The Asrian Ascendancy strives towards psionic apotheosis. Their psionic potential in modern times is second to none. Aided by their specialized technology and readily available, psionic resources they managed to become the unrivaled masters of the art. During the Great War, they wanted to replace the Ashtar as the dominant, policing race. An effort reflected in their large, slow but well protected and heavy-hitting ships. However, this led to truly gruesome acts of wanton slaughter and in some cases even genocide. Today the Asrians mostly see themselves as the custodians of the Ashtar legacy.





A general summary of your nation. Just a paragraph or so with the high-level points.









Asra – Named the Crown World. Asra forms the seat of the Asrian Ascendancy. Here the Noble World representatives voice their grievances and desires in the High Court. Where the High King and his Council of Lords reside. Once Asra was a sprawling mess of cities and industrial zones. No more. Its nature is healing over the wounds of industrialization. The few cities that remain are opulent centers of research, culture and wealth. These sprawling urban centers are filled with low-rise villas, public gardens, colonnades, and museums publicizing the latest creations. Picturesque workshops allow the Asrian tourists a peek into the artisan (but highly controlled) growth of the Crown World. For those with close ties to royalty, there are the numerous well-hidden summer and winter homes spread across the “wilderness” of Asra. Poverty is inexistent through displacement schemes and an extremely tough stance on crime. Only the walled capital city of Nemubia is accessible to foreigners. Though only to foreign dignitaries and embassy personnel.

Serenas – A unique world within the Asrian Ascendancy. Serenas is neither a Tributary nor a Noble World. It is the only planet (and system) that is totally owned by the Asrian United Royal Military (AUR-M). Serenas itself has many military bases surrounded by truly untouched wilderness and hostile fauna. Its moon is home to several black sites as well. Many stations orbit the main planet, some of them containing the biggest docks and gantries of the Ascendancy. In fact, the only shipyards capable of producing the feared Dreadnoughts of the Asrians can be found here. In far outer orbit of the local star you can also find a black site gantry where Asra makes her Hyper-Dreadnoughts. While almost all military research and development is carried out in the Serenas System, there is one very important exception: psionics. Serenas counts its fair share of Cabals, Covens and Orders but the high-level research in psionics is absolutely forbidden.

Agresha Ashtari – A planet discovered and colonized at the start of the Great War by the great House of Gesha, Agresha Ashtari is home to many Ashtar ruins. Under the rule of the Gesha, this planet turned into the galaxies greatest research center into the Ashtar and their psionic powers. However, they did not stop there. Agresha Ashtari laid on an important FTL “highway” from Gateway. The Gesha opted to open up several city centers to foreigners. In which they constructed massive temples for the Ashtar to worship them as gods, grand museums to publicize several nuggets of wisdom the Asrians have gleaned (though it is well known that the Asrians do not show off all their knowledge in these musea) and a myriad of shops providing incense, statuettes and other souvenirs and trinkets.

Gateway – Another unique system, Gateway marks the official point of entry into the Asrian Ascendancy. All foreign traffic has to enter through here and pass customs. While within the Asrian Ascendancy corporations are limited in how many employees and how much land they may lease or own per planet, within Gateway they are free to buy anything from orbit coordinates for space stations up to entire asteroids if it suits their purpose. The Gateway system is also home to a myriad of smaller civilian gantries and docks for ships to dock and unload. While customs formalities are carried out when leaving the system to go deeper into the Ascendancy, taxes within Gateway are exceptionally low. Making it a favored trade hub.



The official stance is that the billions of inhabitants of the Asrian Ascendancy are all pure Asrian. These are humans that, over the course of a millennium, evolved and mutated into a psionically capable species. Biologists could make a strong case that Asrians are no longer strictly human. However, the number of Asrians is quite low should one compare it to other empires of equal size. The reason for this is the Cataclysm. A terrible event that took place within the central Crown World and the Noble systems surrounding it. While the Cataclysm killed billions, those that remained gained massive psionic power. Still, the Asrian Ascendancy’s population is definitely at the smaller end in general. The population generally resides within the Noble worlds, as these are fully colonized and capable of sustaining life. Some might be send out as Thrall Supervisors on outposts.


Civilians within the Asrian Ascendancy are actually quite well off in general. Through the Universal Basic Income, none of them need to carry out menial or unrequired tasks. As almost all of these tasks are carried out by Thralls these days. Joined with free public education, healthcare and subsidized higher education. While technically Asrians do not need to work, many of the lower classes still work the more menial control jobs. Supervising the legions of Thralls working the mines, fields and other industries. There is a tax levied upon these extra incomes. While companies do exist, Asrian companies are more seen as a union of people working towards a common goal rather than the maximization of profit. Capitalist thinking died with the Cataclysm, after which many leaderless companies were forced to part with vast sums of their wealth to rebuild and provide a good life for the population as a whole. There was a fear that the coming of foreign companies would destabilize this dynamic. Though by giving these foreigners a different status and subjecting them to different laws (and most importantly: minimizing their presence) the Ascendancy continues to maintain its delicate balance.

Middle classes give great importance to personal achievements and those of their offspring. They are the corporation owners or merchants in general. Though many of them also enter into research, art or military. Each time trying to prove and bring honor to themselves in a bid to one day turn their family into a Lesser House. Middle Class also provides the most Commanders for the military in a bid to maximize their own prestige that way.

The higher classes start with the Lesser Houses. These are generally tributaries of the High Houses that rule the system. Lesser Houses rule large pieces of land, several corporations and can boast several locally renown researchers and artisans as their ancestors (during the Great War, the emphasis laid largely upon war heroes, however since the Cataclysm their importance has waxed and waned). Lesser Houses are more capable to provide wealth for individual researchers and artisans within the family. As tributaries to the High House, Lesser Houses are also expected to provide support in the form of bureaucrats and other personnel. Lesser Houses on the Noble Worlds wage a constant war with each other in the shadows of the court. Trying to win the favor of the High House. The greatest honor a Lesser House may receive is a marriage proposal.

Each civilian has the right to vote for the Crown Prince of his/her Noble World when their High Lord dies. They may also vote their Crown World Representative every 5 years. Both are extremely important positions. The position of Representative is bound to the most social etiquette. Candidates may not slander, insult or mistreat one another personally. They are encouraged to utilize failed former promises and pointing out outright deceit. Amongst the prince and princesses, attacks upon personality may happen. As these elections are generally considered far more personal. Never the less most try to be wary with their words as becoming High Lord/Lady does not absolve them of their insults.

