High Nenomause Commonwealth.	High Nenomause Commonwealth.		High Nenomause Commonwealth.
The High Nenomause Commonwealth or simply the "The Commonwealth" was a democratic federation of 1,022,347 planets, drifts, space stations, various orbital habitats, and entire solar systems. This is a significant number because there are only about 11,000,370 systems in known space that are able to support any kind of life, with most of those uninhabited or supporting only lower forms of life. The Flag Of The Commonwealth A Vedran. High Nenomause Commonwealth Space Defense Fleet. The Commonwealth was born out of the Vedran Empire. The Vedrans, a quadruped race originating from planet Tarn-Vedra which is their homeworld and the capital of their empire, were the first known race to discover the Slipstream, the way the Commonwealth traveled faster-than-light. They built their empire by traveling to the different star systems and conquering the inhabited and colonizing the uninhabited worlds. However, the empire soon became too big and bloated to sustain itself and protect its conquered territories. The Vedrans came to a compromise with the alien species that they had relations with or conquered, and the Commonwealth was created. The Commonwealth was formed as a democratic federation of planets, drifts (space stations or orbital habitats), and systems. Depending on where you look, the Commonwealth (and its preceding Empire) was spread across Three Galaxies ("Tri-Galaxies") or Six Galaxies. The first Commonwealth lasted for about 5,500 standard years, starting with a time of political reform and ending with a violent civil war between Commonwealth member species and subsequent invasion by the terrifying Magog. History Origins Vedran Empire Not long after discovering the Slipstream and building slip capable ships, the Vedrans set out on an aggressive imperial expansion which began under General Huascar nax Yoweri and his mate Yoweri I who became the first empress, and founded an empire which included nearly a million worlds. The Vedran government was an absolutist hereditary monarchy, with the Empress as the head of state and government. As the Vedrans continued expanding throughout the Verdan Galaxy. They eventually encountered the Kalderans, who managed to somehow capture Vedran Slipstream technology and reverse-engineered it for their own use; It was not long before the Kalderan Alliance formed to offset Vedran incursions into their system. This was one of few active attempts at resisting Vedran imperialism and eventually escalated into a brutal war between the Kalderans and Vedrans for control of the territories. The conflict ended with the Vedran bombardment of the Kalderan capital, Kalderash, and the forced integration of the Kalderan Alliance into the Vedran Empire. Despite four thousand years of successful conquest, the monolithic Vedran Empire could not last. The Vedrans themselves had become a minority within their own Empire, relative to the numbers of other races which included the Kalderans, Makra, and Perseids, amongst others. Eventually, even their militry, the High Guard- Previously the exclusive preserve of the Vedrans themselves- Became too small to maintain control of the many planets within Vedran borders; the Vedrans were forced to allow non-Vedrans into their ranks. However, dissatisfaction with Vedran domination continued among the Empire's non-Vedran citizens. This culminated in the Perseid Insurrection, which was a failed but very significant attempt at secession by the Empire's Perseid worlds. The High Guard crushed the uprising violently and thus preserved the Empress' authority, but at the same time a series of events and reforms were set in motion that would eventually undermine absolute imperial authority and set the stage for democracy. Empire to Commonwealth The popular reaction to the devastation of the Perseid Insurrection forced the Vedrans to appease their subjects lest they face a more widespread revolution. Years later, a movement led by a Vedran spiritual guide named Sucharitkul voted to give more power to the people and less to the throne. Elections were held in CY 4205 for the Conclave, the first parliament for the Empire. Over the following decades, the Conclave would exceed its intended purpose as a powerless facade and pass reforms and legislation. This initiative soon evolved into republicanism, and factions formed calling for the abolishment of the Imperial Throne and establishment of a Systems Republic. The Empress and her loyalists protested and only a compromise brokered by Sani nax Rifati prevented a civil war - the Vedran Empire became the Systems Commonwealth, and instead of being an absolute hereditary monarchy, it became a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system, with the Empress as a ceremonial head of state to symbolize the bond of Vedran monarchy to