History DarthWiki / EVNovaUnitedGalacticFederation

* LoadsAndLoadsOfRaces: In no particular order, we've got humans, Varellavites and three vassal races (Vhusaed, Katagans, and Obralans), Balcrusians, Ganba, Sathuans (extinct), Axe-tails, Klavarese, Anz'kalarads, Orions, Norkards, Darkstarians, Kavish, Lorstahn, Paz/kanrans (two races that evolved on the same minor planet), five Corunian species, Kyrzakagalans, and the list goes on.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfRaces: In no particular order, we've got humans, Varellavites and three vassal races (Vhusaed, Katagans, and Obralans), Balcrusians, Ganba, Sathuans (extinct), Axe-tails, Klavarese, Anz'kalarads, Orions, Norkards, Darkstarians, Kavish, Lorstahn, Paz/kanrans (two races that evolved on the same minor planet), five Corunian species, Kyrzakagalans and the list goes on.* LookOnMyWorksYeMightyAndDespair: The Axe-tails blame the fall of their original empire partly on this.

** Overlapping with FamousFamousFictional, United Galactic Navy battlecruisers are named for heroes and historical figures, including nonhuman ones. This means we get cruisers named UGNS ''Abraham Lincoln'', ''Nelson Mandela'', and ''Claus von Stauffenberg''[[hottip:*:the guy who tried to briefcase-bomb Adolf Hitler in 1945]], alongside ships named ''Vodai Kalan'', ''Keladu'chai'', and ''Ul'kan'sheenee''.

* BalkanizeMe: Backstory example. After their defeat in the War of Retribution, the Holy Sathu Commonwealth made the Axe-tails pay tribute and forbade any form of government more important than clan leaders. This had more or less the desired effect: the Axe-tails were reduced to three or four hundred[[hottip:*:that's how many the Sathuans allowed to survive, not a case of SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale]] tribes fighting over what little advanced technology was allowed to them (unarmed freighters being the big one), and trying to appease their Sathuan governors.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Several civilian ships are partly inspired by ships from the original ''EscapeVelocity''. The [[http://fav.me/d32z3nv Carrack light freighter]] has been described as "[[http://www.evula.com/survival_guide/ev-ships/freighters.html Argosy]][[hottip:*:scroll down a ways on that page]] [[XMeetsY meets cruise liner]]", while the [[http://starsword-c.deviantart.com/art/R-46-Starchaser-187426972 R-46 Starchaser]] is kind of a mashup of the Rapier and Clipper.

* SacredLanguage: The Ganba use Meridian[[hottip:*:the Andromedan trade language]] most of the time, but official ceremonies use Ganbar. The Axe-tails use a particularly archaic form of High Axorian for religious rites, while modern High Axorian is used mainly by the nobility, and Common Axorian (a simplified version) is used by virtually everyone else including the military.

* LookOnMyWorksYeMightyAndDespair: The Axe-tails blame the fall of their original empire partly on this.

* TheMilkyWayIsTheOnlyWay: Averted. The UGF controls territory in two galaxies, and [[DummiedOut has colonies in the Magellanic Clouds]]. Note that this is only possible with "long-jump" hypergates that can cross the intergalactic void.

* NoodleIncident: The Polaris simply disappeared from the universe just prior to the end of the United Powers War in the back story, leaving behind the [[NegativeSpaceWedgie Rift]]. No explanation is given, though theories abound.
** PutOnABus: [[WordOfGod Out of universe]], the Polaris were removed to stop their ships from being {{Game Breaker}}s, as they are in the stock scenario.

** The word "Axe-tail" is a translation of the Sathuan name for the species. The Axe-tails call themselves something that roughly transliterates as "Axor'arukh" (which basically means "the people"), but there's a couple sounds in there that English doesn't possess.

* InhumanableAlienRights: Addressed by the UGF's federal anti-discrimination laws in the same sentence as religion, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sex and sexual orientation, and psionic ability. (The last one's a holdover from the post-Bureau Federation.)

* {{Uncoffee}}: Averted. Standard coffee is one of Earth's major exports. It even shows up in Earth's commodities trading dialog.

* EarthShatteringKaboom: The plug-in features weapons that can raze planets (although not destroy them). Doing this to an Class M planet is considered a [[WhatTheHellPlayer war crime]] by all the major factions (except for the Balcrusians, who'll recruit you into the [[StateSec Scimitars]] if you can reach them without being killed by the naval forces hunting you).
** Note that SpaceStation-Shattering Kabooms are allowed, depending on the station (some are legitimate military targets). Each storyline has a mission that requires you to destroy an enemy space station.

