State of the Galaxy

[Katriel]

State of the Galaxy

Overview

The start of the 25th Century has been defined by conflict and unrest. While the Federation and the Klingon Empire engaged in a long and brutal war, internal conflicts raged throughout the Romulan space and led several colonies to declare independence, sparking a civil war between the fractured yet combative Star Empire and the fledgling Romulan Republic.

After a surprise attack on both Earth and Qo’noS by the Undine, and the revelation that these shape-shifting enemies had infiltrated and manipulated both factions, a hasty cease-fire was called in order to combat the new, greater foe. Before long, the Romulan Republic had joined this Khitomer Alliance and the three powers together were able to overcome the Undine threat. However, the true test was still to come.

Never before had the galaxy faced a threat like the one posed by the Iconians. After decades of planning and subtle manipulation, their invasion was swift and devastating, quickly pushing the Alliance to its breaking point. The Iconians’ ability to project force proved overwhelming, and over the course of mere months, Federation, Klingon, and Republic forces were pushed back to the brink of defeat. Despite the assistance of nearly every major power in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, the war seemed lost. During the battle for Sol, by all accounts a hopeless last stand for the Alliance, Iconian forces suddenly and inexplicably withdrew from combat. All across the galaxy, the Iconians abandoned their battles and retreated to their home system. If the circumstances of the war’s end are known, that information remains tightly classified at the highest levels of government, and for most of the galaxy’s inhabitants, this remains one mystery happily left unsolved.

Following the Iconian withdrawal, a shaky truce has prevailed. Though numerous smaller threats remain, a harsh decade of warfare has whittled down proclivity for large-scale hostilities. Instead, the powers of the galaxy are once again shifting focus towards exploration and discovery. The political situation is tenuous, but diplomats in the Federation are optimistic about fostering a lasting peace. With conflict in its past, the Federation and its allies looks towards the future.

[kermit]

Argo-Playable Factions

United Federation of Planets

Founded in 2161, the United Federation of Planets has come to be known as a beacon of hope, prosperity and power within the Alpha and Beta quadrants of the Milky Way. While it has been challenged numerous times within the last few decades by old enemies and new, it remains a formidable interstellar power that prides itself on its principles of universal liberty, rights, and equality. Formally the Federation’s territory only encompasses a small segment of known Beta and Alpha quadrant space, but the neighborhood alliances with the formerly hostile Klingon Empire and the fledgling Romulan Republic generally assures at least the diplomatic security of all its member worlds, the total of which grows steadily by the year.

Starfleet continues to act as the Federation’s primary deep-space exploratory and defensive service. Between newly-pioneered advancements in transwarp travel and the discovery of Dyson Spheres and Iconian Gateways, Starfleet is capable of extending the Federation’s hand of influence as far as the Delta quadrant. Though skeptics of Starfleet’s massive size and slightly bureaucratic flavor do exist, the organization remains committed to exploration, diplomacy, and the continued greater existence of all the Federations’ species.

Romulan Republic

Born out of the Vulcan Reunification Movement and the Reman Resistance, since its inception in 2409, the Romulan Republic has become a major power in its own right. Centered around the newly-colonized New Romulus (or mol’Rihan in the Romulan language), the Republic was formed by an alliance of Romulan and Reman colonies that were opposed to Empress Sela’s oppressive rule of the Star Empire. In the short time since its founding, it has expanded rapidly, now controlling a respectable number of systems and colonies throughout the Beta Quadrant. While the Republic remains officially committed to peaceful relations with its neighbors, in practice, the situation is far more complex, as many of the Republic’s citizens cling to the so-called ‘old ways’ of the Empire. The Republic is governed by a democratically-elected Senate, the leader of which (currently Proconsul D’Tan) acts as the head of state.

The military branch of the Republic, the Romulan Republican Force (RRF), is charged not only with the defense of member worlds, but also carries a mandate to actively seek out colonies or other groups of Romulans or Remans being oppressed by the Star Empire and the Tal’Shiar, and to provide assistance wherever possible. The RRF operates a sizable fleet of former Star Empire and Tal’Shiar warbirds, and in recent years has begun production of its own line of modern vessels.

For more information on playing a Romulan, please see Romulans in Argo.

Klingon Empire

Founded centuries ago, the Klingon Empire is the oldest of the major powers in the Alpha/Beta Quadrant. In the past few decades the Empire has thrived, expanding to include the Gorn Hegemony as well as a number of former Federation and Romulan territories. The Klingon Defense Force (KDF) is a formidable organization and peer-level threat to both Starfleet and the RRF.

While the Empire is a member of the Khitomer Alliance and officially at peace with both the Federation and the Republic, this has proven to be a tenuous arrangement. Additionally, owing to the Klingons’ warrior culture and the nature of their society, it is not uncommon for individual houses or even military elements to act independently of the High Council, thereby often posing a significant threat to regions of space near the Empire’s border.

Argo is not currently accepting KDF characters.

