Update 0
Long have these stars slept. On the timescale of eons, the galaxy has seen only brief passing moments of awareness; great civilizations that have come and gone as quickly as a flicker of flame in an empty night. Great monuments have just as quickly become tombs, buried and lost amidst the cold and dark. Only a handful of survivors have preserved any memory of what went before.
Now, at least for a moment, something stirs again. A collective energy ripples across the unseen fabric of the galaxy. One by one, a new generation of planet-bound beings have learned how to step free of their worldly cradles. Still other, stranger forms of life have found their way towards conscious thought. Primitive FTL drives and interstellar communications now sparkle into life, adding faint new signals to the swirling energies of the higher dimensions.
Many of these beings wonder if they are alone in the galaxy. And for these inquiring minds, there are several compelling lines of evidence that they are not; a strange quantum noise seems to fill the galaxy, and primitive interstellar communication devices start to receive strange signals - hopelessly faint and incoherent, yet yielding occasional patterns of data that cannot be explained as noise…
For others, alien encounters have already been more direct. And for a few, alien contact is already a day-to-day reality.
In no particular order
Suuf slowly awakes to a sensation of burning, followed by rapid prodding, scraping and cutting, quite unlike the experience of meteor strikes. Next, the burning sensation comes again. Animal symbionts are dispatched to investigate the scene, but by the time they gather, the sensations have stopped. Suuf slowly becomes aware of several circular scorched areas, and small patches of its growth that seem to have been cut away. Nearby, its symbionts are swarming over several intrusive, hard objects now embedded in its surface, emitting regular pulses of radio energy. Days pass as its consciousness contemplates this new situation. Message capsules arrive from the sister-moons Daduu and Muuna; they, too have experienced the same thing. Unknown to them, they have just been given the designation Asak-He Hrenik Okavek, or ‘Expedition #2 Marker of Special Scientific Interest: Xenobiology (Exotic)’. The mysterious visitors have already moved on, neither side realising the true nature of the other.
The
Choir sing together in triumph and celebration. Abandoned by their original creators on a ravaged world many thousands of years ago, the Choir have suffered through decay, yet at the same time, have evolved through fortuitous ‘emergent behaviour’. There has been much fighting in recent centuries, and parts of the homeworld are still in the hands of rogue Thrones and their mechanical warriors, or strewn with unexploded ordnance. But after thousands of years of effort, and the construction of thousands of new workers, the majority of Concordance has been turned back into the garden it was destined to be. Only in recent years have the Choir turned to thoughts of reaching out to the stars - perhaps for answers to their origins, perhaps though a simple desire for new challenges. But progress has been swift, thanks to recovery of ancient data on the basics of FTL drives, and mining of mineral-rich asteroids in the home system. The first starships now lie in orbit of Concordance, ready for orders to head out into the unknown.
Güyük Eiög would surely be pleased with the level of unity that the
Union of Zövlölt States has achieved across the icy world of Nüür. Or, perhaps, Eiög would be horrified by the vast bureaucracy and the secret agencies that now monopolise research into the unexplained; in any case, it is secret research into quantum phenomena, conducted from secure facilities in the outer planets, that has led to breakthrough of the FTL drive. The first starships have now completed testing, with several short hops into interstellar space and back. While plans are laid for the first interstellar missions, the Union now also grapples with the question of how much to reveal to the public about its secret activities; researchers looking into faster-than-light communication have also received what they believe are garbled transmissions originating from several nearby stars located a little closer towards the galactic centre, within theoretical range of the new FTL spacecraft.
The
Zasta Dynasty has emerged as the most powerful entity among the reptilian Malzoi race, located on the verdant world of Egade. Although controlling only a part of their homeworld, the regime has established interplanetary outposts and already has a small fleet of freighters and science vessels, powered by nuclear and chemical engines. Zasta science has reached the point of experimental fusion reactors, and they have at least *concepts* for an experimental FTL drive, though achieving this would take a major effort. The Malzoi are one of the more culturally diverse races to be on the brink of interstellar travel, with a substantial fraction of their population maintaining an ancient nomadic lifestyle. The biosphere of the homeworld also remains in good shape, having suffered relatively little from industrialisation that has been mainly confined to the continent of Aqun.
