A Message from the Vedran Empress
The Long Loneliness

The stars. Nearly every species has looked to them in the night sky and wondered if they were alone in the universe.

But now that your world has put its domestic affairs in order and made its first tentative steps toward those stars, you have made a wonderful discovery. The distant points of light in the heavens do not burn in isolation, they are actually knit together by the greatest civilization the universe has ever known: The Systems Commonwealth.

And the time has come to take your place in that Commonwealth, as a new member world. Spanning six galaxies, counting nearly 12 trillion beings from 5,000 intelligent species on a million worlds as its citizens, for millennia the Commonwealth has united known space under its enlightened reign of freedom, peace and prosperity. To a world like yours newly inducted into this titanic and ancient institution, the Commonwealth can seem a frightening place, where older, more experienced races, with our strange customs and near godlike technologies threaten to overwhelm a fledgling species such as yours.

But fear not - far from silencing the voice of the individual and ignoring the wisdom of traditional cultures, we of the Commonwealth delight in our diversity and value equally the lives of all our citizens, from the newest to the most venerable. So, as you enjoy the benefits and opportunities that come with citizenship in the Systems Commonwealth, remember that we are as blessed by your inclusion as you are by joining us. The long loneliness is over, and the stars are now yours.

Her Most Benevolent Majesty
Empress Sucharitkul XII