The Milky Way

Address of the UNE Secretary General Anansi Zatoya with the occasion of the launch of Unity, the first Lower Belt Federation Starship, 28.06.2292     "Humankind has had a troubled past. From our near nuclear destruction three centuries ago, through the troubled century of economic and ecological collapse to our first great disappointments in space, with the loss of the Arkships, more than a century ago. Through all this, it was one thing and one thing only that kept driving us onwards - our awestruck gaze upwards, towards the sky.   The Galaxy we call the Milky Way has always been a draw and a source of mystery and awe. But not only for us it seems. As humankind took flight through the vast distances between stars it slowly began to dawn upon us all that the void is a much stranger, and more crowded place that one could imagine. There were ancient ruins, and massive organisms propelled by solar winds, there was alien flora and fauna just waiting to be discovered.   And there were others, seeking, like us. No sooner had humankind sailed into the void that it had come across other strange people coursing through the vast of night. Some, like those present here, would become our closest friends, others dire enemies, threats incomprehensible to us in a civilized space filled with the kind of scientific knowledge we did not even dare to dream of in the past.   But if there is one thing that we learned through all the pain and the strife and the hardships of the past is that there is strength in unity, that not even the most dangerous foes stand a chance against good people, united in purpose, determined in will. For not only is our cause of peace just, but beyond all considerations of morality and justice, we are all free people and we will not back down in the face of tyranny, exploitation or deceit. And this ship behind me is proof of our Unity and of our determination, as our ancestors said so long ago when taking their first steps on another celestial body. <> Humankind carries on in peace, yet we are not alone. Alongside our Lokken and Scyldari allies we are stronger, we are wiser and we look ever forward into a galaxy filled with awe, as our ancestors did so many millenia ago.   So let this ship serve as a symbol of our Unity, determination and commitment to exploration. And let it go forth, in peace for all our kinds. "