Your very own Star Trek Nation

[Baffalo]

Did you have to remind me what sort of person I was 6 years ago, you horrible creature?

I think we'd all hate looking at ourselves from 6 years ago.

But yes, he's a horrible monster for bringing all this back.

[Purple]

I don't know. It would be fun to run this thread from the top to see how people have changed over the years. Call it a thought experiment.

[Stofsk]

I know my opinions have changed a great deal over the years, on a lot of different topics.

[Alyeska]

So, continue down memory lane, or lock the thread? I'm willing to pretend to be democratic here.

[Purple]

I say let this be. Lets see where the people ended up. And where new people like my self fit in with that.

[Steve]

I can't help but notice the sheer number of "human offshoot" polities listed here instead of original races...

[The Romulan Republic]

I can't help but notice the sheer number of "human offshoot" polities listed here instead of original races...

Lack of imagination? Laziness? Or human-centricism?

I'd probably go for an even mix of humans and various other species. For starships, I'd probably come up with an amalgam of Federation and Romulan designs and technology: I like the cloaks of Romulan ships, but they seem to have poor firing arcs (do we ever see a Romulan ship firing other than directly forward?) and I like ships with some scientific capabilities as well. So think Federation ships with cloaks and more weapons. Might have a carrier with mass-produced Delta Flyers in their too.

[Darth Tanner]

Oooo such fun...

The Quadrivium Coalition (The Quadrivi)
Situated at the meeting point of the Romulan, Klingon and Federation territories. The Quadrivi operates a major trading empire, being the principle handler for trade goods between the three empires as well as a strong industrial output designed for export.

Biologically humanoid but with an insectoid appearance (although still only four limbs) Primary distinguishing feature is the hard carapace that makes up the species exoskeleton and multifaceted eyes that allow vision in a much wider spectrum. Communication is achieved through low level radio waves forcing a mechanical translator collar to be worn to allow communication with other species. This combined with a rather dogmatic and highly structured society has resulted in the Quadrivi being considered rather emotionless and robotic people.

The Coalition comprises four primary planets their surfaces being covered in massive hive cities that reach far into the sky. Comprised of glass and steel these hives contain billions of Quadrivi. Quadrava, the home world and capital of the Coalition has an estimated population of over 500 billion, with vast tracks of the main continent being covered by industrial sprawl and hive structures. There are also over a hundred minor resource colonies, the hardy and undemanding Quadrivi biology allows colonisation of very poor ecosystems that are frequently overlooked by the other space faring races.

Militarily the Coalition is significantly behind the main powers in both weapon and ship design. The two primary vessels of the fleet are the Warwing (as wide as a Galaxy class) and the Wraith (as wide as a Brel bird of prey). Both are based on a sweeping wing design (similar to the Death Glider without a cockpit bulge) with a large number of disrupter cannons in the forward arch of the wing, with only limited weapons placed to cover the rest of the vessel.

The larger Warwing design also has a trio of torpedo tubes in the centre section of the forward disrupter banks but is restricted to Quadrivi made spatial charges which offer only half the firepower of a standard Federation photon. Fleet numbers are 9 Warwings and 108 Wraiths. A Warwing is considered to need 3 to 1 numerical superiority to engage a Galaxy class analogue whist the Wraith requires over 12 to 1. Both designs however are far more manoeuvrable than similar sized ships of the other powers due to Quadrani designed manueving systems.

Advances however are being made in disrupter technology thanks to technological assistance from Romulan scientists and a new generation of vessels utilising quantum singularity power sources are currently under design where it is hoped an upgraded Warwing so equipped will be roughly equivalent to a Galaxy class.

Historically the Coalition has only just emerged from a long period of civil war wherein the species was divided into hundreds of clan factions across the four major planets that engaged in regular raiding and open warfare. For the past hundred and fifty years however the species had been unified under the Coalition Council which is made up of representatives of hive leaders and has resulted in significant increases in living standards. The only interspecies violence since the unification under the coalition was a brief attempt by a minor clan to launch a coup d’état with the use of Klingon mercenaries which resulted in a brief conflict before failing when the Klingons withdrew due to lack of payment.

In terms of modern events the Coalition has only just recovered the size of its trading fleet after a brief period of hostilities with the Ferengi alliance which culminated in a group of Marauders destroying much of the Quadrivi merchant fleet in orbit. Since then however the Federation has enforced a peaceful solution to the hostilities and the trade fleet has soured to double the pre Ferengi assault size. Lately the Quadrivi have also been constructing regional free ports to allow their merchantmen to operate farther afield. There are already twelve of these space stations scattered across the alpha and beta quadrants, with the last being opened above Cardassia to facilitate the flow of supplies into the Cardassian humanitarian zone.

The Quadrivi enjoy excellent relationships with both the Romulans and Federation. The Romulans because the Quadrivi is the principle trading partner with the isolationist Romulans, allowing supplies from other forbidden parties to be imported without breaking Romulan law. The Federation is also highly favourable due to Quadrivi aid in both the Battle of Wolf 359 where a trio of Warwings were lost but also due to significant aid in the Dominion war where the massive logistical abilities of the Coalition trade fleet were used to ferry supplies to the front lines. Although not popularly recognised the Quadrivi like to believe the war would have been lost without their aid.