Religion is not outright banned by the Ascendancy. However, it is tightly regulated and overseen to prevent the disastrous Zealot Wars that broke out at the start of the Great War. Most of the Asrians do believe Gods exist in the form of the Ashtar. However, they refrain from worship because most of them believe they will one day, as a race, ascend into godhood as well. Still, some Asrians do worship the Ashtar as Gods. Foreigners on Open Cities are free to have shrines in their own houses. If a religion is sanctified by the Royal Court, they may open up one place of worship within the Asrian Ascendancy.

(To do: expand upon fashion)


Trade - While the Asrian Ascendancy has made many promises of openness, it is still quite an isolationist place. However, since the creation of Gateway, the Ascendancy really has opened up a bit. FTL-Infrastructure allow for fast movement along FTL Highways towards systems that chose to open themselves up. While some Noble Worlds chose to allow foreigners to trade with them, the Asra System is still completely off-limit for non-Asrian civilian ships. Foreigners may embark such ships from any Noble world though.

Merchant vessels diverging from these FTL Highways will be quickly caught and requested to return to their former path. Should they, somehow, be able to trade outside of an opened up system then they are, by law, smuggling (at the very least).

Workforce = Thralls and supervisors
Noble Systems = Economic and administrative hearts
Tributary Worlds = Production centers, agrarian zones, forge worlds
Outer Systems = uncolonized harvesting zones
Taxation = high corporate taxes




There are 3 tiers of the main government. The first tier is the local government. This concerns the outposts on the outer systems and cities on the tributary worlds. The position of governor over these locations is not elected. Instead, Lesser Houses are tasked with the administration and management of these places by the High House they serve. Despite the fact that these locations are not elected, civil unrest can be a very real threat. Most outer and tributary worlds supply the Nobles system they serve with vital food, goods, and even border security. Should a Lesser House fail in their duties, punishment is generally demotion and the dissolution of the House. A grievous wound to inflict upon a family, who may have to work for generations to get back on their feet.

The second tier of government is that of the Noble Worlds. Lesser Houses act as bureaucrats, administrators, managers and other support personnel for the High House. The more important department a Lesser House manages at the Noble System, the more prestige they accumulate and the more chances they get to ascend. However, corruption and general inefficiency become more and more visible to the High House and thus faster and harder punished. A department can be re-allocated to another house every 5 years. At the height of governance for Lesser Houses is the Noble Council. To have a member of your family become Councilor here is the greatest honor a Lesser House can experience. Councilors here often get their first taste of actual law-making. The only way to advance yourself now is to become a High House yourself. This is nigh impossible. For one it requires several High Houses to vouch for you and your kin. Secondly, it requires a position of such rulership to open up. A rare occurrence during this Post-Colonial era. The only few times a new High House was created was when Tributary worlds grew too big and High Houses were forced to part with them and the surrounding tributary and outer worlds. This has always resulted in rivalries between the two Houses. Where one declares the other a traitor while the other claims it is their right.

Such rivalries are the matter of the third tier of governance. Here the fate of entire systems is decided. Every High House has a representative at the Court at the very least. However, by decree of the High King a High House may be asked to send more people to act as councilors and advisors during the various meetings and councils at the High Court in Asra. These High Councils have very specific fields in which they operate like the High Council of Agriculture, the High Council of Psionic Research, the High Council of Foreign Relationships, High Council of Culture and so on. Once again, to be invited to such High Council is a great honor. Representatives hold no seat on such councils, however, they are often invited if certain decisions are to be made about one of the systems they represent. Representatives will often advise on how to achieve certain goals without completely disrupting the represented systems.

There is, however, a fourth tier of governance. However an exceptional few can reach it if they are not born of royalty. The Royal Council may overrule any previous made law or demand. They are comprised of the royal appointed Advisor of a field (Royal Advisor of Industry, Royal Advisor of Culture, Royal Advisor of Psionic Research, etc). They speak with the voice of the King, most of the time. Though the King can still overrule them. While it is highly unlikely for a Royal Advisor to be relieved of his duties, a 65% majority vote on the High Council he seats at may result in such thing to happen.

Some free thinkers (generally foreigners) will decry such a monolithic structure. Where there seems to be no clear difference between the executive and the legislative branch. In fact, they would say it looks awfully much like a dictatorship of the monarchy. This is not entirely incorrect. It may appear as if the common folks have painfully little control over their rulers. Their direct leaders are often chosen only once in a lifetime. Their representatives may be chosen once every five years. Never the less, the inalienable right of the civilians to move to whichever system they want to (accompanied by the Universal Basic Income that enables such move) means that dissatisfied civilians may and will leave systems should they fully disagree with their rulers on whatever matter. And because many rulers often rule for several decades, they can enact grand schemes and works that will bring prosperity and prestige to their system without being subjected to the fickle currents of a democracy.



Psionic Tech - Ancient Asrians were faced with a terrible problem. They had reached the end of manageable psionic power. Any usage beyond said milestone generally led to the loss of control (and life). The psionic energy just could not be applied in any meaningful way without aid. That aid came in the form of Psionic Tech. Runes, the most widespread usage of Psionic Tech are used not just to channel but to control psionic power. These runes were once simple creations. Today the Rune modules are intricate and highly specialized creations and implants. Made only by sanctioned artisans. However, Psionic Tech has grown beyond the usage of Asrians. The creation of the Thrall Core was another milestone, allowing the Asrian Ascendancy not just to survive but to thrive after the Cataclysm. While in ancient times Psionic Tech could only work with psychrite, today many psionically enhanced and exotic products are used in Psionic Tech.

Thralls - Easily mistaken for robots, Thralls form the backbone of the Asrian empire's wealth. They are largely made out of synthetic muscle fiber and bones. However, they are not controlled by a classical computer. Instead, they possess what some would call a base, animalistic consciousness. Given to them by the psychrite core they have in them. This gives them some instincts and even an ability to learn (though in a very limited way). Old, experienced cores will begin to alter the physical form of a Thrall to better suit their needs. For example, Thralls that only mine will rebuild themselves with strong muscles and skin but forsake optical sensors.


