Fiction:Lukhas Milieu

The Lukhas Milieu is a region of the towards the outer rim of the galaxy. It has been home to several cooperating species, once unified in the grand Lukhas Republic but had experienced many schisms and wars since that golden age. During the final fracturing war of the region, revolutionary forces requested the intervention of the, an extragalactic power with a socialistic agenda that intervened in the war and allowed the Lukhasi people to set up democratic states that applied for DSB membership. Since then, the Lukhas Milieu has been at the centre of DSB presence in Mirus.

Ancient History
The Lukhas Milieu’s ancient history is not particularly of note, as the ancient Mirusian precursors, the Uonic and the Enlightened Ones, did not appear to have a strong presence in the region. For the most part, the region was allowed to develop naturally. It is believed that the Enlightened Ones visited the region at least once, transplanting ancient humans to the planet that would eventually evolve into the near-human Quogni. The similarity of religions allowing them to merge so easily suggests further influence by precursors, but no evidence has been left of such tampering.

Golden Age
Several species evolved sapience, and eventually became spacefaring. The first of these were the Udwin, followed by the Davre, the Abcecwhac, the Aeli, the Dairlaam, the Omo, the Ourdok, and the Pahdum. These societies quickly began interacting and integrating, corporations began to merge their economies, and similar religions coalesced into the Vulum Order. In response to this globalisation, the civilisations began to merge. Firstly the Udwin and Davre merged, followed by all other species except for the Abcecwhac, who chose to remain independent (though an associate member) as the Koswarvis Realm. The newly created civilisation was named the Republic of Milieu.

The Republic enjoyed a thousand uninterrupted years of existence referred to as the Golden Age. This time was referred to as a time of cultural exchange between species, and an era of peace and democracy. It was certainly so for the higher classes, though for the proletariat, the Golden Age was a cycle of corporations growing more and more powerful, feeding the rise of socialist and fascist movements until a liberal would quell corporate power but not the corporate system, allowing the rise of corporate power all over again. This cycle was taken as the natural order of things, but would spell turmoil for the Republic.

Towards the end of the Golden Age, Quogni scholars founded a new religion, the Xedda Order, based on teachings of love and compassion juxtaposed against the Vulum fear-mongering. The Xedda Order quickly swelled in numbers, overtaking the Vulum Order as the dominant religion within a mere decade.

The Sundering
Towards one cycle of corporate power, the fascist and socialist movements were gaining more traction than ever before. Faced with the possibility of one taking real power in the Republic, the corporate elite chose to give support for the fascist movements, believing it to be safer for their own power than the socialist movements. The fascist movement grew to incredible sizes, spurred not only by subtle corporate support, but by a disgruntled Vulum Order angry at the growing power of the Xedda. A majority of the Davre species backed the movement, due to their strong association with the Vulum Order. The rise of the fascists, which became known as the Nationalist movement, led to a civil war in the Republic as they attempted to seize power. The war was brutal, and included a genocide effort by the Nationalists against the Quogni for their creation of the Xedda Order. Ultimately, the Republicans were victorious, and the Nationalists expelled to the rimwards unexplored regions.

Within a decade, a new power emerged. In their retreat, the Nationalists had kidnapped many planetary populations and brought them to found a new nation: the Lukhas Empire. The Empire swelled in size with speed leading the Republic to suspect cloning or dehumanisation of women into baby-factories was involved in their expansion. The Empire existed in contention with the Republic for only a short time before the two were at war again. The Empire was able to conquer the Aeli territories, and sent an invasion fleet to try and exterminate the Quogni again. The Quogni were forced to flee to the corewards unexplored regions. The war with the Empire eventually led to a stalemate and a peace agreement leaving the borders as they were, keeping the Aeli worlds under Imperial control. Relations between the Republic and the Empire later improved and became quite cordial.

The fleeign Quogni would found the Nublichi Kingdom, and discover the rising Sasn Tribes. These two powers would form a strong alliance as they became notable Lukhasi powers. Oppressed minorities under the Empire, without hope of the Republic destroying the Empire, formed the Freedom Alliance out of their various resistance movements. Republic worlds bordering the Empire lost interest in Republic affairs and seceded, forming a loose military pact to defend each other but remaining independent.

