OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: Expand on the Shadow Knights.
Image Credit: Fellowship of the Ring.
Canon: N/A.
Permissions: N/A.
Links: Shadow Knights (lore submission), Kaida Taldir, Court of the Four Elements, Eldorai, Qadiri, Vashyada, Sciiac Guardians, To Hell and Back, Kar'zun, Eldorai Exodus, Twin Exiles, Xioquo, Siobhan, Firemane, Kaeshana, Blades of Reason, Emissaries of Illyria, Chapter of the Black Trade, Starstriders, Court of Providence, Asuran Star Combine, Togorian, Eldorai Spirit Gems, The Angelii.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Organization Name: Citizens' Council.
Classification: Parliament. Military Directory.
Affiliation: Shadow Knights, Court of the Shadows, Naesala Faethyra.
Organization Symbol: A circle with clenched fists coming from all sides to meet in the middle. Each hand has a different colour. This is supposed to symbolise the unity and diversity of the nation, but also its readiness to defend itself.
Description: “The greatest problem of the Shadow Knights' system is their commitment to duty. There is this romantic idea that everyone has a duty and if they just do their duty everything will be wonderful. It’s the duty of the officers to lead and the duty of everyone else to just accept that and obey. Legally their people are allowed to say whatever they like - but they must do as they're told. The idea that a soldier is inherently better equipped to lead than a civilian because they learned how to fire a gun is a fallacious misconception not supported by facts."
- Varisanthra Lycaeni
"Military power is political power. A ballot is force. When a woman votes, she is choosing who among her people has the legal authority to order the use of force. In the wrong hands, political power can kill and maim the innocent, just like a rocket or a turbolaser. But in the right hands it can protect and aid. But before you can lead, you must learn to serve. Service teaches a citizen how to serve her people. Only then does she understand what she's doing when she casts her vote."
- A Shadow Knight pedagogue
"Too much talking."
- Kaida Taldr
The Citizens' Council is the directly elected legislature of the Shadow Knights, a group of Eldorai and Tygaran exiles and renegades. In effect, they are an oligarchic republic with militarist trappings. Their constitution postulates that only citizens can vote or run for public office and citizenship can only be attained through military service. This supposedly ensures that those who have a say in the government have proved their willingness to sacrifice for the community. This is supposed to ensure that the soldier is not callously used and discarded by the three great evils - the monarch, the clergy and the nobility. The soldier works in solidarity with the noble toilers and thinkers.
Politics, the Shadows say, is force. Political power is a dangerous thing if it is placed in the wrong hands, such as hereditary queens, nobles, and demagogues. It is worth noting that military service does not automatically mean combat. After all, the community needs engineers, medical personnel, pilots, administrators and so on. But frontline combat service is the quicket path to citizenship and a de facto requirement to run for many positions. Civilians still have a set of rights that are guaranteed by the constitution, but cannot vote or run for office. The military proclaims it provides training and education to all.
This has the effect of giving the Council a rather militaristic appearance, though not all of the delegates are military professionals. Quite a few have only done their period of mandatory service and not more. There is grumbling about all manners of allowances being made for revolutionary leaders whose contribution is regarded as dubious. But in practical terms, many Councillors tend to be commissioned officers rather than NCOs or enlisted soldiers.
Within this framework, the Citizens' Council is the Shadow Knights' equivalent to a lower house of parliament. Elected by all citizens, it has the right to draft and amend legislation, controls the budget and elects the Archon for a 20 year term. She serves as overall political leader, chief diplomat and commander-in-chief. The Councillors serve for ten years, with re-election possible after this time. Even accounting for Eldorai lifespans the Shadows want some sort of representation check. There is no limit on how many times a Councillor can be re-elected though. The overarching task of the Council is to coordinate fleet activity, distribute resource, determine the goals of the nomad fleet, make laws and protect the rights of the people.
The Council's decisions hold the force of law. However, it cannot pass laws that violate the Basic Laws without a supermajority. The common folk can address petitions to the Council. If these receive a certain amount of votes, the Council is required to debate the motion and put it to vote, but not necessarily act on it. The Archon has a soft veto on the Council's actions - they can send it back to the Council for a revote but cannot kill the motion themselves.
Officially, each of the Councillors have equal power and authority. Of course, while every Councillor receives one vote, in practical terms things are a bit different behind the scenes since some represent more important constituencies and have larger clienteles than others. The Councillors represents different elements of the nomad fleet the Shadow Knights have formed. Since direct democracy is impractical and not really desired, the citizens elect Councillors to represent their concerns. The Defiance, the worldship of the Shadows, is split into several voting blocks since millions of people live there and it is the largest ship.
The Shadow Knights view voting as a civic duty and practice compulsory voting. All citizens have the responsibility to choose their representatives and hold them accountable. This is a duty, not an inherent right. This ties in with the Shadows' belief that citizenship must be earned through service to the community. This is meant to improve the quality of individuals who are elected to office. If people grow apathic and stay at home, a government will lose legitimacy and no longer be responsible to the electorate. This would allow a self-interested minority to dominate the government and separate it from the people.
Citizens who fail to vote in an election are subjected to loss of citizenship unless they have a valid reason, such as illness, combat, or being stationed in a location too remote to participate. If they cannot provide one, they must pay a fine. Repeat offenders lose their citizenship. They can regain it, but it takes work. Councillors who repeatedly fail to participate in votes or are inattentive to their constituents can be stripped of their seat for bringing the office into disrepute because it supposed to be a duty, not a privilege. The Shadows are very fond of the word duty. It might be their favourite word in the dictionary.
Moreover, the Council acts on a check on the power of the Courts of Shadow. The political ideology espoused by the Shadows incorporates elements similar to corporatism. This is a belief that advocates the organisation of society by corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, scientific, or guild associations, on the basis of their common interests. It involves the incorporation of distinct spheres of all public life into bodies which join the disparate interests with those of the state. This is supposed to transcend centrifugal tendencies.
The Court of Providence, for instance, oversees manufacturers, agri-farmers and so on, while the Court of the Four Elements is responsible for training, vetting and administering Force-Users and the Court of the Reaver for irregulars, partisans etc. Each Court is headed by a Magister, who is elected by a council chosen by the constituents. However, while these Courts have a broad mandate, the Citizens' Council controls the budget.
The Council distributes seats based on population. There are sub seats within each of the big ships or colonies, but they are part of the same delegation. This means that one can have delegates arriving in a block from a worldship, but not all from the same party. Naturally this creates the problem that the bigger ships have more say than the smaller ones. To keep the size of the Council manageable and prevent a large influx of Councillors representing tiny constituencies, the Shadows set minimum limits for ship numbers and small ships are grouped together into larger units.
