Independant Affiliates Network

Situated near the galactic core, and between the Cruxian and the Noremok empires, the Independant Affiliates Network serves as a greenzone for the two sides. The predominant species within the territory are the neutral standing Orid, whom have allowed the other empires to settle in the systems near their world.

Having been founded on standing principles of personal freedom, self governance, and open market, this has lead parts of the I.A.N. to be a lawless and dangerous space, though this is by no means true for the whole, as there is an underlying pact of mutual cooperation with all the independant systems in order to assure their continued existence free of outside empire influence, the whole of it being little more than former colonies and private corporations that have since declared independance or freedom from outside tampering, the only ethics being that of personal preference.

Points of Interest/Noteworthy Entities

 * Knights of Second Sol
 * Oxolg Penitentary
 * vIRsk Enterprises
 * Steam Station!
 * Thousand-Corpse Nebula
 * The Lotus Accord

History
The Independant Affiliates Network began very small, a single planet that had been doomed to become a slave world of the Crux empire. On it, a peaceful species of sentient plant, the Orid. They had only developed to about Roman standards when the Cruxians  encountered them, and were quickly slated to become another slave race, toiling in relative freedom, though under the payment demands, and looming threat of destruction by the far more powerful Empire. However, during the encounters that would have otherwise detailed what was expected of the Orid, the visiting ambassadors had a rather strange change of heart, and instead of making the new species work, they instead offered them absolute freedom, and technological advancement.

For obvious reasons, the Empire went ahead and investigated this matter, only to have every inspector agree with the ambassador's decision. With no reason to doubt such an overwhelming decision, the Crux granted them space, and the freedom to explore it. This space stretched to roughly the same borders the I.A.N. has today, though this didn't mean much, as the peaceful and laid back Orid were more than happy to simply remain on their planet and explore the uses of this new technology in their pursuit of novelty and enjoyment. That isn't to say many, more enterprising members of the species didn't take the Crux up on their offer of unhindered exploration.

The brief space race that followed established the Lotus Accord, which stipulated planets that were to be used by the Orid. This number is staggeringly low in relevance to the other empires, though is no less meaningful, as any outside groups that have attempted to subvert this claim were met by Cruxian armadas eager to allow their new 'allies' to prosper. As the claims dwindled, the enforced space, in turn, also shrank in size, allowing the other empires to continue their colonization efforts within this region of space without threat of Cruxian interference.

The Grand Buffer
Due to the length of time in which the Southern Cruxian armada had blockaded off the sector, all the colonized systems along the enforced border had time to come into their own identities, their cultures solid and alliegance unwavering. Once this border was removed, however, all the Empires waiting at the edge exploded out in an often violent land-grab, attempting to take as much space as they could in as short an amount of time. The whole area being neutral space, however, lead to many unenforced claims, invasions, and other major war crimes committed either knowingly or unknowingly by every group involved. After a short time however, things settled, and most seemed happy with what looked like a complete scattershot of territorial claims, political borders drawn like drunken spider webs across the sector. This lead to very poor enforcement, and very little support of new colonies by their patron nations, A highly visible wall of inequality between previously settled zones and the ones grabbed during this rush.

This began to be referred to as "The Grand Buffer" by regional media, explaining to the people their situation. Few colonies truly did well because of this, and dissent quickly rose. Major protests of the political bickering at the expense of their colonies became frequent, many desiring a re-structuring of the borders, or opening them entirely in order to allow trade and support to flow freely, a request that was denied instantly each time it was made, which only further angered the disenfranchised populations, and would lead to the largest secession of systems in known galactic history.

Secession of the Masses
The event is referred to as "The Secession of the Masses", in which system after system declared independance in a wave, free of empires that cared little for them. Though an act that greatly angered them. Intense negotiations followed, many years of half-hearted attempts to keep their legally ambiguous territories among the absolute political quagmire that had become this region of space. Jobs that no politicians wanted part of, against opponents that many still considered their constituents, instead of their peers. This further insult ultimately lead to the withdrawl of most colonies from the negotiations, and the final insult between the two powers had been thrown.

A second wave of wars broke out at this point, mainly from the AON, Zetan , Sirian and Saric'Tau interested in holding claims throughout the sector. Unfortunately though for every major government involved, the fighting had become much more complex, and friendly fire among the empires was common. Added in the might of several highly affluent corporations and their private military operations who had grown very interested in the prospect of such a large and diverse group free of government restraints, and this lead to a very brief, though very costly war for the empires, who ended up removing themselves after only a few months of fighting, finding that the overall cost far outweighed any benefits they might get. In a surprise move, the different empires relented their forces, and the now free colonies and corporations drew up plans for what is now known as the Independant Affiliates Network, with no central government to speak of despite a constitution that gives each system, or group of systems the self-governance they desire, so long as they remain an open and cooperating member of the Network, which includes a defense pact that ensures the safety and independance of all from external threats; though internal threats are many now that the I.A.N. has settled and found it's place in the Galaxy at Large