Smoldering Ashes
A million fires smolder throughout the galaxy, and in some corners the guns still rattle, but in Sol, the end has finally arrived.
A grand coalition fleet made of more than a dozen Conduit powers has settled throughout the entirety of Humanity's home system in a display of galactic cooperation that outshines even the highs of the Infestation Wars. They stand battered and worn from the nigh on fanatical defense, but unbroken. The Coordinated Euphrates Command lays defeated, with Admiral Albert Ortmen broadcasting the official surrender just hours after seizing control of the CEC in a bloody coup. Ortmen, realizing the day was truly lost when Coalition forces finally seized control of Luna and began to deorbit it, begged the Supreme Leader to surrender. When she steadfastly refused, promising to drown the galaxy in a tide of blood instead, he hastily organized an opposition force from desperate and disgruntled officers. Supreme Leader Amanda Barton, alongside her most steadfast supporters, were killed while directing the defense of Earth from High Commands Himilayian bunker complex even while the dropships from Coalition forces darkened the dusty skies of Earth. There, in what was expected to be the bloody climax of the war, the forces of the Coalition find little resistance from battered human forces as they occupy the cradle of Humanity alongside every speck of the Sol system, with only a few scattered, stubborn units holding out.
That much is true throughout the rest of the galaxy, with Admiral Ortmens' broadcast signaling an end to a majority of the fighting. Throughout the tattered remains of the New History Organization, Coalition forces occupy impressive swaths of territory, with troops on the ground and starships in orbit. As the Mosaic Station makes its way into the Sol system—the mere thought of which would have been suicide weeks before—to play host to the peace process which many hope will bring about a genuine galactic peace, it begins to set in that the single most destructive conflict in the galaxy has at last come to an end.
And already the Coalition begins to fray along its fault lines.
The New History Organization has—after a great deal of pain and suffering—at last been defeated. But with its fall, the unifying gravity of the Coalition fades with it. And as a new stage is set, time will tell if not only the Coalition remains, but the tenuous peace so recently and bloodily gained will stand as well.
A grand coalition fleet made of more than a dozen Conduit powers has settled throughout the entirety of Humanity's home system in a display of galactic cooperation that outshines even the highs of the Infestation Wars. They stand battered and worn from the nigh on fanatical defense, but unbroken. The Coordinated Euphrates Command lays defeated, with Admiral Albert Ortmen broadcasting the official surrender just hours after seizing control of the CEC in a bloody coup. Ortmen, realizing the day was truly lost when Coalition forces finally seized control of Luna and began to deorbit it, begged the Supreme Leader to surrender. When she steadfastly refused, promising to drown the galaxy in a tide of blood instead, he hastily organized an opposition force from desperate and disgruntled officers. Supreme Leader Amanda Barton, alongside her most steadfast supporters, were killed while directing the defense of Earth from High Commands Himilayian bunker complex even while the dropships from Coalition forces darkened the dusty skies of Earth. There, in what was expected to be the bloody climax of the war, the forces of the Coalition find little resistance from battered human forces as they occupy the cradle of Humanity alongside every speck of the Sol system, with only a few scattered, stubborn units holding out.
That much is true throughout the rest of the galaxy, with Admiral Ortmens' broadcast signaling an end to a majority of the fighting. Throughout the tattered remains of the New History Organization, Coalition forces occupy impressive swaths of territory, with troops on the ground and starships in orbit. As the Mosaic Station makes its way into the Sol system—the mere thought of which would have been suicide weeks before—to play host to the peace process which many hope will bring about a genuine galactic peace, it begins to set in that the single most destructive conflict in the galaxy has at last come to an end.
And already the Coalition begins to fray along its fault lines.
The New History Organization has—after a great deal of pain and suffering—at last been defeated. But with its fall, the unifying gravity of the Coalition fades with it. And as a new stage is set, time will tell if not only the Coalition remains, but the tenuous peace so recently and bloodily gained will stand as well.
The Hullskin Rustlords:
A civilization formed in the hulls of long dead ancient warships from a defeated navy forgotten by history, the "Hullskin" (a name given by humans and adopted by Conduit Powers) are a unique Orbital Race. It is unclear if they are descendants of the crews or arrived in the utterly vast sea of ruined hulls by some other means, but their entire civilization lives and dies in the hulls of unimaginable, and salvageable, warships. Such is the mass of the wreckage field that partially it blocks the light of the star it orbits in one great chain. Necromare, a relatively small sector, is dominated by the systems that are infested with these decayed hulks. The few systems within Necromare are particularly barren, forcing any who live within the sector to either abide by the rule of the Rustlords and their voidships, or try to make do on what few planets are around that barely support life. Living amidst the corpses of giants, the Hullskin certainly have developed an ambition to the wider universe, but the unique measure of their existence hinders them from making a conduit of their own…for the moment. Living their entire life in low gravity space hulks, they are uniquely physiologically adapted to space. As a species they are tall, thin, and almost translucent white.
Armies: 2
Fleets: 5
Ruler: Separated between various Rustlords
Karkino Republic:
A liberal republic built by the semi-aquatic, crab-like Karkinos have painstakingly spread their presence throughout their sector, for their immense size necessitates greater resources to be put into their spacecraft, not helped by the fact their preferred environment is entirely underwater. To aid in this, the subservient four armed simian race of dubious intelligence called the Arai are trained in basic tasks aboard the starships, among other things. The Karkino Republic possesses little in the way of grand ambition, cognizant as they are of the galactic political situation, focusing instead on trade and self-protection, as well as maintaining control over the Phacops sector. In this aim, as the Hyper War raged around them, they sought to arm and maintain a professional military, taking advantage of their species hardy nature. They have, through some minor miracle, largely avoided the worst of the Hyper War, defending their borders with watchful eyes and careful diplomacy. With their oceanic homeworld Opa struggling with industrial pollution the Karkino have increasingly turned to barren planetoids within their system to offload their trash, or have otherwise resolved to push the problem towards the slums and ignore it.