popular democracy. Systems Commonwealth The All-Systems University Soon after the Empire morphed into the Commonwealth, the All-Systems University was born to collect and preserve knowledge from the Known Worlds. One of its most prominent components was the Special Collections Division, which would grow into the main field research and preservation division. Even this federation of professors and librarians, however, would grow its own ambitions and split into factions in the future. After the Fall, these Collectors would go into hiding and operate clandestinely to gather and preserve knowledge from before the Long Night. Some remained true to the original ideals of the ASU- To preserve knowledge for the sake of it. Others deviated and used the knowledge to gain power in the chaos and manipulated the knowledge for personal gain. Genetic engineering quickly became all the rage throughout Vedran society, allowing many the ability to breathe underwater (Castalians), live on heavy-gravity worlds (the "Heavy-Worlders"), see in almost total darkness (Inari), or even all of the above. Paul MUSEVENI encouraged his human followers at Ayn Rand Station, orbiting the planet Fountainhead, to lead a life of constant physical, mental, and emotional betterment, using the philosophies of the Ancients as a guide. His son, Drago MUSEVENI, became the first true Nietzschean, and thus was called the Progenitor. Drago became the leader of this first colony of Nietzscheans and by the time of his death, he was revered as nearly a god among his people. He split his followers into multiple different clans, which would later evolve into the Nietzschean Prides. Though they lived primarily as warriors, the Nietzscheans were, like their human cousins, major contributors to every aspect of Commonwealth government, militry, and society. Illusions of Peace The Commonwealth celebrated an era that came to be known as the "Twelve Centuries of Peace" in which it continued to grow and prosper, even though peace with the rival Pyrian Empire (the Pyrians lived on hot inner Venus-like planets) always seemed uneasy and tentative at best. By CY9760, a pacifist movement managed to call a referendum for disbandment of the High Guard. Though the referendum was in favor of High Guard, it is by a very slim margin and thus the pacifists vowed to revisit the issue. Only 6 years after the referendum, a brutal and vicious species mercilessly attacked Brandenburg-Tor, a frontier colony. Few of the 3 billion inhabitants managed to live to tell the tale of the bloody attack. For 15 more years, this new enemy, called the Magog, attacked numerous other settlement worlds, and numerous battles were fought between High Guard and Magog. The ANDROMEDA ASCENDANT, under command of Perseid Captain PERIM, was sent on a highly classified secret mission to locate the source of the Magog invasion. What the ANDROMEDA ASCENDANT found was beyond belief. A structure of 20 hollow worlds joined together, manipulated and powered by an Artificial Sun at its center: The Magog World Ship, with huge armadas of Swarm Ships, in another galaxy filled with dust and Black Holes, working its way toward the Known Worlds while sending advance fleets to clear the area for the World Ship. The ANDROMEDA ASCENDANT was overwhelmed by Swarm Ships, her entire crew slaughtered. She managed to escape into Slipstream, but since AIs cannot navigate it on their own, she wandered the tangled webs alone, lost, and blind. By the time she emerged in the Triangulum Galaxy, she was halfway to having gone crazy from loneliness, and almost attacked a Than ship. When she limped back to the nearest Commonwealth outpost, the Vedrans got the information and report from the mission and erased her memory of the mission, and commissioned her back into service with no recollection of the suicidal mission into the heart of the Magog, this time under the command of a non-Venrdan from Tarn-Vedra, Dylan H'YNT. The Treaty of Antares The Treaty of Antares ended the war between the Magog and the Commonwealth, establishing a border between the invaders and the Commonwealth, with the Magog keeping control over sectors that were already devastated by their initial attacks known as the Quarantine Zone. Since many Nietzschean frontier worlds were attacked, the Nietzscheans, among others, launched vigorous protests and called for complete extermination of the Magog. Several Nietzschean worlds threatened to leave the Commonwealth but remained because of increased security assurance from High Guard command. The Fall of the Systems Commonwealth Conspiracy The Treaty of Antares still resting uneasily in Nietzschean minds, several of the Prides, under the leadership of the Drago-Kazov, conspired to replace the Commonwealth, which they perceive as weak, with a Nietzschean Empire. Though most Nietzscheans still remained loyal to the Commonwealth, the