GURPS: TREK - THE UNAUTHORIZED SOURCEBOOK SECOND EDITION - SECOND PRINTING --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- SECTION ONE E - GENERAL - PART FIVE - HISTORY - PART TWO --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- This section, another totally new one, was contributed by Chris Beiting . Other than some small editorial changes it is completely his work. I would like to thank him here for this contribution to this sourcebook. Any comments about this section should be sent to: tmp_harkins@dirac.physics.jmu.edu "Mr. B." GURPS: Trek - Section One E - General - Part Five - Culture - Part Two is Copyright (c) May 1996. See GURPS: Trek - Section One B - General - Part Two - Overview for more info. --------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents ----------------- Klingon Empire Cardassian Union Tholian Assembly Gamma Quadrant - The Dominion Delta Quadrant - The Borg Collective The Barriers The Andromeda Galaxy =============================================================== KLINGON EMPIRE -------------- The Klingon Empire is located "east" of the Federation, in the Beta Quadrant. It is "north" of the Romulan Star Empire, and occupies an area roughly a third of the size of the Federation. There was once a Neutral Zone between the Klingon Empire and the Federation established by the Organians; it was abolished by the Khitomer Accords in 2293. The Klingon Empire is centered on the world of Qo'noS, frequently referred to merely as the "Klingon Homeworld". It was founded some fifteen hundred years ago by Kahless the Unforgettable, who vanquished the tyrant emperor Molor and seized the empire himself, uniting all the Klingon peoples. The Empire then began a program of conquest and expansion that continues to this day. The Klingon Empire is governed by the Klingon High Council, which meets in the Great Hall of the First City of Qo'noS. The High Council is composed of some two dozen individuals from prominent families, lead by a Council Leader. The Council Leader serves for life, and is chosen according to a Rite of Succession presided over by an Arbiter of Succession. The Arbiter verifies that the previous Council Leader is dead, and selects challengers from among members of the High Council. The challengers then fight to the death; the victor becomes High Council leader. Despite the title, the Klingon Empire is not truly an empire, as there has not been a successor to Kahless in centuries. The Empire maintains a military called the Klingon Defense Force. It is separate from Starfleet, but often operates in concert with it. The Klingon Empire used to maintain colonies as a source of resources and labor - particularly for those tasks that were "beneath the dignity of a warrior". These colonies were better off than Romulan ones, but not by much. Klingon treatment of their colonies changed somewhat as a result of the Organian Treaty, which awarded colonies to whichever power developed them better. As a matter of necessity, the Empire gradually learned methods of wiser management to compete effectively with the Federation in the Organian Neutral Zone, and the recent union with the Federation has accentuated these trends. First contact between the Federation and Klingon Empire took place in 2218, and resulted in nearly a century of hostilities. Both powers were at the brink of open war in 2267, when an advanced alien race imposed the Organian Peace Treaty. This ended the threat of open war, although a cold war continued for some time. The Empire allied with the Romulans against the Federation in 2268, gaining cloaking technology in the process, although this alliance did not last long. The Federation/ Klingon cold war ended in 2293 when the moon Qo'noS's moon Praxis exploded, leaving the Klingon Empire facing an ecological catastrophe if it did not accept aid from the more technologically-advanced Federation. Federation bravery and sacrifice at the Norenda III incident in 2344 won the grudging respect of the Klingon people, and paved the way for a greater union. Proof of this was the selection of a non-Klingon Arbiter of Succession in 2367. A brief civil war in 2368 between the followers of Gowron and those of Duras resulted in Gowron's firmer grasp on the Council Leadership. Two recent events have shaken Klingon society. The first was the messianic return of Kahless the Unforgettable in 2369. This was proven to be a fraud perpetrated by the clerics of Boreth; they had created a clone from cells of Kahless and taught it to behave like Kahless. Nevertheless, this "Living Kahless" won great support and popularity among the Klingon people, and Council Leader Gowron was forced into awarding him the position of ceremonial Emperor, making the Klingon Empire truly an empire for the first time in centuries. Possibly at the instigation of the "Living Kahless", the Klingon Empire went to war with the Cardassian Union in 2372 on the pretext of Changeling infiltration. The Empire seized and is currently holding on to several Cardassian colonies. The Khitomer Accords between the Federation and the Empire have broken down, and a new era of cold war has begun. Klingons are warriors by nature and habit, and as such are not great merchants. Nevertheless, they do engage in trade; their unit of currency is the kellikam. Socially, technologically, and economically, they are behind both the Federation and the Romulans. --------------------------------------------------------------- CARDASSIAN UNION ---------------- The Cardassian Union is less than a quarter the size of the Federation, and is located to the "west". The Cardassians were once a peaceful, spiritual people, but Cardassia was and is resource-poor, and starving citizens put the military into power. It began a program of conquest which continues to this day, and enjoys great popular support, since it brings in food, technology, and wealth. Cardassia is a straightforward military dictatorship. It is governed by the Nine Military Orders. The Ninth, or "Obsidian Order", provides intelligence and espionage services. The Cardassian Union began a brutal but low-level conflict with the Federation in 2350. An uneasy truce was reached in 2366, and was more firmly established in 2367. In 2732 a civilian government was put in power; time will tell if it will outlast the recent Klingon/Cardassian hostilities. Cardassians behave like Klingons without honor and nobility, like Romulans without subtly and finesse. They freely use rape, torture, and mind control as instruments of policy. Most actions, even trade, cover war by other means. They lost a great deal when they lost Bajor and the Terek Nor space station, given the subsequent importance of the stable wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant, and there are not a few Cardassians who have been scheming to get all that back... --------------------------------------------------------------- THOLIAN ASSEMBLY ---------------- The Tholian Assembly is located "north" of the Klingon