Universal Technocratic Commonwealth

'The Great Beacon Banner'

**"In the face of reaction's horrid spite, the beacon burns forever bright; Never shall we cease to sustain its fire!"**

 *-Excerpt from the UTC peacetime anthem*

The Universal Technocratic Commonwealth (UTC), sometimes referred to as the Xer Commonwealth, is an Interstellar state originating from Jura. The Commonwealth contains around 4 trillion citizens, consisting out of a plethora of species.

The UTC, initially founded as the United Juran Commonwealth, was created by the Xer species as the planetary government of Jura after the chaotic period known as The Age of Misery. During its final stage, The War of Survival, Jura was narrowly saved from complete ecological collapse and the Commonwealth achieved FTL-technology. Following the initial planetary colonization and constitutional reforms overseen by prime-director Klandrax, the Commonwealth was transformed into the interstellar state existing today and renamed to The Universal Technocratic Commonwealth. A period of rapid expansion began following the transformation. Through steady economic, military and especially technological advancement, The Commonwealth managed to become one of the foremost powers of the youthful quadrant. The Commonwealth maintains its sphere of influence through its military-political alliance: The Cretacean Treaty Coalition. The Commonwealth is currently locked into a diplomatic struggle known as The Silent War with The Exalted Audean Dominion, its main rival.

The UTC is a highly technocratic oligarchy operating under the principles of Epochianism, where power resides with the skilled elite who appoint the governing directors. Power is broadly shared between the Directors, who hold supreme legislative and executive authority on the planetary and state level, and the bureaucratic apparatus of the executorial branch, which complements the administration of the directors and manages the lower levels of governance. Whilst the ruling system is undoubtedly paternalistic and fiercely anti-democratic, it does permit a fair amount of civil liberties which it considers advantageous either for the performance of the state or for the general welfare of the population.

Above all, the UTC considers itself the standard-bearer of Epochian principles and many amongst its population and leadership extoll its perceived sacred mission to guard and advance its values of progress against the stagnation of reaction, the chaos of populism and the destruction of shamanism, by any means necessary.

## **History**

**"The odd obsession Xer seem to have with the superiority of the future becomes painfully clear when one learns of the hellish past they dug themselves out of."**

*-Excerpt from 'In the Shade of the Beacon: a Thorough Guide to the Xer Commonwealth' by Hesokur xenologist Hak'mne, 226 AC*

### United Juran Commonwealth

#### **The Aftermath of the war of doctrine**

After Epochians won the war of doctrine it fell to them to rebuild Jura once more. The immediate years following the war were filled with confusion, as the new commonwealth was being built up around the Epochian ideals. Although society eventually recovered and the worst damage was restored, uncertainty continued to plague the fledgeling nation. Erathem resistance remained strong and the slow recovery angered the new regime's more opportunistic initial supporters. Many eventualities could have occurred if society had taken a natural course, but that was not how it would be. 15 years after the end of the war of doctrine, the gravest threat in the history of the Xer was discovered: Jura was dying.

Decades of war, overfarming and rushed industrialisation had caused great harm to Jura's already less-than-robust biosphere. Scientists, in a sombre report, estimated that complete ecological collapse would occur within 100 years, one that they furthermore judged to be irreversible. The new Commonwealth was thus faced with an impossible situation and its leadership recognised that all the strength of the Xer had to be mobilized against the crisis if there was to be even an idea of hope. And thus, in 44 AC, the grand-commissars of the Juran commonwealth declared the initiation of two immense projects: project Valour, aiming to leave Jura and find a new home before the ecological collapse, and project Defiance, which aimed to combat the collapse and if not to prevent it, at least buy more time for Valour to be completed. The commissariat further stated that all other parts of society were to become tertiary to these projects and that all the population could expect was a period of endless, harsh effort. and so the War of Survival began.

#### **The War of Survival**

The initial reaction to the commissariat's proclamation was one of shock, terror and anger. For months riots raged and even when a degree of calm returned, deteriorating living standards and harsh taxation caused discontent to burn ever more violently and support for Erathem restoration grew greatly. In the first decade of the war, it seemed yet another war was on the horizon. But as the threat of extinction grew ever more apparent as droughts reigned, the weather became erratic and more areas became unlivable, the population resigned itself more and more to the War of Survival. The fear of extinction swiftly drowned discontent as outlooks grew ever bleaker. After 30 years, the situation reached its bleakest point, the collapse had visibly started everywhere and although great progress was made with the projects, having the first landings upon other bodies in the Cretacean system and rudimentary climate engineering, it seemed to be too little too late. Soon prospects improved, however, as 10 years later efficient soil preservation and artificial fertilizer were starting to seriously counter-act the decline of usable soil for life while the first major space-station enabled much faster space-research. By the 50th year of the War of Survival, it was estimated that the collapse of Jura had been delayed by 20 years, whilst manned-missions to neighbour-planets were in the works. Though chances were still slim, optimism started to return. By year 80, the collapse had been delayed by another 20 years and the first base on Xisa, Jura's moon, was established. By the 100th year of the age, a new type of sublight engine enabled travel across the stellar system in mere months, enabling the first mining colonies to compensate for Jura's dwindling output, the first space elevator was established shortly after. Advancement in both projects seemingly grew exponentially, and though Jura still deteriorated, with many parts becoming inhospitable wastelands, this deterioration was slowing greatly and it was estimated that a total of 100 extra years had been won. Even as hope flooded back and survival seemed just about plausible again, the greatest salvation to the Xer had come: the invention of the Kolodom-Xuram FTL drive. The KX-drive was successfully tested for the first time in 170 AC when drones sent to the neighbouring star Kitadul returned with a wealth of data that proved their unmolested transfer to the other system. The path to stellar expansion now laid open and a renowned leader ascended to lead the Commonwealth into this new horizon.

### Klandrax and the founding of the UTC

Klandrax was a respected, if highly controversial societal thinker and political scientist. He had previously written several works in which he claimed that interplanetary expansion would occur sooner or later and that the Commonwealth would have to go through great changes if it was to remain when the expansion would begin. He had thought the need for his proposals were still far off when two years before the successful test of the KX-drive he was unexpectedly requested to assume the office of general-commissar. With interstellar travel on the horizon, the leadership of the Commonwealth was unsure how such a significant event should be handled. They concluded that Klandrax was the only major figure who possessed a clear vision of how this expansion was to be carried out. Shortly after the KX-drive was finalized, Klandrax announced his greatest endeavour: The Astral Reforms. The reforms were meant to transform the Commonwealth from a planetary state to an interplanetary one and were to be gradually enacted in parallel with the start of the interstellar expansion.

The Astral reforms were enacted in three phases; the introduction phase, the realignment phase and the metamorphosis phase. The introduction phase focused on establishing the physical and institutional infrastructure needed for interstellar expansion. As part of this stage organisations such as the Commonwealth Navy and The Institute for Interstellar Prospecting where founded and projects such as the construction of the Interstellar Communication Grid were undertaken. By the end of these initial reforms, interstellar exploration had begun in earnest, leading to the charting of several dozen star-systems and the construction of the first outposts outside the Cretacean system. By the time the first habitable world, Cambrion, had been charted and prepared for colonization, the next stage of the Astral reforms began. During the realignment phase the roles of many existing parts of government where redesigned, replaced or scrapped. The state was gradually reformed from being purely focused on the now nearly completed projects of the War of Survival, to having a new broader focus in which general growth and wellbeing could once again be pursued in conjunction with a heavy emphasis on stellar expansion. When the realignment phase was over, Cambrion had become mostly self-sustaining and three more habitable worlds had been discovered, most notably Epochion, described by its prospectors as ‘Jura, but grander, larger and richer’. As these new worlds were beginning colonization, the final stage of the reforms began. In the metamorphosis stage, Klandrax aimed to reshape the Commonwealth’s complete political structure according to his vision of Epochianism. Though the task was enormous and difficult, Klandrax had managed to accumulate enough influence and goodwill in his 41 years as leader to push through the reform. And so, on 207 AC a new constitution was ratified, transforming the Juran Commonwealth into the Universal Technocratic Commonwealth as it is known today. The constitution established the current directorial system, separation of power and the relation between the central government and the individual planets, giving little privilege to Jura.