The
Doszob are one of the more unusual of the emerging civilizations, made up of several different species with differing levels of intelligence. Although individuals of their homeworld tend to have a short lifespan, ending their lives as mindless ‘husks’ of the Oros fungus, over thousands of years civilization has been able to slowly progress, utilising the labour of countless husk workers, and a combination of biotechnology and hard tech. Now, under the rule of the latest Grand Senator, the Doszob have launched the first prototype FTL spacecraft. Observations hint at there being at least one system in the galactic neighbourhood that may be compatible with the Oros, although there are arguable signs of mysterious radio noise coming from this same system.
The story of the
United Colonies is one of survival and deliverance. During their early days, much information about the origins of their peoples was lost, and their descendents are still unsure if they are even in the same galaxy as their old homewold. Starting from a relatively-tiny population of stricken colonists, over several centuries their descendents have populated new worlds, and rebuilt an industrial base to the point that FTL drive components can be rebuilt. Combined with salvage from the various enigmatic shipwrecks found in Utopia, the Colonies now have workable FTL-capable ships ready to venture back out into the stars in search of answers. The worlds of the Utopia system still offer much room for development, and the origins of strange phenomena are far from resolved; many wrecks have yet to be investigated, with some being on highly eccentric and/or inclined orbits around the home star, so far proving difficult to reach. Faint signals suggest the presence of one or more civilizations close by, lying in the direction of the galactic core.
The
Zatryon Collective is a similar story of survival; its ancestors were faced with capture and experimentation at the hands of hostile aliens, who did not understand the true nature of the Zatry. As they were studied, so too did they study their captors - learning much of their technology. Mutual fear led to all-out war, and eventual atomic bombardment of the homeworld. The Collective is now the descendents of those who chose to flee to the stars in captured alien ships. In their travels, the Collective has grown stronger, acquiring new ships, and making tributaries out of two pre-FTL societies it has encountered, under threat of orbital bombardment - repeating the pattern it was taught. It has spread out various tendrils as it scours local space for a suitable new homeworld. For now the fleet has set up headquarters in a mineral-rich system, where a fleet anchorage has been constructed.
The
Truth Seeker fleet has almost completed its centuries-long journey to the outer edge of the galaxy. Or at least, the outer edge of the local spiral arm; there is debate among the Minds about whether or not to continue outwards to the next trailing edge, through a relatively sparse region of the galaxy. The past years have brought relatively little in the way of interesting discoveries; the most recent contact being a spacefaring avian-type race, encountered a decade ago, that were happy to donate some outdated ships and some material supplies to the Seeker flotilla. Meanwhile, sensors have detected two sources of noise a little closer inwards from the current position, one slightly stronger than the other, both possible sources of new cultures to document.
As debate continues, the fleet is rallying around a collection of giant metallic, hollow cylinders found orbiting a nearby star, probably components of some ancient shipbuilding operation. Some of the cylinders are substantial in size, up to a hundred metres across, large enough for many of the fleet’s ships to comfortably fit inside. There is a considerable amount of salvage on offer here, but some Minds urge caution, as there are signs that *something* has been regularly harvesting material from these cylinders - some having melted or ‘chewed’ edges...
The
Set were just starting out as a space-faring race, with colonies in their home system, when they were visited by the Lataren - aliens who were lucky enough to have had a head start on their civilization. The first alien ships were small explorer craft, but soon larger and more impressive ships - freighters, and armed warships - began to appear in the skies above Zan. Both species were similar - humanoid in design, though with the Lataren being significantly taller and more elegant in shape, adding to their aura of power and sophistication. Communications were established quickly, and the Lataren wasted little time in pressuring the Set into junior partner status in the growing Lataren Hegemony - alongside two other, less technologically-advanced species that the Latarens had already declared themselves guardians of - in exchange for technology to ease overcrowding and poverty on Zan. The Latarens were impressed with the progress of the Set in certain fields - especially cybernetics - and allowed them significant autonomy within the Hegemony.
