Krask Hegemony

The Krask Hegemony, the first state to openly declare independence from the chaotically destabilizing Falacian Dominion, is the primary nation of the Krask Diaspora in the Silky Way. Initially conquered and driven off their homeworld of Tekarani by the expanding Dominion in 326 BC, they successfully reclaimed self-determination after the chaos of several rapid-fire regime changes gave them a window in which they could reestablish themselves as an independent state, barely raising a claw. 
The Krask generally adhere to a philosophy known as the Great Law of Peace, which binds one to never raise a weapon unless in the last defense of one's life, and always support the causes of the downtrodden. This philosophy echoes through the frameworks of their government, constitution, and relations with foreign powers.
== History ==
=== Scattered to the Winds ===
In 326 BC, the Krask homeworld of Tekarani was bombarded and the old Krask Confederation was conquered by the Falacian Dominion. So began a long era of homelessness for the species, with the population scattering across the local galaxy in the Krask Diaspora. In this time the Great Law of Peace set forth centuries earlier by Keuramaske the Peacemaker was clung to more tightly than ever before as it became the last remnant of the Krask culture after the loss of their homeworld. Some members of the species made it as far as Kegasis in the diasporic migration.
The Dominion allowed many of the Krask to settle in the Telkron Expanse, a region which they had little use for, in an effort to remove them from Falacian-dominated holdings. Even as they were slowly forced off of other Falacian planets and seemingly herded into this region, those who remaind in Falacian territory were still treated as second-class citizens by the Dominion.
=== Breaking the Chains ===
The Krask Special Territory, as it was known to the Falacian government, weathered several violent regime changes before the Tyran War, which reduced the rest of the Dominion to a chaotic house of cards, ready to collapse at the drop of a pin. During the war, the Krask refused to send members of their species to fight in the name of the Falacian Dominion, although many crossed the border and enlisted in the fleet of the Verdan Federation to adhere to the Great Law of Peace's imperative to protect the downtrodden. This service would be remembered by the Federation, and their support was secretly promised to the Krask independence movement after the war.
They successfully separated from the Falacian Dominion in 43 AC without their former overlords even putting up a fight, being too busy arguing over which of the Great Houses would take the place of House Kor'ann on the Ruby Throne at Darossa. After this clean break, the newly independent Krask species organized themselves into the Krask Hegemony, declaring a new government based upon Keuramaske's edicts, in an effort to preserve the ancient Krask culture.
The new nation was first recognized by the Enolian Coalition, a relatively distant state, damaged by its independence movement from the Tyran Empire, that was incapable of actually doing anything useful for the Hegemony or conducting trade with them on their own. But the first consequential recognition came from the Verdan Federation. This set off the beginning of the end of friendly relations between it and the Falacian Dominion, which would culminate in the latter's departure from the Yazera Pact and the beginning of the Falacian Cold War. 
Today, the Krask Hegemony is slowly taming its hostile, desolate region of space. They are terraforming harsh planets at the extremes of temperature, and building habitats out of sparse asteroids already mined by the Dominion in its time. 
== Astrography ==
The Krask Hegemony resides in a desolate region of space outside the Verda Stellar Neighborhood known as the Telkron Expanse, with few habitable worlds and even fewer massive stars to exploit. The Falacian Dominion's treatment of their conquered territories certainly didn't help matters, with the Krask being forced off of Tekarani and scattered through the Dominion. Many of them only found a home on the hostile, heavily exploited worlds of the Expanse, where they slowly began to rebuild their society. 
The Narsekil System, where the capital of the Hegemony is located, is actually among the most hostile places in the Ervo Sector. An Asymptotic Giant Branch star, Narsekil commonly emits flares that scour the system. The terraforming of the hothouse planet Vadren, site of the Krask Council, is only possible due to the Verdan Federation's donation of powerful shield generators. But it is still the best terraforming prospect in Krask territory, as other systems like Zavar generally have generally have system-wide hindrances that preclude the prospect (Zavar in particular has no planets beyond Moa's insolation levels). This notably low potential of Hegemony territory has prevented the normally inevitable Falacian reprisal against them, also preventing the inhabitants from needing to break their pacifist culture.
=== Star Systems and Major Planets ===
*Narsekil System
*Aliga System
**Ekla/Idria
**Aldos
*Zavar System
*Melos System
**Melos/Welia
=== Neighboring Powers ===
The Krask Hegemony is directly bordered by two nations: their former oppressors in the Falacian Dominion, and their moralistic, staunch supporters, the Verdan Federation. Also nearby is the mysterious, shadowy Verteron Consortium, which seemingly never interacts with the outside world beyond unconfirmed stories of forced interventions in battles, throwing ships multiple light years away from the battlefield with seemingly no force. 
=== Capital ===
Vadren, the capital of the Hegemony, is an extremely harsh world like all others in the purview of the Krask. Vadren is currently being terraformed, shielded from the harsh, burning rays of Narsekil by a triplet of Verdan Federation shield generators and shadow satellites stationed at its parent planet Enalis' L1 point. As the planetary surface is experiencing enormous climactic upheaval during the terraforming process, the actual population and the Krask government reside on an impressive array of orbiting space stations. 
Vadren orbits the gas dwarf Enalis, its impressive ring system sometimes offering shade against Narsekil's punishing rays. Enalis' orbit is filled with all manner of small mobile habitats, often filled with groups of Krask returning to their people from the diaspora. Today, the system is the greatest concentration of the Krask species in the galaxy, as they begin to return to the new safe haven for them. 
=== Major Worlds ===
 	 	 	
