The current Vatna Hegemony government is the 997th Vatna Republic, and it succeeded the 716th Vatna Empire with the Coup of the Bloody Sickles, in which Emperor Rvy was assassinated and the overall government reformed. The rate of coups, counter-coups, and counter-counter coups has slowed somewhat since the Vatna joined the Star Confederation, with this being only the 27th in the nearly 300 years of their membership. The Vatna Hegemony is therefore nominally headed by a Prime Minister, but the true power rests with individual warlords who hold major navy commands and major ministerial positions. These warlords, typically of the gyu’Vatna caste, act essentially independently unless called upon in a time of crisis.

While the caste of a Vatna it not technically hereditary–in theory, a Vatna changes caste to whatever their primary occupation is–in principle the warrior gyu’Vatna have become a gentry or aristocracy of sorts, holding most major fleet commands and captaining most battlecruisers. Other castes, such as the artisan qux’Vatna or the farmer swz’Vatna, do hold some power within this largely informal structure, but the gyu’Vatna dominate it.

The Hegemony directs much of its energy inward, with squabbling warlords engaging in ephemeral BloodWars with one another over minor points of contention, with Vatna shipyards and construction enterprises engaged to keep them supplied and equipped. The former Many As One of the Fulvan Hive once noted that the Vatna create their own economy, with a constant supply of new construction, repairs, and medical recovery technology being needed. When the Vatna have united against an external foe, however–as they did during the Vzc Incursion–the effect has been devastating.

Warlords do not strictly rely on violent means, however. Team sports are common and intense, often pitting fleet command against fleet command. The Vatna are gluttons for reality programs and soap operas, with Vatna media being extremely popular throughout the Star Confederation due to its mix of sincerity and (usually nonlethal) bloodshed.

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