Lightweaving – The basis of the Asrians main weapon, it lets you program a tiny shard of psychrite to follow a certain, mathematically decided, path. Then superheated plasma is bound to the sliver and fired off. It uses the plasma to steer itself across the path. The more plasma it has, the slower it will move (though it’s general speed is quite fast) but the further it can travel. The plasma gets more effective the closer the target is.

However, the real advantage lays with the Lightweavers. In space these Asrians are suspended in a pod along a right with a VR headset. Their neural implant connects them with a computer that turns intent and thoughts into the mathematical paths the shards are programmed with. Experienced lightweavers can use up to 10 ArcLights (the main weapon that uses lightweaving). To catch smaller ships (like corvettes and larger), lightweavers forsake the main ArcLight weaponry in favor of the Amonthok Net. It uses a multitude of small programmed slivers to create a shard on par of what an ArcLight battery might use. However, at a certain point (depending on its programming) the Amonthok shard breaks apart to form a light woven net to capture the smaller ships.

Deliverance Weaponry – A Deliverance core, from which all Deliverance weaponry draw their power, is an exceptionally unstable power source. Its core material is destabilized enriched Psychrite, done by bombarding it by a massive amount of positrons. While the destabilized Psychrite is slowly but steadily breaking down it releases dangerous amounts of energy. It took help from the Ashtar to build a somewhat stabilizing housing for the Core. The housing stops the Psychrite from breaking down until whatever it powers requires energy. Then the self-destructing crystal surges with power. The housing must be build to both stop the destabilization and channel its power when needed. This is a dangerous balance that must be maintained at all times. Yet in return deliverance beam weaponry delivers a lethal combination of heat with a constantly fluctuating magnetic field around it. Deliverance weaponry is often slow to aim but lethal against all that it hits. This it is generally utilized as anti-capital weaponry.

Void Shields – Void shields are the main shields used by the Asrian forces. Void Shield sensors track incoming attacks (or predict them in later incarnations) and open up miniature portals right in front of them. The oldest ships their Void Shields generally spit out the attacks back behind them. However modern ships will bend the portal’s path and return incoming attacks to their source. They quite energy-intensive however and Void Shield batteries can be overloaded when too much matter has to pass through. Resulting in the Void Shields temporary shutting down (for the safety of the ship. While ship captains may demand the overcharging of their Void Shields this will, with no exception, result in the violent implosion of the ship). The larger and more modern ships have several Void Shield layers as a back-up should one fail.


Choirs and Covens - While the choir chants. The chants are created to let the singers enter a state of dazed trance. In which they generate vastly more psionic energy. Which is then siphoned from the room anywhere it needs to be. Choirmasters must pay close attention to the mental, psionic and physical state of the singers. As this is still a taxing endeavor. Covens reside in similar rooms. However, while some of their people might work as supplicant singers, Covens generally utilize a focus (could be the entire ship even) to work their void magic. They throw dangerous telekinetic forced around, attempt to grasp fighters or cast lightning against hostile ships.

Choirs can generally move from ship to ship with little issues as long as there is a standardized choir chamber for them. Covens, on the other hand, will grow attached to the ship they are on. Often claiming that it speaks in its own language to them. Covens that have stayed on the same ship for over a decade will loathe a change and their Coven chambers will often be so adapted to their own needs that no other chamber will suffice.

Manifestation Egnine - While Covens can use the hull of a ship itself to channel their void psionics, it is far from a good focus. Meaning the psionic power is often diffused. Resulting in lethal close to the ship but over long distances, it lacks in power. The Manifestation Engine is the result of painstaking psionic research. Never the less it is a dangerous axis weapon that can deliver the manifestations of psionic magic over a further distance with greater effect. However, it is quite big and smaller ships will be unable to carry such a dangerous and powerful weapon.




Doctrine







Orders


Thralls & Commanders

A federal union encompassing the fragmented nation states of the planet Kadath and the various colonial territories of those aforementioned nation states. The Union is dominated by its founding species, the Saralai species who comprise some 95% of the population, although a variety of migrant alien species do exist. The Imperial Union is ostensibly a parliamentary democracy, but riddled with practically un-amendable constitutional clauses that concentrate the majority of power into the hands of an unelected, upper house as well as the reigning Imperial Monarch.
Relatively new to the galactic stage, having only achieved FTL technology nearly three and a half centuries ago, but has already proven itself as a regional power in the aftermath of the Great War.



The origins of the Imperial Union (1555 ASF to 1613 ASF, 400 to 342 years ago)
Entering the Space Age was not an act of luxury for the Saralain species, but a necessity. Pushed towards the stars by rampant, unrestrained industrialisation that saw the Saralai deplete nearly the entirety of Kadath's mineral wealth, in addition to the beginnings of an ecological collapse, the establishment of the first mining outposts in the asteroid belt came with relief to every man, woman and child on the planet. Followed by the establishment of primitive colonies on Kadath's moon, Iria and then terraforming operations on the nearby planet of Matros, the stage was set for a new era in Kadathi history.

Within the next century, further developments would go on to aid the process of colonization within the solar system; the emergence of sustainable fusion energy brought an end to the rather primitive method of nuclear propulsion (read: literally detonating nuclear bombs behind the craft to propel it forward), sparking a second wave of colonization.
Disputes soon emerged over construction rights, militarization rights, sovereignty rights and other limitless legal minutiae that stemmed from the implications of viable space travel. Surprisingly, it was not the nations of Kadath that came with the solution to this crisis, but a sidelined political and humanitarian body established nearly two centuries ago in the aftermath of the planet's first and only global conflict; The Global Congress.

Whilst regarded globally as nothing more than a talk-shop and 'club' for the victors of the Great Northern War, its reputation began to change as a triumvirate of Kadathi superpowers, the Valusian Empire, Provincial Union of Tyrrhia and Northern Alliance, alongside the rising powers of the Republic of Sona, Igna and the Free Cities of Skaga agreed after months of heated negotiations to grant the Congress full control of all non-economic affairs in the great expanse of space. This included everything from colonial spheres of influence down to specific asteroids, the formation of a joint anti-piracy and police force to the application of Valusian Common Law.

Under the banner of the Global Congress, order was maintained in the offworld colonies.
Under the banner of the Global Congress, the ancient disputes of the Kadathi nation states were (mostly) settled.
Yet it was not under the Global Congress' banner that the planet was unified.