The Great War
The Republic’s capitalism gave rise to a giant megacorporation, the Free-Market Federation. This company had control over vast swaths of the market, had the backing of the Vulum Order, access to Imperial markets, and only wanted more. They attempted to muscle their way into the Koswarvis Realm, resulting in a border war, and forcibly occupied the Nublichi Kingdom’s capital when it seemed they were going to progress to a socialist state. They were expelled from Nublichi, and the issue was brought up to the Republic. The Republic attempted to curb the Federation’s power by reorganising the economy into several self-sufficient sectors (though each centralised to maintain capitalism). This plan failed, and the Federation maintained power and waged war against Koswarvis, Nublichi and Sasn alike. The Republic’s plan did however massively offend the industrial regions of the Republic, which seceded to become the Confederacy of Objectivist Planets. The Republic refused to except this secession, and thus the Great War broke out.

Meanwhile, in the Empire, the Imperials saw opportunity in the new war, and sent a fleet out to pursue their interests. The Freedom Alliance, in an unprecedented move, attacked the fleet and destroyed it. The success brought in great support for the Alliance, and large swaths of Imperial worlds seceded to join it. The Empire was also embroiled in border conflicts with the Koswarvis Realm, which sent aid to the Alliance as much they could in spite of already being at war with the Federation and Confederacy. Initially two different wars, a sudden spike in intensity between the Xedda and Vulum Orders brought the conflict into a single war across the entire Milieu.

The Great War waged for ten years with very little progress and no sign of an end. It’s end was extremely abrupt and left field. As the Empire had a series of decisive victories against the Alliance, the Alliance made a desperate gamble in contacting the extragalactic, a socialist power that would oppose the Empire without supporting a replacement of the Republic’s corrupt system. The DSB sent an intervention fleet that quickly disposed of the Empire, liberating its citizens. The Republic attempted to claim the Imperial worlds as their own, but the newly liberating ex-Imperials refused to return to the Republic and instead requested DSB membership. The Republic sent its own fleet to force former Imperial worlds to return to the Republic, but were repulsed by the DSB. Republic citizens saw an opportunity to end the war and Republic corruption, and requested DSB intervention against the Republic. The DSB judged the Republic too corrupt to survive, and assimilated it. The Confederacy and Free-Market Federation were considered rogue elements of the Republic, and likewise assimilated. Within a few months, the war was over.

Recent History
The DSB presence in the region had a profound influence. The Republic megacorporations were gone, leading to a capitalist crisis amongst the remaining independent states. The powerful Xedda and Vulum Orders were dissolved, shifting the religion to a personal thing rather than powerful political parties. The Sasn Tribes applied to for DSB membership almost immediately due to similar ideologies. The Nublichi Kingdom’s powerful social democratic movement were finally able to transition to socialism, did away with the monarchy, and applied for DSB membership. The Koswarvis Realm’s exposure to the DSB inspired the workers to rise up against the aristocracy, and then applied for DSB membership. This happened to all the Milieu worlds until the region was totally under DSB control.

The DSB brought the region under peace and prosperity, although there have been a few setbacks. Imperial remnants, feral combat robot nests, and the resurgence of the Vulum Order as an underground crime gang has plagued the Milieu of late, although the people’s loyalty to the DSB has not faltered. The Lukhas Milieu remains a proud part of the DSB and is the centre of DSB activity in the Mirus galaxy.

Astrography
The Lukhas Milieu mostly refers to the political region, but spatially is taken to describe a region of roughly seven million stars on the outer rim of the Mirus Galaxy. The region is populated mostly by A, F, and G-type stars, which are home to countless planets that have been found or made habitable.