Shortly after the establishment of the UTC, Klandrax became the first prime-director. His term mainly revolved around consolidating the progress made and further advancing interstellar expansion. The main event of Klandrax’s time as prime-director was when, several years into his term, the first meeting with advanced alien life occurred when explorers of the UTC and the Hesokur Commerce League encountered each other. Though relations were cordial from the start, diplomacy remained difficult as proper translators did not yet exist. In addition, Klandrax had failed to anticipate the existence of alien empires, leaving the Commonwealth without a diplomatic corps, which had to be constructed from scratch. By the end of his term in 227 AC Klandrax was a renowned and respected, but also old and exhausted man. In his final address, symbolically held on Epochion, He stated that the War of Survival was definitively over. The commonwealth had expanded into the stars and Jura was saved. 193 years ago, the Commonwealth was faced with two impossible challenges and it conquered them both. He ended his 57-year reign with these words: ‘And now the age of want and fear is past us, let the new age of golden progress begin!’

### The golden age of progress

#### **Early years**

Whilst the period would become known as the golden age of progress, it was not always as golden as presented, especially in the early years. The years following Klandrax's abdication were initially promising with the discovery of a second alien civilization in 229: the Combined Havolian Republics. Whilst interactions with this new empire weren't as warm as with the Hesokur, relations were still very cordial and notable economic ties were quickly established. Meanwhile, an official alliance was established with the Hesokur Commerce League, establishing richer trade and giving the League's corporations some limited rights to establish themselves in the UTC, which led to the first permanent Xeno inhabitation in the UTC.

Fortunes soured in the following years, however. The first bad fortune was the discovery of a third stellar civilization: The Endurgan Stellar Empire. Unlike the UTC's previous contacts, the Endurgans were openly hostile from the start, showing consistent belligerence and turning a blind eye when raiders launched from their territory harassed foreign traders, in many cases bringing captives home as slaves. The second bad fortune was the Cambrian Crisis, a four-year conflict that erupted on the Commonwealths first colony. The conflict culminated in the death of at least 18 million Xer and saw the first deployment of weapons such as orbital bombardment and battle-droids. These events would severely dent the Commonwealth's initial optimism and some believed the Age of Progress had been cut short.

The situation did improve after the Cambrian crisis as a status quo took shape. The Endurgans continued sabre-rattling throughout the period, though the fact that it had made enemies of all other known states contained their ambitions. Fearing the Endurgans would one day take up arms for real, the UTC, RH and HCL came together on the Hesokur world of Avv Civa to sign a secret treaty in which they promised to come to each other's aid in case of Endurgan aggression, as well as agreeing to a partition of the empire after a hypothetical war.

Another notable event was the discovery and integration of Koltrent, a mountainous world inhabited by the Cynn. The planet had been found in ravaged state during 243 AC, having been embroiled in a global chemical war that made most of the lowlands inhabitable. The Commonwealth proceeded to aid one of the local warlords, Cyvqar Lytalk, to unify the world, both by providing material aid and by cleansing any lands she controlled. By 256 AC the world had been unified and two years later the world started its integration into the Commonwealth.

#### **The Endurgan War**

In 260 AC the most significant event of the age of progress would occur. Endurgan raids into Rozol, Hesokur and Xer territory had grown increasingly bold, culminating in a large scale attack by an active Endurgan admiral against a Rozol mining base, leading to its entire crew being captured and hauled to Endurga. This attack would prove to be the final straw, as Endurga's rivals multilaterally declared it an act of state-sanctioned aggression and demanded the return of the crew, ample reparations and a crackdown on raider activity. When the Endurgans refused, the treaty of Avv Civa was triggered and the UTC, Rozol Hiva and Hesokur Commerce League joined in the war against the empire.

The first two years of the war mainly consisted of skirmishes over orbital stations and mining outposts and later the first large-scale space battles any of the four belligerents had seen. Though early fighting was inconclusive, the combinations of the alliance's numerical superiority and the UTC's technical edge led to the decisive defeat of the Endurgan navy at the battle of the traveller's rift, granting the alliance general naval supremacy for the rest of the conflict.

The task remained to occupy the Endurgan worlds, with responsibilities assigned by the treaty of Avv Civa. The UTC's first target was the world of Arrkar, the invasion of which commenced in mid 262 AC. The invasion would prove to be a costly debacle, taking nearly two years and an excess of 30 million lives. Whilst the UTC's forces still performed slightly better than those of its allies, who had similar difficulties, the performance of Xer soldiers proved abysmal. The apparent unsuitability of Xer for frontline combat roles throughout the invasion spurred on the Arrkar Reform, which phased out the Xer for these roles and substituted them higher numbers of battle-droids and newly included Cynn soldiers, who had displayed the best performance of the entire alliance.

By 268 AC, all colonial worlds of the empire had been occupied and the alliance launched a joint invasion of Endurga itself. Having learned from the botched invasion that preceeded it, the alliance performed far more effectively despite Endurga's denser population and more robust defences in comparison to the colonial worlds. This experience, as well as the shortages that were plaguing the planet, meant that in two years that planet had been subdued by allied forces at a total cost of 50 million military dead, not including battle-droids.

With the war coming to its end, the partition of the Endurgan state was carried out. The UTC gained three worlds: Endurga, Arrkar and Logcur. Stability on these new worlds was initially facilitated by appealing to the now freed slave population in opposition to the previously free populous. This approach meant that support for violent resistance was never to achieve dangerous strength, but also caused the full integration of these worlds to be a time-consuming ordeal. A final significant effect of the war was that the friendship between the Combined Havolian Republics, Hesokur Commerce League and the UTC became permanently cemented. After the war, the three states made the 'Declaration of The Triarchy', cementing the three-state power bloc that remains to this day.

#### **The excellent 80 years of peace**

The end of the Endurgan war would mark the beginning of the excellent 80 years of peace, considered the most secure and prosperous times in the Commonwealth's history. With the absence of any existential threats, development accelerated in nearly all fields. Examples include 2nd generation FTL-communication which allowed the exchange of non-essential information for the first time and mega freighter ships that made interstellar trade far more profitable for raw resources. This particular development laid the groundwork for the Rozol-pipeline and the great industrial concentration on Jura and Epochion. It was also during this time that cybernetic augmentation became prominent, mainly as a way to better cope with hostile environments and as advanced medical applications.

Interstellar exploration also went through significant acceleration after the 'Sapience Array', a large monitoring system that could identify signs of interstellar civilization was constructed. This made the discovery of alien civilizations far less dependent on chance. Most discovered civilizations were still in the early stages of interstellar development and eventually incorporated in the influence-spheres of the Triarchy. among the exceptions to this was the Arhnah Republic, a sizable state to the galactic south of the Triarchy. The republic was dominated by xenophobic sentiments and had rather poor relations with the Triarchy, but at the same time prefered to keep itself in isolation, ensuring no active hostilities occurred. The Republic would, however, quickly be at the forefront of the period's greatest crisis.