Army: 2
Navy: 3
Ruler: President Brachyura
Acridic Trillion:
Another insectoid race, Acridic Trillion society is divided sharply into two segments. The Acridic themselves, clad in greenish-beige carapace, average out at a lean eight feet and possess buzzing wings which grant them flight, yet are remarkably low in population. They stand at the top, organized into groups of loose tribes, who all obey the Great Hopper. And the Uah, of which the tallest and greatest of them can reach five feet. Timid and community focused, the Uah have been easily cowed by the aggressive Acridic. Despite their forceful nature, borderline cruelty even, the Acridic are relatively hands off in how they rule the Uah, coming by only to enforce heavy taxes on resources. Whether that resources be mineral, food, or even bodies for the Acridic's Trillion military in times of emergencies, all depends on the mood and needs of the clan in question. The Acridic have proven jealous hoarders of the Uah, incidentally proving to be surprisingly able protectors when the spasming aftershocks of the fighting against the Paxillus briefly touched the Locus sector. Despite their status as an Orbital Race, the Acridic Trillion does not lack ambition, and they have taken a keen interest in foreign affairs.
Army: 4
Navy: 4
Ruler: Great Hopper Ju
The Melbu Saad:
Peaceful, long lived, and slow moving, the Melbu have been largely content to approach things at their own pace since time immemorial. Sapient consciousness formed out of dozens to hundreds of trees networked together, the gentle giants of the Melbu possess little in the way of a functioning government as most states would understand it. Due to their simultaneously low yet high population—for the networked minds act as one in several bodies—and their innate connection to one another, the Melbu often act by pure consensus via root-bonded meetings, usually acting as one. The downside to such unity is that it often takes a long time for any Melbu to gather, much less deliberate on a proper course of action. When the Coordinated Euphrates Command found their homeworld, the Great Grove, it was to use it as a supply depot as well as harvest its mostly untapped resources. Unwilling to deal with the moving forests, or let her operation be held up by scientists interested in studying them, Commodore Zarina Malikova elected to simply firebomb the world from orbit. When the makeshift fleet of the Melbu Saad launched from the world, it caught the CEC taskforce by surprise, who had dismissed their sapience. As such, only a third of the Melbu fleet was destroyed by the CEC, with the rest fleeing all over the Baobob sector. It was not the complete evacuation that was initially envisioned, and over half of the Melbu burned. Those who were left hid within the sector, quietly colonizing several worlds. It is only now that the war is over that they are able to return to the Great Grove. The surface had been turned to ash, with logistical hubs and mining outposts peppering the planet. Faced with this ruin, the Melbu Saad must deliberate what to do with their slaughtered world, and the slave labor left behind by the CEC as they pulled out from the region.
Army: 2
Navy: 3
Ruler: ???
The Hurawn Stardom:
Centuries ago, when the great lizards shed the earthly chains of their home, the great king declared a new title for himself and his people: Of a Starlord and his Stardom. They spread throughout the sector quickly, for there was little in the way of competition for them in their backyard. When they joined the galactic community it should've been as unremarkable as any Orbital Races introduction to the wider galaxy. However they ran afoul of the Imperial Ulvor Union, who desired a share of their trade. Particularly their tea and the sacred Ru trees, purple barked whose branches take on a bell like shape, both native to their homeworld Lawan. The Hurawn were affronted, and attempted to cut off relations, but the IUU forced the issue. They sent a fleet and held the much weaker Hurawn at gunpoint until they acceded to the IUU's demands. Humiliated and resentful, a national obsession started in the Hurawn Stardom—the desire to own a Conduit for themselves, no matter how miniscule, so as to never be so weak again. The project took generations, slowed by IUU meddling, and was finally finished only a decade before the Hyper War started. For a just moment, the Hurawn basked in the increase of trade and prestige that trickled towards Far Komod, their honor restored—until the Hyper War kicked off, and the Coordinated Euphrates Command bulldozed throughout their sector, seizing most of it within a week, and kicking the Hurawn back to a smattering of frontier worlds while the CEC seized control of the strategic Hurawn Gate to further propel their conquests. There the Stardom seethed, joining the Coalition in a desperate attempt to take back their lands. Yet to their shame, they could provide only military intelligence and local guides, for their power had been savaged by the CEC. In the final battle for Hurawn Gate they provided vital intelligence which aided in the CEC's defeat at the battle, while coordinating their offensive to retake Far Komod with the battles start. But with the end of the war, they find their star of destiny has been taken from them once again, as the Yan-Yaboth seek their new home, seizing control of the Hurawn Gate in the process. An official protest has been lodged with the Assembly of Species, but few within the Stardom expect anything to come at it, and already resentment begins to curdle into xenophobia.
Army: 3
Navy: 3
Ruler: Starlord Pora
Jaghaban Autocracy:
A collection of warlords play acting as a state, the Jaghaban Autocracy is more of a loose coalition than it is a true dictatorship. Fur covered and physically diminutive, the Jangaban have long since spread themselves across the Gospod sector, with most of their impressive history effectively summed up as a series of rotating wars between prideful lords jockeying for position and power. It is only in the last two hundred years that the Jaghaban have been unified, though such a term loosely defines the current state of the Autocracy. Four great system lords rule in the Autocracy. The Yurvievch, Timur, Kondrati, and Olegovich, each group in charge of multiple systems within the Gospod sector. Each of them despise the other, but are cognizant enough to recognize that their interests are better served if their sector is able to provide a united front against the rest of the galaxy. The title of Tsar, overall leader of the Autocracy, is a rotating one. Passing between the great lords every decade. The title is mostly there out of sheer necessity, possessing little in the way of actual hard power, and relying almost entirely on the power of the great lord in question, and the moods of the other three. It is the Tsar that remains the public face to the rest of the galaxy, and often most of the trade and diplomatic actions go through them, though the other great lords are not above backroom dealing should they feel it necessary.