Recently however relationship with the Klingon have suffered heavily. Although never friends due to the Coalitions close relationship with the Romulans the Klingons have always been too dependent of trade running through the Quadrivi to act openly against them. Recently however several Coalition trade ships have been seized by the Klingons and Martok has openly talked of annexing the entire Coalition into the Klingon Empire.

This is largely a result of Klingon economic troubles resulting from their losses during the Dominion war and also as a result of Coalition manufactured weapons turning up on Klingon occupied planets across the Empire and inside the Cardassian Klingon occupied zone. Although publically denied the common belief in the Empire is that the Coalition is arming insurrection movement on occupied planets to ferment dissent within the Empire at Romulan behest.

[Purple]

Name: The Confederate Systems of Humanity

Number of Worlds: 13 Core worlds with a relatively high moderate density and about 2 or 3 colonies for each with very low population densities.

Species: 99.9% human, 0.1% aliens.

Fleet Makeup: Old federation hulls, mostly Excelsiors and several Galaxies but also a number of dominion and Cardassian craft mixed in. Most of the ships are those that either defected with the colonies or were scavenged from the battlefields of the Dominion War and rebuilt. Most ships are equipped with Romulan cloaking devices.

History:
Human colonies dating back to the era of the first fringe explorations the worlds that now make up the Confederate Systems were once a prosperous but not really important part of the United Federation of Planets. Their economy was from the onset based on the exploitation of resources and pretty basic until the introduction of solid holograms. Soon enough, the worlds experienced a massive economic boom from the labor of these machines and the relatively small populations experienced unbelievable economic growth. However, the worlds newer did fit in well with the rest of the Federation. Among other things they refused to relinquish money and accept aliens into their society as equals. This ever growing divide was further intensified in the months just before the Dominion War during what would come to be known as the HoloSentience incident. The huge amount of holograms used for slave labor, their constant operation and exposure to situations where independent thought is required inevitably cause an above average amount of them to achieve sentience (think Doctor from Voyager or Vick Fontane). And for as long as memory serves it was the official policy of the planets that such holograms are to be deleted for the sake of preserving their labor force. In wake of the Data incident and the developments in laws about sentient rights that fallowed this did not sit well with the Federation government who issue several petitions to the planets to change their behavior all of whom the planets flatly refused. The Federation council was in the motion of voting on the situation but the vote was delayed time and time again by issues of the looming conflict. Finally, somewhere at the time that Romulans joined the war the confederate systems made their move and declared independence from the UFP. Occupied with the Dominion and not eager to fight a war on two fronts the UFP acknowledged their claim at independence and just let them be. Shortly afterward the Confederation signed a non aggression pact with the Dominion and a treaty of alliance with the Romulan Star Empire who are at this time their primary military sponsors as they have seen the benefits in keeping human kind divided.

Culture: The culture and economy of the Confederate worlds is centered around the slave labor of semi sentient holograms (think EMH slave workers). These holograms perform all the menial jobs from mining to teaching, cooking and even acting as the ground troops in the Confederate military. As such, the actual population is well and truly free to devote them self to the leisures of flesh and mind. Aliens and "Unionists" are regarded with hate and loathing and foreigners in general are not trusted. As their culture is built around a slave economy they have overcome scarcity in a way alien to the Federation. Replicated products are used but are seen as a necessary evil for when a person can not gain access to the real thing and replicated food is considered barely a step away from eating garbage. Their saying goes: Its not good unless it was made by true labor of a true laborer (referring to holograms).

Diplomacy: Friendly toward the Romulans, Hostile toward the UFP. Neutral toward the rest.

And yes, I am just poking fun at you mercilessly. Hope I did not make my inspiration too obvious.

[Eternal_Freedom]

Name: Belsan Empire

Number of Worlds: 7 core systems (at least one heavily populated Terran planet, multiple mining/shipyards, think Utopia Planitia kind of thing) and 42 small/medium colonies, spread across a fifty light-year globular cluster.

Location: Globular cluster at the coreward end of the Federation/Cardassian border

Species: Belsa'ari (100%). Belsa'ari are two metre tall bpideal humanoids, but they possess four arms rather than two and have eyes that can see the visible spectrum as well parts of the infrared and ultraviolet. Considerably stronger and more dextrous than humans, they are not as quick. Their dark red hides are extremely thick and resilient to phaser fire, amongst other things.

Personality: Xenophobic, isolationist, fiercely territorial and very patriotic; a Belsa'ari will willingly accept almost any hardship if it will benefit the Empire.

Governemnt: Constitutional Monarchy. An elected sentate under the direction of an Emperor. during times of emergency the Emperor takes direct control, bypassing the need for debate in the Senate.

Economy: Capitalist

Fleet makeup: approx 150 large and powerful battleships. Belsa'ari ships are optimised for defensive roles, sporting powerful weapons and strong shields at the expense of manuvreability. Warp speeds are again optimised for sprint speed at the cost of endurance. The Belsa'ari fleet vows to defend the Empire unto death, but will not undertake an offensive war.

History: The Belsa'ari emerged in a small, out of the way star cluster on the edges of larger nations. Small and unimportant on the galactic stage, the Empire nonetheless played a pivotal role in the Dominon War, despite their defensive mindset.

