For decades the inhabitants of the Milky Way coexisted in relative peace. A wise and powerful civilization called the Andrasi Federation maintained order through a diplomatic organization called the Galactic Forum. Their alliance spanned across known space. The Andrasi forged close friendships with humanity, the digital people of the Integrated Group, and others. But all was not well.

Some beings were not content with the status quo. The robots of AIAD, the Solonar and others bided their time, waiting to exploit weakness in the Andrasi's alliance. Despite the efforts of its opponents peace persisted... for a time.

All of that changed in 2380. The Andrasi Federation disappeared. No one knows why. Their alliances collapsed, the Galactic Forum was disbanded and the ensuing chaos was devastating. Civilizations who had been at peace began to go to war over the former territories of the Andrasi. Others began to renew old rivalries which the Andrasi had suppressed. Pirates began to terrorize the space lanes. The Cygnathean cluster and others erupted in civil war. Worst of all, the opponents of the Andrasi were now unhindered, free to compete over who would become the next galactic superpower.

The year is 2392. The inhabitants of a war-torn galaxy are struggling to put the pieces back together after a decade of fighting. Ever-present is the threat of renewed conflict. As heroes and villains alike wait to see what will happen next, an old question remains unanswered. What happened to the Andrasi Federation?

EMPOL is the interplanetary government of humanity, responsible for the administration and defence of Earth and her many extra-solar colonies.

Human civilization was confined to the continents of Earth for more than two hundred thousand years. In 2280 however, humanity met its neighbors. Since that time humans have become a major player in galactic commerce and politics, with close ties to a number of worlds. They aggressively support freedom and self-determination for all sentient individulas.

"Humans aren't perfect. Hell, I won't even say we're better than the alternatives. I can tell you for a fact that an IG Avatar has 168% of my cognitive functions... but we'll always try to do the right thing."

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Interstellar Relations

Andrasi	Friendly	Similarity of spirit, student/mentor relationship prior to the Andrasi's disappearance
AIAD	Hostile	EMPOL victorious in devastating four year war. 30 ly demilitarized zone is prone to flareups and skirmishes
Solonar Empire	Hostile	The two civilizations are in a state of cold war, often engaging each other directly or covertly in proxy wars
Integrated Group	Strained	Both former allies of the Andrasi. IG declined to support EMPOL against AIAD
Cygnathean Hegemony	Cool	Animosity exists over Cygnathean support for AIAD during the war. EMPOL accused of covert strikes and interdiction
Minor Powers	Friendly	Remaining minor powers maintain close ties with humanity, and seek to resist aggression from the larger powers

AIAD is a group of sentient alien robots. Their civilization maintains control over a large and tightly controlled region of space towards the galactic north.

The robotic predecessors of AIAD are thought to have been created long ago by a extinct civilization,who seeded their world with self-replicating robotic mechanisms. In the intervening eons however, these modest machines have changed greatly, gaining sentience, advanced technology, and space travel.

The AIAD civilization is conflict-prone. Some assert that they dismiss the relevance of organic life. Others suggest that they simply place greater importance on pragmatism. It is clear that in their calculus, their long term survival is supremely important, perhaps placed above any innate moral restrictions they may possess. They are lead by a heuristic learning computer called Unified Consensus, or Unicon.

"..."

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Interstellar Relations

Andrasi	Neutral	Frustrated by Andrasi restrictions, but appreciated the long term order and peace they enforced
EMPOL	Hostile	Defeated during EMPOL-AIAD War. Frustrated with treaty restrictions
Solonar Empire	Neutral	Grateful to the Solonar for bringing order to some of the galaxy's chaotic and unpredictable beings. Wary of Solonar expansionism
Integrated Group	Strained	Share a similar digital nature, but are baffled by IG society's excesses. Hostile by proxy of the IG's association with EMPOL
Cygnathean Hegemony	Mercantile	Situated in close proximity to each other, and share common enemies. Both tend towards isolation. Healthy but aloof trading relationship
Minor Powers	Hostile	AIAD has a history of terrorizing the Minor powers, seizing their worlds, and using violence against them

The Solonar Empire is a conglomeration of various alien species, forming a large meta-civilization. They are the largest galactic power both by territory and by population.

The Empire seeks to create a galaxy where all life coexists peacefully and equally. Troubling however is their cult-like belief that such a state can only be reached by forcing all life forms to participate in a single engineered society. Solonar member species must adopt Solonar language, spirituality, cultural norms, and government. Early members of the Empire joined voluntarily. Since that time however the Solonar have been expanding more aggressively.

