Star Fleet Universe The Star Fleet Universe is the setting of games released by Amarillo Design Bureau and formerly , Task Force Games . It is drawn in part from the ship designs and other source material from the " Star Fleet Technical Manual " . It is the setting of " Star Fleet Battles " , ' , " Star Fleet Battle Force " , ' and " Federation Commander " . This interpretation of " Star Trek " also became the setting for Interplay computer games developed by Taldren , such as " " . The Galaxy of the Star Fleet Universe . The galactic political situation draws upon the map – though necessarily embellishing it – provided in Franz Joseph ' s " Star Fleet Technical Manual " . In contrast to Joseph ' s map , the Star Fleet Universe ' s " Alpha Octant " also depicts the size and position of the Tholian and Gorn Empire s ; the " Technical Manual " only shows the incidental locations where the crew encountered the species in the episodes wherein they made their respective appearances ( viz . , and ) . Governments . Gorn Confederation . The Gorn Confederation in the Starfleet Universe is a union of three sentient races from neighboring star systems ( Ghdar I , Ghdar II , and Ghdar III ) . The three races are genetically almost identical despite coming from different planets , suggesting a common ancestor . The typical Gorn stands seven feet tall and weighs over four hundred pounds . They are very intelligent and courageous . Like the Federation they prefer to resolve disputes peacefully , but they nevertheless have a long history of conflict with the Romulans . The Gorn occupy an expanse of territory coreward of the Romulans , on the Federation ' s eastern border . In the Starfleet Universe the misunderstanding over Cestus III was quickly resolved , and further communication eventually led to an alliance with the Federation , the only alliance between major powers that is based on mutual trust and friendship rather than political benefits . Kzinti Hegemony . The Kzinti Hegemony is a monarchy ruled by the Patriarch . Their territory is subdivided in four distinct principalities each ruled by high ranking nobles and having one other stellar government next to their border . The Duke rules over the territory next to the Klingon Empire , the Marquis next to the Federation , a count at the Lyran border and the territory with no hostile government near to by a baron . Together with the crown prince of the Hegemony these nobles form the Pentarchy , the advisory council to the Patriarch . The original sphere of influence was colonized planets only , but the Kzinti did also start to conquer inhabited worlds which natives are not allowed to leave the planet . The Kzinti fought one civil war in Y116 and later allied with the Federation just before the General War , which was started by hostilities between the Kzinti and Lyrans . Orion Pirates . The Orion Pirates are the Star Fleet Universe ' s foremost criminal organization , heavily involved in piracy and smuggling throughout most known areas of the galaxy . Due to their historical origins they are collectively given the label " Orion , " but members of almost any known starfaring race can be found in Orion crews . Tholian Holdfast . In the Star Fleet Universe , Tholians are not native to this galaxy , but the remnant of a race that once ruled a galaxy - wide empire until one of their subject races , the Seltorians , developed the technology to break Tholian webs and used it to overthrow and wipe out their masters . The few Tholians who survived the purge are those who fled to other galaxies , and one such group arrived in the Milky Way in Y79 after a roughly 200 - year journey . They settled in a region near the galactic barrier south of Federation space that had been claimed but never settled by the Klingons , and made it their new home . Their " home planet " of Tholia is actually a small Dyson sphere that once served as a provincial capital . In a remarkable feat of engineering , they managed to bring it with them when they fled from the other galaxy . As refugees , the Tholians of this galaxy lack much of the scientific and technical expertise they once possessed . They have some automated equipment that they can operate , but no specialists who could explain how and why it works or teach others about it . They have machines that make copies of devices ( like their web generators ) that they don ' t understand and could never redesign , electronic systems they can build but can ' t repair , and weapons they can understand and repair , but don ' t have the ability to build . The Tholians ' only concern is survival ; they have little or no interest in galactic politics and would be quite happy if everyone else left them alone . Circumstances have not allowed them that luxury , however . The Klingons stubbornly maintain their claim on Tholian territory , and keep a strong squadron of ships at the Tholian border which they regularly use to provoke incidents ( the Klingons see this as good combat training ) . This has led the Tholians to forge closer ties with the Federation out of necessity , though they continue to declare themselves officially neutral . The only exception has been when they briefly sided with the Alliance during the General War – as a co - belligerent rather than a formal ally – after the Klingons launched " Operation Nutcracker , " the code name for an attempted reconquest of Tholian territory . The Tholians permitted a small squadron of Kzinti and Gorn ships into their territory to help repel the assault , but even then they asked the Federation to stay out ; they did not want their most powerful neighbor learning too much about them . Hydran Kingdom . In the Star Fleet Universe , the Hydran Kingdom sits on the far side of Klingon territory from the Federation . They border the Klingons and Lyrans , and have fought several wars with both races . The closest thing the Hydrans have to allies are the Kzinti , but the two races are only able to assist each other in a limited fashion since they do not share a border . Interstellar Concordium . In the Star Fleet Universe , the Interstellar Concordium ( ISC ) is a union of several sentient races , similar to the Federation , beyond the Gorn and Romulan