* EnemyCivilWar: The Balcrusian People's Republic is the site of an ongoing civil war between the government and the Balcrusian Freedom Front, the only survivor of an [[TheAlliance initial coalition]] of rebels that tried to overthrow the BPR in the 960s. The rest of them were [[DivideAndConquer driven apart and slaughtered]] by the Scimitars. The Freedom Front survives only because of private aid from various groups in the UGF.

* Axe-tail ''rinkhashet'', or tail-fighting.
* The Anz'kalarad art ''valteshan'' is strongly associated with the Dathic monastic order who use it partly as a method of meditation. It tends to be hard for non-Anz'kalarads to learn as it depends heavily on the natural gifts of Anz'kalarad physiology (among them well-developed twitch muscles, double-jointed arms, and strong jaws).

* TheFederation / UnitedSpaceOfAmerica: The eponymous United Galactic Federation, right down to having a flag inspired by that of the United Nations. The federal government is largely based on the United States.

The story is a thousand-years-later sequel to ''Nova's'' Rebel questline wherein the Bureau was overthrown and the Federation made peace with the Aurorans and Polaris in 1190 NC.

* SingleBiomePlanet: Subverted in most cases. An Earthlike planet that is described such is a victim of the LawOfConservationOfDetail (and the size of the planet dësc field): what's described is the region(s) where people actually live. Frequently played straight with uninhabitable worlds.

* AIIsACrapshoot / RobotWar: Milky Way Union explorers arrived in the Andromeda Galaxy through the first long-jump hypergate during a war between the Meridian Star Republic and an experimental fleet command AI called [=QRC-A51=]. The Union helped them take it out (the UGF was formed from the two governments' merger shortly thereafter), but the Andromedans have had an understandable distaste for fully sapient AIs ever since. Mildly subverted in that [=QRC-A51=] was the exception: the vast majority of AIs are benign.

* AlienNonInterferenceClause: The UGF (and the Milky Way Union which preceded it) has a law called the Evolutionary Noninterference Act whereby spacers are not allowed to contact cultures that have not achieved at least orbital space travel (and they prefer to wait until they develop FTL). But the law is written as "if we can keep them safe without their knowing, it's our duty". Such worlds within their borders receive naval protection, ranging from diverting planet-killing asteroids to preventing other governments from conquering them. The Axe-tail Star Empire has a similar law.

* TheAlliance: The Corunian Planetary Alliance, an important member government of the UGF.

* BatmanGambit / BullyingADragon: After the BPR overthrew the Balcrusian Empire, it demanded that the also-newly formed (but much larger and more powerful) UGF hand over the planet, which was a major source of [[{{Unobtainium}} kanium]]. Most of the kanium had already been mined, however, so the newly formed and much larger UGF decided to flip 'em the bird with Operation Red Clover. Most of the UGN and several private shipping companies evacuated the planet's entire population (including Balcrusian citizens who settled it under a power-sharing agreement with the Empire) and destroyed any usable equipment. While they did this, the rest of the UGN led what was left of the Balcrusian People's Navy after the civil war and subsequent purges on a merry chase through the southern half of the BPR. By the time the Balcrusian Ruling Council managed to get word to their field commanders that they were being played, Creedmore was uninhabited.

** UGN General Order 68 is the ''EVN:UGF'' equivalent to an [[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer40000}} Exterminatus]] or [[Franchise/StarWars Base Delta Zero]]: the order to glass a planet and kill every living thing on it. Unlike every other possible Galactic military action, it requires a majority vote in the Senate; thus far it has never been issued.

* TheEmpire / PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny: The Balcrusian People's Republic, ''full bleeping stop''.

** The First Axe-tail Empire started out conquering worlds, which they saw as bringing the gifts of the gods to more primitive cultures, and in truth they did some good, some bad (like the Roman Empire). They mutated into a truer version of TheEmpire as time went on and corruption set in.
*** Then the Axe-tails were overthrown and [[BalkanizeMe reduced to squabbling tribes]] in the War of Retribution, which brought the Holy Sathu Commonwealth into existence. Out of the frying pan, into the fire... The Commonwealth was eventually brought down by the addition of the Ganbar Empire to the Andromedan political stage, which led the Sathuans' vassals in overthrowing them. This led to the formation of the Meridian Star Republic.

* FantasticDrug: 324-florazine iodase is an antidepressant for humans, and is regulated but legal under the brand name Covora. For several species of nonhumans, however, "stardust" is an addictive drug whose effects vary by species, and is highly illegal.

