What is Seen
The Shiplords are the undisputed dominant power in the galaxy, a position that their race has maintained for millions of years through an understanding of the Secrets countless generations in advance of any challenger. They are the architects of the Tribute Cycle, and the masters of an armada so deadly that even the mention of its name can bring unruly races to order. Their fleets chart the stars, and stations hidden between them bind all who would seek to travel them to the will of the Shiplords. There is nowhere they cannot find you, and nothing that can stand against them. This is what they would have the galaxy believe, and they have maintained that perception across the millennia with a ruthless efficiency.
It is not, however, the truth.
What is Known
The Shiplords' position as masters of the galaxy is not unassailable. Project Insight found proof of this before the Second Battle of Sol, and much of humanity's preparation since that discovery have been towards the aim of bringing together enough of the galaxy to challenge them. In the Contact Fleet, humanity found the seeds of such a force. Even a full scale galactic uprising has risks, however, for the Shiplords have long since mastered the Secrets and delved far enough into their intricacies that little remains to surprise them. Yet for all the strength of the Regular Fleets, and the lethal speed of War Fleets, the Shiplords are not gods. They are not infallible, as the Second and Third Battles of Sol most surely prove. And as humanity learned thousands of years ago, sometimes all that it takes for a tyrant to fall is for the world to see them bleed.
Details of the Shiplords' history remain as shrouded in mystery as the fruits of their countless millennia of study of the Secrets. Project Insight was almost lost once to attempting to uncover those truths and will not risk itself again lightly. That most powerful weapon of humanity's is still too desperately needed. What has been found is that the Shiplords are dedicated to the Tribute Cycle and will go to great lengths to maintain it. Having faced true Shiplords in personal combat, humanity knows this better than most. The crews of Tribute Fleets appear almost fanatical in their pursuit of these goals, within the limits of their doctrine.
The Shiplords know of Practice but cannot access it. They have built weapons that can disrupt its use but are not tuned properly to assault it. More likely is the theory that those weapons were built to fight the Uninvolved, but they come close enough in terms of effect. Against the Tribute Fleet, the use of Practice brought forth a truly murderous fury. Against the Regulars, it prompted sudden stillness and a total retreat. How a War Fleet might react remains a mystery. It is hoped that humanity will be capable of defending itself from one without Practice, when that day inevitably comes.