Species
Abcecwhac= The Abcecwhac are a powerful Draconian species known for their pride and isolationism. They were one of many space-faring species contacting one another as the region developed, but their state, the Koswarvis Realm, chose not to join the growing Republic. Many Abcecwhac chose to move to the Republic on their own free will, while the Realm eventually chose to become an associate member of the Republic for the benefits. With the rise of the Empire and the Free-Market Confederation, the Abcecwhac and their strength became desired by many slaveowners, and Abcecwhac found themselves fighting border worse to protect themselves from mass kidnappings. Regardless, many Abcecwhac find themselves on Imperial and Federation worlds preforming menial labour. Cooperation with other nations to defend themselves from the aggressors was able to tone down the Abcecwhac’s isolationism. Aeli= The Aeli are a mammalian species adapted for cold climates, and are naturally highly communal creatures. They were one of many species to join up with the Republic during its golden age, and highly proud of its ideals. They fought the Nationalists in the Civil War, but during the rise of the Empire their core territories were conquered and made an Imperial province. Some Aeli would accept this fate, but most would begin secretly serving a great resistance, with their liberation-front becoming the centrepiece of the Freedom Alliance. Initially, they wished for reunification with the Republic, but after the Republic failed to aid them they shifted goal to an independent socialist state. While mostly an Alliance and Imperial species, a significant population remained under the Republic, and smaller populations in other powers. Dairlaam= The Dairlaam are a mammalian species with an unremarkable history within the Milieu. They were one of the many fledgling civilisations that chose to join the growing union. The Dairlaam noticed the corruption of the Republic quickly, but their own society was able to avoid the issue of corporate corruption, so they paid it no mind. When the Quogni founded the Nublichi Kingdom, many Dairlaam chose to join it, becoming the second largest species within that state. Beyond this, they had very little impact on Milieu politics. Davre= The Davre are a reptilian species adapted for life in arid climates. They survive on very little food and water, and give birth to live young. They were one of the founding members of the Republic, alongside the Udwin. Political figures within the Davre species had an elitist view over newer members of the Republic, and a jealousy for the Udwin that maintained a greater influence over the Republic’s affairs. During a bout of anti-establishment sentiment against the Republic, many Davre backed a nationalist movement that broke into civil war as the Davre attempted to seize control of the Republic. The Nationalists were beaten and driven off, and the primarily Davre force retreated to found the Empire in the unexplored regions. After that, the Davre were the supreme race of the Empire at the expense of all others. Sizeable populations of Davre continued to exist under the Republic and independently on their homeworld prior to the arrival of the DSB. Omo= The Omo are an instectoid species, the only insectoid sapients to be found in the Lukhas Milieu. They, like most other species in the region, became a member of the Republic. While the bulk of the species integrated perfectly well with their compatriots, the Omo elite felt they were destined to become the superior species of the Milieu. Many of their species were associated with the Free-Market Federation, and thanks to deals with the Vulum Order the Omo elite were able to take full control of the corporation. They allowed large Omo populations to swell in Federation administered territory and purse worlds. The Omo became totally associated with the Federation, despite the bulk of the species remaining mere citizens of the Republic. Obidaak= The Obidaak are a powerful synapsid species that never naturally evolved beyond a hunter-gatherer society on their homeworld. Their strength drew the interest of the Empire and the Free-Market Federation, which kidnapped many nest-fulls for use as slaves. Many Obidaak within the Empire became uplifted and became a small group of mercinary slavers helping round up more Obidaak or even Abcecwhac for their Imperial masters. Meanwhile, the Federation failed to control the Obidaak, which regressed back to wild nests on the planets which they were transplanted. Federation and Koswarvis forces continually fall victim to Obidaak nests in their border wars. Oudok= The Oudok are a synapsid species particular noteworthy for their eusocial method of reproduction; a fertile queen giving birth to numerous workers. Despite this curious reproductive system and penchant for living in hives, the Oudok did not significantly differ sociologically from the other species of the Milieu. They, like most species in the region, became a member of the Republic. Due to their hive-like social conditions, the Oudok became the primary workers of various manufacturing corporations, using the Oudok hives as sources of cheap labour. The Oudok became the primary citizen of the Confederacy when it was founded, and the Confederacy was led by Oudok, though patriotism for the Confederate cause was rare. Species-based nationalism drove many to join the Confederate military, but most Oulok simply kept working under a state that did not alter their quality of life from the Republic. Pahdum= The Pahdum are a mammalian species that, like most other space-faring species joined the Republic in its early days. During the rise of the Empire, the Pahdum populations were torn between the Republic and the Empire, though the Republic retained control of their homeworld. Slowly, however, Pahdum worlds lost interest in Republic politics and began seceding, including the homeworld, to create a large expanse of neutral planets between Republic and Imperial space. The majority of the Pahdum remained under Republic or Imperial influence, but the perception of their species continued to be linked to the neutral worlds. Quogni= The Quogni are a semi-feline near-human species, believed to have been brought to the Lukhas Milieu long ago by unknown precursors. They were one of the many species that became a member of the Republic, despite retaining a species-specific monarchy. They were also the origin of the Xedda Order, a breakaway sect opposed to the Vulum Order that would go on to become the largest religion in the Milieu. Due to their associations with the Xedda, the Vulum-backed Empire attempted to have the Quogni exterminated during the Sundering War. Some Quogni scattered across the Republic, while the bulk fled to unexplored regions away from the Empire’s reach. They settled on Nublichi, had to make peace with the native Sasn, and established the peaceful Nublichi Kingdom. Most Quogni inhabit the Kingdom, though many remained in the Republic and many others have joined the Sasn Tribes. Sasn= The Sasn are a semi-amphibious semi-avian species with somewhat limited influence in the region. They were not space faring when the Republic was formed, bound to their homeworld as their organic technology failed to provide interplanetary capability. The species was unified as a confederation of peaceful tribes refusing to unify under a feudal dictatorship. The tribes existed under a peaceful socialist way of living, until they made contact with the Quogni refugees. After peace was reached between the two peoples, the Quogni’s Nublichi Kingdom aided the Sasn in achieving spaceflight capacity compatible with their biotechnology. Since becoming a space-faring race, many Sasn joined other powers, though the bulk remained with their tribes that spread across space alongside the Nublichi Kingdom. Udwin= The Udwin are a reptilian species noted for strong family-based behaviour and egg-laying and defending nature. The Udwin were the first space-faring civilisation of the Milieu, and most networking of the Milieu’s rising powers occurred through the Udwin. They were the founding members of the Republic, alongside the Davre, and quickly accepted other species into the union. Despite all species legally being equal, there was a distinct bias in the Republic’s running that favoured the Udwin, starting off as a mere quirk of having a higher population, but degrading into a deliberately systematic feature. Most Udwin remained unaware of the advantage their species has in the Republic’s system. While a predominantly a Republic species, Udwin populations also existed in the Empire and the Confederacy, among others.
 * ’’’Homeworld’’’: Koswarvis
 * ’’’Religion’’’: Folkloric religions, Xedda Order
 * ’’’State’’’: Koswarvis Realm
 * ’’’Homeworld’’’: Haerilia
 * ’’’Religion’’’: Xedda Order
 * ’’’State’’’: Freedom Alliance, Lukhas Empire
 * ’’’Homeworld’’’: Nublypso
 * ’’’Religion’’’: Xedda Order
 * ’’’State’’’: Republic of the Milieu, Nublichi Kingdom
 * ’’’Homeworld’’’: Traloruta
 * ’’’Religion’’’: Vulum Order
 * ’’’State’’’: Lukhas Empire
 * ’’’Homeworld’’’: Nesmaonus
 * ’’’Religion’’’: Vulum Order
 * ’’’State’’’: Republic of the Milieu, Free-Market Federation
 * ’’’Homeworld’’’: Vegawa
 * ’’’Religion’’’: Supersition, magical thinking
 * ’’’State’’’: Independent, Lukhas Empire
 * ’’’Homeworld’’’: Gedroitania
 * ’’’Religion’’’: Vulum Order
 * ’’’State’’’: Confederacy of Objectivist Planets
 * ’’’Homeworld’’’: Trabenov
 * ’’’Religion’’’: Atheist
 * ’’’State’’’: Republic of the Milieu, Lukhas Empire, Independent
 * ’’’Homeworld’’’: Guetis
 * ’’’Religion’’’: Xedda Order
 * ’’’State’’’: Nublichi Kingdom, Sasn Tribes, Republic of the Milieu
 * ’’’Homeworld’’’: Nublichi
 * ’’’Religion’’’: Spiritualism, Xedda Order
 * ’’’State’’’: Sasn Tribes
 * ’’’Homeworld’’’: Royclite
 * ’’’Religion’’’: Xedda Order
 * ’’’State’’’: Republic of the Milieu