worlds that did support the Dragans began spending sprees and retrofitted passenger liners into fighters and cruisers, and this Nietzschean Alliance amassed a huge fleet. Surprise Attack The Insurrection essentially began at the Nietzschean-populated Hephaistos System, where a convenient rogue Black Hole provided the Nietzschean Alliance with a trap to lure High Guard ships into the system to be ambushed and destroyed by waiting ships. One-by-one, the Nietzscheans managed to pick off High Guard starships until they got the attention of the ANDROMEDA ASCENDANT and Dylan H'YNT. The ANDROMEDA ASCENDANT'S Captain realized it was a trap too late, and by the time the shock set in, the ANDROMEDA ASCENDANT was too far from a Slip-point to be able to escape the system alive. H'YNT ordered his crew to abandon ship and, with his then pilot, the insectoid hermaphrodite Refractions of Dawn, sent the ship directly into the singularity, hoping for a slingshot effect to thrust the ship toward the nearest Slip-point. The Nietzscheans followed the grand prize into the Black Hole but also went for the escape pods, but many of the crew managed to escape and warn the High Guard. Because of sabotage by the Nietzschean XO, Gaheris RHADE, the ANDROMEDA ASCENDANT was unable to pull back and slingshot away and was frozen in time, teetering at the edge of the event horizon. Meanwhile, throughout the rest of the Known Worlds, sleeper cells attacked once word reached them that the ANDROMEDA ASCENDANT'S crew warned the Commonwealth. Half the High Guard fleet was blown to bits in the shipyards and the dockyards. Nietzschean Success Though the loyalists had more numbers than the insurrectionists, the High Guard had not fought an organized war or sustained combat in more than twelve centuries, and so it was easy for the Alliance to deal mortal blows to the Commonwealth. In the first year alone major failures were dealt in the battle for San-Ska-Re, the Than homeworld, Many planets were bombarded and the Empress was killed in a Nietzschean attack. In the second year - CY 9785 - the Nietzschean Alliance seized the vital Acheron Delta system, preventing a High Guard offensive. Tarn-Vedra During the second year of the Insurrection/Civil War, Commonwealth morale was damaged even further with the disappearance of the Vedrans and Tarn-Vedra. The High Guard and remnants of the Commonwealth were left behind to fend for themselves as Nietzschean successes continued. The Battle of Witchhead The Battle of Witchhead, at the Witchhead Nebula, was the final and climactic battle in the Civil War. 100 High Guard ships were supposed to gather there to launch an attack on Fountainhead, the Nietzschean homeworld, hoping to plunge rebel morale. However, 500 Nietzschean ships were also at Witchhead, and instead of the High Guard remnant coordinating a strike on Fountainhead, the two fleets battled bitterly until they destroyed each other. This battle shattered the Nietzschean Alliance as Jaguar Pride and its allies betrayed the weakened Drago-Kazov Pride and no Nietzschean Empire ever materialized. The Angel of Death According to Nietzschean historical records, the Nietzscheans arrived at the Nebula with 1500 ships: A guaranteed victory. However, at the critical hour, "the Angel of Death summoned forth the fires of hell" and destroyed the Nietzschean fleet, "their glorious victory turned to ashes". When the High Guard arrived, the 500 survivor ships were off-balance and confused. The Angel of Death was in fact the ANDROMEDA ASCENDANT, which Slipstreamed back in time just before the battle to set history right again and with an Anti-Proton (AP) Fusion Catalyst, sent the nebula into flames, incinerating ⅔ of the fleet. The Long Night After millennia of prosperity, the Commonwealth had fallen in ashes. Instead of a Nietzschean Empire, chaos reigned. Months after the Battle of Witchhead, the Magog invaded once again, this time in much greater numbers, and wiped away the last remaining struts of the Commonwealth. The Long Night had begun. The Restored Systems Commonwealth 303 years after the Fall, Dylan H'YNT and a ragtag team of misfits began to restore peace and order, or try to. Once the threat from the Magog became known, a unified front became even more urgent. By the second year of their mission, they had successfully ratified a new Systems Commonwealth with at least 50 member worlds and a new High Guard. Problems within the New Commonwealth The Commonwealth lasted for millennia because of the Vedrans and the leadership and militry prowess that they provided: They were the backbone of the Commonwealth. The Restored Commonwealth immediately faced several problems after its formation. It was a scattered confederation of disparate more often than not rival planets, systems, and political entities. Opportunism was everywhere. The New Commonwealth had to deal