>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Starfleet General Computer Library Transmission <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
>>>> CLASSIFIED GRADE 2 >>>>
>>>> ADD CLSS EYES ONLY >>>>
So-Shen Confederation (SSC):
Homeworld:
it is clear that there is no unique homeworld due to the
heterogenous character of the species and historical development
known worlds (visited by starfleet officers):
Ranaan: Class M, earthlike
Base of 2nd Confederated Fleet
Federal Embassy
Seat of quadrant administration
one of the oldest inhabited worlds of SSC
also known as the portal to the Alpha quadrant
Sabtaa: Class P, iceworld
coldest native-inhabited planet known
Tekkt : Class L, somewhat like Romulus
Home of a unique vulcanoid species
more information on this topic is available
Overview on political and military topics:
The SSC consists of more than 120 species and subspecies. Unlike the
Federation they are not organised in planetary and global councils but rather
in so called clans, depending on activities (trade, military, science, etc.)
They are linked in dependecies that make it unlikely that any of them will
gain a superior position.
Little is known about the physical dimensions of the SSC. They have borders
with the Romulan and Klingon Empire. Several attempts of both races to expand
into So-Shen space have been repelled. There is a peace treaty between the
Rihannsu and the Confederation and a de-facto armistice between the Klinzhai
and the Shen. The Shen are known to have vivid interest to keep their
neighbours from forming alliances against them. They also support their
independence if necessary.
Smaller Shen ships are allowed to cross Romulan territory, a fact that caused
discussions in intelligence circles.
The SSC is not expanding in any direction of the galaxy that has yet been
reached or heard of by starfleet.
It is said that the Klingon Empire suffered horrible casualities when they
tried to invade Ranaan 130 years ago. Therefore the Klingon code of honor
demands bloodshed whenever they meet a Shen. All commanding officers should
take this into account.
The Shen are supposed to be the best trained ground combat force in the
known galaxy. Their battlefleet is small by number but their dreadnoughts are
considered to take out even Borg cubes by size, speed and firepower. None
of them has been seen outside the SSC, though. Their smaller units are fast
and highly manoueverable. Their motto seems to be: What we can't outgun, we
can outrun. Their crews are smaller than ours, but based upon their high level
of training, they seem to be of equivalent overall performance.
Nothing is known about preferred strategies. Shen exchange officers are under
order to keep those strategies to themselves, as well as our officers are kept
away from those informations.
History:
The beginnings of the SSC are lost in time. First informations date back more
than 20000 years. Early Shen were known as skilled, nomadic pirates. There
are still some homeships drifting through Shen space. Some of them are more
than 2400 years old and have been visited by starfleet personnel.
About 3700 years ago, they founded their clan-system that provides political
stability, wealth and progress.
First contact between Rihannsu and Shen dates back 260 years. About 70 years
later first contact with the Klinzhai was made, starting the first of four
border wars between Klinzhai and Shen. The Klingon Empire did not succeed
in any of those confrontations. It is very unwise to mention that in presence
of Klingons because a fight to death with anyone who does will have to take
place.
The first encounter between Federation and the SSC took place after a failed
experiment involving the still classified Transwarp technology. Since the
ship, the NX-4881 USS Forward was damaged beyond repair, the crew decided
to stay, forming the core of a human colony that now counts more than 400,000
heads. 28 years later, the first Shen ship reached the outer realms of
Federation territory, revealing the unsolved mystery. Since then, several
waves of emigration took place.
Current human representant is the former Starfleet Captain Jeffrey Clayton
who was born on Ranaan and - by coincidence - once commanded one of the
successors of the USS Forward (x-reference: Battle at Toriok, Intruder
Incident). There is a high reward on his head from the Cardassians who
lost their military outposts in the Toriok sector after the battles there.
There are official diplomatic relationships between the UFP and SSC since
stardate 47416.1, conducted by Ambassador Jessica M'Dane-Clayton.
Exchange officers:
At this time, 4 starfleet officers serve on Shen ships as well as 2 Shen
serve in Starfleet. Classified data on all of them is available.
In-depth information on all topics is available.
Starfleet Intelligence via
Starfleet General Computer Library
>>>> Inofficial in-depth analysis of current political situation:
As you can learn from the Shen background information, the Shen are an old
powerful spacefaring society, made up of many different races and cultures,
not unlike in this aspect to the Federation, but with a different internal
structure.
They are goverened by an assembly of representatives from all the clans which
are largely independent apart from their interrelations and providing the
community their service; most of the policy is run by them unless the big
picture requires coordination on a top level. This explains why the Shen are a
stable society without the need or desire to expand beyond the territory they
possess - a fraction aiming for expansion would most likely collide with the
interests of another clan which quickly would yank them back through the web
of dependcies between them. Clans are made up of mostly any race in the Shen
Confederation, with some local concentrations.
The most powerful clans are the N'gchai as the warfleet and troops, the Shamal
as the diplomats and the T'kell as the traders of the Shen. Most clans do have
armed forces as militia, often commanded by rented or retired N'gchai
officers, just as Shamal are rented for negotiations by many other clans.
