Editing The Galaxy

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=The United Federation of Planets=
Founded in 2161 after the Earth-Romulan war and was conceived as a coalition of planets dedicated to the common good. The individual planets govern themselves but act together on topics of common foreign policy and defence. Prominent members included the Humans, Vulcans, Andorians and Tellarites. Minor races include the Bolian, Denobulan, Caitan & Betazed. Two years ago a Romulan named Nero attacked the UFP and began the Vulcan Crisis. Though Starfleet, the military arm of the UFP eventually stopped Nero it was not before he destroyed the planet Vulcan, killing billions and bringing the future of the federation itself into question. 
• The lack of Vulcan colonies meant as few as 10,000 Vulcans escaped the destruction of their homeworld. The survivors have withdrawn to the world of New Vulcan in order to attempt to rebuild their civilisation
• The Andoria have always retained a seperate navy for defensive purposes but in response to the Vulcan crisis and increased activity along the Neutral Zone the Andorians have begun expanding their fleet. Many see this build up as a sign that the Andorians are planning on withdrawing from the Federation.
• The Betazoids are the most recent planet to fully join the United Federation of Planets. Their relative proximity to the ongoing Cardassian-Talaran War has sparked a marked increase in piracy in the region, something the Betazoids want Starfleet to deal with.
• The Bolian people only achieved first contact with the federation less than a decade ago. Caught between warring neighbours (the Iren and the Uzor) the Bolian gladly accepted federation help in preventing their world from becoming a battlefield in the Iren-Uzor conflict. The Bolian are currently provisional members of the Federation contingent on them unifying their various nation states into one world government. The Iren and Uzor have not gone away however and both continue to scheme to bring Bolians under their influence.


=The Xindi Collective=
Former bitter enemies of the humans, the Xindi are an alliance of six different species in the Delphic Expanse. A hundred years ago the Xindi fought a war with humans but have since made peace. The Xindi were on track to join the Federation prior to the Vulcan crisis. Currently the question of Xindi membership has been put on hold definitely.


=The Klingon Empire=
An agressive exspansionist totalitarian state, the Klingon Empire are longtime rivals and enemies with the Andorians and Vulcans. Normally the Great Houses of the Empire war with eachother as much as with outsiders but a new Chancellor has united the houses and ushered on a phase of rapid expansion and conquest. With the Federation currently divided and weakened the Klingon's seem set to exploit the situation for their own gain. However Nero also destroyed a significant portion of the Klingon fleet before he turned on the Federation, a fact the Klingons are desperate to hide from the rest of the Galaxy. Klingon territory includes many semi-autonomous regions, as the feuding great houses of the Empire care little for governing subject races as long as tribute continues to flow.


=The Romulan Star Empire=
After the Earth-Vulcan war a hundred years ago the Romulans withdrew from the galaxy. Contact with any Romulans was unheard of for decades until Nero attacked the USS Kelvin in 2233. Intelligence about the Empire is sparse but all indications point to a major shakeup in the Romulan leadership around the same time with a new Emperor ascending the Romulan Throne for the first time in centuries. What connection if any between the Romulan Emperor and Nero is unknown.


=The Orion Syndicate=
There is little law inside the territory claimed by Orion syndicate, slavery and piracy run rampant and criminal cartels effectively run the government. Orion pirate raids on nearby federation colonies have become more frequent since the Vulcan Crisis. The planet Cordia, laying on the edge of the syndicate's influence has been making strides in combating the syndicate and have requested Federation aid against the pirates. The Orion species that share their name with the syndicate (noted for their emerald skin) come from the same homeworld and are often treated with unfair suspicion as a result but the Syndicate has long since grown to include members of all major species in the area.


=The Gorn Hegenomy=
A fearsome reptillian species, the Gorn do not negotiate with outsiders and attack anyone who violates their territory. Little is known about them other than that they are currently at war with the Klingon Empire and have apparently made claim to several worlds along the Federation border


=The Tholian Assembly=
The Tholians are an extremely xenophobic and territorial non-humanoid species that resemble insects. Little is known about them but the few encounters indicate that they originate in environments deadly to most humanoids. As a result though they occasionally trade and conduct with other species it is always via intermediaries

=The Cardassian Union=
The Cardassian homeworld and surounding planets are resource poor. To sustain the Union's growing population the Cardassian's began an agressive campaign of military conquest bringing it in conflict with it's primitive neighbours the Talarans. Victory seemed assured till the Tzenkethi launched an unprovoked attack on the Union.

=The Talarian=
A xenophobic and technologically primitive species by federation standard the Talaran are currently at war with the Cardassian Union. 

=The Tzenkethi=
An advanced but enigmatic civilisation, the strictly caste based Tzenkethi have isolated themselves from the rest of the galaxy.