[kermit]

Major Powers / Galactic Threats

Romulan Star Empire

Having been a major galactic power since as early as the 22nd century, even the destruction of their home system did not mean the end of the Romulan Star Empire (RSE). After over three decades of in-fighting, the RSE of the present day is generally considered to be a mere shadow of its former glory. The Romulan Star Navy is now largely a pawn of the secretive Tal Shiar. Despite Empress Sela’s disappearance, the RSE continues to control a considerable area of space and though their appearances have become less common, the Tal Shiar still pose a significant threat when they choose to act.

The Dominion

Following the end of their devastating war with the Alpha Quadrant in 2375, the Dominion had very little contact with the Federation for over three decades. It wasn’t until the awakening of the Hur’q in 2417 that the Dominion returned to the galactic stage, with their own multi-pronged efforts to stymie the threat. Despite massive reservations, the threat of the Hur’q was deemed too great to turn away any potential allies, so the Alliance reluctantly acquiesced to the Dominion’s pleas for assistance and became critical to the defense of the Founders’ new homeworld of Empersa.

As a token of gratitude, the Dominion pledged their support and even some of their forces to bolster the Alliance and has maintained mostly peaceful relations since. As a condition of their acceptance, however, the Dominion was required to promise to free the Jem’Hadar from their addiction to Ketracel-white, though no specific deadline was determined and the process of completely eliminating Ketracel addiction from the Jem’Hadar population is expected to take decades, if not longer. While some numbers of Jem’Hadar have chosen to undergo the experimental procedures and take advantage of their newfound freedom to discover new ways of life, the vast majority have elected to remain in service to the Founders. Most sources predict that even without their addiction, the Jem’Hadar will continue to be a loyal and effective fighting force for the Dominion.

For information on playing as a member of the Dominion, please see Dominion Service and Free Agents.

Borg Collective

The first alien adversary to pose a threat to the Federation on an apocalyptic scale has had multiple victories and setbacks since the Federation’s first brush with them, but they remain a significant force to contend with. With a new Queen hiding safely away somewhere, clusters of Borg continue to drift undeterred through the galaxy, assimilating persons or species of interest and occasionally attempting more calculatedly sophisticated gambits in their dogged pursuit of perfection.

Terran Empire

The Terran Empire, or Imperial Starfleet, from the Mirror Universe alternate dimension is generally considered by Starfleet Intelligence to be a low priority threat, as their ability to cross into Prime Universe remains sporadic and unsustainable at best. Though they seem to harbor a motivation to conquer Prime Universe, Intelligence suspects that the constant warring within the Mirror Universe occupies too much of the Terrans’ time for them to properly focus on an invasion effort into Prime Universe.

Undine

With their ability to open portals from Fluidic Space and their unparalleled shapeshifting skills, Undine have historically been presented as a very dangerous species. Despite their extreme xenophobia, they are also isolationist and have been generally pacified as a faction as a result of Admiral Tuvok’s direct intervention (“Mindscape” episode).

Iconians & Heralds

The most deadly threat that all galactic denizens have historically faced, significant enough to have folded just about every Milky Way faction into temporary alliance in order to resist their assaults. On the eve of their total victory over the alliance, the Iconians halted their assault on the Sol System, and a peace was declared a short time later. The Iconians and their servitors have retreated back within the Dyson Sphere surrounding the Iconia System, and an area of several lightyears around the system has been designated an exclusion zone, into which entry by non-Iconian vessels is strictly prohibited. The reason for their withdrawal is either not known or tightly classified by the leadership of the alliance.

Elachi & Solanae

Like the Heralds, the Elachi and Solanae have been confirmed as servitor races for the Iconians, with Solanae being the significantly lesser-seen of the two due to their inability to survive in normal space. Both races are usually utilized by the Iconians to accomplish specific tasks or goals for their masters and are tactically on par with the native Alpha/Beta species. Neither has been seen more than briefly since the end of the Iconian War, and are considered by Starfleet Intelligence to be low priority threats as long as the Iconians remain in a state of isolation.

Tzenkethi Coalition

After suffering defeats against both the Federation and the Klingons in the early 24th century, the reptilian Tzenkethi withdrew to their own space and remained reclusive for almost a century. When they finally emerged in 2416, they did so with a vengeance. Striking out seemingly at random, the Tzenkethi make use of protomatter-based weaponry to annihilate entire planets. They engaged in open warfare with the Alpha Quadrant Alliance, with the goal of eliminating the dormant Hur’q species, seeded on planets throughout the galaxy. Following a failed assault on Bajor, a cease-fire was established. The Tzenkethi briefly aided the Alliance against the now-revealed Hur’q threat, but soon returned to their isolationist tendencies. Despite the current lack of contact, intelligence sources have reported corruption and even a possible coup at the highest levels of the Coalition. Starfleet believes the Tzenkethi Coalition to be a low priority threat as long as they are inclined to maintain their isolation.