Army: 4
Fleet: 4
Ruler: Tsar Ratvonich
The Erd Kingdom:
Only two decades ago, the stars were gods and guides to the Erd. Only two decades ago, their homeworld was an unknown wonder to be explored. Only two decades ago, the Erd had no name for themselves, much less their home. Only two decades ago, their small tribes wandered their icy home, at the start of a long journey of development most species are familiar with. This all changed when the warships of the New History Organization arrived in the skies of their icy homeworld. Initially a survey ship, scouting for resources and eligible military sites to aid in their war against the Koldaki, the Erd's truly massive size and stout constitution impressed the CEC. The Erd were ripped from their homeworld by the NHO, and spread throughout the Dinothere sector in order to aid with the establishment of a proper NHO military presence. The Erd were treated as barely intelligent slave labor, forced to work in harsh conditions throughout the sector. That the Erd race survives at all is in large part due to the CEC flash-cloning specimens they found useful. Despite the horrors they were put through, the Erd proved hardier than even their Human overlords expected, and much more clever. A fire was rising throughout Dinothere, right under the nose of the NHO, as secret messages were passed from worksite to worksite. While the whip cracked, the Erd toiled, not only in the mines and factories, but in quiet meetings between disgruntled workers, binding themselves together. While their overlords sneered, the Erd learned, and while their masters bled them, the Erd armed themselves. From the NHO's perspective, Dinothere exploded practically overnight in an orgy of violence. The Erd rose against their erstwhile masters, the disparate resistance groups brought together by the legendary Sapra, a resistance fighter against the NHO who is viewed with a nigh on religious reverence by the Erd. Their overlords, distracted with the Koldaki and otherwise dismissive of the Erd, were caught off guard, giving the Erd groups precious momentum and time to find their footing. By the time the CEC reorganized, the Erd had swept through half the sector, liberating slaves as they went in an almost rapturous tide. This met a hard wall when faced with the proper might of the CEC, who preferred that the whole sector would burn rather than let it fall into Erd hands, and the Erd spent the rest of the war slowly pushing the NHO from Dinothere, organizing themselves under six different warlords, all bowing to Sapra. Now the fighting is done, but the promised peace seems dismal. Few of the Erd are actually learned, most of them either being unskilled and illiterate laborers or warriors, making do with what industrial power is left, stolen equipment, and the generosity of the Coalition. Only a few highly talented administrators and scientists keep things running while the prideful warlords begin to squabble amongst themselves. Only one figure can keep the Erd together, but the great Sapra lays on her deathbed, poisoned by the Humans foul atomic weaponry as cancerous growths spread through her body.
Army: 4
Fleet: 2
Ruler: Queen Sapra
The Hive Hospitaller(Formerly the Krikk'xi hive):
A race of giant ant aliens living in hives with queens and drones, strong and hard working. For generations they have served as vassals to the owner of their conduit, since at least before the IUU. When the CEC displaced the IUU and took the conduit, the Krikk'xi reached out immediately to ask when and where the new ruler would like their tribute. Though xenophobic the Krikk'xi soon had a strangely positive view from humanity as a model alien race that never complained or questioned its place. The Krikk'xi mined and sent minerals and always obeyed. As the war grew more intense the need for minerals started to outpace Krikk'xi ability to produce with their manpower, something the CEC solved by sending dissidents to labor in Krikk'xi mines, testament to the degree to which the CEC saw the Krikk'xi as almost furniture in their reliable service. These dissidents took many shapes and forms in the "apolitical" CEC but one form was religious dissidents loyal to organized faiths the CEC saw as threats. Little did the CEC realize the danger of sending the Jesuits to Krikk'xi space. Countless generations of unquestionably serving the hegemon as the drones served the queen were exposed to new ideas such as inherent dignity and the concept of an immortal soul. The ever growing need for ore to fuel the war machine drove human dissidents to the grave and wore thin even Krikk'xi strength and as the war started to turn against humanity the Krikk'xi sent a request to the CEC for reduced tribute and a "missionary" from the "Pope". The local admiral overzealously ordered a purge of the Krikk'xi not realizing that though they had never once showed any hostility before giant insects that bored through bedrocks were not harmless. The hasty attack failed, the Krikk'xi revolted and now that the hyperwar is over they have vowed to no more be mindless drones of their conduit holder. They have joined the universal Catholic Church, but they're not entirely sure what that means.
Army: 3
Fleet: 4
Ruler: Queen Kxi
Great Cabayush:
Initially a nomadic race that had fled their homeworlds destruction, the four legged and two armed Caba overran the Boia, the previous Orbital Race three centuries ago, seizing control from the lethargic, diminutive manilian Boia with their superior knowledge of void warfare and overall ruthlessness. However since settling down the Caba have begun to abandon their previous traditions, taking the garb and speak of the Boia instead, practically assimilating into the culture they've conquered. The Great Cabayush has spread throughout the Koxinga sector with an imperialistic fervor. While not the most technologically advanced—in particular limited by their engines—the Great Cabayush have made excellent time in colonizing the entirety of their sector. If the winds continue to favor them, it is likely they will be able to become a Conduit race, given time, resources, and knowledge.
Army: 3
Fleet: 4
Ruler: Emperor Boal
The Orrery:
For most, the Orrery has been a mild curiosity since its discovery millennium ago. Most Precursor artifacts found are untended by anything except time, simply left behind by those that built them. Discovered by pure accident by legendary explorers two thousand years ago, they found an entire sector centered around a single planetary system. A great watchstation, manned and maintained by Precursors drones. It was a discovery for the ages that the explorers could only touch the edges of, for while the drones cared little for the rest of the sector, they guarded the Orrery zealously, giving the explorers only one warning before they were fired upon. While the explorers managed a bare escape, and set up observation stations on the Orrery itself later in their lives, none have come as close as they have to the prime star system of the Orrery. What goes on there can only be witnessed from afar, and even that is difficult. In the thousands of years since, a good deal of study has been devoted to the Orrery, though the wonder of its discovery has worn off for most. All that has been confirmed is that the Orrery is essentially one big telescope, ever observing the stars. The limit of which has not been found. And that the drones that occupy the sector are self-maintaining and otherwise docile unless provoked, indifferent to most presence in the otherwise empty and barren sector. What they're watching for, and what else they may be doing, no one has managed to figure out.
Army: 10 [Tech 3]
Fleet: 10 [Tech 3]
Ruler: ???
