The Hydran Kingdom is the ruling governmental state for the majority of the Hydran civilization.
Hydran Portrait
The Hydran government is a monarchy. The lines of succession are quite complex since the Hydrans are anything but monogamous. There is an extensive nobility that involves itself in internal politics and a strong civil service that actually runs the day-to-day affairs of government. The numerous trade guilds hold considerable economic power and often control who ascends to the throne.
The Hydrans are constantly at war with their neighbors, the Klingons and Lyrans, and were conquered by those empires twice during recorded history, but managed to overthrow the invaders from secret bases in the Lost Colonies, worlds that the invaders never found.
The early Hydran ships (from the first war of liberation) were armed with short-ranged fusion beams and Gatling phasers. Most Hydran ships carry fighters which are used to supplement the firepower of the warship itself. As these fighters carry fusion beams (and, after Y170, Gatling phasers), they are deadly and a small squadron firing from short range can cripple any cruiser in the galaxy. The tactics of these Hydran ships revolve around bringing the fighters into action and preventing them from being destroyed before they can fire. Later ships carried the longer-ranged hellbore cannon and fewer (or no) fighters.