The United Federation of Planets is an interstellar federal republic located in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. Comprised of 150 planetary governments, the member worlds of the Federation collaborate to uphold principles of justice, equality, and rights, as well as expand and share their knowledge and resources for the purpose of space exploration and peaceful cooperation with other races.

History

22nd and 23rd Centuries

The origin of the United Federation of Planets can be traced back to Zefram Cochrane and First Contact between Humans and Vulcans in 2063. During this period, Vulcans, Andorians and Tellarites had tense relations until United Earth sponsored the creation of the Coalition of Planets to foster collaboration and cooperation between the four governments to counter efforts by the Romulan Star Empire to destabilize relations. Relations between the Coalition and the Romulans would lead to war in 2156, but the successful defeat of the Romulans led to the creation of the United Federation of Planets in 2161. Starfleet, the military forces of United Earth, was appropriated to serve as the Federation's defensive, exploratory, and humanitarian armada.

The Federation quickly expanded in an era of relative peace until 2256 when the Klingon Empire entered into open conflict with the Federation at the Battle of the Binary Stars. Starfleet was overwhelmed and the Federation nearly destroyed as Klingon forces invaded Federation territory. While peace was restored, tensions continued to fester until intervention by the Organians; nonetheless, major players within both governments feared that war would still come. Further, with contact reestablished between the Federation and the Romulans as well threats from the Gorn, peace throughout the Alpha and Beta Quadrants was frequently at risk.

The multiple Cold Wars facing the United Federation of Planets converged in 2293 with the destruction of the Klingon moon Praxis. The crew of the Starship Enterprise were assigned to escort Klingon Chancellor Gorkon to peace talks, only for Captain James T. Kirk to be framed for his assassination. After being rescued, the crews of the Enterprise and Excelsior were able to uncover a covert plot between dissidents among the Federation, Klingons, and Romulans to incite war. The plot was exposed during the Khitomer Conference, leading to nearly a hundred years of peace.

24th Century

With peaceful relations between the Federation and Klingons crafted by the Khitomer Accords of 2293, the true tipping point for peace was the loss of the Enterprise in defense of the Klingon colony on Narrendra III from Romulan attack. The Romulans themselves became isolationists following the devastating Tomed Incident, which established the Treaty of Algeron defining the Neutral Zone and banned the Federation from using cloaking technology.

During this era, the Federation's focused its efforts on exploration, but one far less at the frontier than the previous century due to frequent border wars including those with the Cardassians and Tzenkethi; however, the greatest threat was still to come. In 2365, Q arranged the Federation's first contact with the Borg, which led to multiple attempts by the Collective to invade the Federation. Worse, in 2370, the Federation made contact with the Dominion, which led to the Dominion War.

Location

The Federation is composed of thousands of planets spread across 8,000 light years in the Alpha Quadrant and Beta Quadrant. Earth, its capital world, is located on the border of these quadrants.

Politics

The United Federation of Planets is a representative republic with its capital located in the cities of Paris and San Francisco on Earth. The Federation includes hundreds of members including the Aenar, Andorians, Deltans, Caitians, Denobulans, Humans, Ithenites, Risians, Saurians, Trill, Violaceans, Vulcans and Zambeans. Federation members maintain a high degree of local sovereignty over their own affairs, and a certain degree of autonomous interstellar diplomacy. They often maintain their own local military forces for internal security and planetary defense. The Federation has opened a dual-citizenship program for in recent years for its citizens.

The Federation Charter, signed in the 22nd Century by founding members Andoria, Earth, Tellar Prime and Vulcan, setup the framework for the Federation government. The Federation is led by an elected President, who serves as the head of state and government. The legislature is served by the Federation Council and the Federation Supreme Court operates as the judiciary. Multiple executive agencies handle administrative functions within the Federation, as well as several unofficial ones.

Starfleet

Starfleet was created by United Earth with the mandate to "...seek out new life and new civilizations," and "...go boldly where no man has gone before.". An instrumental player in bringing the founding worlds of the Federation together, Starfleet became the Federation's primary exploratory and defensive armada upon the foundation of the government in 2161. As the Federation expanded, so did Starfleet's crews with Starfleet recently easing its admission guidelines to accept non-Federation citizens into its ranks without command-level recommendation.

The Federation's primary military branch, Starfleet is an exploratory and humanitarian organization and its starships possess a wide array of diverse mission profiles suited for space exploration, defense, diplomatic, and scientific profiles. Despite this, the deep space exploration missions undertaken by Starfleet frequently lead to conflict with others. This has often necessitated Starfleet's mission of exploration to be interrupted to defend the Federation from invasion, with the Federation first approving the construction of dedicated warships in the late 24th Century.