There is, of course, the problem that ships which lose a lot of people would eventually lose voting rights or have to sacrifice their autonomy. That happens in other such systems too but because the Shadow Knights are small in number it takes only one bad mission to cause an imbalance. To mitigate this problem and appease the ship captains, there is another body called the Flotilla Assembly, which is less powerful. Regardless of population, each ship sends one representative. Unlike the Council, the Assembly is not elected. Instead the Captains either attend themselves or, as usually happens, appoint a delegate who must be part of the ship's population and a citizen. In constitutional terms, the Assembly is a permanent body. Its membership is renewed from time to time, such as when a captain or their delegate dies, is replaced or transferred.
The Assembly is a consultative body which can bring petitions the wider council is required to address. That way the little ships have a chance to bring grievances. Moreover, it is the organ through which the ships participate in the legislative process. One of its primary duties is vetting and assessing proposals submitted by the central leadership. The Assembly considers bills, investigates policy and holds the central leadership accountable. Its most prominent power is to scrutinise, amend and reject bills, though the latter power is restricted by convention. It is most influential when it comes to laws that affect the competences of the ships and amendments to the constitution.
GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Headquarters: Defiance.
Domain: The Citizens' Council serves as the legislature for the Shadow Knight nomad fleet. It is responsible for representing all citizens in this rather disparate 'domain'. Citizenship is attained through military service and the Councillors are elected by all eligible voters. Representatives are drawn from the various vessels, as well as the few colonies of the group.
Notable Assets: The Council building for one. In a broader sense, the Defiance and the Shadow Knights' nomad fleet would count as an 'asset' since the Council passes laws that regulate daily life within society and determine or influence important matters of state.
SOCIAL INFORMATION
Hierarchy: Officially at least each Councillor wields equal power and authority within the Council, regardless of the size of their constituency. Representatives from the various ships that constitute the nomad fleet, as well as mining colonies on asteroids and the few planetary holdings the Shadows have serve on the Council. Council debates are presided over by a speaker who bears the title of Marshal, though the post is not military in nature. This is officially an apolitical office. The Marshal is nominated by the Archon and approved by the Councillors. The person holding the office does not have to be a Councillor, but must fulfil the criteria needed to stand for election as one.
Should the Marshal be a Magister or otherwise a member of the government or high command, they must resign from this post before being elected. The Marshal is supposed to forsake factional alignment and conduct herself in a non-partisan fashion. She keeps order during debates and has the authority to punish Councillors who break the rules. Because the Marshal is supposed to oversee debates and, for instance, decides who has the right to speak and put questions to vote, they are not supposed to participate in them since that would impact their judgement.
The Council has the authority to organise committees to look into policy issues, scrutinise the activities of the central leadership and Courts and their expenditure and examine proposals. Some committees are set up on an ad hoc basis, are supposed to deliver findings within a specified time frame and will be dissolved once their purpose has been accomplished. Others operate on a more permanent basis and are supposed to permanently scrutinise departments, Courts and so on as well as prepare drafts for laws that are supposed to be discussed on the Council floor.
Examples for fields are security, resources, religious matters, foreign affairs, science and technology, Tygaran integration, budget, and veterans' affairs. Given the Shadow Knights' stratocratic values, it is no surprise that the veterans' affairs committee is quite prominent. Many soldiers have suffered permanent, crippling injuries in service to the cause. The Knights' principles dictate that these people be given the necessary care to honour their sacrifice and be allowed to continue to play an important role in the revolution. Another important committee monitors the allocation of resources throughout the nomad fleet, aiming to ensure an equitable distribution and guard against the worst tendencies of a rather dirigist economy.
Membership: The Citizens' Council consists of representatives from the various ships that constitute the Shadow Knight nomad fleet. All delegates must be citizens. This status is attained through military service or a sanctioned equivalent thereof. This does not automatically mean frontline combat service. The military needs soldiers and pilots, but it also needs doctors, nurses, scouts, explorers, armoursmiths, deck hands, engineers, military police officers and so on. However, combat service is the fastest path to attaining citizenship and thus political rights and eligibility for state benefits. Unless an officer has disgraced themselves, they are considered to have served with distinction.
The same applies to a common soldier or NCO who was decorated with the Star of Kaeshana, a prestigious medal awarded for merit. Both men and women are eligible to stand for election to the Council. But men are still a clear minority and the Shadows are not fond of the idea of affirmative action programmes to increase the proportion of male Councillors. Most Councillors are Eldorai, but there are also Qadiri, Vashyada and Xioquo representatives. It even has a very small number of Kar'zun, since the Shadows allied with a few scattered groups after the devastation of Kaeshana.
Fulfilling all the criteria regarding military service is the entry ticket to launching a political career. But as in any society, starting a campaign also requires political support and capital. To this end a candidate must build up a network of supporters. This is obviously easier for established leaders, and one of the reasons the leadership has so many officers, former nobles and revolutionary leaders. Candidates will often spend a lot of time negotiating with powerful figures to acquire support, establishing a patron-client relationship.
This doesn't prevent candidates from running a grassroots campaign, but it is obviously more difficult, though probably more in line with revolutionary values. Having a good record as a combat veteran is beneficial to a campaign, but since they represent a ship or say a colony on an asteroid, candidates must generally also pay attention to more down-to-earth concerns of constituents such as education, access to food and water, functioning air filtration systems, healthcare and working conditions etc. Campaigning while on active duty is prohibited. A candidate must register with the independent electoral commission.
Moreover, the law excludes persons who are currently serving a prison sentence and other convicted felons who have not regained citizenship. Interestingly, citizens whose souls have been transferred to spirit gems are eligible to run for office, unless they are criminals being punished. They tend to be soldiers and pilots, but also doctors, researchers and technicians whose skills were too valuable to lose. By having their spirit trapped inside a spirit gem, they can continue to serve beyond death, pass on their skills and serve the community.
The Council is protected by the Duskguard, a law enforcement organisation. Its job is to protect the Citizens' Council halls, the Council's members, employees and visitors from harm. The Duskguards ensure that the Councillors can fulfil their constitutional obligations and are protected from assassination, abduction, disruption, terrorism and so on. Their jurisidction is focused on the Council building complex, but they also share jurisdiction of the Defiance with other Shadow Knight law enforcement bodies in the area around said complex.
In addition, the Duskguards are empowered to take action if they come across or are informed of violent crimes while on duty. Moreover, they provide protection to Councillors, and their families throughout the nomad fleet. They are usually the first face anyone who visits the Council building will see, and thus are expected to be courteous and professional, but also vigilant. The Duskguard only accepts citizens and recruits undergo extensive background checks. It has a notable proportion of Sciiac Guardians among its members because they are regarded as being particularly objective and nonpartisan.
Duskguards have access to lethal, less-than-lethal and non-lethal weapons, as well as riot shields, helmets, body armour, and other equipment a police force needs. Moreover, they can utilise surveillance technology to detect and respond to threats in the Council building or to their charges in general. The size of the Duskguard varies, though it is typically about as big as an infantry company.
Climate: Democratic norms are broadly observed. However, they are not completely entrenched. Both the Eldorai and the Xioquo lack democratic traditions, though the Vashyada have experience with tribal democracies and the Qadiri with republican oligarchies on the level of city-states. Thus many elections boil down to the more powerful people on a ship, in a factory or administrative block on the worldship and so on holding 'electoral clients' who vote in whatever way they are asked.