The Founding of the Imperial Union and Outward Expansion (1613 ASF to 1804 ASF, 342 to 150 years ago)
Whilst the Global Congress was without doubt an effective governing body, it was oligarchic at best, dictatorial at worse. Its fundamental core structure was that of a diplomatic assembly jury-rigged into a byzantine intrasolar administration, with the Congress' Director directly appointed by and accountable only to the governments of Valusia, Tyrrhia and the Alliance. The Congress was in essence, subverted to do the dirty work of the Triumvirate, from suppressing protests in the mining colonies to the institution of what effectively amounted to military rule on the colony worlds of Iria and Matros. This was of course, a recipe for future disaster.

After a heavily publicised massacre of an unarmed miners' protest on Matros against what was perceived to be unfair working conditions, public opinion on Kadath began to turn heavily against the Congress. Under an emergency Imperial Edict from the contemporary Empress Cerula II, the Valusian Director was recalled back to the Imperial Capital of Rijkstad and forced to stand trial for what amounted to gross violations of Saralain Rights, found guilty and summarily sentenced to life imprisonment. Yet despite this, the damage was done and the reputation of the Congress was irreparably damaged. Thus in the year 1613 ASF the nation states of Kadath assembled at the city of Rijkstad to promulgate the formation of the Imperial Union of Kadath, a federal union that inherited much of the governing apparatus of the old Congress, but was at long last, accountable to the people of not only the homeworld, but the colonies as well.

The development of a functional FTL drive a decade later would spur a new wave of colonization from Kadath, with the Union at its head. Survey teams dispatched into the great beyond returned with tales of bountiful worlds to settle, and of exotic materials and strange lifeforms on their surface. Colonization rights to these worlds were doled out slowly and methodically by creatively titled 'Federal Charters', distributing regions of surveyed space to the nation states of Kadath to administer, colonize and exploit at their leisure. Whilst by no means distributed evenly, the various planetbound states of Kadath were not particularly interested in voicing complaint, since in the end, there was plenty of space to go around.

That line of thinking would prove true for almost two centuries.

The Union and the Ashtar (1804 ASF to 1924 ASF, 150 to 30 years ago)
It was around 20 years before the appearance of the Ashtar that the Saralai made first contact with another spacefaring alien race known as the Calacostran Primacy, and soon found themselves on the doorsteps of a galactic power far mightier than theirs. The Saralai took note of the imperialistic expansion of the Commonwealth as it subjugated and incorporated every nation unfortunate to stand in its way. The Union, knowing the Calacostrans were next on the chopping block began to prepare itself for an eventual fight. Attempting to save the Primacy from annexation was a foolish prospect and would likely result in the Saralai being subjugated alongside them. The Saralai had arrived too late to change the Primacy's fate, but still had enough time to change theirs.

Under an emergency naval bill, the Imperial Union rapidly militarized, bolstering the Federal Navy with the addition of a 2nd, 3rd and 4th Fleet, all the while instituting a system of limited conscription to ensure an adequate supply of manpower for the Navy, as well as ground forces and colonial garrisons. By the time the Ashtar appeared, the Federal Navy had expanded to over triple its original size, fielded numerous vessels and was prepared for the possibility of total war with the Commonwealth.

Originally met with skepticism and outright ridicule, the doubts of the Saralai were first weakened by the Ashtar display of overwhelming power against the fleets of the Commonwealth. These doubts then rebounded after the rather lacklustre response of the Ashtar towards the attempts of the Commonwealth to foster instability in the Primacy, before finally being dispelled with the deployment of Prevailing Tranquility over Praetoria.

The century of peace brought about by the Ashtar was one of the greatest eras of the Imperial Union. With the Commonwealth's future expansion essentially neutered, the Union was free to invest funds into less destructive affairs, namely the provision of development funds to many colonized worlds neglected during the two decades of militarization, as well as an opportunity to open up ties of trade and diplomacy with the rest of the galaxy through the use of the Ashtar-administered PsiNet. By the time the Ashtar announced their departure, the Saralai had developed into a regional economic and military power able to hold its own in the galaxy.

The Great War and Detente Era (1924 ASF to 1955 ASF, 30 years ago to the present day)
When the Great War finally broke out, the Saralai heartily threw themselves into the conflict to fight against the renewed expansionism of the Commonwealth and secure their independence once more. As the conflict dragged on however, the once-high morale of Federal Forces began to plummet as the war forced rationing of essential goods, economic stagnation and even capital flight as Saralai and foreign investors headed for the more optimistic economies of the neutral states. Losses began to mount in various battles as the fleets of the Federal Navy flew from one conflict zone to the next with little time in between for any real repair and maintenance work to be done. It soon became abundantly clear that despite the optimistic projections of military planners when the Imperial Union first entered the war, sustaining a long term conflict was impossible without harsh, and perhaps near-catastrophic strains on every facet of the nation.

Though not the first to request for a ceasefire (after all, they didn't want to look like they were going to give up against the Commonwealth so easily), the Imperial Union joined the calls for peace after the 10th or so nation to do so. At the Conference of Madrigasa, the Saralai were the most vocal in calling for an indefinite ban on the construction of all dreadnought class vessels, as well as being the most adamant in demanding that a uniform hard limit be set for the number of battleships and battlecruisers able to be constructed by each nation. Of course, given the current terms of the Treaty of Detente, you can see that they weren't very successful with the latter.

In the Detente period that followed, the Imperial Union remained distrustful of whether the other signatories of the Treaty would actually bother to adhere to the stipulations. Consequently, R&D efforts were stepped up to begin the development and construction of the Union's own domestic dreadnought design, to be carried out in secret, as well as theoretical conception of advanced battleship and battlecruiser designs that could be deployed on the eve of another galactic war. Economic recovery efforts proved extremely successful in the past two decades, making up for much of the potential growth that was lost during the years of warfare. Nevertheless, many rim worlds still feel the pinch from the so-called 'Lost Decade' and many still hold doubts if Kadath could afford to fight another Great War.