The Rititi Mi: A race of diminutive reptilians that live primarily off of insects, their physical weakness and the sweeping megafauna that populate their homeworld has led to a deep seated paranoia most would label 'pure cowardice' instead, and a cultural obsession of compensating via convoluted plots, traps, and other means. Primarily through the use of overwhelming firepower, for since the first discovery of blackpowder the Rititi Mi have been in love with high explosives, using them to begin the first steps of truly seizing control over their homeworld. The Rititi Mi spread throughout their sector from their homeworld—designated as R.M Prime as a compromise measure during unification—with relative ease, lacking any serious competition as Delcourti proved relatively barren of sapient life. The Rititi Mi consider themselves a serious military power, and are eager to flaunt their arsenal at any opportunity, aware at how their nasally voices and nervous disposition effects galactic perception of them, and over eager to compensate. This has led to the latest evolution of the Rititi Mi's cultural obsession with big weapons—the special weapons development program. The SWDP, the Rititi Mi claim, helped them see off the Coordinated Euphrates Command during the war with marvelous ease. Any comments that such only occurred due to the New History Organizations entanglement with the Coalition in the region, and that they barely interacted with the Delcourti sector is furiously denied by the Rititi Mi. Indeed, they insist that they have proven themselves as a military power, and demand to be taken seriously as a result, painfully conscious as they are to the treatment of Orbital Races throughout the galaxy. According to reports to the Assembly of Species the Mi have begun work on a Conduit of their own, though whether that is true or another ploy of the Rititi Mi is up to debate.
Army: 4
Fleet: 6
Ruler: The Magnificent Miti
Dretha Grand State:
To be a member of the Dretha Grand State is to know only humiliation. It is to be sustained by pure bitterness, and to cleanse oneself in nothing but hate. Thrice, has the Grand State toiled to make a Conduit and rise to a more blessed status. Thrice has their hopes been denied, smashed to pieces by alien powers. The first was long ago, a thousand years before the galaxies current troubles, where a squabble between ancient powers labeled only with derisive slurs in the Dretha language saw their newly complete Conduit destroyed in some act of imperialistic hubris. The second was during the Infestation Wars, where the Dretha had managed a few years of blissful peace with a Conduit of their own construction, only to see it destroyed in the long and unpleasant battles against the Xalon. The third and final was the Hyper War itself, where fierce battles between the Coordinated Euphrates Command and Holy Remnant saw the Dretha's barely constructed Conduit shattered in the fighting, and the Grand State bloodied as mere collateral in the grappling of greater powers. Now, the Dretha Grand State gathers itself, and plans for a fourth. There is no other reason for it to exist, for the desire for a Conduit has become a desperate need that runs deep through the Dretha's blood. They will see their people starve, bled white, skies choked and planets drained happily for one more chance. They can comprehend nothing else, for their whole society has been reorientated around this goal.
They will have their Conduit, or they will die. There is no other option for the Dretha Grand State
Army: 4
Fleet: 5
Ruler: The Grand Coordinator Jurao
Colonial Dynamics Group:
Originally founded by Ko Porapa, a particularly enterprising Ulvor, a century before the Hyper War began to exploit the newly discovered Polyfund sector, the CDG has long since transformed from its initial vision. The colonial empire Porapa started—which had drained the blood and resources from the native 'primitive' people of the Polyfund sector, most of whom barely had access to space travel—has long since collapsed in on itself, destroyed by colonial revolts, left unsuppressed by the Imperial Ulvor Union, who had become increasingly entangled with the Coordinated Euphrates Command. The board was slaughtered, with most of the company personnel falling alongside them or fleeing from Polyfund altogether. It was a moment of triumph, but in the aftermath of victory the ambitious plans of the revolutionaries ran into a wall. Few among them were adept at managing an interstellar nation, lacking the institutional knowledge, or structure to make it happen. And the six species that made up the great revolt could not agree how to split the territory they had all gained together, and so as a compromise they kept the skeleton structure of the Colonial Dynamics Group intact, using it as a place to manage conflict between them, and keep each their colonies functioning, for each was already economically intertwined. While the six colonies have grown since the revolt, the CDG has managed to stick around. Nowadays it operates as a sort of trade league, uniting the six colonies and operating in a supranational sense, acting as a united face for interaction with the rest of the galaxy, and with each colony owning a stake in the company. The CDG manages a surprisingly robust export focused economy, though that was bruised in the Hyper War, where the CDG did its best to maintain its neutrality, and was largely ignored by the NHO. Officially, the Colonial Dynamics Group does not hold any sway whatsoever over domestic policy. The truth of it, however, is that it holds an immense amount of soft power, and if anyone wants anything done in the six colonies, the Colonial Dynamics Group will be involved in some way, shape, or form.
Army: 4
Fleet: 4
Ruler: Director Orik
The Yinh Star Republic:
One of the few single species nations in the galaxy, the Star Republic is populated entirely by the Yinh, segmented worms that evolved on a harsh desert world called Kurukura. In the process of seizing control of their sector—which they have renamed to 'One Yinh'—they engaged in several wars with other Orbital Races within their sector, kicking each and every one of them out into the wider galaxy in a fit of paranoia. That was two centuries ago, and since then the Star Republic has only doubled down, retreating into isolation and closing their borders after their attempts to find a Conduit Race patron failed. For most polities, a retreat to isolation would ensure that the galaxy forgot ones existence, such are the vast matters most have to deal with. But even in splendid isolation, the Yinh made noise. Military expenditure ballooned to disgustingly bloated degrees, at the expense of every other sector of their society. Repression has been the only way for the government to keep its current policies, and remain in control, alongside shameless indoctrination and propaganda. The Supreme Leader is venerated in the same breath one might whisper of a deity, while 'dissidents' are forced into work camps all over the sector to fuel the state's endless hunger. Food is more a privilege than a fundamental right, with starvation lurking around every corner should one creaking pillar tumble the wrong way. Defectors fleeing this tightly controlled society have helped to sensationalize the Star Republic in the galactic consciousness, with a reputation as being a horrible joke of a state, rendering it relatively infamous.
The Yinh Star Republic has raised the alert level of its forces with the Ysharin deployment to their sector, and have already demanded that they depart.
Army: 5
Fleet: 6
Ruler: Supreme Leader Yop
The Congregation of the Patient:
Founded in the days of the Infestation Wars by a small smattering of refugees left behind Xalon lines during some of the worst of the fighting over the Z4 Prime Conduit. The Congregation was too miniscule and isolated within their new home sector to merit much attention from the Hive-Queens, and were left—terrified—to their devices. Since then they have grown throughout the rest of the sector, slowly and organically. They met with little competition from any potential natives of the sector, for any that existed had been subsumed by the Xalon. While the Congregation of the Patient does participate in galactic affairs, it largely keeps to itself, content with its current status and lacking any grander ambition to become a Conduit race. When they do act in galactic affairs, it is often with politeness and an inoffensive tone. Throughout the years the Congregation has become notable for its open acceptance of refugees, offering safe harbor for any fleeing hard times. They do not force their religion on anyone, but for those who do make their way to the Congregation, it is difficult to not get involved in some capacity. Indeed, their religion may be the only truly odd thing, disturbing even, about the Congregation. For they worship the Xalon.
