The Union

The Union is a sovereign state located in the Vanaad galaxy, made up of three distinct species: The Asathai, the Dwerin, and the Krath. It was created 40 years ago after the three races had developed close ties to one another through decades of trade, alliance, and fighting through a major war. It is a prosperous, free, and mostly democratic state, with an unusual system of government in which each race chooses their own leader however they want. The Dwerin and Asathai are democratic, but the Krath are a monarchy.

Within the Union, each race does its part to help the others, and each race has a niche. When working together, their strengths compliment eachother. The Krath serve as the Union's military and police force, the Dwerin its engineers, and the Asathai its scientists and diplomats. Of course, this is not a caste system. Any race is free to do what they want, outside of their specialties. It is very common for Asathai and Dwerin to serve in the military, for instance.

History
87 years ago, while charting an unknown system, the aging ASV Eternal discovered the Dwerin city ship Dwardrukar. The ship was broadcasting a distress signal; they were running low on supplies and needed help. The Asathai, now a peaceful race, answered their call for help and sent several supply ships to aid them. Due to a strange anomaly, the Dwardrukar had been flung several light years from the rest of the Dwerin fleet. The Dwerin had no means of FTL, and travelled between star systems at near the speed of light. The Dwardrukar would never be able to catch up with its fleet. The Asathai, though, had FTL, and offered it to them with no strings attached. The Dwerin happily accepted, and with the help of Asathai engineers fitted the drive to their ship. The Asathai began to search the stars for the Dwerin fleet. Eventually they located it, and sent the Dwardrukar the coordinates. The Dwerin on board were re-united with their fleet and thanked the Asathai for their help. The two species became trading partners, with the Asathai giving the Dwerin more FTL drives in exchange for advanced Dwerin craftsmanship. This alliance was the beginning of the Union.

The peace did not last, and soon the Dwerin's old enemy, the Erythn, found them again while they were conducting a trade with Asathai cargo ships. The Erythn attacked both species, destroying several of the Asathai vessels while one escaped. The Dwerin fleet was decimated by the surprise attack, but their military arm repelled the Erythn for the time being. 76 years ago, the Interstellar War began.

The Asathai and Dwerin fought valiantly against the Erythn, but they were outmatched in both technology and numbers. They were losing the war, and quickly. The Erythn, citing their reason for the conflict as the Asathai and Dwerin "violating" the universe with their "filth", began to glass Asathai colony worlds with orbital plasma bombardment. Desperate for a safe haven, Asathai ships searched the stars for somewhere safe to hide from the Erythn's wrath. They didn't find anywhere, but they did find their salvation. A race called the Krath. They had found the Krath colony of Ordelan, a backwater place with only 300,000 residents. The Asathai attempted to engage in diplomatic relations with the warlike Krath, but they were not making much progress. The Erythn had followed them there, though, and attacked the Asathai ships in orbit of the colony. They also attacked the Krath ships they had been dealing with, destroying the Krath and Asathai fleets. The Asathai never the less had fought bravely against the Erythn to protect the colony, despite not knowing much about the Krath and their current relationship being icy.

This earned the Krath's respect, and it also earned the Erthyn their anger. The Krath had a massive military, both in space and on the ground, and entered into an alliance with the Dwerin and Asathai to put a stop to the Erythn's aggression. With renewed strength and vigor, the proto-Union attacked the Erythn in their own territory, burning their worlds in retaliation for the burning of their own. Some say the three races went too far in their retribution, but many say it was deserved. The Dwerin and Krath, who had initially had tense relations towards eachother, soon grew to respect one another.

However, the war was still in favor of the Erythn. To turn the tide, a joint operation by all three races to capture an Erythn cruiser was drawn up. The plan was succesfull, and Asathai scientists succesfully reverse engineered some of the Erythn's technology. This turned the tide in the favor of the alliance, and they crushed the Erythn.

The war ended when the alliance found the Erythn homeworld of Etyyr and with all of their military might smashed through its defenses. A decision now had to be made. Conquer the planet, or bombard it into nothing? The decision that was made was perhaps the wrong one, and one that would scar the Union's history for a long time and haunt those involved (and not involved). The allied fleet took position in orbit and commenced bombardment, the final act of vengeance after ten long years of war. 66 years ago, the races of the Union committed near-total genocide. The Erythn homeworld burned, and all on its surface died in nuclear fire. It is believed that some Erythn are still alive somewhere in the universe, biding their time until they can return and end the Union.

Since the end of the war the races kept close ties to one another, trading and defending eachother from threats. Their relationship culminated 40 years ago, 26 years after the end of the First Interstellar War, with the founding of the Union. Three races under one shared government, working together, living together, and fighting together for the greater good of all of their species. The Asathai served as the diplomats and scientists, the Krath as the soldiers and law enforcement, and the Dwerin as the engineers, craftsman and merchants (and of course miners).

Beyond a few upset separatists, the Union prospered and entered into an age of peace. Most of the colonies of the Krath and Asathai (the Dwerin had no planets) had been destroyed, and they were reduced to just a few. They had been slow to expand before the formation of the Union, but inspired by the success of the Union they expanded again, this time making joint colonies. The Dwerin had planets to live on for the first time in hundreds of years.

The Union today is on the eve of a scientific breakthrough that will change their alliance forever.