Types of Star Systems

While navigators, scientists, and cartographers classify systems by their star type (which includes number, size, and color), equally important to Keleres agents is the political status of a star system or the worlds within it. The Galactic Council, and the labyrinth of treaties that prop it up, afford the Keleres varying degrees of official access to star systems depending on those systems’ current status. This affects which actions agents may take unilaterally and which require permission or oversight.

Homeworlds

A home system is a planetary system where a species of intelligent life originally developed, or one a civilization has claimed as its home system in lieu of anywhere else to call home. A majority of the thousands of civilizations in the galaxy never colonize any worlds outside their home system. But home systems are among the most culturally distinct, honoring traditions, arts, and customs all their own, when they comprise a world or worlds with just the right atmospheric conditions and gravity to thrive.

Home systems typically have significant military defenses against invasion and strict customs enforcement. Most have specific districts for off-worlders, particularly those from other factions. The Keleres have to tread carefully in these star systems, lest they step on the wrong toes or even accuse the wrong being of a crime and escalate intergalactic tensions. When Keleres are invited to investigate in a home system, the locals usually assign a liaison or guide of some sort to make sure the agents don’t wander or conduct any extracurricular activities.

Military Worlds

Many civilizations maintain worlds or star systems devoted primarily to their militaries. These systems range from industrialized ones hosting shipyards that build hundreds of warships and army bases that train millions of troops to small outposts monitoring strategic navigational chokepoints or serving as covert bases. Many are known to the other powers or are even publicly declared, but just as many, if not more, don’t officially exist on any star charts or survey reports.

The Keleres have almost no jurisdiction in or around a military facility unless expressly invited and extended jurisdiction. In any other case, Keleres should expect to be treated as enemy combatants. Even if a Keleres has been seconded from the military in control of one of these systems, that military will probably at least publicly treat the Keleres as the Council’s agent first and foremost. Interfering in a military installation of a Great Civilization could invite a vicious backlash from that civilization’s Council representative, so the Tribunii are known to disavow any Keleres caught snooping.

Colonies

Prosperous and populous civilizations often spread to nearby stars, either terraforming dead worlds and moons; colonizing empty, life-sustaining ones; or pushing indigenous beings toward extinction. Colonies might be ancient, revered, and every bit as populous as a civilization’s homeworld; the Letnev planet Wren Terra is one example. Other colonies might include a half-dozen farming families and a rusty freighter, like some of the fringe worlds colonized by the Mentak Coalition.

Either way, the Galactic Council affords certain rights to officially recognized colonies that put each under their parent civilization’s jurisdiction for most legal matters. Of course, if that parent civilization is part of the Galactic Council, it extends jurisdictional authority to the Keleres as an act of cooperation, though it tends to disavow any illegal activity.

Tributary Worlds

Tributary worlds are typically the home systems of unique civilizations that through war, negotiations, or unlucky geography, ended up subservient to a greater power. Some tributary worlds, such as systems bordering Nekro space, willingly enter into such a contract in exchange for help facing external threats.

Most tributary worlds are free to govern their own affairs as they see fit, so long as they defer all foreign matters to their suzerain. The greater power oversees intergalactic trade, diplomatic relations, and spends their tributary’s votes in the Galactic Council as if they were their own. The tributary also follows its suzerain into wars and shares alliances with friendly powers. Finally, most tributary worlds are expected to provide a tithe to their masters, often in the form of resources or a monetary tax.

However, there are no official regulations governing the rule of tributary systems; it depends entirely on the treaties drawn up between the greater power and the lesser. For example, many Great Civilizations expect that if any of their citizens break the law on a tributary world, they will be extradited to the homeworld instead of facing local justice. However, some Great Civilizations impose additional laws on their tributaries, or even meddle with local governance directly. The line between a tributary world, a vassal world, or a world that has been aggressively colonized can often be a blurry one. It also means that Keleres must study the laws of tributary worlds, the greater power they swear fealty to, and their shared relationship on a case by case basis to understand exactly how far their authority reaches.

Independent Worlds

Rare, and only growing more so of late, independent worlds and systems are typically colonies that have declared their independence and cast off their home system’s rule. Others are simple trade stations that have experienced a population boom and formed their own government. Independent systems are among the most diverse systems in the galaxy, and some, like Arcturus, have grown into great powers in their own right.

While some independent systems develop enough clout to dispatch their own representatives to the Galactic Council and treat with the Great Civilizations, others have simple treaties or noninterference pacts to protect them from being gobbled up by their neighbors. In each case, Keleres agents should make themselves aware of any jurisdictional irregularities the system poses for operations.