Drantavax Federation

The Drantavax Federation was a minor civilization occupying the Triangulum Galaxy in the aftermath of the First Vuokra Invasion, inhabited by a mammalian species known as the Drantavax. It is notable for having assisted the rapidly growing Taselvian Empire and fending off an attack from the Triangulum Galaxy’s Cleanser Swarms with its small, but highly efficient, army.

History
The Drantavax Federation formed around 360,000 B.C.E on the edge of the Inward Crescent and Oevintlar Crescent, right in between the previous territory of the Jian’Tur Federation and Third Eohli. Though the Drantavax already possessed numerous colonies outside of their home system, this was the first time they had unified said colonies under a centralized government. Very shortly after unifying, the Drantavax encountered the Taselvians, who were rapidly expanding outside of the Mysolian Edge after destroying the other fragmented minor civilizations that surrounded them. The Taselvians had already created a very large, technologically-advanced empire that was quickly pushing into the Oevintlar Crescent to establish itself as the dominant civilization of the Triangulum Galaxy in the absence of the Jian’Tur and Delth. Being a rather new species, the Drantavax hadn’t been around to experience the Magnificent Balance of Peace or the political controversy it had caused among species such as the Taselvians, so the xenophobia exemplified by the Taselvians seemed strange to them. The Taselvians, realizing that the Drantavax had no relation to the Jian’Tur or any previous political hierarchies, chose not to attack them. Diplomatic relations between the Taselvians and Drantavax remained cold for a considerable length of time afterward, as the Taselvians saw the Drantavax as largely beneath their interests. The Drantavax expanded slowly during this time, fearing any sort of major expansion would attract the attention of the Taselvians and start a war. However, that didn’t stop them from conducting a significant buildup of their military, which was mostly ignored by the Taselvians due to the political disputes their empire was preoccupied with. The Drantavax military became extremely strong during this time, as far as minor civilization armies are concerned, and would come to play an important role in the political dynamic of the central Triangulum Galaxy in the future.

Some time later, the Cleanser Swarms awoke in various hives located all across the Blackwaste, naturally drawn to the advanced technology of the Taselvians. The violent Second Cleansing began, and unfortunately for the Drantavax, they would be involved in the conflict just as much as the Taselvians. Though fearing for the safety of their civilization, the Drantavax also realized that fighting the Cleanser Swarms would be the perfect opportunity to test their military prowess. Thanks to their highly-efficient spacecraft and well-coordinated defensive operations, the Drantavax were able to successfully repel a majority of the Cleanser Swarm attacks made on their civilization. This caught the attention of the Taselvians very quickly, as they realized they had underestimated the strength of the Drantavax Federation. The Drantavax helped the Taselvians considerably during the Second Cleansing by softening up Cleanser Swarm forces that were traveling through Drantavax space on-route to attack the Taselvian Empire, which meant the Drantavax Federation now had more tactical importance to the Taselvians than ever before. After the Cleanser Swarms had been successfully repelled by the combined effort of the Drantavax and Taselvian militaries, the Taselvians moved to pursue better relations with the Drantavax, eventually creating a mutual defense pact that ensured their armies would work together in the future.