Of course, not literally, or so the official line goes. They state they view the Xalon as a devil figure, a Legion Adversary whose return would smite the wicked and test the virtuous. And that upon their apocalyptic return, the Congregation will be left to heal and rebuild amongst the ashes of everyone who has wronged them. Conspiracy theories, dismissed harshly by the Congregation, state that the Congregation of the Patient might be planning to somehow hasten the return of the Xalon, which is viewed as little more than slander and nigh on blasphemy by the Congregation.
Army: 2
Fleet: 2
Ruler: The Illuminated One
The Yoth:
The Yothi emerged from the cradle of their homeworld not to an open or even peaceful galaxy, but to one held in the throes of one of the most vicious wars to bloody its stars. The Hyper War has shaken Yothi society to its core, inducing in them a deep seated social and institutional terror at the mere prospect of interstellar annihilation. Their every act of foreign policy has been focused around the act of conducting themselves as the ideal Orbital Race from the view of a Conduit Race; that of a meek, subservient race that heaps gifts and praise upon any greater power, often in the native language of said power. All the while they have sought to secure their home sector, Proskyn, by any means possible. The lengths of which are impossible to tell, at the moment. But knowing how fearful and vicious cornered animals can be, it is doubtful it is anything pleasant. Their society has turned increasingly authoritarian as a result of their introduction to the greater galactic community, with their democratic values shriveling, and their left-leaning parties and institutions being crushed in the name of self-preservation.
Army: 2
Fleet: 3
Ruler: Primer Yu'uhoth
A civilization formed in the hulls of long dead ancient warships from a defeated navy forgotten by history, the "Hullskin" (a name given by humans and adopted by Conduit Powers) are a unique Orbital Race. It is unclear if they are descendants of the crews or arrived in the utterly vast sea of ruined hulls by some other means, but their entire civilization lives and dies in the hulls of unimaginable, and salvageable, warships. Such is the mass of the wreckage field that partially it blocks the light of the star it orbits in one great chain. Necromare, a relatively small sector, is dominated by the systems that are infested with these decayed hulks. The few systems within Necromare are particularly barren, forcing any who live within the sector to either abide by the rule of the Rustlords and their voidships, or try to make do on what few planets are around that barely support life. Living amidst the corpses of giants, the Hullskin certainly have developed an ambition to the wider universe, but the unique measure of their existence hinders them from making a conduit of their own…for the moment. Living their entire life in low gravity space hulks, they are uniquely physiologically adapted to space. As a species they are tall, thin, and almost translucent white.
Armies: 2
Fleets: 5
Ruler: Separated between various Rustlords
Karkino Republic:
A liberal republic built by the semi-aquatic, crab-like Karkinos have painstakingly spread their presence throughout their sector, for their immense size necessitates greater resources to be put into their spacecraft, not helped by the fact their preferred environment is entirely underwater. To aid in this, the subservient four armed simian race of dubious intelligence called the Arai are trained in basic tasks aboard the starships, among other things. The Karkino Republic possesses little in the way of grand ambition, cognizant as they are of the galactic political situation, focusing instead on trade and self-protection, as well as maintaining control over the Phacops sector. In this aim, as the Hyper War raged around them, they sought to arm and maintain a professional military, taking advantage of their species hardy nature. They have, through some minor miracle, largely avoided the worst of the Hyper War, defending their borders with watchful eyes and careful diplomacy. With their oceanic homeworld Opa struggling with industrial pollution the Karkino have increasingly turned to barren planetoids within their system to offload their trash, or have otherwise resolved to push the problem towards the slums and ignore it.
Army: 2
Navy: 3
Ruler: President Brachyura
Acridic Trillion:
Another insectoid race, Acridic Trillion society is divided sharply into two segments. The Acridic themselves, clad in greenish-beige carapace, average out at a lean eight feet and possess buzzing wings which grant them flight, yet are remarkably low in population. They stand at the top, organized into groups of loose tribes, who all obey the Great Hopper. And the Uah, of which the tallest and greatest of them can reach five feet. Timid and community focused, the Uah have been easily cowed by the aggressive Acridic. Despite their forceful nature, borderline cruelty even, the Acridic are relatively hands off in how they rule the Uah, coming by only to enforce heavy taxes on resources. Whether that resources be mineral, food, or even bodies for the Acridic's Trillion military in times of emergencies, all depends on the mood and needs of the clan in question. The Acridic have proven jealous hoarders of the Uah, incidentally proving to be surprisingly able protectors when the spasming aftershocks of the fighting against the Paxillus briefly touched the Locus sector. Despite their status as an Orbital Race, the Acridic Trillion does not lack ambition, and they have taken a keen interest in foreign affairs.
Army: 4
Navy: 4
Ruler: Great Hopper Ju
The Melbu Saad:
Peaceful, long lived, and slow moving, the Melbu have been largely content to approach things at their own pace since time immemorial. Sapient consciousness formed out of dozens to hundreds of trees networked together, the gentle giants of the Melbu possess little in the way of a functioning government as most states would understand it. Due to their simultaneously low yet high population—for the networked minds act as one in several bodies—and their innate connection to one another, the Melbu often act by pure consensus via root-bonded meetings, usually acting as one. The downside to such unity is that it often takes a long time for any Melbu to gather, much less deliberate on a proper course of action. When the Coordinated Euphrates Command found their homeworld, the Great Grove, it was to use it as a supply depot as well as harvest its mostly untapped resources. Unwilling to deal with the moving forests, or let her operation be held up by scientists interested in studying them, Commodore Zarina Malikova elected to simply firebomb the world from orbit. When the makeshift fleet of the Melbu Saad launched from the world, it caught the CEC taskforce by surprise, who had dismissed their sapience. As such, only a third of the Melbu fleet was destroyed by the CEC, with the rest fleeing all over the Baobob sector. It was not the complete evacuation that was initially envisioned, and over half of the Melbu burned. Those who were left hid within the sector, quietly colonizing several worlds. It is only now that the war is over that they are able to return to the Great Grove. The surface had been turned to ash, with logistical hubs and mining outposts peppering the planet. Faced with this ruin, the Melbu Saad must deliberate what to do with their slaughtered world, and the slave labor left behind by the CEC as they pulled out from the region.