Empire, on the "northeast" border with the Federation. The Tholians are some sort of crystalline beings with a hive mind who live under conditions of extreme heat and pressure. Their ships are capable of spinning a kind of force field web that can cocoon a starship and then disable it. Tholians are hostile, territorial, and punctual to a fault. They have shown no interest in maintaining good relations with the Federation, and, though territorial and xenophobic, are nonetheless somewhat expansionistic. Their technology, though unknown, seems slightly inferior to that of the Federation, and they would be no match for the Federation in an all-out war. However, the Federation has never been willing or able to launch such a war, and so border raids and sneak attacks by the Tholians remain common. Given the current (2272) bad situation between the Federation and the Klingon Empire, the Tholians may become a force to be reckoned with in the near future. Tholians sometimes engage in trade, when it suits them. They produce a silk that is _highly_ valued in the Federation. --------------------------------------------------------------- THE GAMMA QUADRANT - THE DOMINION --------------------------------- There are a number of political entities in the Gamma Quadrant, but the one which poses the greatest threat to the Federation is the Dominion. It is composed of a number of species, the most important of which are the warrior race of Jem'Hadar. The Jem'Hadar are dominated by beings which they call the Founders, who surreptitiously guide them and have them dependent on a substance which only the Founders can provide. Few, if any, Jem'Hadar have ever seen a Founder. The Founders have proven to be a race of shape-shifters that the Federation calls "Changelings". They have a fanatical hatred of all non-shape- shifting races, whom they call "Solids", and have encouraged their Jem'Hadar minions to attack through the wormhole from the Gamma Quadrant. These attacks have been repulsed for the present, but have provided the occasion for cooperation amongst traditional enemies, such as the Federation and the Romulan Star Empire. More disturbing is the news that Changelings have infiltrated the governments and militaries of several Alpha and Beta Quadrant races, including the Federation. It is unclear just how far this infiltration has gone, and if the recent Klingon/ Cardassian war is any example, it is possible that the whole structure of allegiances could dissolve into paranoia and witch hunts. Of course, the Founders would like nothing better.... --------------------------------------------------------------- THE DELTA QUADRANT - THE BORG COLLECTIVE ---------------------------------------- One of the major political entities of the Delta Quadrant is the Borg Collective. The Borg are a race of cybernetic humanoids linked together to form a mass-mind; any ship maintains subspace links to the mass-mind on the Borg Homeworld. They were first encountered in 2365, and unbeknownst to all had been raiding Romulan outposts for at least a year previously. They returned two years later, and one ship nearly destroyed the Federation after obliterating a large Starfleet armada at the Battle of Wolf 359. The Federation is still recovering from these losses. In 2368 a smaller Borg scoutship was found crashed on the surface of a moon in the Argolis Cluster. The only surviving Borg, dubbed "Hugh", was going to be used as a vector for an invasive program designed to destroy the Borg cybernetic mass- mind. However, it was argued that this would be tantamount to genocide, and Hugh was released with a more deadly weapon in his mind - the concept of individuality. Any Collective forces with which he linked assimilated the concept, and were completely helpless. They were natural prey for rogue Soong- type android Lore, who provided the necessary leadership and formed "Hugh's Borg" into a task force for the invasion of the Federation. Fortunately this invasion was forestalled by the destruction of Lore. Given that the Borg Collective is driven by the need to assimilate other races, it seems virtually certain that they will be in contact with the Federation again. How far the concept of individuality will spread is open to conjecture. One way or another, though, they will no doubt be back, and harder to stop than before... --------------------------------------------------------------- THE BARRIERS ------------ The Milky Way Galaxy is delineated by a pair of energy barriers. The Galactic Barrier is located at the rim of the galaxy. It is an energy field of great magnitude which renders passage by ship extraordinarily difficult. Furthermore, in 2266, it was shown to boost the psionic abilities of certain humanoids to almost godlike levels. Because of this, travel to the Galactic Barrier is interdicted by Starfleet. The Galactic Barrier fortunately serves to keep aliens from other galaxies _out_ as well as us _in_, although not always (see below). The Galactic Barrier at the rim of the galaxy is matched by a Great Barrier at the center of the galaxy, which was thought to be impenetrable, at least until the USS Enterprise crossed it in 2287. It did not seem to boost psionic abilities. --------------------------------------------------------------- THE ANDROMEDA GALAXY -------------------- Very few races have made it across the Galactic Barrier from outside the Milky Way. Even with warp drives, the massive distances discourage intergalactic travel. One such race who made it were the Kelvans, a highly advanced race from the Andromeda Galaxy. In form they were nonhumanoids with a hundred tentacles and no tactile perceptions or emotions, although this was not initially discovered since they were capable of taking human shape. They revealed that their scientists had discovered that increasing levels of radiation from Andromeda's core would render that entire galaxy uninhabitable within ten millennia. The first group of Kelvans were pacified and settled within Federation space, but the next group who arrive might not be as easily dealt with.... Another species from the Andromeda Galaxy were a race of humanoid androids who, because they were immoral, presumably were able to survive such a long trip. They were created by a race of beings known as the Makers, and when the star of the Makers' homeworld went nova some one million years ago, the androids were stranded in their base in the Milky Way. When their Makers never returned, the androids were keen to serve the first intelligent life-form they encountered, which sadly turned out to be the Federation rogue, scoundrel, and criminal Harcourt Fenton Mudd. The androids intended to expand and smother the Federation beneath the iron hand of their "benevolent" service, but were quashed when the illogicality of humans defeated them. Nevertheless, they still exist, and they do possess star travel. _And_ more might arrive from the Andromeda galaxy... ===============================================================