In 295 AC, the Arhnah Republic was invaded by the 'Pirak Expanse', an enigmatic state which seemed to operate under a eusocial hivemind. Due to the lack of previous knowledge about the state, the Arhnah were caught completely off-guard when several of their outer worlds were invaded by seemingly overwhelming Pirak fleets and armies. The situation turned grim as the invading Pirak slaughtered any living thing they found and all attempts at communications failed completely. As all frontier worlds fell in quick succession, the Arhnah populous descended into mass panic whilst tens of millions fled the Pirak advance, first to the Republic's core worlds and, when even those were threatened, to the foreign empires they previously despised. During the Arhnah refugee crisis, the greatest share of these refugees fled to the Triarchy, which was considered one of the few areas strong enough and, perhaps more importantly, far enough to be safe from the Pirak. The UTC alone received over 200 million refugees throughout the crisis. The Advance of the Pirak would eventually be halted at great cost during the battle of Nayam in 298 AC, where the Arnah exhaust the Expanse's strength at the cost of one of their core worlds. The war then transitioned into a stalemate lasting over a century, with the republic being forced expend most of it's energy holding the Pirak at bay, being reduced to a rump-state in the process.

The influx of Arhnah into the UTC would bring a problem to the forefront which had been lingering in the background for a considerable time: the status of non-Xer residents. At this point around a tenth of the Commonwealth's population consisted of non-Xer, yet there was no unified legal framework to address the status of these groups. Up until this point, separate foreign species had each been handled by separate rules and accommodations, which, whilst functional enough when these species were geographically and institutionally isolated, proved woefully insufficient for the more dispersed influx of Arhnah refugees, alongside regular immigration between Xer and non-Xer worlds both in and outside of the UTC. For this reason, the Plateau Initiative, designed by contemporary prime-director Frolaxen, which aimed to normalize the state of non-Xer species within the Commonwealth was undertaken. After several years of legal renovation, the initiative was completed in 304 AC, having scrapped any Xer-specific elements of the legal code and streamlining the previously ramshackle mix of specific arrangements. The completion of the Plateau Initiative is generally cited as the point when the UTC became a multispecies state, rather than a Xer state.

The following decades were mostly quiet. The rapidly growing Commonwealth faced little opposition as most new states encountered were rather weak or young. This was until establishing contact with the Celestial Empire of Invith in 327 AC. Whilst the Empire's claim to own the whole of the galaxy, combined with its large size initially caused fears within the UTC, Invith's inward attitude quickly became apparent. The empire was thus largely ignored. A more significant encounter would soon take place, however, as in 333 AC the Exalted Audean Dominion first contacted.

The discovery of the EAD send ripples of dread throughout the UTC: A large, aggressively expansionist state with an ideology which seemed antithetical to the Commonwealth's Epochian system, yet still highly enigmatic. Most of what was learned from the Dominion came from second-hand accounts whilst direct observation was essentially impossible. Initial diplomatic encounters all turned sour without exception, followed by diplomatic radio-silence for nearly two decades. Due to the concern over the steady convergence of EAD and UTC frontiers, it was decided to construct a defensive strongpoint at the border-world of Miocion whilst simultaneously making moves to deepen cooperation with the rest of the Triarchy. This measures would prove invaluable when, in 354 AC, the Dominion Invaded.

#### **The First Clash**

The Audean incursion began at Miocion, which presented the main barrier between the EAD and the rest of the Commonwealth. To seize the world, the Audean army launched a covert operation which aimed to disable key installations on the planet through a simultaneous strike of psionic attack groups, thus leaving the planet open for conventional assault. Such a tactic had proven highly effective in previous wars and seemed to be so once again as the planets defence forces were largely incapacitated and most key facilities were swiftly occupied. The fortune of the attacker turned swiftly, however, as the remanents of the planet's garrison managed to mobilize the stationed mechanical legions, against which psionic attacks proved insufficient. Thus, by the time the main Audean fleet and invasion army arrived, the psionic battlegroups had been eliminated and the planet was brought into full readiness.

Being denied their usual swift victory, the Audean army was forced to commit to a protracted campaign against the planet's garrison, making slow progress in the face of the world's extensive defence networks, unfamiliarity with fighting robotic opponents and the desperate nature of the defenders' resistance. Still, the planet was doomed to fall eventually which prompted the Commonwealth's leadership to organise a relief operation to the backdrop of dreadful panic. After several months of hasty mobilization, the UTC scraped together every warship it could gather and managed to rally the other members of the Triarchy for a shared response.

By the time this relief force reached Miocion, the garrison had been pushed back largely to the planet's hinterlands and buckling under the Dominion's final offensives. In a bid to salvage the planet's defence, the UTC's coalition launched operation Burning Sky, which consisted of a naval assault against the Dominion blockade in conjunction with an attempt to break through reinforcements to save the garrison. Both parts of the operation would prove hard-fought. The naval engagement extended across several days before the Audean fleet reorganized itself and consolidated for a counter-attack, allowing it to revert to it's preferred offensive role. The UTC navy was overwhelmed in early clashes but managed to stand its ground when it reverted to a consolidated formation. The following struggle saw aggressive Audean assaults push against the Commonwealth's wall of fire, leaving the UTC navy battered yet still able to break the Audean blockade and force a stalemate over the planet's space. The ground operation meanwhile managed to land on Miocion despite heavy casualties on their descent. The relief force, spearheaded by the Legion of Koltrent, proceeded launched a lightning campaign to recapture the world's primary space elevator. The battle which followed would be the first and only time the Grand Army of the Commonwealth and the Divine Preservation Army clashed in full force, in which Legion forces managed to barely capture and hold the elevator for reinforcements to arrive and fully secure the Commonwealth's foothold.

These developments greatly unnerved the Audean leadership. Whilst it was believed that the Dominion still had the upper hand in the long term, the Dominion nonetheless offered a ceasefire two weeks after the end of operation Burning sky. The prospect of a protracted conflict had not only appeared too costly to the Audean leadership but was also feared to shatter the image invincibility its previous triumphs had created and threatened its grip on other newly acquired territories, as the auxiliary forces of its client states tasked to garrison them were showing early signs of mutiny. Thus the "enlightened peace" was signed, ending the war as suddenly as it had begun. The clash would mark an end of periods of optimism and supremacy for both empires and the beginning of the Silent War, which would proceed to consume the youthful quadrant for the centuries to come.

### The Age of Tension

#### **Into a New Paradigm**

##### The Coalition for The Enlightenment and Protection of Life

The events of the First Clash marked the biggest turning point for the Commonwealth since its founding, shattering the first period of relative stability and safety the Xer had enjoyed in centuries. The ramifications of the close stalemate achieved at Miocion became even greater in the years following the war, when a large intelligence effort revealed a power disparity between the UTC and EAD which was even starker than previously imagined, with most projections estimating that the Dominion could have overrun the Commonwealth and its allies within a few years if the defence of Miocion had not given it cold feet. It was clear to the UTC's leadership that a decisive course of action was required against the new Shammanist threat, a course which would be rooted in diplomacy and ruthless growth.

In 356 AC, the UTC and the Hesokur Commerce League, as well as their respective minor allies, negotiated for the creation of a broader, more comprehensive alliance: The Coalition for The Enlightenment and Protection of Life, or COTEPL. Whilst containing elements of economic integration, the coalition was presented primarily as a front to oppose Audean expansion. Whilst the alliance initially existed primarily between the Hesokurs and Epochians, several other empires under threat by the EAD quickly lined up for accession, drawn in by the relative fame the First Clash had generated. The Havolians were notably absent at this early stage, however, declaring that joining such an organisation violated its principles of sovereign supremacy of its ruling party, though they remained relatively closely associated with the alliance nonetheless.