Army: 2
Navy: 3
Ruler: ???
The Hurawn Stardom:
Centuries ago, when the great lizards shed the earthly chains of their home, the great king declared a new title for himself and his people: Of a Starlord and his Stardom. They spread throughout the sector quickly, for there was little in the way of competition for them in their backyard. When they joined the galactic community it should've been as unremarkable as any Orbital Races introduction to the wider galaxy. However they ran afoul of the Imperial Ulvor Union, who desired a share of their trade. Particularly their tea and the sacred Ru trees, purple barked whose branches take on a bell like shape, both native to their homeworld Lawan. The Hurawn were affronted, and attempted to cut off relations, but the IUU forced the issue. They sent a fleet and held the much weaker Hurawn at gunpoint until they acceded to the IUU's demands. Humiliated and resentful, a national obsession started in the Hurawn Stardom—the desire to own a Conduit for themselves, no matter how miniscule, so as to never be so weak again. The project took generations, slowed by IUU meddling, and was finally finished only a decade before the Hyper War started. For a just moment, the Hurawn basked in the increase of trade and prestige that trickled towards Far Komod, their honor restored—until the Hyper War kicked off, and the Coordinated Euphrates Command bulldozed throughout their sector, seizing most of it within a week, and kicking the Hurawn back to a smattering of frontier worlds while the CEC seized control of the strategic Hurawn Gate to further propel their conquests. There the Stardom seethed, joining the Coalition in a desperate attempt to take back their lands. Yet to their shame, they could provide only military intelligence and local guides, for their power had been savaged by the CEC. In the final battle for Hurawn Gate they provided vital intelligence which aided in the CEC's defeat at the battle, while coordinating their offensive to retake Far Komod with the battles start. But with the end of the war, they find their star of destiny has been taken from them once again, as the Yan-Yaboth seek their new home, seizing control of the Hurawn Gate in the process. An official protest has been lodged with the Assembly of Species, but few within the Stardom expect anything to come at it, and already resentment begins to curdle into xenophobia.
Army: 3
Navy: 3
Ruler: Starlord Pora
Jaghaban Autocracy:
A collection of warlords play acting as a state, the Jaghaban Autocracy is more of a loose coalition than it is a true dictatorship. Fur covered and physically diminutive, the Jangaban have long since spread themselves across the Gospod sector, with most of their impressive history effectively summed up as a series of rotating wars between prideful lords jockeying for position and power. It is only in the last two hundred years that the Jaghaban have been unified, though such a term loosely defines the current state of the Autocracy. Four great system lords rule in the Autocracy. The Yurvievch, Timur, Kondrati, and Olegovich, each group in charge of multiple systems within the Gospod sector. Each of them despise the other, but are cognizant enough to recognize that their interests are better served if their sector is able to provide a united front against the rest of the galaxy. The title of Tsar, overall leader of the Autocracy, is a rotating one. Passing between the great lords every decade. The title is mostly there out of sheer necessity, possessing little in the way of actual hard power, and relying almost entirely on the power of the great lord in question, and the moods of the other three. It is the Tsar that remains the public face to the rest of the galaxy, and often most of the trade and diplomatic actions go through them, though the other great lords are not above backroom dealing should they feel it necessary.
Army: 4
Fleet: 4
Ruler: Tsar Ratvonich
The Erd Kingdom:
Only two decades ago, the stars were gods and guides to the Erd. Only two decades ago, their homeworld was an unknown wonder to be explored. Only two decades ago, the Erd had no name for themselves, much less their home. Only two decades ago, their small tribes wandered their icy home, at the start of a long journey of development most species are familiar with. This all changed when the warships of the New History Organization arrived in the skies of their icy homeworld. Initially a survey ship, scouting for resources and eligible military sites to aid in their war against the Koldaki, the Erd's truly massive size and stout constitution impressed the CEC. The Erd were ripped from their homeworld by the NHO, and spread throughout the Dinothere sector in order to aid with the establishment of a proper NHO military presence. The Erd were treated as barely intelligent slave labor, forced to work in harsh conditions throughout the sector. That the Erd race survives at all is in large part due to the CEC flash-cloning specimens they found useful. Despite the horrors they were put through, the Erd proved hardier than even their Human overlords expected, and much more clever. A fire was rising throughout Dinothere, right under the nose of the NHO, as secret messages were passed from worksite to worksite. While the whip cracked, the Erd toiled, not only in the mines and factories, but in quiet meetings between disgruntled workers, binding themselves together. While their overlords sneered, the Erd learned, and while their masters bled them, the Erd armed themselves. From the NHO's perspective, Dinothere exploded practically overnight in an orgy of violence. The Erd rose against their erstwhile masters, the disparate resistance groups brought together by the legendary Sapra, a resistance fighter against the NHO who is viewed with a nigh on religious reverence by the Erd. Their overlords, distracted with the Koldaki and otherwise dismissive of the Erd, were caught off guard, giving the Erd groups precious momentum and time to find their footing. By the time the CEC reorganized, the Erd had swept through half the sector, liberating slaves as they went in an almost rapturous tide. This met a hard wall when faced with the proper might of the CEC, who preferred that the whole sector would burn rather than let it fall into Erd hands, and the Erd spent the rest of the war slowly pushing the NHO from Dinothere, organizing themselves under six different warlords, all bowing to Sapra. Now the fighting is done, but the promised peace seems dismal. Few of the Erd are actually learned, most of them either being unskilled and illiterate laborers or warriors, making do with what industrial power is left, stolen equipment, and the generosity of the Coalition. Only a few highly talented administrators and scientists keep things running while the prideful warlords begin to squabble amongst themselves. Only one figure can keep the Erd together, but the great Sapra lays on her deathbed, poisoned by the Humans foul atomic weaponry as cancerous growths spread through her body.