Kadath - The cradle of Saralain civilization and the administrative and financial hub of the Imperial Union. The seat of the Imperial Crown, and technically still the de-jure capital world of the Valusian Empire (despite the Empire having no jurisdiction over the planet), one of the constituent states of the Imperial Union. Rapid enginisation (see society section) brought about by an industrial revolution lasting three centuries, combined with increased levels of urbanisation and population growth have caused great ecological damage to this world. To even glimpse sunlight through the grey, smog-ridden clouds is considered a miracle. The ancient urban metropolises on the surface are contrasted by drab gray of automated industrial complexes established over the course of several centuries. With the majority of the population either being well-to-do capitalists, old nobility or bureaucrats in such close proximity to the Imperial Court, Kadath remains a hub of political intrigue, and according to some, the place where the real decisions are made in the Union.

Matros - Federal territory of the Imperial Union, and seat of the Federal Assembly and Senate. An urban metropolis of planned cities and clear, blue skies, great care has been taken by the Union Government to avoid Matros sharing the same fate as the Saralain homeworld. Located only about 1.25 Astronomical Units away from Kadath and occupying the same solar system, Matros was chosen as the political heart of the Union solely for its proximity to the homeworld, and thus the Imperial Crown, allowing for quick consultation between the legislature and the executive.

Asmann - De-facto Capital of the Valusian Empire, from which the Imperial Crown originates. A relatively quaint and rustic colony that has purposely eschewed urbanisation in favour of agrarian development. Once described as "reminiscent of an old feudal estate back on Kadath", structures on this world are constructed with a pre-space age aesthetic in mind, despite containing within advanced technology. No buildings are allowed to exceed five floors on this world with the exception of any administrative and financial buildings. As a result, much of the agriculture on this world occurs underground in subterranean tower-farms, the top levels of which are occasionally visible on the planet's surface.

Khulda Point - Referring to both the planet of Khulda Prime, and the nearby drydocks of "Emperor's Point", the Federally-administered system of Khulda alone is home to over half of the Union's naval production capabilities in addition to the High Command of the Federal Armed Forces. Located only 4.01 light years from Kadath, and thus the remainder of the Federal Governmental Apparatus, the research and development of naval designs as well as training and construction occurs here under the watchful eye of the Union's civilian government.

Far Port - An ocean world comprised mostly of archipelagos and atolls and the first port of call when entering the Union's core worlds. Whilst unfit for dense habitation, it serves as the gathering point for traders and ships seeking to move goods further into the Union and as a result, has a reputation for being both a cosmopolitan melting pot of different species. Arguably the most multicultural section of the rather homogeneous Union. Due to a combination of low taxes and almost non existent tariffs on shipping, many corporations in this region of the galaxy have chosen to make their headquarters on the planet, filling its limited landmass with gleaming corporate spires and a variety of trade centres and stock exchanges.





The vast majority (95%) of the Imperial Union's population consists of its founding species, the Saralai.

The Saralai are a humanoid race of mammalians ranging from 5ft to 6ft in height on average. As mammalian life forms, the Saralainn reproduce through the uterine birth of singular live offspring with a gestation period of 12 months. They exhibit very little body hair except on the head region, and have ears that are pointed upwards. Being mammals, their body regulates internal conditions through the process of homeostasis and operate best in temperate environments. Owing to the relatively mild temperature range of Kadath, from 253K in the winter months to 296K in the worst summers, the skin of the Saralai is relatively pale, though variations have started to emerge with the colonization of less temperate worlds.

At a distance, they could perhaps be mistaken for a fair-skinned human at a distance, though upon closer inspection, the trademark facial patterns and lack of rounded ears would certainly expel any doubts that they are in fact Saralain.

Latent psionic abilities are present within the Saralain species, although it manifests in less than 0.1% of the population. Users with psionic potential can be recognised by their characteristic golden eyes, with pupils that more closely resemble a household feline than that of their own species.



In the Imperial Union, life varies greatly from planet to planet, and even between the constituent states which form the local administrations for many of these worlds. Colonial development was not uniformly spread during the age of expansion, and despite attempts in recent years to accelerate development of backwater rimworlds into properly Enginised planets, many still lag behind in development.
As an aside, the use of the term 'enginisation' is an inherited term from Kadath's industrial revolution era. In the modern day Imperial Union, the use of the word 'Enginisation' is roughly synonymous to the word 'Industrialisation', and likewise for 'Enginised' and other variations of the word 'Engine' and 'Industrial'. This has led to a particular change in the Saralai lexicon where 'Engine' has become a blanket term for an advanced computing system or piece of machinery, and what would normally be referred to as 'Engines' in the conventional sense of say, a car engine, would instead be referred to as a 'Drive' (as they provide the drive needed to propel a vehicle forward.

Nevertheless, the Federal Government does attempt to make life as pleasant as possible for its citizens, even those unfortunate enough to be residing on the fringes of Union space. Universal healthcare, free education to the secondary level, university grants, unemployment benefits as well various other services and benefits are provided to Union citizens from the core worlds all the way to the very edges of Imperial territory. Whilst these services may of course vary in quality and even implementation, the fact that they exist throughout the Union is a relief to every citizen and a key factor in dispelling any social unrest. Citizenship within the Union is granted on the basis of Jus Sanguinis; the right of blood. Of course, this proves somewhat problematic given that it effectively limits Union citizenship to the Saralain species, locking out any alien species from benefiting from the Union's social policies . To remedy this, reforms during the time of the Ashtar were hastily pushed through via Imperial Edict, granting automatic citizenship to the children of all second-generation migrants at the time of implementation, as well as granting all non-Saralai born within the Union the opportunity to apply for citizenship upon reaching the age of adulthood.

As for the Saralai themselves, their culture is quite individualistic, with a heavy emphasis placed on allowing the individual to pursue any path they wish in life. Every facet of Union society as a result, is geared towards facilitating this. The social safety net provides a fallback line for individuals who may face difficulties on the path they choose to tread whilst in education, a specialized system separates students at a young age into broad disciplinary 'streams' before increasing in specificity.

Whilst the Union has no official state religion, a variety of indigenous faiths do exist within the territory of the Union, alongside religions brought in by alien migrants. Of these indigenous beliefs, the title of "most widespread" is jointly held by the Universal Pantheon, an amalgamation of various ancient Saralai pagan faiths which share common deities, and are led by a chief deity known only by the moniker of the Tempest Queen. Contrasting the Pantheon is the Four-Tipped Faith, a monotheistic religion that extolls belief in a God with four aspects, namely the Patriarch, justice and bravery, the Matriarch, representing life and mercy, the Sage, representing knowledge and wisdom, and the Reaper, representing death, the unknown and pretty much everything else perceived as 'negative' in life.