As COTEPL solidified, the first diplomatic moves aimed at the EAD started as inroads were made with other broadly materialistic states and the first diplomatic efforts were made towards the Invithian empire, the strongest state in the known galaxy at the time. These efforts generated great frustration with the now recovering Audeans, who were now faced with the prospect of continued invasion driving more empires into the arms of the Coalition, and responded with its own aggressive diplomacy and subterfuge.

##### A Universal Commonwealth

At the same time that the diplomatic situation was heating, the UTC underwent several significant societal shifts. First amongst these was a significant increase in the volume and diversity of immigration; whilst the UTC's open-ended laws towards xenos had long made it a prime destination of prospective migrants, it ballooned to new heights around this time as an unintended consequence of the interstate integration of the Coalition, drawing hundreds of millions of skilled and poor migrants, drawn by the UTC's leading technological and material prosperity respectively.

The second great upheaval was the invention and perfection of synthetic life after the team of doctor Kreemak created the first artificial brains capable of supporting sapient intelligence. After their creation, the Synths, as they had come to be known, were comprehensively tested for the extent and nature of their sapient intelligence through a series of isolated experiments known as the Cambrion trials. Whilst these trails were supposed to last for several decades, they were cut short when one synth being educated in political and societal science named Frolaxen discovered the nature of the experiments of which their life consisted and requested release by their organic observes. This unexpected act of insight earned Frolaxen an audience with the full Directorate in which they managed to convince the directors to accelerate the trails and start the full integration of synthetic life into Epochian society. The following years saw a largely successful integration of Synths into society, proving useful in bolstering the populations of worlds with harsh climates all the while greatly boosting the Commonwealth's prestige.

The final societal shift came as a result of what is, to this day, the grandest single endeavour the commonwealth ever embarked on: The Beacon Project, which oversaw the conversion of Jura and Epochion into fully encased urban worlds. The project was the brainchild of Prime-director Tolodem, who had made a name for herself with a highly publicised study: 'On the Apex of Infrastructure'. In this work, Tolodem had argued that the single most decisive factor in productive efficiency and societal wellbeing was the quality and availability of infrastructure. From this thesis, she extrapolated the idea of an ecumenopolis; a world where every piece of ground was provided with the greatest degree of infrastructure and density as was possible; enabling an unprecedented level of efficiency. Immediately upon reaching the prime-directorship, Tolodem set out to fulfil her vision by formulating the Beacon project, which planned for the conversion of the Jura, Epochion and Cambrion into three ecumenopolises. These worlds would be given the honorifics of Sovereignty, prosperity and progress respectively as a grand monument to Epochian strength.

Initially, the conversion process proceeded well, despite the staggering costs, overseeing the completion of the first ecumenopolis on Jura after 12 years of work. As projected, the industries of Jura saw a considerable boost in productivity whilst the newly artificial climate improved the quality of life for non-Xer inhabitants. It was when plans were made for the second conversion that problems arose; the conversion of Jura alone had cost vast fortunes and drove the UTC into considerable debt. On top of this, the new facilities on Jura were running greatly under their capacity and could already accommodate centuries of growth as things stood. Many argued that any further conversion could only be considered wasteful, but Tolodem ultimately prevailed and oversaw the start of Epochions conversion. During this stage the project was hit with numerous delays and setbacks of all sorts, leaving Tolodem's successor with a task that was driving the Commonwealth towards bankruptcy but could not be halted. Finally, after 27 years of work, Epochion was encased. At this stage, the rest of the project was unceremoniously dropped, leaving the Commonwealth with one less ecumenopolis than it wanted and one more than it needed.

These societal changes shifted the UTC even further away from its original identity of a Xer state and towards an ever more universal entity. Epochian thinkers would come to increasingly embrace this state of affairs, leading to the rise of Epochian omni-culturalism and a growing perception of the UTC as the vanguard of all life. As harmonious as this development seemed to be, it would sow the seeds of the increasing aggression of the Commonwealth in the years to come.

#### **The Struggles for The Fate of Life**

##### Into the Silent War

The diplomatic standoff between the Commonwealth and Dominion, having started as a major but largely conventional conflict, grew steadily in intensity and scope in the decades that followed until it grew into a truly galactic affair at the start of the 5th Audean century. As the influence of both powers stretched ever further in an attempt to check one another, the role of their feud started to become a salient issue even amongst states which traditionally had little to do with either.

The most significant tipping point in the conflict's scale was the Havastian civil war. Havast had been a decently successful, but internally unstable monarchy located relatively far away from the home regions of the Epochians and Audeans. Around the year 408, the kingdom had been involved in a low-intensity civil war between the government and an insurgent group known as the Republican Vanguard. Lacking initial success, the republicans were looking for ways of boosting their support and saw an opportunity in the Far-away UTC-EAD rivalry. Whilst originally having no affiliation with Epochianism, the group's leadership started to adopt an outwardly friendly posture towards Epochian ideology alongside a covert diplomatic mission to the UTC in the hopes of garnering Commonwealth support. These efforts proved successful as the UTC sent liaisons and agents to assess the potential of the movement. In response to this initial success, the Vanguard began a more rigorous rebranding effort; setting up Epochian thought clubs, embracing xenoist principles, heavily propagandizing the natural compatibility of its own ideological principles and finally renaming itself to the Sovereign Vanguard of Progressive Republicans in a somewhat on-the-nose effort to appeal to UTC tastes. Soon enough, Epochian aid started streaming into the movement and helped it to quickly gain the upper hand in the civil war. With little alternative, the King of Havast made similar efforts to appeal to the Audeans, gaining foreign aid of his own in exchange for embracing Audeanism as his state religion. With external aid streaming in on both sides, the war quickly spiralled out of control and nearly provoked a direct war between the UTC and EAD, though the conflict was ultimately avoided after the powers chose to partition Havast, a deal their beneficiaries had little choice but to accept. The events of the civil war was the first, but far from the last case of groups rebranding themselves in order to appeal to the budding superpowers and displayed just how much sway they held over galactic politics by now. It was from this point that the UTC-EAD rivalry, now known as the Silent War, was recognized as a truly existential issue in the whole galaxy.

Whilst such events were ramping up the Silent War externally, the nature of the Epochian sphere was changing drastically. While the UTC had always been the pre-eminent power of the Triarchy-alliance and later the Coalition, it had never been completely dominant. Within the Coalition, its power was initially fairly balanced between itself, the Hesokur Commerce League (who provided most funding for the Coalition), and the minor Coalition member. Power would be further balanced when in 387 AC the Havolians finally entered the alliance Coalition under the pressure of commercial interests and anti-Audean politicians. Each year, the disparity in power was growing, however, with the UTC experiencing spectacular growth due to its increased economic reach and immigration, even more so when the Ecumenopolises came online. The Coalition would come to its own critical moment around 415 around the issue of Synths. Whilst Synths integration had gone smoothly in the UTC, other Coalition members had not gone the same path. Most did not share the Commonwealth's appreciation for synthetic life and instead used them in similar ways as they did their more primitive counterparts. This eventually came to a head when a string of Synth rebellions broke out across the Coalition, leading to a diplomatic crisis as the overwhelming majority of the UTC's population was sympathetic to the Synths. This eventually culminated in the unilateral passage of the General Declaration on The Status of Synthetics by the UTC, an unprecedented move that tested the extent of the Commonwealth's influence. After a tense standoff, it was ultimately the rest of the Coalition that folded, leaving little doubt as to what the new power dynamic within the alliance was. Since this incident, the UTC's authority within the Coalition has rarely been challenged as seriously as in the early days of the alliance.