Though unequal, the partnership has been beneficial for the Set, and they have proved to be able explorers. The gift of FTL technology has allowed them to explore hundreds of star systems in the name of the Hegemony, and the first substantial Set colony has now been established on a borderline-habitable mining world. The use of cybernetics has grown exponentially and is now the norm for the population, with brains being directly linked to computer networks - which incidentally allow many hiding places for subcultures, as well as being almost impenetrable to Lataren agents.
Lataren expansion has slowed in recent years, but the Set have recently received additional demands for materials and ship components. There are rumours that the Lataren fleet may have been involved in an altercation with mysterious ancient outpost of some kind, and that they did not come out of the encounter well. Rumours have also reached the Set networks of mysterious messages being received by Lataren fleet command by alien intelligences beyond known space. It seems the Hegemony is getting used to the idea that there may be bigger powers at play in the galaxy...
Under the rule of the
Miskatoni Combine, the Naharyi have also emerged as one of the more advanced of the new space-faring races. One of their first interstellar voyages discovered the remains of an ancient spacecraft, from which a slightly more powerful FTL drive was retro-engineered. Major agricultural and industrial colonies have since been founded, while aliens at a stone-age level of technology, known as the Aethans, have also been encountered close to home; many Aethans have since been forcefully recruited as workers for the Combine, being useful for their tolerance of colder climates than the Naharyi. But expansion has slowed in recent years and investment in the fleet has dwindled, and political intrigues have gripped Attrios. Minor insurrections by Naharyi rebels on the homeworld have also worn down the Combine security forces and caused some damage to major production facilities. Some Naharyi wonder if their ‘golden era’ is already fading...
The
Celestial Mandate of Telenas is another of the new generation of races to have gained a head start on its path to the stars, under the inspired leadership of its divine monarchy. The ‘Iceborn’ have expanded far across local space, easily overwhelming a world of sentient mammalian beings known as the Esogi, who had only a medieval level of technology. A more recent, and more difficult conquest has been the mountainous world of Ohkhak, home to lithoid beings with an industrial level of technology. An initial attempt at diplomacy between the Crown and the various nations of Ohkhak fell apart due to mistranslation and fear, leading to the Telenian fleet bombarding the major powers into submission. Controversially, both races now dwell among Telenian colonies in varying numbers, provided they adopt the ‘true’ faith, that being the worship of the divine monarch of Telenas.
As Crown territories continued to advance, a more serious threat emerged on the anti-spinward front; a rival FTL-capable species dubbed the Rapsids - sentient plantoid lifeforms, that are proving to be highly aggressive towards any Telenian expansion. A recent fleet encounter led to a confused long-distance exchange, and ended with neither side able to inflict substantial damage on the other; the Raspids have retreated, but this seems to be only a brief respite. Meanwhile, a rival claimant to the throne is said to be gathering support from disaffected colonists of the different races now living under the Crown. Indeed, extremists and rebels are causing some problems for the royal Telenian army on every major world, especially among the mountains of Ohkhak, where large numbers of troops are needed to keep the old Ohkhaki nations in line.
Enigmatic, colonial beings that may be called
Psilomedusoza have made extensive use of biotechnology to overcome the obstacles of a watery origin and ultimately to reach to the stars. They are deep thinkers, vastly intelligent when gathered in sufficient numbers. They have expanded with no great urgency, having encountered no intelligent aliens so far, though the nearby galactic core seems to glow with distorted signals that strongly suggest intelligent life. Also from the opposite direction, further out along the home spiral arm, there are now somewhat fainter echoes of intelligence. Several colonies of the Psilomedusoza are now maturing, all of them based around watery or subsurface-ocean worlds that are at least somewhat compatible with the homeworld’s biota. This growth is causing some tension and fracturing between the colonies and the homeworld, with confusion over who has priority for vital goods and components.