In this situation, the local strongwoman makes sure that those votes benefit themselves and to an extent their communities. There are, of course, ships where there is a higher degree of accountability. Democracy is a tricky thing, not an instant panacea for social ills that magically frees everyone. And the Shadows are closer to an oligarchic, military directorate. As with any political institution, there is a good deal of behind the scenes intrigue and jockeying for positions. Corrupt and illegal practices are prohibited and punished harshly, but this obviously does not fully prevent them.
Eldarai is the lingua franca for parliamentary proceedings, though laws are also published in Zandri, Prosabia and Xio. This has caused grumbling on both sides of the aisle, as Eldorai nationalists make loud noises about how the 'little sisters' should assimilate and the Tygarans understandably take offence at their patronising if not plain racist attitude. That said, the Eldarai spoken in the nomad fleet is starting to deviate quite a bit from that used in the Matriarchy because many Qadiri, Xioquo and Vashyada loan words have entered it, especially among the younger generation.
While both male and female citizens can run for office, male delegates may have to put up with sexism. As a result, some male Councillors have submitted complaints about bullying and gender-based harassment, proclaiming that the Council is still characterised by chauvinism. As one Councillor put it, deeply held attitudes of entitlement and misandry continue to persist because the Eldorai's matriarchal culture is so deeply ingrained.
Eldorai culture is traditionally very matriarchal and Xioquo even more so. The Qadiri and Vashyada are a lot more egalitarian and most jobs in their society are open to males, but still have a strong matriarchal bent. Thus far, attempts to make misandry a hate crime have failed. On the bright side, the same applies to proposals from radical misandrists to pass legislation stipulating that men can only stand and vote for candidates in a 'maleling council', which would only have an advisory role on major affairs of state because 'men are too emotional to be trusted with those'.
Foreign observers will be struck by Councillors attending sessions while in uniform or in a civilian outfit with the badge of the unit they served in on their lapel. When questioned about the latter, a lieutenant said that she might no longer be serving in a frontline capacity, but she was still an officer and there were rules for what an officer might wear while doing their duty. Serving in a political capacity was no less vital than in a military one. The lieutenant had been injured while in active service, but wanted to serve in other ways since she was no longer fit to fight. It is insufficient for the military to defend the state against external foes. It must lead the revolution, manage and maintain society. Fittingly, a good number of Councillors or staff members are disabled veterans.
The Shadow Knights supplement regular soldiers with a militia composed of all adult civilians. It is the law that they must participate in regular musters to keep their skills sharp, unless age or health concerns prevent this. Reserve and militia members are supposed to be citizens doing their civic duty. They are seen as a vital link between the military and the rest of society. Thus it is not unusual for a Councillor to put down the stylus and serve in the militia or reserve when the Council is in recess. Critics point out that no one is going to treat Councillors like others in the military and that they have tried to use real or embellished military credentials to further partisan agendas.
Common service to the cause is supposed to produce a more disciplined, facts-orientated approach to politics and make delegates more conscious of the repercussions of their decisions. But in a number of ways this is propaganda. Shadow Knight culture emphasises values such as duty and service. Of course, this has also become another way for political operators to try and discredit rivals by branding them as selfish or materialistic. Cronyism and corruption do not simply vanish because people are told to be dutiful and altruistic, after all.
In contrast to the typical legislative assembly on a Core World, Councillors tend to eschew extravagant garments in favour of more practical ones. This does not mean that everyone wears bland and drab clothing, but a strong case of Tall Poppy Syndrome makes dressing in an overly extravagant manner bad for a politcian's public standing. The cramped living conditions aboard the ships of the fleet mean that while a Councillor is obviously better off than a simple deckhand, even their apartments aren't huge because that would be wasteful.
Councillors are entitled to remuneration to ensure their independence. It constitutes taxable income. How much they get is based on the emoluments of officeholders with similar responsibilities. The Shadow Knights treat being a Councillor as similar to being a senior officer, doctor or judge and do not like the idea of paying them more. In a nutshell, the argument is that Councillors are public servants and thus must be held to the same standards as anyone else working in the public sector. Higher salaries would attract people interested in enjoying the financial perks of office instead of doing their job. That said, Councillors receive a tax-free allowance to cover costs incurred by them in the exercise of their parliamentary duties.
The makeup of the Council is quite diverse. It includes former Dashdae Eldorai insurgents and political activists who opposed the Matriarchy, former royalists who defected, and exodites, but also former rebels, pirates and ex-matriarchs on Tygara. The Tygarans are fairly removed from internal Eldorai squabbles, but have brought their own. Firemane's influential presence on Tygara has caused quite a few Tygarans who ended up on the losing side to take to space. While the Shadows have a fairly regimented society, they are not a dictatorial one-party state, and so the Council has a variety of factions split along ideological or racial lines.
This is the inevitable result of the fact that they are a rather broad revolutionary bloc united in their opposition to the ancien régime and the humans trying to vassalise or enslave them. Politics requires delicate balancing. Sects such as the Illyrians, Rationalists, reformist Ashirans and Arrynists compete for influence and often have a history of rivalry and the Tygarans have brought their own factions with them. In a way, the emphasis on service to the nation, especially in form of military service, is an attempt to overcome the centrifugal tendencies that would otherwise cause society to fragment along class, religious or ethnic lines.
Reputation: Varies, and strongly tied to one's perception of the Shadow Knights. Though the Shadows would like it otherwise, they are one of many splinter groups among the heavily fractured Eldorai. Monarchists would disdain the institution, while radical egalitarians and liberals believe it does not go far enough since it is an oligarchy and not a truly democratic body. Within the Shadow Knights, the Council is generally supported or at least accepted, though there have been calls to broaden the franchise. Male rights activists have made complaints about institutional sexism.
Curios: Silver ring bearing the symbol of an eagle, a mark of leadership among the Shadow Knights. Fancy clothes are outlawed and grey tunics/smocks are acceptable clothing, as is uniform. Typically a Councillor will wear a badge of the unit they served in on their lapel. Archon Naesala Faethyra is known for wearing a mundane Private's uniform with her rank stitched to it. Indeed, it is often the plainest uniform in a group photo.
Rules: The Citizens' Council is bound by the laws of the Shadow Knights. Moreover, members must adhere to rules of parliamentary procedure. The Marshal is responsible for controlling the Council during debates, deciding who speaks and when and penalising Councillors who break the rules and, for example, disrupt a debate. Furthermore, there are rules regarding confidentiality, operational safety procedures and other guidelines related to work.
Councillors who are speaking have the right to be heard without unendurable background noise. The Marshal is charged with calling the Council to order if there is an attempt to drown out the Councillor in question or otherwise create a disruptive atmosphere. In order to participate in a debate, the Councillors must be called upon by the Marshal, who determines the order in which Councillors are called. This is supposed to ensure that each debate is conducted properly and efficiently. To get the Marshal's attention, the Councillors generally rise or half-rise from their seats. When it comes to voting, Councillors are expected to act in accordance with their convictions and their conscience. Participation in the Council's work is mandatory for members.