 	Vadren 	Isumal 	Termella
 	 	 	
Location 	Narsekil System/Enalis	Narsekil System	Zavar System
 	 	 	
 	 	 	
Population 	7.8 trillion 	1.1 trillion 	1.6 trillion
 	 	 	
 	 	 	
Unique Attributes:	 	 	
== Government ==
The leadership of the Krask state consists of a council of elders, selected from among the most learned members of the population of each major colony group. Each vote must be unanimous, and members of the council are expected to use their veto power with the utmost care. If they simply vetoed everything, they are liable to be removed by a (again, unanimous) vote of the rest of the council.
As this council cannot be expected to govern every decision made by the government, one of the duties of the Grand Council is to create subcommittees which can manage more specific aspects of nation-running under their purview. For example, the Vadren Committee was created in 64 AC for the specific purpose of managing the terraforming of the new Krask homeworld. Not all of these committees are this narrow-focused, but none are as broad as the Grand Council itself.
=== Foreign Relations ===
Another duty of the Grand Council is to select the diplomatic envoy corps to the other nations of the Ervo Sector. The Krask Hegemony, as a rule, has cordial relations with most of its neighbors. The Verdan Federation operates an embassy within Krask territory, as does the Tyran Free State, Enolian Coalition, Talarian Union, and Voyorras. The Hegemony itself operates embassies in these nations as well. Diplomatic overtures were made to the Thelsan Assembly, but that nation's inherently calcified governmental structure means that nothing is likely to happen anytime soon. A starship was also sent towards the neighboring Verteron Consortium in 101 AC, but they returned less than a month later with holes in the computer logs and a set of miscellaneous rock samples as if they were sent on a survey mission. 
Originating as they did from a secession movement from the Falacian Dominion, the Krask Hegemony's relationship with that nation can be best described as "chilly". While no outright conflicts have occurred since their failed attempt at reconquest in 76 and the Great Law of Peace disallows the direct declaration of war on the part of the Krask, they are certainly not friendly towards what they see as an upstart breakaway attempt that will eventually be brought back into the fold.
== Culture and Society ==
The Krask species were noted upon first contact by the Verdan Federation to be, as a rule, peaceful and deeply committed to their moral code. This philosophy was codified by Keuramaske the Peacemaker in 781 BC at the founding of the original Krask Confederation into the Great Law of Peace, which laid out the principles of pacifism and the Balance of the Stars. The Balance of the Stars is the idea that if any one group were to amass too much power, they must be counterbalanced or possibly face collapse. The current conservative regime in the Hegemony interprets this to mean that they must remain neutral in all conflicts that are not directly instigated against them, but in the past and by much of the modern population it is interpreted as moral imperative to support the causes of the downtrodden. 
After the Falacian Dominion's conquest of the Confederation in 326 BC and the beginning of the diaspora, the Krask adhered to the Great Law stronger than ever, seeing it as one of the last remnants of their culture. Even after the Hegemony separated from the Dominion, they still held tight to it in honor of their ancestors, and today it is held sacred by Krask society. 
== Military ==
Despite the strong philosophy of pacifism and the Great Law of Peace, the Krask state has built up an extensive, disciplined military that can be fielded to defend the nation. The Krask Space Command is the primary defensive organization that helped to protect the Hegemony, and they hold their military soldiers and materials to the highest of standards. Even though the Krask have fewer ships compared to the Falacian Dominion and Verdan Federation, the Space Command's strength and discipline prevents any open invasion of Krask space. Their officers are trained for years, with an extensive course of combat simulations if anyone were to threaten them, making the Krask Defense Fleet a fearsome foe to attack. 
Unlike other national fleets like those of the Falacians or the Federation, the Krask Space Command does not emphasize raiding, expansion, or scientific exploration. Rather, they focus on protecting the borders of the Hegemony, and they generally have little interest in expanding. The best officers in the Krask Space Command are assigned to the White Crest, an elite squadron of vessels created as a last line of defense in the event of total war. 
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