Chakona Space

Chakona Space is the name for a setting created originally by Bernard Doove to describe his fictitious race, chakats, and which has since been expanded by a number of authors. The setting was loosely inspired by Star Trek, although in the decade since its existence, it has since acquired such a unique tone to its politics, stories, and characters that it could no longer be confused with its inspirant. The majority of stories in Chakona Space take place in and immediately around the titular fictional planet Chakona.

History
In the Chakona Space setting, the research into genetic engineering of the late 20th and early 21st century lead to the creation of "anthropomorphs" in the middle 21st century. At that time, the anthropomorphs did not have recognized rights, and were used for many purposes, whether benign (such as teachers) or abusive (such as custom-bred pit fighters, slave labor, or sex slaves). However, these abuses were only part of a larger-scale decay, and by the late 21st century, Earth was in a state of almost constant war.

Early in the 22nd century, the wars finally subsided, and genetic technology was once again used, but with 'morphs' now being given full rights as any other being. Although different species were created for different uses -- for example, chakats were bred to be colonizers -- they had the same rights and ability to choose their own path as any being. When FTL travel was invented later that decade, the specialized anthropomorphs were often out among the stars first, able to make their own niches in the other terraformed worlds.

Additionally, FTL travel introduced humanity to other species. Of the nine non-human species that have been discovered, six were advanced (and later made part of an interstellar Federation) and three were primitive. These races include Caitians, Voxxans, and Rakshans, among others.