Fiction:The Herbisoar Empire

The Herbisoar Empire is an interstellar empire, currently controlling around six hundred systems, mostly stretched on it's arm towards the galactic core.

The First Foundation
The Herbisoar Empire was first established 570 years ago on Alovana, and quickly made distinct allies and enemies, eventually becoming embroiled in conflict and raids, after several decades finally expanding it's influence to host a captain with an Interstellar 4 drive. Shortly after this, the Herbisoars set out on it's first colonization campaign, and established a series of colonies, including one very near the Territory of the Grox. As soon as this was done, plans for a mission to the Galactic Core were underway.

Project Zion: The First Mission To The Core
After five years of development, the Herbisoar Empire had ammased enought energy packs and strength to attempt it's first "run" to the Galactic Core. Realizing the danger of a declaration of war with the Grox, the Emperor held a private conference with the then All-Powerful Herbisoar the Epic, and set a contigency plan for several scenarios if the Grox were to attack.

As the plans were completed, a ship was made ready for the Core, and the Captain and his crew set out on the perilous odessy, predicted to return after the decade total time it would take by the present technology to complete a trip to the Galactic Core.

Finally reaching the edge of Grox space, the Zion team made their run, taking enormous damage from fierce Grox resistance. Regardless of pleas from his crew to keep power going towards the shields and weapons, the Captain decided to redirect all power towards speed, which quickly proved the wrong decision after practically all energy was consumed, and the ship was surrounded by Grox. Finally making it to the Core, the ship exploded, it's contents falling into the Core itself, along with, assumably, the rest of the crew. The incident would be remembered in Herbisoar history as the Tragedy of Sacrifice

After the Tragedy that cost the Herbisoars a dear captain and crew, the Emperor ambitiously set another team, with fierce support of the population, showing the Herbisioars' general ambitious spirit. This time, the team successfully made it to the Core, and indeed collected the Staff of Life, at the cost of war with the Grox.

The Age of Grox
Before the team could test the new tool, they were called to Alovana to help deflect a speed attack from the Grox. By the time the crew arrived, energy depleted, Alovana had been reduced to a mere three cities, the Emperor and his small guard holding out against a mighty force of Grox spaceships. At the end of the battle, which left the unprepared Herbisoar Empire economically and militarily devastated, it was forced to call it's forces from it's ten colonies, causing it's many enemies to pillage and raid the once propserous bases of the Herbisoars. The Grox eventually took over their base near their territory unchallenged.

The Fall of Alovana and the End of the First Herbisoar Empire
After the decline of the Herbisoar Empire, and the death of the Herbisoar Emperor and the Captain to Grox forces, the Herbisoar Empire was disbanded, descending Alovana into a period known as the The Great Anarchy.

A New Hope
After thirty-five years in this state of Anarchy, eventually a new order took hold, and a new "Emperor" established, through military might, order amongst Alovana, restoring it to it's pre-Grox number of cities. He later appointed a new Captain to expand the Empire, and signed several Galactic Agreements and sent the Captain into the Galactic Military to become a certified Captain of the Galaxy.

The Grand Renaissance
The Herbisoar race became well-known for their flying abilities and stealth in service, the Captain receiving wide notoriety amongst many in the Galaxy. The Captain was the one, then, to officially begin a plan dubbed the "Grand Renaissance", to restore the Herbisoars to their former - and to an eventual better- level of power. After meeting with several other alliances and establishing the first set of colonies, the Herbisoar Emperor became supportive of the Captain, and amassed a colonial force and regularly promoted and funded the efforts of the Captain.

Herbisoar The Ominscent, as he became to be known, eventually lead the Herbisoar Empire through a startling fast-paced series of expansions, seeking the opportunity to ally other empires and establish many new colonies, using his skill of missions to bring great wealth into the Herbisoar Treasury. Afterwards, the Herbisoar Empire had achieved great lengths and was reknowned as being "triple what it once was".

Above all, the Captain wanted to visit the Galactic Core to recieve the Staff of Life, as the previous had been lost in the deaths of the previous Captain and the Anarchy following.

A Herbisoar Odyssey
The Captain then announced the Herbisoar Odyssey, and sought to recruit a large crew and colonial force, and accomplished the support of the Emperor, which played a key political role. Having attained his crew, the Captain solved a few issues, and set the pathway for peace in the Herbisoar homeworld, and set towards the Galactic Core.

Following a similar path, the Crew stopped at the newly formed base, this time quite literally at the edge of Grox Space, and made the third run, which was noted by the Captain as being "unusually quiet; for the Grox put nearly no resistance to us".

After meeting Steve, the Captain successfully became the first Herbisoar to test the Staff of Life, and fulfilled his goals in establishing a rich spice trade by making the majority of the Far and Near Colonies T3 planets, even acquiring a healthy investment in the rare Purple Spice.

After attaining to certain matters, including the testing of a new Wormhole Key for the Captain's ship, the Odyseey set off again, this time destined to find Sol.

Sol
After experimenting with several black holes, the Captain found a semi-suitable wormhole which lead to the arm that Sol was supposedly located on. After exploring and closely studying the coordinates, the team evenutally found the famed planet, and marked the occasion by inducting Earth as the sixteenth official colony of the Captain.

Continued Expansion
The Herbisoar Empire since greatly continued it's expansion efforts, and now has a functioning empire, advanced technologically, that "has learned from it's mistakes the first time, and grows from them and it's ambition".