First Galactic Defense Fleet

At the very end of the trailing edge of the Carina-Sagittarius Arm, adjacent to the Milky Way Transgalactic Entrance, lies the Federation’s First Galactic Defense Fleet. Hundreds of millions of warships are gathered in a 1.2 light year sphere of relatively open space, among them the colossal Gliesen superdreadnaughts, powerful Vilini battleships, versatile Terran supercarriers and warp attack ships, stalwart Jylkyn cruisers and frigates, and even the nimble Mercurian scout ships and pinnaces. The sheer combined firepower of the fleet, if brought to bear, can reduce the worlds of dozens of star systems to molten slag, if not vaporize them outright with the use of antimatter missiles, or consume them with subdimensional warheads. But as it stands, the First Galactic is far more effective as extragalactic deterrence. The last engagement that the fleet ever served in took place during the Imperial Andromedan-Federal Milky Way War, commonly known in the Local Group as the Great Extragalactic War, as it was the very first, and last, of its kind. A conflict so costly, and so destructive, that no galactic power ever repeated it, as the balance of peace between the three main galaxies has lasted some ten thousand years. Hundreds of species serve in the First Galactic, often the more aggressive and/or defensive in nature, proudly. And while the fleet hasn’t fought in ages, it continues to conduct major exercises, peacekeeping operations, and reviews to maintain its edge.

As part of the Spirals of Tomorrow shared universe project.

Commissioned artwork by Chris Sumner colourbrand.deviantart.com