Society and Culture
The Lukhas Milieu was a diverse society, with several species worth of cultures blending together as the many species interacted. Most civilisations within the region encouraged cultural diversity, with the notable exceptions of the Empire and the Koswarvis Realm. Despite this positive view of diversity, the people of the Republic, the Confedracy, and the Federation had by the time of the Great War been indoctrinated into a capitalist consumerist culture of individualism where selfishness and egotism was encouraged to prevent the worker class from uniting against the corporate elite, presented under a guise of “pursuing individual rights of self preservation” and protecting them from “collectivism” erasing the individual in favour of the collective, which conveniently enough is what capitalism and individualism did to the working class anyway.

The Nublichi Kingdom, the Sasn Tribes, and the independent worlds did not subscribe to this hyper-capitalist system. The Nublichi were capitalist, but a more restrained welfare-giving variety, while the Sasn were socialists. The cultures of the independent worlds different vastly between themselves.

After the DSB took over the region, any forms of domination culture were discouraged in favour of a partnership society in which all people are valued and treated equally, with no social hierarchy whatsoever.

Religion
The Lukhas Milieu is home to many different religions, but the bulk of the population are either atheistic or subscribe to a variation of the One God faith, which refer to the One God as “the All-Maker”. The All-Maker faith came in two powerful sects that competed with one another throughout the region’s history; the ancient Vulum Order and the more popular and younger Xedda Order. Both Order’s function very much like political parties, pursuing political agendas and fielding militias that engage one another in warfare. The military wings of each order are composed of specialised warriors trained in based martial arts, fighting in street wars or special raids.