There is an attendance register for each sitting day. The agenda of the Council must be communicated to its members amd the Archon. Unless objection is raised, the agenda is considered to have been adopted. The Shadow Knight public has access to those sections of the Council building that are not meant exclusively for use of the Councillors. There are public galleries that can allow visitors to watch a debate, though they must behave civilly and not do anything that would disrupt the session. However, they may not walk around without a guide. It goes without saying that attempts to storm the Council building in order to disrupt a debate or overturn the results of an election will meet a forceful response.
The Council is empowered to set up permanent or special committees to prepare its deliberations or deal with specific questions. Such an oversight committee has the authority to issue a legally binding summons and compel an official to answer their questions and give an account about an event or anything else of interest under oath. It goes without saying that a starship commander who hangs up on the Council the moment it starts quibbling about her decisions will get into trouble. Both the Council and the Archon possess the right of legislative initiative. Typically the Archon will suggest a new law to her supporters in the Council, though she might also take the initiative directly. Usually the Archon will outline a legislative agenda every year when the Council convenes after recess.
The Councillors do not possess parliamentary immunity, for that is a concept that historically came into being to protect the commoners from tyranny by monarchs and governments. The Shadows are a military directorate though and the idea that someone possesses legal immunity clashes with their notions on civic duty and responsibility. In their view, those in a position of authority must be held to a higher standard than those with a low rank. However, the Councillors possess certain legal immunities to allow them to perform their duties without interference from outside of the Council.
This includes freedom of speech, freedom from arrest in civil actions, freedom from obstruction, interference and intimidation and the right of the Council to regulate its own affairs. Councillors do not have immunity from criminal prosecution. The Shadows justify this with the argument that all are equal before the law. However, charges must be heard by the assembly before anything can happen, which is intended to provide checks and balances. This is not full-on immunity, but provides greater oversight of investigation. This is supposed to ensure that the Archon or another high-ranking official cannot have a Councillor arrested under false pretense because they do not like the way they vote. Shadow Knights are very big on 'responsible discussion' though. This means if you have someone stand up and mutter lies or dangerous slander or rumours they will take action.
Not so much for mere bickering and the occasional name calling though. That sort of thing may not be good form, but is expected to happen. Some Councillors may go out of their way to cultivate an image as people who 'tell it how it is' to contrast with the flowery, deceptive prose typically associated with the royalist court. Conversely, a Councillor who has been imprisoned for committing a crime does not have the right to attend Council sessions, speak on the floor etc. Likewise a convicted felon cannot vote or run for office. Thus a prison inmate is not eligible to stand for a Council seat. In keeping with this, a convict cannot run for the office of Archon. There is a strong element of irony in this, since several prominent Shadow Knights were branded as criminals and heretics by the Eldorai Matriarchy. However, Eldorai are legalists and the Shadow Knights are the most legalistic of rebels.
In times of crisis, the Archon is empowered to take emergency measures without the prior consent of the Council. This power is understood to include the promulgation of emergency decrees. If public security and order are seriously disturbed or endangered, the Archon may take measures necessary for their restoration, intervening if need be with the assistance of the armed forces. For this purpose she may suspend for a while, in whole or in part, the fundamental rights guaranteed by he constitution. However, the Archon must inform the Council without delay of all measures taken. These measures are to be revoked on the demand of the Council if a simple majority of the Councillors demands it. Basically she can become a dictator for a short while, before power is handed back to the Council.
The Council holds the power to remove the Archon through a vote of no confidence. However, this is a constructive vote of no confidence. In short, this means that the Councillors can only remove the Archon from office if there is a positive majority for a successor. This is supposed to guarantee government stability by making sure that whoever is put in charge has enough support to actually get things done instead of being a lame duck. The Shadow Knights are wary of tyranny, but also of instability caused by succession crises and weak governments that lack a majority to lead.
The Shadow Knight responsible for inserting this clause was a constitutional scholar and jurist who had read a book about the decline and fall of the Old Republic. This was a period of history few Shadows - or Eldorai and their cousins in general - had any knowledge of since their people had been isolated for so long and never been part of the Republic, both old and new. However, it tallied with their own biases against unrestrained democracy.
In theory, this rule means that an Archon who is unpopular with the Council could lead a minority government if there is no viable successor. This is not an optimal situation, but since the Shadows are all alone in a rag-tag fleet, they are focused on preventing instability. Should the aforementioned situation occur, a general election is likely. Indeed an Archons might deliberately lose a vote of confidence to shore up their mandate if they know their support in the Council is shrinking. Some commentators point out that any Shadow Knight government is by definition a minority government since whichever group has a majority in the Council almost certainly will not have one in the Flottilla Assembly. The Council may prosecute and charge people holding office for high crimes.
Goals: Govern the Shadow Knights and promote their interests, provide a check on the power of the central leadership and protect the rights of all Asurans.
MEMBERS
Lialana Qilar (NPC) - an Eldorai and the Marshal of the Citizens' Council. This makes her the presiding officer of the Council. She is responsible for chairing debates, organising the business of the Council and keeping order. She takes her duties very seriously. Lialana has history with Naesala Faethyra. Illness, age and a desire to continue being of service motivated her to volunteer for the spirit gem project. She uses a droid body to move about and interact with the world. Lialana is not given to public displays of emotion, which may be a side-effect of her consciousness being stuck in the device, as she is quite disconnected from many organic needs.
She also has a reputation for being big on enforcing the rules and penalising Councillors for being disruptive. She coldly defied rioters who tried to storm the Council building to force it to comply with their demands. Lialana has established a convention - commonly referred to as Marshal Qilar's Law - as to how and when the Marshal is supposed to make a casting vote in the event of a tie. In a nutshell, the Marshal should always vote in support of further debate or if it has already been decided to have no further debate, to exercise her vote in support of the status quo.
Aelsanda Kareska (NPC) - revolutionary lawyer of an Eldorai who was born into a family of priestesses. Her mother was a teacher and enjoyed a successful career in the Matriarchy's ministry of education, while her paternal grandmother was an officer. Kareska defended clients during the aftermath of the usurper Taenarys' failed campaign against Tirathana VI. Conservative Eldorai did not like lawyers much, especially when they defended 'people who are obviously guilty'. Only the holy church and the Star Queen could know and interpret the law. These lawyers were mere peddlers of minutiae. The fact that the people she was defending had not been convicted yet did not stop them from being criminals. They would not be accused if there was not some truth to it.
This made her job difficult. Indeed, she was subject to harassment. Sometimes key witnesses disappeared or suddenly retracted their testimony. Her name was slandered. For a while she was jailed on suspicion of belonging to a rebel group since she had worked as a legal counsel for rebels. She was released, but lost her licence to practice law. Being a 'political defence lawyer' was not profitable, but gave her a good reputation among radicals. Kareska tried to publish a report about the brutal suppression of a gold miners' strike.
