The Kogari Region
Summary - a wild area on the border of the B-UFP.
This area was always a hinterlands, a wild zone.
The Zarians, a local human race began their warp drive era. They were located on the planet Zaria. They were ruled by the Royal House of Zaria in a constitutional monarchy.
One of several colony worlds was Balmoria.
The Zarians encountererd the Bykaler a race of Cat/ferret furries. The Bykalers were given technology and hired as mercenaries all over the Zarian Empire. In time they became dissastisfied with their role as hit-men, and organized a rebellion. This quickly crystalized and became the Bykaler Empire. The Bykalers were brutal, abusing conquered humans, and conducting mass murders.
The USS Canberra arrived at Balmoria and rallied the shattered remains of the Zarian Empire as well as a few allies into a new fighting force.
Before they finished the Bykalers took Zaria, unseating the Royal Family (Massacring and eating them) and wreaking mass destruction.
Not too long later Zaria was retaken by the Balmorian Federation, and a Federation style representative democracy was installed.
The fleeing royals and loyalists fled to the colonies in the Kogari region and restablished governments dedicated chiefly to enhancing their own power, and staying free of the B-UFP. Each claims to be the true heir to the Zarian Throne
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War in the Kogari region. Power rests on military power fundamentally. The nations of the Kogari region know they stay out of the Federation mainly by the threat of military force. So when fighting each other, they must allocate forces sparingly and use them frugally and very efficiently. If Kingdom A and Kingdom B weaken themselves too badly fighting each other, each is a sitting duck for Kingdom C or worse the B-UFP
Consequently, battles in the Kogari Region tend to be short and seem inconclusive, but this is a long term strategy of errosion and attrition.
The nations of the Kogai Region include the B-UFP in this party, conducting sporadic, short raids against patrolling ships and installations.
The Vargr and the Kogari get along fairly well exchanging goods, services and technology, driven by opposition to the B-UFP and the desire for profits.
Many Vargr corsair and mercenary units can find employ in the Kogari Region.
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The nations of the Kogari Region are engaged in a period of exploration and expansion that resembles the terran "Age of Discovery" from about 1450 AD to about 1870 AD
The race is on to discover new worlds and exploitable populations and resources, with the winner gaining enough powwer to dominate the Kogari Region and rival the B-UFP.
Privateer-Explorers and official expeditions are happening apace, doing their best to get there the firstest and claim the mostest
None of them is aware that they are racing towards Klingon contact.
The first of these are called the five kingdoms.
They are not terribly constitutional. Imagine the renaissance Kingdoms of Italy. Nobles, wealthy merchants and royals manueuver for power and dominance.
The Kingdom of Miatra owns three heavily populated (relatively) planets and a relatively large space fleet.
The Kingdom of Kalador owns two heavily populated planets and several colonies, noted for skills in deep space flight and navigation as well as war.
Kingdom of Mizert owns two heavily populated worlds and a few colonies. Noted for technological innovation, they are the armory of The Five Kingdoms
Realm of Ko'ot, took in large numbers of refugee Bykalers after the B-Federation conquest, noted for fierce ground forces
The Principalities of Anzon, a balkanized world, where several Princes own territory and theoetically cooperate in a council. The smallest of the five kingdoms, but the free-est fo mercenaries, and privateers. Noted for excellent spycraft.
There are other worlds and governments in the in the Kogari region -
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Akbara, a Theocracy where the Kaliph rules both the temporal government and is the head of the church. Akbara is a total free port for pirates, bandits, mercenaries and adventurers where anything can be bought for enough cash. They have a small but well trained, well armed guard which, in concert with status conscious mercenary and pirate bands can usually take down any pirate who challenge the authority of the Kaliph. Imagin a sort of a cross between Midieval Bagdad and the Libyan coast in the 1700s.
Most Akbarans are devout followers of the "One True Way" and consider non believers slightly less than human.
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The Free Republic of Zolan, a representaive democracy, which is culturally more at home with the Kogari than the B-UFP. Noted for aggressive political maneuvering, and ruthless behavior in pursuit of their own national interests. (Think Taiwan with Henry Kissenger as their Foreign Minister)
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The Free Port of Pogue - Think Port Royal with Starships. An anarchic commerce zone which has its own brutal culture
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The Mines of Porniqt, the Mining Guild of Porniqt - Centrally located, the mines are one of the chief sources for all minerals and a larg supply of rare resources necessary for high technology.
Since no one Kingdom can afford to have the supply or resources controlled by another, the neutral/open methodology of the Mining Guild is maintained by a balance of forces. The Mining Guild of Porniqt is the largest slave holding power in the area and is a huge market. People get used up, even though a lot of the mining is automated, slaves are used for some labor intensive operations and maintenance of the machinery as well as labor intensive hydroponic farming to feed the asteroid based society.