Army: 4
Fleet: 2
Ruler: Queen Sapra
The Hive Hospitaller(Formerly the Krikk'xi hive):
A race of giant ant aliens living in hives with queens and drones, strong and hard working. For generations they have served as vassals to the owner of their conduit, since at least before the IUU. When the CEC displaced the IUU and took the conduit, the Krikk'xi reached out immediately to ask when and where the new ruler would like their tribute. Though xenophobic the Krikk'xi soon had a strangely positive view from humanity as a model alien race that never complained or questioned its place. The Krikk'xi mined and sent minerals and always obeyed. As the war grew more intense the need for minerals started to outpace Krikk'xi ability to produce with their manpower, something the CEC solved by sending dissidents to labor in Krikk'xi mines, testament to the degree to which the CEC saw the Krikk'xi as almost furniture in their reliable service. These dissidents took many shapes and forms in the "apolitical" CEC but one form was religious dissidents loyal to organized faiths the CEC saw as threats. Little did the CEC realize the danger of sending the Jesuits to Krikk'xi space. Countless generations of unquestionably serving the hegemon as the drones served the queen were exposed to new ideas such as inherent dignity and the concept of an immortal soul. The ever growing need for ore to fuel the war machine drove human dissidents to the grave and wore thin even Krikk'xi strength and as the war started to turn against humanity the Krikk'xi sent a request to the CEC for reduced tribute and a "missionary" from the "Pope". The local admiral overzealously ordered a purge of the Krikk'xi not realizing that though they had never once showed any hostility before giant insects that bored through bedrocks were not harmless. The hasty attack failed, the Krikk'xi revolted and now that the hyperwar is over they have vowed to no more be mindless drones of their conduit holder. They have joined the universal Catholic Church, but they're not entirely sure what that means.
Army: 3
Fleet: 4
Ruler: Queen Kxi
Great Cabayush:
Initially a nomadic race that had fled their homeworlds destruction, the four legged and two armed Caba overran the Boia, the previous Orbital Race three centuries ago, seizing control from the lethargic, diminutive manilian Boia with their superior knowledge of void warfare and overall ruthlessness. However since settling down the Caba have begun to abandon their previous traditions, taking the garb and speak of the Boia instead, practically assimilating into the culture they've conquered. The Great Cabayush has spread throughout the Koxinga sector with an imperialistic fervor. While not the most technologically advanced—in particular limited by their engines—the Great Cabayush have made excellent time in colonizing the entirety of their sector. If the winds continue to favor them, it is likely they will be able to become a Conduit race, given time, resources, and knowledge.
Army: 3
Fleet: 4
Ruler: Emperor Boal
The Orrery:
For most, the Orrery has been a mild curiosity since its discovery millennium ago. Most Precursor artifacts found are untended by anything except time, simply left behind by those that built them. Discovered by pure accident by legendary explorers two thousand years ago, they found an entire sector centered around a single planetary system. A great watchstation, manned and maintained by Precursors drones. It was a discovery for the ages that the explorers could only touch the edges of, for while the drones cared little for the rest of the sector, they guarded the Orrery zealously, giving the explorers only one warning before they were fired upon. While the explorers managed a bare escape, and set up observation stations on the Orrery itself later in their lives, none have come as close as they have to the prime star system of the Orrery. What goes on there can only be witnessed from afar, and even that is difficult. In the thousands of years since, a good deal of study has been devoted to the Orrery, though the wonder of its discovery has worn off for most. All that has been confirmed is that the Orrery is essentially one big telescope, ever observing the stars. The limit of which has not been found. And that the drones that occupy the sector are self-maintaining and otherwise docile unless provoked, indifferent to most presence in the otherwise empty and barren sector. What they're watching for, and what else they may be doing, no one has managed to figure out.
Army: 10 [Tech 3]
Fleet: 10 [Tech 3]
Ruler: ???
The Rititi Mi: A race of diminutive reptilians that live primarily off of insects, their physical weakness and the sweeping megafauna that populate their homeworld has led to a deep seated paranoia most would label 'pure cowardice' instead, and a cultural obsession of compensating via convoluted plots, traps, and other means. Primarily through the use of overwhelming firepower, for since the first discovery of blackpowder the Rititi Mi have been in love with high explosives, using them to begin the first steps of truly seizing control over their homeworld. The Rititi Mi spread throughout their sector from their homeworld—designated as R.M Prime as a compromise measure during unification—with relative ease, lacking any serious competition as Delcourti proved relatively barren of sapient life. The Rititi Mi consider themselves a serious military power, and are eager to flaunt their arsenal at any opportunity, aware at how their nasally voices and nervous disposition effects galactic perception of them, and over eager to compensate. This has led to the latest evolution of the Rititi Mi's cultural obsession with big weapons—the special weapons development program. The SWDP, the Rititi Mi claim, helped them see off the Coordinated Euphrates Command during the war with marvelous ease. Any comments that such only occurred due to the New History Organizations entanglement with the Coalition in the region, and that they barely interacted with the Delcourti sector is furiously denied by the Rititi Mi. Indeed, they insist that they have proven themselves as a military power, and demand to be taken seriously as a result, painfully conscious as they are to the treatment of Orbital Races throughout the galaxy. According to reports to the Assembly of Species the Mi have begun work on a Conduit of their own, though whether that is true or another ploy of the Rititi Mi is up to debate.
Army: 4
Fleet: 6
Ruler: The Magnificent Miti
Dretha Grand State:
To be a member of the Dretha Grand State is to know only humiliation. It is to be sustained by pure bitterness, and to cleanse oneself in nothing but hate. Thrice, has the Grand State toiled to make a Conduit and rise to a more blessed status. Thrice has their hopes been denied, smashed to pieces by alien powers. The first was long ago, a thousand years before the galaxies current troubles, where a squabble between ancient powers labeled only with derisive slurs in the Dretha language saw their newly complete Conduit destroyed in some act of imperialistic hubris. The second was during the Infestation Wars, where the Dretha had managed a few years of blissful peace with a Conduit of their own construction, only to see it destroyed in the long and unpleasant battles against the Xalon. The third and final was the Hyper War itself, where fierce battles between the Coordinated Euphrates Command and Holy Remnant saw the Dretha's barely constructed Conduit shattered in the fighting, and the Grand State bloodied as mere collateral in the grappling of greater powers. Now, the Dretha Grand State gathers itself, and plans for a fourth. There is no other reason for it to exist, for the desire for a Conduit has become a desperate need that runs deep through the Dretha's blood. They will see their people starve, bled white, skies choked and planets drained happily for one more chance. They can comprehend nothing else, for their whole society has been reorientated around this goal.