Later exiled and escaped Kaeshana. Since then she has been a key member of certain revolutionary groups. She has served in the Shadow Knights' military police and the branch of their judiciary responsible for the application of martial law. Kareska is an ambitious, charismatic woman. Impulsive and tempestuous, she is a passionate public speaker with a fondness for grand gestures and a commanding personality. Politically she is associated with the more moderate Shadows. Her ultimate goal is to become Archon herself. Detractors accuse her of being an arrogant showoff.
Yeana Kyrriar (NPC) - An Eldorai born into the family of a middle class tenant farmer. Her family lived on income gained from cultivating the land of an Eldorai noblewoman who was rarely there. Kyrriar received early training as a doctor, but quickly turned to revolutionary measures as a means to 'fix' the 'noble problem' after being exposed to the plight of peasants and workers. She was a strong believer in propaganda of the deed. Jailed for her agitation, she used her training to provide medical help to the other prisoners. She staged a daring escape and managed to evade detection, leaving Kaeshana but returning frequently to help rescue people before the cataclysm. In the aftermath of the cataclysm, she became a commander. She soon served as an extraordinary enjoy of the Council. Without losing her seat, she was designated to maintain law and order in a district, making her responsible for overseeing conscription into the military and labour units, requisitions and monitoring local authorities. She was effective in this role.
These actions have made her a revolutionary heroine and all but guaranteed her election to the Council, but there is a darker side to her. She has murdered royalists and 'general reactionaries' via drowning. After they started getting wise and started to swim away she had her soldiers break an arm and a leg to ensure they could not escape. She has been lobbying for more aggressive tactics against the royalists. Kyrriar is something of a radical firebrand for her desire to 'behead the serpent' and perform revolutionary strikes against the royalists. She is sincere in her convictions, which is what makes her dangerous. Befitting her iconoclastic tendencies, she is an Illyrian.
Tykaesah (NPC) - A charismatic Vashyada male chieftain and war leader. He hails from a remote area of Yarkul that was barely known even to other Vash. Only when explorers and surveyors came searching for resources would they drive them off. He did not want to submit to the distant royals and the humans of Firemane, but promoted inter-tribal unity between the remote Vashyada tribes to resist the interlopers. His brother was a prophet of sorts who founded a religious community that called upon the Vashyada to reject foreign influence and stay true to their traditions.
Tykaesah promoted the view that all Vashyada held their land in common and should oppose it being exploited by foreigners. His populist message disconcerted Vashyada leaders who sought accommodation with the foreigners, which they believed was the only way to prevent their people from being eclipsed and brought under the heel. Tykaesah and his people received support from the Shadow Knights, who sold modern weapons to his tribe. However, they were unwilling to get involved too deeply and he had to retreat into the stars.
The irony that he is working with foreigners to protect his people from other foreigners is not lost on him, though these outsiders seem to have distant blood ties with the Vashyada. Tykaesah is a proud man and has no patience with Eldorai who think males should be deferential to females. Joining the Shadow Knights has put him in contact with Vashyada from other areas of Tygara, such as Ajustra and Khawjar. He promotes pan-Vashyada unity between them, arguing that their shared heritage supersedes the cultural differences between them.
Azariah Dasatra (NPC) - A former Angelii who went rogue during the reign of Tirathana VI. The Angelii form a Force Using corps of soldiers whose members are supposed to be the sword of the Goddess and stalwart defenders of the Crown. These are sworn to protect the Queen, fight her battles and protect the Goddess' children. But what if the queen is wicked and unjust? What if she commands her soldiers to hurt the innocent? What if the only way to protect Ashira's children is to rebel against her viceroy and high priestess? So many vows. Azariah is of low birth and was identified as Force-Sensitive at an early age.
Being inducted into the corps was an honour for her. It allowed her to receive an education and get opportunities her family would have been unable to give her. But she made the choice to rebel and became a traitor in the eyes of the Crown and most of her battle sisters. She served under Daymana Thael, a former Angelii commander and insurgent leader. Azariah was one of the Angelii who followed their commander when she refused to carry out a purge. Most of her comrades perished. Only seven of the original group remain. She fought the Crown, the humans of Firemane, slavers and the First Order occupiers. Azariah helped Daymana organised a Shadow Angelii corps.
Now styluses and datapads have become her daily tools of trade, though her armour and weapons are still well-maintained. As a member of the reserve, she participates in drills and exercises. Azariah maintains close connections to her patron, though she has her own mind. Azariah is anti-monarchist, but patriotic. You can take an Eldorai out of the Matriarchy, but not the Matriarchy out of an Eldorai. She doesn't consider the Kar'zun to be devils, but nonetheless identifies with her foremothers' struggle against them. Thus she found the revelations that put Ariane the Great's 'triumph' against them into question hard to swallow and is sceptical about them.
Arlk'Varz (NPC) - Arl'Varz is one of those people who were left behind on Kaeshana. She lived through the first cataclysm and the aftermath, the First Order occupation and Kaeshana being swallowed by the Netherworld and spat out on the other side. When the Shadows dispatched ships to investigate what had transpired, she was among the survivors they came across on the ruined tomb world. The Forsaken were angry, resentful and bitter, but also tenacious. When they managed to get off the planet and join the nomad fleet, she was elected to serve as their representative. Her tenacity and fortitude had impressed them.
She was, however, not an Eldorai, but a Kar'zun. For her people she is very young, as she is a 'mere' three hundred years old. Centuries ago a great war was fought between both races. The Eldorai won and subjected the stone people to a near-genocide before confining them to reservations. They were eventually emancipated, but still treated as second class by many Eldorai. Part of Arl'Varz does believe that the Eldorai's many calamities are poetic justice for what they did to her people. She has come to differentiate between their nobles and those who got stuck on Kaeshana and actually suffered though.
Arl'Varz has set about organising the Forsaken. She is distrustful of Shadow Knight groups that were not stuck on Kaeshana during the occupation and second cataclysm, but suddenly want to win over the Forsaken. After persistent lobbying, she managed to get the Kar'zun their own cultural space on the Defiance. Her prolonged exposure to the Netherworld has turned her Force-Dead. She is bemused by the attempts of the Harbingers to get her to realise she has been blessed by the same power. The stoic Arl'Varz is mostly concerned with practical issues rather than esoteric fantasies.
Nassara Dymarna (NPC) - A Eldorai of mercantile origins. She collected her assets and left Kaeshana once regular contact with the outside galaxy was established. Something of a thorn in the side of various governments for her lobbying about the plight of slaves and the oppressed. When she joined the Shadows, she brought a bunch of ships she had used for her abolitionist efforts. For this she was given an official rank and then a Council seat. She helped them acquire ships and hideouts to send refugees to.