The Vulum Order, founded by coalescence of various All-Maker religions from various cultures, focuses on the All-Maker as a merciless vengeful entity to be feared and appeased by following a strict moral code that all beings are obligated to follow as the All-Maker’s creations. The Vulum were lead by a figure known as the Proxy, and had a strict hierarchy with the Proxy on top. The Vulum demand total obedience to the Order by filling their followers with fear of the All-Maker’s retribution. The Vulum Order was not particularly subtle about their desire for control over the Milieu’s population, which fueled their downfall as the dominant religion. Politically, the Vulum Order was the state religion of the Empire (with the Proxy holding an official Imperial title), had control over the Confederacy’s minarchist government, and the Free-Market Federation encouraged Vulum-adherence in its employees.

The Xedda Order, founded by Quogni scholars, provides an alternative view of the All-Maker as a compassionate entity that wishes for all its creations to be happy. Xedda clergy encourage a form of universal brotherhood among all its followers, hoping to make the universe a better place. They still have a code of ethics as the Vulum do, but it is more forgiving and inclusive, to foster a better pool of converts. Despite being more progressive, the Xedda were more focused on fixing individual issues than solving systematic flaws The organisation of the Xedda is also far more decentralised than their rivals were. Politically, the Xedda Order was a strong lobbyist group in the Republic, the state religion of the Nublichi Kingdom, a key resistance cell in the Alliance, and held a few loyal followings in the Sasn Tribes and Koswarvis Realm.

As the Milieu became part of the DSB, the two orders resisted. Due to their significant political interference, the DSB had both organisations repressed, though the religions were not prosecuted and allowed to rebuild their Orders from the ground up.

Former Civilisations
Freedom Alliance= The ‘’’Freedom Alliance’’’ was a loose union of resistance forces fighting the overbearing tyranny of the Empire. While not considered of significance by much of the Milieu, the Alliance ultimately decided the fate of the entire region in their efforts to defeat the Empire.

The Alliance was not a totally uniting force, but it did set up a form of government meant to govern Alliance controlled territories. This government was initially based upon that of the Republic, but would later choose to adopt a system of setting up local governance in liberated territories instead of bringing them under the authority of the Alliance, to avoid being seen as just another conquering power. The Alliance was led by a small council of representatives of the rebellious territories that had founded it. Overall, it was led by a figure referred to as the Chief. The Alliance did not have a fully functional economy, and had to rely on private donations from supportive territories, and from seizing Imperial goods.

Resistance began to sprout as soon as the Empire was founded, as much of the Imperial population was unwillingly kidnapped. When the Empire conquered the Aeli species and their homeworld of Haerilia, the Aeli became the largest resistance group against the Empire. Resistance cells were diverse, with some seeking merely their own world’s independence, reunification with the Republic, or totally transforming the Empire into a new state. The Aeli resistance founded the Freedom Alliance out of as many cells that were willing to join. Initially, they desired reunification with the Republic, but as the Republic failed to aid the Alliance, the rebels shifted their stance into overthrowing the Imperial government to set up a new democratic power. As this plan was worked out, the Alliance moved towards a socialist goal.

On the onset of the Great War, the Empire sent a fleet to pursue their own interests in the conflict between the Republic and the Confederacy. This fleet was intercepted and destroyed by the Alliance, sending shockwaves across the Empire. Seeing real hope, entire systems pledged their support for the Alliance, and a more even war was fought against the Empire. Cooperation with the Koswarvis Realm helped divide Imperial forces, but it was ultimately a losing war. As the Alliance lost their momentum of advance, they began to significantly lose to the Empire. As a last effort, they contacted the extragalactic DSB, which overthrew the empire on the Alliance’s behalf. The Alliance would set up a new government, and applied for DSB membership. Confederacy of Objectivist Planets= The ‘’’Confederacy of Objectivist Planets’’’, or simply “’’’the Confederacy’’’”, was a secessionist state created by industrial corporations rebelling against the Republic from a perceived threat to their profits.

The Confederacy had an ill-defined government, best referred to as a single-party corporate republic. Nominally, the Confederacy was run to objectivist ideals; a laissez-faire capitalist system with a minimalist government where self-interest reigned supreme. This led to a government controlled by the industrial corporations dominant within the region. The leader was the Chief Executive, representing a conglomerate of all corporations active within the Confederacy. Due to corporate control, the Confederate economy blurred the line between market economy and planned economy. Regardless, the Confederacy had a strong manufacturing capacity that kept them even to the numerically superior republic.