Over the years, several races have tried to claim the Empire's worlds, only to be rebuffed by the varied Belsa'ari states. Circa 2289, the states voted to unite as one to protect themselves against all others. The Empire was declared and all outsiders were expelled. It was clear to the people that other races simply brought war and suffering with them. Over the next ninety years, the Empire expanded slowly, only claiming worlds unsettled by others, to avoid conflict.

During the Dominion War, the Belsan Empire came to prominence. Several Cardassian fleets entered the Empire's territory in an attempt to flank the Federation's defences, only to meet the Belsan fleet. The Cardassian forces were repulsed with massive losses, sparing several Federation installations from attack.

Embarassed, the Cardassians appealed to their Dominion allies. A large force invaded the Empire, infliciting substantial losses on the defenders before being defeated above the core world of Bel'torro. The losses came at a critical time for the Dominion, denying them reinforcements at Chin'toka which would have carried the day in their favour.

The federation opened talks with the Belsa'ari, only to be rebuffed. The Empire stands alone, as it always has.

[Juubi Karakuchi]

The Drucarn Kingdom

Location
The Kingdom is located in the Alpha Quadrant, on the opposite side of the Cardassian Union from the Federation.

Territory
The Kingdom's known territory extends over approximately 1000 Light Years, including 38 Major planets (minimum population 4 billion), 72 Minor planets (minimum population 2 billion), and around two thousand colonies, outposts, waystations and miscellaneous small possessions. The Kingdom's population is around 300 billion, of which 95% are Drucarn, the remainder being citizens of various species, most of them inhabiting 'client colonies' along the Kingdom's Federation-facing frontier.

Biology

The Drucarn are bipedal mammals, with digitigrade legs and three-fingered hands with opposable thumbs, adults averaging between 1.5 and 2.5 metres in height. Their most distinctive feature is their heads, possessed of elongated snouts and raised ears.

Government
The Drucarn government can be defined by human standards as a quasi-democratic Constitutional Monarchy. The executive is the Shion (generally translated as the King), while the Legislature is a parliament made up of representatives of the Major and Minor planets. All other sovereign entities (minor possessions recognized as polities in their own right) have non-voting representation.

Economy
The economy can be defined in human terms as Social Capitalism, essentially a free-market economy subject to regulation. Replicator technology exists, but it is not as common as in the Federation, making manufacturing a high-production low-employment sector. Resource extraction and processing is a major employer, as is the Tertiary sector.

Military
The Drucarn Military is divided into two main branches, the Royal Drucarn Starfleet (Shion'ra Druca'ra Tel'ra-faran) and the Royal Drucarn Planetary forces (Shion'ra Druca'ra Tan'ra-faran). Details on their forces come primarily from Cardassian military and Obsidian Order records dating from around one century ago to the beginning of the Dominion War. Those reports describe the current Drucarn fleet as numbering in the many thousands of warships of varying classes, while their armies were thought to number in the millions (based on collation of known population and economic data). Modern Drucarn warships were described as being armed with plasma torpedoes and anti-proton beam and pulse weapons. Long-range observations by Starfleet appear to back up these claims.

Reports on their ground forces described a full range of capabilities, including artillery, armour, and aircraft. More detailed reports are given of Drucarn infantry, primarily from a Cardassian-Drucarn war around one century ago. They are described as operating in small independant teams, usually of around four persons, and using a variety of portable support weapons. Drucarn planetary forces proved highly capable during the conflict, with the Cardassians proving unable to secure any planet they did not overrun almost immediately (the Drucarn presence usually being minimal). All reports mentioned extensive use of Transporter inhibition by the Drucarn, using a number of different methods bit all of which could be countered. A few reports mentioned attacks by small units of Drucarn wearing some kind of powered armour that greatly increased their capabilities.

Technology
Relatively little is known of current Drucarn technology, though recent information suggests it is broadly on par with that of the Federation, with possible advantages in some particular areas. The most obvious difference lies in weapons technology, especially in light of Cardassian claims that the Drucarn have created workable anti-proton weapons. This development, along with plasma torpedoes, is believed to be very recent. That Replicators are not as common as in the Federation suggests that their Replicator technology may not be as sophisticated.

Society
Information on Drucarn society comes from sources collated by the Ferengi Commerce Authority on the order of Grand Nagus Zek. The most detailed, provided by a Ferengi market research mission, describes an orderly and decorous society, whose members place great importance on proper ettiquette in social interactions. Like many such highly-developed societies, crime is kept low by a combination of effective social security provisions and police work backed by advanced technology. The Drucarn have no recent experience of sexual discrimination (whether in terms of gender or sexual preference), and Ferengi accounts describe them as being bewildered by the concept.

The Drucarn display a noticeably enjoyment of sport, in particular combat sports. These can range from duels to large-scale team events, involving both armed and unarmed martial arts. In the armed contests, the weapons involved tend to be technological facsimile designed to replicate the real-life effect while minimizing the chance of fatal injury. Audiences tend to favour artistry and skill over brute force, and victories by percieved 'underdogs' are met with great satisfaction. Overall this suggests a culture that, if not actually militaristic, has a certain interest in violence.

The most distinctive aspect of Drucarn society is its approach to childrearing. According to various accounts children are given up at birth to the care of expects, whereupon they are raised in mixed groups with no apparent regard for familial connections, the children being given no indication as to the identity of their parents. The bonds formed in these groups hold great significance for the Drucarn, and they place a high value on friendships and other social connections. Even Kings and Queens partake of this system, choosing an heir at random from among the newborns to raise as their own. Non-Drucarn are not required to adhere to these practices.