with internal disputes as well as factions within itself that were dedicated for their own advancement, such as the Collectors, who were vying for control and power. All these factors lead to the Second Commonwealth Civil War. Second Commonwealth Civil War The Second Commonwealth Civil War was a series of events orchestrated by the Spirit of the Abyss. It made deals with a faction of the Collectors organization eventually subverted the New Systems Commonwealth government. This faction was slowly decimated as the Commonwealth Civil War continued. Nietzschean Secession Once again, 3 years after the reformation of the Systems Commonwealth, the Nietzscheans betrayed the Commonwealth. This time, Tyr ANASAZI, a member of Captain Dylan H'YNT'S own crew, had been forming plans to take control of the Nietzschean people and reunite them. He spent years sabotaging the ANDROMEDA ASCENDANT'S systems, so that at a crucial moment the ANDROMEDA ASCENDANT could be kept out of commission, therefore posing no danger to his plans. He had his DNA replaced with that of his sons, who is the Nietzschean Messiah- The genetic reincarnation of Drago MUSEVENI. He used his new found Messianic power, and assumed control of the Nietzscheans. All of the Commonwealth's enemies also had joined together and destroyed both the Drago-Kazov and the High Guard fleet that fought against them and refused to retreat. The Secession took a heavy toll on the Restored Commonwealth: At least one entire system destroyed; The Perseid planet Xinti was occupied; And many of the new High Guard's prized vessels were also destroyed. And once again, a power vacuum brought to light the true powers behind the Commonwealth. Later, it is also discovered that the Nietzscheans were working with the Spirit of the Abyss. The Battle of Arkology The ANDROMEDA ASCENDANT fought against the Magog World Ship in a final attempt to save the galaxies from the encroaching Magog fleet. The entire crew, and the ship, were believed to have been destroyed even though they had journeyed through the Route of Ages to prevent their destruction and to survive the battle. Battle of Tarazed Shortly after the Andromeda arrived back in the Known Worlds, the Nietzscheans began their attack on the Commonwealth capital, Tarazed. The Triumverate, with the help of Telemachus RHADE who returned to lead their Home Guard, came to the realization that there is no where left to run to and that fighting is their only option. Battle of The Worldship Though the Worldship had survived all previous battles against every force that had been thrown at it, it is unlikely it survived the destruction of the Abyss (its leader), plus the bombardment by Commonwealth forces of nova bombs and high velocity kinetic missiles. The Nietzschean Fleet which was also being used by the Abyss was likely broken up after its death, if RHADE'S survival is any indication of the condition of the fleet. After the Worldship was vanquished by Commonwealth forces and the Vedrans returned to the Known Worlds, species who were nonaligned, loose allies, or neutral rushed to join the Systems Commonwealth. Conclusions The Systems Commonwealth provided peace and stability, but it was not perfect. However, the Restored Systems Commonwealth seems to be a regressive, twisted form of the Commonwealth: the direct antithesis of what the Commonwealth should be like. The Commonwealth cannot function if it is extremely corrupt, as is evident in the civil war of the Restored Commonwealth. Government Political Systems The political system of the Commonwealth was a classic parliamentry democracy. The Empress remained as head of state, though with little real power. In lieu of one Premier or Chancellor, the Systems Commonwealth had three heads of government: The Triumvirs, to prevent one person from taking too much power and keep things fair and balanced. The Conclave parliament was tricameral: The Voice of the Sectors represented Sectors (or groups of star systems); The Voice of the Planets represented each member world individually; And a directly-popularly-elected Voice of the People. With the end of the centralized Vedran Empire and introduction of a democratic Commonwealth, there also came political flexibility and thus decentralization. Essentially, the Commonwealth turned from a firm union into a federation of different sectorial governments. Triumvirate A triumvirate (from Latin, "of three men") is a political regime dominated by three powerful individuals, each a triumvir (pl. triumviri). The arrangement can be formal or informal, and though the three are usually equal on paper, in reality this is rarely the case. The term can also be used to describe a state with three different militry leaders who all claim to be the sole leader. Contact With And Annexation By The UGC The Resurrected Commonwealth was severely on the decline when the UGC