Holy Union of Sarnakus

The Holy Union of Sarnakus is a large, expansive faction that occupies most of the Gamma Quadrant. Its governmental structure consists of a theocratic council of elites at the top of a tyrannical religious hierarchy. Its capital is Reshka Prime - homeworld of the feared T'kesh species. The T'kesh High Exarch - who is the highest-ranking voice within the church - has near-total authority to make and change any and all Union laws on command, though their power is not necessarily absolute, as they are kept in check by a cohort of other high-ranking officials.

This ultra-religious faction is a sworn enemy of the Galactic Abyssal Federation and its allied nations, having just recently fought in the Western Galactic War against all of them alongside the Vascor United Systems, with hostilities ending in 2816 CE as a stalemate. The Union's overwhelming numbers nearly resulted in a defeat for the allies, however, clever tactics and better usage of advanced technology allowed them to narrowly avoid a total loss.

The Union also has historical animosity towards the Starkonian Empire, with a war between the two of them in the early-to-mid 28th century occurring over a territorial dispute in the Hordeless Ruins. The former reportedly emerged victorious, however, it is unknown what terms, if any, were reached between the two powers when peace returned.

Additionally, like the Empire, the Holy Union’s leadership is paranoid and aggressive; They view anyone who doesn’t follow their faith as inferior and do not take kindly to factions that pose a potential threat.

Internal Structure:

Details surrounding the Union's domestic inner workings are scarce, as most of its territory is unmapped by humanity and its allies, being cut off from their reach by a strict closed-borders policy towards anyone who its government perceives as an adversary.

Documenting its history in an objective capacity is also incredibly difficult, as the only records that "unbelievers" are permitted to view are those officially published by "holy historians," all of which are speculated to be heavily exaggerated and romanticized. Filtering out what can be identified as obvious misinformation gives onlookers a brief glimpse into the truth, including the fact that it pre-dates most currently active modern factions, having established full control over the entirety of Reshka Prime roughly 10,000 years ago, and gaining the FTL capabilities necessary for expanding outward into the stars shortly thereafter. From there, it's widely accepted that it then proceeded to conquer its neighbors until it stood alone in the galaxy's northwestern quarter.

In any case though, what is known about this mysterious faction is that it is made up of a very large list of alien species with varying physiologies and origins, each of which is placed into a specific "level" or "tier" within a pre-established societal caste system maintained and enforced by the central church.

Unlike the Starkonian model of caste-based civics, there's not necessarily any "official" slavery in the union's own example, however, it's imperative to mention that species who are put into lower "levels" or "tiers" rarely if ever have access to the same rights, compensation, amenities, or even career paths as their T'kesh overlords, with those at the lowest parts of the pecking order often relegated to quasi-feudal lifestyles where their only employment opportunities are a small handful of blue-collar jobs. The vast majority of non-T'kesh species are also prohibited from enlisting in the military, creating a very disproportionate imbalance of power which both heavily favors the already-existent ruling class, and makes it easier to quash any dissent or criticism of the central church and its methods, both of which are capital offenses and will likely either have you executed, exiled, or sent to a prison camp.

29th Century Status:

Despite having just emerged from a large-scale war with multiple other factions, the Holy Union of Sarnakus remains as one of the most powerful geopolitical entities in the modern galaxy.

Because of its massive territory, it, as such a huge nation, easily has the largest population out of all known civilizations, along with the Milky Way's largest military, possessing a vastly superior number of ships and soldiers. This statement is true even when compared with all of the combined forces that the Orion Pact - the galaxy's largest military alliance - can muster.

However, while on paper it may seem as if the Union is predestined to dominate the Milky Way, things are rarely as simple as they seem; while it possesses the largest military by tonnage and personnel, the quality of it all is hugely debatable, as the government has not updated its ships or tactics for millennia, and this led to very disproportionate losses during both of its recent wars. Furthermore, civil unrest and factionalism within the Sarnakan church have plagued the Union's internal stability for thousands of years and continue to do so now, as extremist and reformist cells that undermine the authority of the High Exarch remain at large and continue to engage in often violent clashes against loyalist forces.

Moreover, depending on how much of a threat they pose to the central church, many members of these groups are often executed or exiled from the Union as a whole after the fighting subsides. Ironically, these exiles are also sent to the territories that the Starkonians and Union previously fought over, essentially making the faction's entire sphere of influence in the Delta Quadrant almost nothing more than a glorified penal colony, though depending on the circumstances, this is still something they can use to their advantage in international affairs.

Additional Facts:

• Sarnakus is the name of “god” in the Union's faith, and as such, it is the deity those loyal to it (or one of its subfactions) worship.

• There exists a set of central texts to the Sarnakan faith known as the Sacred Scrolls, which supposedly give details behind the nature of Sarnakus as a deity, and dictate all actions of the Holy Union and its followers.

Main Story Importance:

• One of the first missions of Captain Eric Crossman and the S.G.A. Washington was to capture an exiled extremist general who had been banished from the Union for his refusal to honor the peace treaty signed upon the Western Galactic War's conclusion. The Union did not get involved to rescue the general or his soldiers because his insistence on continuing the war was not viewed as practical or desirable by the newly established High Exarch. This is also the same mission where Eric and his crew met the famous Ketr warrior, Ma'El Xib'Oraks.

• A small fleet of highly determined reformists led by the disgraced T'kesh fleetmaster, Entran Kit'tosk, is the group that would eventually find Eric and his crew after their vessel was rendered adrift by Jessica Sampson and the Interstellar Collective. Though their initial meeting was tense, Kit'tosk and the stricken S.G.A. Washington would agree to work together in escaping the Gamma Quadrant after rescuing several of Entran's incarcerated compatriots from a loyalist prison camp.