They will have their Conduit, or they will die. There is no other option for the Dretha Grand State
Army: 4
Fleet: 5
Ruler: The Grand Coordinator Jurao
Colonial Dynamics Group:
Originally founded by Ko Porapa, a particularly enterprising Ulvor, a century before the Hyper War began to exploit the newly discovered Polyfund sector, the CDG has long since transformed from its initial vision. The colonial empire Porapa started—which had drained the blood and resources from the native 'primitive' people of the Polyfund sector, most of whom barely had access to space travel—has long since collapsed in on itself, destroyed by colonial revolts, left unsuppressed by the Imperial Ulvor Union, who had become increasingly entangled with the Coordinated Euphrates Command. The board was slaughtered, with most of the company personnel falling alongside them or fleeing from Polyfund altogether. It was a moment of triumph, but in the aftermath of victory the ambitious plans of the revolutionaries ran into a wall. Few among them were adept at managing an interstellar nation, lacking the institutional knowledge, or structure to make it happen. And the six species that made up the great revolt could not agree how to split the territory they had all gained together, and so as a compromise they kept the skeleton structure of the Colonial Dynamics Group intact, using it as a place to manage conflict between them, and keep each their colonies functioning, for each was already economically intertwined. While the six colonies have grown since the revolt, the CDG has managed to stick around. Nowadays it operates as a sort of trade league, uniting the six colonies and operating in a supranational sense, acting as a united face for interaction with the rest of the galaxy, and with each colony owning a stake in the company. The CDG manages a surprisingly robust export focused economy, though that was bruised in the Hyper War, where the CDG did its best to maintain its neutrality, and was largely ignored by the NHO. Officially, the Colonial Dynamics Group does not hold any sway whatsoever over domestic policy. The truth of it, however, is that it holds an immense amount of soft power, and if anyone wants anything done in the six colonies, the Colonial Dynamics Group will be involved in some way, shape, or form.
Army: 4
Fleet: 4
Ruler: Director Orik
The Yinh Star Republic:
One of the few single species nations in the galaxy, the Star Republic is populated entirely by the Yinh, segmented worms that evolved on a harsh desert world called Kurukura. In the process of seizing control of their sector—which they have renamed to 'One Yinh'—they engaged in several wars with other Orbital Races within their sector, kicking each and every one of them out into the wider galaxy in a fit of paranoia. That was two centuries ago, and since then the Star Republic has only doubled down, retreating into isolation and closing their borders after their attempts to find a Conduit Race patron failed. For most polities, a retreat to isolation would ensure that the galaxy forgot ones existence, such are the vast matters most have to deal with. But even in splendid isolation, the Yinh made noise. Military expenditure ballooned to disgustingly bloated degrees, at the expense of every other sector of their society. Repression has been the only way for the government to keep its current policies, and remain in control, alongside shameless indoctrination and propaganda. The Supreme Leader is venerated in the same breath one might whisper of a deity, while 'dissidents' are forced into work camps all over the sector to fuel the state's endless hunger. Food is more a privilege than a fundamental right, with starvation lurking around every corner should one creaking pillar tumble the wrong way. Defectors fleeing this tightly controlled society have helped to sensationalize the Star Republic in the galactic consciousness, with a reputation as being a horrible joke of a state, rendering it relatively infamous.
The Yinh Star Republic has raised the alert level of its forces with the Ysharin deployment to their sector, and have already demanded that they depart.
Army: 5
Fleet: 6
Ruler: Supreme Leader Yop
The Congregation of the Patient:
Founded in the days of the Infestation Wars by a small smattering of refugees left behind Xalon lines during some of the worst of the fighting over the Z4 Prime Conduit. The Congregation was too miniscule and isolated within their new home sector to merit much attention from the Hive-Queens, and were left—terrified—to their devices. Since then they have grown throughout the rest of the sector, slowly and organically. They met with little competition from any potential natives of the sector, for any that existed had been subsumed by the Xalon. While the Congregation of the Patient does participate in galactic affairs, it largely keeps to itself, content with its current status and lacking any grander ambition to become a Conduit race. When they do act in galactic affairs, it is often with politeness and an inoffensive tone. Throughout the years the Congregation has become notable for its open acceptance of refugees, offering safe harbor for any fleeing hard times. They do not force their religion on anyone, but for those who do make their way to the Congregation, it is difficult to not get involved in some capacity. Indeed, their religion may be the only truly odd thing, disturbing even, about the Congregation. For they worship the Xalon.
Of course, not literally, or so the official line goes. They state they view the Xalon as a devil figure, a Legion Adversary whose return would smite the wicked and test the virtuous. And that upon their apocalyptic return, the Congregation will be left to heal and rebuild amongst the ashes of everyone who has wronged them. Conspiracy theories, dismissed harshly by the Congregation, state that the Congregation of the Patient might be planning to somehow hasten the return of the Xalon, which is viewed as little more than slander and nigh on blasphemy by the Congregation.
Army: 2
Fleet: 2
Ruler: The Illuminated One
The Yoth:
The Yothi emerged from the cradle of their homeworld not to an open or even peaceful galaxy, but to one held in the throes of one of the most vicious wars to bloody its stars. The Hyper War has shaken Yothi society to its core, inducing in them a deep seated social and institutional terror at the mere prospect of interstellar annihilation. Their every act of foreign policy has been focused around the act of conducting themselves as the ideal Orbital Race from the view of a Conduit Race; that of a meek, subservient race that heaps gifts and praise upon any greater power, often in the native language of said power. All the while they have sought to secure their home sector, Proskyn, by any means possible. The lengths of which are impossible to tell, at the moment. But knowing how fearful and vicious cornered animals can be, it is doubtful it is anything pleasant. Their society has turned increasingly authoritarian as a result of their introduction to the greater galactic community, with their democratic values shriveling, and their left-leaning parties and institutions being crushed in the name of self-preservation.
Army: 2
Fleet: 3
Ruler: Primer Yu'uhoth
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