Hur'q & Drantzuli

Ancient conquerors of the Klingons, the Hur’q are an insectoid race that was driven to a vicious single-minded state of destructive consumption by Dominion biological manipulation, thousands of years ago. The unique orbit of their home planet resulted in a species on a thousand-year hibernation cycle. The most recent awakening took place in 2417, resulting in a period of conflict spanning the Alpha, Beta, and Gamma quadrants. The Hur’q, and their Drantzuli ‘attendants’, were later ‘cured’ of their affliction and called a cease-fire, ending the conflict as the Hur’q withdrew to their own space. The Alliance is maintaining a presence in Hur’q space with the goal of ensuring a lasting peace.

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Argo Area of Operation

The 38th Fleet and its allies are headquartered at Deep Space 13 in the Aldebaran Sector, and maintain an operational area typically extending 30-50 lightyears from the starbase.

Sectors covered in full or in part by Argo patrols include Aldebaran, Archanis, Ba’aja, Betazed, Boreth, Donatu, Doza, Itrin, Kassae, Kelterre, Minos Korva, Otha, Risa, Xarantine, and the largely uncharted Alpha-7190.

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Local Powers

Betreka Nebula Pirates

The low natural resource likelihood and pockets of dangerous corrosive gasses have made full charting of the nebula by major powers an unattractive prospect. As a result, the Betreka Nebula has long been a home for scavengers and smugglers. Near the border of Federation and Cardassian space, it also serves as an ideal launching point for raids on civilian shipping lanes.

Confederacy of Azed

The Confederacy of Azed is an advanced spacefaring power local to the Itrin Sector Block. The Azedi enforce closed borders with most other factions and currently maintain no known external diplomatic contacts. They fiercely defend their space and have clashed with Starfleet and allied powers on numerous occasions. Efforts to make peace with the Confederacy have been generally unsuccessful. The Federation and the Confederacy of Azed currently exist in a state of cold war. Encounters between the Confederate Navy and Starfleet (or any others unfortunate enough to run across them) tend to provoke violent responses.

For more information on the Azedi please see the Confederacy of Azed Datafile.

Doza Scavengers

“Doza Scavengers” is a colloquialism for an assortment of local businesses and independently operated starships found commonly throughout the Doza Sector. Large swaths of the sector are within the former borders of the now-extinct Kilur Hegemony, and much of the region’s economy is based on salvaging and trading in the unique Kilur technologies left derelict.

The Kilur, and by extension many Doza scavengers, use a unique form of distributed power generation. The gelatinous suspension found in their power conduits (“FERG” to Starfleet, “The Source” to the Kilur, and “Gel” in common speech) is a valuable natural resource necessary to power these starships and is commonly used as a local currency, preferred over standard GPL.

By all accounts, picking the bones of the Kilur is an extremely dangerous profession, but one driven by necessity - natural resources in the ‘southern’ half of the Doza Sector tend to be extremely rare outside of former Hegemony space. As a result, the vast majority of Doza scavengers are members of the Kilur Salvage Exchange - a loose association of scavengers that regulates exchange rates and the sale of information necessary to locate suitable salvage locations.

Kingdom of Parin

The Kingdom of Parin is a semi-constitutional monarchy in the Doza sector. Previously fervently isolationist, the Kingdom has broken from the status quo in the last few years. Although inferior to its neighbors in technology, military, and economic power, the importation of modern goods and foreign experts has led to substantial progress in closing the gap. Possessing active diplomatic relations with the Federation and other local powers, Parin strives to maximize its capabilities through the expression of soft power. Its diplomatic corps seem adamant on pursing closer relations with the Federation for Parin’s benefit.

Though not all is serene in the Kingdom. Internal squabbles over power, a modernity-seeking prince expected to soon replace its aging monarch, and rumors of revolutionary movements in the political underground plague the Kingdom. Parin is approaching a crossroads.

For more information, please see: The Kingdom of Parin

New Circini

New Circini is an independent multi-species colony established by colonists from the Federation-Cardassian demilitarized zone who were displaced in 2371. Rich in natural resources and in a prime location in the Kelterre Sector, New Circini has become a bustling and diversified trading hub. Though the world fiercely maintains its independence from the Federation, it operates an open port and maintains amicable relations with its neighbors.

In recent years it has become commonplace for Starfleet vessels to make stopovers at New Circini for various reasons. In times of regional conflict, the current government administration has shown a willingness to request and accept Federation aid and protection.

For more information, please see: Star System: New Circini.

UFP Colonial Administration

While not actually a separate entity, the Department of Colonial Administration is nevertheless worth noting in any discussion of local politics. The Kelterre and Doza sectors have long been candidates for Federation expansion. As Starfleet explores and secures local areas, it is only natural that new colonies will eventually spring up in unclaimed territories. The DCA provides authorization and resources for colonists to settle new worlds and, vitally, works closely with the Diplomatic Corps to establish and formalize the Federation's borders in frontier sectors.

Currently, the Tau Zeta and Doza star systems fall under the purview of the DCA, claiming small portions of the Kelterre and Doza sectors as Federation space.

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Additional information and more player-created local powers can be found in the Astrometrics forum. Please see the directory thread for details: Systems Database