Psionics and any so called 'psintegrae' are referred to within Saralai society as 'Llygaid', named after the Pantheon Deity Llyga who was reputed to have irises in the shade of gold. Whilst treated with some fear and superstition by the general populace, there is no active discrimination against psionic users within Union society. Most psionics are directed into government employment whether it be within the intelligence or military services, or as well compensated participants in state-sponsored experiments to study psychic phenomena.

Lastly, after several cases of accidental destruction of pre-FTL species during the age of expansion, the Saralai maintain extremely strict protocols for the handling of primitive civilizations within its space. Colloquially referred to as the "Four Commandments" in more derisive political circles, they can roughly be summed up as follows:

1) Do not contaminate pre-industrial civilizations:
Simply put, the landing of research teams for stealthed ground operations is strictly prohibited to avoid the risk of introducing foreign pathogens to the native biosphere of a planet when native technological development is too primitive to produce a vaccine. All research operations for pre-industrial civilizations are mandated to be conducted passively, from orbit in a specially constructed observation post.

2) Do not attempt to 'indoctrinate' pre-industrial civilizations:
Indoctrination in this context refers to subtle social engineering over the course of decades so as to shift societal and cultural norms of the primitive species in question towards a specific outcome. This mostly occurs in an attempt to prevent excessively militaristic or fundamentalist civilizations from emerging and posing a threat towards the Union. More specifically however, the rationale of prohibiting indoctrination of pre-industrial civilizations stems less from moral reasons and more from financial ones. Limited funding is available for researchers studying primitive civilizations and to prevent frivolous allocation of resources (especially on costly and inefficient indoctrination efforts on feudal civilizations) and reduce administrative costs, the second rule was put into place.

3) Do not initiate contact with any civilization that has yet to achieve primitive spaceflight:
By the time a primitive civilization has managed to send the first members of their species into space, the Union considers it the appropriate time to formally introduce the civilization to the rest of the galaxy, as well as begin the initiation of diplomatic and economic relations to the mutual benefit of both the Union and primitive civilization in question. Oftentimes, this exchange involves the sale of raw materials in return for technology several decades ahead of what would normally be producible by the pre-FTL civilization in question, allowing them to speed up their advancement whilst providing the Union with resources found on their world. Critics of the Union's pre-FTL policy often cite this rule as an example of economic imperialism, given that most pre-FTL civilizations who sign these economic treaties found themselves signing unequal annexation treaties, ceding away sovereignty to join one of the already existing Kadathi constituent states as a new colony.

4) Do not attempt to protect primitive civilizations from anything that does not violate any of the above:
This rule probably doesn't need much explanation. The Union will not bother to dispatch forces to intervene in any events that may affect a primitive civilization that isn't a band of illegal slavers, smugglers or rogue mad scientists. If an asteroid is about to collide into the planet, then so be it. Obviously, this rule is the one which is least strictly enforced, and extremely creative interpretations are often taken of the previous rules to make the case for intervention if say, a pre-FTL civilization which has signed an economic treaty with the Union is under threat of nuclear war or an asteroid capable of an extinction level event is en-route to the planet.



The Union's economy is based off an eclectic mix of private corporations and state owned monopolies, varying heavily from system to system and planet to planet. Whilst not behemoth in scale like the major galactic powers, raw productivity and efficiency is a highly valued element, and resource shortages during the Great War have taught Imperial industrialists how to make more with less, without sacrificing much in quality.

Significant portions of the economy are based off the refining of raw materials into usable industrial components, metals, alloys etc. The raw mineral output of tens of mining colonies and hundreds of stations are directed towards the core worlds, where foundries belch black smoke into the skies and convert these metals into industrial goods ready for export through Far Port, or for domestic purchase by military contractors and indigenous industries.

On other fronts, the Imperial Union has also seen a boom in tourism in the aftermath of the Great War, following the colonization and development of several resort worlds on the fringes of its territory. Whilst not as great of a net contributor to the Federal Government's annual bottom line as the lucrative metallurgic and electronic manufacturing industries, prospects are bright for the tourist industry, so long as there isn't another Great War to muddle things up.

The system of Tempest contains within it the three most developed, and oldest worlds of the Imperial Union, Kadath itself, Matros and Iria. No other system in the Union can compete with the industrial output of the foundries of Iria, nor the financial hubs and banks of Kadath. Despite the existence of the corporate paradise that is Far Port, none of its stock exchanges could rival the Provincial Union of Tyrrhia's Republican Stock Exchange housed in the appropriately named Republican State Building. Likewise, few civilian systems possess intrasolar infrastructure to the same extent as Tempest, cementing the primacy of the system, its people and likewise, the Federal Government over the rest of the Union. Of course, this state of affairs may change soon as Far Port continues to grow in relevance following a series of economic and legal reforms that have made the planet much, much more conducive to facilitating the flow of both trade and cash in and out of the Union.



The government of the Imperial Union of Kadath follows a model roughly equivalent to the Human Westminster system (in Kadath, known as Valusian Constitutionalism) with a few modifications, allowing it to be broadly explained as follows:

The lower house of the Union is referred to as the Federal Assembly. Seats within the Assembly are divvied up following the rule of proportional representation, that is, the percentage of the population that a member state of the Union holds out of the total population of the Union is identical to the percentage of seats they are entitled to in the Assembly, rounded up. As of the Agdenmar conflict, there are 1200 seats within the Federal Assembly associated with a wide variety of political parties and the occasional independent politician.

Elections are held for seats within the Federal Assembly every 10 years, with candidates being able to stand for a seat in the Assembly assigned to their member state of origin, following the payment of a 'nomination fee' and the signing of some bureaucratic paperwork. Upon the conclusion of an election, the leader of the largest party within a coalition that holds a majority in the Assembly is appointed by the Emperor (as of present day, Kerxec XV) as the Right Honourable First Minister of His Imperial Majesty's government. The First Minister then turns to the parties within his coalition, appointing members of the cabinet and distributing ministerial portfolios to qualified candidates. At the same time, the leader of the second largest coalition within the Assembly will be appointed by the Emperor as the Leader of the Opposition, and given the right to appoint members of their own coalition as Shadow Ministers, forming His Imperial Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition. The job of the Shadow Cabinet is to, in extremely simple terms, pretend they were appointed to the actual cabinet and scrutinize every action of their counterpart in the actual cabinet, providing a sort of check and balance to the ruling government. The Federal Assembly is responsible for drafting legislation and debating issues pertaining to the Imperial Union as a whole. In the case of regional affairs, authority is delegated to the various national assemblies of the constituent states of the Imperial Union. Laws and bills are drafted by the Federal Assembly and debated upon, and upon passing a majority vote in the Assembly, is sent to the Upper House, known as the Federal Senate for debate.

