Stellar Axis

The Stellar Axis was the most powerful Federation in the Milky Way Galaxy after the Star Concord and dominated the Galactic South. It consisted of the Florian Matriarchy, the Algorithim, the Ragutharian Imperial Domains, and the Vol Hive. It was Created by the Florian Matriarchy in response to what it saw as the increasing threat posed to the Galaxy by the Greater Terran Union. The Florians, while pacifist in nature viewed their pacifism more along the lines of "peace through superior firepower", and their complex moral philosophy on the issue put them at great odds with humanity.

## WARS WITH THE GTU

Located far to the South, GTU relations with the Stellar Axis was limited in nature, until the Byrum Cataclysm, the destruction of the Tyrum homeworld by GTU. To the Florians, the deliberate extermination of an entire species and a habitable world was seen as a grievous insult to their concepts of just war and basic morality. Their condemnation of the GTU was among the loudest in the galaxy and they were the principle agents of the organized campaign of sanctions and diplomatic retribution levied on the Terran nation in the aftermath. When the GTU chose to construct a dyson sphere around barnards star, a star within the constellation of their revered "Great Peacekeeper", the Florians would all but beg the GTU to desist. The GTU, disdainful of the Florians Pacifism and distance chose to ignore them and instead launched an invasion of the Vol Hive. This lack of understanding about Florian culture and political philosophy would prove disasterous for the GTU. To the Florians, being peaceful did not mean being harmless. Indeed, the constellation of the "Great Peacekeeper" was of a semi-mythological warrior who unified the Florian homeworld of garden by force in order to bring to an end centuries of brutal warfare that had simultaneously accelerated Florian technological development and threatened to destroy their planet outright once they had deduced the method of splitting the atom and developing nuclear weapons.

Outraged at the repeated insults to their sensibilities and the aggression of the GTU, the Florians came to view the situation in the Galaxy as similar to their "final war". In 2520 they declared war on the GTU, as an intervention to its ongoing war against the Vol. The war would cause mass devestation in the GTU and see numerous worlds occupied though in the end the Florians and their allies would be defeated. Not to be deterred, the Stellar Axis would add the Vol Hive to its ranks and once more attemplt to break the GTU, launching the First Galactic War which would cause the largest loss of human lives ever. Though shear resolve and not a small bit of luck would see the GTU once more prevailing.

## War in Heaven

With the sudden onslaught of the awakened Empires upon the Galaxy, the Stellar Axis which had for almost a century been stridently determined to break the GTU would find itself in the surprising position of needing to ally with them instead. To the Florians however, there was a rationalization that while humanity was far from perfect the humans at the very least seemed to have a modicum respect for the other races of the galaxy as their determination to establish Protectorates as opposed to the outright conquest and genocide of the Xani and Jaz Gavaz. Choosing the best of bad options, they would align with the GTU. Unfortunately The Stellar Axis would suffer tremendously as the war progressed. Bordering both the Jaz Gavaz core and the southward expanding core of the Xani, the Stellar Axis would endure the brunt of the Awakened Empires assault and saw many of their worlds enveloped by the Egg of Oblivion. The Jaz Gavaz' frequent use of jump drives would also see the dimensional boundary weakened across their space, leading to the Unbidden being unleashed upon them in a horrifying genocidal fury. the middle of the 27th century the Florian homeworld of Garden would be utterly stripped of life, and much of the Algorithm would have its worlds shielded by the Jaz Gavaz. Only the Ragutharians remained to fight on but the Unbidden were advancing ever close to their core, having stripped their outer colonies. In a miraculous turn of events, the GTU prevailed at the Battle of Styx and the subsequent counterattack came in time to save their homeworld. In the aftermath of the war the Stellar Axis would dissolve completely and its remaining system annexed into the GTU as protectorates. Centuries later the Florian homeworld of Garden would be restored to life by the GTU and became the capital of the Florian Commissariat which would incorporate much of their former space.