##### A Slow Burn

The remainder of the fifth century did bring the same kinds of drastic events and transformation as its beginning, consisting more of gradual developments of the status quo and slow burns within society. Amongst these gradual processes was the slow erosion of the Klandraxian consensus which had more or less dominated the UTC since its founding; the overall ideas within Commonwealth leadership shifted to the more hands-off, decentralised approach of autonomism, which became the dominant ideological strain of Epochian thought. At the same time, several groups started to break with Klandraxian orthodoxy more radically, giving rise to new Epochian variations such as federalism and maximism. This had the inevitable effect of increasing the degree of factionalism within the Commonwealth and more heated confrontations within certain institutions.

Another persistent process throughout the century was the growing control exerted by the UTC over its Coalition allies. After the synth crisis had displayed the unilateral power the UTC possessed, the Coalition was put on a continuous course of centralisation around the Commonwealth. The alliance become more integrated and organised as time went on, but mostly to the benefit of the UTC; economic connections fuelled Epochian industries, freedom of movement sparked a perpetual brain drain from minor members to the UTC and better military organisation solidified the Commonwealth's strategic control over its allies. Perhaps the most brazen example of UTC dominance was the foundation of the Coalition fleet, 'The Beacons of The Void'; this fleet was formally an asset of the coalition as a whole, but due to the policy that the position of Coalition admiral was granted to the fleet's biggest contributor, the UTC was all but assured to have de-facto control over it. At the same time, the Coalition began to expand ever more aggressively; economic, political and even military means were frequently used to get neutral states in line. Certain subversive methods were also widely employed where applicable, though Commonwealth agents were never able to compete well with their Audean counterparts.

Beyond the gradual development of the century, there were three significant geopolitical events that have shaped the status quo of the present day: The Cuphite Heresy Crisis, the rise of domestic resistance groups and the Arhnite Expedition.

The Cuphite Heresy Crisis was an Audean religious dispute which escalated over into the realm of geopolitics. In 492 AC, the radical Audon of the Cuphite cult was forced into exile after being declared a heretic and being defeated in their subsequent coup attempt. With no neutral power willing to harbour them out of fear for the EAD's retribution, the Audon instead turned to the UTC in an unexpected turn of events. Seeing an opportunity to fuel division within the EAD and sabotage its research efforts, which the Cuphite cult was responsible for, the Directorate chose to accept the Audon's plea for asylum. This action not only nearly sparked a direct war with the Dominion but was also immensely controversial domestically: Whilst the Audon had praised the UTC on several occasions and held its technological prowess in high regard, this was not nearly enough to overcome the Epochian antipathy towards their 'shamanistic' nature. Even so, the geopolitical benefits were deemed too great and thus the Audon remains in the UTC as a powerful if distrusted asset.

The 5th century saw a rise in the prevalence of domestic insurgency due to two main factors: the first was the rise in the intensity of separatist resistance. The new aggressive style of expansion and assimilation which was being employed by the Commonwealth enflamed many previously dormant or low-intensity separatist opposition. The most noteworthy group in this context being the Endurgan session movement due to its size, age and complexity, along with being recently emboldened by the formation of the "Free Endurgan Reclamation Government" by Endurgan exiles in the EAD. The second factor is the coalescence of ideological resistance against Epochian dominance, most prominently seen in the resurgence of Eratism amongst subversive circles. Most significant has been the emergence of The Democratic Alliance to Restore the Republic, an Erat insurgency formally seeking to restore the institutions of The Erathem Republic.

The Arhnite expedition, meanwhile, has been the main military event since the first clash. The Arhnite Republic had been stuck in its seemingly eternal war with the Pirak hivemind since the late 3rd century, making only glacial gains in the gruelling decades of conflict. It was right when victory seemed to nearly be in Arhnite grasp when the Pirak made a sudden overwhelming counterstrike in 494, undoing over a century of progress in a matter of months. Whilst the coalition had previously been content to let the uncooperative Arhnites fend for themselves, this new turn in the war caused much alarm as the new armies and fleets seemed to have suddenly achieved parity with the major powers in many ways, suggesting that the decades of passivity may have been a deliberate move by the Pirak to prepare a strike such as this. The Coalition thus embarked on its first joint large scale operation as its fleets moved to Arhnite space to destroy the Pirak once and for all, with or without the consent of the Arhnite. The Arhnite would have refused aid and forced a confrontation, were it not for a coup at the last minute by its military authorities, which proceeded to work with the Coalition to finally put an end to the war. The Pirak were ultimately no match for the combined might of the Coalition and were completely eradicated by the end of 497, though the reasons for behind mysterious actions and surge in power largely remain unknown to this day.

##### Another crossroad

Today, at the eve of the 6th century, the UTC stands undisputably as one of the masters of the galaxy. Its technological and industrial prowess unmatched, its worlds beacons of prosperity and home to trillions of living beings, its fleets and armies a breathtaking vangaurd of fire and steel. And yet, not all is well for the Commonwealth: dissatisfaction with the lingering Klandraxian status-quo grows by the year, threats from within prove themselves resilient and allies stand resentful in their powerlessness.

The Audeans are as great a threat as ever, constantly keeping the Epochian sphere at a knife's edge as the Silent War plots ever unwards. Even as the guns remain silent, this war is fought on dozens of worlds, be it over powerless primitive civilizations, neutral states clinging to their independence or former great powers. Even the Invithian Empire, once the unchallanged master of the Youthfull Quardrant, has been reduced to a battleground, one which the UTC intends to win by all its might.

With monumental challenges ahead, the UTC seemingly heads towards another great crossroad of its fate and for many, change seems to be in the air. The ascension of Frolaxen, Icon of the Synths and prominent proponent of Federalist thought, to the position of deputy Prime-Director has fuelled hope for many that a new age of the Commonwealth is on the horizon and look yearningly forward to 506, when Frolaxen is projected to assume to role of Prime-Director. Despite the challenges, optimism still permeates the UTC as a reinvigorated future seems near.

That is, of course, as long as nothing suddenly goes catastrophically wrong.

## **Demographics**

**"The Epochian way is, more than anything, about being patronised by eggheads from every walk of life this galaxy knows."**

*-Satirical Invith program on the UTC, 363 AC*

Over the recent centuries of interstellar development since the founding of the UTC, its demographics have shifted dramatically. With a population growing from around 5 billion to close to 4 trillion and the introduction of dozens of new sapient species. Today, the Xer make up the plurality at about 40% of the total population, followed by synthetics at around 15%, Endurgans at 8% and Hesokurs at 6%. Demographics vary heavily from planet to planet, however. Jura's inhabitants are still 50% Xer, whereas newer worlds generally have them at 20% of the population or lower.

