made contact with in the course of joining the Coalition.

Warring together against the Paxillus proved both a balm and an irritant; efficiency and pragmatism with conduit jumps meant both that the Charter several times helped defend Lupsuden Lopu (to keep the damage away from their own space) and later traveled through it for the later push into and conquest of Paxillus space, but many Harmony forces have negative feelings about how those battles went - both out of a sense the Charter saw them as mercenary ablative armor for Lowain, and out of a disdain for the Charter's low-quality, extreme-volume approach to warfare. They now painstakingly share operations space across the former Paxillus Community largely by dividing theaters of responsibility and filing a lot of memos about "in future negotiations..." Relations remain functional but icy, with a built up psychic pressure that may found outlets of its own if one isn't found.

Rival: The Antaran Imperial Sovereignty

H A R M O N Y [POTATO] — Today at 8:24 PM
i think i'm too wiped from having a Day to actually write out the long thing but i've settled on the Antaran Sovereignty as my other rival
H A R M O N Y [POTATO] — Today at 8:24 PM
foul seducers of hierarchy, fooling perfectly healthy civilizations into thinking hierarchy is cool if it's nice and pretty


Deployments

• Sol: 2 fleets, 2 armies
• Indriidae:1 fleet, 3 armies
  • Mirza: 1 fleet, 2 armies
• Kudzu: 2 fleets, 2 armies
  • Clover: 1 fleet, 1 army
  • Goosefoot: 1 fleet, 1 army
  • Henbit: 1 fleet, 1 army
  • Oxalis: 1 fleet, 1 army
  • Purslane: 1 fleet, 1 army
• Lapsuden Lopu: 3 fleets