I'm honestly not terribly convinced that Astera is anything of a rival to anyone, yet. I suppose that should come IC, but as it stands, she and her people have no real military to speak of, making such a ripe planet as Lerna a juicy peach waiting to be plucked. Yes, she's building a new fleet, but even cutting edge tech isn't terribly helpful if the fleet is only fledgling, and some might say that a more suspicious faction would want to invade [i]before[/i] the nation that previously relied on commerce and tourism suddenly decided to build a powerful navy. Certainly Enyo Varion, if [@Thecrash20] ever returns, would be a more appropriate rival, should he choose the path of disloyalty. 

Astera and her ilk can expect an ambassador from the Cluster, so that could be fun for a collab sometime [@Ashgan]