### Prominent species

#### **Synthetics**

Synthetics, advanced robots that have been enabled by sapience, are the second largest group within the UTC and easily one of the most vital. Usage of robots has long been a cornerstone of the Commonwealth economy, but truly sapient robots have not been around for nearly as long. About 140 years ago the first synth was produced by a research team led by the renowned doctor Kreemak as part of the genesis program, one of the great long-term programs of the Cambria-division founded during the reign of Klandrax with the goal of producing new sapient life. Kreemak's team achieved its goal by crafting an artificial brain, now known as a Kreemak-core, which emulated organic neural functions rather than traditional programming, which had failed to produce the desired results. The first generation of Synths would be put through a large scale experiment, known as the Cambrion trials, to ascertain the ability of Synths to function as fully sapient life and the possibility of integration with organic life. The experiment consisted of creating several isolated communities of Synths subjected to various compositions of resources, information and organic interaction. The trials proved that the abilities of Synths were tied to education and acquired learning as it does with organics, though synths were broadly ahead of the curve in learning ability. Interaction with organic life similarly proved fruitful and would provide an incident which brought the trials to an unexpected conclusion. This was when a Synth named Frolaxen, who was used to examine the Synth ability to understand greater abstract concepts such as states and Epochian ideology. They would go on to shock the researchers not just with their excellent grasp of societal and political theory, but for more by the fact that they used this knowledge to correctly assess that they and the other Synths were part of a societal experiment and correctly guessed its nature. Frolaxen became famous overnight due to this insight and the researchers arranged an audience for them with the directorate to display the rational ability of Synths. The now-famous audience of Frolaxen would lead to the directorate declaring the genesis project a complete success and Synths as fully sapient beings, starting the wide-scale integration of Synths into the general population.

The Synths introduced into the population proved a valuable supplement of the more rigid and unintelligent droids which had been used as manual labour up to this point, being able to fill more complex jobs droids struggle with. The ability of the Synths was further supplemented through the discovery of emergent compatibility, a property of Synths where they are able to gradually develop an ability to intuitively control devices and technology they were not specifically designed for when such devices where directly connected to there cognitive cores.

Whilst the overall integration of Synths into the Commonwealth ran smoothly, Synths would cause unexpected diplomatic trouble. The design for the Kreemak-core eventually diffused to the other members of the CTC, who started producing their own Synth models. Most of these states were much less inclined to provide Synths with full rights, however, and mostly treated them no different than their droid predecessors. The resulting bad treatment would lead to several insurrections by Synth workers across the Coalition. The most notable of these occurred in the Hesokur Commerce league, where a large scale guerilla war broke out between Synth partisans of Kann-Voz, who led the so-called Mechanical Autonomy Army. These events outraged the Synths in the UTC, including Frolaxen who made a highly publicized plea to the directorate to grant protection to the Synths in the wider coalition. The directorate would provide their answer with the General Declaration on The Status of Synthetics, which stated that foreign states would have the choice between providing Synths with full rights, transferring their Synths to the UTC or face economic sanctions. After a brief period of diplomatic clashes, the other members of the Coalition relented in exchange for economic compensation.

Today, Synths have become the second-largest species within the UTC and are considered by most to be the most loyal, as most still remember the Commonwealths willingness to grant them the full status of citizenship and the prevalence of bad treatment outside the Commonwealth. Many Synths thus hold the belief that the Commonwealth is the only entity which can guarantee their continued freedom and existence. The Synths have furthermore risen up to many high places in society, as can be seen with its most notable figures; today Frolaxen stands as the deputy-prime-director and is expected to soon take the mantle as the first synthetic prime-director in history. Kann-Voz, who was exiled together with his fighters to the UTC, now leads the Ion-division; the most elite special forces unit within the Commonwealth and is simultaneously the face of the vanguardist factions within the UTC.

#### **Hesokurs**

Amongst the various non-xer species that make up the UTC, the Hesokurs enjoy a certain special status as the first alien life the Commonwealth encountered and also the first to take up permanent residence in the UTC. The first major Heskur migrant communities formed out of the so-called business emigres, who moved to UTC worlds together with megacorporation which sponsored them to work in the newly established special corporate zones. Whilst this was initially meant to be a temporary arrangement, the wide success of these zones and the steady subsequent growth of corporate presence caused more and more Hesokurs to obtain permanent residence. The growth of the hesokur population would speed up further after the Beacon project opened the door to widespread migration, causing many to move to the UTC out of dissatisfaction with the corporate-dominated nature of the Hesokur Commerce League, ironically contrasting with the earlier business emigres.

Today the hesokurs make up the largest migrant species group within the Commonwealth, being mainly concentrated in the two ecumenopolises, especially Epochion. The nature of their migration has also meant they are disproportionally prevalent within the corporate world, though this can also largely be attributed to the fact that most Xer have rather low opinions of corporate employment and do not heavily contest hesokurs in this area.

#### **Endurgans**

When one thinks of endurgans, one most likely thinks of trouble. The endurgans represent the second-most populous and least contented organic population within the Commonwealth. It is easy to see the origins of this discontent in the manner by which they entered the Commonwealth; having originally been an enemy of the UTC during the Endurgan War, where the UTC and its allies destroyed and partitioned the Endurgan National Union and thus separated the endurgan species across state lines. The UTC administration faced strong resistance and dissent against its occupation from the start and chose to exploit the highly stratified and oppressive nature of endurgan society as a means of securing control. To this end, the UTC aggressively appealed to former slaves who had been freed since the occupation to stand with the new regime against their former masters. This move achieved its goal of consolidating the grasp of the Commonwealth on the endurgan population by dividing potential forces of resistance against each other, but is also blamed with laying the foundations of the troubles which still plague the endurgan worlds to this day.

Due to this troubled past, the endurgan population is bitterly divided within three broad camps; the loyalists, the pan-endurgan moderates and the pan-endurgan fundamentalists.

* The loyalists consist of the endurgans which have abandoned the idea of endurgan independence and accept the current status-quo of Commonwealth rule. Whilst these loyalists do make up a substantial minority of the endurgan populace, their effect on the discourse is relatively muted due to the fact that most either choose to leave the endurgan homeworlds or are the descendant of those that have.
* The pan-endurgan moderates are those endurgans which, whilst having abandoned the ways of the old Endurgan Union, still fervently advocate for the reunification and autonomy of the endurgan worlds. Whilst this is the largest group amongst the three, they are also the most internally divided, as there is disagreement about the exact nature of reunification and autonomy; with some wishing for full independence within the CTC whilst others would be content with a semi-autonomous endurgan mandate under the supervision of either the UTC or CTC as a whole.
* The pan-endurgan fundamentalists consist of the endurgans which still adhere to the idea of an endurgan state in the style of the Endurgan National Union, seeking a return of the old stratified society. This camp, though comparatively small, is highly belligerent and rebellious; operating various major resistance movements such as the Endurgan Resurrection Front. Despite the efforts of the UTC, these movements have grown in prominence recently due to the continuously frustrated attempts at reconciliation with more moderate groups as well as the establishment of the "Free Endurgan Reclamation Government" by endurgan exiles in the Audean Dominion.

## **Government and politics**

**"It is an imperative principle of a civilization's success that those traits and skills which enhance one's ability to govern are also those which determines who shall rule"**

*-Excerpt from 'The Eternal State' by Gac Xal-Vo Kurac Klandrax, 172 AC*

### Distribution of power

Power in the commonwealth is distributed between three branches: the directorial, executive and examination branches. The directorial branch is responsible for high-level decisions as well as legislation. The Executive branch is the largest of the branches, responsible for the daily management of the Commonwealth. The executive branch is largely subservient to the directorial branch, though high-level executors do have a say in the drafting of legislation. The examination branch, organized in the "Department of Civic Integrity" is responsible for monitoring the state and detecting corrupt practices.

### Directorial system

The directorial branch of government is by far the most prominent and important of the state. it is a system meant to assign power based on merit and ability, maintain continuity of rule and prevent factionalism from controlling the exercise of power.

In the day to day runnings, directors wield full executive authority over their segment of government. They can thus respond quickly to unexpected occurrences within their field of authority. When passing legislation, a directors power is less absolute, as it requires the approval of both the prime-director and the directors executive council, the collection of high ranking bureaucrats and advisors that are the director's direct subordinates.

