On the far side of the Inter-Stellar Concordium from Romulan and Gorn space is a vast Void; one of five which exist
across the Milky Way Galaxy. On the far side of this Void from the ISC lies the
Omega Octant.
In terms of stellar cartography, the Omega Octant runs from the farthest edge of the Alpha/Omega Void through to the nearest edge of the Void in the Upsilon Sector which divides Omega from the as-yet-uncharted Sigma Octant. Although, the
Omega hex maps leave much of the Phi Sector as a
de facto "off-map" zone; while Omega as a setting also includes the extra-galactic Iridani Cluster.
As for the Omega map itself, there are a few features of note:
The Wasteland is a mostly "empty" area of space - but unlike the Void, it
is navigable. Getting across it typically involves placing a series of bases as waypoints, or perhaps bringing a tug or other such support unit to assist more transient task forces seeking to make the crossing.
As noted in the Andromedan coverage earlier in this thread, closer to the centre of the map is the Ryn Nebula: a four-hex "province" enveloped in a nebular wall.
Coreward of the Ryn Nebula is the three-hex Nucian Cluster, about which little has been outlined in astro-geographical terms thus far.
Forming a "triangle" of sorts with the Ryn Nebula and the Nucian Cluster is a one-hex area originally known as the "storm cluster", where a higher than average number of ion storms kept the local Omega empires from investigating the area too closely.
Closer to the Galactic Rim lies the one-hex Qixavalor Cloud, where the local star systems are engulfed in a mix of highly volatile gases - to the point where most starships suffer shield damage simply by moving through it. Although there are pockets of "clear" space inside the cloud, to include inside the gravity wells of any stars and planets therein.
Yet another one-hex feature is the Jindarian Freehold, where (as noted earlier) the otherwise-nomadic Jindarian species stake a permanent claim.
And in the depths of the Alpha/Omega Void, there is an unusual "Black Sun" which provides a connection of sorts between this realm of existence and a "dark matter" dimension.
Of course, the Galactic Energy Barrier runs along the Galactic Rim here in Omega, just as it does over in the Alpha Octant. Getting through the Barrier is just as great of a challenge.
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So what about the various empires present in Omega?
Unlike in the Alpha Octant, relatively few of the star-faring species in Omega are mammalian, and/or are bipedal. Many, but not all, of those native to Omega are found in the multi-species
Mæsron Alliance.
Among the various other carbon-based organisms, the jellyfish-like
Koligahr are aquatic; the salamander-like
Probr are amphibious; the bee-like
Hivers and arachnid
Vari are arthropods; while more unorthodox species, such as the mushroom-like
Worb, are also to be found.
Beyond those, one of the major species in Omega, the
Trobrin, are silicate life forms.
The
Chlorophons are a species of sapient trees, who form a symbiotic relationship with the aardvark-like Keepers.
The
Sigvirions are a species of intelligent virii, who are able to infect a broad range of Omega species for use as hosts.
The
Drex are robots who took over the running of heir civilization from the walrus-like Drexari who had created them.
The ancient butterfly-like Loriyill possess a strong group consciousness; their
Souldra nemeses are a dark energy life form which used the aforementioned Black Sun system as a bridge into the material universe.
While two species - the land-octopus Mirn and the reptilian Branthodons - each use different types of "deep space life form" (domesticated "space whale"
alunda and lobotomized space dragon clones respectively) as their living ships!
And aside from those species "native" to Omega, there are a number of arrivals and transplants from further afield: from the amoeba-like
Bolosco to their hated
Zosman rivals, and from a group of Paravian exiles to the "lost colonies" which formed the Federal Republic of Aurora. And of course, those aforementioned Andromedan invaders.
Suffice to say, there is plenty of scope to cover each of these species and empires, and many more besides, going forward...
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Speaking of ships: while there is a vast variety of technologies in Omega, there are a few commonalities.
The Omega equivalent to the "Middle Years" era in Alpha lasts for more than a century. "Modern" warp travel appears much earlier, yet for most empires it takes longer than in Alpha to move past this.
For example: most "metal-hull" empires field "middle years" heavy cruisers with warp engines which can go no faster than Warp 2.96 (or
Star Fleet Battles Speed 26) in battle. "Middle years" Omega light cruisers are mostly capped at Warp 3 (or
SFB Speed 27); most Omega destroyers at Warp 3.04 (or
SFB Speed 28); while most of the earliest Omega dreadnoughts are stuck at Warp 2.88 (
SFB Speed 24). In most cases, only "middle years" Omega frigates can fight at Warp 3.1 (
SFB Speed 30).
On the other hand, there are relatively few "weapon refits", of the kind often seen in the Alpha Octant. As in, most Omega empires already have the equivalent of such refits installed as standard.
Furthermore, the pace of technological advancement is much less uniform than in Alpha. The first cruisers capable of fighting at Speed 30 show up from Y173 onwards; the first "war cruisers" and "war destroyers" are fielded in Y187; Interceptors and fast patrol ships (which use a separate "volatile warp" engine system to the "hot warp" INTs and PFs in Alpha and the LMC) appear in the Y190s, as do the earliest Omega X-ships.
Indeed, since the surviving Omega empires first designed gunboats to fight the Andromedans and Souldra, they were prone to varying widely in terms of size and in the number fielded in a given flotilla. Which certainly made things interesting once those invasions receded, and these various types of gunboat began to be turned against once another...