The Mining Guild fears that new expansion and colonization moves by the Five Kingdoms and other forces in the area will render their monopoly on resources obsolete.
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Mongo - A conglomeration of five former Colonies that were used poorly by their former colonial masters. A warlord named Ming arose and led the people of Mongo to their freedom. They love him. He's the new power broker in the Kogari region, and his forces are large and skilled.
Any three of the Five Kingdoms can counterweight him, and four could defeat him, but any war would be destructive enough to threaten the future of the whole region.
Noted for cheerful enthusiasm for the Cult of Personality surrounding Ming, and the feared Elite force "The Legions of Terror"
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Ix!tor - The Ix!tor are an insectoid race resembling large wasp-beetles. They gained technology from hapless traders and explorers. The Ix!tor are characterized by a horrid habit. They lay eggs in large mammals who are then consumed from the inside out. Due to over population and over-industrialization, the IX!tor were facing a severe ecological crisis. They took (Cheerfully) to attacking and capturing Kogari residents to use as breeding hosts.
Once discovered this lead to a brutal war, that threatened to turn genocidal. Once the reasons for Ix!tor behavior were discovered they were offered horses, and aid rebuilding their world's ecology. The Ix!tor accepted and are in the process of recovery.
Only a few know that Among the Ix!tor, being birthed from a sentient host carries a powerfull cultural meaning, and is considered superior (Although the truth of the proposition is questionable)
So the Ix!Tor are playing nice and playing cool but they have become a major black market for slaves. and they carry out small, secretive raids to pick up more people. The Ix!tor are staying quiet until they feel they have enough force to dominate the Mammals
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Tanak - The Tanak are humanoids of he "Latex head" variety. In Gaming terms they aren't very different from humans. Ther world resembles Earth of the Cyberpunk age, over crowded, over industrialized and headed for a cultural breaking point and malthusian disaster. In this harsh environment, mercenaries, adventurers, rogues and rats all fight against dominance by globe spanning mega-corporations.
Tanak has 10 Billion + people. It is under partial contact by the nations of the Kogari region (and others). Colonists are recruited from Tanak to work colonies for the Five Kingdoms, Mongo and The Republic of Zolan.
The mega corps of Tanak are fighting tooth and claw to get galactic technology. Their soliders are very tough, their hackers clever and fast, their negotiators rival any in the Kogari Region, and their culture is broken and toxic.
However, the Five Kingdoms and others seek to see the Tanak as a speed bump in the Kogari Region's aggressive expansion campaign. It is under consideration in the B-UFP to make a minor treaty with the Tanak and hand them high technology to help them become another rival in the region, competing with the others.
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Bykaler - A race of Cat/Ferret Furries. They are larger than Humans and usually stronger. The Bykaler were conquered by the B-UFP. Generally they are a member of the B-UFP and follow the B-UFP's party line. Some of the Kogari people still consider them frightening and untrustworthy, an image the Bykaler work hard to to leave behind them.
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Haven - When the B-UFP conquered the Bykaler Empire a large number of Bykalers fled and settled Haven. Most people consider Haven the last unreconstructed remnant of the Bykaler Empire. However this is not the case. Having thoroughly lost the war against the B-UFP Haven is not eager to start another war for racial superiority. However, they do cling to Bykaler culture and generally act as if the Bykaler are a superior form of being. They do join in the Politics of the Kogari region when it suits them. They usually work to maintain the balance of power between the various kingdoms, to avoid being dominated by the humans again. There is contact between the Bykaler home world and Haven, although the war between the B-UFP and the Bykaler Empire technically never ended. Both sides tacitly ignore this state of affairs, but diplomatic overtures from the B-UFP to Haven are often met coldly.
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Vargr - The Vargr are Canine Furries. Their culture is diistrubuted with not real functional central authority. Each Vargr ship or small fleet of them operates on it's own. Vargr merchants, adventurers, explorers and corsairs find the Kogari region a place of opportunity. They tend to appear all over the Kogari region with no real rhyme or reason behind their appearance.
Many Vargr ships have business relationships with Kogari worlds. The Kogari are prepared to accept the Vargr more readily since the Vargr are rivals of the B-UFP. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" opens the door for the Vargr. The Kogari picked up quickly that the Vargr are scattered and have no central authority. So when Vargr mercenaries or corsairs become pirates, they are hunted specifically.
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Disclaimer: Paramount owns all things Trek. I claim original characters and situations in this material for me.