first contacted it; Infighting and a massively renewed Magog offensive had splintered the Commonwealth, and it in fact only existed in name; Though the member-systems and member-species paid lip service to loyalty, they were really off doing whatever the Hell they wanted- Even waging war on one another. In a pointed example of this, one particular system waged war on another simply to weaken their defense forces, making them an enticing target to the Magog- Billions of sentients died with the arrival of the World Ships. Getting the Commonwealth systems on-board the UGC bandwagon was easy enough; Two destroyed Magog World Ships and a three-day mop-up operation to ensure any survivors were massacred without mercy or pity convinced all but the most recalcitrant systems to abandon the Empress and the Triumvirate and join the UGC. AS worlds switched loyalties, the Empress and the Triumvirate eventually followed suit, bringing with them the rest of the Commonwealth. For those few systems that still held out, the UGC had a special punishment; All UGC systems were to cease and desist aid and trade with those systems. At first this was not a problem for those systems, but when Magog ship appeared in-system in several of them, the tunes changed. Capitulation was the order of the day, though nothing on the order of the abusive conditions dictated upon the Atorian Empire of so long ago. With their economies falling and the terror of a major Magog attack real and imminent, the holdouts would have done anything- And did. They even agreed to be placed in Trusteeship- Meaning a UGC-Appointed governor, not a locally elected one, would rule over the system. A lot about this period isn't what the UGC would try to claim as a "high point"; The Magog operations were particularly brutal and inhumane, especially the Patrol, as they'd simply fire to disable Magog Swarm Ships, then leave the crews to die in their disabled ships despite having the capability of killing the Magog humanely by destroying the ships and pods outright (but it WORKED, and nobody complained). The REF accepted defectors- Defectors who were committing high treason in some cases (such as Bar Dish HOENIKIOR'S OROLOS). Now the worlds of the Commonwealth generally survive by exporting raw materials abroad and trading foodstuffs internally, with much assistance for the REF for defense- The one thing the Magog actually fear is the Clariont Flag, and any system where even ONE ship is seen flying the Clariont Battle Ensign (aka the Bloody Clariont) is avoided like a plague. (They won't even take on a Patrol ship, knowing she will evade, regroup, call for reinforcements, and counterattack, and may even make a suicide run at the core of the World Ship strictly for the purpose of disabling her long enough for an SDF to arrive and destroy her, like ORLOS did.) This is slowly resulting in the Magog dying off, though they seem to be moving on to "greener pastures." Time will tell what threat they continue to pose, but the REF is actively hunting them down and killing them by dispatching full Battlefleets, usually flagged by a BREETIA TULL-Class for the additional firepower. Indeed, it was during the political-militry campaign that was intended to convince the Commonwealth worlds to switch sides that the only to date sortie of the DIMENSIONAL FORTRESS-Class occurred, with DM-003 meeting the World Ship and finishing her once and for all (the worlds of the world ship were in fact blown to pieces, which were then blasted to smaller pieces, and so on until there was NOTHING left but a debris field making the system still unsafe to travel through). High Nenomause Commonwealth Contributions. The High Nenomause Commonwealth have contributes some to the overall UGC; Of peculiar interest is the small but very interesting contribution of putting holes in cash; The Kobolese did this with their coinage (they used flexible plastic bills and metal coinage), which the UGC adopted due to the fact that it did help keep them handy.
Slipstream Technology Holes In Cash (discussed above)		ALLIANCE-Class Corvette ANDROMEDA-Class Medium Cruiser
Slipstream:
Slipstream, also known as Streaming, "Riding the rails," and FTL, was the only known way of traveling faster than light in the Vedran Galaxy. It was for many centuries the sole means of faster than light, and every race in the Veedran Galaxy depended upon it for their economies and way of life in every social and political aspect. It was originally discovered approximately 10,000 years before the current era by Vedran scientist Rochinda. The technology that made it possible to utilize the slipstream was invented during the same period and the first Vedran Empress was crowned a mere 112 years later as the Vedrans began to spread throughout the Known Worlds. Even now it's the most common form of FTL in the Vedran Galaxy and has some interest abroad.