The Federal Senate, or colloquially, the Aristocrat's Assembly due to the fact that 55% of seats within the Senate are hereditary peerages. Another 25% are lifetime appointments made on recommendation by the Right Honourable First Minister with the approval of the Emperor, while an additional 10% are selected from nominees who earn enough to qualify for the Union's three highest tax brackets to serve for 12 years. The last tenth of the Senate is elected by simple runoff voting throughout the whole Union from a list of nominated candidates, who serve for terms of 7 years. The main intended aim of the Federal Senate is to act as a counterweight to the political maneuvering and factional politics of the Lower House, allowing for the politicians here to focus on their job of actually running the Union. Ultimately, getting a bill into the Federal Senate is only one of two major hurdles before it can actually be implemented by the state. Whilst the Senate does not actually have the ability to outright reject a bill, the Senate can, after a period of scrutiny and debate, decide not to approve a bill and actually send it back to the Assembly for further debate and amendments. This is a process that can be repeated tens, if not hundreds or thousands of times ad infinitum until the Senate is satisfied. Nevertheless, clearing the hurdle that is the Senate does not guarantee that a bill will actually pass, as the Senate is only the first of two obstacles.

The next obstacle in the path of any bill being passed is the Imperial Crown itself. Upon approval by a majority in the Senate, the bill is passed directly to the desk of His Imperial Majesty, Kerxec XV. The constitution of the Imperial Union is a carbon copy of the Constitution of the Valusian Empire promulgated in 1132 ASF, barring a few textual edits and clarifications. As a result, the Imperial Crown theoretically has the power to simply veto any bill that passes through the Senate on a whim. In reality, it is a common understanding between the Houses and Crown that a bill passed with at least 60% in favour in both houses is immune to Imperial Veto. In addition to the veto powers of the Crown, the Crown also retains the right to disband the current government and call for an election at any time, though much like the right of Imperial Veto, it is usually only done upon the request of the First Minister. Lastly, the Imperial Crown also reserves the right to push through an Imperial Edict at any time, either instantly signing the contents of the Edict into law or implementing their contents immediately, thus bypassing the deadlock-prone political machinations between the Assembly and Senate. Ordinarily, an Imperial Edict is used to approve bills that have been repeatedly passed between the two Houses with no end in sight, but at the same time, can also be used in other circumstances, such as to grant emergency powers to the First Minister and Imperial Crown in times of crisis (one such example being during the Great War). As a result of this state of affairs, decision-making in the Imperial Union can range from a spectrum of devastatingly slow, taking years to pass a single bill to decisions being made in a matter of days.

Aside from the Federal Government, the various constituent governments (of which there are 18) take up the task of administering the vast majority of the Empire. Aside from a common military (with exceptions, elaborated upon in the military section), foreign policy and legal system, the vast majority of government functions are instead delegated to the eighteen constituents from the collection of taxes, education, economic policy etc. The Constituent Governments are allowed to maintain their own police forces, though they are in the end subservient to federalised police forces and can only operate within their own territory. The constituent governments often do not form one contiguous stretch of space as a result of the Federal Charters issued permitting the colonization of space during the Age of Expansion, causing there to be hundreds of enclaves and exclaves of isolated star systems belonging to one constituent government within the territory of another. As a result, it has given the Imperial Union the derisive title of "Patchwork Union."



The technology of the Imperial Union is largely equivalent to the other galactic powers in their region of space. Whilst they may be behind in certain fields of technology, they make up for the deficiency with practical implementation of novel and creative technologies theorized during their lack of contact with other spacefaring species during their age of expansion. Like in their industrial endeavours, the adage of doing more with less; achieving the same effect with less investment, is a key tenet of Kadathi military technology.



Magnetohydrodynamic Cannons
Originally designed as a weapon to enhance the firepower of frigates and destroyers before the Great War, MHD Cannons have been increasingly upscaled in recent years despite limitations placed on the destructive power of capital ships as part of the Treaty of Detente. Utilizing a liquid core of iron and tungsten suspended in a field generated by hundreds of electromagnets, MHD cannons emit a molten stream of metal at near-light speeds which solidify en-route to the target, impacting with enough force to damage a ship's armour.

Dark Matter Manipulation
The core principle behind a new era of infantry shielding technology developed by the Union known as Gas Armour. Whilst starships still use electromagnetic fields in conjunction with Lorentz Forces to deflect charged particles such as positrons in positron beams, as well as plasma and lasers, gas armour relies on the compression of nitrogen gas into a dense configuration surrounding the user through manipulation of dark matter particles. When a projectile hits this configuration, the pressure of the gas effectively cancels out or severely reduces the projectile's forward momentum, granting effective shielding against kinetic weaponry. Granted, the system needed to actually manipulate dark matter particles is extremely energy intensive, thus limiting the shielding system to small periods of activity.

Blink Drives
A derivative of the Union's standard FTL Engine, the Hybris Drive, the Blink Drive operates as a secondary warp drive intended for combat use within the confines of a solar system. Known as the Blink Drive for the tendency of ships using it to "blink" forward in an instant, the drive creates an energy-density field lower than that of the surrounding vacuum, thus contracting space-time in front of a ship and expanding it behind the ship. It differs from the Hybris drive in that it does not actually allow FTL travel, but instead accelerates the vessel to near-light speeds, allowing Union vessels to quickly close the gap between them and an opposing fleet.

Tri-gimballed Firepower
Rather than waste time and valuable resources developing both axial and broadside/starboard turrets for their ships, the Kadathi have instead come to a solution of simply fitting turrets with gimbal mechanisms on both the underside as well as the top of their ships. As a result, Kadathi ships are given greater flexibility with regards to their angles of engagement, being able to effectively fire at targets in a 360 degree radius around a particular vessel. This is particularly useful as Detente-era Union Fleet Doctrine relies on what are effectively drive-by tactics, calling for ships to close to knife-fight distances, fire, and then speed behind the enemy formation in an attempt to sow chaos and destroy as many capital ships as possible from their blind spot.


