Government: Oligarchy. The Vree are organized into guilds. The most powerful are the Merchant/Adventurers, their close allies the Scientists, the Smiths, and the Entertainers. The Grandmasters of those guilds sit on the High Council. Entry on the High Council is by financial worth only. Once a guild reaches a specific net worth, its Grandmaster is admitted to the High Council. The Grandmasters of all the other guilds compose the Low Council.
On the whole, the guilds do what they want. Major projects, those costing more than 30 percent of a guild's annual budget, are put before a Council vote but a two thirds vote is required for a guild to be overridden. The Low Council can overturn the High Council decision only when the aggregate worth of the Low Council members in favor of overturning the decision is greater than the total worth of the sponsor in the High Council.
Some of the guilds, most notably, the Merchant/Adventurers and the Mercenaries, have their own space and armed forces. The guilds have never made war on each other as culturally war is perceived as a sign of inferior craft and marketing techniques.
The Guild of Merchant/Adventurers is the one which has a treaty and trade agreements with the Interstellar Alliance and is the one whose military forces participated in the recent Shadow War.
Religion: The majority of the Vree worship a hermaphrodite trickster god(dess), Albendazel.
Society: The guilds are the over-arching societal structure on Ventuki, Alzeral, Photikar, and Deruzala. Below them are different societal groupings: religious, racial, familial. Each of these has its members enter the guilds differently. Some Vree enter the same guild as their brood creche; others choose for themselves; and some chose randomly. Some even decide to form their own guild.
Vree society is very competitive and capitalistic. Advancing through the ranks of a guild is done by making a greater profit the current cycle than the previous and there are no rules about how guild members can acquire that profit.
Vree may only marry members of their own guild, a closely allied guild, or a guild that their own guild is in the process of forming closer relations. The Great Trade War occurred because the Artists Guild forced one of its members to divorce her husband after negotiations with the Tacticians Guild broke down; the Humans call it "the Romeo and Juliet War".
Vree are small but tough; all cartilage and muscle. Their nature is competitive, fierce, wild. They take great pleasure in playing practical jokes and are hugely amused by their iconic nature among Humans. To think that a routine survey of a planet could so affect a society is something the Vree find wildly funny.
Technology: The Vree have had spaceflight for over 300 years and their competitive nature has aided their progress in most areas. Their technological level falls within the mid range of Alliance governments.
Military: As previously mentioned, various guilds maintain military forces. Their saucers are powerful fighters in the heavy cruiser class.
Colonies: The Vree have colonized two other planets in their solar system, Photikar and Deruzala, and one in a nearby system, Alzeral.
