The United Federation of Planets is made up of more than 150 member worlds spread out over 8000 light-years, and remains one of the few major political groups which is not controlled by a single race of beings. Instead, the Federation is ruled by the Federation Council, which is composed of representatives from various member planets and based in San Francisco on Earth. Its ideals stem from the Constitution of the United Federation of Planets, drafted when the group was formed in 2161, which assures mutual protection and benefit of all member worlds and citizens.

Federation ideals put peace and exploration before conflict, and their ships will never attack without warning. Their operating procedures forbid overt hostility. Federation borders are maintained with diplomacy and treaties and the group has never assumed an expansionist posture in regards to its territory. Planets that wish to gain entry to the Federation must be governed by a unified planetary government and follow strict non-discriminatory policies.

The Federation has been involved in several major galactic conflicts in its relatively short history. Its early history was marked by prolonged tensions with the Klingon Empire, which lessened after the Organian Peace Treaty in 2267. The two empires are now on friendly terms after the Khitomer Conference of 2293, despite the occasional setback. Federation relations with the Romulans have also been strained, stemming from a bitter war. The war ended with the creation of the Romulan Neutral Zone, violation of which was considered an act of war. Recently, the Federation fought alongside the Klingon and Romulan Empires in the Dominion War against the Cardassians and the Dominion, a group of expansionist races from the Gamma Quadrant.

The Klingon Empire was founded by the legendary Kahless the Unforgettable after he slayed the tyrant Molor. The Empire was ruled by an emperor until 2069, when the Klingon High Council became so powerful that it took over the governing duties, ruling from Great Hall on the Klingon homeworld Qo’noS. A clone of Kahless was later created by the clerics of Boreth, and this second Kahless once again asserted the role of the Emperor, though the High Council still maintained more political power.

As a result of their warrior nature, the Klingons’ past is littered with military conflict. After a disastrous first contact scenario in 2218, the Klingons and the Federation were at odds with each other until the Organian Peace Treaty of 2267 imposed a reluctant peace between the two. After this event, the Klingons shared a brief alliance with the Romulan Empire, resulting in a trade of military technology between the two races. This exchange granted cloaking technology to the Klingon Empire. In 2293, the Klingons’ key energy production facility, Praxis, exploded, severely damaging the Klingon economy and causing environmental damage to the Klingon homeworld. This event led the Klingons to end nearly a century of unmitigated hostilities with the Federation via the Khitomer Accords. The Klingon Empire became engaged in a brief civil war in 2367, and later allied with the Federation to fight the Cardassians and Dominion in the Dominion War. This alliance followed a brief period of renewed hostility with the Federation, which had been brought about by Dominion influences in the High Council.

The Romulans are an offshoot of the Vulcan civilization, which broke away to settle on the twin planets of Romulus and Remus. Romulans are passionate people, in direct contrast to their emotionless Vulcan counterparts, and they pride themselves as both intellectuals and cunning warriors. The Romulan Empire relies more on stealth and subterfuge than overt military action. These tactics have led to the development of the cloaking device and the formation of the Tal Shiar, the special intelligence branch of the Romulan military. The Romulan Empire is currently controlled by the Romulan Senate, which is presided over by the Praetor.

The Romulans’ earliest recorded military action was the century-long Romulan-Vulcan War, which was later followed by a conflict with Earth forces around the year 2160. This conflict ended with the creation of the Romulan Neutral Zone, which remained unviolated until the year 2266 when a Romulan ship entered the expanse. The Romulans then entered a brief alliance with the Klingon Empire, which resulted in an exchange of military technology and allowed the Romulans access to Klingon vessel designs. Following the Tomed Incident in 2311, the Romulans adopted an isolationist policy lasting until 2364. At that time, they again emerged to investigate early Borg activity near the Neutral Zone. Romulan-Federation relations remained strained until a brief, reluctant alliance against the Cardassians and Dominion in the Dominion War.

The Borg are a powerful race of cyborgs originating from the Delta Quadrant, where they were responsible for the annihilation of countless races. The Borg strive for perfection and seek to attain their goal by assimilating other races into their own by force. The Borg share a hive mind, which is facilitated by a subspace communication network that connects all Borg, eliminating the concept of self and individuality. Once assimilated, the knowledge and technology of a race is adapted into the Borg collective. These victims are then transformed into Borg drones to accomplish various tasks.

The Borg were first encountered by the Federation in 2365 when a Q-entity transported the U.S.S. Enterprise to system J-25, deep in the Delta Quadrant. The Federation was then able to prepare for a Borg invasion. It came earlier than expected in 2366 when a Borg cube was detected heading toward Earth. After the Battle of Wolf 359, in which 39 ships and 11,000 lives were lost in an attempt to halt the advance of the cube, the Borg were eventually stopped by implanting a destructive computer code into their collective. The Borg again attempted an assimilation of Earth in 2373. Although they were defeated, a Borg sphere managed to enter a temporal vortex and travel back in time in an attempt to sabotage Earth’s first warp flight in 2063. This incursion was stopped by the U.S.S. Enterprise and her crew, which managed to destroy the Borg Queen. The Borg were dealt a crippling blow in 2378, when the actions of the U.S.S. Voyager destroyed a Borg transwarp hub, severely hindering their ability to travel through space.