Union of Races

The Union of Races is an alliance between the races of the Asathai, the Dwerin, and the Krath, located nearer to the edge of the Verion Cluster than most other factions. It was formed 50 years ago by the races after a war with the now nearly extinct Itana, in which the races developed close ties and discovered that they are stronger together than they are alone. With their specialities combined they form a group able to focus on engineering, science, diplomacy, and war. The Asathai are the Union's diplomats, scientists, and traders. The Dwerin are the engineers, pilots, and builders. The Krath are the warriors, generals, and law enforcers. The races are deeply intertwined with one another, living on eachother's colonies and homeworlds, sharing food and resources, and fighting side by side during war.

Political System
The Union is lead by representatives from each race, forming a Council. How the Councilors are elected is up to the individual race. Krath, for example, a monarchy, but can choose new leading families via battle. The Dwerin and Asathai are democratic societies, and as such simply vote on their Councilors. Major decisions that affect the entire Union, such as a declaration of war, can only be made if all three Councilors agree to it. The Council leads the Union from their capital building in the city of Tyr, on the Asathai homeworld of Ilith.

The Union is both socialist and capitalist. Citizens are provided with free healthcare, and safety nets are in place for the unemployed. The government also constructs rudimentary housing for the poorer citizens, and grows cheaper (but lower quality) food.

Relations With Other Races
The Union has encountered a multitude of races, including the Corrundians, Xendians, Tal'Ryth, Malsuth, Numicans, and the Edessians. They have non-aggression pacts with the Corrundians and Numicans, and a trade agreement with the Corrundians. They have an embassy on Barbers Sun, the Malsuth capital planet.

During first contact, a Krath ambassador and security guard began mocking the Corrundians, causing a short conflict to erupt, resulting in heavy damage to the UNS Venture and a boarding by a Corrundian assault squad, which was repelled. The Corrundians attempted to apologize for the incident, and after some discussions, the Union accepted their apology and peaceful relations resumed.

Culture
The Union is multicultural, with each race maintaining their own distinct culture.

Language
The Union has four different official languages. Each race has its own language. All members of the races are, however, required to learn Union Standard. Union Standard was developed shortly after the formation of the Union. Universal translators were expensive, too expensive for most civilians to afford, and requiring citizens to learn two other languages to properly communicate with eachother seemed cumbersome. As a result, Union Standard was created, designed to be easy to learn for all races.

Religion
The Union has no official religion. The Asathai are almost entirely atheist, while the Dwerin population is roughly evenly split. The Krath's main religion is polytheist, with a pantheon of diverse gods, the most powerful and prominent being the God of Conflict. Rarely, members of other races will convert to the religion of another race.

Architecture
The Union's architectural styles vary wildly between each race. The Asathai's architecture is elegant, sleek, and their buildings make use of a lot of glass and stainless steel. Asathai cityscapes are a magnificent sight, as they like to build tall. Their buildings are also efficient, many of them containing their own power generators, such as wind turbines and solar panels, taking advantage of Ilith's dryness and winds.

Krath architecture is rugged and utilitarian, with concrete-like buildings constructed to withstand punishment, a requirement for their harsh planet and frequent Pre-Union wars. Their buildings are not nearly as tall as those of the Asathai, remaining lower to the ground to be more sturdy.

Dwerin architecture is the most grand of them all, with the Dwerin primarily living underground in great halls. In the old days, before their industrial revolution, the Dwerin built these halls primarily with stone, but now use advanced stone-like materials that retain the authenticity but are much, much stronger.

Military
The Union Defense Force is divided into two main groups. The Star Navy, their space forces, and the Union Planetary Forces, it's planetside military. The Planetary Forces are mostly made up of Krath soldiers, with Asathai and Dwerin serving as well. The Star Navy is much more mixed, though the majority of it's members are Asathai, but only by a very small margin.

The Star Navy's fleet is currently fairly small in comparison to other factions, but large amounts of credits have been diverted to its build up now that many other races have been discovered. The fleet was utterly annihilated during the Verion Campaign, and the Union has begun anew in terms of their star fleet. New doctrine, new strategy, new designs.