Tensions between the Drantavax and Taselvians began to grow when a rivalry emerged between the Taselvian Empire and Kaeolian Empire, which was rapidly occupying large portions of the Inward Crescent. The Taselvians had taken it upon themselves to enforce order in the Triangulum Galaxy, just as the Jian’Tur had done before them, and thus, they saw the expansion of the Kaeolian Empire as a significant threat. The Taselvians conspired with the Drantavax against the Kaeolians, explaining the inherent danger they posed not just to the Taselvian Empire or Drantavax Federation, but to the entirety of the Triangulum Galaxy. They encouraged the Drantavax to go to war with the Kaeolians while they were still relatively weak, promising to provide military support if the Kaeolians were too tough for the Drantavax to handle on their own. The Drantavax were hesitant, as they doubted their own strength, and didn’t want to risk annihilation from a civilization they didn’t have that many qualms with anyway. However, they realized that their defensive pact, combined with the inherent dominance the Taselvians wielded over most of the Triangulum Galaxy’s minor civilizations, made the Drantavax largely subservient to them. The Drantavax remained undecided as to whether or not they would follow through with the Taselvian Empire’s plan up until the Taselvians threatened to attack the Drantavax if they refused to help them, or worse, diplomatically aligned themselves with the Kaeolians. Backed into a corner by a pair of diabolically powerful civilizations, the Drantavax sided with their ancient allies, the Taselvians, and instigated the Drantavax-Kaeolian War. Obviously, due to the Kaeolian Empire’s impressive size and material wealth, they were easily able to overwhelm the Drantavax military despite their expert tactics and coordination. The Kaeolians moved to occupy large portions of Drantavax space, systematically exterminating their species in a violent display of supremacy. This marked the grisly end of the Drantavax Federation.

Technology and Military
Like many minor civilizations, the technological capabilities of the Drantavax were not particularly stupendous in any way. They made use of a graviton-based FTL system reminiscent of the Fold Drive, which, combined with the modest size of their civilization, offered them acceptable travel times between all of their colonies. The Drantavax created no megastructures to speak of, but were known to have built space elevators and acropolises on their major colonies to provide the housing and materials the large populations of these colonies demanded. Tachyon-based communication networks were commonplace in the Drantavax Federation, and allowed them to coordinate their armies and fleets with sublime efficiency, one of the greatest strengths of the Drantavax military. The Drantavax do not make prolific use of AI or artificial beings, as their twin-linked brains are naturally capable of multitasking and quick decision making. It is not known if the Drantavax made use of metasubstances in their technology.

In combat, the Drantavax are known to favor ballistic weapons, and they have a particular affinity for missiles due to their immense range, both in space and on the ground, though the point defense technologies of many other civilizations render unshielded, unarmored Drantavax missiles ineffective. Drantavax military assets, and their technology in general, is characteristically functional and efficient by design. Their ships are built out of interlocking geometric shapes that are decorated with simple artistic designs in the identifying tan and yellow colors of the Drantavax Federation. Ships of significant political or military importance are adorned with large horn-shaped spikes that stick out of their sides, similar to the horns that are integral to male Drantavax competition rituals. These horns are not intended to serve any purpose in combat, but can be used by smaller, more nimble Drantavax craft to ram enemy ships with surprising power.

Government and Society
The Drantavax Federation, owing to its name, is ruled by a federated system of government. Drantavax colonies are afforded a great deal of independence, and the whole of the Drantavax Federation itself is split up into various precincts that oversee the operation of large clusters of colonies. The leaders of these precincts periodically meet with each other on the Drantavax homeworld of Erndran to discuss matters pertaining to the Drantavax Federation at large, including diplomatic affairs with other civilizations and wartime actions. Administrative and industrial development on Drantavax colonies is predominantly managed by the combined effort of the precinct in control of said colony, and the colony’s own local management. Precincts are in complete control of the law enforcement over their colonies, but the Drantavax military used during wartime is managed by the combined effort of the entire federation. The same goes for their research operations, which are coordinated on a federation-wide basis by the leaders of scientific institutions within individual precincts.

Drantavax society is largely based around the concept of physical prowess and strength. Using their massive horns, Drantavax males will fight each other to prove their superiority, a practice found among all levels of Drantavax society. Young Drantavax males must prove their worth to their fathers through this fighting, and if they fail, their horns will be broken, remaining so for the rest of their life and shunning them from society. Drantavax females occupy a subservient role in their society, and are predominantly kept within the domestic sphere to function as child-raisers. The Drantavax are not an inherently militaristic or aggressive race, but they approach diplomacy cautiously and never hesitate to use military force. This, of course, only applies to civilizations that are of equal or lesser power to the Drantavax Federation, which is largely the reason they never attempted to fight the Taselvian Empire.