The appointment of directors is indirectly handled by their respective commissions, organisations made up of the most prominent individuals of the associated director's field. When the office of deputy-director becomes vacant, the directorate's commission convenes in order to elevate one of their own as the new deputy director, who acts as the foremost advisor and aid of the director. When a director finishes their term or is for whatever reason incapable of exercising their office, their deputy-director is elevated as the new director. Directors serve terms of roughly 20 Audean years, which can be extended in case of crisis. This system is meant to ensure both experienced rule and continuity of rule, as directors generally have decades of experience ruling alongside their predecessor.

#### **Prime-directorate**

The foremost of the directors is the prime-director, who acts as head of state and guiding force of the commonwealth. It is the prime-director's task to ensure consistent and coördinated rule by overseeing the actions of the other, more specialised directors. It is additionally the prime-director's task to provide the government's grand vision and oversee large, fundamental changes, projects and reforms. Examples these include the Astral Reforms of Klandrax, the Plateau initiative of Frolax, the Beacon project of Tolodem and the synthetic integration project of Gelard. The prime-director also has full authority over all matters that are not explicitly assigned to other directors, though this authority is meant to be temporary and must be assigned to a specialised director as soon as is possible.

#### **Other directorates**

* Directorate of the military
* Directorate of diplomatic affairs
* Directorate of interstellar logistics
* Directorate of scientific development
* Directorate of welfare and social services
* Directorate of justice and enforcement
* Directorate of economic affairs
* Directorate of academic affairs

### Department Of Civic Integrity

The Department of Civic Integrity represents the Examination branch of the Commonwealth state and is responsible for searching out corrupt and treasonous practices. The organisation is almost as characteristic for the Epochian system as the directors, if much less visible, and is designated to be the gatekeeper of the efficiency and benevolence of the state as a whole. Each of its agents, the examiners, are assigned to a certain number of state officials, who are monitored by the assigned examiner on a constant basis for irregularities. Each examiner is also allowed some autonomy in investigating officials not assigned to them, including their peers. If examiners manage to detect objectionable activity, they can independently warrant an arrest and trial for suspects, though it is still presided over by a regular judge. In contrast to the general ideals of the Epochian system of civic virtue, the examiners are driven by a lofty system of incentives for their work: whilst their regular salaries are in line with regular civil servants, examiners are granted extensive rewards for successfully prosecuting a case of corruption or treason, becoming greater and greater for higher-profile cases.

This system was originally divided by Taculon, one of Klandrax's closest associates, who adamantly held the belief that only systems of self-interest could be perpetually maintained over time. In order to prevent the new Commonwealth from being eventually overtaken by the power of self-interest in the form of corruption, Taculon and Klandrax invented the Department as a permanent inoculation against corruption by incorporating a simple principle: make the act of destroying corruption always more profitable than the act of partaking in it. It was by this mindset that the incentive structure for the Department was created alongside other measures, such as allowing examiners to keep any bribe offered and receiving the same value once more from the department if they report the bribe and bring the instigator to trial.

Through its pervasive incentive structure, the department is considered to be an incorruptible, if distasteful, cornerstone of the Epochian system. The department itself is praised as one of the keys to the effectiveness of the UTC, tough the examiners are seen in a far less positive light: a collection of selfish cutthroats who maintain the Epochian system through their greed rather than their conviction, a necessary evil tolerated to ensure such people stay out of the more 'pure' realm of the executors and directors. It is often even joked that the department banishes corruption so well because anyone that would have been corrupt is already an examiner.

### **Internal Factions**

The status of political factions inside the UTC is somewhat unusual, as the existence of political parties and similar organization is forbidden. Different factions of political thought still exist, however, generally centred around think-tanks as well as the prestigious Epochian League.

#### **Autonomists**

Autonomism encompasses the stream of Epochian ideology which advocates for a greater role of lower governments and puts less emphasis on paternalism. The primary goal of autonomism is to grant greater responsibility to planetary and sub-planetary administrations. Additionally, autonomists generally support greater economic liberalisation, demonstrated in the significant role played by autonomist think-tanks in the economic reforms of the 430s.

Autonomists are not centred around a singular think-tank. Autonomist thought is instead propagated by more specific think-tanks like the 'Office for Autonomous Economics' and the 'Institute for Interplanetary solutions'. In addition, autonomists currently make up the dominant sub-faction of the Epochian League.

##### **Federalists**

Federalism is a reformist branch of Epochianism which seeks to incorporate a federal structure within the Epochian system. Federalists argue that the fullest potential of the Epochian system can only be unlocked when problems of every level are handled by experts of said levels with the fullest possible autonomy. The UTC's current balance leaves those who handle planetary and especially local issues with inadequate room to act and should, therefore, be radically revised according to the federalists. The general consensus among this faction is that planetary commissariats should be given independent authority and that an additional level of directorial administration should be created on a sub-planetary level, though the exact dimensions of such a level are not universally agreed upon.

The Federalists are centred around the 'Committee on Federation' and are the fastest-growing faction in the Commonwealth.

##### **Particularists**

Particularists are a fringe branch within Epochianism which argues that the Epochian system is not necessarily the ideal system for all situations and that planets should be able to choose their own form of administration, somewhat reminiscent of the planetary autonomy within the Celestial Empire of Invith. Particularists still espouse the Directorial system as the best system for interstellar administration and often for planetary administration, but think lower governance can often be better handled in alternative ways.

Particularists are centred around the 'Association for Ideal Autonomy'.

#### **Centralists**

Centralism encompasses the streams of Epochian thought that wish to maintain the current centralized nature of the Epochian system and consider themselves the guardians of Klandrax's original vision. Centralists tend to be more hawkish and paternalistic than those leaning towards Autonomist thought and are also far less welcome economic liberalization, being suspicious of corporate power. Centralism had been the dominant branch of Epochianism for much of the UTC's history, but it has lost considerable ground towards Autonomist factions in the current century.

The Centralists are centred around several think-tanks, most notably as the 'Klandraxian thought Society'. They are furthermore represented by their own sub-faction within the Epochian League.

##### **Maximists**

Maximism is a more radical branch of centralism which advocates for the abolition of the planetary commissariats and a concentration of power towards the directors. Maximists believe that the Epochian system fails to reach its fullest potential due to a lack of unified vision between the directorate and the commissariats and therefore believe the power of the commissariats should be transferred to the executive bureaucracy instead.

Maximists are primarily centred around the 'Executive Foundation'.

##### **Hierarchists**

Hierarchists are a fringe group in the Commonwealth which skirts the edges of what can be considered Epochian ideology. Hierarchists believe that, rather than the directorial system, the Commonwealth should be governed by a singular bureaucratic hierarchy encompassing the entire state. Hierarchists tend to hold various other authoritarian views and prominent members are known to be extremely hawkish. Hierarchism primarily originates from the more radical Epochian-militarist fusions that were created during the integration of Koltrent.

Hierarchists are centred around the 'Koltrent Group'

### Insurgencies

#### **The Democratic Alliance to Restore the Republic**

The Democratic Alliance to Restore the Republic (DARR) is the most prominent and well known active insurgency operating in the UTC. The Alliance's formal goal is the restoration of the ideals of the Erathem Union and the introduction of democratic rule in the Commonwealth. The Alliance is known to operate its own underground government which claims to be the legitimate continuation of the Republic.

Despite its lofty ambitions and relative infamy, the group has failed to achieve notable successes, only being capable of occasional strikes and terror attacks on fringe worlds. At the same time, the UTC military has thus far been unable to pin down the insurgency; which possesses its own modest fleet and maintains secret bases in uncharted space where it can operate in relative safety.

