Landfall, and the Development of the Modern Hiigaran Society
By Mevath Sagald
The 14 ship convoy that had left Earth during the Diaspora finally reached their destination in the year 2371 (Terran Standard). Settlements were rapidly established on the surface of an Arth type planet. Additional settlements were established on two of the three moons orbiting Hiigara Prime. In these early days, the focus was on building a stable life and so the ranks and jobs that had been established for four generations of ship board life were maintained. The massive colony ships were stripped and parked at a Lagrange point.
For just over a century these settlements flourished and grew without major incident. The first generation of children born on the new world were often referred to as “Landfall Babies.” This generation was exceedingly numerous, as the restrictions on how many children were allowed ceased, and families with ten, twelve or even more children were the norm. In forty years, the initial adult population went from 1.4 million to over 10 million. Yet the sheer size of a new and empty world – not to mention the lunar habitats and several smaller asteroid settlements – meant that this growth was insignificant.
In these days the population still grouped by which colony ship they were from. Officers were elected and trained like their predecessors, just like they had always been. Many historians and anthropologists have speculated that if the officer corps in charge of running the different colony ships had been increased ten fold, like the population had, the later troubles might have been averted and today we would still be living under a psuedo Juanta. However, this historian humbly disagrees.
According to the records from this time - the land owners, shop keepers, artisans and artists: civilians – passengers began to desire a greater role in their governance. The general feeling began to circulate that, while the officer corps had been what was required aboard ship, they had grown outdated. Still, most of the officer corps were family or friends and this – along with the fact that settlement was still in its infancy and most peoples energy was focused on surviving and taking the first steps towards prosperity – meant that there wasn't a lot of energy or motivation to implement a new government. This would all change in 2498.
The population continued to grow almost exponentially after landfall. Large families continued to be the norm, though one family which had 26 children became somewhat famous for having more than double the average number of children. When the year 2498 finally rolled around, the population was in excess of 300 million adults. Magnificent and gleaming cities were being built, great colleges and libraries founded, industry was burgeoning, it was a time of great prosperity and excitement. In these days of halcyon might, auxiliary positions were formed. Filling the roles of Police, Judicial and City Officials, the civilians began to usurp the autocratic authority of the officer corps. As these positions were filled and began to grow in power, the officer corps began to grow jealous.
The New Years celebrations of 2500 were tinged with an undercurrent of conflict. The Armada Commander, head of the officer corps and leader of the Hiigaran people, declared all non-officer corps positions illegitimate and forced the auxiliaries to dissolve. The reason given: “The myriad impromptu offices and laws enacted by auxiliary officials, have created a patch work of mutually exclusive laws and precedents. Such is the extent of this incompatibility and tangled web of judicial responsibility and decree, that no clear ruling can be made in any case.”
The abrupt cessation of their new found powers combined with how over stretched the officer corps had become and fueled by disagreement on what kind of government would be best, lead to growing tensions. As positions became more polarized, people began to create communities based on which type of government they preferred. It is unsurprising in retrospect to see the lines upon which the population divided itself. What is surprising, though perhaps to be expected considering human nature, is how many people supported keeping the officer corps – if – in a modified form.
During the first decade of the 26th century, the different camps began to organize and take form. The intellectual elite: teachers, professors, scientists and artists, tended to favor a form of communism that would allow them to continue their work without worrying about funding. While the merchants, store owners and other entrepreneurs tended to lean towards the opposite end of the spectrum, unregulated capitalism. While many other political theories gathered their own followings.
As these groups grew larger and better defined, they began to exert control over their cities and habitation centers. As these unofficial governments, mafia really, began to solidify their position, they re-purposed the old clan names. No longer did referring to yourself as a S'jet mean you descended from colonists who traveled on that ship; it meant you believed in communism guided by science as the best form of government. Each major mafia clan took the clan name that most closely fit their ideals.
The one thing these clans held in common was a dislike for the current government. Predictably enough the term Taiidani became the common code word for the legitimate government. Skirmishes and turf wars raged through the latter half of 2509 and on January 1st 2511 (Standard Terran Date), full scale war broke out between the factions. A civil war which would last for twenty-two years.