The location of the Shen Confederation beyond the Romulan and Klingon
territory - part of it still in the Beta Quadrant, part in the Alpha quadrant
has allowed little information to get across those two strong military nations
with an aggressive policy towards everyone to put his nose in their affairs,
least to speak of the Shen who maintain a comparable attitude towards
curiosity, facing the Tal'Shiar and others on other borders, lusting at the
peacefully grown rich worlds of the Confederation.
There are diplomatic relations between the Federation and the Shen for almost
70 years, finding friendly support in the human population that lives in the
Confederation and the interest of the N'gachai who naturally have a strong
position near the Romulan and Klingon borders. There is some exchange of
officers between them ever since, but much is under disclosure and not all of
the territory has been allowed to be visited.
Renewed tensions with the Klingons over the past years, them searching for
challenges after the union with the Federation and unable to find them against
the Romulans (due to the appeasement policy of the Federation) have led to
some tensions with the Federation which have been eased due to the opening to
the Gamma quadrant which allowed the Klingons to gain new challenges there.
It was always the policy of the overall Shen government - and stabilized by
the structure of their clan system - to put a strong emphasis on maintaining
their territorrial integrity and live after their own rules within. This
policy has been emphasized in the border wars with the Klingons and Romulans,
preferring a honorable peace with buffer states over the expenses of
maintaining armed forces to cover for the area, spreading them thin where they
could be better used elsewhere and against stronger threats. Expansion outside
the observable area cannot be confirmed, it is believed that if it takes place
it is done slowly and aiming for a consilidation of the Shen's settlements and
influence.
The general relations with the Romulans are widely based on the silent
agreement to leave each other alone (after the wars and apart from the
activities of the Tal'Shiar and their individual counterparts) and not waste
energy on upsetting a sleeping tiger on both sides, with the Romulans
considering their other neighbours more suited for expansionist attempts. It
is known that several oppositional Romulan officers made their way across the
borders, though, serving in a number of clans. The Romulan government choose
to ignore it where it wasn't possible to put in effective countermeasures.
Needless to say those activities didn't raise the level of popularity of the
Tal'Shiar or the Shen, for that matter. It is rumoured that the Shen have a
secret base and ships in the Neutral Zone.
The relations towards the Klingons are less friendly, there is no official
peace treaty or border agreement accepted by the Klinzhai and occasional
Klingon provocations usually end with casualities. It is due to the order from
the Shen government that no further steps have been taken to end the
annoyance, mainly based on the bigger threat of the Borg and the Federation
influence on the Klingons, trying to solve the matter in a diplomatic manner.
The Borg, threat to all civilisations, are still far away from the Shen
borders, but just like the Federation or Romulans and Klingons, they are known
to the Borg and that knowledge makes them a target. The fortunate location of
a galactic abyss between territory inhabited by Shen, Romulans and the
Federation and the 'deserted lands' on the other side that is being destroyed
and mercilessly assimilated by the Borg prevented them from extending their
reign towards the Shen, but doesn't prevent them from trying. It is supposed
that the recent attack on the Romulans was launched across the abyss, but
further towards the Federation side. The fact that the Rihannsu were not
prepared at the first encounter is now history. Why the Shen didn't assist
them is not entirely clear, but it is rumoured that the Romulan praetors
decided to rather ask the Federation with their known experience than take
chances with the Shen who are not that open for being evaluated. This also
goes along with the opinion in Shen circles that expending lifes and ships to
save Romulus from its stupidity would weaken the defenses needed for a second
wave of Borg intruders and give away Shen technology that might either fall
into the wrong hands if the N'gachai couldn't operate freely or beat it's
purpose due to the destructive power it bears.
With the secret of the new wormhole revealed to the Shen, the situation
changed. It was now clear that the reports about the Dominion indicated a new,
clear and present second danger for the Quadrant and the threat to have
reliable and known flanking powers, potential allies against the Borg, like
the Federation and Romulans either replaced or in dire need for military
assistance to keep them alive and a protection from a long line border war
against assimilation. It quickly became obvious that a realistic projection
of the future would need them both to protect the Confederation and a quick
and preferrably silent coalition with them would be an invaluable asset for
future encounters with the enemy. Of course any indication about that would
weaken the Shens' position in negotiations. It was decided to send an envoy.
Special Envoy Seleek, one of the main negotiators in the triannual Ferengi
trade talks and influental in assembly circles took a leading role on the side
of the pro-alliance group. The intention of the Shen was to traditionally
minimize both their out of-territory-involvement and expense to control the
Dominion threat, keeping their military force concentrated on the undoubtable
next onslaught of the Borg yet gaining access to the experiences and skills of
the Romulan and Federation, maybe even Dominion to counter it. A fraction of
the N'gchai was considering the option of destroying the wormhole or gaining
access to the technology to use it against the Borg. There are other, extreme
parties both entirely opposing Shen involvement or considering to break with
the overcome tradition and invade the Romulan Empire to take control first
hand in the hope the Federation and Klingons would join a front against the
Borg for a share of the territory and the end to a threat.
With the failure of these negotiations nothing can be said about the position
the Shen will take in future encounters.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< END OF TRANSMISSION >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
(c) of this concept and document 1993-96 by Armin Lenz, soshen@fenris.inka.de (
geocities.com/~holoworldfleet)