WIP

Describe general doctrine, history, whatever floats your space boats.


Your space boats. Include pics or don’t, I’m not your supervisor. You’ll probably want to have one or two of most of the classes, but it doesn’t really matter too much. I’m also including some flavour options here that you might want to consider. In short, the history of the galaxy has divied up ship designs into three waves: Great War (ships built before and during the Great War), Detente (ships built during the Detente, some wonky designs in the larger classes due to treaty limitations), and Modern (ships built in the year since the message)

DO NOT put your hyperdread here, it gets its own section.

Dreadnoughts: Only a few were built before the end of the Great War, the destructive potential of these vessels was a major contributor to ending the conflict. Those old ones are pretty obsolete, and any new ones are only just coming into service (mostly in secret) due to the Treaty of Detente banning their construction.

Battleships: The grand old ladies that did all the fighting of the Great War. The Treaty of Detente imposed limitations on their sizes and destructive potential, so if you want to get intricate there’s 3 waves of battleships: Great War, Detente, and Modern. Great War is self explanatory, old sluggers and antiques. Detente battleships were awkward creations involving all kinds of elaborate ways to get around the Treaty without actually violating it. Lots of glass cannon designs here, or iron fortresses that couldn’t scratch eachother’s paint, or half baked experimental weapon systems, or novel propulsion methods that only work if nobody on board sneezes. Modern battleships are just coming into service, and are quite deadly.

Battlecruisers: The treaty of Detent also limited battlecruisers, in an effort to avoid just slightly reducing the size of ship involved in any potential arms race. Similar design iterations to Battleships; Great War, Detente, and Modern. Detente battlecruisers were often cripplingly overspecialized: dedicated point defence ships, artillery vessels, mass shielding vessels, etc. Battlecruiser designs from the Detente period were often put together as a way to shore up the weaknesses of their contemporaneous Battleship partners.

Cruisers: Nothing special here.

Destroyers: Still nothing special.

Frigates: Nope.

Corvettes: Corvettes can be thought of in several iterations just kidding I don’t care what you do with these things. Unless you try to just upscale what I’m trying to avoid with strike craft.

Strike craft: K I’m actually gonna sort of limit these things, or rather, the things that carry them around. Strike craft have long been an important part of space combat, so most nations have them and defences against them. Historically, they’ve been used as close in support; no one’s yet figured out how to strap useful FTL drives on the things. All this means that long range strikes aren’t practical. What I’m trying to get at is Carrier’s aren’t really a thing, or at least dedicated carriers aren’t. Plenty of room for Battlestar type things (fighty-boats with a solid complement of strike craft), but no dropping off a carrier squadron on one side of the system then expecting your strikecraft to win the fight on the other side.

A notable exception is your Hyperdread. Do whatever you want with your super special awesome boat.



Outline some doctrine, highlight some major units. I’m not great at doing ground forces so not much guidance here.

ANNNDDD


Go frikin nuts. Pics are nice.

Hydromagnetic Lance Cannons
The hydromagnetic lance cannon is fed with a liquid ferrous-tungsten alloy which is cooled into a semi-molten state inside the chamber. The extreme magnetic forces stretch the metal into a long, thin rod on firing, achieving velocities well above conventional railguns due to low projectile mass. The solidifying rod’s slender profile greatly improves penetration and narrows the focus of damage compared to conventional kinetic weapons of similar impact energy.

Virtualized Mass Barrier Shields (more balanced but harder to miniaturize)
The use of dark matter fields to create virtual mass is a well-understood phenomenon. Its usage as a shield against incoming attacks, however, is a novel concept. A dark matter film, confined by local quantum subspace fields emitted from shield projectors, creates an ultra-high density barrier between the surface of a warship and the surrounding space. Incoming fire smacks into the virtual mass layer as if contacting the hull itself, and finds nowhere for its damage to go, instead blasting its energy off into the surrounding space. The shielding system is virtually impervious to any one attack, but can be overwhelmed by sheer magnitude of firepower due to distortions in the film that must be actively stabilized by the shield projectors. A large amount of dark matter must be stored in order to operate the shields, and account for potential losses from massive, close proximity detonations blasting parts of the film away.

Gravity Shear Barrier Shields (easier to miniaturize but also a bit harder to effectively counter)
A dark matter Quantum Field Core (QFC) aboard warships produces a gravitational distortion effect that is harnessed through the shield projectors to generate a millimeter-scale gravity shear around the surface of the vessel. A conventional ionized gas barrier is projected just beneath. Any object of mass passing through the gravitational shear suffers the extreme shear forces both entering and exiting, compromising its integrity. The resulting shrapnel of the disintegrated projectiles is deflected harmlessly off the plasma barrier. Pure energy weapons contacting the shear are severely redshifted, robbing most of their energy and again being harmlessly absorbed by the plasma barrier beneath. The dark matter fueled QFC requires significant amounts of energy to operate, but the power demands are relatively unaffected by incoming fire. The primary drawback of gravitational shear protection is a relative ineffectiveness versus massive, close proximity detonations.

Blink Drive
A subspace tunneling device is paired with warp field propulsion to launch the equipped vessel at rapid speeds through short-range subspace paths. The resulting effect is the outward appearance of near-instantaneous teleportation. In order to keep the drive profile and energy demands manageable aboard ships already fitted with standard Hybris FTL drives, the range of the tunneling component is exceptionally short, limiting its usage to all but the shortest of interplanetary jumps (and completely out of the question for any interstellar transit). In combat, jumping multiple vessels simultaneously requires careful synchronization to avoid unintentional collisions, as course cannot be altered once the tunneling route is locked in and prepared.

Magnetolevitation Gimbal Turrets
In an effort to improve responsiveness when tracking fast-moving targets, warship cannons were fitted into spherical maglev gimbals that eliminate conventional axis limitations. More advanced warships even include magnetic traversal rails which can relocate turrets between multiple firing positions at a moment’s notice, travelling across the hull or, for large centralized weapons of supercapital vessels, through internal tracks to swap between dorsal and ventral or port and starboard positions. The versatility and responsiveness allows for more effective engagements with hostile forces without shedding relative velocity, minimizing time in the critical knife-fight range where allied forces are subject to the most severe punishment.