The Contact Fleet was a flotilla of fifteen FTL capable explorer and courier craft that Project Insight discovered was on its way to Sol to establish contact with humanity. Dispatched in secret by the governments of six interstellar polities, its vessels were equipped with the most advanced First Secret drives that the Shiplords allow other races to maintain. The fleet was a clear attempt at diplomatic contact, in response to the discovery by one of the six polities that humanity destroyed a Tribute Fleet on the Shiplord’s second visit to Sol.
How information on humanity’s victory was obtained remains unknown, but the power in question (the Nilean Community) is well known for its covert capabilities.
The small size of the flotilla, and its careful jump pattern, suggested a desire to not be detected by the Shiplords en route to Sol. Analysis of their intentions beyond simply diplomatic met with limited success. The Group of Six is a tentative accord between the involved polities against the Shiplords, classified at the very highest levels. They make use of an apparently neutral party known as the Neras to host their meetings. Please note that the Neras’s neutrality appears to be respected by the Shiplords, and their estimated age places them as contemporaries to the Shiplords.
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Members of the Contact Fleet
The Contact Fleet represents four multi-species groups, and two single race governments. Each has its own history with the Shiplords, and all are of considerable interest given the data recovered by Insight. Basic language and habitation data has been forwarded to the Diplomatic Corps.
The Cich’swa Confederacy
The Cich’swa Confederacy is a peacefully expansionist multi-species polity that integrates its cultures at an incredibly deep level. They appear to have either won or bargained for the right to several low level Second Secret modifications that allow their citizens to travel freely between the many different worlds of the Confederacy. Their culture is a rich mix of over a dozen races, and their government is a mildly bizarre form of electoral technocracy. It’s about as strange as it sounds.
The Schorvan
The Schorvan are another multi-species group, with some military power, but a great deal of wariness of the Shiplords on a cultural level. They practice a brand of strong libertarianism, with an overarching government providing little more than a unified military and law enforcement between the various spheres of the polity. They freely accept other races, so long as they’re capable of meeting the input requirements for their territory, but are generally hesitant of truly integrating with them. They’re the most sceptical group within the Contact Fleet.
The Telas Luminary
The youngest of group are the Telas Luminary. A firebrand theocracy, they rose into the galactic stage after their successful defeat of a Tribute Fleet through an understanding of the Third Secret and what can only be described as bloody-minded obstinacy. Both of these are somewhat outside of the normal, and it is interesting to note that none of the other races present in the Contact Fleet share access to this Secret. Although they step carefully around the Shiplords, the Luminary is very clear about its opposition to their agenda.
Nilean Community
Next is the Nilean Community, the race responsible for acquiring knowledge of humanity’s victory from the Shiplords. Another mixed polity, they have a competent military, but their true strength lies in covert operations. They have enjoyed almost seventeen-hundred years of peace thanks to their intelligence network, and are believed to have created the Group of Six. Their contribution to the Contact Fleet was three of their most advanced Deep Range ‘explorer’ craft. Analysis of recovered data on the class suggests that these are more covert operation vessels than explorers. The Community is a selective demarchy.
Marionettes
There was a great deal of confusion when information on the Marionette’s was discovered, given their ability to ‘play tricks’ with their biology at some level. There is considerable reference made to genetic memory and partners. They are a single species power, governed by a constitutional triumvirate with hereditary elements.
The Sarthee
The Sarthee represent the most powerful military force in the Group of Six, but the development of a powerful Uninvolved movement has left them in an unenviable situation. Although the most powerful militarily, any major actions on their part has been paralyzed by debate on Uninvolved status for the last hundred years. An excellent example of a military republic, and the oldest power represented by the Contact Fleet.