* FantasticHonorifics: Anz'kalarads use the suffix "-sava" with loved ones (e.g. "Kala-''sava''").

* FantasyPantheon: The example that's most story-relevant is the ''Axor Khel Ar'da'' (the Axe-tail pantheon), which has nearly thirty different gods and goddesses. The Empire's flag has includes the symbols of their three most important deities.

* FixedForwardFacingWeapon / WaveMotionGun: Averted on most capital ships, since the heavy hitters have gotten so big that turrets are a necessity for coverage. Nevertheless:

* FrickinLaserBeams: Axe-tail photon beams, Ganba neutron beams. Varellavite heat rays (infrared lasers meant to melt the target).
** Galactic laser cannons actually aren't lasers. Instead they fire a particle beam excited by a laser. Same goes for Klavarese maser cannons.

* GoodRepublicEvilEmpire: Subverted in two instances. The UGF's primary antagonist, the Axe-Tail Star Empire, actually doesn't fit the definition of TheEmpire: they're a fairly democratic [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Proud Soldier Race]] whose only real beef with the UGF (among one faction at least; there's also political and religious conflicts involved) is that their current borders contain systems that were part of the Axe-Tails' ancient empire before it collapsed. Which makes them ScaryDogmaticAliens, but not really an Evil Empire. That trope fits better with the [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny Balcrusian Peple's Republic]].

* MilitaryAlphabet: The UGN uses the modern US version. The most obvious example is the science/military stations ringing [[NegativeSpaceWedgie the Rift]], 26 stations labeled Rift Station Alpha through Rift Station Zulu.

* TheMothership: A UGN command ship is the flagship of an offensive battle group, the ship upon which the admiral in command has his/her/its offices. They're also eight-kilometer [[TheBattlestar battlestars]] capable of razing planets and savaging entire fleets. They're not invincible, however: within the past century, two have been destroyed and several more heavily damaged.
** Subverted in that destroying a command ship won't cause the fleet to collapse. Command immediately devolves upon a slain admiral's highest-ranking inferior, usually the admiral in charge of one of the battle group's subdivisions. The chain of succession is prearranged.

* NamingYourColonyWorld: Several variations ranging from "New-something" to "star-number". New Something is most prevalent among worlds settled by Terrans during the John Grimes Colonial Project, which attempted to reduce the populations of overpopulated worlds by transplanting inhabitants to newly discovered Earthlike planets.

* OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness: The Masterminds, a cabal of {{Mad Scientist}}s and tacticians that have basically taken over the Varellavite Imperium.

* ProudMerchantRace: The Klavarese go so far as to view war as an economic venture. They're somewhat inspired by the more warlike Ferengi of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', crossed with the [[Franchise/StarWars prequel-era Galactic Republic]].
* [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Proud Soldier Race]]: Honor in war is supreme for the Axe-tails. They don't disdain scientists and merchants: said roles are just fine if you have no aptitude or taste for warfare. And their idea of honor isn't just warfare for its own sake, either: they're pragmatic, not {{blood knight}}s, and their preferred tactic is to strike fast, hard, and ''first'', to cause a minimum of suffering to their opponent.
* PunctuationShaker: Axorian and Klavarese, though you've got to remember they've been [[TranslationConvention transliterated to English]]. With Axorian (Common or High), apostrophes indicate a non-standard syllabic break ''a la'' transliterating Japanese to English.
** For Klavarese, you'd have to ask TimothyZahn. The Klavarese [[ShoutOut get a lot of stuff from]] [[StarWarsExpandedUniverse the Chiss]], including the language.

* ReassignedToAntarctica: Rift Station Mike, one of the space stations ringing [[NegativeSpaceWedgie the Rift]], is nicknamed "Rift Station Misfit" because since it has little strategic or scientific importance, it's become the Navy's favorite place to stick professionals "incapable of holding a regular posting, but not abnormal enough to get thrown into an institution." The dësc mentions examples like a lieutenant who only got his bars because [[UpperClassTwit his uncle's the leader of some minor race]], or a scientist [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} who insists on all of his meals being served with exactly three sprigs of parsley per side, with one extra in case of extra unobservable dimensions]].

* ReportingNames: Humans are physically incapable of pronouncing the names of Varellavite ships, so they're assigned nicknames. The capital ships' nicknames (Kraken and Grendel) are close, though.