The Confederacy was founded when the Republic offered up an economic reform that would decentralise the economy, intending to dis-empower the Free-Market Federation. This reform received no thought or planning beyond its effect on the Federation, and failed to ever be implemented, but the industrial corporations within Oudok space, which the Republic depended on for manufacture, found the reform to be a personal affront. They seceded from what they viewed as an antagonistic Republic and fought a war to bring the objectivist confederacy to the forefront of Milieu politics. They received backing from the Free-Market Federation, and entangled with the Koswarvis Realm, but ended up mostly in stalemate with the Republic. When the DSB assimilated the Empire, they viewed the Confederacy as a dictatorship beyond redemption and assimilated it as well, bringing an abrupt and unforeseen end to the rising power. Lukhas Empire= The ‘’’Lukhas Empire’’’, or simply “‘’’the Empire’’’”, was the largest and most powerful nation within the Lukhas Milieu prior to the advent of the DSB intervention.

The Empire was a fascist single-party state, with all executive, legislative, and judicial roles under the total authority of the nameless Party with ethnocratic bias to the Davre species. The entire empire was under the absolute authority of the party leader, with the title of Emperor. The Emperor’s authority is absolute and cannot be countermanded by anything less than a coup d’etat. To maintain control, day to day running is given to the regional governors. The Imperial economy was a mixed model, with a planned economy under the control of the Party competing alongside private corporations. Private corporations were given a great deal of freedom, but were expected to obey the Empire; they couldn’t influence Imperial politics the way they do the Republic.

The Empire was founded during a cycle of anti-establishment sentiment towards the corrupt Republic. The fascist movement this cycle managed to swell up to unprecedented strength, leading to a brutal civil war between the “Nationalists” and the Republicans. The Nationalists were driven off beyond the Republic’s borders, but they took many kidnapped populations with them to forge a new empire. Within a century, the new Empire fought the Republic again, and managed to take much of their territory. A peace was achieved after a stalemate, and relations between the powers became quite cordial after transnational corporations began entwining their economies.

Resistance movements began cropping up to fight the tyranny of the Empire. The Imperial military crushed resistance whenever it occurred, but failed to ultimately destroy the dream of rebellion. Resistance took the form of socialists, Republic-loyalists, a species wide Aeli resistance, Xedda Order warriors, among many other goals. As the Empire stepped up its crack downs, many resistance movements coalesced into the Freedom Alliance, with entire regions declaring open rebellion. The Empire was also at this time violating the Koswarvis Realm for slaves and resources, bringing it into a two front war. The Imperial military was easily capable of handling this conflict, but the Freedom Alliance called the DSB in to intervene, thus bringing an end to the Empire’s reign. Free-Market Federation= The ‘’’Free-Market Federation’’’ was a powerful conglomerate of corporations operating across the Milieu, freely manipulating governments and abusing others. Their greed and desire for dominance was one of the leading causes of the Great War.

The Free-Market Federation was officially a holding corporation under the control of a board of directors and a chief executive officer. Over time, these positions of power became ethnocratically controlled by the Omo thanks to the Vulum Order’s interference. In practise, the Federation was the metanational fascist state, with absolute authority over its employees, due to a lack of government regulation.

The Federation was founded in a merger between a shipping corporation and a powerful bank. This union used its wealth to buy out numerous more companies providing vital services, and slowly began to monopolise the market. The Republic saw no issue with this, due to their belief in the free market. The Federation also expanded to the Empire, though they couldn’t influence the Imperial government and merely used the Imperial economy as a backup source of money. The Free-Market Federation slowly became dominated by Omo businessmen, and once this domination was complete, the Federation began taking direct control of neutral worlds in between the Republic and the Empire, giving themselves independent territory.

The Federation began to build a powerful private army, nominally to defend itself from pirates. Its army very quickly became involved in conflicted with the Koswarvis Realm as the Federation attempted to open business avenues there. Numerous worlds within the Republic and other places became directly under the control of the Federation, though influence within the Republic congress prevented any consequences. The small Nublichi Kingdom began to transition towards socialism, threatening the Federation’s business there. The private army was sent to invade Nublichi and bring it under control. This invasion failed, and brought the Federation into a ten-year war with the Nublichi Kingdom and the Sasn Tribes, alongside their already ongoing conflict with the Koswarvis.

The invasion of Nublichi finally caused upset in the Republic congress, which attempted to cause an economic reform to take power away from the Free-Market Federation. This reform did not harm the Federation after they failed to be implemented, but upset the manufacturing corporations of the Republic enough for them to seceded and form the Confederacy. The Federation gave significant support to the Confederacy, though did not join, and spent the Great War fighting any attempted interventions in Federation activity. Their end came when the Empire and Republic were assimilated by the DSB. The Federation was left with nothing to hold economic power over and fled into deep space. Nublichi Kingdom= The ‘’’Nublichi Kingdom’’’ is a minor power of the Lukhas Milieu, with a position as a semi-autonomous associate member of the Republic, and being known as one of the more peaceful and pleasant nations in the Milieu.