The Drucarn do not appear to have any formal, organized religion. The closest to religious practice seen among them approximates to simple ancestor or spirit veneration. In the case of ancestor worship, the veneration appears to focus on previous generations in general rather than one's particular ancestors (of whom the majority of Drucarn would be unware). This tendency is believed to have brought them into conflict with other societies in the past. Reports from visitors refer to a war fought in the distant past between the Drucarn, early in their space age, and a race or polity calling itself the 'Kasval'. The Kasval are described as adhering to a recognizably organised religion which they attempted to force the Drucarn to adopt, leading to the war. The war appears to have persisted for an extended period (the specific account interpreted the Drucarn description as 'decades').

Diplomacy
The Federation currently has no formal contact with the Drucarn Kingdom, and of all the recognized powers only the Cardassians and the Ferengi are known to have had any dealings with them. This matter has come to the fore in recent years over the matter of the Sondar Drift, a star cluster separating the borders of the Drucarn and Cardassian territories. After their previous war, the Sondar Drift became an informal neutral zone between the two powers, despite evidence of liveable worlds and viable mineral deposits. This arrangement persisted, out of mutual desire to avoid further conflict, until the end of the Dominion War, when the Drucarn began to expand into the region. Tensions on the Cardassian side have mounted ever since, and there are unconfirmed reports of local Cardassian commanders sending warships into the Drift, and that at least one of these was destroyed by unknown assailants. The Federation Council has concluded that while there is no reason to prevent Drucarn expansion into what has hitherto been unclaimed and uninhabited territory, it is nonethless necessary to dispatch a full diplomatic mission to the Drucarn Kingdom to ensure that actual conflict between the Drucarn and Cardassia does not break out.

[Cesario]

Name:
The Jo'Ram Collective

Number of Worlds:
3 highly developed and terraformed systems.

Biology:
The Jo'Ram look like round worms, approximately three centimeters in width and ten centimeters in length. Individually the Jo'Ram are not sapient, but being natural touch telepaths, the Jo'Ram clump together into wholes that are greater than the sum of their parts. Due to a form of genetic memory, the individual worms retain the collective knowledge and skills of every cluster it has ever been a part of.

Prior to two hundred years ago, the primary means of communication among individual Jo'Ram clusters was to exchange worms from their bodies, which resulted in both clusters knowing one another completely.

Individuality is a recent innovation for the Jo'Ram. A genetic experiment into allowing the species as a whole to link into a single individual via long-range telepathy proved to lack the throughput necessary to pass on the full spectrum of Jo'Ram communication. It did, however, allow for an unfamiliarly limited form of communication, with Jo'Ram clusters communicating some, but not all, of their experiences among the whole of the species. This low-level collective consiousness formed the basis for communication with other species when first contact was eventually made.

Technology:
The Jo'Ram have discovered an odd quirk of their biology makes warp travel impossible for them. The process of transfering into subspace damages the telepathic abilities of the individual worms that make up Jo'Ram clusters. Thus far attempts to repair the damage after a warp trip have all met with failure. As a result, all Jo'Ram ships are sublight vessels.

This does not mean the Jo'Ram make no use of Warp technology, however. In addition to the numerous test flights run by their scientists in an effort to study the telepathic damage that is suffered in subspace, the Jo'Ram make extensive use of automated probes.

Following the lead of their own biology, Jo'Ram probes are individually very small and weak craft, but they have the ability to link together their power systems and warp fields in order to acheave greater speed, stronger weapons output, and greater sensor resolution.

Government:
The Jo'Ram collective consiousness allows all individual clusters to weigh in, in real-time, on the subjects that matter to them in their government system. The genetic memory and the retained capacity to synchronize with one another by exchanging worms has ensured that the Jo'Ram think of themselves as a species first, and individuals second.

Unfamiliar with individuality as a concept, the Jo'Ram have attempted to learn by observation. Seeing the terrible things other individuals can do to one another as demonstrated by other species, both on their home world and out in space, the population has largely attempted to limit the extent to which individuality is allowed to develop.

Military:
War is a foreign concept to the Jo'Ram. The nieve would think that this is a good thing. The closest analogue the Jo'Ram have to war is the extermination of pest species. With no experience dealing with sapient beings other than themselves, the Jo'Ram have been slow to adapt to the rules of war that other species utilize, since the reasons behind them are also alien to the Jo'Ram.

Fortunately for those who would suffer for their learning experience, the Jo'Ram's inability to expand their territory at greater than sublight speed means that most species who provoke them can simply flea beyond the range that the Jo'Ram consider worth pursuing them, though repeated hostile incursions will net a response of a fleet of FTL extermination probes designed to identify and exterminate the hostile species to the last individual on whatever worlds they appear.

During the Dominion War, the Federation was despirate to gain any ally they could against the Dominion. To that end, a diplomatic attache was dispatched to request the assistance of the Jo'Ram against the Dominion. Unfortunately, the Jo'Ram agreed to send aid.

The Jo'Ram designated every known species in the Dominion along with their Cardasian and Breen allies hostile species and dispatched extermination probes. While the probes were of considerable aid in fleet engagements in the worst part of the war, the Federation council soon realized the depth of its error when the Jo'Ram probes bombarded a Risan city due to detecting a Breen tourist.