* ScaryDogmaticAliens: Played with. The Axe-tails are the "religious fundamentalist" type, being very religious and strong believers in the supernatural. But their main sticking point with the Galactics and Klavarese is that those two governments currently control worlds that were part of the First Empire, rather than being driven by any holy war.

* SpaceMarine: The United Galactic Marine Corps, natch. They have {{powered armor}}, and their primary roles among the Galactic armed services are boarding actions (using a combination of shipboard Marine contingents and Navy personnel) and ground invasions (shipboard contingents and troopships). The Army then holds the planet once it is taken.

** The Axe-tail Renegades, warriors and their descendants who were stripped of rank and exiled for certain crimes. They raid Axe-tail, Klavarese, and Galactic shipping and planets for survival.
*** Ditto the Houseless warriors, the Auroran equivalent.

* TechnologyLevels: The Blenn-Strelling Scale uses these to describe how technologically advanced a species is. Class I species are hunter-gatherers. Class II have agriculture. Class III have cities and trade. Class IV have atmospheric flight. Class V have long-range communication. Class VI have orbital spaceflight. Class VII have traveled to other planets in their system (if any). Class VIII have traveled to other star systems by slower-than-light travel. Class IX have FasterThanLightTravel. A culture is designated based on the highest level they have achieved.

** UGN frigates are named for [[StellarName planets and moons]] (e.g. ''Earth'', ''South Manchester'', ''Kilberhaar''). Destroyers tend to use virtues and mythology (''Agamemnon'', ''Intrepid'', ''Bellerophon''). Battlecruisers are named for [[NamedAfterSomebodyFamous historical figures]] (''Nelson Mandela'', ''Chester Nimitz'', ''[[FamousFamousFictional Drath Bok'lay]]'').
*** Command ships are named by their first CO, and all subsequent iterations of the command ship for that battle group use the same name. The ten command ships that appear in the game are ''Constitution'', ''Excalibur'', ''Stellar Song'', ''[=StarSword=]'', ''Allegiance'', ''Firestorm'', ''Panther'', ''Voyager'', ''Warlord'', and ''Pegasus''.
** BPN ship names are designed to be intimidating, and are mostly cribbed from [[StarWars star destroyers]]. Some examples are ''Ravager'', ''Implacable'', and ''Dominance''.
*** In direct contrast, Balcrusian Freedom Front [[spoiler:(later Balcrusian Republic in two strings)]] ships tend to use positive virtues, frequently borrowed from Rebel Alliance/New Republic ships. (''Stalwart'', ''Undauntable'', ''Resolute'')

* TheUnpronounceable: Humans simply do not have the vocal structures necessary to reproduce Varellan words. The transliterations of their system and planet names range from "pretty close" to "a ''very'' rough approximation", and the UGF doesn't even bother trying to write their starship names down, favoring ReportingNames.

* WideOpenSandbox: Insanely wide. The map contains over 1,200 star systems intended to represent two galaxies, and that's ''before'' adding the duplicate systems for storyline changes. Hypergate use is effectively required to get anywhere in a reasonable amount of time.
** And the star systems shown are a broad cross-section of the actual scale of Known Space, which includes Galactic colonies in the Magellanic Clouds and, just two months before the start of the game, a brief poke-your-head-in-and-see-what's-there in the Pegasus Dwarf Irregular Galaxy.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfRaces: In the larger setting, biologists have identified somewhere in the range of 850,000 sapient species, only a fraction of which appear in the game.

* SpaceIsCold: Averted by WordOfGod, referencing ''MassEffect'' and ThisVeryWiki. The reason Galactic capital ships have wings is to increase their surface area for radiating waste heat. Other tricks for getting rid of heat include honeycombing the ship with channels for liquid cooling agents that transfer heat to the outer hull. And the Axe-tails have AppliedPhlebotinum that lets them dump heat into hyperspace, which is the main reason their [[StealthInSpace cloaking devices]] are so effective.

* WeWillUseManualLaborInTheFuture: Justified or subverted, depending on the example. Galactic prison worlds use manual labor as a punishment; prisoners spend their days at such tasks as mining. A news item mentioning the longshoreman's union is a subversion: NamesTheSame, but these longshoremen are skilled workers who use such advanced tools as cranes and exoskeletons to load and unload ships, or operate robots that do it for them (depending on the spaceport).

* AWolfInSheepsClothing: The Orion ''Haladar''-class frigate is structurally identical to the poorly armed Kangaroo light freighter, designed to act helpless long enough to lure in pirates, then tear them to shreds with a withering barrage of turbolaser fire.