Insufficiently large to put down these mafia factions, the officer corps did their best to create safe zones where civilians could live in safety. As the wars escalated, the officer corps began to expand and re-invent itself. In 2524, this re-vitalized and reinforced officer corps launched a series of campaigns against the mafia, now turned governments. With a tenth the entire Hiigaran population under their control, the officer corps was swiftly victorious in crushing the young, warring polities.
By 2528, all major resistance had ended and General Riesstiu declared the rebellions ended. He also declared that the current officer corps was designed as a military engine rather than a political one. In light of that, he declared himself King and began re-organizing the officer corps, into the Taiidan Kingdom. As the new feudal government began to develop, there grew a group of dissenting officers. Secretly calling themselves Sobani, these officers began to funnel supplies to the remnants of the rebel groups. Armed and trained by the Sobani, these groups struck hard and fast in the summer of 2530.
After three years of non-stop and terrible conflict, King Riesstiu and his Taiidan Kingdom were on the defensive. Despite the advantages the Taiidan Kingdom had in terms of training, equipment and unity, it could not overcome the united strength of the Hiigaran people. So in 2533 a cease fire was signed and King Riesstiu was given five years to prepare his people to leave Hiigara forever. In 2538, King Riesstiu and his people boarded the old colony ships, repaired and restored for this purpose, and with a small flotilla of other vessels, departed Hiigaran space. Legend has it that King Riesstiu's last transmission was “I shall forge myself an empire of who's might has never been conceived, even that mewling infant, the Byzantine Imperium, shall look upon my works and be in awe!”
With the threat of King Riesstiu and his Taiidan Kingdom gone, many feared that the factions left would simply return to the destructive civil wars of just a decade and half earlier. To prevent this, a great council of Kiith-sa was called. Kiith-sa once again comes from our bizarre history of stealing everything from the Homeworld games of the early 21st century. It was first used as the equivalent of “Don,” the head of a Mafia family. As the Mafia families grew into actual governments, the Kiith-sa became the leader of the Clan.
During this meeting, tempers flared and arguments raged. No one was willing to give up their preferred style of government. Each Kiith-sa wanted to be the head of any new government and have his or her Kiith be the predominate. Through five long years, the Kiith and Kiith-sa maneuvered in the council chambers, through economics, and sometimes out right fighting. Finally a bright young mind, daughter of the S'jet Kiith-sa, proposed a new system. This system would allow each clan to utilize the government it wanted and yet bind them together in a unified front towards outsiders.
The architect of this confederation was of course Karan S'jet. Her proposal had each Kiith being its own sub-nation. Each of these disparate nations would rule itself as its people saw fit. A confederation would be established, which would provide the unified front to other star faring nations. Out right war between confederation members was strictly prohibited, but political agitating and other methods, territorial gain and increased influence were not. However, all employees of the confederation, named the Diamiid of the Clans of Hiigara, would give up their ties to their Kiith, upon becoming part of the Diamiid.
The Clans and their Kiith-sa are forbidden to undertake actions with foreign powers, as those must be left up to the Diamiid. The Diamiid itself is forbidden to interfere with the the Clans internal politics, except to stop an out right civil war. Each clan is free at anytime, dissolve its ties to the Diamiid and go its own way. However without the laws governing inter-Clan war, a breakaway Kiith would rapidly find itself attacked and divided up by other Clans still in the Diamiid. To this day no clan has ever even broached the idea of leaving the Diamiid, though the political maneuvering and clandestine one upmanship has never ceased.
To fund the Diamiid, it was decided that a portion of the aggregate GDP of all the clans would go to the “mutual defense” of Hiigaran interests. Out of this budget comes the funding for all branches of the military except the Guardsmen, who are funded and manned by individual Kiiths and are descended from the Kiith armies that threw King Riesstiu off Hiigara. Due to this fact, and the history our nation has with armies and generals, the ground forces of the Diamiid have always been the lesser arm of the military. In the future, it may prove that this is a weakness of our people and some war will force us to devote the funding to build an army of comparable strength to our navy.
However we have lasted out this last millennium in good order and our nation grows ever stronger. Despite the growing threats that lie rimward from our territory, we prosper and grow closer to our allies, and make new allies as opportunity presents. Clan politics – while still convoluted and treacherous – have mellowed from those early days of land grabs and strong arming. Our once Mafia based government has grown into a legitimate and respected political body. We face this new century with the strength we have built over the last nine, and we face it boldly.
