Flag of the Harmonic Federation

The official state flag of the Harmonic Federation, a major star nation in the human space. The flag features the so-called "Glyph of Purity", which is the symbol of the Shadow Council, a paramilitary group which took control of the Federation in 3373 and still wields considerable influence in their society.

The Federation has a population of almost 13 billion (second only to the Solar Union) and controls seven inhabited "core" systems as well as dozens of star systems with no permanent settlement, used mainly for mining. Each core system is controlled by a mostly-independent Steward, who is sworn to uphold the Federation's core laws and contribute to the military, but is otherwise free to rule over his or her system as he or she sees fit. The Federation is noted for having the most powerful navy in the human space, with many advanced warships like the Order Class Battleship and the Omega Class Attack Carrier. The Federation's political and military influence are immense and can be felt all across the human space, far beyond the systems under its direct control.

The Federation's culture is centered around human supremacism and purity: only humans and common human subspecies (like spacers) are acknowledged as full citizens; uplifted animals and free AIs are barely tolerated at best and openly persecuted at worst. The Federation believes that humans should reach their maximum potential on their own, without relying on intelligent machines or other non-human forms of intelligence. The citizens of the Federation practice genetic and cybernetic enhancement but generally retain the human shape and thought patterns. Because of these beliefs, the Federation is not on particularly good terms with many of the more tolerant groups of the human Space. It does, however, maintain an uneasy alliance with the Aurelian Technocracy.

One notable feature of the Federation are its "Citizenship Classes", through which the society is effectively arranged around a meritocratic caste system. At an early age, children are evaluated based on their abilities and given a semi-permanent Citizenship Class (from Fifth to First), which determines their rights, duties and possible career paths. First Class citizens, who are at the top of the society and are the ones with the greatest political power and influence, are very rare - only a few percent of the population. Meanwhile, Fifth Class citizens make up nearly half of the population, and are not allowed to pratice any form of independent biomodification or even learn how to read and write; they mainly work as menial laborers and slaves for the higher class citizens or in the Federation's many massive factories that intentionally have minimal amount of automation. Many would call the Federation's practices archaic, inhuman and inefficient, but the Federation's leadership believes that their society promotes the irrepressible, inextinguishable human spirit.

The current leader of the Federation is General Alexander Larris, who rules from the Palace of Order on planet Metus, the Federation's capital world, having performed a successful coup d'état in 3373. Under Larris' leadership, the Federation has begun a massive armament program and is believed to be preparing for a war of conquest on an unprecedented scale, possibly aiming for complete domination of the human space. This increased aggression is likely a direct response to the humiliation and heavy losses the Federation suffered in the so-called Fifty Years' War against the Outsiders, a nomadic human offshoot.