This is the second of my situation reports (Part 1) of my ongoing Stellaris game which is propelling humankind into space under the aegis of the United Nations of Earth. My ideals are to build a research based empire with open migration and enlightened social policies, whilst building a Federation of alien empires. So, basically a Star Trek nerd's dream!

Current Geopolitical Status

To the "East", I have the empires of the Yibrak Union and the Eruxo Authority. I currently enjoy great relations with the Yibrak, to the point where I am considering them to be my first invitee to my newly formed Galactic Federation. It also helps that we have well defined borders that are controlled by a single chokepoint on either side of the border. Good fences make good neighbours.... (backed up by a strong orbital fortress...).

However, the Eruxi have proved to be be quite terrible neighbours. At first contact, they have antagonised me quite strongly... sending diplomatic insults and closing their borders. There followed two quick wars (which I detail in the first situation report), which I won quite handily due to the advanced corvettes that I had discovered. It also allowed me to capture and hold the main border choke-point which also contained a valuable habitable planet. Sadly, in the intervening truce years, they have built up their fleet with numbers to the point where I'm not sure that I can easily beat them in their own space. However, I am a single quick jump away from their homeworld. Basing my fleet at the border crossing means that I essentially am a single hyperjump away from bombarding and invading their richest and most productive planet if they choose to annoy me more than is necessary.

To the "North" are the empires of the Citizen State of Poeblina and the Triech Nation. Again, I have very good relations with the closer neighbour of Poeblina, but somewhat strained relations with the Triech Nation. There are potential future flashpoints with both these neighbours as the borders are not yet settled and there are rich star systems between us that have not yet been claimed.

... and lastly, to the "South" I have the Hazer Trade Association and the Order of Ikor. Both are relatively new neighbours and the similar situation exists with them as the Northern neighbours. I have good relations with the Hazar and much worse relations with the Order of Ikor. The Hazer have claimed a rich habitable world on our border that I was hoping to claim, but I have claimed the chokepoint star system which will prevent them easily expanding into my unclaimed territory. At the moment, I am considering that to be an acceptable trade off and will not escalate tensions over this (yet...).

Potential Flashpoints

The principal flashpoint at the moment is the border with the Eruxi. They have proved willing to antagonise me, and in return I have proved willing to smack them down militarily whilst accepting star systems as the only recompense for the cessation of hostilities. This time, they are much stronger than before, as they field a larger fleet which is technologically inferior to mine. So, if it comes to war, it will be unsure if I can win as easily as before. However, I suspect that such a large fleet is having a drain on their economy, and so I think I can wait them out and not need to be rushed into a hasty declaration of war. That said, if they do fire the first shot, I have direct line of flight with a single hyperspace jump to their homeworld, so this is a proverbial knife to their throat! I have also based my main battle fleet right on their border to make sure I can react swiftly.

This is an interesting area of potential conflict with my friendly neighbour of the Poeblina. This area has a couple of ancient civilisation homeworlds with colonisable planets and lots of resources. So, I want it! To that end, I'm expanding as fast as possible in this direction to try and claim the systems (which lie closer to the Poeblina) in the hope that I will establish my border before they realise what is right on their doorstep. In this fashion, I hope to claim the riches without having conflict.

In the northern reaches of my empire, there are still many unclaimed worlds that are essentially up for grabs between the United Nations of Earth and our two hostile empires of the Eruxi and Triech. At the moment, this is not my principal focus as I have richer goals that I wish to claim first, and my influence is my limiting factor in claiming star systems at the moment. However, there are some very rare resources here that I want to have control over.

Derelict Cruiser

During my exploration surveys of unknown space, I was able to discover and recover an alien Cruiser-class ship and restore it to working condition. It is truly a marvel of ancient technology that far outsizes and outclasses anything that currently exists in the galaxy at the moment. In addition to the three advanced Corvette-class ships that I was able to savage earlier, it helps (along with my advanced technology focus) to make my fleet the most technologically advanced in the Galaxy. However, there are empires that have many more ships of inferior quality, so if it comes to a test of strength, it will be a test of technology vs numbers.

Iron Age primitives

United Nations of Earth have managed to establish an observational outpost around the primitive Fungi of the Scheet Star System. At the moment, I'm staying with passive observation as per our Empire ethical stance. I will not interfere with their development in any way, and the star system is off limits to space-faring cultures.

In the future, it is possible to switch to more aggressive and invasive forms of "Enlightenment", however such methods are repulsive to me and to my current government factions. So, for the moment, my ideals and the ideals of the majority of the governing factions are aligned with respect to this situation.

Ongoing New Colonies

Due to the openness of my migration policies, I have started to attract alien races to settle within my empire. This has some potential friction in the future due to the integration of alien species into a predominantly Human empire (hmmmm, old problems made new!). However, the current benefit is that certain planets that I had earlier discovered that were only marginally habitable for Humans are quite hospitable for some of the new alien species.

Thus, I have managed to launch an additional three colonisation missions to further extend the boundaries and scope of the United Nations of Earth Empire. This is actually quite a large benefit when you consider that the Human empire consists currently of a total of eight colonised and inhabited planets.

Possibly this could lead to future friction, as these newer planets will be majority alien species with potentially differing views on societal norms and ethics. However, for the moment, I am hoping to alleviate that with a progressive social and governmental structure (backed up by a strong fleet and army).

Galactic Commerce

In the coming years, there is talk of establishing an Galactic Commerce hub somewhere in the the galaxy. Obviously, if Earth was able to secure the construction of such a Hub, it would be a giant coup for the economy and galactic Prestige. I have passed a Plantary Edict that will promote Earth (Sol System) as a potential future location for the Galactic Hub... it was quite a huge cost in Energy Credits and Influence (I tend to be short on Influence at the moment...), but if I am able to land the Galactic Commerce Hub, it will be more than worth it!

Conclusion

So, wrapping up this second situational report for the United Nations of Earth. We are currently in a strong technological position with respect to the surrounding empires and we are continuing down the path of research and prosperity. The coming decades will be ones of fast expansion as we try to claim star systems without a fight, and hopefully we will not need to resort to force to back up our claims. As for our most recalcitrant neighbour, the Eruxi, we are keeping a close eye one them. One step out of line, and they will be forcefully reminded of their place. This is highly undesirable though, as it will hamper our exploration and peaceful expansion in other sectors.