The Nublichi Kingdom was a constitutional monarchy, with a symbolic (though potentially influential) monarch being the head of state. The actual running of the state was accomplished by the Royal Parliament and the Prime Minister and his cabinet, a legislature and executive both elected by the Nublichi people. The prevailing ideology elected into parliament was social democracy, though a transition to socialism was never able to occur due to monarchist and corporate intervention, and the Nublichi remained a capitalist welfare state until it’s joining of the DSB, where socialism was finally implemented.

The Nublichi were founded by exiled Quogni people, which remained the predominant species of the Kingdom for all its history. The Quogni based upon their homeworld of Guetis were originally a member of the Republic, and many Quogni remain so. During the Sundering, the Nationalist forces and later the Empire attempted to exterminate the Quogni, forcing them to flee. Many scattered to other worlds around the Republic, while the bulk of them, including their monarch, fled beyond Republic borders to find the world of Nublichi, where they settled down and founded a new state. When the Sundering ended, the new Kingdom negotiated a semi-autonomous status next to the Republic.

The Nublichi discovered to their surprise that the planet Nublichi was home to an undiscovered species: the Sasn. There was a brief stand-off between the Sasn Tribes and the Nublichi Kingdom, until the social democrat government offered to withdraw from the planet. The Sasn saw this as a more than adequate measure of goodwill, and a peace treaty was struck up. The Nublichi and Sasn have since been very close allies, to the point of totally open and overlapping borders, though their societies remain separate.

The Nublichi were involved in the opening stages of the Great War, when they were involved in an altercation with the Free-Market Federation. When the Nublichi people began to transition to socialism, the Federation intervened in defence of their profits, invading Nublichi. The Kingdom and the Sasn tribes were able to drive them off, but they would be embroiled in war with the Federation for the next decade. This war allowed a more militaristic conservative government to take hold, thus preventing socialism from taking hold. The Republic failed to intervene with the invasion, though attempted to curb the Federation’s power in an ill-fated reform that caused the Confederate uprising. The war only ended with the intervention of the DSB, which forcibly liquidated the Federation’s assets. Socialist movements in the Nublichi Kingdom were able to take over, and applied for DSB membership. Koswarvis Realm= The ‘’’Koswarvis Realm’’’ was a smaller independent power amongst the Lukhas Milieu. An associate member of the Republic, the Koswarvis was a benevolent though militarily powerful state that seeks only friendship in the Milieu but was more than capable of defending themselves in a time of crisis.

The Koswarvis Realm was an executive monarchy, led by the King with executive power with an assembly composed of representatives from various constituencies. The government is not overly democratic, but isn’t particularly corrupt and serves the people well enough to avoid dissent. Many movements had attempted to reduce the power of the monarchy in favour of the assembly, though. The economy was in a state of flux and contention between corporations and trade unions, though the unions maintained a better foothold than in the Republic proper. Until membership of the DSB, the Realm was the only power to maintain near-total species monotony; with 97% of their population composed of Abcecwhac.

The Realm was one of many powers that met one another as they became space-faring, although the Koswarvis chose not to join the Republic. During the Republic’s golden age, the Koswarvis became an associate member, though avoided much participation or immigration. They found an economic niche being a manufacturing people for the Republic, putting them at odds with the Oudok manufacturing corporations. During and after the Sundering, the Koswarvis fought many border conflicts with the Empire. The rise of the Free-Market Federation also brought conflict, as the Federation tried forcibly taking control of the Realm’s worlds.

When the Great War broke out, the Koswarvis mobilised for a greater war. The incursions by Imperial and Federation forces were met with much more brutal resistance, and Koswarvis warriors also took part in fighting the Confederacy. The war provided the Realm with the means of exacting vengeance on their long-time enemies, and took the conflict in stride. When the war suddenly ended with the intervention of the DSB, the Koswarvis remained independent, and the DSB allowed this. Soon enough, exposure to the socialist superstate inspired Koswarvis workers to rise up and overthrow the monarchy and aristocracy, and the Realm applied for DSB membership. Republic of the Milieu= The ‘’’Republic of the Milieu’’’, also known as the “’’’Lukhas Republic’’’” or simply “’’’the Republic’’’”, was once the uniting regional power, and continued to be one of the two most powerful forces prior to the reunification under the DSB.