Her agitation focuses most on punishing the most wicked slavers and exploiters of elves specifically but all races too. This has allowed her to build connections with groups from other races that have been victims of oppression such as Twi'leks and Togorians. Some charitable donations have found their way to the Shadows this way. Unsurprisingly, she was one of the Councillors sent to negotiate with a group of Togorian exiles and genocide survivors who had fled their planet after multiple massacres committed by the Sith. She is a principled woman - and swift in dealing with slavers and those who profit from the practice.
Some complain about her being a bleeding heart who cares too much about the plight of foreigners. From a certain point of view, this is not inaccurate, as she has made many slavers bleed. Her crusade has taken a toll on her health, but her mind is sharp. Nassara does not care much about the Eldorai Matriarchy or the myriad royalist pretenders that have popped up over the last few years. She has started promoting the extremely radical view of letting freed alien slaves attain citizenship on the same basis as the Eldorai and their cousins.
Tarna Vekasa (NPC) - An Eldorai firebrand barnburner fond of speeches. This is ironic since people whose consciousness is transferred into a spirit gem are commonly considered to be dispassionate. She, however, is not. Yohara was asked whether she'd tampered with her mind to make her angrier, but the scientist irritably responded that she had always been like that. The roots of her firebrand nature lie in her abduction and enslavement by corsairs who came to Kaeshana seeking plunder and sentient merchandise. Tarna was a former militant who was 'killed' in action fighting the enemy, 'dying' a hero. So she was brought back, in a manner of speaking. The Shadow Knights consider people in spirit gems to still be citizens, provided they have not been put in there to do penance for crimes. However, the practice is not without controversy since it is seen as akin to necromancy.
She is not too happy about her soul being locked in a spirit gem. Tarna cannot experience sensation the way an organic would and requires a droid body to move about. But she is determined to use it as a platform to effect change. People who know her joke that her new condition is perfect for her since she does not need to pause or slow down in her speeches in order to catch her breath. Legislation had to be introduced to curtail filibustering because she has a talent for defeating bills she opposes by talking them to death.
Lakami Jai Jhansal/Nahana Jai Gwaliora (NPC) - Lakami was a heroine to the Qadiri of Gwalior, a city in the region of Khajwar. Born the daughter of a courtier, her childhood was spent in a palace. However, she also learned how to ride and fight. She was known to be an excellent rider and judge of Yazgids. When the king's wife passed away without a child, Lakami was married to the old king. She gave birth to a son, but he died within a few months of disease.
The king was old and not long for this world, so the couple adopted. Lakami was popular with the people for passing laws that benefited commoners, and the king decreed that she would be be regent after his death. However, the Firemane ambassador conspired with the king's relatives and used dubious legal arguments to take control of the regency since the heir was a child. Under the banner of suppressing slavery, which was still practiced in the Qadiri lands, Firemane sought to expand its power. Lakami appealed against this decision, but her claims were disregarded. She was granted a pension, but later forced to leave the palace because her popularity alarmed Firemane.
Her time came when Qadiri auxiliaries rebelled against the occupiers. The revolt led to a massacre of foreigners. Lakami had not been involved, but sided with the rebels since she would not abandon her people. She fought valiantly against Firemane and their native allies, scoring a crucial victory over them. But it was for nought. She was mortally wounded in battle and the revolt was crushed. However, then she reappeared in the deep jungles. Now she is with the Shadow Knights. Only a few know that this not truly Lakami, but a Qadiri of low birth called Nahana Jai Gwaliora. Born a bastard, Nahana was taken into the queen's service at a young age. She became her bodyguard, decoy, handmaiden, and eventually close advisor. During the rebellion, she often disguised herself as her mistress and fought on her behalf, commanding a portion of her army.
One of the pair's ruses successfully lulled a Firemane general into thinking she was fighting the queen's main army, when in fact the true queen was elsewhere and had successfully ambushed a Firemane column. Now the decoy has become her mistress out of loyalty and to carry on her legacy. Nahana always bore a striking resemblance to her dead queen and had a talent for mimicry. She has used alchemy to blur the distinction even further. In some ways, she fits the image of the 'queen of the people' better than the actual monarch. Unsurprisingly, 'Lakami' is resolutely opposed to conciliating the invaders.
Rabara Jai Karveta (NPC) - A Qadiri of a noble family. She was known for her piety but also her sometimes harshness when dealing with servants and slaves. However, after becoming lost at sea after a storm she was allegedly sent a vision from Kashara about the wickedness in her life. She was saved by a passing merchant and regardless of what really happened set about reforming her life and beliefs. She improved conditions for all her servants and slaves, even opening a hospital for the poor where they could receive medical care free of charge. Her family was not impressed and attempted to overthrow her, but with the servants and slaves on her side she easily defeated them.
When Firemane arrived she signed a 'Charter of Release' freeing all her slaves. Once in the galaxy she moved quickly to radical politics, and already unpopular with her peers she left Tygara with a small cadre of followers. Recently arrived in the Shadow Knights and elected into the Council she heads a clique of Qadiri in the nomad fleet. She believes in following rules, but the rules must be good ones. She rejects monarchy as opposed to Kashara's true plan, since a believer cannot serve a queen in heaven and a queen on earth. Rabara is still a deeply pious woman, which puts her in good standing with Qadiri who want to adapt to the modern world and move away from the rule of monarchs, but not abandon all their traditions. Unlike many, she doesn't have a grudge against humans or other foreigners, though she'd like her people to be in charge of their fate.
Karasya Yllarie (NPC) - Unlike many other Councillors, Karasya is not a former royalist officer or professional revolutionary agitator. She is in some ways considered proof that the republican stratocracy ‘works’ and is truly built on merit. Born into a family of poor peasants, she moved to the big city due to disagreements with the rich landowner. The latifundia owners had a lot power and she did not have the means to buy the land. The Matriarchy was modernising its industry and the urban population soared.
She found employment as a worker, but the hours were long, the pay was low and the management authoritarian. For a while she lived in an almhouse maintained by the Church of Ashira. The Church provided aid, but also told her that the nobles had a goddess-given right to rule. Karasya was a good worker and an autodidact who sought to educate herself. Life improved a bit under Tirathana VII. Then Nemesis came to Kaeshana. Karasya was not one of the ‘best and brightest’ or the rich whose money was needed to finance the exodus fleet. Nor did she manage to get a seat on one of the evacuation ships via the lottery system.
After the asteroid impacted, she was one of those left behind to pick up the pieces. She decided she had enough and picked up a blaster, and found herself organising a rag-tag group of survivors and scavengers. The self-defence militia was soon absorbed by the Shadow Knights. Karasya was driven and very brave in the field, showing a talent for leadership. And she hated the exodites that had gotten away on account of their wealth and connections. These qualities got her promoted. Attrition helped, too. Her experience with farming and construction work came in handy.