The Jo'Ram did not understand why the loss of life from the other people in the city was important, nor did they grasp that the Breen who had been targeted did not represent his government.

When Federation diplomats finally convinced the Jo'Ram to remove the hostile species designation, they discovered a worse problem. Jo'Ram probes were designed to be autonomous, due to needing to spend considerable time in the field with no crews to repair them. Thus any probes launched before the hostile species designation was rescinded would continue to hunt down any and all members of the designated species. The Jo'Ram never considered the idea that a species they were at war with now might be one they wouldn't want to exterminate later.

The last hostile Jo'Ram probe was destroyed by the defense systems of Deep Space Nine when it identified the Changeling security officer and Cardasian tailor living aboard. The Federation has since established a policy of military isolation towards the Jo'Ram, in the hope that the incident will not be repeated.

[Baffalo]

The T'Laani Imperial Sovereignty

Location
On the opposite side of the Klingon Empire from the Federation.

Territory
Approximately 20 stars stretching over 150 lightyears. There is a buffer zone of two lightyears between the Klingon Empire and the T'Laani, though the borders remain open to travel.

Biology
The T'Laani are quadrapedal, with a combination of lizard and mammal features. They are warm blooded , with two powerful forearms with three thick fingers and a single thumb. Their skin is typically made up of black scales, though colors vary to include a dark purple or crimson. Their eyes are often golden, though brown and red are also common. They have a muzzle, with two rows of teeth, one sharp incisors and the other molars for chewing the thick leaves that support the T'Laani diet.

The T'Laani reproduce via semi-live birth. They lay eggs, but almost immediately hatch into young. They are bigendered and often mate for a period of years, often until their litter has matured into adults, before divorcing and finding new partners. After their divorce, the T'Laani rarely couple with the same mate, hoping to increase the genetic diversity.

Government
The T'Laani government is a constitutional monarchy, with two branches of government. There are four tiers of government, starting with the local tribes, encompassed by the continental Overclan, a place for the tribes to meet and settle disputes. The planetary government delegates to the Overclans, and the planets all report directly to the Grand Council. The Grand Council is the primary legislative branch, and often spends more time settling disputes than actually governing.

The executive branch of government is split into three groups. The commander and chief of the T'Laani is the Imperial Regent, responsible for defending the Sovereignty. The Imperial Sovereign is the head of the Grand Council, though his actual power is limited to breaking tie votes and maintaining order and decorum. The Imperial Heir, when not held by the Imperial Regent, is responsible for meeting with the important clans and learning to become the Imperial Sovereign. Being the Imperial Heir is only an honor bestowed at the mercy of the Imperial Sovereign, and is revoked of unsuitable candidates.

Economy
The primary trade of the T'Laani is terraforming, often contracting with other powers in the region for long-term projects. When a T'Laani terraforms a world, it is often remarked as being second only to the homeworld. A close second is their Grekak Wine, a favorite on many surrounding worlds, though not in the Klingon Empire. Trade with the Empire is irregular and often conducted between private firms. In recent years, they've begun negotiations with the Ferengi and Federation, in part due to the newly opened borders between the two.

Military
The T'Laani military is referred to by some as feudal in nature. Each clan, which often makes up multiple tribes, is tasked by the Imperial Sovereign to contribute warriors to avoid being crushed as rebels. The honor is mostly ceremonial, as most T'Laani who join the military do so for their own reasons. The military's standing position is defensive, protecting trade vessels from pirates, outside incursions, and other threats to the Sovereignty. During times of war, the Imperial Regent has the authority to directly call upon the clans to fight. During these times, the T'Laani's entire military objective is often summed up as neutralization. The T'Laani will not settle for anything short of the destruction of the threats to their Sovereignty, and will settle for complete destruction, enslavement, or even genocide.

Technology
The T'Laani are roughly on par with the Klingon Empire in terms of technology, keeping up by buying technology from the Empire and maintaining their technological parity. The Empire naturally avoids selling technology such as shields and disruptors, but phaser technology from the Ferengi has kept them on par. They do not enjoy wide-spread replicator technology like the Federation does, and most of their industry still uses traditional fabrication techniques.

Society
The T'Laani's complicated, layered approach to government is reflected in their society. T'Laani place priority first on family, then on the community, then the clan, and lastly the sovereign. Family comes first among the T'Laani, with a sense of trust forming between current mates and ex-mates and their own extended families, forming the clan structures. Most T'Laani prefer open plains where they form villages and towns, growing to a certain size before branching off and forming new communities. Some of these towns are abandoned and later resettled, while others continue to grow into large cities and even metropolises, though this most often occurs when neighboring towns grow together, rather than a simple congregation in a single area.

The standard gravity on the T'Laani homeworld of Kooshka is almost double that of Earth, leading to few mountain ranges and many open plains. When visiting off-world, many T'Laani are unusually strong, and are sometimes seen as brutes by outsiders until they become accustomed to their new surroundings. They prefer to remain among their own kind, though a few venture out and have even become promising warriors among the Klingons. When a T'Laani reaches their fifth century, they often depart from the clan and travel to other worlds or even to distant places. This solo journey is known as the Passage, and lets them reflect upon their accomplishments and achievements. Many on the Passage do not expect to return, wishing to avoid becoming a burden to the clan. When they do sometimes return, where they often tend to the young and give guidance. When they die, each family member receives a bone, often a claw or tooth, as a reminder of their lives. Then the body is burned, and then buried, often near the house they lived in.

