Re: 'Empire': a cliché?
If you want the organisation to be benevolent, I wouldn't use empire, it has very oppressive connotations. Here's some other Ideas.
* Union - If the group is made up of members from worlds which have only come together for a common cause.
* Commonwealth - This would be used if the organisation was seen as being intrinsically superior to themember worlds, but in reality the member states are mostly independent.
* Confederacy - If you wish for soemthing like a federation but without the Star Trek motif, try this. It would tend to mean worlds coming together against a common enemy.
* Conference - This would signify an organisation made up mostly delegates or diplomats, it would be more interested in commercial activity than security.
* Conglomerate - This would signify states coming together for the sake of mutual self interest alone, they don't like each other.
Hope these are of help.
CV
