Galaxy Ascendant Lore Post: The Galactic Alliance: The Union of Many for the Greater Good

Time for a new Galaxy Ascendant lore post! Not a ship his time; rather, a faction that has played, and continues to play, a major role in the series. At some point (once time allows, and once I know what exactly I’d want it to look like) I’ll add the Alliance’s emblem to this post.

Also, don’t forget to back the Galaxy Ascendant 3 indiegogo campaign, which is still up and running. Any contribution or sharing of the campaign is extremely helpful and appreciated, especially as I keep making great progress on book 4.

Now, without further delay, the Galactic Alliance!

The Galactic Alliance

Organization Type: Republic
Head of State: Chairman (Currently: Telarius Reios-a’Virakkus)
Legislative Branch: Alliance Assembly
Military Branch: Legion Navy (Current Supreme Commander: Derrin Carron)
Capital: Dorandor
Currency: Galactic Alliance Durrams
Date Established: 550 BTA (Before Tyrannodon Awakening)

An interstellar alliance of 30 inhabited systems, with a total of 79 inhabited member worlds at its height, the Galactic Alliance has, by and large, managed to maintain order and peace over a large portion of the galaxy for hundreds of years, and to this point, has successfully dealt with all threats to its power. Recently, however, internal squabbles have combined with external threats and resulted in the Alliance surviving, but  not without significant losses and damage.

Each system maintains its own independent government, but much is run through and regulated by the centralized Alliance government, the Assembly, located on Dorandor. There is a common currency, and general trade and travel laws are regulated by the Alliance central government. The Alliance’s motto is, “May our bonds of Alliance never falter!”

 

History:

Originally formed as the Sector Systems Alliance, the Galactic Alliance was originally formed as an alliance between the Darvian Empire, and the Colony Coalition, made up of several Tehlman-settled systems. Soon after, as more hyperspace-capable species encountered, they were invited to join, and the name was changed to the Galactic Alliance. Over time, the Alliance’s central government, which was placed, following a vote by members, on the Tehlman world of Dorandor, in the Konvot System, grew more powerful, and the Alliance a tighter one, with most member worlds and systems forgoing maintaining their own fleets in favor of a joint force, the Legion Navy. Additionally, a common currency, the Durram, was established, and the Assembly was given the authority to set laws, within limit, that the Alliance members would have to abide by, and oversaw both the military and the paramilitary group, the Scions of Justice.

While there were occasional conflicts, internal and external, that the Alliance had to weather, it did not face its first major threat for over two hundred years, until the Talvostan Union attempted to conquer it. After a hard-fought and bloody war, the Assembly surprised many by inviting the repulsed Talvostan Union to join, an offer which was accepted, and led to the Talvostans becoming one of the most important member species, to the point where the Alliance’s current chairman is a Talvostan, and they make up a significant portion of the Legion Navy’s personnel.

Since then, the Alliance has enjoyed relative peace, though that has been broken a number of times by small conflicts, usually between members, but none of these have yet to threaten the Alliance as a whole. Additionally, over time, the Alliance has continued to become more centralized, with the Chairman, and to a greater extent the Assembly, assuming more power as things also come to be more dominated by the larger, more powerful Alliance factions.

Recently, however, what began as an economic conflict regarding the export of rare and valuable felinite led to the expulsion of the Khadohs Kingdom of Felinar from the Alliance, and this was followed by the secession of the Snevan Dominance, who had long been their close allies. Tensions were further heightened after the massive terror attack now known as the Selban Massacre killed thousands on Felinar, after which accusations were leveled by the Felinaris at the Alliance for not properly condemning and acting against the perpetrators. However, up until the sudden and unexpected invasion of the Tyrannodon Armada, open conflict had been avoided.

Organization:

While it was originally nothing more than a military, and then trade Alliance, over time, the Galactic Alliance, despite never changing the name, has become more of a federation, adopting a common currency among all members and the establishment of a centralized army—which all members were heavily encouraged to rely on and contribute to instead of maintaining their own militaries, with varying degrees of success. Additionally, by the present day, the Assembly has the power to legislate Alliance-wide regulations, and punish members that are deemed to be out of line. Additionally, any system wishing to leave the Alliance needs the approval of an Assembly vote—though as demonstrated by the Snevan secession, a system that possessed a large enough military could do so with impunity. Membership also conveys a number of benefits, primarily economic, though there are several known, inhabited worlds and systems that while not members have trade agreements and diplomatic ties with the Alliance.

The Alliance Assembly is made of up representatives from each member system (notably, not from each individual planet), who are appointed by their respective governments—though some systems do hold elections for this position, most do not, resulting in much criticism from those who feel unrepresented.) The vote of each system is equal, irrespective of population size, economic strength, etc. The Assembly, then, votes to appoint a chairman, who oversees Assembly activities functions as the head of state, though does not possess a huge amount of executive power—albeit more so now than at the inception of the position.

The Alliance’s military, the Legion Navy, is directly overseen by the Alliance and, more directly, by the chairman. The chairman can authorize Legion Navy operations on his own, but requires Assembly approval to declare war. The arrangement with the paramilitary order, the Scions of Justice, functions similarly, though the order has far more autonomy, and tends to answer to the chairman rather than the Assembly.

Lastly, the chairman also oversees a small advisory council, made up of himself, the supreme commander of the Legion Navy, the First Scion—the head of the Scions of Justice—and usually one or two handpicked advisors.

Society:

There is little is the way of an “Alliance culture,” as it is almost entirely a political entity, made up of more than a dozen species with their own distinct cultures. However, a strong ethos of Alliance unity—seen in the Alliance’s motto: “May the bonds of our Alliance never falter!”—is pushed, with emphasis on the importance of the central government, especially in education systems that receive Alliance financial assistance. The idea of leaving the Alliance is, to many, unthinkable, and this mindset has certainly played a role in the increased centralized power the Alliance has gained over the many years.

The Alliance also encourages species pluralism, the tolerance of various species and beliefs, and promotes the intermingling of its member species, and many in the Alliance look down on those that keep to themselves and choose not to mix heavily with others. The stated goal of many who push this approach is to foster an inclusive environment, and make the Galactic Alliance a true community of varied species, without separations. Thus far, it has not had as much success as most would have hoped, especially because, as many point out, it is clear for all to see that certain races hold—unofficially, of course—higher positions and more importance within the Alliance than others.

While this has certainly led to some conflicts, the Alliance’s more broad emphasis on personal freedoms—within certain limits—have made it at least broadly popular among most, and a number of civilizations that leaned more authoritarian when they joined have since become more open and free. Official Alliance channels have devoted a notable amount of resources to cultural and creative activities (of numerous species) as well, and in the last century such creative professions have done extremely well, and despite some conflict, most opinion polls show that the vast majority are happy with their lives. Only time will tell what the next phase of the Galactic Alliance’s long history will bring, however, as the arrival of the Tyrannodons has certainly upended a great deal.