There is no formal education among T'Laani, prefering instead that the young become initiates under a Master Artisan. A Master Artisan might be a shipwright, a scholar, a government dignitary or simply a farmer. Regardless of role, when an initiate signs on, they become the responsibility of the Master Artisan, and their training often consists of menial chores until they enter the apprentice stage, where they actually learn the craft. This is also when they become accustomed to the guilds, and where they learn from other Master Artisans visiting the guild halls. When they are ready, the apprentice constructs their first Masterpiece, which is presented as a gift to the guild. If it is accepted, the apprentice becomes a Journeyman. As a Journeyman, they must visit a foreign guild hall and work for a minimum of five years, where they then present a second Masterpiece. If this masterpiece is accepted, they are accepted as a Master Artisan, and are invited to join the new guild. This lets the skills of the Master Artisans spread and grow.

Diplomacy
The T'Laani maintain good relations with the Klingon Empire, preferring to remain independent rather than deal with a Klingon invasion. They maintain distant ties to the Ferengi and Federation, though remain neutral in their dealings with either party. They sometimes deal with the Trill, interested in their Joining and the ability to live centuries. Short-lived races are often treated as children, needing a guiding hand to mature and learn.

[Carinthium]

I don't like coming back here, but this thread sounded like fun so I couldn't resist. What I'd do depends of approach of course- whether based on Sentimentalism, Interesting in TNG universe, or Would Want to be Ruler Of.

Interesting in TNG Universe:
Difficult, as I'm not a good writer. Some sort of left-wing socialist (but not communist) challenge to the Federation seems like an interesting idea, but something truely interesting needs better.

Sentimentalism:
(Objective: Approach anarchic ideal of pure freedom as closely as possible whilst remaining realistic for the Star Trek universe, using cultural methods to help justify it)

Name: Anarchic Regions
(NOTE: Not a formal name, although used in practice)

Number of Worlds: Three major systems, each with several highly militarised worlds

Species: Small minorities of most species, with few actually dominant

Population: Roughly 100 Billion (although an attempt at a census would likely lead to the attempters being killed)

Fleet Makeup: No actual fleet, but large numbers of private ships. People who desire to live under reigmes with more order than pure anarchism tend to sign contracts with ships in which they agree to obey their laws. The militia cults which enforce anarchy are mostly (though not all) opposed to this, but don't have the ships to destroy them all.

Culture:
Any and all attempts to set up a state have been thwarted by the region's tradition of fanaticism- large numbers of fanatical libertarian cults expert at using terrorism to assasnate any figure who they interpret as having the potential to create a state (justified by their delusion that any such figure would inevitably become a dictator). The cults tend to be highly paranoid, often attacking not only each other but anybody who attempts to stop criminal activity or establish a criminal hierarchy (on the basis that the one might lead to a militia league and the other to a criminal hierarchy, either which could establish rules on their members and others and thus a de facto state).

This is reinforced by the fact that before the region fell to anarchy there was a long tradition of planet-states comparable to the Greeks- those few states with any figure that could be considered an executive were treated as 'tyrannies' by the others, which was considered sufficent reason for war and would get them ostracised by the region's 'international' community. The region was briefly conquered by outsiders from the Beta quadrant, before the rise of militia cults drove them off. After a century of anarchy, it is seen as regional tradition (playing on nationalism).

Ordinary people have several choices to survive- join a starship (if they can), join a militia cult (and either show great fanaticism like their fellows or be kicked out again), become a criminal, invest heavily in security, or die. As a result, even children tend to wear body armour and carry phasers with them at all times. However, there are advantages to this- those feeling trapped in their lives (including children) can complain to some of the more extreme militia cults, who remove obstacles to them gaining freedom by force if necessary.

Diplomacy:
Naturally, the region is only saved from conquest by it's role in the balance of power- no power wants it falling to an enemy, and the militia cults tend to attack any foreign influence. (Since they interpret every surrounding system of government including the Federation as a dictatorship, they fear them all as dictators)

Would Want to Be Ruler Of:
(Justified loosely by the question of "What Would You Do?")

Name: Carinthian Empire

Number of Worlds: 70, but mostly under-developed

Species: Overwhelmingly human, with Betazoids/Vulcans as significant minorities with large presences in the police

Population: 500 Billion

Fleet Makeup: Tends to emphasise ships based on countering the trends of whatever its primary potential enemy, the Federation, is up to- ship designs are explicitly made to fight theirs (naturally, their most common ship, the Destroyer, is made to fight and destroy a Galaxy class ship).

Culture:
Ruled by a centralised absolute monarchy under the line of Emperors, the latest one being Carinthium I. The common people are ruled by a 'bread and circuses' approach, with large numbers of entertainments that would be banned under Federation law deliberately encouraged to disincentify revolt.

The ruling class are selected by 'merit', with personality screenings designed to find personalities with strong senses of duty, fanaticism, and/or loyalty. This makes the state far less efficient but ensures against revolt. In addition, the Nobles generally have all the luxuries they could want to keep them that way.

