State of the Galaxy
317 AG - One year after the fall
One year ago, the Flurnum Imperium collapsed. The phage crisis infected millions and killed more than a million before a cure was found; many are dying still. Now the galaxy rebuilds - some under new flags, others under corporate banners, and some in the lawless spaces between.
Major Factions
The Flurnum Imperium
Capital:New Thespera (The Vast)
Leadership:Elven Coalition (seized control during the fracture)
Territory:Core Imperium space, retreated from frontier
Military:Consolidated remnants of the Imperium fleet (all fleets except the Third Fleet, heavily depleted by plasmoid attacks and the currency collapse)
Status:The Elven Coalition seized the Imperium name and retreated to core space. Claims continuity with the old Imperium.
Public Perception:Order through strength, but elven supremacy showing through
The Free Peoples (Voren's Concord)
Capital:Concord Station (home of the Starstone)
Leadership:President Drel Voren, once a High Commissar of the Imperium
Territory:Concord Station + Flurmaloxy
Military:Third Fleet (arrived heavily damaged from plasmoid attacks during the fracture, since rebuilt)
Status:Independent military power with significant legitimacy
Public Perception:Favorable - Voren helped distribute the phage cure across the galaxy. That good will bought legitimacy. Uses privateers to hunt shapeshifter remnants.
The Independent Systems
Leadership:Various: local governments, planetary councils, elected officials
Territory:Scattered across all regions, from former Pact Worlds to Near Space and The Vast. Many maintain informal ties through The Concord as a neutral meeting point.
Status:Worlds that declared independence during the fracture. Some were already semi-autonomous; others broke away when the currency collapsed and the Imperium abandoned the frontier. The Veskarium remains a stable neutral power. Former Pact Worlds members and frontier systems chart their own course.
Public Perception:The dream of free worlds lives on. Many hearken back to the old Pact Worlds alliances: cooperation without domination. But independence is expensive, and not all systems can afford it.
Corporate Hegemony
Leadership:No central authority: competing megacorporations
Territory:Various megacorps expanding into former Imperium frontier. Corporate security now patrols stations where Stewards once stood. AbadarCorp's banks and megamalls appear in every outpost. EJ Corp runs labor contracts on conquered mining worlds like Vohxa.
Status:Filling the vacuum left by the Imperium's retreat and the currency collapse. Corporations had gold reserves, trade networks, and infrastructure that governments lost overnight. EJ Corp (Elysian-Jaimisson Corporation) leads the charge, an Elven Coalition contractor running 'rebuilding' operations that keep workers poor and desperate. Other major players include AbadarCorp (faith-based commerce empire whose golden key appears on every station), Zeizerer Munitions (corrupt weapons dynasty on Apostae controlling the gateway to the planet's interior), Arabani Arms (drow gravity weapons manufacturers and Zeizerer's bitter rivals), Zo! Media (undead entertainment empire broadcasting from Eox), and Frozen Trove (unscrupulous Triaxian biotech firm with secret illegal testing labs). Corp recruiters also screen applicants for MES (Metadimensional Extroversion Syndrome), the clinical term for psychic potential; confirmed talents are courted, monitored, or both.
Public Perception:They provide stability and jobs, but at a price. When the Flurnum currency collapsed, corporations were the only ones with resources to keep systems running. Some see them as saviors; others see new masters wearing different uniforms.
Veridia
Leadership:President Starweaver and the Veridia Council (Zyra Nywessi, Vito as Concord liaison)
Status:Fully independent, no longer hiding, expanded settlements
Public Perception:Where the resistance made its stand. Home of legends.
Trellis
Leadership:President Hugh Mann
Status:Independent, hardline anti-Imperium
Public Perception:Armed populace, won't negotiate with anyone claiming "Imperium." The resistance fleets that stood at Trellis are still remembered.
Broken Rock
Territory:Diaspora asteroid belt (the wreck of the Rock of Bral, which broke with the Imperium and fell; Prince Andru disappeared in the fall)
Status:Held by the Free Captains; the Pirate Council's Oath is enforced patchily below the top levels
Public Perception:Dangerous, lawless, competing pirate factions. Broken Rock is what people call the wreck now.
Allied Factions
The Barbarus Fleet
Leadership:Admiral Loken Barbarus
Strength:15 ships, 300+ crew, operating across contested space
Military:15 combat-capable vessels with centuries of tactical experience
Status:Allied with the resistance. Feared pirate fleet with a reputation for tactical brilliance and an honor code: military and corporate targets only, no civilian casualties. Archive note (public record vs. truth): the fleet is publicly led by Admiral Loken Barbarus, but Concord and Veridia records known to The Dicks hold the truth. Loken's mind was erased in an Urgathoa consciousness-transfer ritual, and the centuries-old consciousness 'Morty' now occupies his body, the same mind behind 47 generations of the family's 'perfect succession.'
Public Perception:Pirates, yes - but reliable ones. Their alliance with The Dicks gave the resistance real teeth. The "Barbarus dynasty" is legendary for producing brilliant admirals generation after generation.
The Unbound
Leadership:No formal hierarchy - decisions by consensus (Vex, Ripple, Mold)
Strength:Veridia-based community with scattered off-world cells
Status:Shapeshifter anarchists who voluntarily gave up shapeshifting on Veridia as a gesture of trust. Off-world members retain their abilities. Oppose all authoritarian systems - Imperium, Collective, or otherwise.
Public Perception:The shapeshifters who chose to fight alongside the resistance instead of infiltrating it. Their voluntary sacrifice earned them a place in Veridia's community.
The Shapeshifter Situation
Plasmoid bio-scanners are now standard security. You'll see them at spaceport checkpoints, corporate lobbies, government buildings, and even some private establishments. It's not paranoia - it's just how things are now.
What Everyone Knows
- - Shapeshifters infiltrated the old Imperium for years
- - Their leader (Carlito) is dead
- - The Concord and others are hunting the remnants
- - Bio-scanners can detect them
Security Reality
- - Plasmoid bio-scanners at major checkpoints
- - Some establishments do random scans
- - It's normalized, not panicked
The Legends: The Dicks
The Dicks. A crew of chaotic mercenaries who became heroes. They started by killing each other over a sandwich. They ended by saving the galaxy.
Hugh Mann
President of Trellis
The face of armed resistance
Steven
On Veridia
Working on Thri-kreen memory preservation
Dakka
On Flurmaloxy
Reviving his tribe
Dimitri
Around Veridia
Runs a sandwich shop on Veridia
Dante
Veskarium
Military command with the Vesk forces
Trustworthy Allies
The New Crew: Where Things Stand
Five of Vito's people, a stolen red prototype, a laundered pirate ship, and a growing list of people who want both back. This is how the galaxy looks from their hold, as of the end of Volume 3.
The whole story so far is in the Campaign 2 Recap.
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