// FACTIONS

Varath Federal Navy

"The fleet that kept the lights on when everything else went dark."

The military arm of the Varath federation, operating under the authority of the Federal Council rather than any individual house. In theory, the Navy is the one Varath institution that serves the federation as a whole rather than corporate interests. In practice, Navy command is staffed by officers who grew up in trading houses, rotate back into trading houses, and have opinions about which houses deserve Navy support contracts.

The Navy is the largest single military force in the known galaxy by raw tonnage. It is not the most effective - Keth forces have more combat experience per pilot, and the Navy's procurement process has produced some spectacular failures. But it is large, it is present everywhere, and it has institutional memory that the Keth independence did not erase.

Space: Patrol presence in all Varath sectors, major installation at Cinderhold.

What they want: Stable Varath hegemony. Defense of shipping lanes. Enough threat from the Keth to justify their budget. Not so much threat that anyone dies.

Starting standing: Varath: +300 | Keth: -150 | Meridian: -50

Missions: Patrol duty, pirate interdiction, intelligence operations against Keth movements, recovery of military hardware.

Exalted perk: Naval auxiliary commission - Varath Navy escorts available on call; access to military nav points and restricted stations.