Command Agencies

Starfleet Command

Starfleet Command, based in San Francisco, is Starfleet's operating authority and handles the fleet's day-to-day operations. Headed by the Commander in Chief of Starfleet, Starfleet Command answers directly to the Federation President.

Starfleet Corps of Engineers

Starfleet Corps of Engineers are the technical minds and the creators of most of the Starfleet's most advanced ships and technology.

Starfleet Intelligence

Starfleet Intelligence is the intelligence gathering agency of Starfleet, principally tasked with carrying out counter-intelligence and surveillance operations. Starfleet Intelligence sometimes operates in a grey zone of authority, often without missions being directly sanctioned by Starfleet Command.

Section 31

Section 31 is a rogue organization that is not sanctioned by Starfleet or the Federation with their missions often violating the law and ethics of the Federation while defending Federation interests.

Starfleet Medical

Starfleet Medical oversees the medical staff of Starfleet and often investigate contagions and conduct medical research.

Emblem

Starfleet's insignia is an asymmetrical, arrowhead-shaped pennant that is utilized on Starfleet's communicators, vessels and other ware.

Rank

Starfleet ranks correspond to multiple navies from the history of United Earth and were adopted by the United Federation of Planets early in the lifetime of the government. Traditionally, Officers within the organization start their studies at the rank of Cadet and work their way up post graduation in the progression of Ensign, Lieutenant Junior Grade, Lieutenant, Lieutenant Commander and Commander. Commonly, Commanding Officers usually hold the rank of Captain, but Officers can be given their own command as early as a Lieutenant Commander. Despite this, any military commander is referred to as Captain even if they are at a lower rank. Enlisted personnel attend Technical Academies and are quickly assigned to serve within Starfleet. Flag Officers are senior leaders within Starfleet and commonly hold a variation of the Admiral rank.

Starships

Federation Starfleet vessels are well–rounded starships that are designed for a variety of mission profiles and assignments. Well constructed vehicles, Starfleet vessels feature Warp Drives to allow for faster-than-light travel and to generate power for the ship. With a priority assignment of Starfleet vessels being exploration, each Starfleet ship incorporates enhanced scientific systems - including enhanced sensor suites - for examining the mysteries of the galaxy. Starfleet vessels have excellent defenses overall and even the smallest of Federation craft can be a dangerous opponent with a trained Captain at the helm.

Escorts

Starfleet Escort class vessels are smaller, nimble craft that are highly maneuverable and are built for one purpose and one purpose only: to fight. Escorts are designed to damage and destroy enemy vessels quickly and efficiently and any Captain with a thorough understanding of tactical warfare will be able to maximize the effectiveness of this class of ship. Featuring a small crew compliment, the Escorts lack many amenities of larger vessels to support their extensive weapons and defenses. Typically, Escorts are deployed to accompany larger vessels and defend them from attacks.

Explorers

Federation Explorers are the backbone of Starfleet and the workhorses of the fleet. Large, powerful vessels that excel at long range missions and exploration, Explorers are capable of filling a multitude of roles depending on their configuration. Despite being plagued by poor maneuverability, Explorers have enhanced propulsion systems and are capable of withstanding large amounts of damage. These vessels also have large cargo holds making them ideal for moving equipment or personnel on long journeys and equip a broad complement of weapons to enhance their chance of survival in combat.

Science Vessels

The Federation Science Vessel are medium-sized, versatile vessels that can be configured in a variety of different ways. The majority of the crews of Science Vessels have a scientific focus and are often commanded by Starfleet Officers with a deep understanding of scientific research and theory. Science Vessels shine when it comes to scientific research and application and have good all-round performance when compared to escorts and explorers; however, Science Vessels are not the most powerful ships in Starfleet and are often seen as being the most vulnerable.

Uniform

Starfleet Uniforms are worn by individuals serving in the Federation Starfleet. Designed for comfort and durability in the most extreme environments, Starfleet uniforms facilitate the wearers' needs as both scientists and researchers, as well as Starfleet's military role. While the color scheme had varied over time, Starfleet uniforms are classified by color with red indicating Command, yellow for Operations, and teal for the Sciences division. Wearers are expected to abide by the Starfleet Uniform Code, though special exceptions can be made to honor aspects of an individual's cultural heritage.