Cphea

The Cphea are a race of winged reptiles hailing from the Xervad System in the Vanaad Galaxy. They are governed by the Bureau of Extraplanetary Acquisitions, the core of their interplanetary authoritarian socialist bureaucracy. The paranoia of their administration has stopped them from re-inventing nuclear and information technology; the Unity War taught them the dangers of a high-energy society, and as such their researchers have had to adapt - pushing their way through what were once considered to be dead ends, rather than taking the path of least resistance into the realm of the forbidden. Their zeitgeist would best be summed up with the phrase 'make do with what you're given.'

The Unity War
Cphea civilization developed along lines very similar to that of modern humanity; an increasingly high-energy society largely fueled by the processed remains of long-dead creatures, in a desperate search for a replacement energy source. It was in nuclear fission that they found one that tided them over for several decades. Ultimately, their usable radioactives that weren't locked up in nuclear arsenals were expended as well, and their research into other power sources, namely nuclear fusion, had yet to bear acceptable fruit. The already fragile planet-wide peace was eventually shattered and a limited nuclear exchange occured, destroying most major cities. Riots and revolutions followed in the wake of total war, and order was torn from its high perch and replaced with vigilante justice. Corpses piled up as famines struck, and but a scant few hundred million were left in the wake of these disasters out of the billions there were only some years prior.

The name granted the war by the generations that came after was ironic in nature, and referred to how propoganda of the time commonly justified violence by promising a unified and utopian planet in the aftermath.

Post-War Reconstruction
Without supply transports from the ground, the populations in space had to disperse across the planet. In some places where order had already returned, communications with what remained of the satellite network around Sahran was re-established with their aid. Repairs were made to what dams and geothermal plants survived the Unity War, providing for the energy needs of the new nation-states while unsustainable energy sources became taboo, and the remaining reserves of fossil fuels were left untapped. After many decades, the planet was truly unified, peacefully, under a meritocratic dictatorship supported by a bustling bureaucracy. However, this organization did not stay uncorrupt for long, and the Etriphos line proved it. The once-meritocracy became more of a monarchy, and although the leaders retained the title of Dictator, not one was fooled. In spite of how they came to power, they managed to hold it by keeping the people happy. Bringing back the golden days of space exploration, they secured their popularity with the Belt mining colonies and the formation of the Orbital Safety Association, an organization that has survived to this day.

End of the Lineage
Although the Etriphos may have had the best personal security on the planet, it was inevitable that at least one assassin would slip through. After centuries of uninterrupted dictation, the line ended with the murder of Olmera the Wise. Though the Dictators may have maintained peace for several centuries, their time in the limelight was over. Though not much at all changed in the commons, the administration was ablaze with conflicting claims to the throne.