The Federation of Allied Species
The Federation of Allied Species is a political union of several hundred sentient races throughout the Milky Way galaxy. Each species represents itself as a single government entity within a larger deliberative body, which sets interstellar laws governing social and economic conduct. According to the foundational documents of the Federation, the Concordance of Sentients, this union exists to unite the galaxy’s intelligent life-forms through a simultaneous recognition of commonality and celebration of diversity, in order to uphold and protect the rights and dignities that are owed to all sentient beings.
The Federation holds true that all intelligent beings are equal, and possess a plethora of freedoms and entitlements that no government under its banner may violate. Members found lacking in this regard are subject to sanctions, and can be removed from the Federation should those fail to incite corrective action. While the Federation no longer holds power over a species that has left its ranks, ex-members are likewise stripped of various privileges they may have enjoyed within the alliance. To expel a race from the Federation requires a near-unanimous vote within the Allied Species senate, and to date, only a handful of peoples have ever been successfully removed. The most recent species to be expelled were the cybertronians, who were forced into exile for wreaking destruction upon the galaxy in the Great War over twenty million years ago. However, diplomatic relations between the New Imperium of Cybertron and the Federation have shown promise, and there is nothing within the Concordance stating that an excommunicated race cannot be welcomed back into the fold…
No-one knows for sure when the Federation of Allied Species was first founded: it has existed for as long as anyone alive today remembers, and its membership has been constantly changing throughout its history. Many civilizations have come and gone. Today, the likes of humans, nebulons, lithonians, a’ovan, and many more cultures enjoy membership. The Federation has the power to keep peace and mediate conflict between its member-species, though its power is lesser and ill-defined when concerning intra-species warfare- except in cases when such conflict threatens the livelihood of other races. Such nebulous policy is what has allowed tragedies such as the Great War and the [REDACTED] to occur, though there is comfort to be taken in that such events are rare occurrences amidst eons of peace and prosperity.
Fellowship
Fellowship is the name given to the artificial planet which serves as the political center of the Federation of Allied Species. The date of its discovery has been lost to time, but what is known is that the planet predates the Federation by several millennia, and that it was not constructed by any of its member species, current or former. The identity of Fellowship’s makers has eluded xenoanthropologists and historians for eons, though it is clear from the technological marvel they left behind that theirs was a civilization advanced beyond our comprehension.
Fellowship is a convenient heartland for the Allied Species because of its modularity: from its control center, one can divide its surface into into an infinite number of custom microclimates. Virtually every aspect of these zones can be individually tailored to the needs of a given species- from geography and soil PH levels to gravitational field strength and atmospheric composition- and their boundaries can be reshaped as needed. Fabrication engines beneath the planet’s crust can create a forested mountain range within a month, then submerge it beneath a sea of methane in the next weekend, before draining the ocean to make way for an arid desert before the year is out. Cloning facilities can also grow wildlife to populate these biomes, using genetic templates provided by their inhabitants. While the Allied Species have learned to use these technologies with precision, no-one can say for certain as to exactly how Fellowship is able to perform these miraculous feats.
Most races in the Allied Species maintain a permanent population on Fellowship, living in great cities within their respective microclimates. Other zones are made to accommodate multiple species to encourage intermingling, with gravity and atmosphere that is at least tolerable for most life-forms. In these cities, one can explore hundreds of unique cultures from across the Milky Way galaxy- especially through popular art and cuisine. In the north pole, the Allied Species Senate convenes within a massive enclosed complex built atop the planet’s control center. The control center is off-limits to most, and is manned by a small number of AI that have been inserted into the network controlling Fellowship’s systems. These AI are responsible for overseeing the planet’s microclimates and overall functionality, though there are many more systems that they are unable to access. Fellowship’s builders surely had grand ambitions for the world, and one can only hope that its current tenants are making them proud, wherever they are.
Sometimes I feel like writing out these codex-style pieces as opposed to short stories. Narratives are hard, yo. It’s a lot easier to just put down a few paragraphs of information- especially when it’s all fictitious information you get to make up entirely in your head. Hopefully I can do a half-decent job at both, eh? Whatever comments or criticisms you may have, feel free to share 'em.