Galactic Union

The **Galactic Union** (**GU**) is an intragalactic federation and the dominant faction in the Milky Way Galaxy. It encompasses roughly forty percent of the galaxy, making it the largest Lacteal faction and the largest faction within the *Final Frontier* universe. The Galactic Union acts as a unifying body for the planets under its jurisdiction, and aims for perfect stability and structure across the galaxy. It is speculated that the Blacks created the Galactic Union for easier management and administration of the Milky Way Galaxy.

## Overview

The Galactic Union is a vast interstellar alliance that encompasses multitudes of planets across the galaxy. While GU law primarily pertains to matters concerning interplanetary space and commerce, it is not extensively concerned with the internal affairs of individual planets, except for specific cases involving Core Planets. However, if the government of a planet involved in a crime requests the GU's intervention, punitive measures can be imposed. For instance, Seth faced a ban from driving due to Lama'entria's petition to the GU.

Given the diverse array of cultures and moral perspectives found within the GU, the existing GU laws are intentionally broad. These laws aim to accommodate the myriad beliefs and values of thousands, if not millions, of distinct societies. The focus of GU laws predominantly lies in maintaining stability and order, rather than determining absolute "right" or "wrong." The prevailing principle is to uphold whatever measures sustain the functionality of the Union. Consequently, certain practices, even as extreme as slavery, may be permitted in interplanetary establishments without the GU intervening, as it perceives such matters as beyond its purview.

## Structure

The core of the Galactic Union is composed of the center of the Milky Way Galaxy along with nine solar systems surrounding it, dubbed the Core Systems. These systems are heavily fortified complexes of bureaucracy, legislation, and representation of the galaxy, housing hundreds of synthetic species created for management of millions of GU-allied systems. When a Core System is compromised, systems managed by that system are more likely to become disorderly, potentially increasing intergalactic crime and or rebellion within that sector.

Decisions of one of these systems are distributed to various smaller systems within a Core System's sector, otherwise known as GU Hotspots. Hotspots typically are composed of one loyal homeworld and a barren moon, of which is transformed into a listening center for GU decisions and legislation. In the scenario where the main listening center of a Hotspot is destroyed, there are various minor posts on the homeworld to ensure that orders can be followed without delay. Hotspot systems are typically offered many benefits in exchange for their undying loyalty to the Galactic Union, including an invaluable amount of Ducketts, technologies, and other rewards. The Hotspot from there communicates with the various governments of its dominion GU laws and amendments. The whole process of communication from GU Core to species homeworld takes about a semester, and all new laws broken within that time are forgiven via a GU Grandfather Clause.

The main force of government is the Galactic Union (GU) Coalition of Nations, a council of hundreds of prominent nations and commonwealths that collectively determines the formulation of GU law. The Coalition has particular emphasis on commerce regulations, travel restrictions, and infrastructural guidelines. While provisions prohibiting actions such as secession from the Galactic Union and the destruction or genocide of planets and populations exist within these laws, enforcement can be inconsistent. The nations represented in the Coalition account for only a small number of nations in the GU's jurisdiction, and is mostly composed of major nations such as the Gaian Federation and the Elf Confederation. Also represented in the Coalition are unions of smaller nations, referred to as "commonwealths" for organizational purposes.