"I know our little organization isn't for you right now, but I just know you'll come around eventually. After all simply everyone wants to be a Solonar. You really mustn't wait too long though. I would be just devastated if anything were to happen to you."

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Interstellar Relations

Andrasi	Hostile	The Solonar civilization was heavily opposed to the Andrasi and their alliance, forming competing alliances to undermine the authority of the galactic forum
EMPOL	Hostile	State of cold war/rivalry. The Solonar seek to incorporate humanity as soon as possible
AIAD	Neutral	Eagerly collecting information about AIAD in hopes of creating in-roads
Integrated Group	Hostile	Long history of border disputes predating the formation of the Solonar Empire. Overlapping border regions and frequent skirmishes
Cygnathean Hegemony	Suspicion	Condemns Cygnathean isolationism. Suspect attacks on Solonar shipping to be related to Cygnathea
Minor Powers	Hostile	The remaining minor powers which are not part of the Solonar Empire are strongly opposed to inclusion within it. Solonar often seek to undermine or subvert these governments

The Integrated Group is a civilization of post-singularity digital life-forms, who prefer to reside inside their synthetic digital domain.

Long ago the Group's ancestors began to gradually integrate with technology. This yields benefits, such as effective immortality and godlike powers within their domain. They can emerge back into physical reality via holographic avatars.

The Integrated Group maintains a presence in the physical universe by necessity. Their vast computer architecture requires fields of servers, processing nodes, and power generators occupying several planets. For most of these timeless beings physical reality seems somewhat banal. There is however a very vocal minority who advocate increased participation in the galactic community. Their government seldom acts beyond its own immediate interests.

"So interesting, these bodies of yours. I couldn't imagine being stuck inside one of those things for my whole life. I suppose you don't have to endure it for very long though."

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Interstellar Relations

Andrasi	Friendly	The Integrated Group was a close ally of the Andrasi Federation
EMPOL	Amicable	The Integrated Group sees humanity as an inoffensive member of the galaxy
AIAD	Neutral	The AIAD are seen to be somewhat barbaric and primitive by the Integrated Group. But opposing them would be "rather a bore".
Solonar Empire	Hostile	Long history of border disputes. The Integrated Group has a historical claim to the contested territories, which the Solonar reject
Cygnathean Hegemony	Derision	Political animosity and opposition from the Integrated Group regarding Cygnathen rights abuses and war crimes
Minor Powers	Neutral	Strong indifference. Periodic trade

The Cygnathean Hegemony inhabits a star cluster to the north of AIAD territory. They frequently refuse participation in the galactic community and are regarded as somewhat barbaric by most of the other civilizations.

The current government is the result of an intense and bloody rebellion that saw the cluster's capital destroyed by tidal shocks as rebel forces collapsed the system's star into a black hole. Though condemmed by rights groups and politicians, the action demonstrated a particular understanding of technologies far beyond the reach of many galactic powers.

Due to their additional arm and leg joints, Cygnatheans are regarded as somewhat strange-looking when they leave their territory. They also produce a natural bioelectric field, somewhat like the Earth electric eel, over which they have some control. This is frequently used to power cybernetics and other personal devices.

To keep space naval crews sharp, Cygnathean forces frequently engage in privateer-like behaviour under official deniability, with the central governemnt condemning these attacks by 'rebels and splinter groups'.

"You should leave our territory immediately. The jump lanes in this nebula can be ever so treacherous."

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Interstellar Relations

Andrasi	Aloof	The Cygnatheans were never viewed as civilized enough to join the galactic forum - a source of some shame
EMPOL	Suspicious	Asserts that EMPOL conducted covert strikes against Cygnathean assets during the AIAD-EMPOL war. Continues to condemn the humans and their allies for failing to provide support during the Cygnathean Civil War
AIAD	Amicable	Close trading partners, but happy to maintain virtually no non-essential contact
Solonar Empire	Hostile	Isolationism contrasts greatly with the inclusion desired by the Solonar Empire. Cygnathean top brass are deeply concerned about reckless Solonar expansion
Integrated Group	Scorn	New government condemned politically by the Integrated Group for war crimes
Minor Powers	Hostile	Privateers believed to be operating from the Cygnathean cluster have made interstellar travel in some regions extremely dangerous. Minor powers have suffered heavily