The Republic was nominally a democratic state, holding regular elections for its executive office, led by the President; and the legislature, the Republic Congress. Individual systems elected representatives into seats in congress to express the will of the electorate, though towards the end the entire political system was dominated by a two party state between two parties with minimal differences in policy, with the “representatives” loyal only to their parties and their corporate lobbyists rather than their constituencies. The Republic had a liberal capitalist society, which was highly unstable resulting in a cycle of fighting for rights for century only to have them ripped away in a single term, starting the fight over again.

The Republic was one of the oldest powers in the Lukhas Milieu. As civilisations spread out and contacted one another, positive relations, trade agreements, and alliances eventually caused them to slowly merge into the Republic. The Republic would experience a thousand year golden age prior to its slow death.

The liberal-capitalist foundation of the Republic caused it to experience slow decay in its democratic motives, leading to socialist and fascist movements cropping up to counter it. This occurred in regular cycles, but for the most part failed to cause significant change, until one cycle the fascist movement swelled to such enormous numbers that they attempted to overthrow the Republic. This lead to The Sundering, a devastating civil war between “the republicans” and “the nationalists” that lead to the Nationalists fleeing and founding the Empire. The Empire would fight a second war with the Republic, taking a chunk of territory off them. Afterwards, relations between the two powers settled and eventually became quite cordial after transnational corporations entwined their two economies.

After the sundering of the Empire, planets between the Republic and the Empire withdrew their membership and became independent states, citing the Republic’s failure to represent their interests. Criticism also arose from the Republic’s failure to aid the Freedom Alliance, which claimed to be abandoned Republic citizens, or the Koswarvis Realm, an associate state of the Republic, from the incursions of the Empire. The growing corporate power of the Free-Market Federation also grew into a concern, one that the Republic attempted to rectify as socialists and trade unionists protested the corporation’s unaccountability. The Republic introduced economic reforms meant purely to attack the Federation rather than improve the economy, causing an economic crisis that failed to harm the Federation and merely led to another war.

The predominantly Oudok regions of the Republic were angered by the economic reform that hurt the industrial corporations residing their the most, and the region seceded to become the Confederacy of Objectivist Planets. The Republic denounced this secession (as it removed their key manufacturing worlds) and tried to reclaim the region through war. This war resulted in a stalemate due to the Confederacy’s superior manufacturing capacity. The end of the Republic came totally left field. When the DSB liberated and absorbed the Empire, the Republic attempted to claim the former Imperial worlds as their own. This brought them into conflict with the DSB, which condemned the corrupt Republic system as beyond hope and overthrew it. Sasn Tribes= The ‘’’Sasn Tribes’’’ was a unique power amongst the Milieu, independent of the Republic and the Empire, a socialistic state with an aptitude for biotechnology. They were a peaceful nation unfortunately caught up in the affairs of the rest of the Milieu, and were highly encouraging of the region’s joining with the DSB.

The Sasn Tribes was a loose union of numerous communities, operating with a direct democratic system of governance from the bottom up. The union was overall run by the People’s Assembly, with a Chief in executive power. All these positions are elected by the people and are subject to the people’s will. The economy is under total control of the workers, and is based upon the principle providing rather than producing profit. Unlike the other Milieu powers, their system of government and economy did not change upon DSB membership.

The Sasn were the last species of the Milieu to become space faring, although they maintained an expansive and advanced civilisation on their homeworld of Nublichi. When Quogni refugees set up the Nublichi Kingdom, the Sasn Tribes made their presence known and accused the Kingdom of being imperialist conquerors. A standoff occurred, until the Kingdom offered to withdraw from the world, which the Sasn saw as a decent gesture of goodwill, and offered to share the world peacefully. At this time the Sasn began to expand out into space, and cooperated with the Nublichi Kingdom in terraforming and settling new worlds.

The Sasn Tribes and the Nublichi Kingdom became extremely close allies, with borders practically becoming non-existent and citizens freely moving from one society to the other. The utopian conditions of the Sasn Tribes drew in many immigrants from across the Lukhas Milieu, all of which were welcomed. The Tribes however drew much ire from the capitalist institutions of the greater Milieu, especially the Free-Market Federation, which attempted to conquer the Sasn Tribes during their invasion of Nublichi. The Federation was driven off, though the Sasn would fight against Federation worlds throughout the Great War until the DSB intervened, where the tribes applied for membership and continued their lives under DSB protection.

Trivia

 * The Lukhasi firmly believe the Mirus Galaxy to be part of the, and can get quite cantankerous about the issue.
 * The Lukhas Milieu is quite obviously based on the Star Wars universe, with the different eras merged together into one.
 * The two religions, while based off the premise of the Jedi and Sith, ultimately draw more from the Jacoban and Peteran Churches from ‘’The Sims Medieval’’.