Seriously injured in battle, she was demobilised and put in the reserve. As an officer she was more than eligible to run, and so she stood for election for a vacant seat. She wears an austere suit with the badge of her regiment. Patriotic and tough, her life has been shaped by struggle and cataclysm. She is no zealot, but buys into the Shadows' beliefs. Karaya is very resentful of the exodites, but also distrusts exiles that sipped tea in Corellian cages and have suddenly returned to ‘lead the revolution’.
Qual'Zyanya - “The fallen lady, distrusted by all, yet also distrusts all. Where does her allegiance lie? Is pragmatism a valid path forever?” - Brak'Vrasz.
Qual'Zyanya is a rogue Xioquo matriarch. Her family built ironclads and grew rich from shipping and the slave trade. When the Xioquo's dark council, driven to desperation by Firemane's invasion, voted to awaken Myrou, she and her sister dissented. They correctly feared the 'dark goddess' would bring doom to their people. But their attempt to sabotage the dark ritual only hastened her awakening. Zyanya is considered a traitor by the Xioqup old guard, but is at odds with Firemane and the 'Bright Queen' Lia.
She has gone to great lengths to obfuscate and rewrite her past, capitalising on the story of her being an attempted 'god-slayer'. However, there are Xioquo Shadows who used to be among the oppressed and have not forgotten that she was one of the 'wise mistresses'. She was tutored by Xioquo sorceresses and the late Sith Lord Sumiko Tanaka. The latter is something she has done her best to conceal. She used her education to serve in the Shadow Knights' military until she was eligible to run.
Zyanya is aloof, cynical, distrustful and a Xioquo nationalist. Her haughtiness conceals feelings of guilt, though she will not admit it. She runs her constituency in a maternalistic fashion, relying on patronage, the spoils system and a network of retainers who joined her due to being out of favour with the Xioquo's old and new order. She relies on them to mobilise voters for her on election day. The political machine is undemocratic and encourages corruption, but responsive. She promise to take care of 'her' people by cutting deals – and corners, if need be. She's made money through kickback deals, but makes sure it gets spread around instead of hoarding it.
Zyanya has a knack for currying favour. When another ship needed someone to fix their air filtration system, she sent a Xio maintenance crew over. They did the job before the Defiance could even respond. They also needed to be paid less than regular workers. She seems to like the Kar'zun. They are industrious, technologically advanced and dislike the Eldorai. Moreover, she is used to golems, though the ones she knew back home did not talk back.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Eldorai society has always been defined by a high degree of stratification, social and gender barriers. Women are regarded as superior to men and occupy the top jobs in the military and government, whereas males are expected to be subservient. Nobles stand above commoners, who should know their place, pay their tithes and serve their betters. Clerics are intermediaries between the profane and the divine. The opulent cathedrals and mansions of the prelates are an expression of gratitude of the common folk. The Star Queen stands above all. She is not only the absolute monarch of the realm, but also the the emissary and viceroy of the Great Goddess Ashira in the mortal realm. Her person is sacrosanct and her word is law. Rebellion against her is heresy.
This has not stopped the Eldorai from having plenty of palace revolutions, civil wars and schisms. Perhaps the lesson is that repression breeds resistance. Totalitarianism is not efficient, no matter how many times its proponents claim that the trains run on time. Today the dream of a unified Eldorai Matriarchy is dead. Though the Matriarchy still exists, it no longer commands the allegiance of all Eldorai. With Kaeshana reduced to an abandoned tomb world inhabited by ghosts and monsters, the Eldorai have fractured into a myriad factions.
One of these groups called themselves the Shadow Knights. They started as a militant group of survivalists and former soldiers who banded together during the Great Exodus to protect the Eldorai who had been left behind in devastated Kaeshana. Naesala Faethyra, a career soldier who had gone into exile after being arrested on false charges of treason during the reign of Tirathana VI, became their leader. They tried to wrest order from the chaos, though it was an uphill battle. Setting up an emergency government in a post-apocalyptic wasteland proved a daunting challenge. The Shadow Knights' leadership had to bully, cajole and beat fractious warlords into a semblance of unity.
They remained one splinter group among many on Kaeshana, though among the strongest. Having started as a group that tried to help Eldorai who had the misfortune of not being 'the best and brightest' escape the doomed planet, they transitioned into a paramilitary vigilante group that tried to stop looting and rioting. Initially, the first Council was a motley assembly, representing disparate factions, paramilitary groups and refugee camps.
Tensions ran high; fist fights between rival leaders were not uncommon. Tensions between Illyrians and Ashiran reformists almost exploded into open violence. One of the first Council sessions was bombed by the Redemptionists, an Ashiran fundamentalist faction that sought to 'redeem' Kaeshana in the Goddess' eyes by purging it of 'unbelievers'. Nonetheless, the Shadow Knights soldiered on - and decided to only let veterans and those 'contributing to the struggle' join their directorate. Aid services, labour management and policing were heavily militarised.
The soldiers acclaimed Naesala Faethyra as Archon after she fought a successful battle against Archangel, a shadowy machine cult that sought to abduct Eldorai for processing under the guise of humanitarian aid. Santaissa, the old Eldorai capital, had been ruined by the asteroid collision and subsequent floods and other natural disasters. It lacked the infrastructure to host a 'provisional government', however improved and haphazard, and so the Council convened further inland in a town called Oshaenas. Showing the ad hoc nature of its set-up, the assembly resided in a theatre that had been damaged during fighting between rival militias.
The Councillors met in a hall whose walls had been scorched by slug rounds and blaster bolts. Sometimes the building lost power in the middle of a session. It happened to be a cold winter. Fortunately, some Councillors were fire shapers. The rebels embraced a form of military republicanism, limiting the franchise to those who had performed national service. There was grumbling when insurgent leaders whose contributions were considered dubious were given seats in recognition of their service to the past revolutionary struggle against the Matriarchy and Firemane.
Deals had to be made with Eldorai exodites and smugglers, who were distrusted and not seen as 'real' Eldorai because they had lived comfortable lives in exile, but whose funds, connections and resources were badly needed. The Forsaken resented the intrusion of foreigners, but it was already a struggle to provide basic necessities such as electricity, food, medical supplies and clean water. Laws were passed that stipulated draconian punishments against theft, hoarding and profiteering. Those who could work were conscripted into labour battalions. Kar'zun integration proved another stumbling block. Eldorai and Kar'zun had been enemies for millennia, and the last war had ended with the Matriarchy waging a genocidal crusade against them and confining them to reservations for centuries Now the forsaken of both species were stranded on a devastated world.
The rebels grudgingly supported the Tygaran Alliance and the Galactic Alliance during the Kaeshana Rebellion, but the First Order's victory forced them to evacuate from the Eldorai homeworld. Deprived of their homeworld, they were nonetheless unwilling to submit to the ancien régime. Thus they formed a nomad fleet. The Council had to be reorganised. Several leaders had perished during the battle, while others deserted the fleet, taking their assets with them. Archon Faethyra faced criticism on the Council floor, but was able to weather the crisis and survive politically despite a vote of no confidence. She counted it as a success that they had managed to avoid civil war among themselves. However, she later had to fend off an assassination attempt. Nonetheless, she managed to cobble a governing coalition together.