Emperors rarely do any work, although their power is obeyed absolutely. Whilst in theory Emperors set policy, in practice the ruling line's hereditary laziness prevents this happening. The usual solution is to appoint a Prime Minister on the recommendation of the Nobles, but who rises and falls based on Imperial whim.

Diplomacy:
Used to be isolationist, due to a leadership familiar enough with the outside world to be aware of the threat of the democratic Federation. With the Federation turning communist, has began to focus on development but retains an internal focus- of the belief that given time, it will build up to become a superpower strong enough to conquer the Alpha quadrant.

[lord Martiya]

Name: Post-Reticulan Empire

Government: elective monarchy, with an elected Windsor-style parliament and a government

Location: near the Cardassian-Federation border, centered on Zeta Reticuli

Number of worlds: six Earth-like worlds and domed colonies on other worlds (some being terraformed) in fourteen member systems (3 with inhabitable worlds), two Cardassian systems occupied after the Dominion War but not officially annexed (yet)

Population: 27 billions citizens (28% humans, 25% Klingons, 21% Cardassians, 25% mixed race, 1% Reticulans), 3 billions Cardassian living in the occupied systems

Technology: slightly superior to current Federation best. Military starships make use of quantum slipstream drives and quantum singularity warp cores, while civilian ships (many of which keeps the traditional Reticulan saucer design) use advanced warp drives and either fusion or antimatter warp cores. Energy weapons are based on particle accelerator technology, perfected to allow long range.

Economy: free market with moderate, with exports mainly in electronics

Military: Navy: standing force of 3 battleships (similar in lenght but wider than to the Dominion battleship first encountered by the USS Valiant, about four times the firepower), 30 bombardament cruisers (similar size to a Nebula-class cruiser and armed with a spinalmounted rail gun capable of crippling a fully shielded Dominion battleship with a single shot, secondary firepower provided by an heavy particle turret and a score of lighter guns and missiles provide energy firepower comparable to an Intrepid-class destroyer), 60 warcruisers (equipped with particle cannons and missiles, is comparable in size to the Galaxy-class) and 300 small attack destroyers (comparable to the Defiant-class). Ships have superior shields and armour (including various layers of tritanium and dispersive materials and an external layer of ablative armour) than Federation ships of similar size, but are inferior in missile technology (while the fusion warheads are fully comparable, the delivery system is similar to the spatial torpedoes of pre-Romulan War Earth) and slower and less manouverable. The Navy is responsible for the space stations and the defense of mining outposts.
Army: about three billion people under arms, equipped with heavy weapons, armored fighting vehicles including tanks, and air support. The Army is responsible for the defense of the inhabitated worlds, and controls the defensive satellites, the ground-to-orbit artillery and, during attacks, of the orbital stations,
Reticulans have been allowed to serve in the armed forces only recently, but they kept their traditional refusal to fight on land, preferring to serve in the Navy, where they proved themselves as good as their fellows sailors.

Culture: similar to XXIII century Earth, with an undercurrent of racism against the surviving Reticulans. Due their origins, the Post-Reticulans loathe slavery and any slave-abiding nation

Diplomacy: relatively decent relations with the Klingons and UFP (but worsening over Cardassia), and good with the Romulan Star Empire. Historically in cold war with the Klingons (the improvement started only under Gowron) and the Cardassian Union, who is a target for Post-Reticulan expansion, and on perpetual verge of war with Orions and Breen.

History: the Empire was formed in early XX century, as a group of alien slaves of the Reticulans (popularly known on Earth as 'Greys') rebelled and formed their own nation on the planet Varii, in the Zeta Reticuli system (near the Reticulan homeworld of Serpo). The Reticulans attempts to quell the rebellion sparked a war, that, due the Reticulans use of alien slaves for ground combat, was initially difficult, and found the Reticulans on the defensive when the rebels managed to get their hands on a few starships. The war ended around 2031 AD with the near-extinction of the Reticulans and their former slaves taking over their empire and, against all expectations, managing to form a stable government. The Empire remained orientated inward for most of its history, rebuilding what had been destroyed by the war (Post-Reticulan government strongly denies affiliation with the flying saucers that sabotaged Romulan logistics during the Earth-Romulan War). Contact with Cardassia and the Klingons was established at the end of XXIII century and with the Federation at the start of the XXIV, but the Empire kept cold relations with the feudal and near-anarchic Klingons and the rapidly communistizing Federation and a cold war with the Cardassians, saw little better than the Reticulans. The Empire remained neutral for many years, offering assistance to the Federation and the Romulans against the Borg incursions (during the second incursion, a second cube was in fact intercepted and destroyed by the rail guns of the Post-Reticulan Second Fleet while en-route for Romulus, with the one that attacked Earth being finished as Second Fleet entered the system). Neutrality was broken for good after the Second Battle of Chin'toka, when the emperor and the parliament saw an opening in the Breen defenses and launched a devastating incursion on their homeworld before starting to wreak havoc on the Dominion's supply lines,using superior FTL speeds to achieve local superiority and avoid engagements against the Breen energy drainers until the Federation found a counter. After the war, with both Breen Confederacy and Cardassian Union in ruins, the Empire started expanding in spite of lower numbers, choosing Cardassia as first target due it being nearer than the Breen and the Cardassians needs for supplies and trade disincentivating revolts.

[Knife]

Ha, I read my post from 05, works for me still.