The
Republic of Free Peoples claims direct descent from a previous era of galactic civilization. Led by a hardy, enduring crustacean species known as Shinks, they have fragments of high technology, fragments of history from the past few thousand years, an idealist foundation, and a bold revivialist mission. It could be said that the Republic began as a democratic union of the mutli-racial citizens of the crumbling ringworld of Cribos, which has been deteriorating for thousands of years. But it was when Cribos politically reunited with the oceanic world of Curab, the old homeworld of the Shinks, that the revivalist mission truly got underway. In a century since, the Republic has reached out towards the galactic core in the search of more remnants of the lost civilization. It has largely found, however, dust and echoes, as well as outright hostility. There are other ancient factions who take great displeasure with the revivalist ethos; a recent encounter with an enigmatic fleet calling itself ‘Brave Tungsten’ (literal - possibly a mistranslation), centred around a huge capital ship of ancient origin, took place in a resource-rich system with remnants of ancient mining stations. The encounter led to a crushing defeat of the local Republic fleet and a simple message sent to Cribos: ‘stay away’.
The Republic has also encountered several less-advanced races, newcomers since the time of the original Shink civilization. Aerial inhabitants of a dense-atmosphere world, the Asiliuf, are contacted as they begin their own FTL explorations of local space; initial diplomacy with these mysterious beings has been promising. Meanwhile, remote observations are made of sentients in the system of Rasje-Haer, who are at an early industrial age of technology. And warlike reptilian beings at a near-FTL stage of development, dubbed the Yanchan, are watched from a distance as rival clans fight over territory in their home system.
The fledgling Republic is also facing a growing infrastructure crisis, having already expanded somewhat beyond what the remnants of its ancient technologies can support; ancient machines are being steadily cannibalised for components that cannot be easily replicated, or replaced with lower-tech devices. The deterioration of Cribos has also been slowed, but not reversed; restoration of the ancient ringworld would be a huge project in itself. Yet, for all this, the Republic has emerged as one of the few active lights of idealism in the galaxy, at least achieving its goal of uniting multiple races under its ethos.
The Republic has meanwhile discovered the
Trodhuk Core, a civilization that is still in the process of awakening form a deep slumber. The Trodhuk look skywards for their old guardians the ‘Zurreons’, who are now nowhere to be seen. Instead there are only fleeting glimpses of Republic ships on their sensors, which soon retreat back into the void, while the Republic leadership debates making open contact. The industrial potential of the Trodhuk system is significant. But the Trodhuk council is still coming to terms with the new reality, and their people have a strong sedentary ethos. It may be some time before they make their intentions known.
The
Ieldra Imperium keeps a quiet watch over its corner of the galaxy. It has only fragments of ancient knowledge and infrastructure, and due to the spiritual focus of the Ieldra, maintaining and repairing the old machines has not always been a priority. The most essential systems are loving cared for, however, and the Imperium guards a healthy stockpile of strategic resources, and fleets of powerful warships.
From the frontier world of Urghaal, the Imperium maintains contact with the homeworlds of two primitive races, the insectoid Scytari and the mammalian Dharmanel, said to have been uplifted by the old Ieldra to their current sentient status. Both cultures are on the brink of developing their own FTL drives. On other borders, Imperium territory has gradually rolled back over the past millennia; a slowly dwindling population of Ieldra and their lack of materialistic needs has made many worlds simply unnecessary to maintain, especially in the face of opportunist attacks by nomadic fleets. Such instances have been rare, but a recent incursion towards the core system of Urenuel has obliged the Imperium to keep a heavy fleet presence there. An enigmatic ancient bastion of some kind guards the spinward frontier.
Link to Empire Stats (beta)
Note #1: to preserve mystery, the map images have been edited to remove signs of other empires/races that have not been contacted.
Note #2: I forgot to ask for which colour people wanted for their empire. The colours can be easily changed, please feel free to let me know.
If I have a serious issue I have already messaged you, and hopefully we can work that out. Like I said I don't want to arbitrarily limit players, but I need there to be some internal logic and consistency to the galaxy.