Life aboard the nomad fleet was harsh and difficult, necessitating both regimentation of society and strict rationing. This required a strong, central authority. Attempts to impose it led to unrests and even mutiny and revolt on the part of captains who resesented the intrusion, viewing it as an attack on their freedom. Force alone could not keep the peace though. Captains and crews of smaller ships rightly feared that they would be marginalised in a system where Council votes would weigh heavily in favour of the big worldship. This became apparent when heavy casualties sustained while fighting the droid machine cult Archangel and pirates decimated some ships to such an extent that they did not have enough people to vote. The Flotilla Assembly was formalised as a permanent institution to restore a measure of balance and appease captains resentful of the dimunition of their autonomy.
After some controversy, the Shadow Knights decided to open their ranks to the Tygaran natives, declaring them to be fellow Asurans. The first Tygarans eventually took their seats on the Council. There was a long argument about language, since many of the Eldorai's Tygaran cousins obviously did not speak Eldarai. After many heated arguments, it was decided that Eldarai would be the lingua franca, but proclamations made and laws passed by the Council would also be published in Xio, Prosabia and Zandri, the most common Tygaran languages. They were joined by disillusioned Eldorai royalists the old guard viewed with distrust. On the one hand, they brought much-needed know-how and expertise, but on the other they were resented for having abandoned the Forsaken on ruined Kaeshana and lived comfortable lives in the stars. The Council's decision amounted to giving them a probationary period, which meant they received civil rights, but had to wait longer and prove themselves before full political rights could be bestowed on them.
This was supposed to weed out fairweather friends and opportunists, but also curtail the introduction of people and ideas deemed unwholesome. There was a rather strange episode when a pretender to the Eldorai throne applied to join, offering money and a couple ships, and tried to stand for election. The system enshrined the cult of the armed forces. It combined vaguely left-wing economic values with hardcore militarism and a regimented domestic environment. Alternate ways of doing things could be proposed; individual policies and leaders could be freely criticised in public gatherings and publications; the stratocratic system itself could not be. In spite of manifold difficulties, there was a period of calm. The Council voted to enter an accord with a group of Togorian refugees and exiles who had left their homeworld after their people had been repeatedly massacred by the Sith.
One incident occured following a disputed Council election. Raenisa Eildan, a prominent former insurgent commander running for office, claimed vote fraud. She was backed by her militia, whose members were disgruntled over bad pay and loss of autonomy. The militia barricaded themselves and took hostages. Their base was well-fortified. Not willing to appear weak, the Council decided on removing them by force. However, its response was bungled. For one, there was jurisdictional friction between the army and the police force. The Vigiles and the Caerith Tyari were deployed, but they lacked sufficient training to conduct counter-terrorist operations. After a standoff, the troops stormed the building. However, many of the hostages perished during the fighting and the would-be liberators took heavy casualties when a bomb went off. All in all, it was a debacle.
The disaster stirred a lot of public debate and was a big embarrassment for the fledgling government, which was forced to conduct an inquiry to determine who was responsible and the circumstances that had led to this unfortunate resolution. The commission determined that dealing with threats like this went beyond the remit of regular police. Equally, it could not be made the responsibility of the army. In response, the Defenders of the Star Home were created as a tactical police unit that could respond to kidnappings, hostage takings, and terrorism.
The Defenders got their chance to prove themselves on their first mission. It received the codename Operation Magic Fire. A group of Illyrian radicals had hijacked a bulk freighter, taking the crew and passengers as hostages. They demanded that imprisoned members of their group be freed from imprisonment. The freighter changed location many times, and the captain of the vessel was murdered by the kidnappers. Finally, the Council signalled that they would agree to their demands. This halted the freighter's odyssey. In truth, it was a ruse. Taking advantage of a distraction, the Defenders infiltrated and stormed the freighter. The assault only lasted a few minutes and was a complete success. Most of the hijackers died, but only a few hostages were lightly injured and the Defenders' casualties were very low. The mission cemented their status as a special tactical unit of the police force.
The nomad fleet made money by offering shipping and mercenary services to fringe planets and corporations. There was a darker side to this, for the Shadows were quite willing to extort resources from local systems and conduct strip-mining operations. Sometimes their workers were hired by companies to do specialised or dangerous work, which put native labourers out of work. This could motivate local leaders to pay what amounted to tribute to persuade the nomad fleet to move on. Of course, this only worked with fairly weak systems. They also engaged in both legal and illegal salvage to acquire ships and resources. When the Shadows fled Kaeshana, they had always intended to return, but when they did, it was under highly unexpected circumstances that dashed all hopes of reclamation. Long story cut short, Kaeshana was dragged through the warp due to aftershocks of the Netherworld Event. This cataclysmic event devastated the already desolate planet even further.
When the planet emerged from the warp, it was on the other side of the galaxy. The Shadow Knights dispatched a task force to investigate and rescue any survivors. The rebels were able to evacuate scattered bands of survivors, such as the Harrowed and the Sicarii. Then they left Kaeshana. It forced them to acknowledge that if they wanted a home, they would have to build it, for the old was lost forever. A solemn ceremony was held on the Defiance to mourn the dead. The Archon gave a speech. Kaeshana was lost. The Shadow Knights were the vanguard of the Asuran people. It was their mission to safeguard and protect their people, for no one else would. They had to be the sword and the torch, protecting the Asurans against threats and guiding them to freedom. Only then would they be honouring those who had been lost on Kaeshana. However, the reunion was accompanied by riots. During the evacuation, the Forsaken and the Shadow Knight task force sent to rescue received visions of the past. These showed that the Eldorai had enlisted the aid of humans to defeat the Kar'zun, and then covered it up.
This made their victory over their hereditary enemies a lot less glorious. However, the visions also showed that Ariane had been less of a butcher than the Kar'zun remembered her as. Eldorai nationalists, angered by what they regarded as an insult to their people, rioted in the streets. Protesters who believed the visions were true and that the Eldorai should denounce the lies of the Queens of yore and join with the Kar'zun clashed with those who believed the visions were lies that spat on the sacrifices of Eldorai patriots. Fighting broke out in the streets. Some of the refugees were attacked. There were cases of arson and looting, as some disturbers of the peace tried to take advantage of the unrest, seeing it as a chance to loot. The security forces were deployed in large numbers to quell the disturbances. Protests outside of the Council building turned violent and shots were fired, while windows of various homes and businesses were smashed.
At the same time, the Emissaries of Illyria made loud noises about striking back. The Council was convened for a heated emergency session, and the Duskguard was deployed to protect it. Many of the police force who were mobilised to keep the peace were Qadiri. The Tygarans were less disposed to be concerned about ancient Kaeshana history. Their own very nasty history of war was fresher, and they had no intention of getting wrapped up in the Eldorai's wars. The Court of the Justicars banned marches and public protests, and the security forces remained alert throughout the night. Several arrests were made and eventually calm was restored.
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