The Union of Planetary Republics

The Koronis' Berkeshire Image Gallery
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Koronis' Berkeshire (above, upper middle) makes the jump to stringwarp. Her velocity, in relation to the probe that obtained the picture, is unknown. Technical details: Stars in the background underwent 'blueshift' as the ship approached them. As the ship flew into stringwarp, she appeared to disintergrate. Actually, this is the philotic effect as it surrounds the ship. Traveling through the philotic 'contrail' would not result in entering stringwarp.
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[This is the rose emblem for the first Berkeshire in the Union...]

This is the rose emblem for CER - 98102 U.S.S. Koronis' Berkeshire (above, right), on display next to the rose emblem for Koenar's Berkeshire (above, left), which was built two hundred eighty-seven years earlier. Koenar's Berkeshire was the first Union flagship to be called Berkeshire. Her missions helped to usher in the era of peace which may end because of the Belts.
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[The Belts approach an Earth-sized planet...]

[The Belts approach an Earth-sized planet...]

The Belts (above) are a massive energy storm that is wide enough to encompass an entire Spiral Arm of the Galaxy. Ten years before KB was launched, a long-range probe obtained this image at a solar system called Aijalon Prime. Energy intensity in the Belts is variable, causing the storm to change color at times. Scientists aren't sure how or why the energy levels change. This is a 'false color' image, where high energy is represented by white and lower energy levels are represented by yellow, orange, or red. A normal photograph would have shown a deep orange haze in the background. The Belts were ten light years from the planet when the probe obtained this picture.
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[A supernova blots out stars in the background...]

A supernova (above, behind the planet) sends superhot, ionized gas out in all directions. The blinding light of the explosion prevented a deep space probe from taking a picture that included stars in the background. The planet in the foreground is illuminated from the right by a nearby star. This image was obtained nearly one century before KB was launched. The probe's instruments failed during the weeks that followed, causing it to fall into the planet's atmosphere. It transmitted information about the planet for twenty five seconds before all systems failed.
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A star (above, left of center) illuminates the clouds between itself and GCC - 5114 U.S.S. McIntosh. The ship was allowed into the Tal'adaar'aan Empire in 2312, after a treaty allowed exploratory ships from the UPR and the Empire to cross the border. Before this, the only Union ships to enter the sector were Koenar's Berkeshire, and U.S.S. Vladimir. The Tal'adaar'aans named this nebula "Arn'nh Haladan," which means "Spider Nebula." A smaller star is visible (above, right of center) through the nebula. This star is actually in the UPR. Arn'nh Haladan is one of the largest and most dense nebulae in the Orion Arm of the Galaxy.
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[At the far end of a massive chain of wormholes...]

At the far end of the Virgo Supercluster (above) lies this pair of planets, which orbit each other. A system of five stable wormholes could enable starships to cross the vast distances between sectors in the Milky Way Galaxy, Andromeda, a rogue cluster of stars in space, all the way to Circle Galaxy. Each wormhole opening is less than twenty light years from the next wormhole in the chain, a relatively short trip for ships with hyperdrives. No manned flight has gone to Circle Galaxy yet, but this picture was obtained by a multi-stage probe which left sections of itself between each wormhole. It transmitted information for eighty days and traveled billions of light years before it crashed on the second world. This series of wormholes was discovered by an explorer from Owlahuas. The series is called "The Owlasi Wurmb Hole." The new term "Wurmb Hole" refers to any chain of stable wormholes.
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