There is a great deal of suspicion around the group regarding its potential foreign supporters, with many within the UTC suspecting EAD involvement with the group, whilst others think it more likely the group is held afloat by one or more of the more belligerent Invith dynasties.

#### **The Endurgan Resurrection Front**

The Endurgan Resurrection Front (ERF) is the single largest separatist movement operating within the Commonwealth, being the main vehicle for the radical Pan-Endurgan movement to organise. The ERF aims for the restoration of an Endurgan state in accordance with the principles of the old empire and professes loyalty to the "Free Endurgan Reclamation Government" located on New-Azunel. The organisation is not limited to the UTC, operating throughout the former territory of the Endurgan National Union.

The Front has long been active in terror attacks against both government institutions and more moderate Endurgan groups. Such actions have long complicated attempts at a resolution to the continues political quagmire left in the wake of the occupation of the former Endurgan state.

## **Military**

**"The survival of progress ultimately rests on the protection of a vast wall of steel, fire and murderous intent."**

-*Kann-Voz, commissar-commandant of the Ion division, 493 AC*

### Planetary Custodial Command (PCC)

The Planetary Custodial Command is the governing body responsible for the defence of Commonwealth planets. Although planetary garrisons are generally under the authority of planetary administrations, allocation of resources and armaments is in the hand of the PCC. The PCC can also override planetary command in certain cases.

### The Grand Army of the Commonwealth

The Grand Army of the Commonwealth is the mobile, professional force at the direct disposal of the central government. It is responsible for acting as a mobile reserve, guarding governmental space facilities and undertaking offensive operations. The bulk of the grand army consists of the mechanical legions, large numbers of battle droids in various forms to act as frontline units. There are also various units consisting of the different species within the Commonwealth, though these are mainly utilized for rearguard and garrison duties. The Xer themselves are rare as frontline units, almost exclusively serving as short-range shock-troops with a heavy emphasis on melee combat. Most of the elite forces consist of highly trained Synthetics. Equipped with highly advanced combat-bodies these synth fighters are considered some of the best in the galaxy, mostly competing with the elite Psionics of the Audean Dominion.

### The Commonwealth Navy

The Commonwealth Navy is the nautical branch of the Commonwealth military. It is in command of the Commonwealth's battlefleets as well as the smaller patrol forces employed to protect shipping lanes. Strike-force Rixalem and strike-force Kulgaf are the main battlefleets under its command, each acting as permanent battle-ready flotillas. By far the most important and expensive branch of the military, the Navy has gone through explosive growth since the establishment of the Epochion-forges dramatically boosted the domestic production of high-grade alloys needed to build and maintain its ships. The fleet doctrine of the Commonwealth Navy is focused on its ability to provide overwhelming concentrated firepower, preferring to operate in centralised formations to establish a so-called wall of fire where the attack ranges of the various ship types converge.

The Commonwealth Navy also informally contains The Beacons of the Void, the shared naval task force of The Cretacean Treaty Coalition. This force is the largest singular fleet of the Coalition, having been created as a means of responding to any acute threat to the Coalition without the risk of entanglement with the regular duties of state navies. The UTC has de facto control of the Beacons in spite of the fact that it formally serves the Coalition as a whole, due to the fact that the admiralship of the fleet is permanently held by the UTC as well as the Commonwealth's disproportionate power within the Coalition in general.

## **Diplomacy**

"**You will all wind up as footstools to the Epochians!"**

-*Excerpt from a breakdown of a nationalist member of the Rozol estate assembly, 323 AC*

The UTC's diplomacy is dominated by the need to stay ahead in the struggles in the Silent war, which fundamentally divides all foreign states into three territories: those aligned with the Commonwealth through the Cretacean Treaty Coalition, those under the influence of the EAD and those which are still up for grabs.

### The Triarchy

The Triarchy consists of the UTC and its two most significant and senior allies, the Hesokur Commerce league and the Combined Havolian Republics. Though the Triarchy is nothing more than an informal grouping today, it is still importantly distinct from the rest of the CTC since its other members are the only ones outside the UTC to maintain their own spheres of influence to some extent and are the only ones which can still conceivably challenge Commonwealth leadership of the CTC at times, even if those opportunities grow increasingly sparse.

#### **Hesokur Commerce League**

The HSL has a certain special status in Commonwealth diplomacy as the UTC's oldest and most staunch ally. The two states are further intertwined due to the large degree of economic overlap since many of the megacorporations which dominate the League has since become more active in the UTC than on home soil. Together with the widespread adoption of Epochian ideals in the management of said corporations, this has meant that relations between the League and the Commonwealth have always remained genuinely warm. Not all of the Hesokurs themselves agree with this sentiment though, as they have seen the megacorporations become disinterested with their own state whilst the nominal civilian government is increasingly powerless. This has to some extent created a rift between the corporations, who want further integration with the Commonwealth and those outside of the corporations who desperately try to resist the rapid erosion of the League's sovereignty.

#### **Combined Havolian Republics**

The Combined Havolian Republics are, just like the League, an immensely important strategic and economic partner of the UTC, though a far more difficult one. Relations with the Hive have never been quite as warm and have mostly existed for the sake of convenience for both sides, up to the Hive's decision to initially opt-out of the founding of COTEPL , only later joining once the possibility of Audean encroachment became palpable. The strength and weakness of the relations between the Hive and the Commonwealth lie in their trade ties; the Hive produces impressive volumes of natural resources through its extensive territory and its focus on extraction, which in turn fuels the industrial heartland of the UTC. This route of exchange, known as the Rozol-pipeline, has enabled the rapid development of the Commonwealth's industry and the growth of its ecumenopolis worlds, but at the same time has forced the Hive into the role of a lower member in the UTC supply chain. Many within the Hive lament the fact that their state has become little more than a resource bank for the UTC core. Whilst there are many within the Hive who have adopted Epochian thought, and many others who want immediate secession from COTEPL, most within the Hive have resigned themselves to reluctant cooperation with the Commonwealth. Because, despite everything, the UTC is still the devil they know, keeping out the devil they don't.

### The Greater COTEPL

Those members of COTEPL which are not part of the old Triarchy are far more limited in their ability to autonomously interact with the UTC. Most of these states either have strong Epochian influence laying overhead or have had Epochian systems imposed outright. Most of these states can at best secure a small niche for themselves within the Coalition as a means of gaining relevance.

### Celestial Empire of Invith

The Celestial Empire of Invith is the only truly prominent unaligned empire which currently remains within the youthful quadrant. Having once towered over both the UTC and EAD, the empire today is hopelessly caught between the competing influence of the two powers. The UTC for its part has provided covert support for the Imperial Renovation Movement, a political bloc which has adopted a modified version of Epochian ideology as well as the Involan dynasty, whose current head, Arvith, has built himself up as the face of the UTC aligned faction within the empire.

### Exalted Audean Dominion

The Exalted Audean Dominion stands as the great rival of the UTC and dominates its diplomacy, as nearly all diplomatic acts are in some way used as a means to counter and engage the dominion. Due to the fundamentally incompatible worldviews of the two Empires, any hope of lasting peace seems unlikely and many consider future war a distinct possibility. The volatility of the relations has reached a new high in recent years; as the struggle in Invith is edging ever closer to a breaking point, aligned forces have entered standoffs on the surfaces of planets such as Terra and the UTC has chosen to provide asylum to the rogue Audon of Cuphys from the EAD, who in return have given refuge to Endurgan secessionists.