Traken Union

The Traken Union, (TV: The Keeper of Traken) also known as the Union of Traken (PROSE: Cold Fusion; AUDIO: Primeval) or the Empire of Traken, (TV: Black Orchid; PROSE: Doctor Who and the Keeper of Traken) was a political entity known for its universal harmony.

Governance
The Traken Union was organised by the Keeper of Traken, who drew on the minds of all those that lived within the Union through the use of the Source. (TV: The Keeper of Traken) The rulers (PROSE: Doctor Who and the Keeper of Traken) were the five Consuls of Traken, appointed representatives who were guided by the Keeper and could summon him by unanimous vote. The law held that the Keeper could speak only through their consuls, (TV: The Keeper of Traken) who were always chosen from the elite. (AUDIO: Primeval)

The consuls were based on Traken, the Empire's capital planet and the one most advanced and with the most ancient traditions. (AUDIO: Psychodrome)

Territories
Whilst one account claimed that the Union was a group of only five or six allied planets centred around Mettula Orionsis, (PROSE: Divided Loyalties) another claimed that it encompassed a million star systems. (PROSE: Cold Fusion) The Union included Traken (TV: The Keeper of Traken) and Serenity on the edge of Mutter's Spiral (PROSE: Cold Fusion) or the Silver Devastation. (AUDIO: Cold Fusion) Serenity was the only planet to survive the entropy wave. (PROSE: Cold Fusion, AUDIO: The Guardians of Prophecy)

History
The beginning of the Traken Union, which was formed through the signing of agreements, (PROSE: Goth Opera) was marked by the activation of the Source circa 3550 BC. This began the Primeval Times, the era of Traken history during which the Source governed itself. As the Trakens did not believe that they had anything to learn from the past, they did not study their history and knew little beyond the fact that it was a time of superstition. (AUDIO: Primeval)

The Union became known for being one of the most peaceful places in the universe. (TV: The Keeper of Traken) The Trakens had little contact with those from outside the Union beyond traders at the Traken spaceport, for which special licences were required. (AUDIO: Primeval)

In 1981, the Traken Union was destroyed by an entropy wave after wiped out the Logopolitans. The only survivors were Nyssa, who had been saved by the Fourth Doctor's Watcher, (TV: Logopolis) and the inhabitants of Serenity some distance from Mettula Orionsis. (PROSE: Cold Fusion, AUDIO: The Guardians of Prophecy)

Legacy
Serenity established the Benign Union, an empire in the same part of the galaxy. It continued many of the traditions of the Traken Union, being ruled by five consuls guided by a bioelectronic power source called Prophecy. (AUDIO: The Guardians of Prophecy)