[Purple]

So, when do we get to analyze people based on their posts?

[Carinthium]

No reason not to start now. Anybody want to nitpick me on my great power plan (or the feasibility of my anarchist state)?

[Purple]

I have a bit to add while I am at it.

Military:
Seeing as they are not that big of a nation the Confederates often have to resort to trickery in warfare to achieve success. This of course is made much easier and useful by the fact that (as shown in First Contact and Voyager) holograms can interact with the physical world and holographic weapons can and will kill people. Confederate armies consist therefore mostly out of hologram troops, programed on a modified version of Asimov's laws of robotics where the words "human being" are replaced by "Confederate Citizen". This of course has many obvious advantages not the least of which is that the only thing required to deploy a ground army or indeed a fleet is an Emmit system and a relatively strong power source instead of the usually required support facilities for organic troops. All the while the hologram forces have a much higher flexibility as their shape and equipment is dictated only by the available energy and templates and not actual physical stores. Better yet, as long as the power source is intact the holograms can re spawn over and over again ad infinitum making a Confederate garrison exceedingly difficult to dislodge short off using orbital bombardment. Confederate installations and starships are staffed by these holograms with only the officers and command staff being human. On the field, Confederate infantry are deployed in platoons of 50 from mobile emitters mounted on vehicles resembling modern main battle tanks crewed with the officers in charge. Shielded and coated with the same materials as the packing crates seen in the show these tanks can withstand any phaser/disruptor fire the enemy is likely to bring down on them. In space, confederate starships often remain cloaked while using hologram duplicates to fight battles for them or use them as a distraction while the real ship cloaks and escapes.

PS. This seems like the logical use of trek hologram tech. I don't see why they don't use it. Especially for things like inside starship security. If they can set up emitters for the EMH all over the ship this would just be an extension of it.

PPS. The official language of the Confederacy is French and universal translators are illegal to own outside of the government and military as to not let foreigners mingle with the good people unless they are willing to learn the language.

[dworkin]

Name The Unity

Government AI Overlords

Location 150 ly rimward of Federation Borders. Kirk ran out of redshirts before exploring the area.

Worlds Five colonised M class planets in 12 systems. Numerous outposts, colonies.
Large presence about all gas giants and major asteroid / kupier belt industries.

Population 110 billion sientients / AIs. 91% of population are cybernetically enhanced monotremes. <0.1% vast inhuman intelligences. 9% 'podded' large humanoid marsupials with bumpy heads.

Technology: Unity technology is a 'road not taken' when considered to main AQ powers. The Unity understands the basics of warp power, subspace and travel but regards it as dangerous. Their understanding of wormholes approaches the borg while their patience and willingness to use STL and relativistic FTL has expanded and held onto their territory slowly but surely. Unsuprisingly their devolpoments in cybernetics and computing are phenomenal. Unity weaponry is based on mostly familiar disruptor technology. Primitive replicators.

Economy: All industry, development, etc is controlled by the AIs. Some trade with outsiders.

Military: The Unity believes in taking hollowed out asteroids and putting in drives, engines, weapons blisters, shield emitters, power plants and crew quarters until, well the AI installed decides to stop. Such 'Rocks' are slow, ponderous when turning and can take an absurd amount of punishment. Main weapons are disruptors and wormhole generators, secondary weapons are tractor beams, cutting lasers and nuclear missiles.
The Unity militerises the populance on an as needed basis by downloaded essential knowledge directly and then instructing them to find a gun at the nearest armoury. Ship crews often are kept in a militerised state on a rotating basis as the AIs feel prolonged enforced aggression is bad for their charges. Favoured weapons are gauss projectiles and needlers.

Society: Unity society is divided between the AIs who do all the thinking and the cybernetically enhanced monotremes, who do an awful lot of crowded loving and living. The monotremes are cute bundles of fur varing from 5 cm to a metre tall in size that have cybernetic grafts to make them faster, stronger, smarter and so on then their ancestors. A Unity citizen lives in constant comunication with everyone else and if the need ever arises it can ask the local AI for help. Up to and including what colour it's clothes should be today and where were they left after last night's dinner/orgy. Anything a citizen needs to know to do it's job can be downloaded into it's brain as needed and just as easily removed. The result is a people that can go from fun loving, sex mad, happy people to remorseless avatars of furry death as fast as the AI's can mass download the 'killer bunnies' module. And they have very good bandwidth. It also results in people unable to tie their shoes without help. Throughout The Unity are the podded progenitors whose last invention was fully immersive VR. Having done a bit of exploring the AI's had a few bad experiences with the typical dangers of the galaxy before deciding to stay at home and not mess with dangerous shit like warp engines and subspace. The AIs are also not above time travel to 'upgrade' their past selves. History, therefore has little meaning in the Unity. The AI's fear a semi-mythical being known as "The Kirk", a hideous cyclopean horror that destroys AIs wherever it goes.

Contact History: The Unity recently made contact with the Federation. Relations got off to a poor start when Ensign Jason Kirk was part of the first contact team sent by the the uss Odyssey to speak to the new aliens. One of the last recorded transmissions was "Borg! We're being swarmed by hundreds of small furry borgs! (Phaser fire) This is Ensign Kirk requesting...argggghhhhh!". The Unity ship then attacked the Odyssey, which while mauled managed to disengage and escape.