empires . " Please note that the following text , while based on the representation of the Interstellar Concordium in the SFU , is not in itself to be considered canon , the official descriptions of the history , technology and various societies of the ISC are available in the C2 module for Star Fleet Battles as well as other sources from ADB . This article is an unofficial representation of the ISC and is intended as a reference point for those unfamiliar with the Interstellar Concordium . " History . General War . the General War was an 18 - year conflict waged between various empires , with the Coalition of the Klingon Empire , the Lyran Star Empire and eventually the Romulan Star Empire at war with the Alliance of initially the Kzinti Hegemony ( Mirak Star League in Starfleet Command ) and the Hydran Kingdoms , eventually including the United Federation of Planets , the Gorn Confederation and the Tholian Holdfast ( the Tholians are not represented in Starfleet Command ) . A summary of the General War may be found at Star Fleet Games . Andromedan War . The " Andromedans " launched from their home galaxy to invade the Lesser Magellanic Cloud , their springboard of the invasion of the Milky Way Galaxy . In Y188 , the Andromedans launched their first currently - documented full - scale operations against the Milky Way Galaxy . In the end , the Alpha and Omega Octants , with the help of the Magellanic races , have destroyed the Andromedan invasion . Starships . Starships in the Star Fleet Universe are based on designs used in , and others published in the " Star Fleet Technical Manual " that never made it to television , plus new ships and classes invented later by Amarillo Design Bureau . The basic hierarchy of ship classes found throughout the Star Fleet Universe strongly resembles that used by early 20th century navies following the 1921 . All major races have some form of each of the following ship types in their fleets : Many additional specialized variants are also built on those basic hulls , including scout ships , escorts , minesweepers , squadron command ships ( command cruisers , destroyer leaders , and frigate leaders ) , and carriers , to name just a few . There are also various auxiliaries and internal defense ships , such as freighters , tugs , and police gunboats . Some races have even built dedicated battleships which are even larger and more powerful than dreadnoughts . However , these ships are very rare and when built , often considered too costly to operate . During the General War , as fleet losses mounted and the cost of replacing ships grew increasingly steeper , the races involved looked for ways to economize production . The result was a series of new ship designs that attempted to pack the firepower of larger ship classes onto smaller hulls by sacrificing peacetime capabilities . The new classes that appeared as a result of these experiments included heavy battle cruisers , war cruisers , and war destroyers , among others . Notes about ship designs of individual races . Romulan : Romulan ships underwent the most radical changes of any race in the Star Fleet Universe . The first generation of Romulan starships used the design seen in ; these were originally built as impulse - only ships ( which could only use their warp drives in a non - combat capacity ) , though most surviving examples were later refitted with combat - capable warp drive following the acquisition of warp technology from the Klingons . ( The Romulans failed to develop " tactical warp " on their own due to internal power struggles and the occasional Federation or Gorn covert action . ) The second generation consisted of the ships purchased from the Klingons following the Treaty of Smarba , refitted to use Romulan weaponry . The third generation was the Romulans ' own new designs , their first attempts at building warp - capable ships from scratch . Tholian : In the Star Fleet Universe , the Tholians are refugees from another galaxy . Their surviving shipyard in this galaxy is only capable of producing the basic , seen in . Larger Tholian vessels are made by joining two or three Patrol Cruisers together into one big ship . A squadron of more advanced Tholian ships ( known to other races as the Neo - Tholians ) later joined the Tholians in this galaxy . The Tholians can repair and maintain the Neo - Tholian ships , but are unable to replicate the designs . Orion : In addition to a standard set of weapons , Orion ships are built with option mounts where the captain may install additional weapons of his choice , usually whatever is available through his cartel . The Orions are able to use most known weapons technologies , with the exception of Andromedan and Tholian devices . Since the Orions are primarily pirates and commerce raiders , they have very few ships larger than a light cruiser ; the few heavy cruisers owned by the cartels are mostly used for territorial enforcement against other pirates or the occasional elimination of a starship that is in the way of their business interests . Additionally , Orion ships have stealth capabilities designed into their hulls , and can temporarily double their warp engines ' output at the cost of damage to the engine . Weapons . Weapons in the Star Fleet Universe are a mixture of those seen in TOS and new ones invented for the game . Direct fire weapons . Direct Fire Weapons are weapons for which the time between firing and impact is virtually nonexistent . In the game " Star Fleet Battles " , these weapons ' effects are resolved at the moment of firing . Direct fire weapons may hit or miss their intended target ; the chances of hitting and the damage done are affected by several factors , including the distance to the target and the amount of power used to charge the weapon . Seeking weapons . Seeking weapons travel at tactical warp speeds comparable to those used by ships in combat ( in the Star Fleet Universe , this is approximately between warp 1 and warp 3 . 2 ) . So a seeking weapon fired from a long distance takes several seconds to reach its target . Unlike direct fire weapons , seeking weapons cannot miss ; once locked on to a target they will chase it down until they either make impact or exhaust their range .