CROSS//

Over the course of tens of thousands of years, The Intergalactic Federation of Sentient Bodies and Their Peoples has become humanity's single greatest achievement. Whether it's an accomplishment, though, is highly debated depending on what planet you visit.

What began as an ancient alliance among independent human colonies, eventually became an intergalactic government that exists to provide the three Federation Fundamentals to all of its citizens: Sustenance, Protection, and Education. These inalienable rights cover everything from universal medical care to defense against outside invaders and civil uprisings. Of course, what's written in the charter is not always what's put into practice, and many of the universe's most far flung planets have accused the Federation of neglect and overstepping their bounds. Sometimes at the same time.

The Federation government is headquartered in the capital metropolis on Terra III, where the parliament meets year-round. Due to the sheer scope and size of the Federation's representation, parliamentary officials are first either elected or appointed by their planets (or unaffiliated moons and space colonies, if meeting the population and economic thresholds for qualification) before permanently residing on Terra III. The parliament then elects a President to act as figurehead for a term of ten years. Subsequent terms may be voted upon, although the charter forbids more than three, meaning a President may serve the Federation for up to (but no more than) thirty years.

New planets and other colonized bodies may apply to

become Federated under the following conditions:

• A population of at least ten million (for planets) or one million (for unaffiliated moons and drifting colonies) must be verified and accounted for. People may live on a planet's affiliated moons to be counted.
• A veritable self-sustaining economy or other income potential must be identified. A planet cannot be annexed if it cannot be taxed.
• If a defense force does not already exist, then at least 5% of the population must be conscripted for training in the Federation Forces and serve active duty for at least twenty years. The same is applied to an existing but "woefully unprepared" defense force.
• The population must either already be fluent in Basic, or willing to adopt it with free classes offered to all individuals under Standard Retirement Age.
• Modern infrastructure must already either exist or be provided within twenty years of being Federated.

Basic is the lingua franca of the Federation, although the government recognizes over ten thousand other languages as "approved for documentation," meaning they are preserved by archivists and utilized in local governments and economies. More ethnically distinct languages on individual planets are the responsibility of the local governments. A language may apply for Federation approval under certain conditions, the most important of which is a threshold of ten million native speakers.

A Federated planet or moon may also continue to use their own calendars and measurements, although global adoption of Federation standards is also mandatory. The official Federation calendar is based on Terra III's cosmic movements.

Recently - as in the past one thousand years - civil unrest has plagued parts of the Federation. Insurgencies and full-blown civil wars were common in the heyday of Cerilyn, resulting in countless fatalities of both soldiers and civilians, including on planets closely affiliated with the Federation such as Qahrain. The source of the decades-long dispute is highly contested by modern scholars, but most believe it had to do with gross overreach by the Federation Forces in the annexing of planets that did not have the required votes to become Federated. These planets (and their people,) were usually rich in resources or other sources of wealth during a time when the Federation coffers struggled more than ever. Many of these planets fought against the Federations' forcible annexations, and while most were subdued and are now part of the Federation, others were either destroyed during the Reign of Terror by Nerilis Dunsman or lost their resources due to the war and are no longer viable to be Federated.

A more recent example of Federation disruption is the case of the huling home planet. It is the most recent case of the Federation attempting to forcibly annex an unwilling population, although most of the fighting and insurgency is kept localized. However, one of the biggest terrorist groups in Federation history was huling in origin and targeted bedroom communities to Terra III, and even the capital itself.

Despite all this (or, perhaps, ironically,) universal human rights and freedom of speech and religion are recognized throughout the Federation. The Temple of the Void is the de facto official religion of the Federation, with Temples and outposts on almost every planet. However, citizens are free to worship anything as they see fit. All citizens are also entitled to free education, healthcare, and sustenance and disaster aid when necessary. Universal suffrage of all adults is also observed, regardless of local customs.

It should be noted that non-humans can be and are citizens of the Federation, granted that they can prove sentience, the purported cornerstone of the Federation's charter.

The current President at the time of the main series is Madelae d’Errowyn. The current Commander of the Federation Forces is Yara d'Alacron.